Volkswagen Polo GT TSi - My Lightning Mcqueen

[Jonathan7s]

Got my car back yesterday after 2 weeks. Apparently my case was rejected by the extended warranty team stating that the clutch had rusting on it and the car would have gone deep in water. Obviously that is not the case and I keep the car protected and park it in a garage. The extended warranty is claimed from bajaj finance and they rejected it.
The dealer then pushed the case directly to vw and asked for an exception to replace it for free and vw obliged and replaced it.

Things I've learnt from this experience:
1. dealership support is very important. In my case my SA went a long way to make sure i get the part for free.
2. The extended warranty claim is from a third party and not vw directly. Since its 3rd party they would make sure to find some reason to turn down the claim.
3. VW is trying to build its after sales support by offering goodwill warranty. Step in the right direction.
4. Try your best to have your car covered in extended warranty for as long as possible. Driving these cars outside warranty is a big risk specially that come fitted with the DSG DQ200.

The total bill was for INR112,000 approx. I just had to pay 1k for fuel that the dealer used for testing my car.

 

[navnit013]

VW has been very supportive in DSG related matters.

Since my issue cropped up first, the car has done 30k kms. No sign of a repeat. Also they wanted to change the steering, but latest service, they said its fine.

Apparently, when the service adviser told me of steering rack change, I told him rack is fine check the peripherals.

this car brings up a smile every time you drive it.

 

[Jonathan7s]

On the 3rd of dec 2018 I along with my wife and my almost 2 year old daughter did a road trip from Delhi to the North East and back. Total kms done was approx 5300kms.

Onward journey took us 6 days to reach Guwahati. We took it easy as our daughter gets restless after 6-7 hours in the car seat. We took the expressway from Delhi to lucknow, great roads with 6 lanes. Beyond that we stuck to NH24 which is good for most parts with 4 lanes.

Day1. Delhi-lucknow
Day 2 Lucknow-Deoria
Day 3 Deoria-Darbanga
Day 4 Darbanga-Siliguri
Day 5 Siliguri-darjeeling and back(site seeing)
Day6 Siliguri-guwahati

On our way back we did the trip in 4 days

Day1. Guwahati-siliguri
Day2. Siliguri-Muzafarabad
Day3 Muzafarabad-Deoria
Day 4 Deoria-Delhi

It was a great trip. The car did great, made me reaffirm my decision of buying it. It gobbled up kms effortlessly and didnt break a sweat. The dsg and cruise control made the drive comfortable and relaxed. After almost 3 years of ownership I love my car even more than the first day as it has proved itself as a calm hatchback for sedate drives in the city, a grand tourer happily munching kms and a thrilling car to drive when you're up for some fun (S mode).

 

[Jonathan7s]

Got aftermarket tail lights installed on my car. Quite happy with it.

 

[Jonathan7s]

Got Eibach pro lowering springs installed on my car. It has definitely enhanced the stance. On low speeds the springs are as soft as the stock springs and hence absorb bumps well. Taking turns at 60kmph and above is enjoyable as the bodyroll has reduced significantly. Definitely need to go slower on speed bumps to avoid bottoming out. Quite happy overall with the springs.

Front springs comparison

Rear springs comparison

 

[Jonathan7s]

Got Pete's stage 1 remap today. The car sure does feel more eager. Its been only 16kms with the remap and so its too early to give a comprehensive review of the remap. I need to run the car for 80-100kms for the map to really settle in as told by Petes. However, here are my initial thoughts:
The D mode is where most of the changes are felt. On the stock map, there was a second of hesitation in D mode when depressing the peda. Thatl has now gone which makes quick overtakes easier rather than changing to the tiptronic mode or S mode.
The car picks up speed quicker, its not a night and day difference but the difference is enough to know its been remapped.
The biggest difference that I could notice is the speedometer kinda slowed from 80-100 on the speedo on the stock map, however with the remap this dull spot of the speedo is gone and the car's speeds continues to rise as the same rate as it did from 20-80.
The rpms hold upto 5200 in gear in D mode now. I think its was lesser on the stock map.
The D mode performs closer to the S mode if the pedal is floored.

The performance gains as claimed by Pete's is 128bhp and 210nm torque at crank.

I'll keep this thread updated as I drive more and discover the changes with the remap.

 

[vishnu vichu]

Got Pete's stage 1 remap today. The car sure does feel more eager. Its been only 16kms with the remap and so its too early to give a comprehensive review of the remap. I need to run the car for 80-100kms for the map to really settle in as told by Petes. However, here are my initial thoughts:
The D mode is where most of the changes are felt. On the stock map, there was a second of hesitation in D mode when depressing the peda. Thatl has now gone which makes quick overtakes easier rather than changing to the tiptronic mode or S mode.
The car picks up speed quicker, its not a night and day difference but the difference is enough to know its been remapped.
The biggest difference that I could notice is the speedometer kinda slowed from 80-100 on the speedo on the stock map, however with the remap this dull spot of the speedo is gone and the car's speeds continues to rise as the same rate as it did from 20-80.
The rpms hold upto 5200 in gear in D mode now. I think its was lesser on the stock map.
The D mode performs closer to the S mode if the pedal is floored.

