JBS Auto Designs Chesterfield - Derbyshire

[mannyo]

JBS Auto Designs

Specialise in:

20vT VVT DBW Engine Conversions

Custom Code engine remaps

Custom Progressive Nitrous Oxide Systems

Can supply pretty much any performance upgrade you require...

Miltek Exhaust Systems

Quaife ATB Diffs

Eibach, H&R and Koni Suspension

Green Cotton Filters

Forge Motorsport Products

ABD CAI's

Samco Hoses

etc etc etc...

Have a state-of-the-art 600bhp 2wd Rolling Road

[mannyo]

Original Review : Josh_PoloGTi

Pros: Professional, Knowledgable, Local

Cons: Spend loads of money there!

Can't fault them... Been going there for years.

[mannyo]

Original Review: DaveH

Pros: See post

Cons: See post

I got my 4x4 Revo

[mannyo]

Original Reviewer: Rich1068

Pros: Very knowledgable, not at all pushy, very patient with techinical idiots.

Cons: James doesn\\\'t get out of bed on Saturday mornings.

Sorry. Long post warning!

I just thought I

[mannyo]

Original Reviewer: Pythix

Pros: Professional, Knowledgable tuner - See post

Cons: Me, having to send money - See post

Like I promised in the JBS RR thread, this is the verdict of the vRS_2003 jury!!

As some of you will know, I already have a K&N panel and Forge DV, and was more than happy when it produced the goods at a FunkyJ meet back in May '04 against the tuned crowd that gathered. There was however just this small niggle in the back of my mind that there were Octy's out there that are bigger and better, and in some way was a 'junior' member of Briskoda with my standard car.

Well, during the JBS RR day (29-Aug-04), I had overwhelming pressure applied to me, not by JBS or any of the others that attended, but by myself with the 'Do I, Don't I' thoughts while all the cars were being run. As the torment continued I got chatting with everyone there, but mainly James and the JBS boys. One thing that came across from the start was the sheer professionalism, how extremely knowledgeable they are and how they at not at all pushy. This was certainly a comfort while going through the whole decision process.

I bit the bullet and asked James for his magic laptop to be waved across the car, 3bar for now !! Fuse pulled........laptop connected......five minutes later, the infamous "Go Play" was heard. Out of JBS towards the trunk road to the motorway, all classic town driving style roads, very well behaved in traffic and noticeably required less boot. On to the derestricted dual-carriageway, slowly opening her up waiting for the 'OH S%"T' moment when all hell breaks loose and I would chicken out..............it didn't appear!!!! It

[Josh_PoloGTi]

JBS's details need amending.

They are now retail Custom Code rather than REVO and no longer have paint facilities on site.

[mannyo]

Original Reviewer: chesoctavia

Pros: Total trust in their workmanship (what else do you need?)

Cons: Mine was Jabba'd as at the time the Revo product wasnt highly rated.

Should really update my details, gone from Octavia to Fabia VRS which I unfortunately crashed, now got an old Golf GTi until I save up the reddies for an Octavia VRS (the Skoda bug bites!). If I had discovered JBS earlier the Fab VRS may not have been crashed but hey (I think a suspension upgrade could have helped my cause as I think the standard car is too soft, especially compared to an Octavia VRS but hey). The 15 year old car I have now has done 16,000 miles since april and which needs special praise to Kev at JBS as the car is still running sweetly. I will be sure to take the next VRS there as soon as I have it. I would recommend them to anyone , trustworthy garages are hard to come by.

Any VRS's for sale next feb/march let me know.

Sorry for rambling!

[mannyo]

Original Reviewer: fab16v

Pros: Great service, friendly staff, excelent knowledge

Cons: umm, arhh, nope.

After a long journey from London to Chesterfield via heavy traffic on the M1, I finally arrived to find the friendly staff of JBS. Was made to feel welcome and comfy by Sarah who made me a nice cuppa coffee upon arriving.

After a couple of hours, my yellow beasty growled as it was pulled back out of the workshop, new Miltek system looking absolutely stunning!

Had a great drive home too without having the radio on at all. Big thanks go out to everyone at JBS for such a great job. I'm extremely impressed. Made the journey all worthwhile.

[mannyo]

Original Reviewer: RCe

Pros: Very Knowledgeable, friendly staff, local.

Cons:

Hi

I've recently purchased a diamond black furby vRS sourced for me by james at jbs auto's. The car is awesome...

Everything I expected, and a bit more!

James and Kev at JBS have been looking after my cars for years, so I had no hesitation in buying the car from them, and getting it booked straight in for a few tweaks.

I went for a Revo remap, some bodywork (side rubbing strips removed) and some eibach springs. They also fitted my new alloys.

Mmmm, now we're talking! Ear to ear smile everytime you get into the car! She just pulls and pulls and then some... in every gear... simply amazing... and all from a diesel...and all from a skoda!

I would recommend the work James, Kev and the lads do to anyone! A very professional, and highly efficient team!

