My TSI is a month old...

[bombsquad21]

I picked up My Dual Cab MY12.5 Amarok TSI at the end of april.
I managed to get a significant discount which made it an easy choice.
It is bone stock, I added the sports bar after the fact. I would not give the dealer a single cent more for accessories or options as they were horrific to deal with..


http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2013/05/B70BFECA79F144378A711702ADEE755C17500000-2.jpg (http://s44.photobucket.com/user/bombsquad21/media/B70BFECA-79F1-4437-8A71-1702ADEE755C-175-0000000C0601E2C1_zps8d9ae6f8.jpg.html)

I'll write in bullet points and please note these are my first impressions..I have been a VW fan since I bought my MK3 in 2004.

The bad..

*clutch and gearshift is bad. Not good to use, hopefully will improve with use?
*TSI motor is gutless on inclines at anything over 60km/h.
*Engine seems to be pinging already?
*Basic spec is very very basic.
*ride is choppy (expected i guess)
*as my car was straight of the floor it has no cruise or bluetooth, which is a pain.

The good..
*interior space
*like the exterior design
*got it cheap
*feels like a VW
*smooth driving at high speeds on the motorway
*BMW X5 stud pattern.

Anyways i'm in the market for a 4x4 diesel Amarok too now, but I'm don't think I like this car enough to not explore my other options first?

[phaeton]

Firstly Congrats :D

The Bad
1) Unsure you would be one of the first on here with a petrol Amarok, time will tell.
2) I am not one for modifications but the tuning potential of the 2.0L is limted to only your budget ;)
3) are you using the correct RON rating ? try 98 RON.
4) Can't help but leaves the door open to interior mods.
5) It is a workhorse ute remember ;)

The Good
6) BMW X5 stud pattern - sounds like you have something in the planning stages already.

Try an Auto Amarok, I drove one last week and it was much improved on the manual Amarok TDI's.

[Sharkie]

bombsquad you must be driving it wrong :confused:

I've driven the TSI and the TDIs (both) and the TSI is much more sprightly than either of the TDIs ...... over 1s quicker 0-100 than the 132kw TDI ..... :cool: .... with similar gaps in overtaking

What you need to remember is that the TSI does not like 6th gear 60km/h hills ..... it delivers its power a bit higher up the rev range ....

Agree with Ben, the TSI's tuning potential is almost unlimited and mine (yes I've ordered a TSI Amarok) will make well over 200kw after a bit of APR magic ..... :cool:

I agree the TSI's specs are basic, what makes it worse is that in South Africa you can have the TSI in Highline spec .... :mad: .... another VWA failure .... but you can option it up (and I added over $10K in options) and swap some parts out from other salvaged Roks. I plan on an entire interior from a smashed Highline.

Drain the gearbox oil and replace with Redline oil, for a much improved feel and shift.

So the moral of the story is, its the GTI engine, let it sing (meaning rev it out) and don't baby it and it will reward you with the best drive of the entire range ... IMO.

[bombsquad21]

I will definitely pursue the redline option to improve the gearbox side of things.
Should i pick up a second hand RCD510? Is it worth doing it, not the RNS as I dont need the navi etc.
I agree the auto would maybe suit the nature of the car a little? As for the lack of power when u need it, try driving up the centenary highway the TSI needs to be in 3rd-4th gear sometimes to not decelerate up hills. I'm not making this up...Get a run up!
I always use 98ron fuel.
As for the APR, who will do it for me locally? I'm all for it!
Also, can anyone guess how much I paid for my Rok? Brand new, not a demo, with tints? It's a MY12.5 and I bought it this april.

[Sharkie]

RCD510 is a good option, you can get 1 for less than $300 these days and its easy and quick to fit. No VCDS coding required. I prefer the RNS510 and will be doing that as I really like it and the Nav is good.

Its not the lack of power, its the power curve thats getting to you. TSI's are not chuggers and dont do hills at 1200-1500rmin. They need a bit of revs , for best results keep it at 2500-3000rmin up hils and that will mean 3rd or 4th gear sometimes.

Contact Guy Harding at APR in Brisbane. He's been itching to get a TSI Amarok to chip. Nobody has done 1 before, the place with the best R&D is APR, so he's your man.

