MK3 Leon 2019 fr 2.0 tdi 150
- Thread starter matthew2326
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My wife has one and it's not a fast car. However I'm just looking to change it for a petrol. Unless you do huge miles the difference in fuel cost is negligible and the petrol is a much nicer engine. If wanted more power out of a diesel I'd get the 184 as that gets you the independent rear suspension as well, which is nice.
I am in the same position now regarding petrol. After years of consideration, I have finally bought a van for mountain biking and weekend trips away.
So I don't need a diesel estate anymore. Will probably start looking around summer time for a petrol car. No idea what yet though!
There will be a lot of differences. I admit I do roll my eyes when I see these threads, I bought a car and I want to up the power. It's often a bad idea. If you want more power, buy the more powerful car.
Here is a life tip for you. Whatever you are doing, avoid the cheapest offer.
Yes, it's cheaper because it's worse. People see a 150bhp car and a 200bhp car and think the power is the only difference. It's not. Suspension, transmission, loads of things will be different. For example VW use a bigger turbo and stronger gearbox with higher power engines. BMW use different pistons as the power increases. They look the same and are physically interchangeable but the more powerful engines get stronger pistons.
Years ago I called a company down South who'd had a feature in Performance Ford magazine where the'd upped the power from a little Ecoboost Fiesta engine from something like 90bhp to about 160. The guy at the company said 'Yeah, you can do this, but don't!'. He explained that they'd done it as a showcase to demonstrate what was possible but that it was a really bad idea in real life as nothing else about the car is designed for that kind of power. For example he said that the gearbox is not designed for the power and it will break.
Another reason it's cheap is that people who mod their cars often do not tell their insurance companies. Which is a really bad idea. You crash bad, they will find out and they will walk away. I read a story once of a girl who was left with a £60K bill.
And you don't get the money spent on mods back. It's often even worse than that as modded cars are usually hard to sell. Years ago I was looking at Focus STs and I had a guy with a modded one literally begging me to buy his car. He'd been trying to sell it for ages and no one was interested. Most buyers do not want a modded car. I wouldn't touch one.
Drive round any council scheme and you'll see broken modded cars gathering dirt in front gardens. To mod cars properly requires deep pockets. Doing it because you can't afford a powerful car but really want one is a recipe for regret.
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I agree, I wouldn't buy a highly modified car but these tdi engines are good and a stage 1 remap from a reputable tuner shouldn't give any issues.
Many manufactures use engine power as a marketing tool to charge more for the model of car even though the fundamental mechanicals are the same.
Back in the day the humble Rover 25 1.4 had 2 power outputs, something like 85 and 105. The ONLY difference was the throttle body on the 105 opened all the way, and was slightly larger in dia - with a different cable. That was it! I took the throttle body off my 85 and sure enough the throttle plate was restricted and only opened half way! New throttle body transformed the car.
What ever mods you want to do you need to do your research - if you have one of these cars with reduced power due to 'marketing' reasons then I say tune away, VW, Volvo and BMW and many more like electronically 'de-tuning' a hardware package so they can charge more for the standard version.
Regarding the OP and the 150tdi tuning, the short block and cylinder head is the same as the 184 - but there are many mechanical changes including larger turbo/clutch/gear ratios/brakes/dampers/multi link rear suspension etc. so don't think it's an 150 is an electronically de-tuned 184. Would be much cheaper starting out with a 184 - than trying to tune a 150 upto the 184.
I'm sure a gentle re-map will be fine and liven it up a little, just be realistic with your power goals.
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