[Tanveer_2558]

Originally Posted by Mitz

Haha..!!

Otherwise how much customs are we looking at over the price of Rs. 21000 ?

It varies, I have seen people charged nothing (Bychance) And also pay around 3000 - 6000 INR easily on products costing more than 20,000, With Customs its always a gamble, Another trick is to take the fastest shipping possible like Fedex and DHL.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by Mitz

Regarding the folders what I meant was, if I am listening to songs from Folder1, is there any option on the interface screen to directly jump to the next or previous folder without going back to Root folder to select the next/previous folder ?
Something similar to those 1DIN units with a round dial where the left/right buttons are used to change songs and the up/down buttons are used to change folders.

On this particular HU, is there any option for SIM slot for connecting to the internet in order to create a hot spot for car occupants ?

No. There is no folder skip option in the HU - atleast as far as I have explored.

And there is no SIM card slot for creating a WiFi hotspot.

Originally Posted by iliketurtles

This looks H-O-T. I was stuck in two minds about whether to go for this or not, but I'm pretty darn sure that this is a worthwhile purchase at some point. Looks very neat and is a genuinely big upgrade over the current head unit.

Even I love the looks of this HU. This will definitely be a good upgrade to the RCD510. If the HU continues to work well in the long term, I may install this in the Jetta as well.

[Mitz]

Originally Posted by graaja

No. There is no folder skip option in the HU - atleast as far as I have explored.

And there is no SIM card slot for creating a WiFi hotspot.

Thanks a lot.
Now that you have used both, the Android HU and this one, can you please include a comparison of the both in your detailed review.
Pros and Cons of each as opposed to the other.

There are a lot of people, including me who are wondering which one to go for. Android or DS-611.

Thanks.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by Mitz

Thanks a lot.
Now that you have used both, the Android HU and this one, can you please include a comparison of the both in your detailed review.
Pros and Cons of each as opposed to the other.

There are a lot of people, including me who are wondering which one to go for. Android or DS-611.

Thanks.

Sure. I will do a compare between Android and DS611 in a couple of days.

Meanwhile, the detailed review thread is live.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/car-en...lo-gt-tsi.html

[graaja]

Update:

1st Year Service Completed:

Got the first year service done. They changed the oil and oil filter and topped up the washer fluid. Total cost was 6.2K. The SA told me that as the car has done only 6.7K kms, there is no need to change the air filter. I had asked them not to do AC disinfectant treatment and wheel balancing. But now I notice in the invoice that they have recorded that I opted out of changing air filter and AC filter. I will have to write to them and clarify if they did not change the air filter because they misunderstood my request or because it was not required.



I left the car on Thursday morning. As I asked them to paint some scratches on the right side front bumper (the painting cost 3.2K), they said they will be able to deliver the car on Saturday evening. As promised, I got a call on Saturday evening that the car is ready. Overall experience was quite satisfactory.

I notice that they have listed the modifications I have carried out in the car (headlights, seat cover, rear camera, roof lamp, over size tire). Maybe this is to put the modifications on record and take this up in case there any warranty claim comes up in the future. God only knows!!!

DSG Behavior:

Post service, I notice a change in DSG behavior. Earlier, the moment the car moved, the DSG used to shift to D2 and even when crawling at less than 10kph, it would be in D2 slipping clutch. Now, the DSG shifts to D1 more often than before. Also, in D mode, earlier, it would never downshift quickly on throttle input. Now I see that the DSG is more responsive to throttle input and downshifts quickly. Maybe they have updated the DSG software during the service. I will have to talk to the SA to find out about this.

Detailing Done:

After the service, took the car to 3M and got an advanced detailing done as part of the annual package.







Insurance:

I have insurance from Bajaj Allianz. They quoted 31K for Zero Depreciation policy with 20% NCB for the second year for an IDV of 7.2Lacs. The dealer also had tie up with Oriental Insurance and the quote was around 20K. I wanted to stick to Bajaj Allianz at least for a couple of years as I found the claim process was very easy when I had a small accident with the Jetta. So, I got quotes from a few other insurance providers and went back to Bajaj Allianz to negotiate. After some negotiation, they reduced the premium from 31K to 27K. I felt this to be reasonable and went ahead with Bajaj Allianz.

