PD130 vs Cupra

[wrusst]

i was just wondering is there anything different about the engine itself on the cupra.
as im weighing up what would be better as an overall project.

to buy the cupra
or save the cash buy the FR and get a new intercooler and remap. plus sorting the suspension out with uprated dampners and springs plus some fast road pads with the cash that ill save. leon and ibiza's are both an option for me at the mo?

any help is much appreciated

 

[Mikey_H]

Hi there mate,

I was having the same debate but in the end i decided to go for the FR as i thought the money saved i could spend on making mine better than the cupra and so far have done air intake and filter and a stage 2 jabba re-map exhaust is going on in a week and its still worked out cheaper than buying a cupra, but on the otherhand what i didnt concider is that the front bumper on a cupra looks ALOT nicer and the fact that the cupra will hold its money much better also another thing to concider is insurence my fr tdi is a group 7/8 insurence but i'm sure the cupra is like a group 13 or 14 (not 100% sure) but being only 19 with 3 points that was a big factor for me because it is a big jump but i by this time next week will have spent £800ish on my fr and i could KILL a standard cupra i'm running 176bhp and 314ft/lb before my exhaust which jabba say will help them get a bit more power from the car so for me it was better going FR than Cupra but think its a hard one lol

 

[Doddsy]

I was considering the FR V Cupra and couldn't make my mind up... drove an FR but not a cupra and found it a bit soft handling wise...i've been told by a dealer that a a cupra is higher geared so better off getting a Fr and having it revo'd to 190 bhp ...I do think the cupra looks more aggressive and the brakes etc look and no doubt perform well ...and as u rightly point out the re-sale value would be a lot lower with a FR ... so if i come to a decision I would prob go for the cupra...

 

[DIFT]

or save the cash buy the FR and get a new intercooler and remap. plus sorting the suspension out with uprated dampners and springs plus some fast road pads with the cash that ill save.

Thats alot of stuff you've mentioned... possibly more than th edifference in purchasing price. A remapped 130 will struggle on standard brakes though, even with nice pads.

I've always said get the Cupra... all you need is the remap, and you have a nice little car... anything more than that is just a bonus.

 

[Sisson]

to get a 130 to cupra spec you will need.

remap
FMIC
Panel filter
Cupra air intake
312mm TT brakes
Coilovers
mufflerectomy.

You will more than likely need an uprated clutch too!

Even then the brakes won't be as good as the 4 pots, it wont look as nice, and the interior wont be as good.

Then your insurance will be about the same as a Cupra when you declre your mods.

I have seen Cupra TDI's gor for 9k now. an FR will cost 7.5ish then all the mods on top it will cost more than the cupra itself!

I should now cuz i did all them mods!

 

[Mikey_H]

to get a 130 to cupra spec you will need.

remap
FMIC
Panel filter
Cupra air intake
312mm TT brakes
Coilovers
mufflerectomy.

You will more than likely need an uprated clutch too!

Even then the brakes won't be as good as the 4 pots, it wont look as nice, and the interior wont be as good.

Then your insurance will be about the same as a Cupra when you declre your mods.

I have seen Cupra TDI's gor for 9k now. an FR will cost 7.5ish then all the mods on top it will cost more than the cupra itself!

I should now cuz i did all them mods!

Thing is if you managed to do all that for even just a little bit less that what a cupra costs you would be able to nail a standard cupra and granted the brakes won't be as good but they are still good enough to stop you i dunno its a real tough one but i went for the FR because it would be more of a gradual cost rather than spending £15k right at the begining i spent £12k and now i'm slowly working my way there i know a guy with a standard cupra petrol and i kill him quite easily to be honest so thats good enough for me, but next few months things are going to get better got my miltek going on on tuesday hopefully fmic beginning of next month then clutch end of that month then coilovers after that and my bro is getting porche brakes for his golf mk4gti180 in a couple of weeks so i'm going to steal the 312mm brakes off that put some nice disks and pads on there so i can stop after all that i hope to be somewhere near 190ish bhp dunno if i'm just getting my hopes up though what do you guys think i should be running after all that after jabba play around with the map again??

 

[Nutkin]

ive never seen this facination with upgrading brakes. All your changing is acceleration speed. Surely aslong as your not flying along they should be fine.

 

[Sisson]

trust me.

Drive a remapped 130 on standard brakes, and they suck. After one good braking they fade like mad and you have no brakes for the next 10 miles!

 

[Matt_TDI]

ive never seen this facination with upgrading brakes. All your changing is acceleration speed. Surely aslong as your not flying along they should be fine.

oh my god i honestly cant believe i just read that!!

as you make your car faster your standard brakes cant live up to it. they are built for 130bhp ibizas (and they still are shite). now try running a 180bhp (for arguement sake) car on those same brakes. the faster acceleration means a faster car. try stopping on standard 130 brakes. all ill say is good luck!

i remember when i changed my 1.6 astra sport into a 2.5 v6, the day i got it back with the engine in i had to have the 1.6 brakes still and they were useless didnt feel safe to drive and it was scary. the next day i had my brakes changed for the v6 brakes and everything was spot on and stopped really well.

so listen as i like many other can talk from personal experience, change your brakes...dont risk it

 

[devonmikeyboy]

ive never seen this facination with upgrading brakes. All your changing is acceleration speed. Surely aslong as your not flying along they should be fine.

