SEAT Cupra K1

[Fooxy]

Hello welcome to my readers ride..

Having previously owned a SEAT Leon FR PD170 I always wanted a K1. Not the desired colour I was actually looking for but it's beginning to grow on me.

PD170

Picked up a standard K1 with 60K and only 1 owner. You can't really see from the pictures but the colour was really dull and looked matt.

I started off with giving the car a quick detail, running the machine polish over and having the wheels painted black.

Next on my list was to drop the car a little, so I purchased some Eibach Sportlines and also purchased a Miltek CAT back system non-resonated. (Wasn't giving me enough sound )

I was looking at different induction kits, was going to go for the Revo one but ended up purchasing the Ramair instead. After fitting the induction kit I had a drive to one of the families house and had a good run around his land, didn't realize how quick the Cupra was and how much it pulled, after 4-5K rpm it seemed to start pulling away from the 350Z.. but the SEAT couldn't beat the sound coming from the Nissan. Below are some photos from the day out..

Recently purchased a down pipe and de-cat, just waiting for the better weather to fit it, I'm also wanting to go stage 2. How much does this transform the car?

Hoping to add more mods to the future and welcome to any recommendations

 

[Brimfull]

Lovely looking cupra you have there mate, your cupra should easily dispose of that 350z, my old vectra vxr used to eat 350z all day long (well in a straight line anyway)

 

[Jimbobcook]

That is a stunning example of the MK2 Leon! The red really punches which is nice.

How did you find the Ramair kit with regards to noise inside the car as i've heard it's slightly noisier than the revo etc...

With regards to Stage 2 you may need to confer with @Legojon as his Cupra R is on Stage 2+, looking at his Readers ride he got about 320bhp from stage 2 - https://forums.seatcupra.net/index.php?threads/bye-fr-hello-speed-blue-mk2-cupra-r.435417/

Be good to see you at our next meet (unknown location as of yet)

Good work!

 

[Leeoncupra]

Stage 2 is quite good but it makes you curious on 2+ , from my experience of my mk2 cupra which was stage 2 and i had the engine forged , id save up and get it 2+ , youd save a few hundred pound not going for the remap twice

All you need now is a hpfp upgrade and a intercooler , perhaps a uprated clutch my standard one held well at 333ft lb

Other than that nice motor mate! Love a k1

leon mk1 cupra

 

[Fooxy]

Lovely looking cupra you have there mate, your cupra should easily dispose of that 350z, my old vectra vxr used to eat 350z all day long (well in a straight line anyway)

Thank you, on paper the 350Z had more BHP so I just presumed I'd struggle to keep up with it.. I was shocked and realized this thing shifts.

 

[Brimfull]

Thank you, on paper the 350Z had more BHP so I just presumed I'd struggle to keep up with it.. I was shocked and realized this thing shifts.

I found that 350z are not particular quick car however they look the part, sound immense and handle like they are on rails.

 

[Fooxy]

That is a stunning example of the MK2 Leon! The red really punches which is nice.

How did you find the Ramair kit with regards to noise inside the car as i've heard it's slightly noisier than the revo etc...

With regards to Stage 2 you may need to confer with @Legojon as his Cupra R is on Stage 2+, looking at his Readers ride he got about 320bhp from stage 2 - https://forums.seatcupra.net/index.php?threads/bye-fr-hello-speed-blue-mk2-cupra-r.435417/

Be good to see you at our next meet (unknown location as of yet)

Good work!

The Ramair is quite noisy but it gives you a smile when the turbo starts spooling and the car sounds like it's from the Fast and the Furious, but I have taken the sound proofing out of the bonnet that I will be putting back now..

I will take a look at the stage 2 options see if I should stop there or go further. Would be good to travel to a meet and see more, let us know when you have decided on a location.