That's all I have for now.

[antardaksh]

Originally Posted by graaja

Update:

1st Year Service Completed:

Got the first year service done. They changed the oil and oil filter and topped up the washer fluid. Total cost was 6.2K.

Insurance:

I have insurance from Bajaj Allianz. They quoted 31K for Zero Depreciation policy with 20% NCB for the second year for an IDV of 7.2Lacs.

Hi graaja,

I paid almost similar amount for 1st service, I requested them not to refill washer fluid. Since my car had only run 5k they only changed air/oil filter and engine oil.

Did you try online quotation from various insurers, I opted for HDFC ergo and paid around 14.5k with 50% NCB for Vento TSI.
This is zero dep policy, equivalent policy from Bajaj was around 21K.

Even I noticed different behavior from DSG post service. SA initially advised that they will do software update for 450INR which turned out to be just fault finding, I politely refused this. Hence I am not sure what caused change in DSG.

Regards.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by antardaksh

...

Did you try online quotation from various insurers, I opted for HDFC ergo and paid around 14.5k with 50% NCB for Vento TSI.
This is zero dep policy, equivalent policy from Bajaj was around 21K.

Yes. I got some online quotes for ICICI and HDFC. All were in the 20K to 25K range. Bajaj was on the higher side at 31K. But the dealership (and all VW dealerships) has a cashless tie up with Bajaj. That is why I wanted to stay with Bajaj for at least the first few years of the ownership and used these online quotes to negotiate with Bajaj.

[rageshgr]

Originally Posted by graaja

Detailing Done:

After the service, took the car to 3M and got an advanced detailing done as part of the annual package.

HI Raaja! The car looks stunning after the detailing. I too have an Oct 2015 GT TSI and just got the 1st year servicing done, so guess our ownerships are progressing similarly

I wanted to go for 3M as well. Can you pls tell me what kind of treatments you went for? Did you do interiors as well?

[graaja]

Originally Posted by rageshgr

HI Raaja! The car looks stunning after the detailing. I too have an Oct 2015 GT TSI and just got the 1st year servicing done, so guess our ownerships are progressing similarly

I wanted to go for 3M as well. Can you pls tell me what kind of treatments you went for? Did you do interiors as well?

Hi, Thank you for the kind words

I went for paint protection treatment and also interior cleaning (Germiclean). Actually, I took an annual package which includes these treatments.

You could choose the treatments depending on the state of the paint. If there are many swirl marks etc, then you can go for advanced paint protection treatment which includes, rubbing, polishing and waxing. If there are no swirl marks, then you can go for basic paint protection which will have polishing and waxing.

In interior cleaning as well, there is basic and advanced. Advanced includes AC duct cleaning, but is required only if you are experiencing foul smell. Otherwise basic should be enough. In case, your interiors are good, then you do not require any interior cleaning at all. They do basic vacuuming and cleaning of interiors as part of the paint protection treatment as well.

Choose a combination of these depending on the state of the car. And post a few pictures after the treatment as well

[rageshgr]

Originally Posted by graaja

Hi, Thank you for the kind words

I went for paint protection treatment and also interior cleaning (Germiclean). Actually, I took an annual package which includes these treatments.

You could choose the treatments depending on the state of the paint. If there are many swirl marks etc, then you can go for advanced paint protection treatment which includes, rubbing, polishing and waxing. If there are no swirl marks, then you can go for basic paint protection which will have polishing and waxing.

In interior cleaning as well, there is basic and advanced. Advanced includes AC duct cleaning, but is required only if you are experiencing foul smell. Otherwise basic should be enough. In case, your interiors are good, then you do not require any interior cleaning at all. They do basic vacuuming and cleaning of interiors as part of the paint protection treatment as well.

Choose a combination of these depending on the state of the car. And post a few pictures after the treatment as well

Thanks Raaja, sure. In my case I had ac duct cleaning ad disinfecting and interior anti pest treatment from VW SC. So I guess I will just for basic cleaning. I feel my interiors are a bit dusty and also it is a bit slippery with whatever lquid the SC applied

[graaja]

Installed KW Street Comfort Coilovers

One weak link of the Polo GT TSi was its suspensions. I had two issues with them. At low speeds, I felt the car to be very harsh while riding over potholes. And at high speeds in corners there was significant roll. I have been thinking about upgrading the suspensions for a long time. Finally decided to take the plunge.

