Superb III Superb 280 to 560ps - A sleeper’s journey

543ps with Wagner intercooler

After using the car in standard form for a few months, I decided that I needed more power and better handling to go with the comfort, extras and space offered by this model.

I have been modifying my cars for the last 20 years, having purchased a variety of British, German and Japanese vehicles including some JDM special editions.

The modifications ranged from simple remaps to adding turbochargers or swapping engines from different models.

The Superb is our family car and, thus, I was looking at modifications that would not affect the way the car behaved, so hard or overly low suspension, extreme visual changes, loud exhausts or anything that would seriously compromise reliability was not an option.

The first modification was to be a tuning box from a company I used in the past. I will not mention the name as I did run into some problems with it and I do not wish this post to sound like a complain towards them as they did their best to rectify the issue, alas unsuccessfully. The tuning box did indeed increase power, as you will see below but it also introduced an uneven idle which was why I had to return it in the end for a refund.

The tuning box and the Turbo technics large bore intake hose (http://www.vrsnortha...bell-mouth.html) increased the power to 318.5 hp and 301.6 ft/lbs (323ps and 408nm). The mid-range felt quite a bit more torquey and the car was faster overall.

NOTE: Through this process two different dynos have been used, I had the car tested, using the same configuration, on both dynos and the results were within 1% of each other so for the purpose of this thread we will assume the results of these dynos to be comparable, as comparable dynos results can be (this is a story for another thread!).



Racelogic vbox was used for measuring the car’s performance as well as a few ¼ mile runs at the drag strip (both Shakespeare Raceway and Santa Pod).

SUPERB (280ps) 0-60mph: 5.1s 0-62mph: 5.4s ¼ mile: ???

SUPERB (323ps) 0-60mph: 4.7s 0-62mph: 5.1s ¼ mile: 12.88s @ 106.43 mph

The next step was to try an aftermarket intake. I chose to purchase and test the ARP carbon intake as I liked the way it looked and most reviews were positive. This increased power to 331ps which was a welcome increase but not especially good value for money compared to the tuning box and intake hose.

After returning the first tuning box I decided to try a different one from a German company, the Racechip Ultimate. Unlike the first box this did not affect the idle negatively while also giving the user the ability to switch between different maps using either an Android phone or an iPhone. The maps are downloaded from the company’s server and, importantly, can be modified to increase or reduce power accordingly depending on each car’s characteristics. After a few tests and tweaks the best result I could get from the Racechip was 340ps.

SUPERB (340ps) 0-60mph: 4.6s 0-62mph: 4.9s ¼ mile: ???

After testing both tuning boxes I was offered the opportunity to test another similar box, Burgertuning’s JB1, albeit one that could control, in addition to boost, the car’s fuel pressure. According to other users, this allowed the car to run even more safely and produce more power. In addition to the above, JB1 also allows the user much more control over the car’s boost giving the option to modify the additional boost in increments of 0.2psi based on the RPM range. This provides both a more smooth acceleration as well as more control for manual gearbox users that want to avoid clutch slip.

Using MAP 1 at 5.2 (adding 5.2psi to factory boost) the Superb now produced 345ps and acceleration improved more than what the extra 5ps would suggest due to the better power delivery of the JB1 box.

SUPERB (345ps) 0-60mph: 4.3s 0-62mph: 4.6s ¼ mile: ???

Having decided to move from Stage 1 to Stage 2 I ordered a Forge intercooler and a BCS/Powervalve downpipe with a sport catalyst. This would allow more power and faster turbo spool while retaining delivery smoothness and keep inlet and oil temperatures down despite the extra boost. The intercooler and downpipe allowed me to use +5.8 psi on the JB1 and also tweak MAP 6 (which allows the user to specify the additional boost for every 1,000RPM range).

This increased power to 368ps and made the power delivery much more flexible. Acceleration improved accordingly.

SUPERB (368ps) 0-60mph: 4.2s 0-62mph: 4.5s ¼ mile: 12.52s @ 111.05 mph



I had decided to stick with stage 2+ until I was offered a hybrid turbo at a price I could not refuse. As I already had a lot of the bolt-ons needed to move to stage 3 I decided to take the plunge. I purchased the Turbo Engineers’ TTE525 turbo and started planning my next steps. VRS Performance installed the turbo and ancillaries.

