GTI 1.8T Newbie

[spfbeaver]

Hey Guys... Im pretty new to tuning so im looking for some help. Got myself an '03 GTI 1.8T a couple months ago and im looking to add a bit of hp. I dont wasnt to do any serious tuning but another 50 hp would be nice. Ideally i would like to keep the car looking and sounding close to stock.. you know ... the imfamous "sleeper". Ive been looking around for a couple days and am thinking about a new chip and a cold air intake among other mods but am worried about engine noise with the CAI. Im also wondering what kinda gas mileage i could expect after any mods as ive already put 15k on it in 6 months. Lemme know what you think..

[Slick13]

you don't always have to increase the power of your car to give it the extra performance. there are insurance friendly mods that can be performed.

An example of this is you could uprate the discs and pads on the car, this will allow you to brake much later and maintain higher approach speeds to corners and brake much later than others. Another is to uprate the exhaust to a straight through system although emissions would have to be watched, but the optimum size would be 2.5" in order to keep a nice level of back pressure.

You could uprate the spark leads to racing ones and also put in a racing air filter, along with adding a fuel octane additive to the fuel tank. Something like Nitrox is good if your in the UK. (although careful of your Head gasket and don't blow it like a mate did.) although if not wanting to sort all of this out the easiest thing to do is to a add a ecu to the engine and that can usually give you an extra 20-30 bhp straight off from re mapping the fuel injectors and the power down to the wheels.

I hope some of this helps you out also bearing in mind if you don't declare the chip to the insurance company and your involved in a crash and the chip is found you will end up shit creek with a sponge as a boat.

[spfbeaver]

Looks like im gonna try and find a good ecu and upgrade and ill say screw the insurance company for right now..any suggestions on a good ecu available in the U.S.? As far as the exhaust goes... Do you know if it is possible to increase the size to 2.5 without gaining noise? I do use the car for some business so I would like to keep the volume to a minimum. Im also worried about the noise of a CAI.. ever heard the sound of a CAI without an exhaust system?

[Slick13]

well on most VW exhaust systems there is about 3 mufflers before the rear can thus reducing the noise considerably.

depending on how much money there is going spare for you, you can have a custom built stainless steel system put on the car and have 2 mufflers put in, instead of the 3 and it will give you a nice burble and still be reasonable to drive in.

With the ECU chip all i can do is give you this website and hope something turns up. Although they are fairly hefty on price.

VW Chips

[ArcadiaBBQ]

Want to add power without losing the sleeper quality?

1. Buy a chip, I have Giac, but there are many other good companies

2. Cold Air Intake (CAI) I have EVO motorsports, but the cheapest out ther right now is most def GHL motorsports.

3. With the chip and intake you will probably want a new diverter valve, to hold the extra boost. There are so many out there, I have Turbo XS but any one will work.

4. Now if you don't mind the sound of exhaust, Go with GHL they are a little on the loud side, but nothing like those hondas you hear running around. The note is very Euro, very clean! It will give you a lot more power too!

5. Nitrous! Just be careful!

I have all of these mods plus a lot more, you will be very happy if you do half of the things on this list!

[Myrrdex]

Originally Posted by ArcadiaBBQ

5. Nitrous! Just be careful!

I have all of these mods plus a lot more, you will be very happy if you do half of the things on this list!

NO NITROUS!!! ahhhhhhh. Yes do half of them on the list - the nitrous. Why would you ruin a perfectly good GTI with nitrous?