[ajmat]

After reading so far, I think its time you bought a good preowned Polo GTI

[AMG Power]

I was going to say just the same thing when reading through your recent mods. Pre owned GTI's are available from around 15 lakhs onwards. And the GTI doesn't leave you wanting in any area be it performance, exhaust note, handling, etc. It's The real McCoy.

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by bhuvan_prasad

Think of it this way, you're flat out, then brake, and by the time you are done with the corner, and back on the power, your IAT's are back to the good, healthy range, and you get full power without the ECU retarding the timing due to high IAT's. On the street, and especially in Bangalore's lovely traffic with severely limited WOT opportunities, you might not find the difference to be night and day, after adding the extra radiator, but it's good knowing the setup exists.

I am no expert regarding the map, but since your IAT's are consistently low, you will see power gains via that, and usually more aggressive remaps for an inter-cooler are not done, as far as I have heard. You will just have more power all the time, rather than more power only for some time, unlike earlier.

Sad that the Borla ProXS muffler didn't work out, it sounds good on my NA 1.5 Honda city VTEC, with no drone. It does get loud post 3000RPM, but that is ok, normal city driving, it is quite discreet.

Exactly!

I intend to take the car to the track, and several GT TSIs that have been punished on the track has suffered quite a bit due to poor heat management. This mod will effectively ensure that performance will remain consistent after WOT runs and track days.

Yep, a lot of people have had good things to say about the Borla ProXS muffler, and if you inspect it closely, the construction and quality of material is very impressive. The issue is that it’s a universal muffler, so it can be a hit or miss depending on the application. But that’s alright I’m not too bothered by it. I think I have found a suitable replacement.

Originally Posted by ajmat

After reading so far, I think its time you bought a good preowned Polo GTI

Originally Posted by AMG Power

I was going to say just the same thing when reading through your recent mods. Pre owned GTI's are available from around 15 lakhs onwards. And the GTI doesn't leave you wanting in any area be it performance, exhaust note, handling, etc. It's The real McCoy.

Well, not going to lie. I have thought about this. But honestly, I am done with VWs. I don’t think I want another Polo. I mean, it’s been a great experience driving and modifying this car but I would much rather move on to something else. My next car would preferably be RWD, and hopefully powered by a six cylinder engine.

[adi_petrolhead]

Do check out this video. The guy has a 'Superb' sleeper, with an additional cooling system in the boot, which you can switch on and off when needed. Doesn't give a lot of details, but might give some ideas to Blackworks.

https://youtu.be/FWotswktQ_8

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by adi_petrolhead

Do check out this video. The guy has a 'Superb' sleeper, with an additional cooling system in the boot, which you can switch on and off when needed. Doesn't give a lot of details, but might give some ideas to Blackworks.

Thanks for the video, Adi. Loved it!

This Superb is equipped with a water-meth injection kit. The reservoir is stored in the boot and with a button on the dash, you can spray the water-meth mixture into the intake for additional cooling. However, This is useful when you are taking part in drag races where you need the momentary boost in power to lower your drag times.

I believe Code6 has already experimented with this idea and have used it in a Polo TSI. The owner of that car happens to be a friend and he likes the additional boost this kit provides as he frequently takes part in drag races. However, it serves me no purpose as I do not take part in drag races and I would much rather benefit from permanently lower IATs for consistent and sustained performance - something that the double divorced coolant circuit already provides.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

My next car would preferably be RWD, and hopefully powered by a six cylinder engine.

Finally - Yes please. Good mechanical things they are, a stock straight six and RWD should keep you happy and it is best to avoid a trip to the tuner. Meanwhile make some tableware out of that Borla, I hear they use food grade stainless steel!!

[suhaas307]

UPDATE:

A lot has happened since my last update on this thread, and I simply could not put together these updates as quickly as I would have liked to, simply because there was a huge spike in my workload after the lockdown was relaxed last month.

So I will be putting this together step by step and may have to split the post into two so that I can accommodate all photographs and updates.

Update No. 1 - Service:

My car was last serviced in November 2019 at the 34,000 mark. Having done just 4,500 km since then, a service was not really necessary but having put the car through some severe punishment during the summer (data logging, constant 0-100 runs and daily 100 km drives in and around the city) a service would not be the worst idea.



