Diesel cars in our culture

In the past diesel engines were never given a second thought in the tuning world, and in my mind that was until Audi bought out their Diesel Le Man car the R10. Although some tuning companies had started producing parts for diesels not many young car enthusiasts had a diesel it was mainly company cars or the older generation. Until cars like the VW Golf 150 GT TDI, Skoda Fabia VRS 130 TDi came along. These two are 2 of my favourites but there are many more out there. The VW Golf TDI 150 has loads of tuning opportunities at its wheels. The usual Golf Mk4 essentials of coilovers and wheels sort out the boat like handling and ultra-dull styling. And under the bonnet there’s potential for adding almost 100bhp, along with upping torque to a tyre shredding 350 lb/ft. remapping a GTI TDI takes power to around 190bhp. Opting for a stage three setup – including exhaust, manifold and downpipe, hybrid turbo, front-mounted intercooler, high-flow injectors and single-mass flywheel with uprated clutch – has up to 250bhp potential. Even a realistically usable 225bhp doesn’t detract from the excellent fuel economy. The Skoda Fabia Vrs with its VAG diesel enginehas a lot of tuning opportunites. Its 1.9 TDI engine has been tried and tested to cope with big gains from its impresive, standard 130bhp. A remap will add about 40bhp plus at least 50 lb/ ft of torque. Treat yourself to an enlarged air intake, turbo-back exhaust with manifold and decat, bigger airflow meter, front-mounted intercooler, hybrid turbo, enlarged injectors and uprated cam, then you could see 230 to 250bhp and over 350 lb/ft torque. To cope with the extra horses you’ll need a stronger clutch with a lightened flywheel and you’ll want coilovers and brake modifications so you can use that power without killing yourself.