performance question

[thenew1]

Hey guys,

I'm a little concerned about my r32 08 which i purchased 3-4 weeks ago. As it was the only one i tested, i'm not sure how the car performs. It's got good power in the high rev's range. gears 1 and 2 doesn't have a huge kick - is this standard? 3rd gear really takes off.
I've called VW chatswood to find out about ecu updates etc. - waiting to hear back.

Would you guys suggest taking it to a vw specialist and getting it re-mapped? im not familiar with modding etc. but have read that resets the car? any suggestions would be appreciated..

PS. she did under 400km on a full tank.. a bit excessive?

[Tarmac]

Depends how you drive it. I get 350km if i boost it all the time. 450 with mod boosting ,500 without boost. Although yours is Not turbo. Same same.

The dealer ship will not re map it for you.

You need to go to an aftermarket tuner to get it done. You will get pretty good gains with just a tune and an intake. Will cost you around $1500 total for a tune and intake.

[Jig]

If I had a natural aspirated MKV R32 again and am looking for more NA power I would do the following;

1. ECU Tune - does not give you a big power difference but changes how the linear acceleration operates.
2. DSG Tune - changes the shifting and matches the power very, very well. Completely changes how the car drives.
3. Cat Back Exhaust - some power gains here to be had but not all that much but again changes the linear response of the NA R32 engine.

Contrary to Ben's post above, I would simply leave the intake as is and just change the air filter to something that breathes more(ie. ITG, BMC et al)

Is yours Manual? R32 power tapers off at around 4500 rpms I remember. Anything above that is just noise. However you should get good linear acceleration from 1st gear upwards. This is a DSG equipped car. The petrol consumption is about right.

I can definitely recommend Ramspeed for the ECU tune and DSG tune.

[Jig]

If I had a natural aspirated MKV R32 again and am looking for more NA power I would do the following;

1. ECU Tune - does not give you a big power difference but changes how the linear acceleration operates.
2. DSG Tune - changes the shifting and matches the power very, very well. Completely changes how the car drives.
3. Cat Back Exhaust - some power gains here to be had but not all that much but again changes the linear response of the NA R32 engine.

Contrary to Ben's post above, I would simply leave the intake as is and just change the air filter to something that breathes more(ie. ITG, BMC et al)

Is yours Manual? R32 power tapers off at around 4500 rpms I remember. Anything above that is just noise. However you should get good linear acceleration from 1st gear upwards. This is a DSG equipped car. The petrol consumption is about right.

I can definitely recommend Ramspeed for the ECU tune and DSG tune.

[thenew1]

Thanks for the response guys. very helpful.
yep - shes manual with 32k on the clock. i'm concerned shes not permforming at optimum compared to new, or compared to new in general.

i will most likely get an intake of somesort - highly likely the forge motorsports one (looks good and affordable).. what does a remap involve?

[73landau]

Remaps do give a better linear power curve. My car has the GIAC tune. I am getting about 500+ for a tank load. Exhaust does free up some power as long as a tune is also done.

I went for a resonated cat back Milltek as I didnt want it too loud. Your choice There is a group buy currently happening on the forum or buy from the UK direct. It worked out cheaper for me to go the UK route as I would have had to drive 500km the collect it.

I do have a GruppeM intake but the BMC panel filters do allow better flow than the standard if you want to go the stealth mode.

Get your mods done first before you get an ECU tune as you may need to have it redone afterwards.

DSG remaps can be done anytime and I would like to get one if and when CPC finally return the email I sent them four weeks ago.

If your car is due for a service, then wait till it is done as they may find something.

Do your own research and see what others have done on meets. Maybe go to the mod day coming up.

[thenew1]

Thanks for the info Greg.
I understand. Thanks for the info. No service needed for a long while.. But might take it in anyways in a month.
Won't be changing the exhaust as I like the natural sound so much. But will definitely look into the intake n ecu remap at a later stage.
How's ur gruppeM n exhaust?

[73landau]

One thought i had, have you been driving in D (docile) since you have bought the car? Try S (smile) mode on the selector when you have a safe stretch to use it. It is completely different car :-) I live the way it downshifts when braking as for accelerating........

[thenew1]

One thought i had, have you been driving in D (docile) since you have bought the car? Try S (smile) mode on the selector when you have a safe stretch to use it. It is completely different car :-) I live the way it downshifts when braking as for accelerating........

i dunno if i have that option.. mines manual.. does it come with a setting like that?

[Dub]

Harvey,

Couple of key things for you to think about...

Firstly your car has low km's which is good . Given you are in Balmain, you suffer with alot of stop/start traffic. You can expect around 400kms for a tank in stock, especially with a manual. So dont fear, they just drink a little. But remember, it's only a 55L tank, so you Litres/100km's is about right on spec.

All the guys so far have offered you some good advice.

Alot will come down to how much you want to spend, and what you want. Judging by your comments, you feel some power gains might be in order, so an ECU map was mentioned which will help with this. Additionally since you have a manual, perhaps a short shift mechanism fitted will also improve your gear change times, and keep that power band up without too much loss under change of gear.

Think hard about the intake. There is alot of debate here around these. Some people think they work, some people dont. As Jig (Jose) mentioned, often a nice high flow filter popped into the stock air box will help you, but you arent going to see massive gains here. Just small incrememnts if noticeable at all. But then there is the cosmetic element. Greg's GruppeM intake looks really good in his engine bay, but expect to pay close to $900-$1000.

My recomendation is come hang out at some of the meets as was said above. You can talk to people, and see first hand what people have done, and what you like and dont like.

Then find a workshop that is nearby and you are comfortable with.

Ramspeed are excellent, but I am biased
There is also City Performance Centre in Artarmon
Exocticars in North Parra
BWA Auto in Seven Hills

and some other places.

There is a DIY day coming up at the end of the month. Worth coming along to meet others, and get some ideas. A very relaxed day.