Still using the factory cat-back exhaust but changing the spark plugs to 1 step colder ones (NGK R7437-8 IRIDIUM), the ECU was mapped by MRC tuning, along with the DSG box, producing 453.8hp and 415.7 lb/s (460ps and 564nm).

SUPERB (460ps) 0-60mph: 3.7s 0-62mph: 3.9s ¼ mile: 12.02s @ 114.68 mph

Next step was a custom cat back exhaust. Not wanting the car to become very loud, being a family vehicle, I decided to choose a professional company that makes custom exhausts for Aston Martins, RS Fabrications. Their systems are of excellent quality while both retaining low noise levels and allowing maximum power with minimal restrictions. This new and improved exhaust in combination with a 5.5 inch catalyst (compared to the 4.5 inch one I had before) designed for the RS3 and TT-RS and tested to more than 600ps allowed the Superb to make a very impressive 519.7ps and 686nm for the drag strip! A more conservative 506ps (500bhp) map is used for everyday purposes to cater for fuel quality variations. An Autotech Uprated High Pressure fuel pump was installed for increased reliability. The ARP air intake was replaced with a VWR 600 intake. The NGK R7437-8 spark plugs were replaced with the NGK R7437-9s, which are a step colder.



This allowed for a very impressive 11.46 ¼ mile, a time comparable to the time of a Lamborghini Huracan

SUPERB (520ps) 0-60mph: 3.27s 0-62mph: 3.47s ¼ mile: 11.46s @ 120.28 mph



543ps with Wagner intercooler


Summer wheels
Autec Wizard 8x18 ET45 5x112 70 Anthracite + Michelin Pilot Supersport 235/45R18 94 Y ZR

Winter wheels
Team Dynamic ProRace 1.2 17x7 + Goodyear Ultragrip Performance Gen-1 XL 215/55 R17 98 V

MRC remap (DSG+ECU)

NGK R7437-9 IRIDIUM Spark Plugs & 06J905110 (K-revision) Coils

TTE525 turbo & LEYO Atmospheric Dump Valve (VRS Performance)

Forge Intercooler

Autotech Uprated fuel pump

034 Motorsport Billet Aluminium MQB Dogbone Mount Insert

Paddle shift Extenders

Racechip Throttle Response Box

Eibach 30mm lowering springs (tracking done by STS tyres)

Eibach anti-roll bars (front & rear)

Ferodo DS2500 pads

Racing Line brake lines

BCS (Powervalve) Downpipe with 5.5 inches sports cat

RS Fabrications Custom cat-back exhaust - resonated

VWR 600 Air Intake

Turbo technics large bore intake hose and bell mouth

Front and Rear Black Badges

 

Yes it would

 

Hi,

Thank you for the comments . Unfortunately the original pipes are too small to support this kind of power . And I much prefer simple round pipes, these are similar to the ones on the rs3 which I like very much .

 

A installed Ferodo racing pads and braided brake lines with better fluid. This combination works very well.

I understand what you mean about the pipes but I do still find them low key as they are neither that large nor very loud and the colour makes them appear quite hidden when viewed from the angle of a driver in a car behind me

 

Was told that it is TUV certified.

 

Don't know more details about certification , will have to check .

Tesco 99 octane pump fuel

15hp compared to factory catback

Wheels are 9.5kg each without tyres

 

Noticed I had an older dyno graph in the original post. Updated with latest one. Here it is here too:

 

No but should be able to do one soon

 

Bumper finished, great job from RS Fabrications!

 

Before and after

 

Tarox F2000 disks ordered, both front and rear

http://www.tarox.co.uk/product/front-tarox-brake-discs-skoda-octavia-mk3-340mm-f2000/
http://www.tarox.co.uk/product/rear-tarox-brake-discs-volkswagen-golf-mk7-310mm-f2000/

 

The new Tarox F2000 brake discs with Ferodo 2500 pads. Along with my winter wheel set
Team Dynamic ProRace 1.2 Silver 17x7 (ET 38 + Goodyear Ultra Grip Performance Gen-1 XL 215/55 R17 98V