The performance gains as claimed by Pete's is 128bhp and 210nm torque at crank.

I'll keep this thread updated as I drive more and discover the changes with the remap.

Wow! Great to hear that. What all mods other than the remap and Eibach springs ?

 

[deville_56]

Now badly needs better rims.

 

[Jonathan7s]

Wow! Great to hear that. What all mods other than the remap and Eibach springs ?

Not many actually. The front grill is the R line gril, of course the tail lamps and euro spec air intake. Would love to do more mods but its a costly affair. Since the car is a family car (wife + 3year and 1 year old) I have to limit the mods to practical mods so that the car can continue to be a family car and so I may not go for the stage 2 with cat back exhaust as the family may not be interested in the extra sound.

Now badly needs better rims.

I'd love to get 16inch rims. I'm secretly ogling over the mk1 octavia vrs alloys as they have the same spec(rim width) as the polo's stock estrada alloys that I have currently. Not sure if I can afford wheels and upgraded tyres anytime soon though. Thinking to get my stock rims painted (not gloss black) to make it look a little different. 17 would be an overkill considering our roads here and would slow down the car ever so slightly with the bigger wheels and tyres, although the stance would really get enhanced.

 

[vishnu vichu]

Not many actually. The front grill is the R line gril, of course the tail lamps and euro spec air intake. Would love to do more mods but its a costly affair. Since the car is a family car (wife + 3year and 1 year old) I have to limit the mods to practical mods so that the car can continue to be a family car and so I may not go for the stage 2 with cat back exhaust as the family may not be interested in the extra sound.

Oh! Great. Do you have any stock replacement filter installed? Because I haven't seen you mentioning one.

I'd love to get 16inch rims. I'm secretly ogling over the mk1 octavia vrs alloys as they have the same spec(rim width) as the polo's stock estrada alloys that I have currently. Not sure if I can afford wheels and upgraded tyres anytime soon though. Thinking to get my stock rims painted (not gloss black) to make it look a little different. 17 would be an overkill considering our roads here and would slow down the car ever so slightly with the bigger wheels and tyres, although the stance would really get enhanced.

I have seen few cars with the similar set-up here in KL. I must say it looks gorgeous! Although getting the MK1 VRS wheels is an expensive affair !

 

[Jonathan7s]

Oh! Great. Do you have any stock replacement filter installed? Because I haven't seen you mentioning one.



I have seen few cars with the similar set-up here in KL. I must say it looks gorgeous! Although getting the MK1 VRS wheels is an expensive affair !

I dont have a stock replacement filter yet. Since I have the euro spec air channel guide it would make sense to get a k&n stock replacement filter.
Yes KL is the land of polos :) I came across mk1 octavia vrs wheels for 30k for a set of 4. I think the seller's from KL. Unfortunately my budget doesnt permit to purchase those wheels.

 

[vishnu vichu]

I dont have a stock replacement filter yet. Since I have the euro spec air channel guide it would make sense to get a k&n stock replacement filter.
Yes KL is the land of polos :) I came across mk1 octavia vrs wheels for 30k for a set of 4. I think the seller's from KL. Unfortunately my budget doesnt permit to purchase those wheels.

Ideally you should be having a stock replacement filter at the least right ? Since the Polo doesn't have a MAF sensor and you're running a remap as well. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Jonathan7s]

Yes stock replacement filter does make sense with the remap however, I checked with Pete's and they said it would not be required as such for a stage 1, maybe increase the perfomance by 2% for the high flow air filter. Now k&n's are too expensive now (close to 7k on amazon) and I dont they are worth it. The OEM filter in vw polo tsi is a lumax one that seems like it has a pretty restrictive airflow probably for our dusty conditions.

I've come across sofima filters that is is sub brand of UFI filters that the tsi cars came with as the engine was imported. Have you heard of this sub brand and the performance of it?

 

[deville_56]

I've come across sofima filters that is is sub brand of UFI filters that the tsi cars came with as the engine was imported. Have you heard of this sub brand and the performance of it?

Nowadays I get these Sofimo easier and cheaper than OEM and Purolator ones. Performance-wise not much difference felt comparing OE ones. Local dealer here helps procure any model quite easily.

 

[vishnu vichu]

Yes stock replacement filter does make sense with the remap however, I checked with Pete's and they said it would not be required as such for a stage 1, maybe increase the perfomance by 2% for the high flow air filter. Now k&n's are too expensive now (close to 7k on amazon) and I dont they are worth it. The OEM filter in vw polo tsi is a lumax one that seems like it has a pretty restrictive airflow probably for our dusty conditions.

I've come across sofima filters that is is sub brand of UFI filters that the tsi cars came with as the engine was imported. Have you heard of this sub brand and the performance of it?

Strange! Have few friend's running with similar setup and almost all of them have a stock replacement filter.