Leon Cupra R Part 2

[Traveller]

Roule Duke said:

LOL dont worried its all in hand, it's been planned out in minute detail, i've even create a spreadsheet to make sure i fit it all in.

i've got loads of other small things in the list too, i'm in no illusion this is the last of the modifications for sometime. I'm going to make sure it counts!

Edited by Roule Duke on Saturday 14th May 14:54

They are an excellent family car, although the black upholstery is difficult to keep clean with children, I know only to well. It is a pity they never offered them with electric leather seats, like the Cupra. I have seen an R with black Golf Recaro interior, which looked really good. I have had both a Cupra and owned an R for the last 5 years. They are great cars, and able to hold their own even amongst serious metal.

A feature you will come to appreciate is the ability to turn off the front airbag, makes life easier having the little one in front with you, rather than in the back.

Edited by Traveller on Saturday 14th May 19:08

[Mastodon2]

Looking under my bonnet, I think I might have a green powerflow cone on, as their ducting on the thin end of the tube that heads down into the engine bay, probably as a cold air feed. I'll stick a photo up some time and ask on Seatcupra.net.

I love the sound it makes now, plenty of growl, loud dump valve and turbo noise, and the downsides (hot air intake when driving at low speeds for sustained times) don't really apply to me, as the majority of my journies take place at at least 60mph so I'm getting plenty of air through the ventilate the engine bay. When it comes to time to replace the cone I will just measure up the one I've got an get another exactly like it.

One thing that does annoy me about this car, is the cd player it came with, which I'm sure is still the factory standard unit with a 6 CD changer in the glovebox. As a result of this, the car has a tiny glovebox, which I can live with, and it sounds good too. However, the display is blue and the buttons are backlit in green - what an awful choice in a car with a red-lit interior! I've downloaded the manual and everything and you just cannot change the colours, and the plastic surround that mounts the headunit into the dash is grey. What I'm looking to do eventually is replace the standard unit with one with a black display, and I'll spray the mounting case black if I have to. Ideally I want one with ipod connectivity and sub-woofer support, but it will have to wait a while as I have other things that are higher up my list than a sub and stereo for listening to music, which I only do on my lunch breaks at work anyway!

[Traveller]

That is intersting, as both my Cupra's had red backlights on the radio, matching the instrument colour.

[davepoth]

Traveller said:

That is intersting, as both my Cupra's had red backlights on the radio, matching the instrument colour.

My mum's base spec 1.4 Ibiza of the same year had red too, I'm pretty sure red is standard on all Seats. I reckon it's aftermarket (possibly from a Skoda or a VW)

[Baryonyx]

What a stunner. This must be my favourite modern hot hatch alongside the mk2 Focus RS. I prefer the yellow ones, but this still looks amazing.

[Mastodon2]

davepoth said:

My mum's base spec 1.4 Ibiza of the same year had red too, I'm pretty sure red is standard on all Seats. I reckon it's aftermarket (possibly from a Skoda or a VW)

Interesting. I suppose there are probably quite a lot of Pioneer head units that are compatible with the standard 6 cd changer in the Cupra R, I wonder why one of the previous owners felt it necessary to change.

[Roule Duke]

Nice little update, earlier today the car had a full service and the new Revo stage 1 race map installed at AmD Techniks.

Here are the results:

Normal Revo Stage 1
241BHP
257 lb/ft

Revised linear Race map
272BHP
280lb/ft

Really pleased with the gains, its feel massively quicker... like a completely different car. Bearing in mind the normal Revo map was adapted while the new map isn't, so it will give me a few more ponies over the next week or so.

First impression is it's very smooth, with lots more up bang up top, it's pretty much on pair with the normal revo map up until 3.5K, then after that it leaps up in power and torque. I'll scan the graph and post it up later.

For the first time since owning this car im properly in love with it... it's no longer a step down from my previous LCR.

Next month it's either wheel refurb and new front disk or coilovers, i havent decided yet, the brake wobble is really annoying me so it'll probably be refurb and disks.

Edited by Roule Duke on Saturday 8th October 12:42

[Traveller]

Those are pretty decent values for a lightly mechanically modified LCR, you would expect in the 265 mark but that is up there with a LCR modified with an intercooler, intake manifold, TIP and cold air intake.

[Roule Duke]

Cheers, im very happy with the numbers. They seem to be mastering the mapping on these cars. Stage 2 are seeing 300+BHP and 330lb/ft, not sure if i'll bother with stage 2, i'd rather spend the money on handling mods... that's where i get my kicks.

