GT gets Superchipped

[Jaymz]

I have finally got 1000k's on my GT TDi which has been a effort in two weeks, but a fun one i'll give you that.
I have been trying to get some k's on before I got Superchipped and i also wanted to fully experience all the differences it makes.

Lets go from the start. Peter from Superchips arrived from NZ to tune my car and was under the impression we had to pull the ECU to moddify it as there was no direct line in to the ECU from the OBD port. This is because mine is one of the first to be done in Australasia.
Well a quick call to the UK sorted this out and I can now confirm all upgrades to the Siemens/VDO ECU's can actually now be done via the OBD port.
This method is all to common for you all with GTi's and its a testimont to the R&D that is put in over in the UK at Superchips, especially when you consider the short time this car has been on the market.

I actually watched Peter do a GTi aswell while he was here and it takes roughly 15-20mins to pull all the good stuff from a GTi and the GT TDi only takes 10mins. This is probably due to all the electronic controls and the amount of information that is stored for a petrol engine compared to the diesel. Even though the diesels have an ECU they still have some mechanical control to the engine.

So after the info was pulled from the ECU it was sent to the UK in an email. On contrary to popular belief, Superchips can actually supply you with any map you ask for. If you want a street tune with max torque, they can supply it. If you want a race tune with max power in the upper end of the rev range, they can also supply it. Upgrades can also be done to your existing maps by Peter at a small fee. I instructed Peter to tell the guys in the UK to supply me with a map that will give me the most torque the engine can give with the flattest torque curve available. They gladly responed within 20-25mins with my new maps.
Bear in mind though guys the time difference between here and the UK as this had to be done at 6:30PM EST.

So my new maps are making the engine produce a tad over 200Hp and somewhere around 420-430Nm's. I'll get to how it performs in a minute.

Putting the new maps in was quicker than pulling them out. This process took 5-8mins. Once they were in we started it to make sure it ran and that was it. All that was needed now was a good run to make sure there were no hiccups.

First impressions:
Well driving it that night i immediately felt the engines willingness to rev alot faster than before. Once on boost it spins to 4000 very quickly, which by the seat of the pants feels quicker than a stock GTi to spool up. This engine is still tight but they assure me that it can be revved to 5000 i won't be trying that till it has a few more k's on it!
The throttle response has also improved dramatically. Not as good as you guys with petrol engines but a major improvement over stock none the less.

After a short drive that night i decided to park it up so i could really test the tuning with a cold start the next morning.

Saturday morn up bright and early to give it a bath & test it out. The tuning is simply awesome, no hiccups anywhere. It idles and runs just like the factory maps only with alot more power.

When taking it for the first drive with the exhaust manifold cold i immediately notice how much torque and power this has and how quickly it gets up to speed. This is now very quick for a oil'ler!

The factory maps have a big torque hump in it & when it comes on boost at roughly 1800Rpm it comes on quite hard to 2500 or so then tappers off again around 3000 but still producing good torque to 3200-3500.

The new Superchip maps provide torque 300-500Rpm lower and due to the quicker throttle response & more boost, gives a big surge all the way to 4000+Rpm. Its quicker but also alot smoother and never tappers off. I haven't revved it passed 4000 yet but will give a report back when it has 5000k's on it.

After the bath i took it for a hot lap where i have taken all the good cars when working for dealerships. This is a good test as i can compare to various cars at various speeds and corners. This is not about thrashing the cars though as its about its ability to brake, corner, how it puts its power down and how much mid corner speed it can cary.
I have to admit, this oil'ler is bloody quick and will surprise quite a few. Its definately quicker than the BMW 120 & 320 sport both in petrol & diesel. Its also quicker than a 323 sport and would also fill the mirrors of a 325 sport. Also take into mind i am including cornering speed. So thats really saying something.

So a quick overview:

Cold start - No problem, as factory
Throttle response - Increased dramatically
More torque down low - Check
Ironed out torque curve - Check
More torque everywhere - Check
More power everywhere - Check
Better on fuel - yet to be seen, but makes sense with the torque increase
Worth the sticker price - you bet!


Now i suppose this is what you all have been waiting for, is it as quick as a GTi? I would have to say by the seat of the pants......it would be very close but yes. So there you have it.
The beauty of it is though, now it has GTi power with 200Hp on tap it can still deliver 1000+klm's to a tank of juice on the open road. So am i happy, you're dam right

Cheers,
Jamie

[ranton-inc]

Peter James from Superchips NZ is an absolute Legend nothing but thumbs up for him!

he did an excellent tune on my 2000 AGU GTI

top bloke!

glad to see your car is screamin!