While getting it serviced, I had asked Azaan to have a look at my car's steering rack as I suspected that it was on its way out. (I could hear a knocking noise from the front axle and after repeated diagnosis of the suspension we simply could not zero-in on the sound).

As I had suspected, it was the steering rack that needed replacement - as it was absolute knackered.



Old rack:




New rack:



The new rack has made the steering feel a bit tighter and heavier than it used to be. But the knocking sound from the front axle has disappeared!

No service is complete without a quick stop over at Madhus for road-force balancing and alignment:



Madhu's new state-of-the-art facility at Wilson Garden is so well appointed that I don't mind the extra 3 km drive, even though the old facility at Richmond Town / Shanthinagar is literally 2 minutes from my flat!


Update No. 2 - Magnaflow Exhaust:

Regulars on this thread would know that I had initially opted for a Borla ProXS muffler. But after installing it, I realized that it wasn't suiting my cat-less + non-resonated setup.



I found it a bit too bassy and that was largely due to the cat-less setup I feel. The larger muffler box probably allows the exhaust gasses to linger a bit longer before being evacuated, giving it the bassy note that it's known for. I wouldn't have had this problem if the cat-con was still in place, I'm certain.

Anyway, the hunt was on for a replacement and I found this used Magnaflow muffler for sale somewhere on the internet. Upon contacting the seller, I found out that this muffler was actually the same one doing duty on Philip Mathew's erstwhile GT TSI!

Having heard the exhaust note on YouTube, I wasted no time in having it shipped to my place and getting it installed:




I must say, the exhaust note is now fantastic! It is louder than the ProRace catback setup that I had on the car last year, but it's much nicer than before. It is still a bit too loud for everyday driving though and it does drone a bit especially at around 3000 RPM.

Fitting the stock resonator quietens it down completely and it almost sounds like a stock car. Without the resonator, it's pretty wild! I may have to consider fitting a sports resonator to hit the sweet spot / middle-ground that I am after.


Update No. 3 - Whiteline Swaybar:

Other than maybe a revised Stage 2 map to take advantage of the potential unlocked by the divorced coolant circuit, I think I may have finally hit a road block when it comes to engine-related modifications for this car. There really is nothing else left in it now, other than an engine swap.

I have decided to make my peace with that for now, by focusing on other areas were I could improve the car like the handling. The Sachs + Cobra has no doubt transformed the car's ride and handling characteristics. The dampers and stabilizer links in particular have sharpened the car's steering and handling. But I knew there was more that can be had from the setup without going the Coilover route.

Some time last year I had identified UK-based Whiteline's 3-way adjustable swaybar to be an interesting mod worth considering. The part itself was around 177 pounds and during the Thanksgiving sale, it fell to a mouth-watering 150 pounds. I had to have it, but the shipping costs and custom duties threw a spanner in the works, as the landed cost would make it twice as much as it retails in the UK. It simply wasn't worth the money, in my opinion.

However, being an enthusiast has its perks. You invariably reach out to people for their views and opinions on all things car-related, and people reach out to you for the same. I have met several people as a result, some of whom have turned out to be absolute gems!

One such person is this friendly dude named Haritabh from Gurgaon who used to own and regularly track his Polo 1.5 TDI. His car was equipped with this Whiteline Swaybar that I had my eyes on for a while, and when Haritabh was looking to sell off his car lats month, I requested him to sell the swaybar to me. He gladly obliged and parceled the swaybar to my flat late last month.

Picture of the swaybar, along with washers, end-links and bushes:



Picture of the swaybar installed:





As some of you may know, the rear sway bar further stiffens the rear torsion beam axle and in the case of the Whiteline swaybar there are 3-Points of adjustability: Low - Med - Hard.

For now, I have left it at the medium setting. Immediately, I can tell that the car feels extremely responsive to steering inputs and has a much better turn-in.

The stiff rear can actually be felt especially over uneven roads, and if one side of the car traverses over an undulation while the other side remains on stable ground. But the whole car feels a lot grippier. Lane changing on the highway is crisp and body roll is non-existent.

