GTI tuning modifications - what would you do?

[decksla]

just a hypothetical.

would you:

a) go stage 2 ecu + downpipe

or

b) go stage 1 ecu (with modified map) + high pressure fuel pump

i hear ones better for outright power whereas the other is better for midrange grunt.

what do you think? for all the haters, ive left out the chip company names so you can fill it in with your favorite.

[kryten2001]

just a hypothetical.

would you:

a) go stage 2 ecu + downpipe

or

b) go stage 1 ecu (with modified map) + high pressure fuel pump

i hear ones better for outright power whereas the other is better for midrange grunt.

what do you think? for all the haters, ive left out the chip company names so you can fill it in with your favorite.

A.

You won't need the pump until you go K04, and even then it's semi debateable (they have Stage 2 tunes that allow for a slightly less than ample flow - at least the good tunes do).

K04 + Stage 2 tune + pump + exhaust is what you ultimately want.

[h100vw]

How much do you want to spend, would be another place to start? Ignore my signature.

Gavin

[tinto]

Suspension before power.

[kryten2001]

Suspension before power.

Yeah I couldn't argue with that.

Basically sign your yearly salary over mate, and you'll be right.

What do people like? KW coilovers?

[Mischa]

Suspension before power.

couldnt agree more. even the GT has enough grunt for the wallowy standard suspension.

[kryten2001]

couldnt agree more. even the GT has enough grunt for the wallowy standard suspension.

But if I have to chose A or B, it would be A.

Then B..

Then suspension. Then K04, then brakes, then fuel pump.

Thennnnn.........

sh*t... Then...

[decksla]

id like a powah upgrade first then ill deal with the twisty bits.

i spend more time driving around (its my work car) than fangin in the hills, and for the upgrade in power for the outlay, its hard to say no.

i have a k04 its for the relli, just a hypo question. i was thinking of doing DP + REFLASH at the same time, but thought REFLASH + HPFP would be more beneficial.

[kryten2001]

id like a powah upgrade first then ill deal with the twisty bits.

i spend more time driving around (its my work car) than fangin in the hills, and for the upgrade in power for the outlay, its hard to say no.

i have a k04 its for the relli, just a hypo question. i was thinking of doing DP + REFLASH at the same time, but thought REFLASH + HPFP would be more beneficial.

I just had the pirelli tuned without the fuel pump, and it's just mad... _m_a_d_

That being said, the fuel pump, brakes and full exhaust are on their way. Squeeze the last 20 kw or so out of it.

Oh and some coilovers.

No doubt whatsoever the tune will give you the single biggest HP upgrade for your bucks. The exhaust only adds a smidge (but it soounds rorrrrt)...

[Guy_H]

Downpipe (or full exhaust) before fuel pump.

On the GTI's that's the order in which APR has set the tuning upgrade path!

[tdi guy]

power before anything

Did you see that UK TopGear ep where they upgraded the Renault Espace, and I recall the best 'bang for the buck' was when they rebuilt the engine to spec. They spent a fortune on new wheels/tyres, brakes, suspension mods etc and the car ended up slower around their track.

IMO the GTI is already pretty capable on the wheels/brakes/suspension front and would handle the extra power no problem.

TG

[kryten2001]

Did you see that UK TopGear ep where they upgraded the Renault Espace, and I recall the best 'bang for the buck' was when they rebuilt the engine to spec. They spent a fortune on new wheels/tyres, brakes, suspension mods etc and the car ended up slower around their track.

IMO the GTI is already pretty capable on the wheels/brakes/suspension front and would handle the extra power no problem.

TG

Yeah not really a fair comparison though. If you put a million dollar suspension kit, big brakes, big wheels and wide grippy tyres on a golf 1.6 edition, it aint going to track any faster either.

You need powaahhh before those things are required.

Or think of it the other way.. If you had WAY more power than a standard GTI, like nearly double, wouldn't you want better tyres/suspension?

[BarneyBoy]

Power 1st?
This will show up the deficiencies in the suspension & brakes.
Brakes 1st?
Probably would go unnoticed.
Suspension 1st?
My choice. You'd at least get to use all (and then some) of the power you already have.
Then the brakes - you may start to want better brakes as your cornering speeds will be higher.
Then the power.

Anyway, it's your money

[tdi guy]

If you had WAY more power than a standard GTI, like nearly double, wouldn't you want better tyres/suspension?

One can only dream... AWD would be my pick.

TG

[gtimk5]

I went the "a" way with mine. The brakes are very capable with my driving as I am not hard on them. If you are hard on your brakes and plan on doing track work, then maybe you might need a bigger setup but I feel a lot of people putting big brakes on whatever car they are driving have never used them to there potential. At least, not in everyday driving. Sure, they look good.
Suspension would probably be the next step after doing the exhaust and ECU.
I went the Koni coilover setup but I wouldn't neccesarily reccomend that brand to customers here. I could be happier with a different brand.....
Andrew