As this is our daily drive car, comfort was my first priority followed by handling.

Considered the following options.

1. Bilstein B6 with stock springs - Greatly improves handling without affecting ride height. TBHPian d_himan has written a good review of this setup in this thread.
2. Bilstein B14 - Has adjustable ride height
3. KW Street Comfort - Had very good reviews for having the right balance between comfort and handling with adjustable ride height and rebound settings
4. KW v2 coilovers - Similar to Street Comfort, but stiffer, resulting in better handling but with a little sacrifice on comfort.

I would like to thank fellow TBHP'ians TheSaint, d_himan, reignofchaos and many other GT TSi owners for giving me lots of inputs on their experience with various suspensions. Everyone who used KW had only good things to say about it.

The only hesitation I had was if the underbody would scrape on those huge speed breakers due to the drop in height and ground clearance. But everyone who used KWs said if driven carefully, it would not scrap as the suspensions do not sag.

Then I had a talk with TBHPian QuickSilver who also confirmed that in his experience with various suspensions (Bilsteins, Tein and KW), he felt KW was the best (he has KW v3 on his Laura). So I decided to go ahead with KW Street comfort. QuickSilver also gave me the contact details of the KW dealer in Chennai - PJ Speed Sports.

The buying experience was very smooth. The dealer mentioned that Street Comfort is a little on the comfort side and suggested KW V2 for a stiffer ride. But when I explained that comfort is my first priority, he agreed Street Comfort is more suitable for this. Placed the order and received the coilovers in less than 3 weeks.

Got it installed on a Saturday. Big thanks to QuickSilver, batterylow and Krishsreedharan who were there at the workshop almost the whole day. We also had a mini Coimbatore TBHP meet with h14, Aslamjaffer, FuelInjector and Sam.K dropping in as well.

Some pictures of the installation.

The package


The front coilover


The rear coilover


Getting ready for the change


The stock suspensions



The stock spring vs. coilovers


The rebound adjustment.


A note on rebound adjustment: The KW website says the street comfort has 16 click adjustment. However, we found that each coilover had different clicks - anywhere from 18 to 21. TBHPian TheSaint also confirmed this. He also wrote to KW and got their response. Their response was: The damper can have more than 16 clicks. Any number of clicks above 16 do not make any change to the rebound. At 16, the internal valve is fully open and any more clicks do not have any effect. The right procedure is to turn the rebound valve fully clockwise till it hits the stop. And then count number of clicks anticlockwise.

Coilovers installed.




The uniform wheel well.


Comparing the height with a GT with stock suspensions. I measured the wheel weel gap and compared with the stock car, and the rear had a drop of 50mm and the front about 45mm.


The coilovers have totally transformed the look of the car.


Photoshoot:

Once the coilovers were installed, it was time for a photo shoot. I would like to thank TBHP'ian @krishsreedharan, an avid photographer who did a photo shoot of the GT.















Drive Experience:

The coilovers are set to 9 clicks (out of 16) both front and rear per suggestion from the manufacturer. The lower the number, the stiffer the suspension becomes. So, the setup now is more towards comfort. I have driven about 1000 kms after the installation. To put the experience in one word - SUPERB!!!

The coilovers have totally transformed the way the car rides. The harshness at low speeds is totally gone. When the car goes over small potholes, all I hear is the soft sound of the suspensions in action, nothing felt inside the car. With this much of comfort, I was doubtful of the handling in corners.

That doubt was put to rest on a drive to Mysore last week end. The drive to Mysore is through Dimbam ghats that has 27 hairpin bends, and also about 40 km of winding roads from Hassan to Chamraj nagar. The car was completely stable in the corners and with the 205 tires, I had loads of fun driving in the winding roads. I could take some long corners at 80+ kph. Having said that, I could still feel a little softness in the corners, but that I would attribute to the comfort setting. Reducing the rebound setting to maybe 6 should definitely increase the cornering speeds significantly, but I am totally satisfied with the balance between comfort and handling the suspension offers now.