[Olivera]

Decent figures, roughly the same as mine. No point chasing higher power/torque as there are many other areas that should be improved first.

[Roule Duke]

Olivera said:

Decent figures, roughly the same as mine. No point chasing higher power/torque as there are many other areas that should be improved first.

Totally agree, power is nothing without control.

[Roule Duke]

Little update, just popped down to WheelWorx, colchester to get my car booked in to have the wheels refurbed at the end of the month. While i was down there i had a look at some of the paint finishes, the standard silver looked really nice. Forgot to take a picutre unfortunatley, but it looked spot on. As they dont have any wheels bigger enough to get over the Brembo's i'll wont have a car for 2 days, bit of pain in the ar£e but it will be worth it.

[Roule Duke]

Here's the RR graph from Saturday, you can see why it "feels" so much quicker, from 3.5k onwards the new map really makes its self felt. You can see on run three that heat soak is kicking it as it drops 10bhp.


New Linear Revo stage 1 V Old Revo stage 1 by Roule Duke, on Flickr

[Roule Duke]

Little update... these arrived in the post the other day!


Leon Cupra R by Roule Duke, on Flickr


IMG_0163 by Roule Duke, on Flickr

At the end of the month i'll get some poly bushes for the front wishbone and front/rear top mounts. I hope to get them fitted asap, cant wait - long overdue. I've got the power and brakes sorted, the handling is letting the side down.





























Oh and this arrived last week as well My beautiful daughter Isabelle


IMG_0152 by Roule Duke, on Flickr



This was Isabelle's first drive in the R, she seemed to enjoy it. Although she slept for most of the journey.


IMG_0155 by Roule Duke, on Flickr

This was the first time i tried to fit the pushchair in the boot, luckily it just fits. Thankfully the sub can stay in the boot, i wasnt sure it there would be enough room.

As I've been putting Isabelle in the front seat i turned off the front passenger air bag, this is really easy to do, just a key switch in the glove box, for reassurance it also has a light to tell you it's deactivated.


IMG_0160 by Roule Duke, on Flickre ot

Just a random picture i took the other day


IMG_0157 by Roule Duke, on Flickr

[SteveS Cup]

Congrats on Isabelle!!

Car is lovely too, I love the LCR... such a good looking car.

[Roule Duke]

Cheers Steve

[RB Will]

Why do these engines have such a big torque drop off at higher revs? I have a friend with an Ibiza Cupra with a similar graph.

[Bolognese]

Always liked these. Mine in yellow please

[Smooth Smith]

Lovely car & in the same colour as my old LCR. I had one on a 52 plate when they first came out so was the 210 version. Had the Revo remap done & the difference was massive. Used to surprise a number of quick cars. Loved that car.

[Roule Duke]

Cheers for the comments guys.

RB Will said:

Why do these engines have such a big torque drop off at higher revs? I have a friend with an Ibiza Cupra with a similar graph.

I suspect it's something to do with the type of turbo's used on the VAG engines. The newer VAG turbo lumps have a better spread of torque.




Well i fitted the coilover's a few weekends ago, it was a bh of a job but i finally got them on after many hours of sweating and swearing.

I set the coilover's to about half way front and rear to get as close as i could, with a view to adjust it once it's settled in. As the tracking was way out i booked it in for the next day.




IMG_0188[1] by Roule Duke, on Flickr



After driving it for a week i decided it was sitting a little too low on the rear. I dropped it 10mm on the front and it seemed to do the trick as it feels massively better, the weight is better distributed between the front and rear, as a result it feels more sure-footed.

Got my eye on few things for next month, i'm struggling to decided what to do next as i want to do everything.

It's so much nicer to drive, body roll is non existent, but it's not too firm... it's surprisingly pliant.

Here's some pictures of how she's sitting




IMG_0203 by Roule Duke, on Flickr


IMG_0209 by Roule Duke, on Flickr


IMG_0225 by Roule Duke, on Flickr


IMG_0226 by Roule Duke, on Flickr


IMG_0227 by Roule Duke, on Flickr


IMG_0228 by Roule Duke, on Flickr




After spend close to 2k on it over the last few months its finally at a stage where i'm happy with it, i feel like i've laid the foundation for a great project. I intend on keeping it for a number years, so i really dont mind spend the cash getting everything just right. Im finally excited about the car again.