 

[Legojon]

Yeah, unfortunately I cringe at Stage 2. You can almost feel the lack of fuel holding it back at the top end. If I was to do it again differently. I may consider going 1+ instead (stage 1 but mapped for a HPFP). To go Stage 2, you'll need a turbo downpipe with race cat (you've just got the cat back at the moment right?). An intercooler is worth it, especially in summer. Then the HPFP to make it 2+. Plus chances are an uprated clutch. You can read more about my adventures here:
https://forums.seatcupra.net/index.php?threads/seat-leon-mk2-cupra-r-2011-revo-2.446059/

 

[Fooxy]

Yeah, unfortunately I cringe at Stage 2. You can almost feel the lack of fuel holding it back at the top end. If I was to do it again differently. I may consider going 1+ instead (stage 1 but mapped for a HPFP). To go Stage 2, you'll need a turbo downpipe with race cat (you've just got the cat back at the moment right?). An intercooler is worth it, especially in summer. Then the HPFP to make it 2+. Plus chances are an uprated clutch. You can read more about my adventures here:
https://forums.seatcupra.net/index.php?threads/seat-leon-mk2-cupra-r-2011-revo-2.446059/

Yes true, I understand what you mean. I was looking at a high pressure fuel pump upgrade but they are quite expensive at the moment. Would you go for internal upgrade or full upgrade?

At the moment it’s running just a CAT back but I do have a down pipe with de-cat to go on the car.

In terms of clutch upgrades what would you recommend?

 

[Leeoncupra]

Yes true, I understand what you mean. I was looking at a high pressure fuel pump upgrade but they are quite expensive at the moment. Would you go for internal upgrade or full upgrade?

At the moment it’s running just a CAT back but I do have a down pipe with de-cat to go on the car.

In terms of clutch upgrades what would you recommend?

Also with the de cats there is a slight possibility of high oil consumption

Mine didnt use a drop , i fitted the decat and it drank oil like a trooper

After the rebuild my mechanic put it down to turbo seals as it didn't burn a drop for 1200miles and as soon as i started adding boost through my switchable maps it drank again , at that point i got rid of the car as it was already a moneypit by then , so if you do decat it and notice higher oil consumption just be mindful of the seals passing oil



leon mk1 cupra

 

[ash_89]

Brilliant looking K1 you do not see many in red !

I am going for the internals instead of the pump so much cheaper also would recommend throwing a new cam follower + seal in there at the same time just so your safer to go stage 2+ when ready .
also front mount intercooler as jon said and a rs4 fuel pressure valve would help as well after that is were all the fun starts

 

[Legojon]

Yes true, I understand what you mean. I was looking at a high pressure fuel pump upgrade but they are quite expensive at the moment. Would you go for internal upgrade or full upgrade?

In terms of clutch upgrades what would you recommend?

I debated autotech internals Vs loba replacement. From what I've read internals are fine if you get it done somewhere decent. It's not my area of expertise. But I gather a lot of early kits had issues due to not being fitted cleanly (I mean as in getting dirt or contamination in the internals). Plus I figured a new fuel pump would extend the life of the car.

Clutch wise. I stuck with the dual mass fly wheel. It's designed to dampen vibration and from what I gather does a decent job of it (Vs smf). I researched helix Vs Sachs clutches. And helix came out on top every time. It has a confidence to it because you can literally feel the clamping force.

But 1 year in. I have the left leg of the Hulk and the right leg of Bruce banner. The clutch pedal hasn't really got any lighter through use. But that's the nature of it, you can't increase clamping pressure for the same diameter clutch without increasing pedal pressure as well.

 

[Fooxy]

Planning to fit my Milltek Decat onto my Cupra at the weekend.

Do you think I should still go ahead and get this fitted or scrap the idea and leave the cat on?

 

[ash_89]

To be honest i kinda wished i fitted a de-cat instead of changing my mind at the last minute to put a miltek sports-cat on
de-cats growl more

 

[Fooxy]

I haven't really heard a de-catted Cupra in person, so I don't know how much difference it would make it?

Is they anything you need to watch out for when fitting a de-cat? - I've read a couple of threads saying it could cause more pain then the gains you'd get out of it.

