[Drive.bhp3]

Just as a background, I want to share that I own three Stage-1 cars and I use all of them very regularly. I have selected the best mix of 3 car garage under 1 Crore rupees.

1. VW polo 1.2 GT
Many consider it the "The Indian hot hatch" but it is sad to see that the same car in international markets are much more powerful even with the same engine and gearbox. This is only due to how the engine is tuned. So after 3 years of use, I went for a simple stage 1 OTS tune by Superchips UK.

Here are the headlines

Pros:
Reduced turbo lag making it faster from a standstill

Better mileage, yes you read it right, I have always got 8-10 kmpl on the stock car, this is due to the gear ratios set by default. The car post-tune is giving a surprising 10-12 kmpl

Re-sale value, as most know the Polo has been discontinued in the Indian market. So the Polo has a high bottoming price (lowest price that some cars can be sold due to their significance). A tuned one is just a cherry on top

Cons:

Brakes, the car is obviously not built for the extra power so the brakes don't perform as well, it's not so much that a brake upgrade is required, but you will go through many brake pads and disks (depending on driving style)

Fault codes, there are many fault codes that show up on the instrument cluster, I used an OBD diagnostic tool and found out that many codes don't apply to the Indian variant such as faulty sunroof (which is available in the UK version of the car). Although there's a simple fix, turning the car off and back on resets the codes and the car functions as normal


2. Skoda Laura VRS
This now 13-year-old car is just staggering. It is very lucky to own one. All the features which came standard are not available in many 30 Lakh cars of today. The 1.8-litre turbo petrol engine is mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox which is the main reason to purchase this car. On a simple stage 1 tune, the gear ratios are so high, the car high speeds in 4th gear! And can easily to very high speeds by the time you hit 6th gear. The gearbox is very smooth and with the power clutch, you can comfortably start the car even in 3rd gear.

So having a basic tune, and upgraded wheels were all the mods required to make the car an absolute sleeper

Pros:
Gear ratio, it's comfortable to drive even in stop-and-go traffic as it is happy in 2nd gear even until 80kmph

Sleeper car, there are countless times when i have had a luxury car like Beemers or Mercs try and race me thinking it's just an old Skoda, but have always gotten shocked faces when the car just pulls away from them.

Cons:
Infotainment system: Although the car came with AUX and Bluetooth and CD as standard in 2009, CarPlay or Android Auto are a must-have these days. So an infotainment upgrade is crucial. Thankfully there are countless options and varied price points available in the market

3. BMW M340i LCI
Obviously, this is the best car that I own. This all-wheel drive, 3-litre 6-cylinder 4 seater car is probably the best all-round car in India right now

Pros:
PRICE, the car is simple bang for your buck. I purchased mine at a price tag of 86 Lakh on-road Hyderabad. This for what's essentially a baby M3 is astonishing.

Practicality, unlike 2-door sports cars or even 4 door super saloons, the seats are actually comfortable and you can use it like a normal car. The ground clearance isn't as low as you'd think, I would compare it with any normal sedan car where you need to slow down for speed breakers and watch for potholes. Otherwise, I haven't encountered any roads (in Hyderabad) where I have had an issue. Even if that was the case carefully driving at a slow pace is all that's required.

Learning curve, although we are all petrol heads and have strong opinions on cars, most of us have never got the chance to experience fast sports cars (yet *wink*) this is a perfect first introduction to fast cars and genuinely keeps you motivated to learn how to actually drive fast and control the speed and weight of the car

Cons:
Rattling, it's very hurtful but from the 1st week, I have had issues with rattling sounds. Firstly it was coming from the sunroof which the BMW service centre solved (there was an issue with the adhesive used) then it started from the left side door, which reduced when I hit a pothole accidentally. But it's very hard to deal with sounds in the car when it hasn't even driven (then) 300 kms.

Overall, I would like to suggest anyone looking to tune their car, DO IT!

[highcommand-GT]

Great write up and what a great 3 car garage @Drive.bhp3. Do you have any beater cars to accompany them too?

[dhavalm]

Hi. Can anyone please help with a good garage for tune up in RS Puram, Coimbatore. Just moved here - want to mod my Polo GT TSI 1.2. Thank you.

[sh3lby]

I'm totally with you on this. Its sad to see international manufacturers detune their cars so much for the Indian market, even with the same hardware. So a Stage 1 tune can do wonders, given the right car - especially VAG vehicles.

The M340i sunroof rattling is a common issue and there are many reports of it on Tbhp itself as well. Sad to see such trivial issues on an otherwise brilliant car. Also I don't think the M340i needs tune tbh

I'm planning to get my Audi 2.0 TFSI tuned in the future, currently it puts out 190 HP/320 NM while the same Q3 sportback with same internals are sold with 230 and even 245 HP abroad! I have a few questions though:

1. Should I wait for the 5 year warranty to get over? So as to avoid conflicts in case of an insurance claim in case they get to know I have had it remapped...I feel waiting 5 more years will be too long though.

2. Google tells me APR, RacingLine, Integrated Engineering all offer tunes. Is any one 'better' than the other or should I just go to the nearest tuner (GT Tunerz or AutoPsyche on my case) and get a stage1 done, since EA888 gen3b tunes are very prominent already?

Thanks for this thread!

[Drive.bhp3]

Originally Posted by sh3lby

I'm totally with you on this. Its sad to see international manufacturers detune their cars so much for the Indian market, even with the same hardware. So a Stage 1 tune can do wonders, given the right car - especially VAG vehicles.

The M340i sunroof rattling is a common issue and there are many reports of it on Tbhp itself as well. Sad to see such trivial issues on an otherwise brilliant car. Also I don't think the M340i needs tune tbh

I'm planning to get my Audi 2.0 TFSI tuned in the future, currently it puts out 190 HP/320 NM while the same Q3 sportback with same internals are sold with 230 and even 245 HP abroad! I have a few questions though:

1. Should I wait for the 5 year warranty to get over? So as to avoid conflicts in case of an insurance claim in case they get to know I have had it remapped...I feel waiting 5 more years will be too long though.

2. Google tells me APR, RacingLine, Integrated Engineering all offer tunes. Is any one 'better' than the other or should I just go to the nearest tuner (GT Tunerz or AutoPsyche on my case) and get a stage1 done, since EA888 gen3b tunes are very prominent already?

Thanks for this thread!

Hey sorry for the very delayed response, I somehow missed this message.

1. I would suggest that you can go ahead with the tune, I usually de-tune my car before sending it to service or find a reliable mechanic who works on high-end cars and get car serviced there. I have an issue with my M340i where BMW services lock the ECU and to un-lock it, I have to send it all the way to Finland which is expensive and risky.

What i end up doing is I don't get the car serviced at BMW so they don't have a record of it. You should consider doing the same so in worse case scenarios, you can detune the engine and claim warranty.

2. The one thing to keep in mind is that all tunes are essentially just tweaking the fuel map. Very important to keep in mind that a few tunes require higher octane fuel which has different values in India and Europe (where these tuners are from). If you just keep that in mind, more or less any tuner is the same as they buy the tune (OTS). I have actually used GT Tuners services in the past for a tune on my Skoda rapid. And the person really knew his stuff so its a safe bet