[Timbo]

Sounds excellent!

It'd be great to see some 'before' and 'after' dyno charts on this, to show how the power and torque curves have changed.

What sort of $$ for the SuperChip tune (and Peter's attention)?

[DVR68U]

nice write up and good info, glad it worked well for you.
cheers brenton

[STV4SYT]

DId u get it dyno'd before/after?


if so what figures was it pulling.


Im keen to maybe increase the go in mine but only concern is the Torque limit of the DSG gearbox.....

[Jaymz]

Sorry guys didn't put it on the dyno, as much as i wouldv'e loved to but the engine is still very fresh and didn't want to push it that hard. When it gets another 500k's on it i will start to open it up and use the whole rev range.

Is there a dyno day coming up? Would be happy to stick it on and give it a run.

Timbo: Peter charged me the retail price of $1550 but thats not bad when you consider he covered the cost of flying over to do it. Well worth the $$

steve_tdi: Peter did say that Superchips offer a tune with less torque for the DSG so no problem there. I did ask the question though if he knew of a limit to the factory clutches and his reply was, 'i there is i haven't found it'!
So i thinks its safe. At the end of the day though if its still under new car warranty the clutches will be covered if they fail as no one can see the state of tune the ECU has when its been Superchipped. Just keep it to yourself & no one will be the wiser.

Cheers,
Jamie

[gldgti]

Just keep it to yourself & no one will be the wiser.

Cheers,
Jamie

unless they take it for a drive

[ted]

So a quick overview:

Cold start - No problem, as factory
Throttle response - Increased dramatically
More torque down low - Check
Ironed out torque curve - Check
More torque everywhere - Check
More power everywhere - Check
Better on fuel - yet to be seen, but makes sense with the torque increase
Worth the sticker price - you bet!

So this all sounds fantastic, but the cynic in me is saying "too good to be true".

If this is such an improvement, how come VW factory didn't tune it this way? I could understand (though not be impressed) if they deliberately detuned it if a faster diesel was expected to slot in above the GT - a diesel GTI perhaps...or R32 (hmm, imagine a 6-pot turbo diesel with 4Motion).

So, do the VW engineers know something we don't?

Not sure I understand why "more torque = better fuel economy" either, could you explain that pls? Is it simply because you now don't need to open the throttle as much to make a nice quick take off? What about cruising?

[SoVeReIgN]

So this all sounds fantastic, but the cynic in me is saying "too good to be true".

If this is such an improvement, how come VW factory didn't tune it this way? I could understand (though not be impressed) if they deliberately detuned it if a faster diesel was expected to slot in above the GT - a diesel GTI perhaps...or R32 (hmm, imagine a 6-pot turbo diesel with 4Motion).

So, do the VW engineers know something we don't?

Just like the power increases for turbo petrol engines, VW would be playing it safe, not only do they want to keep some leeway for future revisions etc, but they need to cater to the lowest common denominator.. The people that skip/lengthen service intervals, don't let the car warm up etc etc.

[Greg Roles]

Hey Ted,

You need to remember 95% of people would be aware there is an engine in their car, and it's approximate position, but that's about it. As SoV rightly points out, car manufacturers need to factor in the "unaware" factor, and by understressing an engine, it will last longer, at least the term of the warranty.
Extra power brings with it extra wear and tear, on the entire vehicle, and without spending a LOT of money it's hard to get both. Mass produced cars are designed for the masses, if you want a car that is pushing the performance envelope, well you need a few hundred thousdand to spend. Even at the pointy end, you can always find more power if you can afford to.

Cars need to be designed to run in all sorts of environments, driving conditions and driving styles. Often cars are over or under fuelled to purposely make them perform in extremes, at the detriment of the "normal" consumer. All the tuners do is optimise the ecu to suit the environment, and with custom programs for example, it's usual to find more HP in a custom tune down south ( with cooler, less humid air ) than it is up here in QLD.

VW has to cater for these factors, and as they are running a business, the more universal they can make a car to suit various countries, the better for the bottom line.

End of the day, it's nice to know you can take an impressive car, and make it a fireball if you so choose. WHY be upset about GREAT choices???