[dieselhead01]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

To me it seems like you have more than enough power on tap and don't see a reason to go behind more horses(as you yourself have mentioned above). Based on your above need, if you really want to do something, the the TCU remap is probably the way to go. Based on my limited knowledge, that should definitely help meet some of your additional requirements called out above. If it still does not, then you can go down the route of additional hardware upgrades, Stage 2 map etc..

Thank you for your valuable inputs. Yes, you’re right. For now the power on tap is pretty good. The car feels agile and is much better than stock, although I loved stock acceleration due to the ample torque available. Now the car beats the likes of stock cars like 320d, A4 TDI, Octavia 1.8TSI, Superb TSI and so on. I’ll surely get the TCU done at the earliest. And like you mentioned, I’ll see if these minor hardware changes will meet my requirements, else will plan for a stage2 later (if at all nothing works). Will a performance air filter make a difference too?

[AKSarkar1]

For me personally, option 3 would be the way to go. Stage 1 is generally the limit I keep for my cars without having to modify the stock fundamentals. Plus I feel for Indian roads those output figures are more than enough, anything more might feel like an overall and not justify the costs associated with it. Needless to say, should things go wrong (god forbid) it will be an expensive affair.

May I suggest more aesthetic mods? Do consider something like a new steering or a new set of wheels will be much better.

Also what percentage of tints do you have? Look absolutely amazing and not the typical pitch dark tints.

[dieselhead01]

Originally Posted by AKSarkar1

For me personally, option 3 would be the way to go. Stage 1 is generally the limit I keep for my cars without having to modify the stock fundamentals. Plus I feel for Indian roads those output figures are more than enough, anything more might feel like an overall and not justify the costs associated with it. Needless to say, should things go wrong (god forbid) it will be an expensive affair.

May I suggest more aesthetic mods? Do consider something like a new steering or a new set of wheels will be much better.

Also what percentage of tints do you have? Look absolutely amazing and not the typical pitch dark tints.

Hey man, thank you for your valuable opinion. You’re absolutely right. German cars can become a costly affair when something goes wrong, especially the internal components, and like you said this power is enough for our roads. But, I just happen to sometimes want that ‘extra’ grunt while accelerating (however not at the cost of reliability). So I’m not planning for any serious hardware changes which would affect the car (FOR NOW), instead am inclined towards the thought of getting an air filter and TCU remap done, just for improving my performance further as I’m used to the power post remap (been driving it for a year post remap). I’m seriously considering yours and @sunikkat’s advice and planning to switch my alloys into a more appealing one, definitely 17” because the car deserves 17”.
Thank you for the kind words, that is 30% tint from Garware, and it’s not too dark and gives the car a subtle effect, which turned out to be nice. Will dechrome the logos soon too

[Livnletcarsliv]

Originally Posted by dieselhead01

Well at first, thank you for your valuable inputs. I believe I’ve already mentioned my goal in the previous posts, but still I’ll tell you: it’s to not produce more horses, it’s instead to make sure that all these horses are utilised to the max on the road, in simpler words, go faster/reach speeds faster. Real world results matter, not the ones on paper. The aim is to improve the 0-100, 60-120, 100-160 times, 1/4 mile times and make the whole driving experience more exhilarating. It’s running on Michelin PS4s. And yes you’re absolutely right, hardware upgrades like the ones you’ve mentioned and I believe the downpipe is important, which indirectly points out to stage2. Will stage2 make sure that the car puts down maximum power within the stock turbo limitations? Is it really worthy enough to go ahead with the stage2 remap? Or just add the necessary hardware upgrades to stage1 and enjoy the car?

TCU remap is a must if you want to get the max juice out of Stage 1/1+. Probably you can try a different tuner also - My choice is always Wolfmoto - Rajiv. He spends enough time with you to understand what you want and customise it accordingly. He also gives you all pros and cons.

