Sharkie's TSI Amarok Build

[brad]

Sorry, yes, don't know why I type 4

Life goals

[Sharkie]

Big Red got some more love this week .... fitted black 19" Aragonit wheels to it



Next up would be a RCD330+ I think.

I am also on the lookout at the auctions for a stat write off manual TDI400 .... AWD TSI is coming

[TSOTSI]

Looking good Sharkie,

gonna be giving my TSI so love too, interior fitting a MK6 GTI golf ball gear lever soon and looking for some recaro bucket seats.

keep on Rok-ing

[EZZA]

The Roks looking great mate! First time poster here, came across this thread while researching TSI vs TDI Amaroks. This build inspired me to choose the petrol over the diesel 4cyl.
They're rare as hens teeth down here in Melbourne but managed to pick up a low KM 2013 TSI this week and have a few questions, this seems to be the main thread for TSI300 discussion.
How do they go towing a small caravan under 1200kg?
Does the APR tune have a milder tune to use while towing if needed?
What KM should I be looking at having the timing chain changed as i've read some horror stories online (mines at 105,000km).
Cheers, Eric

[Sharkie]

Thanks Eric, we still love it after 7 years of ownership, its been a great car/ute.

Towing is no issue with the TSI Amarok. Ours quite often tows trailers (see photo) and has no issues although you need to have 2000+rpm on to make progress.



APR's tunes offer switchability between modes and for less power you could opt for the 95RON mode. I always run it in 98RON mode and have not had any issues.

I'm only on 71K kms but have asked my mechanic about this and he said to replace at 120K kms. If I was you, I'd probably do it now (at 105K) just for peace of mind.

[EZZA]

Thanks for answering all my questions mate, appreciate it!

A few people have told me that if I tow at all I should be buying the diesel 4 banga at a minimum but I disagree. I think the chassis+suspension and design of the ute has a lot more to do with towing ability than outright power/torque.

Good to hear about the switchable tune modes, just have to find a shop down this way who deals with APR products and see what they charge for the stage 1 tune. From what I've read Prestige Auto Works down here in Melbourne do APR stuff so will be in contact with them once I'm sure the cars mechanically solid.

As for the chain I think your mechanics advice of doing it at 120km is a good idea but I'm with you and will try to get it done sooner for piece of mind.

Cheers

[EZZA]

Also quick question mate. Did the K&N panel filter help hear the turbo spool? Was driving for the first time last night and can hardly tell it's there haha

[Sharkie]

The airbox is closed too well to get much sound out of it with the stock tune. With an APR tune it certainly is more noticeable, but still pretty quiet. What you do get (some love it others hate it) is a weird whistle once tuned due to the PCV return into the turbo.

Also, a K&N panel does not do anything to the sound, may breathe a bit better, but that is still debatable.

We run an open Pod filter (its far enough away not to get too much heatsoak as measured by intake temps) and this makes some serious noises

[EZZA]

Ah nice, looking forward to getting it tuned already!

That's a nice pod setup, I'm sure you get plenty of sound out of that.

I noticed the stock air box setup has a pipe that runs to the front grille, thinking if this was removed it may give a bit more noise and flow also. Although usually the factory designs things for a reason but I've had a couple of turbo Subaru Foresters that had a sneaky intake resonator in the front guard which once removed made a nice difference to intake noises!

[EZZA]

Thought this would be a good place to ask, any idea what the APR stage 1 tune costs?
Is it a plug and play type thing that I can order online or do I have to go to an APR dealer to have it installed and setup? I'm in Melbourne and have messaged APR directly with no response.
Cheers

[Sharkie]

Details of the APR tune here: APR ECU-20T-EA888-1-L APR ECU Upgrade - 2.0T EA888 Gen 1 (Longitudinal) (Amarok)

Look at their dealer search APR Dealers, type in Melbourne, Australia and a lot of dealers show up. Contact the closest to you directly I'd suggest.

[EZZA]

Thanks mate, found all that info and some Melbourne dealers but ones I've tried don't messaging through messenger. Will give Volkwerke a call at lunch and see what they say.
Was wondering whether it was more like a Cobb accessport style tuner where you don't need a shop to install or more of a flash tune into the computer where a shop needs to do the install for you.

[Lucas_R]

Thanks mate, found all that info and some Melbourne dealers but ones I've tried don't messaging through messenger. Will give Volkwerke a call at lunch and see what they say.
Was wondering whether it was more like a Cobb accessport style tuner where you don't need a shop to install or more of a flash tune into the computer where a shop needs to do the install for you.

If you want a DIY style tune (which personally im a huge fan of and have had good success with on various cars) then look at Tarmac Engineering (Spectune) in QLD who do an optional hand controller. They only have the 2.0TDI listed on their webiste, but worth getting in touch with them to see if they offer a tune for the petrol version. Amarok Archives - Tarmac Engineering

Otherwise I would have recommended Integrated Engineering who also have a DIY option but I dont believe they offer anything for the Amarok.

[Sharkie]

If you want a DIY style tune (which personally im a huge fan of and have had good success with on various cars) then look at Tarmac Engineering (Spectune) in QLD who do an optional hand controller. They only have the 2.0TDI listed on their webiste, but worth getting in touch with them to see if they offer a tune for the petrol version. Amarok Archives - Tarmac Engineering

Otherwise I would have recommended Integrated Engineering who also have a DIY option but I dont believe they offer anything for the Amarok.

Lucas, unfortunately no tuner in Australia does tunes from scratch. ALL of them uses an overseas provider for the "base" tune and then either "custom" tune your car with some minor modifications to the base file (for all Aussie tuners that claim they can custom tune your car) or just use that base file as provided (APR providers for instance).

The problem with the TSI Amarok is that world-wide only 1 tuner (APR) took the time to develop the base file necessary. As such no other tuner has a file that can be used on the TSI Amaroks. Some use a GTI base file and try to modify it on the fly (like etuners I believe) but never end up anywhere near the results of the APR file. (Note the Amarok runs a gen2.5 version of the EA888 ) I've seen custom tuned upgraded turbo (KO4) files for TSI Amaroks that make no more power than a stock base APR file ....

So, in short, no DIY options exist for the TSI Amarok which is a bit sad. This has always prevented me from going to a larger turbo on the stock Amarok engine.

[EZZA]

Thanks again for the info guys. Yes from my research Sharkie is correct, when you google 'TSI300 Amarok tune' this thread is the first to come up!
So got a reply from local tuner, APR stage 1 tune is $699 which is pretty good value in my books considering all the time they put into developing the base file and results achieved.