Newbie Questions

[AndyC85]

Hey,

I'm new to the forum! Don't own a SEAT but I am seriously considering the Ibiza Cupra tdi.

My current car is a Honda Civic Sport, nice enough car but i want something with a bit of power!

I was looking at the Focus ST, Civic Type-R, Corsa VXR etc and while they are all great cars in their own rights the running costs would have crippled me! With all of them being huge petrol guzzlers and averaging 25mpg I know that after the monthly payments and insurance, I couldn't afford the fuel.

I think I have found a solution in the Ibiza Cupra however!

Being only £15k its a few thousand pounds cheaper than the cars above. Insurance is also a fair bit cheaper as well as, obviously, the running costs.
I know its not as fast as the cars above but from what I've heard a decent engine remap can sort that out.

That leads me on to my next question!

I've heard that with a decent remap the Cupra tdi can achieve 0-60 in 6.5s, bhp of 200+ and torque of up to 300lbs/ft.

Is this true? If i bought the car I would definately consider a remap, I just want to know if thats all that is required in order to boost performance or do you need to add other mods like induction kits etc to get those sort of figures?

I've never done any sort of modifications to a car before!

Cheers,

Andy

 

[Poverty]

I think the main mods for the TDI cupra is a remap plus the odd bits here and there to increase the cars breathing!

 

[AndyC85]

I think the main mods for the TDI cupra is a remap plus the odd bits here and there to increase the cars breathing!

Cool thanks, any idea about costs?! I was budgeting about £500 on a remap

 

[Poverty]

500 sounds about right, but dont quote me on it. Im only a 1.4 boy just repeating what I have read from other threads. Do a search and you will get plenty results!

 

[muddyboots]

Yes a remap alone on a Cupra TDI will get you to those figures. £500 should be plenty - depends who you go to. If you go with the "big names" (eg Custom Code, Revo, etc) then you won't have much, if any change left.
However, go to one of the other tuners on here (eg Bell Autos) who have excellent reputations you should get a bit more change.

What you have to watch is the clutch. When torque levels reach around 300lbft (which is very easily exceeded with a remap), clutches can start to slip. The choice is to either have the map adjusted to knock the peak torque back (typically around 1800-2500 rpm) a tad, or fit an uprated clutch. Plenty of discussions about it, search for "clutch slip"

 

[AndyC85]

500 sounds about right, but dont quote me on it. Im only a 1.4 boy just repeating what I have read from other threads. Do a search and you will get plenty results!

I've searched about a bit! Been on the section of the forum about turbo's and tuning etc but as I'm a total modification virgin I'm not sure what the hell they're talking about half the time! From what I understand a remap is pretty straight forward, just downloads new instructions into your cars ECU. I've been on various sites to enquire about it but there's so many out there I wouldn't know what one to go for! I've seen a few threads about Jabba sport being quite good but I'm in Scotland and the nearest one to me is Leeds! Bit too far away I'm afraid! I've seen a few others like Celtic tuning and Angel tuning which come to you, no matter where you are in the UK. Which is good but I have no clue if they're any good or not!

Andy

 

[AndyC85]

Yes a remap alone on a Cupra TDI will get you to those figures. £500 should be plenty - depends who you go to. If you go with the "big names" (eg Custom Code, Revo, etc) then you won't have much, if any change left.
However, go to one of the other tuners on here (eg Bell Autos) who have excellent reputations you should get a bit more change.

What you have to watch is the clutch. When torque levels reach around 300lbft (which is very easily exceeded with a remap), clutches can start to slip. The choice is to either have the map adjusted to knock the peak torque back (typically around 1800-2500 rpm) a tad, or fit an uprated clutch. Plenty of discussions about it, search for "clutch slip"

Thanks a lot! Will do! New clutch sounds expensive!

 

[Pigeon142]

I did use angel tuning on a petrol but had problems ot sure if the car was awkward. very helpful guys eventually revo remapped mine which worked like a dream

 

[air121005]

welcome to the site!

you won't be dissapointed with a TDi for economy and performance at the same time! plus the ibiza is a great car!
had mine since february and have to say its probably the best car i've had!
had it remapped the weekend (only £275 - Performance Torque) and its now an amazing car to drive, and i only started with the 130bhp version, can only imagine that a remapped cupras power is even more addictive!

 

[AndyC85]

welcome to the site!

you won't be dissapointed with a TDi for economy and performance at the same time! plus the ibiza is a great car!
had mine since february and have to say its probably the best car i've had!
had it remapped the weekend (only £275 - Performance Torque) and its now an amazing car to drive, and i only started with the 130bhp version, can only imagine that a remapped cupras power is even more addictive!

Cool, thanks for the advice!

Just couple of more questions!

1. When you get your car remapped, does the engine need to have covered a certain number of miles before you can get it done?!

2. Depreciation. How well does the Ibiza hold it's value?! I've read numerous reports giving various values ranging from poor to average.

Andy

 

[Ric 2001]

Remap; normally let the car breathe first say do about 1000-1500 the standard

Think the Ibiza Mk5 will be out quite soon probably this year or even middle of next year. So instantly they going to depreciate but if they do what the did last time and bring out the cupra a year later after they might not depreciate as fast.

Just done a whatcar valuation

Seat Ibiza Hatchback (02-06) 1.8 20VT Cupra 3dr 2005 (05)26,000 miles

Dealer £8,735
Private £7,935
Part exchange £7,735
Trade £7,335
Cost new £15,505 - got it less than this think it was about £13,500

 

[air121005]

Cool, thanks for the advice!

Just couple of more questions!

1. When you get your car remapped, does the engine need to have covered a certain number of miles before you can get it done?!

Don't think so!
iirc, a few people have had a remap done not long after getting them new!

2. Depreciation. How well does the Ibiza hold it's value?! I've read numerous reports giving various values ranging from poor to average.

Andy

no matter what car you go for you will loose a load of cash as soon as you drive 5 metres!

 

[AndyC85]

Remap; normally let the car breathe first say do about 1000-1500 the standard

Think the Ibiza Mk5 will be out quite soon probably this year or even middle of next year. So instantly they going to depreciate but if they do what the did last time and bring out the cupra a year later after they might not depreciate as fast.

Just done a whatcar valuation

Seat Ibiza Hatchback (02-06) 1.8 20VT Cupra 3dr 2005 (05)26,000 miles

Dealer £8,735
Private £7,935
Part exchange £7,735
Trade £7,335
Cost new £15,505 - got it less than this think it was about £13,500

Nice one thanks!

Is the mk5 going to be drastically different from the mk4 or is it just another facelift?! If it's out fairly soon and it's an entirely new car then I'm thinking it might be worthwhile waiting...

 

[CUP-RACING]

dont worry about depreciation, it will be average i.e. 2k a year,unless you own a alfa romeo eek!

just get the car and enjoy it.

 

[muddyboots]

1. When you get your car remapped, does the engine need to have covered a certain number of miles before you can get it done?!

No. The remap doesn't affect the car during it's early life - the way you drive it does.

Think of it this way: what's the difference between buying a PD100, and getting it mapped from new to say 130-140bhp, than buying a PD130 new ?
Or...buying a 130 and getting it mapped from new, than buying a PD160 new ?

Just because it's been remapped doesn't mean you have to use the extra power immediately.

My Ibiza TDI 130 was mapped from new by the (Dutch) dealer.