Regarding the downpipe, yes it puts it to the 2nd stage. However, with the same stage 1 ECU and TCU numbers, you can only do the hardware upgrades - downpipe, filter intake system (instead of just the air filter), suspension, etc.

The worthiness of stage2 or later remap depends on your use case as there is no limit for the same. For eg - If your car is not a daily driver, and your goal is to reduce 0-100, 60-120, 100-160 times, it is worth it. In this case, your car actually becomes a track car and not a road-car.

[sunikkat]

Originally Posted by AnupamRoy

Finally I've found someone with a TDI MT, having scoured Team BHP for what feels like an eternity.

We are the minority of minorities Jokes apart in 2016 when I had to get Octavia, I was very specific about MT gearbox. Inturn, had to sacrifice on the top end as MT came only in the mid variant. But the car has been bullet proof reliable in all these years, even after all these mods.

Originally Posted by AnupamRoy

Specifically, I'm interested in your tyre upgrade from 16 to 17 inches.

Upsize of tyres did not impact in any reduction in fuel efficiency. I have never calculated the FE manually, but as per the FE displayed in the car it is more or less same. Definitely the drive has become more stiffer at lower speeds, but thats a sacrifice I am happy to make for the looks and the way it drives and handles at higher speeds (also coupled with B6). The Conti SC5 is holding up well too, though it has seen many bad roads and few pot holes. Anyway now my Octavia is more for leisure and highway drives, city drive is taken over by i20 IVT.

Originally Posted by AnupamRoy

Also, if you have some time, could you elaborate a bit on how those mods (mostly the damper and the brakes) have made a difference to your driving experience?

Bilstein B6 is the best upgrade I have done till date. If I have to choose one of all the upgrades, it would be this. Stock car itself is a good handler, but B6 has totally transformed. The low speeds < 60 are always busy, after that the car is unshakeble. The dip in the highways, undulations, turns nothing impact the car. Another good thing is the supension is very tight, the speed brakers which used to hit the underbelly under full load previously are now taken up well. Car doesnt bottom out at all.

Brembo has definitely improved the braking too. Just that it takes around 1000 kms to settle in, so you dont experience an immediate improvement after changing the brakes. But I definitely feel the braking power has improved.

Originally Posted by AnupamRoy

The other thing I wanted to ask was, since mine doesn't have a reverse camera, might it possible to get one installed without too much work?

I use Apple car play too, but through the Android HU which has wireless car play. The reason I went for Android HU is to improve the interior feel with a 10 inch screen. Also it allows to play videos, you tube etc and download other apps. Another reason was to get the reverse parking camera. Atleast the stock screen in 2016 Octavia MT did not have the feature to add reverse camera. I guess it would be the case with yours too. With Android HU, the interiors are definitely more modern.

Happy to put the cost here, if it helps anyone. Please note I was particular of getting all installations done from reputed dealers / installers and hence the cost might be on slightly higher side. Also if you import few of these things, it might work out cheaper (I did not have the patience to deal with import). In addition all these were done during peak covid times, and hence the supply was also on lesser side which would have again impacted the cost.

• Stage 1 remap with K&N filter - 27k
• Bilstein B6 Dampers - 95k
• 17" 8J MSW 25 wheels by OZ Racing - 50k (bought it on a sale, original price quoted was 95k)
• Continental SC5 224/45 - Apprx 48k
• Brembo Xtra dotted rotors (front) + Brembo Xtra front brake pads + Brembo rear brake pads - Apprx 30k
• 4*64 GB Android HU 10 inch with frame and reverse camera - 45k
• Bi-Xenon headlight upgrade (including LED fog, LED DRLs and other associated parts) - 42k
• Razo Sports pedals - 7k

Then few other cosmetic upgrades. Hope this helps

[dieselhead01]

Originally Posted by Livnletcarsliv

TCU remap is a must if you want to get the max juice out of Stage 1/1+. Probably you can try a different tuner also - My choice is always Wolfmoto - Rajiv. He spends enough time with you to understand what you want and customise it accordingly. He also gives you all pros and cons.

