Is it worth tuning my car?

[George H]

I'm considering taking my Polo GTI to Volkswagen Racing to have a few upgrades fitted (re-map, air filter, exhaust, sport springs and front anti-roll bar). I've never modified a car in any way before, but I want my Polo to be a bit faster.

Is it worth modifying my current one (i.e. will I get any of the money back during resale, or will it make it difficult to shift on), or should I just wait for the inevitable Polo R to be released?

Thanks

[aldo56]

90% of the time there is no point in modifying cars but we do it anyway!

If you have the cash and you think it's worth it then go for it. (Or just buy a faster car...)

[okie592]

The new polo gti?

Defo remap, the 1.4tfsi have been seen to get 210bhp right off,

[George H]

Yes it's the 1.4 TSI, I've heard they're quite easy to get more power from.

These are the upgrades VWR offer on it at the moment -

• VWR Sport Springs £240.00
• VWR Rear Exhaust £576.00
• VWR Air Filter £96.00
• VWR Front Anti Roll Bar £240.00
• Remap £599.00

I can afford it, but I'd like to know I'd see the money again during resale. Do people pay more for cars with upgrades like that? I considered just buying a faster car, but other than the Audi A1 Quattro with the S3 engine, I haven't seen anything the same size that is much quicker - plus that was LHD only and silly money.

[Crafty_]

you wont see the money on resale, if you look around you often find modded cars are stripped back to standard and the bits sold off separately.

nearly £600 for a exhaust "rear section" ? what the feck is it made of ?

[okie592]

£600 for a remap is silly money, look at Revo, awesome gti, or AMD are only about £300 at best.

Ide go for stiffer suspension first, stiffer roll bars, not sure how much gain you would get with a exhaust, but i think the map is your best bet

http://uk.amdtechnik.com/content.jsp?pname=Tuning%...

60bhp extra!

[Baryonyx]

I doubt you'll see your money back. You may attract some interest with your mods (as in the case of some people looking at Fiesta and Focus ST's that have Mountune upgrades), but you'll not make the money back. In most cases, people would rather buy a stock car and upgrade it themselves.

[P I Staker]

The only point there needs to be is that you enjoy the car more once its done.

[George H]

Crafty_ said:

you wont see the money on resale, if you look around you often find modded cars are stripped back to standard and the bits sold off separately.

nearly £600 for a exhaust "rear section" ? what the feck is it made of ?

That never even occurred to me to put the original bits back on, makes a lot more sense!

It says the exhaust is made from "aircraft grade steel"

Here are the pics they sent me of it:

[DanGPR]

You can Probably get a miltek exhaust for that money.

[George H]

okie592 said:

£600 for a remap is silly money, look at Revo, awesome gti, or AMD are only about £300 at best.

Ide go for stiffer suspension first, stiffer roll bars, not sure how much gain you would get with a exhaust, but i think the map is your best bet

http://uk.amdtechnik.com/content.jsp?pname=Tuning%...

60bhp extra!

I had a look at Revo and AMD, but VWR seem to keep the warranty intact which I sort of see it worth an extra couple of hundred quid for.

[jagnet]

George H said:

I'm considering taking my Polo GTI to Volkswagen Racing to have a few upgrades fitted (re-map, air filter, exhaust, sport springs and front anti-roll bar). I've never modified a car in any way before, but I want my Polo to be a bit faster.

Is it worth modifying my current one (i.e. will I get any of the money back during resale, or will it make it difficult to shift on), or should I just wait for the inevitable Polo R to be released?

Thanks

Modifying and tweaking cars can be very satisfying, but don't ever expect to get back the money from doing it. It can also limit the number of potential buyers, especially with something like a Polo - nothing screams "I've been bouncing this off of the rev limiter in the Burger King car park" like some choice performance mods.

Whilst you may really like your car, ask yourself if it's really the best base for modifications. Would spending the money on something more performance orientated in the first place be a better bet.

I would also say that you should ask yourself what it is you want to achieve from the car before you start, and be realistic. I'd also advise looking carefully at the parts you want to put on and find out what they're going to do.

Aftermarket air filter, on a standard road going car. If you see 1bhp increase I'll be impressed. They cost a LOT more than a standard air filter, don't filter as well and are a pain in the proverbial to clean and re oil. Too much oil and you'll be worse off than with the paper version. I'd rather stick to the paper one and change it on schedule.

Exhaust - well you can free up some bhp with better breathing, but how much? Are the claims by sellers of aftermarket exhausts realistic? I'd always treat them as being optimistic imho. By all means do it, and if you're going to go for a remap then do it after changing the exhaust to get the most from it.

