Chip Tuning, Mods and long term reliability

[jozeff]

Hi Guys,

I have just bought a new GTI and wanted to ask a few questions about chip tuning and mods in general:

1) What mods have you done to your car
2) How many kms have you had those mods on for
3) Have you had any reliability issues that you have felt were caused by having those mods installed?

I'm just weighing up if i'm keeping the GTI for the next 5 or so years, if i decide to start the mods, will the lifespan of my GTI be adversely affected?


Joe

[Pullstarter]

I had an APR chipped Tiguan for 3 years and no issues whatsoever. I've only just chipped the GTI as I've only had it a few weeks. I guess you could say yes it is a risk but a fairly small one in my opinion. Some others might want to chime in here with some longer term reliability reports.

[spellbound]

Current GTI , APR stage 1 , now done 4000km no dramas , absolutely love the lazy torque out in the country .

Previously did over 20,000km with my SKODA RS 08 again stage 1 , not a single issue , except the torque steer made it a bit tricky powering out of corners , you will not experience any of that with your GTI with its tricky diff .

Both cars manual , not heard of any guys with DSG having problems .

[walbjj]

running apr stg2 for almost 15k km, and no issues.
my brother ran an oettinger tune as well as full milltek exhaust on his b5 rs4 for about 7 years and logged about 120k km with it. he didnt suffer any engine issues with the huge increase in power, but he did go thru 2 clutches, but im not sure if they were a result of the mods.
however, when he sold the rs4, the new owner did require a 2 new turbos and a host of other work. whether it was due to the years of use that my brother put thru the car or whether it was the new owner ragging the crap out of the car when it was cold and just started in the morning, im not too sure, but i think i would put it down to user error.
as mentioned, generally, the aftermarket tunes being sold, especially stg 1 are fairly conservative, they dont push the extremes, only when u start chasing monster power is when things go bang. especially when u start opening the motor up and doing internal mods.

[nat225]

lifespan.. i think it depends on how you maintain the car, how you drive and where you drive.

eg: gti wheels / suspension mods wont last long if you drive in goat tracks often, change oil more frequent if you push it to its limits car frequently, etc etc...

and most importantly the quality of the hardware mods, which you usually get what you pay for.

[7R]

On a related subject - do people on here prefer custom tune or mail order? I got a quote last week for a custom tune for <$1k from a reputable VW service place in Sydney's south west but it seems fairly cheap compared to an APR type mail order tune.

What is the deal? I came from LS1/Lxx engines where everyone went custom tune and where mail order tunes were only like $400...

[brimway]

After research, I went with APR tune on my previous MKV Golf GTI DSG. I added CAI and APR TBE, which was an absolute piece of art to look at, improved performance, but it did produce drone at 2500rpm. Probably a complaint with many TBEs.

I did 30,000ks trouble free and loved driving each one of them, so I would have no reservations about reliability post tune.

[Brendan_A]

My brother has a mk6 gti with the following engine mods done at 2000k's, APR stage 1, carbonio and S3 FMIC. Car has 35k on it now. Engine is running like a dream but he is having dsg problems which the dealer is working out what to replace.

The dsg problems probably aren't related to increase in HP.

[jozeff]

My brother has a mk6 gti with the following engine mods done at 2000k's, APR stage 1, carbonio and S3 FMIC. Car has 35k on it now. Engine is running like a dream but he is having dsg problems which the dealer is working out what to replace.

The dsg problems probably aren't related to increase in HP.

Hmmm DSG problems... thats a major worry..... i'm still trying to fish out the truth about this 'DSG rated at max 350nm' business. If thats true i cant go APR, i'll have to go with a milder tune.

[h100vw]

Hmmm DSG problems... thats a major worry..... i'm still trying to fish out the truth about this 'DSG rated at max 350nm' business. If thats true i cant go APR, i'll have to go with a milder tune.

That's not a worry if you search, Guy has commented on it before. The clutches are good up to circa 550NM, which is the real weak link.

Gavin

[Brendan_A]

That's not a worry if you search, Guy has commented on it before. The clutches are good up to circa 550NM, which is the real weak link.

Gavin

That's what I told my brother too. He is all concerned now and is delaying on installing his downpipe!

[Finance_Analyst]

I don't think a stage 1 tune will do any harm. However, I change my oil every 6 months regardless (car has 7,700km in 10 months) and only use 98 octane fuel.

With the tune bringing it closer to its full potential, more stringent care is better, given that the factory builds the car for muppets who use 91 octane fuel or don't service for two years so need to build in that safety net.

[walbjj]

My brother has a mk6 gti with the following engine mods done at 2000k's, APR stage 1, carbonio and S3 FMIC. Car has 35k on it now. Engine is running like a dream but he is having dsg problems which the dealer is working out what to replace.

The dsg problems probably aren't related to increase in HP.

im actually surprised that the dealer is even talking to ur brother and dealing with the gti seeing as its modified and its an easy warranty denial on their part. they must need the money from the billable workshop hours for a dsg replacement

[Brendan_A]

im actually surprised that the dealer is even talking to ur brother and dealing with the gti seeing as its modified and its an easy warranty denial on their part. they must need the money from the billable workshop hours for a dsg replacement

They have already asked the question is the car "chipped" he quickly said no, I've only got intake.lol

The dealer is talking to VW Germany to see what they want to do with. I think he will end up with a new box.

[Transporter]

im actually surprised that the dealer is even talking to ur brother and dealing with the gti seeing as its modified and its an easy warranty denial on their part. they must need the money from the billable workshop hours for a dsg replacement

As he said, the failure doesn't have to be related to the power increase. For the dealer to refuse to repair the car that is under the warranty they have to be certain that your modification caused the fault.