About 20% discount on the Rok? I got more than 20% so quite happy with that :cool:

[bombsquad21]

RCD510 is a good option, you can get 1 for less than $300 these days and its easy and quick to fit. No VCDS coding required. I prefer the RNS510 and will be doing that as I really like it and the Nav is good.

Its not the lack of power, its the power curve thats getting to you. TSI's are not chuggers and dont do hills at 1200-1500rmin. They need a bit of revs , for best results keep it at 2500-3000rmin up hils and that will mean 3rd or 4th gear sometimes.

Contact Guy Harding at APR in Brisbane. He's been itching to get a TSI Amarok to chip. Nobody has done 1 before, the place with the best R&D is APR, so he's your man.

About 20% discount on the Rok? I got more than 20% so quite happy with that :cool:


I will contact Guy, thanks.
I look fwd to seeing your car, I like what you've got planned for it.
I'll let u find out how the TSI works on the inclines..
20%+ is a great saving!

[Scratchyratface]

Hey Bombsquad21, which dealer was that through?

[bombsquad21]

Hey Bombsquad21, which dealer was that through?

PM me...
But i guess you get what u pay for?

[bombsquad21]

After a little back and forth. Added 20inch genuine Range Rover on Continental tyres..
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2013/10/E842AB34E2DF4FE3B058FA0931FEDC4318321000-1.jpg (http://s44.photobucket.com/user/bombsquad21/media/E842AB34-E2DF-4FE3-B058-FA0931FEDC43-18321-00000A6F6AB46F6D_zpsb781e5a5.jpg.html)

Ride and fitment is really good..

[Sharkie]

Looking good mate :)

My Amarok has arrived in Brisbane, 2 weeks to clear customs and dealer delivery to go ..... can't wait to get started

[bombsquad21]

Looking good mate :)

My Amarok has arrived in Brisbane, 2 weeks to clear customs and dealer delivery to go ..... can't wait to get started

Has this car arrived yet?

[Sharkie]

At the dealer undergoing pre delivery, delivery now set for Thursday coming. Had to wait to get a slot at the paint shop for the colour coding of the front bar.

[MGV]

Build thread coming up, Sharkie? Looking forward to it if so! :cool:

[Sharkie]

Build thread coming up, Sharkie? Looking forward to it if so! :cool:

Yeah mate, started it .... see here: http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/f130/sharkies-tsi-amarok-build-91559.html#post1007191

[bombsquad21]

I thought for the info of all that may be interested i'll post a little summary on here, things i've learned from the first 7months of Tsi ownership.

*Gumtree and ebay are your friend, a lot of people add canopies and bull bars and wheels and things. You need to be patient, meticulous and relentless all at the same time.
Things i've done are,

-Bought 18inch BMW wheels without tyres - sold them.

-Bought the chrome roll bar from a nice guy who fitted a canopy, spotless and less than a third of the cost. Most amazing thing was, he was a cop! You would not read about it!

-Bought a cover for the tray, tonneau cover that installs slickly by using aluminium angle instead of traditional hooks and hoops, massive PITA especially with the sports bar and not recommended. I use the tray a lot, I sold it. They guy who bought it was super nice, also hated his VW service manager.

-I Installed dupli-color bed liner, I got it cheap. After a couple of months its looking okay in a used kind of way. It's a DIY kit that includes kevlar in the coating. If you tray doesn't take a beating and prefer form over function pay the $800 and get a decent spray on liner.

-I painted the factory 16inch steel wheels black, first with plastidip (which was fine for about 2 weeks) and then with $2 paint from overflow. They looked very nice and got compliments everywhere, paint ended up cracking. Use engine or brake paint if you would like to do this.

- I bought 20inch Range Rover Supercharged wheels on continental tyres. This is possibly the best purchase I've ever made automotively!
OEM wheels are superior quality, tyres are great. I ordered wheel bolts and cups from Ebay. The whole thing wasn't cheap but much cheaper than upgrading at a dealer. I had many idiot wheel shop guys trying to sell me black wheels with a large star in the middle. Often featured on Navaras.

- Rear drums looked all discoloured and awful after fitting the wheels, so I painted them with nice black brake paint, looks super dooper.

- I bought Oem fogs for the price of a couple of drinks in a night club, they improve the tsi "pogo pack" look no end!

- I installed a mongoose QVW head unit I bought of gumtree, awesome price, great unit. Bought a flush mounted jay car reversing camera. It's all very functional and all up was less than 20% of a dealer fitted unit.

