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New car to tune?

11 messages,  Last post on Jun 20, 2010 at 9:31 AM

You are in the Speed Shop Tuning and Modification Forum.

What is this discussion about? Honda Civic, Volkswagen GTI, Mazda MAZDASPEED MAZDA3, Car Buying

Messages Page 2 of 2

#2 of 11 Re: New car to tune? [ska] by kork13

Jul 16, 2007 (5:54 am)

Replying to: ska (Apr 27, 2007 12:23 pm)
As in the past, Hondas, esp. Civics are primo for tuners. I just bought the '07 Si myself, and am looking to start playing with it, so I'd be very interested in what you have in mind as far as defining 'a project car to tune'. It cost me ~$21k, which is the cheapest of the three, and would leave you a few thousand dollars to use for initial mods.

#3 of 11 Re: New car to tune? [ska] by xaeta

Jul 29, 2007 (6:20 pm)

Replying to: ska (Apr 27, 2007 12:23 pm)
buying an older car also means starting from scratch too, with far more parts available for older models vice waiting a bit for the newer ones....
 
but I second the choosing of the new Civic Si...even though it is starting to look like a mini-van...

#4 of 11 Re: New car to tune? [xaeta] by kork13

Jul 30, 2007 (1:55 am)

Replying to: xaeta (Jul 29, 2007 6:20 pm)
hahahahaha i totally agree... it took me about a week to finally realize it, but i drove by a minivan at some point, and then it hit me... the entire front end looks like a MINIVAN!!!
 
I think America is following the trend in Europe of heading toward the ultra-compact, as evidenced by the Civics, Minis, SmartCars coming to the US, and even the Elements and similar.

#5 of 11 Re: New car to tune? [kork13] by nectar

Sep 04, 2007 (11:25 am)

Replying to: kork13 (Jul 30, 2007 1:55 am)
both honda and vw are great cars to "tune". i prefer german cars myself less of the racer boy image.
 
for 500 bucks you can bump the gti from 200 to 250 hp and 300ft/lbs (i think i'm right on that number)
 
i don't think the civic is turbo (?), so big hp gains like that typically cost a lot of money.

#7 of 11 APR Upgrade to GTI by 2gtiguy

May 10, 2010 (8:25 pm)

Nectar (et al...), I just had APR's ECU upgrade done on my 2010 4-door GTI. Went from 200HP/207lbs to 254HP/296TQ. $599 for the software plus $100 for the install at the top-rated dealer in the area. Worth every penny, my friend. The one thing I felt was lacking (that's a strong word) in my GTI was the HP/torque relative to other cars in the class. The chip flash has more than taken care of that, and at no cost to my mileage (unless I stomp on it a lot, which I sometimes do.... ). Anyway, I'm with you on German cars, and I love my GTI.

#8 of 11 Re: APR Upgrade to GTI [2gtiguy] by perunest

Jun 15, 2010 (3:47 pm)

Replying to: 2gtiguy (May 10, 2010 8:25 pm)
Two questions on your chip upgrade.
  1. Does this affect the warranty? I believe it does, but probably only for engine related problems.
  2, Where did you have this done?
 
 My fun car is a 2006 BMW Z4 M Roadster (330 HP) purchased new. I put this car away in the western Massachusetts winters, I'm looking for a four season fun car and the 2010 GTI is at the top of my list.

#9 of 11 Re: APR Upgrade to GTI [perunest] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Jun 16, 2010 (9:35 pm)

Replying to: perunest (Jun 15, 2010 3:47 pm)
If they can detect the chip and if the warranty claim has anything to do with the powertrain, you bet VW will deny it. There's nothing to say that the car's transaxle is going to enjoy the extra torque as much as the driver
 
Viisting Host

#10 of 11 Re: APR Upgrade to GTI [Mr_Shiftright] by 2gtiguy

Jun 19, 2010 (10:23 pm)

Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Jun 16, 2010 9:35 pm)
Solid points. I don't drive it like a maniac, so it hopefully won't put too much strain on the transaxle. That said, APR's Stage I upgrade is designed to work within the specs of VW's existing equipment (which, being German, is outstanding), so I don't think it's an issue. Also, APR's upgrade includes the ability to switch back to stock settings AND lock it out once you've done that, making the upgrade "undetectable" (I used quotes because I haven't proven this yet). We'll see.

#11 of 11 Re: APR Upgrade to GTI [2gtiguy] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Jun 20, 2010 (9:31 am)

Replying to: 2gtiguy (Jun 19, 2010 10:23 pm)
Well the only way a chip is going to get that kind of power is cranking up your turbo boost, and so they are probably going to be able to detect that. It would be interesting to dyno the car to see what the actual HP ratings are. Also might be good to know how much boost they are dialing in--hopefully not excessive.
 
I'm modifying the supercharger on my MINI and I'm taking precautions for the added boost with cooler spark plugs and larger intercooler intake. One always has to be concerned with heat build-up when cranking on the boost I think.

Messages Page 2 of 2

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