Team_v's Tig

[team_v]

So the tig has clicked over the magical 10,000km mark after 1 year and 2 months of ownership.

Cliff notes review for you all.

Pros:
Folding/sliding rear seats allow the loading of pretty much anything i have ever needed to carry.
Can fit up to 2.8m of piping/timber from the boot through to the windscreen and still carry 4 people in the car.
Fit 4 adults and 100kg of luggage into the car from the airport.
Never run out of cup holders
APR Stage 2 makes the car a blast to drive, never fails to get me grinning like the cheshire cat.
Fuel economy is still sitting under the 10's and will go down to the 7's when i do highway runs.


Cons:
No flat folding front seats in fabric trim.
Exhaust note doesn't sound very tough in stock form when mated to the APR Stage 2 upgrades.
Car does tend to understeer when pushed to the limit.


Issues:
Front passenger side window control button was not working on pick up but VW connected the wiring that week.
No other issues.


Overall i am still extremely happy with it and the things i have done to it.
Enkei's make it so much more responsive and Stage 2 is just surreal compared to stock/diesel work ute.
Learning how to apply/feather the accelerator is a big help with so much power/torque on tap.

Let's hope it continues to perform flawlessly into the long and distant future.

[Corey_R]

Some great feedback mate. My mother's partner owns a Tig, based on my feedback from my MKV GTI ownership. The main problems they've experienced, apart from the dealer being incompetend and ordering COMPLETELY the wrong car (wrong colour, gearbox, and options, lol) was that they had one of the hose clamps on the turbo (or intercooler?) come off and the car understandably go into limp mode. But I'm seriously impressed by the Tiggy every time Im in the thing. It's the TDI version, with the old auto, but has the beige leather and panaromic sunroof and comfort package etc... great car

[MGV]

Good stuff, mate. Enjoying your thread on the car, too!

Didn't realise, but you must have only picked yours up 2 weeks before i got mine! I just clocked 22K today, but i did give the odo a good bump 2 weeks ago when i did 3500k's in 6 days, which included a 1350km marathon from Melbourne to Nambucca in 14 hours! (solo).

Keep up the good posting!

[team_v]

Good stuff, mate. Enjoying your thread on the car, too!

Didn't realise, but you must have only picked yours up 2 weeks before i got mine! I just clocked 22K today, but i did give the odo a good bump 2 weeks ago when i did 3500k's in 6 days, which included a 1350km marathon from Melbourne to Nambucca in 14 hours! (solo).

Keep up the good posting!

I picked mine up late May 2010.

Normally i would do less than 10k per year however i have been doing a lot of back and forth trips for renovations on the house,

On the up side, the car has swallowed up a dishwasher, an oven, a rangehood, and a stovetop all at different times during the renovations with no worries.

The guy who was also picking up a dishwasher in his CX7 was looking worried when i folded down my seats, he was still there when i left trying to work out how to fit it in!

[team_v]

Car is booked in for a noise upgrade on Wednesday.
Will take some sound clips for you all

Updates probably on Wednesday if i can stitch it all together.

[team_v]

Mmmmm delicious sounds!
Trying to stitch together a video of the sound clips for you guys.

Well worth the upgrade if you want a bit more growl!
Also the standard system from the axle back weighs in at a hefty 9kg.

[team_v]

The upgards consists of a custom stainless steel mandrel bent 3" muffler delete pipe flowing through twin XR6 Turbo tips.
All the work was done by BPS at Cleveland and i cannot speak highly enough of their work.

Video can be found here:

http://videobam.com/xYgSl

[jimbomort]

good work team v, been waiting to see someone improve the sound, which is one of the few shortcomings of the Tig. Would love to hear it in the flesh, but definitely has a nicer growl now and sounds better at idle and on overrun too

Nice one. Do you mind sharing how much it cost? Also you suggested the standard system is heavy by comparison with the new one, can you tell us how much the new one weighs (though this does make much less difference than the reduction in unsprung mass you achieved with your wheels).

[MGV]

Yes, yes, YES!
I'm with Jimbo... Curious As! Would have a nice gurgle on decel too, i imagine... Am drooling...

Another thing i'd like to get your idea on is would it turn into an annoying drone 300km's into a 1500km road trip to Streaky Bay this Christmas?

Good on you, will be looking into this!

[team_v]

Yes, yes, YES!
I'm with Jimbo... Curious As! Would have a nice gurgle on decel too, i imagine... Am drooling...

Another thing i'd like to get your idea on is would it turn into an annoying drone 300km's into a 1500km road trip to Streaky Bay this Christmas?

Good on you, will be looking into this!

The retail cost is $438 but the cost is basically for labour.
there is a very slight resonance in teh cabin at 1750 but it goes away at 1900RPM.
Could just be my ears getting used to the exhaust note that i could never hear before though

Should get a bit softer over time as the system gets coated in exhaust ash.

Never got to weight hte new section but it is just some 3" stainless piping so it shouldnt' weigh much, i would say maybe half of the stock system.

[Pullstarter]

Nice work Clay! A vast improvement.

[MGV]

A 'delicious' sound only, or a few kw's gained as well?

[99Reza]

Any drive by clip? I sat in the back seat once while my wife drove the Tig, I'm quite surprised how boomy the exhaust is especially at low RPM. I can't hear the noise from front seats, but very apparent on back seats. Hopefully this upgrade doesn't exaggerate the boominess

[team_v]

A 'delicious' sound only, or a few kw's gained as well?

Sound only.
If you want more power from the cat-back you need to remove the resonator but i was affraid this would produce an overly loud or warbly note.

Any drive by clip? I sat in the back seat once while my wife drove the Tig, I'm quite surprised how boomy the exhaust is especially at low RPM. I can't hear the noise from front seats, but very apparent on back seats. Hopefully this upgrade doesn't exaggerate the boominess

Will see if i can get a drive by clip next week.
I was a little rushed for time so i couldn't get that done.




On the upside, the system is completely reversible so i can just bolt the stock muffler back on if i want at any time, should only take 5-10 minutes.

There is a little resonance at 1750 and again at 3000 but it's only there for a short range and you don't really sit on those rpm bands often.

Bear in mind it will be a bit quieter if you have the stock downpipe since i have the apr 3" downpipe and high flow cat.
I should try sitting in the back and seeing how it sounds.

[team_v]

Drone at 1750rpm's has all but dissapeared as the system beds in and coats itself in exhaust ash.
It is only noticeable under load for now.

Resonance is still there at 3000rpm's but if you are drviing it regularly you can easily shift at 3k and miss this.
So you only get it for a short while under wide open throttle.