103TDI Tuning Options

[Difinity]

Ok, thanks.
(Touch wood), no trouble with my twin charger yet (26,200 Km's). Great little engine, lotsa power/torque, not burning oil, great economy (av 5.8l/100) now.
Of course, very little actual heavy traffic or stop start driving for me (I'm in Canberra) so maybe that's why.
Just put another 2.6k Km's on it last week. Easy.



Difinity

[joel0407]

My only issue with current tunes for most of the Skodas is they need the ECU opened up to tune. Most of the VW have hacked and can be tuned with a simple plug-in. I just don't want to void my warranty with a obviously opened ECU.

I'll be super keen if they work it out.

Happy Days

[Lucas_R]

Ok, thanks.
(Touch wood), no trouble with my twin charger yet (26,200 Km's). Great little engine, lotsa power/torque, not burning oil, great economy (av 5.8l/100) now.
Of course, very little actual heavy traffic or stop start driving for me (I'm in Canberra) so maybe that's why.
Just put another 2.6k Km's on it last week. Easy.

Difinity

Sounds like you have a good one then (which obviously do exist - i met another forum member just before Xmas with a 118TSI Golf twincharger and 80,000km on it with no issues) which is good to hear.

My only issue with current tunes for most of the Skodas is they need the ECU opened up to tune. Most of the VW have hacked and can be tuned with a simple plug-in. I just don't want to void my warranty with a obviously opened ECU.

I'll be super keen if they work it out.

Happy Days

Skoda/VW/Audi etc are all pretty much encrypted these days and have been for a few years now. Golf R's are an exception as they use the older engine (and ECU) out of the Audi S3 which is from 2007 era. Most of the Mk6 GTI's with the newer engine are encrypted (there are some that aren't though - seems to vary).

[joel0407]

Skoda/VW/Audi etc are all pretty much encrypted these days and have been for a few years now. Golf R's are an exception as they use the older engine (and ECU) out of the Audi S3 which is from 2007 era. Most of the Mk6 GTI's with the newer engine are encrypted (there are some that aren't though - seems to vary).

God knows why but at least with the 2013 Tiguan and 2013 Yeti both with the same 103tdi have 2 completely different ECUs. The Yeti uses the old Bosch unit but the Tiguan uses a new unit which must have been easier to decrypt. The 2013 Tiguan doesn't need the ECU removed for remapping, the Yeti does. Apparently ARP replace the tamper proof screws after reinstalling the ECU to make it appear to have not been touched but I'm still a bit worried until my warranty runs out, I'll probably wait.

Happy Days

[Tonba]

Joel,

How do you find your Skoda Yeti? I'm looking at purchasing one for the wife.

[joel0407]

Joel,

How do you find your Skoda Yeti? I'm looking at purchasing one for the wife.

Absolutely love it mate.

The book says it's 0.1 of a second slower than the Tiguan but it's 100kg lighter with the same motor and gearbox. I figure VW just don't want the Skoda to be faster than the equivalent VW.

Some people say it's rougher than the Tiguan which should be expected as it's 100kg lighter and carries the same suspension. Stick your head underneath and there's VW stickers everywhere. It suits me though as I came from a WRX with coil over suspension. I take handling over comfort. I'd rather feel a couple of bumps on a corner than crash in comfort.

As for quality. Well my Skoda Yeti was still made in the Czech Republic where Skodas have been made since 1905. Generations of car builders in a little Czech town. I'm not sure now as there was talk the new model would be built in China with the Tiguan. The Tiguan is built in a Chinese factory in between Cherry and Great Wall. That's my story anyway.

I have 2 kids and the rear flex seats is an awesome idea. I always have the middle seat removed which allows the 2 side seats to move toward the centre by about a quarter of a seat. It gives them more room and still allows enough room for my small waeco fridge to sit between the seats.

My young bloke is only 2 so he sleeps a lot in the car. The rear seats can also be reclined which stops his head falling forward when he is asleep.

I didn't buy it as a 4x4 but they are very capable. I have a few friends with property and when visiting we would often duck up the paddock for a BBQ or picnic. With the WRX I would have to take everything out and load up their cars. The Yeti I just follow them up. Last time I went out a mate said "Lets go for a drive up the creek". He expected I wouldn't make it so he told me to go first. It was pretty funny when he didn't think he could follow me in his 100 series Cruiser. It was a little track up a hill with a big wash out down the middle. I just straddled the wash out and drove up slowly the catch was there was a sharp turn at the bottom so no run up and then the top finished diagonal so front wheel up in the air and then rocking over and lifting the back wheel. I have the off road option which kicks in traction control much earlier. At the top I just plodded on up, front wheel lifted, brakes automatically applied to stop the wheel spinning, it rocked over and I drove on making it look simple. His 100 series doesn't have diff locks so with out momentum, once his wheel lifted it would just spin. He managed to punch it up the hill and bounce over the top. He was a bit worried that he would never live it down if he couldn't go where my little Yeti went

Happy Days.

