New owner very ***** off with Cupra R

[mikeruss]

Let me set my stall up.

I am a beleiver that you should not do anything to a car (or indeed anything) that does not have a function. For example sticking a huge spoiler on the back. You have to be doing x speed over the speed limit for it to work, the angles are critical and car manufacturers spend millions on aerodynamics only to have all the work ruined by "Halfords". My perviouse car was a 156 and there were subtle little tweeks you could make to the engine for a few more bhp and engine note etc. Part of ownership for me if having a wee play without spending to much money, keeping the car drivable (family car) and the mods need to be cheep;-)

My problem with the Cura R is this. Without spending large amounts of money on remaps which then would require suspension tweeks to get the power down etc etc there is nothing I can do to it. No matter how hard I try the car is virtually perfect off the forecourt.

Grrrrrrr

All I can think to do is change the air filter - booooring;-)

 

[UncleFester]

So you don't think that between £275 and £500 dependant on tuner is good value to get near to 265bhp from 225bhp?

Dogone mount for £15 to get the power down.
S3 lower brace for £40 and an upper brace for £35 to help on the corners.
DS2500 pads when yours wear out - for less than the OE stuff
Rear ARB at some point to tidy up the slack rear end - call it £250 - eibach do a F+R kit for £250 but it fouls the stock backbox ( can be 'persuaded' with a hammer )
DV - most change it although that's a petrol thing but there's plenty info and they're not expensive.

Changing the air filter is largely pointless for anything else other than a nice noise

So that's probably £800 quid all in if you shop around and would include labour if you were careful. I don't think that's expensive for improvements you'd really appreciate?

 

[mikeruss]

Excellent reply!

Your last 2 points... "Rear ARB" and "DV"?

 

[RobDon]

Plenty you can do to make any Leon an awful lot better.

Remap, exhaust, intake, Quaife diff, coilovers, anti-roll bars, strut braces, bigger turbo, bigger brakes, lighter wheels ... the list is endless!!!

 

[mikeruss]

I think all I have done is show that I don't know a lot about the car yet. I hang my head in shame!

 

[UncleFester]

Excellent reply!

Your last 2 points... "Rear ARB" and "DV"?

Anti Roll Bar and Dump Valve - i can't advise on DV but Rob can

Anti Roll Bar upgrade would be one of my first mods if i was doing it all over again!

 

[mikeruss]

Plenty you can do to make any Leon an awful lot better.

Remap, exhaust, intake, Quaife diff, coilovers, anti-roll bars, strut braces, bigger turbo, bigger brakes, lighter wheels ... the list is endless!!!

Turbo, expensive? Bigger barakes - what! Bigger than the brembo's? Alos expensive. Can you tell I'm tight.

 

[mikeruss]

How does the Dogone mount work?

 

[UncleFester]

How does the Dogone mount work?

Stops the tramping you get when you boot it away from a standstill - it's basically a stiffer bush in the gearbox mount. I find it keeps the Traction control light from coming on and helps with wheelspin a little. It's a subtle improvement, not a massive one.

 

[UncleFester]

I think all I have done is show that I don't know a lot about the car yet. I hang my head in shame!

Hehehe get searching - there's an awful lot of people who have done an awful lot of stuff

 

[Phil K]

Still a good car off the forecourt though

 

[Romeoisgraham]

Both the cupra and the R are sick motors to start with.

A grand will just refine the car a little more.

 

[mikeruss]

Hehehe get searching - there's an awful lot of people who have done an awful lot of stuff

Spent the last few weeks searching - loads of stuff out there and to be honest most too complicated for me. Turbo changing etc.

I'm not totally sure how turbos works, and why one DV is better than the other. (this is my first turbo) All i know is it's something to do with exhaust gases or something ;-)

If you fit another DV will it make that stupid loud air release niose every gear change? (like some scoobies you see/hear)

Also I like the way this thread - and your ideas - is going. Proper mods. Not interested in bhp knob waving. Better to have a great handling car, with manageble power. rather than 300bhp that just muches your tyres and enable you to get in 3rd gear without moving.

I have taken a note of your ideas and when the warranty runs out and if I find an insurer that wont cripple me I will investigate further and I may PM you - if thats ok?

 

[UncleFester]

You don't need to be changing turbos or brakes, or wheels ... or exhausts or air filters - hell if you like the way the car goes now then concentrate on making it handle the power it has better before you start chucking more power down.

If i'd known how much difference the anti roll bars made, i'd have fitted those before doing anything else with the suspension. As OE parts wear out, you can replace them with 'better' items or at least items that weren't chosen by the manufacturer for being the cheapest to fit Despite the fact the LCR is a great car, SEAT will have made certain choices based on budget - it's not a thoroughbred down to every last component.

Personally Aarons ( Probee) LCR is one of the nicest sounding i've heard yet - it sounds almost evil breathing in through twin induction vents where the fog lights used to be.

I guess ultimately it depends on what the primary use of the car is, how much you can justify spending based on that and then how you drive it. No sense making it low and fast if you're going to pootle to Tesco in it once a week, then again if you're going to do that why buy an LCR in the first place

 

[richybigman]

The Dog bone mount is a great cheap little mod that helps the traction alot, well worth doing.
The S3 upper strut brace is well worth doing as well as upgrading the suspension.

 

[traumapat]

rear arb made a huge difference to the handling. if you have the stock dv changing to a stronger one like the forge 007p recirculating valve wont give you any silly noises but will make the system stronger. stock dvs were a weak spot and can fail.

green panel filter can improve response.

mines an lc and i felt the rear was very bouncy... so i changed the suspension . i was led to believe the lcr was ok on this front?

just hanging around on this forum will give you ideas.

i think with any turbo`ed car a remap will make the big difference.. not just so youve got xxxbhp but because the fun factor doubles

 

[traumapat]

turbos....

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/turbo.htm


very useful site

 

[jonjay]

Get a diff and all your problems are solved with traction and getting power down

 

[DPJ]

Can I just say it's possible to give the car 300+ bhp still have a perfectly drivable, usable, every day car. I'm sure Traumapat agrees?

 

[mikeruss]

Dog bone mount - is that something you would have to tell the insurance comany about and is it easy to fit - could I do it?