Suggestions needed for first time GTi mods

[RhysQ]

warranty - you can always ask your dealer whether it will void warranty but with the APR flash it can be switched on/off using the cruise control stalk and is virtually undetectable to the service department. if they REALLY went looking for they would find it and it would only void warranty if IT caused the fault. i have taken my car in a couple of times for warranty claims and never had an issue.

wear 'n tear - the Polo GTI 1.8T is the same engine used it the 225bhp previous shape Audi TT so running at ~200bhp after chipping is not straining the engine. the audi did have a bigger turbo however. the same engine is used in the old Audi S3, Audi A4, MK4 Golf GTI, Audi A3 etc. it's a pretty solid reliable engine.

intake upgrades - i have had the car chipped since i've owned it (dec 2007) and never had any issues with the intake. the standard one is fine for just chipping. any further mods i would recommend upgraded intake systems in the form of the SEAT intake hose and Forge TIP (turbo intake pipe).

fuel economy - mine is worse but i have a heavy foot . many people have reported better consumption. i usually sit between 10-11L/100km

i hope this info helps....

Cheers,
Rhys

[Chipped]

Gee thanks fellas for all your advice! Yes sub 7sec times is what's gettin' my blood pumping at the moment! Haha Thats an extraordinary power gain making it faster than a stock golf GTi. All I can say is wow! lol

No I don;t have any current pics at the moment. I took some when it was brand spankin' new but lost those on my laptop. I bought a red one, leather interior, tinted windows and paint glaze. It's amazing actually how many people think its a golf would you believe. The red duco is very eye catching in our West Aussie sun. The perfect summer car I reckon.

Hey Quest yeah send me that parts list. That would be a massive help! Can you send it via PM?

Got a couple more questions re: the APR chipping if you guys would indulge me some more.

Does chipping automatically void warranty?
Because of the added power gain, does this put extra wear 'n tear on the engine or is it a matter of just tuning the engine differently to get the most out of the engine? ie. making the engine run to its full potential?
With the extra power gain from chipping, does this cause any 'bottlenecks' in the system? For example would I need to look at improving the air intake or any other areas?
Are you guys experiencing better or worse fuel economy with the APR chip?

I have always used BP Ultimate 98 since I got it except maybe a tank or two of BPprem95. Ultimate 98 is the best in the west as we dont have any ethanol based fuels here nor higher RON fuels. My experience with a city cycle is that it uses more than the claimed 7.9L/100km at around 10L/100km however the best I've done driving in the country was an average of 5.8L/100km which totally blew me away. And I've tried all sorts of experiments driving sedately as opposed to aggressive and I have found it makes little difference. I have actually noticed that it seems to be slightly more efficient driving on the aggressive side rather than sedately. Go figure.

Is any else here from Perth, West Aus and ifso who are best people to take my car to? Currently I have found Quattro motors, who are local APR retailers. I have spoken to them and they seem to be a good & experienced establishment. Are there any other Perth businesses worth investigating?

Thanks again guys for all your great help in getting me started on what could become my next 'addiction'! lol

Mozzy, from another Perthling..GO THE CHIP!! best initial bang for buck.
I trust Quattro 100%,..they are very old school but have been doing Audis and dubs for a very long time...personally I wouldn't go anywhere else...plus I work a 1 min walk away...very convenient...Good luck!!

[pologti18t]

One point with the standard intake... if you look at the end that attached to the front crossbeam/grill you will find various vanes/flaps in it. I removed these, and closed off the opening to the engine bay (hot air). Free mod

[shaneth]

and closed off the opening to the engine bay (hot air).

I actually thought this was to stop water and very small rocks from getting down to the airbox. Cause its right on the front grill water could easily get in there.

[DeanB]

I actually thought this was to stop water and very small rocks from getting down to the airbox. Cause its right on the front grill water could easily get in there.

Agree, I thought that gap at the bottom between the trumpet and the "part where it attaches to the front cross brace" (don't know what you call that bit) was to allow water, etc to escape out the bottom rather than get drawn through the intake pipe.

[mozzzy_2000]

Thanks again fellas for all your input!! And its good to send a fellow west aussie on here! I feel far more confident now with getting it chipped.

Just one more question if you guys are still with me. Have any of you had the APR downpipe exhaust upgrade? I like the twin pipe look from the stock exhaust and I was wondering what sort of performance gain you achieve with the APR downpipe or whether its more about getting a better exhaust note? Is there much of difference between having the downpipe done over getting the entire exhaust system done?

Cheers

[Bubu]

I actually thought this was to stop water and very small rocks from getting down to the airbox. Cause its right on the front grill water could easily get in there.

