Polo GTI 9n3 - APR chip - Effect on Car balance?

[Bounga]

I just started another thread outlining my interest in the XR5 Turbo over the Polo GTI.

I think a bit part of my hesitation to keep the Polo is my worry that once chipped, it won't be a nicely balanced car as it wasn't designed to handle such power. Jeremy Clarkson did say that even though the engine can handle more power, he thinks VW got it right at 110KW.

The APR tune is something I would absolutely want to do. An extra 40odd KW's for a little over 1K is a bargain.

For those who have had it done with nothing else, how did you find it? The other threads I've read all reference the speed/acceleration improvement - apparently it being a mid 6 second car? But how does the little thing handle it?

Day-to-day how do you find it? If I were to do the odd track day here and there would it be nicely balanced enough?

Knowing this from actual owners would be great in helping me make a decision on which car. I do love the nimbleness and descreteness of the GTI. So much power packed into a little unsuspecting package.

[MissVuks]

You have absoutely no worries in chipping the polo. The 1.8T is an extremely strong set up, hence why it was used for so long in so many of the vw cars.

The car runs fine with the extra kw gained from the tune (apr or giac). It is quite comfortable with the standard set up and just the tune (if that's all your looking to do) If your looking at getting more power then it might be worth considering a DP, suspension mods, bigger brakes etc

My car was dynoed at almost 144kwatw and it's my daily driver. I have no issues with it. My boyf drives and S3 with craploads more power and he loves driving it due to it being lightweight, nimble and it's chuckability lol however, he does push the car alot harder than I do.

If you wana talk track days, there's heaps of polos doing great times at Wakefield. I think that it is a testament of the all round awesomeness of our little pocket rockets. Once set up correctly they are unassuming sleepers on the road..

[Blitzen]

Mate, another thread that you could have got an answer with if you did a search... But, Lora hit the nail on the head. I have had my APR tune for 80,000km now, and I have had no problems with it.

There are heaps of tuning threads on this forum, and tuners out there. Do your research, and decide on what you want.

[s4mmie]

I would highly recommend the APR chip. I recently bought an '07 GTI for my wife as her daily driver and my weekend whip. I decided to get used to the car for the first two weeks before moving onto the chip and I'm glad I did; The difference is remarkable! As soon as I pulled out of the drive with the new chip it put a huge smile on my face. My wife loves it as well, when she got home she was like: "I made it whoosh!" lol.
As far as balance and drive ability all I can say is that it's enhanced an already great little car. It's great to drive around town with plenty more torque and I can still give it a bootfull on the weekend.

I have a feeling the K04 and Milltek will change that a bit Funny enough though I still dont think it will be uncomfortable as a daily, the little Polo takes to mods like a duck to water.

[shaneth]

Mate if you were in Brisbane i would offer to let you take mine for a quick spin. The difference between chip and non-chip is chalk and cheese.

[kaanage]

Being in Qld, you should also consider Superchips, CustomCode and Viezu as ECU remaps for your Polo since all 3 have their Australian distributors in Qld as well as APR. Check if you can trial their remaps.

Not saying that APR is bad but it's worth checking as many options as possible as Blitzen posted

[dainese]

Its good mate. missus drives hers nearly daily.

when its pushed it has some initial roll but it settles quite soon, and the fronts spin easily.

it makes me worry, as my R32 isn't much quicker!

[instigator]

stock suspension is not so good for track work.
quit alot body roll, apart from that, exelent car.

get a decent suspension and get the engine tweaked, a world of diffrence!

[blitDz]

Just had mine done after owning the car for about 4 weeks. I cannot imagine going back to stock. Very happy with results. If u were looking at a Xr5 Wouldnt it be best to go for Golf GTI? The current Detroit wheels are nom nom.

[seangti]

I run the superchips tune and additional supporting mods as per my signature. I do find that there's quite a bit more lag down low but is also dependent on driving style, reminds me of my subaru days. That's not so much a criticsm but may not be to everyones tastes. I had done a handful of trackdays pre-tune though yet to get out since. It's very easy to light up the tyres in 1st on grippy surfaces so takes some patience in the track light GP's, in the wet it'll happily spin in second on power down as it boosts (with Kumho KU31's). I will be upgrading my tyres, likely to a semi slick once I can commit to more regular track days. The KU31's were 1sec a lap slower than the standard continentals at QR on the sprint circuit.

But it's not some tyre spinning beast, but don't expect all wheel drive power down

[kaanage]

I will be upgrading my tyres, likely to a semi slick once I can commit to more regular track days.

Get 2nd set of rims (16" is just fine - if you can get 15" over your brakes, even better as the tyres are cheaper) for your semi-slicks as they are harsh and FRIGGIN' LOUD

[seangti]

Get 2nd set of rims (16" is just fine - if you can get 15" over your brakes, even better as the tyres are cheaper) for your semi-slicks as they are harsh and FRIGGIN' LOUD

I was thinking more like a KU36 semi for street use too. Would love the cut slick yoko or similar that you have but am pretty lazy to be changing em over.
Going off topic, but would you drive to the track on the semi's, cos the tracks around brisbane are ~60kms away. Any concerns in ruining a heat cycle by doing so?

[instigator]

if i am right there is no semi slick that we can use on our 16" stock wheel.
semi slick is something like a Toyo R888 etc.. and the tire height is 50 or 55, and we need 45.
you can fit 15" wheels over the stock brakes, no problem with that, it's like fitting a 16" wheel over the TT225 brakes.
and if you do can get a hold on 15" wheels you can put a semi slick on it with a 50 wall.

i now have Yokohama Advan neova AD08,
it's not quit a semi slick but it comes verry close to it.
probably not as grippy as a semi slick in dry, but it does give VERRY good grip.
i'm suprised about how much grip they can produce.
before i drove Dunlop SP sportmaxx, not a bad tyre at all but comes nowhere close to the AD08's.
they will give more grip in wet condition and they do last alot longer + they are cheaper as semi's as well.
might be handy if you still use the car for daily use and such.
my opinion, it's the best street tyre available with alot of grip in all conditions (exept snow i guess :p)
try it and you'll love it, 100% sure of this!

[kaanage]

You can go slightly oversize with a 205/50R16 or even 215/45R16 - the difference in gearing is not going to make much difference and may help on some tracks (your road ratios won't be perfect for any track).

I've driven on very good road tyres and I can tell you that the difference with semi-slicks is not small. Plus semi-slicks won't tear up or chunk like a road tyre when pushed.

Driving to/from the track won't be too bad in terms of heat cycling as it is only 2 extra cycles added to the sessions for the day. The biggest issue (aside from NVH) is that the semi-slicks aren't as puncture resistant as a road tyre - I almost certainly picked up something when I drove to the track last time, to break them in gently, which resulted in a slow leak (see the Advan I killed earlier)

But if a 15" wheel fits over your brakes, then that's the primo option - I'm pissed off that Enkei don't make the 15" RPF1 in 5/100 (4.5kg) . Changing tyres at the track is no big deal - you spend a LOT of time waiting around