I think I may have found the perfect setup for Bangalore and KA road conditions!

I am extremely pleased with the setup as it is now. The handling is great and the ride is not compromised too much.

The Sachs dampers give it a near-Bilstein-like feel without the added layer of stiffness that Bilsteins are known for. The Cobra progressive springs help reduce the violent rebound at the back whilst allowing the rear to feel settled over the rear rough / sharp stuff. And now with the swaybar installed, lateral movement is controlled and I can really throw the car into any corner and it will hold its line! I can't wait to try it at its stiffest setting!

For those who are not familiar with swaybars and their advantages / disadvantages, I am quoting Philip's post from his Polo thread:

Originally Posted by Philip.Mathew

With a FWD Car which has a setup for understeer we have to stiffen the rear to reduce this understeer. The Polo already comes with a front anti-roll/sway bar from factory. Stiffening the front further in a FWD will only further increase understeer which is something we don't want. So on a GT TSI a simple rear sway bar can significantly improve the grip & handling characteristics, and reduce the understeer. Whereas on a Stage 2 Polo GTI, other than a rear sway bar you'll also need a slightly stiffer front sway bar. So on extremely powerful FWD Car's like a K04 Laura, Stage 2 GTI which has so much power going into the Front Wheels, we'll need to get both upgraded front and rear anti-roll bars to make sure that the rear doesn't get too stiff compared to the front, although we still want the rear to be slightly stiffer than the front to reduce the understeer and have a hint of oversteer. If the rear gets too stiff compared to the front it can lead to lift-off oversteer if you brake mid corner or in some really powerful FWD cars a simple lift off the throttle mid corner can send the weight balance forward(FWD cars are already front heavy) and as you take the turn the stiff and light rear comes loose and goes into a slide, the only way to correct this is by resetting the weight balance to normal by accelerating which will straighten out the car.

Update No. 4 - freshening up the ol' girl with botox and a butt-job:

Most of you may be aware of the fact that Volkswagen India has facelifted the Polo about 26 times since it was launched in 2009-10. Not only did it receive the global facelift in 2014, it also received another one in 2019 exclusively for the Indian market - VW merely recycled the GTI's tasty kit by reusing it on the 2019 Polo. Good news for those looking to buy the garden-variety Polo, bad news for the GTI owners who up until then had something to differentiate their cars from the regular Polos other than the 3-door configuration.

I too wanted to give the ol' girl a facelift (or in this case - an arselift ) and some botox to keep her looking fresh after 5 years of ownership, but I did not want to go down the GTI route like everyone else. I was particularly interested in getting a nicer rear bumper especially after ProRace butchered my rear bumper to accommodate the dual exhaust finishers.

However, while Volkswagen India went in the forward-direction with their 6C GTI kit facelift in 2019, I went a bit backwards and got myself the old '6R' 2010 pre-fcelift GTI kit installed on my car, courtesy good friend and BHPian speedkills.

I personally prefer the old GTI's kit over the new one.



The kit consisted of front and rear bumpers, front fog lights, side skirts and a rear diffuser. I decided to retain the front bumper and only use the rear bumper + side skirts on my car. The reason why I decided to retain the stock front bumper is because - if you notice carefully, the old 2010 6R GTI's front bumper and the 2014 facelift Polo share the same front bumper, the only difference being the GTI bumper had a honeycomb grill whereas the 2014-15 Polo's bumper had horizontal slats. That being considered, I saw no point in changing the front bumper.

However, I had immediately noticed that there were issues with the 6R kit that needed to be addressed.

Firstly, the rear bumper had provisions for bumper reflectors on either side of the diffuser, just like on the new GTI. The diffuser also has a detachable piece that cane be removed to access the rear tow-hook.

Both the tow-hook cover and the rear bumper reflectors were not part of the kit. No amount of late-night detective work on the internet looking for the tow-hook cover and bumper reflectors helped, and after several months of browsing I decided to give up and improvise. And so I did! For the diffuser, Sachin Raju who is a good friend helped by identifying a fiber-glass fabricator who closed up the provision for the tow-hook access with fiber-glass. Similarly, I decided to get the provisions for the reflectors closed up using filler and then painted over.