Regarding the downpipe, yes it puts it to the 2nd stage. However, with the same stage 1 ECU and TCU numbers, you can only do the hardware upgrades - downpipe, filter intake system (instead of just the air filter), suspension, etc.

The worthiness of stage2 or later remap depends on your use case as there is no limit for the same. For eg - If your car is not a daily driver, and your goal is to reduce 0-100, 60-120, 100-160 times, it is worth it. In this case, your car actually becomes a track car and not a road-car.

Thank you for your advice. It has given me an insight of what to do next. So for now I’m not so inclined to the downpipe (stage2) plan, because I’ll see if I can juice out the max with the TCU and air filter/intake. I want to maintain certain elements of the car like it being a ‘road car’ as it will be daily driven. But I’ve seen stage2 cars in my own friend’s circle being driven as a daily driven car. But I’m sure some practicality is compromised. I’ll surely keep updating here about the further mods done

[mjk24]

Modding ones car is a subjective journey & I'm gonna share what I've learnt from mine.
For the sake of simplicity, I'm going to assume you aren't too bothered about the exhaust loudness or tone and are purely looking for straight line performance.

The first and usually the best bang for your buck mod (power wise) is the catalytic converter. Swap them for high flow cats or even test pipes if allowed.
They remove a lot of restriction and allow the engine to breathe better & while you're at it, you can replace the rest of the exhaust system (headers, x/y/h pipe, resonators, mufflers).

Then come the air intakes, be sure to go for cold air intakes to avoid heat soak. Else you maybe actually throwing money while moving backwards in your quest for performance.
Only after you have all or most of the above would it you be able to maximize the gains from an ECU tune.

Then a DSG tune would help optimize shifts while preserving the clutches.
At this point I would shut the bonnet and call it a day as after this the law of diminishing returns really comes in.

If you don’t plan on going the forced induction route, you will be spending thousands just to chase meagre gains and would be straying further from the cars engineered limits and putting it under risk.
You can never really quench the thirst for power, its human nature.
Speaking from first hand experiences in the local car scene here, there are people that look at a stock R35s (~500bhp) and think its not enough. They go Alpha 7 (~700bhp) for a year till it starts feeling slow. Then they go Alpha 9 (~900bhp) and so on. There are upgrades for all the way unto Alpha 22 by the way.

Do not open the engine/ gearbox, Do not look at forged internals, Do not think about going down the stage 2,3,4 route, Do not Google "How to get more power Skoda Octavia" in your free time. Stop.

Now the best bang for buck mode (drivability wise) would be rims/ tires.
All that power/torque would be a waste if you aren't able to properly put them down and though usually overlooked, tires make by far the most difference in a cars performance on track.
See if you can get your hands on some lighter rims and softer tires.

Then, I'd start looking more at the aesthetic side of the car.
Lowering the car would give it that sleek, sleeper look. But with potholes might not agree.
Getting air suspension would be a good option.
Paired with wheels and tires of the correct specs, it would look ‎️*

[dieselhead01]

Originally Posted by mjk24

The first and usually the best bang for your buck mod (power wise) is the catalytic converter. Swap them for high flow cats or even test pipes if allowed.
They remove a lot of restriction and allow the engine to breathe better & while you're at it, you can replace the rest of the exhaust system (headers, x/y/h pipe, resonators, mufflers).

Then come the air intakes, be sure to go for cold air intakes to avoid heat soak. Else you maybe actually throwing money while moving backwards in your quest for performance.
Only after you have all or most of the above would it you be able to maximize the gains from an ECU tune.

Then a DSG tune would help optimize shifts while preserving the clutches.
At this point I would shut the bonnet and call it a day as after this the law of diminishing returns really comes in.

