Chalk up a new member of the RS club..

[gregozedobe]

In the mean time, I can say it is enough

Welcome aboard Belly,

You didn't waste much time to mod yours Hope you don't mind a few questions from someone who is just filling in the months awaiting delivery of his RS wagon. I did get my "Comm." number today, such excitement ! My wagon is officially on VWs computer system as a car that will get scheduled to be built (hopefully) soon.

How did you find the change in power/torque delivery at part throttle when you aren't really having a go ? I'd be interested in a remap if it didn't make the throttle too responsive when I am just pootling around.

I'd prefer to get more of the increase at high revs with full throttle so that most of the time you wouldn't even realize it had been modded.

How did the changes affect your fuel economy (assuming you drive the same after the changes) ?

How did you go with insurance and the mods, or was it a case of "don't ask me any questions and I won't tell you any lies" ?

[belly]

Hey mate,

At part throttle it's a very managable vehicle, it can still be driven quite comfortably and i've never got the feeling that i need to restrain my foot in traffic etc. When the turbo spools up it will gain speed a bit of speed but for everyday driving i shift at around 2-2.5g so its not really a problem. Its feels very much like stock, just with a bit more, it doesn't radically transform the character of the car.

I can't say i've noticed a difference in fuel economy really. On my usual trip to work which involves a bit of freeway driving (though sometimes in traffic) I get about 7.5-8l/100k. If i give it a bit it might spring up to about 9.5 or so but i'm yet to get an overall usage above 9.8l/100k on a tank.

Unfortunately these engines are set up for the lower to medium rev range so in stock form they loose a bit of fizz at the top end due to the small turbo. Even with the mods you liberate a bit more power and torque up there but its the midrange that benefits the most.

To get the performance out of the car you really have to make a conscious effort, feeding in the throttle (rarely have it WOT cause it doesn't feel like i need to). I understand how you want to have the performance seperated from your normal driving routine, i'm completely the same and can't stand loud exhausts or cars you need to baby or they'll bite your head off (or cost you a fortune in tyres). In this car, rather than waiting for the high revs you have to make that conscious decison to feed the throttle in and keep it in the power band around 3-5g to extract the performance.

Insurance is a bit of a fluid situation at the moment. The mods are costing me an extra $40 per month for the time being ($3800 or so spent) but i'm getting better requotes at the moment. I don't know if you could get away without mentioning them or not, the intake is a replacement with very little performance difference, the remap is undetectable (under normal circumstances) and the downpipe really can't be seen... but i'll leave those decisions for each person to decide

Did they give you any indication on how long you'll have to wait? Hopefully the waiting list means these cars will have a decent resale value

[gregozedobe]

Hopefully the waiting list means these cars will have a decent resale value

Thanks for that info, with all the Keyboard Warriors waging "Chip/remap wars" it is hard to get anything useful, so your contribution is quite helpful.

I'd be wanting to declare everything to my insurance company, but realize I might have to shop around for one that is willing to cover a modded car if I decide to do so (but hopefully an unblemished licence and 36 years of accident-free driving will help find me insurance at a reasonable price).

I've been quoted "possibly May delivery", but my last VAG vehicle took nearly two months longer than what I was initially told, so I'm not going to get all excited until I know my wagon has actually arrived in Oz.

I think Skoda resale values may be a bit soft to begin with, at least until Skoda becomes a better known brand. At the moment it is mostly enthusiasts that do a bit of research that have picked up on how good Skodas are, but hopefully that will change. Certainly dealers currently seem to be resisting the temptation to deeply discount just to move metal.

I'm not that concerned about resale values, as I prefer to keep my cars for a long time - this wagon is replacing a Laser TX3 that I bought new way back in 1990 ! Since then I sometimes regretted not going for the top-of-the-line model (ie the turbo 4WD), so this time I am splurging out on an Octavia RS (even going for Xenons).

[GoLfMan]

awesome mate congrats on the purchase!
mega jealous, i love the RS Wagon practicality with a punch
big fan of wagons!