The last test is the ground clearance. In the 1000 kms I have had a chance to drive the car over various types of roads - some really bad and broken stretches on the Mysore drive and also through various sizes of speed breakers. I have also driven on full load on big speed breakers. While negotiating a few high speed breakers, I could hear a mild scraping, but found that the scraping is with the mud flaps. I have not had any underbody scraping yet. But I do take all the speed breakers at very low speeds. If not driven carefully, I am sure there will be much more scraping.

Overall, extremely satisfied with this upgrade!

[drpudhi]

Wow, that's great. May be a coincidence, but myself have ordered the bilstein B6 which is at customs as i type. Its to be used with stock springs as i don't want any reduction in ride height due to my usage pattern. So, where did you get your suspension fitted ? Do share the costs involved. Looking forward to trying your lowered GT one day. :-)

[BigBrad]

Great upgrade there. The stance of the car has improved vastly and it looks really nice.

I'd suggest you to remove the rear mudflaps to improve the stance further which will also solve the scraping issue to a good extent. Just keep it with you and put it back during monsoons if required.

Could you also share the costs involved in this upgrade?

[graaja]

Originally Posted by drpudhi

Wow, that's great. May be a coincidence, but myself have ordered the bilstein B6 which is at customs as i type. Its to be used with stock springs as i don't want any reduction in ride height due to my usage pattern. So, where did you get your suspension fitted ? Do share the costs involved. Looking forward to trying your lowered GT one day. :-)

That is awesome! Brake and suspension upgrade are a must in the Polo GT for the power the 1.2TSi + DSG7 combo provide. You will definitely find a phenomenal improvement in the handling department post installation of B6. All the best with the installation.

I got the suspensions fitted at KR Auto Garage on Avinashi road. This comes after the airport.

And sure, you are welcome to come anyday and check out my GT on coilovers

Originally Posted by BigBrad

Great upgrade there. The stance of the car has improved vastly and it looks really nice.

I'd suggest you to remove the rear mudflaps to improve the stance further which will also solve the scraping issue to a good extent. Just keep it with you and put it back during monsoons if required.

Could you also share the costs involved in this upgrade?

Thanks BigBrad. Actually, I have been contemplating to remove the mud flaps which should completely solve the scraping issue, but have been keepint it as a coutesy to the vehicles behind. Maybe I can try your idea of removing it now and putting them on during monsoons.

Regarding cost, I paid 1.16 Lacs for the coilovers and 4.4K for the installation - a total of 1.24 Lacs. I think the cost may fluctuate depending on the Euro conversion rate.

[Santoshbhat]

Congratulations graaja on a beautifully maintained car and great set of mods and a well documented thread as well.

THe OE suspension on the Polo are crap - in terms of their service life. When the car was new I honestly felt no need to upgrade them. This coming from a guy driving a Bilstien B6 shod Laura TSI at the time. The Polo had a sweet set up albeit oriented towards comfort but even during long drives I felt the body control and road holding was good. But two years and 15,000 kms down the line, the suspension is not the same. The ride is harsh and even body roll is accentuated. I am sure the tyres are partly to blame as I am still running OE Apollo Alnacs and they are now past their soft layer.

I resisted doing any mods on the GT TSI after reading reports of a GTI launch. I have to thank VW for lauching it at such a crazy price and bringing me back on the ground .

Suspension upgrade is almost becoming a must now. I have a service coming up shortly. I'll try pushing for a warranty replacement on the shocks as they are clearly shot and also making some clunky noise. I hope the noise intensifies in the coming days . If I get a replacement I'll stick with it for some time, otherwise the B6 will have to come in.

My other worry is the braking. I tend to drive a lot on 4 lane highways and am used to driving cars with good brakes. The Polo's brakes leave a lot to be desired and this is one main reason why I wanted to get hold of the GTI with its all disc setup. How much of an improvement are the Brembo pads over OE? The OE pads suffer from a lot of brake fade upon hard baking.

PS : Your car is now begging for a nice set of 16" Rims.