Once the diffuser was ready, I got it sent to Azaan's workshop who then took the parts to his booth to get them painted and installed on my car.

I had also requested him to paint the side skirts, B / C pillars and the rear diffuser in gloss-black, so that it ties in together with the black ORVM covers and rear spoiler.

To complete the “facelift” I decided to procure the new GTI style tail lights. VW Palace Cross made me jump through hoops to get a set for these new tail lights but I finally managed to get my hands on a set. It wasn’t a straight forward swap either (please refer TheLizardKing’s brilliant thread for more details) but Azaan managed to get it done for me.

The results can be seen in the next post:

[suhaas307]

Here are a few pictures of my car as on August 1st 2020:



































P.S. The car still needs a few small finishing touches and I definitely need to do something about the headlights (worse than candles in jam-jars when navigating Bangalore's infamous pot-holed and unlit roads at night).

Stay tuned for more updates

[Vik0728]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

Here are a few pictures of my car as on August 1st 2020:

Your car really looks apart with those stunning rims Suhas

I have subscribed to your thread for a long time now and really like the way you have gone about with the mods. I particularly like the diffuser setup and would really appreciate if you can share more details on how is it done and where did you source that from.

I definitely need to do something about the headlights (worse than candles in jam-jars when navigating Bangalore's infamous pot-holed and unlit roads at night).

Ah ha, this will be interesting to me as this is also my biggest gripe in the GT. I have currently got a pair of LED bulbs for low beam. The beam does not scatter like the conventional LEDs but they are not as good as projectors either.

Keeping a close watch to see what your plans are to fix this flaw on your car.

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by Vik0728

Your car really looks apart with those stunning rims Suhas

I have subscribed to your thread for a long time now and really like the way you have gone about with the mods. I particularly like the diffuser setup and would really appreciate if you can share more details on how is it done and where did you source that from.

Thank you, Vik!

The diffuser setup is actually the 6R GTI bumper that comes with a diffuser. It took me over a year to finally find this kit after looking everywhere! Ironically, it was right under my nose, sitting with good friend Joseph Prashant (speedkills). He had bought it several years ago from Singapore, for his erstwhile Polo 1.6 but he had sold the car before he installed it.

I have found this kit available on some South African websites and some EU websites as well, but they are ridiculously expensive and customs+shipping will send the landed cost into the stratosphere.

Originally Posted by Vik0728

Ah ha, this will be interesting to me as this is also my biggest gripe in the GT. I have currently got a pair of LED bulbs for low beam. The beam does not scatter like the conventional LEDs but they are not as good as projectors either.

Keeping a close watch to see what your plans are to fix this flaw on your car.

Interesting! I too was considering LED bulbs as a cost-effective option. My night-time driving is limited to short commutes so I'm not sure if I really do need to spend a lot of money on a retro-job or get OEM bixenons.

Could you tell me a little more about the performance of the low-beam LED bulbs? Are they better than the stock halogens? If yes, by how much? Is it a stark difference? Is it worth the 7-10k for the pair of bulbs? Should I get these instead of splurging on retro-jobs or OEM bixenons, considering that my night-time driving is limited to short commutes?

Help!

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

Should I get these instead of splurging on retro-jobs or OEM bi xenons, considering that my night-time driving is limited to short commutes?

I'll suggest Bi-Xenon projectors with 4800K/5500K bulbs. The vision at night is unmatched. Retrofit is pretty easy too, a day's job maximum in those OEM dual-barrel reflectors on your car.

What you can do is, fit the bi-xenon projectors in the outer barrel and leave the OEM halogen high beam as it is. The low beam will work off the projectors and in case you ain't satisfied with the OEM halogen high beams, the high beam of the bi-xenon projectors can be connected to a separate switch which you can use when required.

[Vik0728]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

Thank you, Vik!

Ironically, it was right under my nose, sitting with good friend Joseph Prashant (speedkills).

Prashanth's 1.6 Polo was an epic and I am glad that you sourced it from him. He always got the original stuff and everything was worth the money

Could you tell me a little more about the performance of the low-beam LED bulbs? Are they better than the stock halogens? If yes, by how much? Is it a stark difference? Is it worth the 7-10k for the pair of bulbs? Should I get these instead of splurging on retro-jobs or OEM bixenons, considering that my night-time driving is limited to short commutes?