As you add more power to a car you need a better braking system which usually means bigger disc's and calipers. To put it in simple terms the more power ( BHP ) you have turning the wheels the more friction or clamping pressure you need to slow it down.
One major thing i don`t think anyone has mentioned is the resale value. A Cupra with a 200bhp remap and clutch will be worth a lot more and be much easier to resale then a heavily modified PD130 with a different turbo,FMIC,remap.clutch,air filter that still looks like a PD130. I have had a PD130 and a Cupra and the Cupra was twice the car of the 130 in both looks and performance.

 

[Mikey_H]

I have had a PD130 and a Cupra and the Cupra was twice the car of the 130 in both looks and performance.

Don't beat around the bush or anything mate give it to me straight lol making me feel like i made the wrong choice now oh well still love my car so devon do you think the figures i was talking about in post 5 are about right or am i being to optomistic(spelling?) i'm running standard brakes at the moment and to be fair there not great but just have to be a bit more carefull on braking times but at the same time i think its just as important to change suspension obviously with more power cornering speeds will be faster and i dunno about anyone else with an fr but if i go hard on the brakes i feel like the back wheels are coming off the ground and it all gets a bit sketchy but sensible idea is do t it handeling and stoping well before making it faster not that i can talk or anything haha

 

[jase750]

I've just picked up my new 130 FR and find it great, we test drove the Cupra BUT because it is going to be primarily the wifes car she found the suspension a bit too hard for her liking.
But I do think if you can afford the extra money to buy a Cupra then get one but if it's a bit too much money then get the FR it's still a cracking car.

 

[jase750]

I was considering the FR V Cupra and couldn't make my mind up......and as u rightly point out the re-sale value would be a lot lower with a FR ......

but the initial purchase price is also lower . . they depretiate at the same rate

 

[DIFT]

if i go hard on the brakes i feel like the back wheels are coming off the ground and it all gets a bit sketchy but sensible idea is do t it handeling and stoping well before making it faster not that i can talk or anything haha

If you get some rear spacers for it, (15mm or 20mm) it will settle the back end down alot under hard braking.

 

[jase750]

but being only 19 with 3 points

reading this post puts a question in my mind,
Instead of spending on the car spend on you !

get some further driver training and learn how to use what you have to a greater degree.If you can carry greater corner speed and apply the power sooner you will be quicker, and the money invested will be with you forever not just untill you sell the car.

e.g. imagine a race between you and "THE STIG" you are driving a Cupra he is driving an FR.

any body like to take bets AGAINST the Stig ? ? ?

 

[devonmikeyboy]

Don't beat around the bush or anything mate give it to me straight lol making me feel like i made the wrong choice now oh well still love my car so devon do you think the figures i was talking about in post 5 are about right or am i being to optomistic(spelling?) i'm running standard brakes at the moment and to be fair there not great but just have to be a bit more carefull on braking times but at the same time i think its just as important to change suspension obviously with more power cornering speeds will be faster and i dunno about anyone else with an fr but if i go hard on the brakes i feel like the back wheels are coming off the ground and it all gets a bit sketchy but sensible idea is do t it handeling and stoping well before making it faster not that i can talk or anything haha

An FR with a stock turbo will reach about 180ish bhp + or - 5% depending on dyno etc with a good map. It can be mapped to peak at 200bhp but the power graph will be very short and so will the life of the turbo. I found the brakes on the new 2004 PD130 i had where crap and changed the pads to DS2500 within five days. The rear handling of the car like most Seats is quite poor since there is no ARB just a torsion bar set up on the rear. A Jabba rear ARB will sort the back end out and spacers will help a bit. Get the ARB before spacers though i would say.

 

[Mikey_H]

reading this post puts a question in my mind,
Instead of spending on the car spend on you !


get some further driver training and learn how to use what you have to a greater degree.If you can carry greater corner speed and apply the power sooner you will be quicker, and the money invested will be with you forever not just untill you sell the car.

e.g. imagine a race between you and "THE STIG" you are driving a Cupra he is driving an FR.

any body like to take bets AGAINST the Stig ? ? ?

And how is that relevant to me being 19 with 3 points??? if i felt i needed some "driver training" i would have had some by now!

 

[jase750]

Oh yeah I forgot your 19 so you know everything about driving don't you ??

after all you've been driving for OMG 2 years ! ! !

SO you need loads of power to blast down the straight bits.
Big brakes to slow you for the corners .
And more power for the straight bits again.

ever heard the saying " power is nothing without control ! "

There IS ALWAYS something to learn unless you can lap the Nurburgring in under 8 mins then you can learn something !

I'll even challenge you to something

Me in my standard FR verses you in yours. fastest lap around Oulton park wins.

I've been driving for 17 years got my IAM, Rospa Gold and do about 10 track days a year and I'm of the the Ring on friday. And even I learn more every time I go for instruction .

Trust me get some PROPER advanced driver training it will bring your driving on leaps and bounds

 

[Nutkin]

Um if i was 19 with 3 points i would say you definatly need some driver training.


Im 20 with 3 points and i am going on a control course in the summer ski plane etc as i thought it was fun. I have also been to rally school so i can learn how to drive IN and ON all conditions. This was a one week long course in wales and not only did i learn soooo much but i had terrific fun.

I have also done the IAM course and Speed Training with hertforshire police(To escape 6 points and dangerous driving)

Basicly i was doing a fair amount of speed at 3am down the M23 The officer who stopped me was awesome but he said he just couldnt let it go but said he would only give me SP30 and 3 points if i took a course.

 

[devonmikeyboy]

And how is that relevant to me being 19 with 3 points??? if i felt i needed some "driver training" i would have had some by now!

Well to start with your 19 with three points already and in the age group to most likely have an accident because of your lack of driving skill !