Suggestions needed for first time GTi mods

[Chuck]

Excuse one's ignorance but what is a FMIC and what does it do?

In regards to modding I'm more interested in preservation of the engine and efficient running, better handling etc, not necessarily extra Kws because quite frankly any more Kws in such a small car kinda scares me a little hey.

Anyway when I bought the car I already found it quite a handful as it was but now after time you really get used to the power and it seems somewhat underpowered now! lol

There is a chance Brian misinterpretted what I was getting at but he did say that the chipping is well within the limits of the car and that it does not add any choke points which kinda goes against what people on this forum have been saying. Personally I agree that the bigger plumbing would certianly make the car run better, not necessarily adding more power but making it a more effecient engine. Brian Chellingworth comes from a very well known family motor group in Perth and it would be quite hard to argue the point to a mechanic who has been around before most of us where a glint in our parents eyes! lol

And bumpknuck I might just suss out whats going on the weekend. Hey I was just reading somewhere you had issues with JH's when you took delivery on your car? Is that correct? Do you get it sorted? I had an issue with them and dam they really pissed me off when they tried so hard to argue it with me. Actually it was one of their 'concierge' girls and dam she was a beatch! Was not overlly impressed with that.

Anyways carry on..oh what do you goes put on your leather seats if you have them?

Come to the meet point for the cruise on Sunday and we can share our war stories about JHVW!

[mozzzy_2000]

LOL dude I was just posting in your thread. I cannot make this Sunday due to family commitments but maybe another run sometime next year!

Yes JH's hmmm.... I wonder if they worked out why I don't get my car serviced by them! lol

[Blitzen]

Excuse one's ignorance but what is a FMIC and what does it do? What do ya know Front Mounted Intercooler. Got it now. Ok since the car has one already, what does this one do that the stock doesn't?

In regards to modding I'm more interested in preservation of the engine and efficient running, better handling etc, not necessarily extra Kws because quite frankly any more Kws in such a small car kinda scares me a little hey.

An Intercooler cools the charge air from the turbo, leading to a more efficient burn in the combustion chamber.
The existing stock Side Mount Intercooler(SMIC) gets very poor airflow to it from the front right of the vehicle, and this leads to Heat Soak, which causes a drop in performance due to greater intake temperatures.
A Front Mount Intercooler(FMIC) is in the direct airflow of the car, and has a greater surface area, which leads to better and sustained cooling of the charge air to the combustion chamber. this leads to less Heat Soak, and more efficient running of the engine, which in turn leads to the sustained power increase.

[RhysQ]

Ok since the car has one already, what does this one do that the stock doesn't?

ok well Ryan beat me to it but here's my 2c anyway

heres a pic of the stock SMIC (side mount intercooler) on top, compared to an aftermarket FMIC (front mount intercooler) on the bottom


your stocko side mount intercooler is located (if looking in front of your car and look at it front on) behind the left foglight. it is used in forced induction systems (supercharged, turbocharged) to cool down the air temps running into the engine.

basically, air goes through your intake system and into the turbo, the turbo then spools (thanks to your exhaust gases) and forces air through your intercooler where it is cooled right down (from air hitting the surface area of the cooler and keeping the core cold). From there, your now 'cooled' air heads into your engine.

the stocko cooler does cool down the air, but just not enough when the car heats up. for our systems, a bigger cooler results in a lot cooler air heading through, even when the car heats up, ultimately resulting in a bigger power output.

heatsoak is a turbo's biggest enemy so any chance to get rid of it should be taken!

hope this helps!

[mozzzy_2000]

Very interesting! I had no idea how small the stock SMIC is compared to an aftermarket front mounted one! That's a hell of difference.
Its interesting what you guys say about about the heat soak because when the car is cold I find its not as responsive as when it heats up after 5mins or so and gets top operating temp. I'm really way to anal when it comes to my car and I really try not give it too much stick before its at operating temp.

Also do you guys use turbo timers? Are they necessary? Or do you just let the car idle for a few minutes before turning it off?

Apart from the mechanics that distribute and fit APR products, who would you goto for an aftermarket FMIC?

[h100vw]

No need for a turbo timer, just don't thrash your car for the last couple of minutes before parking up. The turbo's are watercooled and don't suffer like the turbo's of yesteryear.

The compression of the air by the turbo leads to much of the heat in the inlet charge. Without airflow through the intercooler, this heat gets retained by the intercooler instead of going into the atmosphere.

Chipping a car which ups the boost and therefore creates more heat means that the standard intercooler will have a harder time keeping temps under control.

Gavin

[Quest]

Very interesting! I had no idea how small the stock SMIC is compared to an aftermarket front mounted one! That's a hell of difference.
Its interesting what you guys say about about the heat soak because when the car is cold I find its not as responsive as when it heats up after 5mins or so and gets top operating temp. I'm really way to anal when it comes to my car and I really try not give it too much stick before its at operating temp.

Also do you guys use turbo timers? Are they necessary? Or do you just let the car idle for a few minutes before turning it off?

Apart from the mechanics that distribute and fit APR products, who would you goto for an aftermarket FMIC?

I love the function called research and you ?

http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/newforum/upload/showthread.php?t=2584&highlight=turbo+timer

http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/newforum/upload/showthread.php?t=13634&highlight=turbo+timer

[mozzzy_2000]

cheers guys. Sorta thought that was the case. My previous mechanic reckons its more important to use top quality oil as poor quality oil will ultimately be worse in the long run for the turbo. off

[DeanB]

Not wanting to go off-topic ... or start a new one .... and yes, I have searched endlessly before asking this !! It's sort of related to "first time mods" ....

Can someone with the APR Software tell me whether you can still use the Cruise Control for its original purpose once you have the APR using it to switch between tunes ?? And secondly is the Version 2 APR software now "normal" release that I can get at any APR tuner ??

[h100vw]

Cruise still works as the factory intended. I am not 100% but I don't think you can change programs with the engine running. I could be wrong.

Not sure about the version 2 question. I'd call APR and ask.

Gavin

[mozzzy_2000]

And that answered what I probably was going to ask anyhow! lol Thats good to hear actually. CC can be a very handle feature. And no I don't think you can switch programs whilst the engine is on.

[Quest]

Not wanting to go off-topic ... or start a new one .... and yes, I have searched endlessly before asking this !! It's sort of related to "first time mods" ....

Can someone with the APR Software tell me whether you can still use the Cruise Control for its original purpose once you have the APR using it to switch between tunes ?? And secondly is the Version 2 APR software now "normal" release that I can get at any APR tuner ??

Good questions that is !!
I don't know much about the CC coz i haven't got one on my GTI but concerning the V2, i think it's really a "normal" release as Guy Harding did a special request for me to APR so he could load the good file with 95RON parameter.
As a matter of fact, we haven't got 98RON gasoline here in New Caledonia so...

I'm pretty happy with the V2 even if i use 95RON gasoline !

Cheers,
Flo

[RhysQ]

as far as i know the V2 is not the 'normal' release (V1 is still the initial software that is loaded) but it can be asked for any time after V1 is loaded. it only takes 30 mins to load on.

[RhysQ]

I'm pretty happy with the V2 even if i use 95RON gasoline !

you do know that even in stock mode our cars are rated at 98RON (look inside the fuel cap). i don't think you should be using 95!!

[gtimk5]

Guy had to organise a special 95 octane program for us with Mk5 GTIs in Tassie in 2006 as we didnt have 98. We now have it thank goodness!
Was all good too and I also keep that spare program in case I cant locate 98 octane on drives around the state.
Andrew