 

[Leeoncupra]

I haven't really heard a de-catted Cupra in person, so I don't know how much difference it would make it?

Is they anything you need to watch out for when fitting a de-cat? - I've read a couple of threads saying it could cause more pain then the gains you'd get out of it.

After fitting my decat on my mk2 cupra it drank oil like a 2 stroke

1litre per 400miles

Had the engine rebuilt and still the same which it turned out to be the turbo seals but it was perfecty fine before fitting the decat

If i was to do it again id go for a sports cat myself its put me off decat pipes on any turbo car now

leon mk1 cupra

 

[ash_89]

I haven't really heard a de-catted Cupra in person, so I don't know how much difference it would make it?

Is they anything you need to watch out for when fitting a de-cat? - I've read a couple of threads saying it could cause more pain then the gains you'd get out of it.

A lot of people run them I know of I’m not sure if they experience any problems though

What I did was get some new downpipe to turbo nuts from TPS also a new genuine downpipe to turbo gasket

Spray/soak the nuts a while before starting work on the car , I Rememeber it actually being a pretty easy job to do compared to when I installed one onto my brothers s3 with the transfer box and propshaft in the way

Have some ratchet spanners handy as some of the downpipe nuts are at a awakward place

 

[Fooxy]

After fitting my decat on my mk2 cupra it drank oil like a 2 stroke

1litre per 400miles

Had the engine rebuilt and still the same which it turned out to be the turbo seals but it was perfecty fine before fitting the decat

If i was to do it again id go for a sports cat myself its put me off decat pipes on any turbo car now

leon mk1 cupra

This is putting me off too, what caused the seals to fail on the turbo? Is it due to increased/decreased pressure a de-cat makes?

 

[Leeoncupra]

This is putting me off too, what caused the seals to fail on the turbo? Is it due to increased/decreased pressure a de-cat makes?

I presume so

It was stage 1 293bhp when i got it with no oil consumption at all

As soon as i fitted the decat i noticed it starting to use oil quite a bit

I then took it for stage 2 which r tech did pick up on slight smoke , after this it was hitting 1.8bar boost and then continued to burn oil at an increased rate

I had the engine forged as i bent the crank and done the big end bearings in

Upon my 1500 wear in it used some which is understandable as it was bedding new rings in but i had the boost set to 0.5bar

Once wound up it used again so would point to turbo seals , once i confirmed this i weighed up the turbo replacement cost along with stage 2+ hardware and luk clutch kit and also the bodywork was tatty as it had a shite respray on the 1 side i cut my losses which when it was for sale i had multiple previous owners contact me and tell me how that car had taken alot of abuse so if yours has been cared for then you should be alright but i thought id share my experience indepth , sports cat is what id recommend if money isnt a factor

Car had 86ish on the clock and i suspect it was the original turbo

leon mk1 cupra

 

[Fooxy]

I presume so

It was stage 1 293bhp when i got it with no oil consumption at all

As soon as i fitted the decat i noticed it starting to use oil quite a bit

I then took it for stage 2 which r tech did pick up on slight smoke , after this it was hitting 1.8bar boost and then continued to burn oil at an increased rate

I had the engine forged as i bent the crank and done the big end bearings in

Upon my 1500 wear in it used some which is understandable as it was bedding new rings in but i had the boost set to 0.5bar

Once wound up it used again so would point to turbo seals , once i confirmed this i weighed up the turbo replacement cost along with stage 2+ hardware and luk clutch kit and also the bodywork was tatty as it had a shite respray on the 1 side i cut my losses which when it was for sale i had multiple previous owners contact me and tell me how that car had taken alot of abuse so if yours has been cared for then you should be alright but i thought id share my experience indepth , sports cat is what id recommend if money isnt a factor

Car had 86ish on the clock and i suspect it was the original turbo

leon mk1 cupra

This is really helpful thank you, just looking at the options before sticking it straight on.