[bombsquad21]

FYI I still have the following issues with the car…For the point of full disclosure.

Engine has a misfire, I would describe it as mild. Hopefully R8 coils would remedy this.

Hill hold is great unless you are trying to reverse down a hill or park with a reverse gradient.

Gearshift is truly awful and at 17000kms is only getting worse, buy the auto.

Car dents by merely looking at it, seemingly weak sheet metal.

Wipers are awful to use and mine have had flaking paint since new.

My front bar (unpainted) is badly discoloured with a zebra pattern, I've seen this on few different amaroks...

I bought the cup holder from a VW dealer, Actually I bought the base one hopeless gentleman at one dealer and the cup holder bit from another hopeless gentleman at another. I shouldn't be so hard to purchase parts for your car..If someone knows a good VW service or spare parts guy in Brisbane please, Post it up!

[Sharkie]

I thought for the info of all that may be interested i'll post a little summary on here, things i've learned from the first 7months of Tsi ownership.

*Gumtree and ebay are your friend, a lot of people add canopies and bull bars and wheels and things. You need to be patient, meticulous and relentless all at the same time.
Things i've done are,

-Bought the chrome roll bar from a nice guy who fitted a canopy, spotless and less than a third of the cost. Most amazing thing was, he was a cop! You would not read about it!

-Bought a cover for the tray, tonneau cover that installs slickly by using aluminium angle instead of traditional hooks and hoops, massive PITA especially with the sports bar and not recommended. I use the tray a lot, I sold it. They guy who bought it was super nice, also hated his VW service manager.

-I Installed dupli-color bed liner, I got it cheap. After a couple of months its looking okay in a used kind of way. It's a DIY kit that includes kevlar in the coating. If you tray doesn't take a beating and prefer form over function pay the $800 and get a decent spray on liner.

- I bought 20inch Range Rover Supercharged wheels on continental tyres. This is possibly the best purchase I've ever made automotively!
OEM wheels are superior quality, tyres are great. I ordered wheel bolts and cups from Ebay. The whole thing wasn't cheap but much cheaper than upgrading at a dealer. I had many idiot wheel shop guys trying to sell me black wheels with a large star in the middle. Often featured on Navaras.

- I bought Oem fogs for the price of a couple of drinks in a night club, they improve the tsi "pogo pack" look no end!

- I installed a mongoose QVW head unit I bought of gumtree, awesome price, great unit. Bought a flush mounted jay car reversing camera. It's all very functional and all up was less than 20% of a dealer fitted unit.

100% agree, Ebay and Gumtree are your best sources for stuff by far !

Interesting stories in your journey there :) I have done a lot of the same and also have had some very interesting experiences .....

Rhino spray on liner for me has been perfect so far and its had a few workouts already .... :)




- Rear drums looked all discoloured and awful after fitting the wheels, so I painted them with nice black brake paint, looks super dooper.

Researching brake upgrades at the moment, larger front discs and possibly rear discs mod as well. Let you know how that goes.

[Sharkie]

FYI I still have the following issues with the car…For the point of full disclosure.

Engine has a misfire, I would describe it as mild. Hopefully R8 coils would remedy this.

I'd definitely be trying new coil packs and plugs if I where you. It'd be something that would bug me and would get serious attention. Mine (at 2000km) has no such issues and pulls like a train. But then I have not babied it all and it regularly sees the rev limiter .... :cool:


Gearshift is truly awful and at 17000kms is only getting worse, buy the auto.

I'd recommend you get some Redline Gear Oil in there. I had notchy shifting in the GTI and the Redline Jmac filled the gearbox with at 15000km eliminated the issue and it remained gone 6 years later. My Rok is notchy but not any worse than what I'd expect from a Ute. Redline is in its future at the 15000km service.



My front bar (unpainted) is badly discoloured with a zebra pattern, I've seen this on few different amaroks...

$900 will get you a paint job to match the rest perfectly. Looks like it was made that way. Look in my thread for the paintshop's details. Happy for you to have a look at mine before you leap :)


If someone knows a good VW service or spare parts guy in Brisbane please, Post it up!

Contact JMAC (Alba European) this forum. Master VW mechanic and allround good guy. I've used him for 7+ years on 5 VWs, highly recommended.

[Sharkie]

Also, if you want to hook up VCDS to the Rok to see what codes its throwing let me know as I can help with that.