[brad]

As for quality. Well my Skoda Yeti was still made in the Czech Republic where Skodas have been made since 1905. Generations of car builders in a little Czech town.

Don't forget how many pieces of crap were put out of that factory during the Socialist years. The history of quality isn't all wine & roses.

It is worth a visit to Mlada Bolislav & the Skoda Museum though - they are proud of their history.

[joel0407]

Don't forget how many pieces of crap were put out of that factory during the Socialist years. The history of quality isn't all wine & roses.

It is worth a visit to Mlada Bolislav & the Skoda Museum though - they are proud of their history.

That was practice. Now they are playing the game.

Happy Days.

[Boon]

Having owned a MK5 Jetta 2.0T, Yeti 103TDI and A4 B8, I would definitely pick the yeti if I were to have just one car. I am thinking of tuning the yeti later this year too but pretty happy with it stock. Highway consumption around 5.2L/100km and mixed driving gets low sevens. Also like how diesel prices don't fluctuate too much

[Tonba]

After contacting a new tuning business' DNA tuning is able to tune the yeti for a reasonable price if anyone was interested.

[Transporter]

Don't forget how many pieces of crap were put out of that factory during the Socialist years. The history of quality isn't all wine & roses.
It is worth a visit to Mlada Bolislav & the Skoda Museum though - they are proud of their history.

Still, when comparing the reliability of the Skoda, Holden and Ford (actually many cars) from the same era, I would go with Skoda.
Believe me, I have the first hand experience with both.

Skoda was/(maybe still is) quite popular in the North Europe countries like Sweden, for their excellent handling on slippery roads.
Also their corrosion resistance was very good so they lasted longer than some other brands.

The Skoda factory was held back by the USSR from producing what they really wanted and they were limited to max 1.3L engines as well.

Just when you visit that museum, you have to compare the old cars there to others from the same time and you'll realize that they were quite good and practical - at the time.

[brad]

Still, when comparing the reliability of the Skoda, Holden and Ford (actually many cars) from the same era, I would go with Skoda.
Believe me, I have the first hand experience with both.

Skoda was/(maybe still is) quite popular in the North Europe countries like Sweden, for their excellent handling on slippery roads.
Also their corrosion resistance was very good so they lasted longer than some other brands.

The Skoda factory was held back by the USSR from producing what they really wanted and they were limited to max 1.3L engines as well.

Just when you visit that museum, you have to compare the old cars there to others from the same time and you'll realize that they were quite good and practical - at the time.

Based on a survey of 1 skoda from the '70s I disagree It was simply an unreliable, badly built, piece of junk. OTOH, it was also the cheapest car you could buy in AUS at the time so I guess you get what you pay for.

Northern Europe popularity due possibly to the engine in the back aiding traction?

Yes, USSR were the main problem. Did you know that the American distributor did some clever marketing & he received orders in 1 week that equalled 1 year of factory production. Skoda wanted to fulfill the order. Moscow said "Nyet".

I must get my Skoda Museum photos off my daughter & post them. They certainly had some stylish cars. I'll take a 1960s era Octavia wagon in chalk green thanks.


Tonba: DNA do a great job. Nice choice.

[Transporter]

Well, they were quite reliable in Czech I can assure you, just as good as Renaults, Fiats and some others there. There were some Ford Cortinas there and we thought what a piece of crap that was.

Also Skodas were cheaper and easier to repair.
The engine with the gearbox at the back and live axles were excellent for driving in the snow.

You could say similar about the reliability of VWs in Australia, their reliability suffers here somehow more because the level of the service is not the same as in Germany and probably most of Europe.

[brad]

That would be because Cortinas were crap. Even worse when they fitted the "big Aussie Six" to them.

And I think we agreed a long time back that the training of many Australian mechanics is not up to a sufficient standard.

[joel0407]

After contacting a new tuning business' DNA tuning is able to tune the yeti for a reasonable price if anyone was interested.

Can they do it without opening the ECU?

Happy Days