OCTAVIA RS
This Skoda Octavia RS 230 is fast enough to blow your mind but not its engine
A souped up Octavia that has proved to have incredible reliability despite a Stage 2 tune. It has the chassis mods to match the increased performance as well!
AS THE POSTER CAR FOR A LOT OF tuners in India, there’s plenty of gofaster bits and tunes available for the Skoda Octavia RS 230. But there’s one tuner that stands out — Harmonixx Tuning. They’ve been the brains behind some of the fastest Octavia RS’ in the country and for good reason — they’ve got a track record for making them faster, and doing so reliably.
“For me, reliability was a huge issue,” says Manu Jose , who owns this Octavia RS. He bought the car due to a stroke of luck back in December 2017 and from day one, the plan with the RS was to spice it up, “because I knew the engine was reliable,” he adds. Muneem, a friend of Manu who runs Galaxy Accessories in Cochin got him in touch with Rahul from Harmonixx Tuning and the two got talking about possibilities for Manu’s RS.
The very first upgrades were the Black Diamond brake pads and Black Diamond slotted and drilled rotors. Manu has to be one of the first owners we’ve featured here who has actually started their build with the brakes. With just 7000km on the odometer came the Stage 1 APR ECU tune and an intake upgrade. “The difference from stock to Stage 1 is incredible,” says Manu, perhaps referring to the more linear and instantaneous power delivery. Of course, that was just the beginning.
THIS OCTAVIA IS AS FAST AS YOU’D EVER NEED A DAILY DRIVER TO BE
Just over 4000km later came the APR Stage 2 tune, plus the APR TCU tune, APR downpipe, coolant hose, dog bone mounts and the turbo inlet pipe. “APR lets you get the Stage 1 tune, get familiarised to it, and because they know very well that you’ll go Stage 2, you don’t have to pay for that tune,” says Manu. A neat marketing trick from APR.
The car is running on Eibach’s Pro-Street S coilovers, which aren’t the default choice for most Octavia RS owners in the country, but previous experiences with Tein and H&R springs had pretty much given him the choice between Bilstein and Eibach. Manu admits that he picked the latter primarily thanks to a good deal, “but I’m glad I took these, they hold ground very well,” he says. Manu concedes that the ride is a touch stiffer but not uncomfortably so. In fact, he’s taken four people, plus his child (in a child seat), in his Octy for a road trip without a complaint from his wife or a cry from his little one. If that’s not a mark of a good suspension setup, I’m
not sure what is. Another unorthodox choice is the Pirelli P-Zero rubber, as opposed to the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S’ on most other RSs in the country. The Pirellis are harder and take longer to get up to temperature but Manu feels that suits his daily use of 100-110km better and gives him more reassurance through potholes.
Manu’s Octy is routinely serviced at his local Skoda dealership, and even now after almost 60,000km from the Stage 2 tune, it has been running like clockwork. “The only issue I’ve faced is with the strut mounts recently,” he says, though Manu later found out that it is an issue that has plagued others with OE suspensions as well.
This Octavia RS really is as fast as you’d ever need a daily driver to be. And at the same time, just as reliable as Skoda intended. Most modifications done on this Skoda Octavia RS 230 were through Harmonixx Tuning, they can be contacted at 08762801414. Other mods were done at Galaxy Accessories, who can be reached at +91-9846911666