Maybe it is but the rocks would never make it past the filter and if any water was to make its way into the air box it is unlikely to get sucked up through the filter into and into the engine.

[Blitzen]

Thanks again fellas for all your input!! And its good to send a fellow west aussie on here! I feel far more confident now with getting it chipped.

Just one more question if you guys are still with me. Have any of you had the APR downpipe exhaust upgrade? I like the twin pipe look from the stock exhaust and I was wondering what sort of performance gain you achieve with the APR downpipe or whether its more about getting a better exhaust note? Is there much of difference between having the downpipe done over getting the entire exhaust system done?

Cheers

Hey man. I don't have the Dump Pipe done, but I do however have the APR Lower Torque Arm Bush done too. This is great for reducing engine flex under acceleration. It dose promote a little bit more vibration though the body(this is to be expected when you at a harder mount), but you do get better feel under acceleration too, and I feel, smoother power delivery. A few of the guys have this done, and it is pretty easy to do too.

[Chipped]

Thanks again fellas for all your input!! And its good to send a fellow west aussie on here! I feel far more confident now with getting it chipped.

Just one more question if you guys are still with me. Have any of you had the APR downpipe exhaust upgrade? I like the twin pipe look from the stock exhaust and I was wondering what sort of performance gain you achieve with the APR downpipe or whether its more about getting a better exhaust note? Is there much of difference between having the downpipe done over getting the entire exhaust system done?

Cheers

Hi Mozzy I have heard that the APR does not provide any major difference over stock when it comes to exhaust note but for me this is perfect!! I'm all for a few gains but dead againt an overly noisy exhaust - every kid in a Lancer, Mirage, Rex and Corolla aruond here has a "Performance" exhaust for the "note."
It drives me mental. Silent..but deadly..thats my theory. The element of suprise. There a heaps of threads here on the Downpipe alone and in conjunction with the full system....these 2 mods are on my final list along with FMIC...then it has to stop..he,he.

[Chuck]

Gee thanks fellas for all your advice! Yes sub 7sec times is what's gettin' my blood pumping at the moment! Haha Thats an extraordinary power gain making it faster than a stock golf GTi. All I can say is wow! lol

No I don;t have any current pics at the moment. I took some when it was brand spankin' new but lost those on my laptop. I bought a red one, leather interior, tinted windows and paint glaze. It's amazing actually how many people think its a golf would you believe. The red duco is very eye catching in our West Aussie sun. The perfect summer car I reckon.

Hey Quest yeah send me that parts list. That would be a massive help! Can you send it via PM?

Got a couple more questions re: the APR chipping if you guys would indulge me some more.

Does chipping automatically void warranty?
Because of the added power gain, does this put extra wear 'n tear on the engine or is it a matter of just tuning the engine differently to get the most out of the engine? ie. making the engine run to its full potential?
With the extra power gain from chipping, does this cause any 'bottlenecks' in the system? For example would I need to look at improving the air intake or any other areas?
Are you guys experiencing better or worse fuel economy with the APR chip?

I have always used BP Ultimate 98 since I got it except maybe a tank or two of BPprem95. Ultimate 98 is the best in the west as we dont have any ethanol based fuels here nor higher RON fuels. My experience with a city cycle is that it uses more than the claimed 7.9L/100km at around 10L/100km however the best I've done driving in the country was an average of 5.8L/100km which totally blew me away. And I've tried all sorts of experiments driving sedately as opposed to aggressive and I have found it makes little difference. I have actually noticed that it seems to be slightly more efficient driving on the aggressive side rather than sedately. Go figure.

Is any else here from Perth, West Aus and ifso who are best people to take my car to? Currently I have found Quattro motors, who are local APR retailers. I have spoken to them and they seem to be a good & experienced establishment. Are there any other Perth businesses worth investigating?

Thanks again guys for all your great help in getting me started on what could become my next 'addiction'! lol

Im a fellow Perth GTi owner who is about to dive in for a chip...have been doing some hard research..this is taken from the APR site...tomorrow i will be taking my car back to the dealership for an A/C warrenty issue (and some dark tinting - $300, darkest legal...good price ya think?) - will enquire with my mate in the service centre about John Hughes VW's position on this...can't wait to hear what they say...



Will it void my warranty?

Yes and No: according to the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act:

"No warrantor of a consumer product may condition his written or implied warranty of such product on the consumers using, in connection with such product, any article or service (other than article or service provided without charge under the terms of the warranty) which is identified by brand, trade or corporate name..." (15 U.S.C. 2302©)

So basically, if you have a warranty claim, the dealer (or warrantor) must prove that the part that you modified directly caused the failure. For example, if you chipped your car and the exhaust falls off, then the car is still under warranty.