If you don’t plan on going the forced induction route, you will be spending thousands just to chase meagre gains and would be straying further from the cars engineered limits and putting it under risk.
You can never really quench the thirst for power, its human nature.
Speaking from first hand experiences in the local car scene here, there are people that look at a stock R35s (~500bhp) and think its not enough. They go Alpha 7 (~700bhp) for a year till it starts feeling slow. Then they go Alpha 9 (~900bhp) and so on. There are upgrades for all the way unto Alpha 22 by the way.

Do not open the engine/ gearbox, Do not look at forged internals, Do not think about going down the stage 2,3,4 route, Do not Google "How to get more power Skoda Octavia" in your free time. Stop.

Now the best bang for buck mode (drivability wise) would be rims/ tires.
All that power/torque would be a waste if you aren't able to properly put them down and though usually overlooked, tires make by far the most difference in a cars performance on track.
See if you can get your hands on some lighter rims and softer tires.

Thank you for giving me your detailed insight on what’s right. This means a lot and has opened my eyes a little more. Like you said, going behind mere gains is not really letting me reach anywhere near my goal. So I’ll just make sure to work it out with the list of hardwares you mentioned above, like the air filter, the intake and the DSG remap. The DQ250 shifts good, but with a DSG tune could surely do much better and enhance the overall drivability of the car. Moreover I’m also looking forward to get a ITG performance air filter plus intake for the car, and the DSG tune at the earliest and will surely update my experience on the same. I’m also planning to get a down-pipe, but that’s after getting all the necessary hardwares like the ones you and the others mentioned in this thread. And about the rubber, it’s running on Michelin PS4s and there’s a world of difference in the way they feel from the previous GoodYear NCT5s, it even made the launch much better. Like many of you suggested, I’ll look into some more aesthetic mods and changes for the car, first being upsizing the current wheels.

[venkyhere]

Originally Posted by dieselhead01

The car now puts down around 190hp and 400nm, haven’t dyno’d it yet but the car has proven that it puts down these figures on the road all the time.

Pardon me for being the spoilsport. The Q is "how" has it proven ? because the tuner said so ?

[dieselhead01]

Originally Posted by venkyhere

Pardon me for being the spoilsport. The Q is "how" has it proven ? because the tuner said so ?

Clearly mentioned I haven’t dyno’d the figures yet and didn’t say those were the ACTUAL FIGURES, read it once again properly, and yes this is what the tuner quoted, my opinion is that it puts down these numbers , and hopefully it makes that power (at dyno) and it’s possible too, moreover people in this forum have got the same figures or sometimes more after dyno’ing it. I hope your ‘Q’ is cleared.

[dieselhead01]

Hey all, a mini update:

Got the ITG performance air filter with channel guide from none other than Vivek from TOT. He has always been informative and patient enough to answer and clear all my doubts and also explained why an air filter is important on a remapped car (in my case- Stage 1+). I got it installed it at Adiga Automotives. The channel guide was installed to support more air to go to the intake. And hopefully it reduces the workload for the turbo (in other words, help the turbo breathe better). The next update will be the TCU, will you keep updated

[HighRevving]

Originally Posted by dieselhead01

Many people in this forum have also got 190hp/400nm as their rough/approx power figures, so it’s not impossible with a mere tune, but you’re right, until it’s dyno’d, nothing is proven. Will dyno it soon and post it here.

Originally Posted by sunikkat

This is the numbers quoted by almost all tuners for stage 1 for VAG TDI engines, including the ones who have dyno'd the vehicles post tune. Some tuners with dyno had mentioned numbers of 200 bhp and 410 nm as part of stage 1 along with the dyno reports.

I would be very happy for the car owners and the tuner scene if this is true. I was only mentioning that most tuners who claim a whooping 35-40% power gain with a Stage-1 tune on non-detuned engine, probably know more about dyno tweaks. If there are back to back runs done on the stock car and the dyno'd car without changing anything in between, the gains may be better understood - with most, if not all tuners who provide such jump, the stock power and torque will also shoot up with this test.