Will be booking the car in for a full Miltek inc. sports cat, next up... cant wait!

[mr. hedgehog]

Pros: Commitment to customer satisfaction and professionalism

Cons: Distance from me, and not the cheapest

Here is some feedback on my Custom Code experience:

After much debate between tuning companies I had originally booked in for Custom Code phase 1 for my new Fabia VRS in April, but after covering more miles than expected (and becoming impatient) decided that the car was ‘broken in enough’. On the spur of the moment I phoned up JBS and booked in for the following day.

Upon arrival I spoke to Sarah to confirm my booking details, handed over the keys and took a seat in reception. Kitted out with a Playstation, magazines, displays and a sofa it was fairly easy to pass the time until my car’s turn came; although the waiting area could have done with a better heater and a coffee machine!

From sitting in reception, chatting to Sarah and to other customers (and casually observing the days comings and goings) it was easy to see that business is booming. This is usually a good sign. A lot of the other people there were returning customers with some fairly hardcore cars; hybrid turbos and true custom maps. All had nothing but good things to say about JBS. I also think I found the bloke who is responsible for Greenlight Insurance refusing to insure any more VRS’, having written off two of them and now onto his third…

An hour after arriving I was still waiting for James to sort my remap. He was looking tired and a bit stressed (he assured me that he didn’t normally neglect his appearance to the point of resembling a yeti – his words:)); and was trying to field phone calls and dealer queries. However, I was pleased that he made the effort to explain to me that he would be onto my car as soon as possible; he even managed a bit of humor.

James started off with the usual ECU read and discovered that, as my car was new, JBS did not yet carry a generic code for it. James casually declared that he would write one for me whilst I waited. However, he was unsure whether he could make the map switchable on the spot, and told me that, in the worst case scenario, I may have to return at a later date for a free update to a fully switchable map. James picked up that I was keen to get a switchable map and told me that he would do his best whilst not wishing to compromise quality.

James reappeared with his laptop a while later and uploaded the new switchable map to the car. The first test run out, me sat with the laptop, flagged up a problem with the switchability, so James took another look at the map. Whilst he was doing this I had a Green cotton filter fitted (very substantially discounted and fitted for free) and got my Cupra PD160 intake stuck on for free in the process.

The next run out with James was more successful (this time with me driving and James with the laptop), and the map switched as planned. James also explained to me that the car would take a few runs to get to its best as the ECU takes a while to explore the bounds of the new values contained in the remap. I was impressed with James knowledge and moreso his ability to explain to me in layman’s terms what he was doing. It is easy to see why people have confidence in James’ ability to work on their cars and to achieve the best results as he clearly takes pride in his work and is as customer focused as anybody I have met.

The Remap:

After a long day and a final run I departed from JBS with a grin on my face (it was nearing 6pm on a Friday and the staff there were all still working!). The map was exactly what I was looking for - exceptionally smooth and very refined. I admit that I did think that tales of TDis pulling to the redline were gimmicks, or at least exaggerated. I’ll hold my hand up and admit that I was completely wrong. The car pulls strongly right up to 4.5K, and with no obvious drop off in power. Still marveling at that one.

I had discussed this fairly unique trait of CC with James earlier, and had a bit of a whine about my Cupra’s tendency to tail off in power at about 4K despite good torque low down (REVO 4bar). James was clear that in terms of remaps, it really is a case of ‘horses for courses’. He made no apologies about the fact that a CC mapped car is not a 0-60 merchant, but was confident that CCs smoother mapping meant that the power was more usable, especially in everyday driving. This was exactly what I was looking for from the remap. Interestingly James also told me that the KO3/4 turbos in the 20VTs are not the culprits in the lack of top end performance in Cupras, and that contrary to popular belief, they do not run out of puff at 4.5K. Not to miss a sales opportunity he offered to do me a ‘good deal’ on a CC remap for the Leon!

I have had the CC remap for 5 days now, and its still putting a smile on may face – I’m still finding excused to use the car. The improvement in performance is huge, without sacrificing derivability in the city (which was a problem with my Leon’s rather harsh map). I am especially impressed with the top end improvement (the midrange of the VRS was always its strong point – but this punch is now across the entire rev range), acceleration in 3rd - 6th is massively improved. However, those who are fans of monster low down wedges of torque and spinning wheels may be disappointed with the even, controlled power of this map.

I have a Forge FMIC waiting to go onto the car, and have the 312mm brake conversion in mind too. After some discussion JBS were upfront about the fact that I could get the parts for the brake conversion cheaper on the forums, but offered to fit the kit for me for a reasonable price. For me this sums up the JBS ethos. They offer a customer focused, quality service which looks to be paying off in terms of demand for their skills (careful not to spread yourself too thin chaps). I will definitely be asking JBS to assist me in realising the future plans I have for the VRS and can strongly recommend not only their code, but also their professionalism, willingness to listen and enthusiasm in making peoples cars go faster, better.

Thanks guys (and gal), I’ll be seeing you for the brakes when my wallets recovered .