Of all of the chips that Audi Performance and Racing has sold, as well as pretty much all other chip manufacturers, there just really aren't any problems in chipping the car. Your Audi/VW was so well engineered, that you really are not stressing anything that was not designed to take the changes that a chip produces.

[gregozedobe]

According to Wikipedia: "The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (P.L. 93-637) is a United States federal law (15 U.S.C. § 2301 et seq.). Enacted in 1975, it is the federal statute that governs warranties on consumer products."

So while it might be useful if if you live in the US, I'm not sure how much assistance it would be here in Australia.

[Blitzen]

This should help in regards to Australian terms and conditions in regards to warranty...

http://www.accc.gov.au/content/item.phtml?itemId=322947&nodeId=13a1e4d919ec75fc5ef9b70975586fd4&fn=Warranties%20and%20refunds_June2004.pdf

[VW GTI]

Thanks again fellas for all your input!! And its good to send a fellow west aussie on here! I feel far more confident now with getting it chipped.

Just one more question if you guys are still with me. Have any of you had the APR downpipe exhaust upgrade? I like the twin pipe look from the stock exhaust and I was wondering what sort of performance gain you achieve with the APR downpipe or whether its more about getting a better exhaust note? Is there much of difference between having the downpipe done over getting the entire exhaust system done?

Cheers

I have the APR downpipe. Looks and sounds stock (I can notice the difference but my parents haven't ) If anything just makes it a bit nicer sound (more grumbly).

It gave me about 8kw over just the tune at the recent Brisbane dyno day (123kw atw for 2 tuned cars and 131kw atw for me).

[mozzzy_2000]

Very interesting comments in regards to the downpipe. I was keen to through some money at it but now I think I'll get it chipped and see how she goes. I'll probably get the APR engine mounts done as well because generally that sort of strengthing really does help to get the power on to the road. Ride comfort is not that important because they're not exactly the smoothest ride anyway due to the stiff suspension which you really want for fanging it around corners lol.

Did you guys notice a different exhaust/engine tone once you had the chipping done anyway? Stock it screams like a banshee anyway so any improvement there with chipping would be a bonus I guess.

yeah Chipped I'm not much for all those 'farting' wrx's & lancers putting around town either. Actually I think the GTi has a great stock exhaust note although it would nice if its a little ballsier if you know what I mean. Actually I am still noticing that the car seems to be performing and sounding better over time it seems which is pretty interesting. Actually my previous mechanic, who has just recently retired(grrr!), reckons that the Gti's engine will actually improve all the way upto about 80,000ks before it reaches its peak which makes one of these an interesting prospect. Also just going back to the exhaust; I had someone ask me whether I had any work done it and I when I said no & asked him why, he said that he had to pay around $2000 to get his wrx sounding similar. Thought that was a pretty interesting comment.

In regards to warranty I'd be interested to hear what john hughes has to say about it Bumpknuck. $300 for tint seems pretty reasonable by the way. Although I can;t remember how much they charged me. I ordered mine with. Also I'd highly recommend paint glaze protection. Its been excellent on my car so far and grime just comes straight off. Anyways when I asked the John Hughes' sales rep who sold me the car what the situation on chipping was, he reckoned they wont do it but others do and that it was pretty much a grey area in terms of warranty and wouldn't give me an answer one way or the other. Its interesting because after reading several threads, it appears that no one really knows. That in itself could be a good thing meaning no one has had to claim a warranty issue directly related to chipping yet. Having said that though my experience in the past with dealerships is that they will fight 'tooth 'n nail' to get out of a warranty issue if they can and most likely will. One reason why I refuse to get any of my cars serviced by the major dealers. Its problem after problem I've had, with previous cars that is.

Has anyone had any issues with insurance? This is the last thing that came to mind. I hope I do have any issues there. That would be major bummer if there is.

Also just out of interest, I saw today that APR are having a xmas sail during December so the timing could not be any better for me. 10% off might sound like much but as I say 'its better than a poke in the eye!" lol

Thanks again peeps for your valuable input. This is a very good forum. Appologies for the small 'novel'! that I just wrote lol

[Chuck]

hmmmm.....

So dropped my car to John Hughes VW (Perth) this morning. My service centre mate investigated and told me that chipping the vehicle would void any warranty claims on the engine only

My question to the forum now is have you guys had to make or had engine problems in the 3 year warranty period???

A fellow employee of my mate said that in his experience chipping did not make a huge difference to the car...i didn't bother arguing, just smiled and nodded politely