Sport springs - I'd rather stick to stock spring rates and improve the damping tbh, especially for road use given the state of our roads these days. Bump up the spring rates, keep the damping the same, and you can easily find yourself in a car that behaves very badly on uneven surfaces.

Front anti roll bar upgrade - hmmm, because what a FWD/FE car really wants is more understeer built into it.

Before embarking on upgrades based on what vendors want to sell you rather than what's best for the car, I'd read up a bit on the nitty gritty of how things on the car work; there's many very good books on the subject. Also bear in mind that the best upgrade of all is on the guy behind the steering wheel - a bit of extra training works wonders; best of all it's transferable from car to car.

ETA:

George H said:

How big are those wing mirrors

Edited by jagnet on Tuesday 17th January 20:39

[falkster]

George H said:

Yes it's the 1.4 TSI, I've heard they're quite easy to get more power from.

These are the upgrades VWR offer on it at the moment -

• VWR Sport Springs £240.00
• VWR Rear Exhaust £576.00
• VWR Air Filter £96.00
• VWR Front Anti Roll Bar £240.00
• Remap £599.00

Other than the remap, those prices are very expensive!!

[Or888t]

If you have the money, go for it. It will certainly be more attractive come re-sale time...

[Steve_F]

What's with the massive, slightly too high wing mirrors in pic 1??? ;-) EDIT spotted someone was typing this at the same time as me and posted quicker!

At least with it being VW branded performance upgrades it may be easier to sell on than aftermarket ones.

As someone said there will be Ford fans who buy cars specifically because they've had Mountune upgrades.

[P I Staker]

jagnet said:

How big are those wing mirrors

Edited by jagnet on Tuesday 17th January 20:39

I thought the same for a second or two.

[Jez0099]

[quote=Steve_F]What's with the massive, slightly too high wing mirrors in pic 1??? ;-) EDIT spotted someone was typing this at the same time as me and posted quicker!

i believe there windows in the door

[George H]

jagnet said:

Modifying and tweaking cars can be very satisfying, but don't ever expect to get back the money from doing it. It can also limit the number of potential buyers, especially with something like a Polo - nothing screams "I've been bouncing this off of the rev limiter in the Burger King car park" like some choice performance mods.

Whilst you may really like your car, ask yourself if it's really the best base for modifications. Would spending the money on something more performance orientated in the first place be a better bet.

I would also say that you should ask yourself what it is you want to achieve from the car before you start, and be realistic. I'd also advise looking carefully at the parts you want to put on and find out what they're going to do.

Aftermarket air filter, on a standard road going car. If you see 1bhp increase I'll be impressed. They cost a LOT more than a standard air filter, don't filter as well and are a pain in the proverbial to clean and re oil. Too much oil and you'll be worse off than with the paper version. I'd rather stick to the paper one and change it on schedule.

Exhaust - well you can free up some bhp with better breathing, but how much? Are the claims by sellers of aftermarket exhausts realistic? I'd always treat them as being optimistic imho. By all means do it, and if you're going to go for a remap then do it after changing the exhaust to get the most from it.

Sport springs - I'd rather stick to stock spring rates and improve the damping tbh, especially for road use given the state of our roads these days. Bump up the spring rates, keep the damping the same, and you can easily find yourself in a car that behaves very badly on uneven surfaces.

Front anti roll bar upgrade - hmmm, because what a FWD/FE car really wants is more understeer built into it.

Before embarking on upgrades based on what vendors want to sell you rather than what's best for the car, I'd read up a bit on the nitty gritty of how things on the car work; there's many very good books on the subject. Also bear in mind that the best upgrade of all is on the guy behind the steering wheel - a bit of extra training works wonders; best of all it's transferable from car to car.

Thanks, this answers a lot of what I was thinking

It's my daily car, so I'm not too fussed about something more performance orientated, I have the DB9 for that. I just want it to be a bit faster, it's not exactly slow now, but could just do with a bit more power. I would probably give the sports springs and anti-roll bar a miss, but the exhaust/air filter/re-map sound the most tempting. Plus it would make it sound a bit better too which is a good thing.

I know the parts are quite expensive, but I would prefer to spend my money with something still OEM accredited rather than just an aftermarket company.

[George H]

Or888t said:

If you have the money, go for it. It will certainly be more attractive come re-sale time...

What concerns me is it might be more attractive come sale time, but to a much reduced market.

I'm quite tempted by it, but I'm equally tempted by a Polo R when they come out.

[Or888t]

George H said:

What concerns me is it might be more attractive come sale time, but to a much reduced market.

I'm quite tempted by it, but I'm equally tempted by a Polo R when they come out.

However it is not a niche car, so the market will still be plenty big enough, and the market in question may be more enthusiastic, more knowing and offer a quicker sale in this case. (I would think)