I am not saying it is impossible or questioning the tuners' ethics, just saying making 190-200 bhp from a tune is not that easy - typically Stage 1 maps don't do anything but tweak the turbo boost and this kind of gain with stock hardware is hard on that 2.0TDI engine.

For reference, BMW with a far superior turbo technology does not produce more than 190 bhp on their 2.0 diesels. VAG have not been able to offer this engine in anything close to these figures even on the Audi platform.

Tuned cars and the actual power gains are far and widely debated and I don't want to turn this thread to another one, so let us all just say, it's good if it is true but let's not worry too much if it isn't.

[sunikkat]

Originally Posted by HighRevving

I am not saying it is impossible or questioning the tuners' ethics, just saying making 190-200 bhp from a tune is not that easy - typically Stage 1 maps don't do anything but tweak the turbo boost and this kind of gain with stock hardware is hard on that 2.0TDI engine.

For reference, BMW with a far superior turbo technology does not produce more than 190 bhp on their 2.0 diesels. VAG have not been able to offer this engine in anything close to these figures even on the Audi platform.
.

2017 Audi A4 TDI that was available in India with badge '35 TDI' came with a tune of 190 BHP and 400 NM torque which was similar to 3 series. Agree it would have used bigger and better turbo and other internals compared to 140 BHP stock VAGs. But the statement highlighted is not correct.

And one of the Jetta TDI tuned and dyno'd by a tuner has stock measured at 148HP & 362NM and the stage 1 with OEM replacement filter had dyno figures of 204HP & 454NM. Since these were run on the same dyno, the peak gains are around +56HP and 92NM. Again this is based on the insta post from the tuner, hence cannot confirm the aunthencity of these numbers.

[HighRevving]

Originally Posted by sunikkat

2017 Audi A4 TDI that was available in India with badge '35 TDI' came with a tune of 190 BHP and 400 NM torque which was similar to 3 series. Agree it would have used bigger and better turbo and other internals compared to 140 BHP stock VAGs. But the statement highlighted is not correct.

It’s a different configuration of this engine. I am talking about this engine without hardware changes - turbo, injectors etc by the manufacturer or aftermarket. Of course, you can make this engine put out more power with hardware changes. This has been discussed before:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...s-how-why.html (VW 2.0 TDI: Different Power & Torque outputs - How & why?)

Originally Posted by sunikkat

And one of the Jetta TDI tuned and dyno'd by a tuner has stock measured at 148HP & 362NM and the stage 1 with OEM replacement filter had dyno figures of 204HP & 454NM. Since these were run on the same dyno, the peak gains are around +56HP and 92NM. Again this is based on the insta post from the tuner, hence cannot confirm the aunthencity of these numbers.

On a lighter note, this is like a fat loss program. People will claim all sorts of things on the internet - good, bad, ugly. What works, what doesn’t work, what is sustainable, what is reliable etc is highly debatable. Let’s not get there is what I requested earlier too.

[dieselhead01]

Originally Posted by HighRevving

For reference, BMW with a far superior turbo technology does not produce more than 190 bhp on their 2.0 diesels. VAG have not been able to offer this engine in anything close to these figures even on the Audi platform.

Hey, I agree with most of the part in your post, although this particular statement I really can’t be on the same page. I agree BMW diesels are one of the best. From owning a 530D, I know how it drives, BMW 3.0 I6 is the best diesel I’ve driven in my limited experience. But I’ve driven a F10 520D and felt my Octavia TDI DSG (in stock) was more FTD and punchier (just my opinion). Post remap, there was no comparison. I’ve driven a 2017 A4 TDI (190hp/400nm) and a 320D, although 320D felt more agile, I would never say that ‘the A4 won’t ever close to the 3er’, infact the driving pleasure felt similar, and the in-gear acceleration felt stronger on the A4 than on the 320D G20. 2.0TDI engines are equally good when compared to 2.0 diesels from BMW. But when it comes to 3.0 diesels, nothing beats the BMW inline-6.