Help!

Honestly Suhas, my usage is almost identical to yours and hence I decided to go ahead with just a pair of LED bulbs.

I almost never do night drives and always prefer a really early morning start. These early hours invariably reduce the number of jerks on the road with blaring high beams. White beams do no penetrate as much as a yellow beam, and with the reduced oncoming vehicles, a pair of good LED bulbs have really come into their own.

With this knowledge, I found Andride NIGHTEYE as a good start:

https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B08...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

What made me buy this in a jiffy was during the "Unlock 1.0", Amazon was running a huge discount.

So here are my observations:
- The LED bulbs are almost always bad unless they are housed in a projector as the beam scatters all over in a conventional cluster. However, these seem to scatter the beam considerably lesser.
- Because of the above observation, the road ahead is lit quite well. Unless the road is not sufficiently well lit, these provide excellent illumination with almost negligible glare for oncoming motorist.
- Personally, it looks good with the Lapiz Blue shade of the car.

Cons:
- As with all white beams, these are almost useless and pointless if driven on well lit roads, heavy rains or against more powerful yellow halogens of an oncoming vehicle.
- With a conventional reflector assembly, there is obviously no beam cut off like the projector setup. So some amount of illumination does scatter.

The above reasons have urged me to stick to the more powerful halogen bulbs for the fog lamps.

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

Could you tell me a little more about the performance of the low-beam LED bulbs? Are they better than the stock halogens? If yes, by how much? Is it a stark difference? Is it worth the 7-10k for the pair of bulbs? Should I get these instead of splurging on retro-jobs or OEM bixenons, considering that my night-time driving is limited to short commutes?

Help!

For LED bulbs , always choose turbo/flip LED. These mimic the filament size and location of halogen bulbs to the max possible extent and hence results in near perfect beam pattern and cut off.

I would suggest the below pair from Ali. However with the current covid scene, the shipping charges are high
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3290...archweb201603_

The LED should be as thin as possible and not big fat rectangle block like most LED's on Amazon IN.

[ChrisTJ]

Nice car and the mods you've done should make it handle better.

I'd like to know more about the anti-roll bar you've installed. Did you drill holes on the torsion beam setup in order to mount it or was it already there ?

Thanks for your time.

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

I'll suggest Bi-Xenon projectors with 4800K/5500K bulbs. The vision at night is unmatched. Retrofit is pretty easy too, a day's job maximum in those OEM dual-barrel reflectors on your car..

Originally Posted by Vik0728

Honestly Suhas, my usage is almost identical to yours and hence I decided to go ahead with just a pair of LED bulbs.

With this knowledge, I found Andride NIGHTEYE as a good start:

https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B08...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

What made me buy this in a jiffy was during the "Unlock 1.0", Amazon was running a huge discount.

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

For LED bulbs , always choose turbo/flip LED. These mimic the filament size and location of halogen bulbs to the max possible extent and hence results in near perfect beam pattern and cut off.

I would suggest the below pair from Ali. However with the current covid scene, the shipping charges are high
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3290...archweb201603_

The LED should be as thin as possible and not big fat rectangle block like most LED's on Amazon IN.

Thank you guys for your suggestions. These are helpful!

Allow me to evaluate my options and arrive at a decision shortly.

Originally Posted by ChrisTJ

Nice car and the mods you've done should make it handle better.

I'd like to know more about the anti-roll bar you've installed. Did you drill holes on the torsion beam setup in order to mount it or was it already there ?

Thanks for your time.

Thank you!

Installing the swaybar was a 20 minute affair. There was no drilling required whatsoever. It’s a very easily reversible modification. The swaybar uses end links at either end of the axle that are bolted onto the damper bracket and also just hooks onto the torsion beam using clamps and bushes. All nuts n bolts are tightened only once the car is sitting on its own weight and should not be tightened when it’s suspended on a ramp.

In fact the torsion beam is designed to accommodate this swaybar using the provisions for the swaybar’s clamps on the torsion beam.