[JBS Auto Design]

Wow

That was a really nice write up thank you.

I am glad I got the gal mention

Thank you I will make sure that James gets to see a copy of this.

Thank you for the kind words and as you said James can give you a smooth remap for your car.

Yes as I said when you have the brakes together give us a call and we will fit them for you.

The problem is at the moment we do try to help everyone but this can take time and we are looking to be able to give more time to people.

We will hopefully be able then to be more individual to your requirements then and be able to assit you a bit more.

Thank you

Sarah

[vRSLen]

Sarah, just read the Hall of Fame in Performance VW. What the hell was the tech spec of the Octavia?

Must upgrade in the spring!

Len.

[Josh_PoloGTi]

Len

It's constantly evolving.

IIRC, at the time it went down the strip for the PVW run, it had approx 420-440bhp.

ABD LAN Pipe with Large Green Cotton Filter

GT28RS-JBS Custom Turbo

JBS Manifold

JBS/Forge FMIC

3" Custom Downpipe, Milltek Sports Cat and 3" System

Samco Pipes

Big Injectors

Forge DV

Custom Code Phase Three

6 Speed Box

Quaife ATB Diff

Kevlar Clutch

R32 Brakes

H&R Coilovers

Eibach ARB's

Audi S3 Strut Braces (F/U & F/L)

Erm...

That's about all I can remember.

However, it's now gone through a big transformation and will be rocking some even more serious power once it's finished!

[JBS Auto Design]

Wow Josh

Yup that would be about it.

Yes the winter time has seen some more specs to the Octavia.

This will be down some more strips doing some more times later in the year.

So watch this space!

Sarah

[Meggsy]

Just had Uprated Pads and Discs, Cat back Milltek exhaust and a new water pump fitted.

Excellent by the looks of it, Car seems to drive better than it ever has and the service was very good.

[kprm77]

Anyone recommend JBS for servicing? Do they do courtesy cars?

[mattbeef]

id rather let kiwk fit work on mine.

[matt_theforce]

Anyone recommend JBS for servicing? Do they do courtesy cars?

I had a car serviced from them in the past, I have no complaints about the service, I've also had KW Suspension and a Sachs clutch fitted there again, I have no complaints about their work nor do I have any complaints about their friendlyness although they did have problems ordering ARB Bushes which meant a 2nd trip to get them fitted.

They didn't do a courtesy car when I had all that work done however they were happy to drop me off at the train station in chesterfield so I could catch the train to work.

Hope this helps.

[kprm77]

Thanks for that Matt - I booked the car in my usual Skoda dealer in the end. They'd had some negative comments too, though I've never had a problem, so went with the devil I know...

[theandywaite]

Most of my friends highly rate them, BUT when ringing round for servicing prices for my TFSI vRS:

1) The guy I spoke to didn't seem to know what variable/longlife servicing was until I explained it.

2) They were more expensive for a major service & brake fluid change than the 3 main dealer's I had quotes from.

Having said that, they are probably better with tuning and mods than servicing though...

[niceyellow vrs]

Where to start with these clowns?

Tried to buy a baffled sump recently and they couldn't even complete a simple transaction.

I ordered a used baffled sump on an exchange basis as this was the best option for me, cheapest and as the part would be tucked away under the car, no need for a brand new shiny item. I paid a surcharge which would be refunded after fitting the new sump and sending them my old sump. I was then asked via email if I could send them my old sump first so they could release the order. Obviously this would be completely impractical as it would have left me without the use of my car. After I explained how the surcharge and exchange thing worked they then realised that asking for my sump first was wrong and the new baffled sump would be sent as soon as possible.

Annoying, but not the end of the world. But then, a few days later, when I was expecting my new sump to have arrived, I got an email from them saying that the price they displayed on their website and that had already been charged to my debit card was wrong and I would therefore have to pay another £44 if I wanted the baffled sump.

Outraged, I explained to them that there mistake is their problem, not mine and considering they've already messed me about once asking me for more money is unacceptable. They insisted that I'd have to pay more so I cancelled the order, obtained a refund and shan't be going anywhere near them ever again.

Utterly useless.

[oggy]

Most of my friends highly rate them, BUT when ringing round for servicing prices for my TFSI vRS:

1) The guy I spoke to didn't seem to know what variable/longlife servicing was until I explained it.

2) They were more expensive for a major service & brake fluid change than the 3 main dealer's I had quotes from.

Having said that, they are probably better with tuning and mods than servicing though...

I do believe Mike who previously answered the phone calls & who knew his stuff has left.

As for tuning...... PMSL.

[Guest westallc]

must say not hearing good things about them recently........

never used them but with things that are going around the forums im sure not going to either.

[thebloyn]

Ive used them before for a remap a few years back and they were great although last year I had another remap done and DV fitted, and when I got home I found they had left one of their ratchet tools in the engine bay.

[Jabbasport]

We're currently collecting a number of JBS tools lol.

We have some cars here that used to have their old kits on and find tools in strange places. They must give them away as a freebie