Tuning a TDI

[jimbo_tdi]

Been running the chip for a few weeks now and have to say I am loving it, as I said low end torque has increased and just makes life easier, I also average around 5mpg better now as I can slide it into 4th at 30 more often. I changed the chip over to setting 4 for a two hour trip to Nottingham and I was very impressed, had to adapt my driving style a little as I couldn't really feel the bite anymore when setting off but once I was on the motorway I was cruising at 70 ahem ahem and not 90 ahem at 3000rpm and it just felt effortless. The torque also felt significant and I didn't struggle on the incline which it did before as you approach Leeds gone Bradford. I've decided that setting three is perfect for everyday and you should do as I did and use setting 4 for longer motorway journeys as it really helps! Overall I'd say it earnt a 8.0/10... Just wish there was something it would do to the turbo, really want to fit in a larger one from a Golf 1.6... Can this be done? Is there any differences for example with the injectors?

[K.I.T.T.]

FWIW, all the hardware between the 75ps, 90ps and 105ps engines is the same (turbos, injectors, fuel pump, what have you...), it's just the mapping. A competent tuner should be able to get any of these variants to 140+ bhp. Stock turbo is a Garrett GTC1244VZ (which is the same as the one in the Golf 1.6 TDI - so that's not an upgrade), so it runs out of puff at ~150bhp. The turbo from the 2.0 CR engines should fit without a problem as the exhaust ports are the same.

Bear in mind the limit of the stock clutch is ~310NM. Also, the internals don't seem to be as strong as the older 1.4 / 1.9 / 2.0 PD units and the newer 2.0 CR units. No bronze bushings in the pistons and quite weak conrods. I wouldn't try to push it past ~370NM or so. Having said that, most of the UK tuners are numpties anyway when you get round to swapping turbos over and asking for custom maps. I outsource my tuning work to the EU. Been tempted to get a 1.6 TDI and add a big turbo, but I don't want to get rid of my 9n 1.4 TDI just yet and can't justify keeping two sensible cars

Ash

[jimbo_tdi]

FWIW, all the hardware between the 75ps, 90ps and 105ps engines is the same (turbos, injectors, fuel pump, what have you...), it's just the mapping. A competent tuner should be able to get any of these variants to 140+ bhp. Stock turbo is a Garrett GTC1244VZ (which is the same as the one in the Golf 1.6 TDI - so that's not an upgrade), so it runs out of puff at ~150bhp. The turbo from the 2.0 CR engines should fit without a problem as the exhaust ports are the same.

Bear in mind the limit of the stock clutch is ~310NM. Also, the internals don't seem to be as strong as the older 1.4 / 1.9 / 2.0 PD units and the newer 2.0 CR units. No bronze bushings in the pistons and quite weak conrods. I wouldn't try to push it past ~370NM or so. Having said that, most of the UK tuners are numpties anyway when you get round to swapping turbos over and asking for custom maps. I outsource my tuning work to the EU. Been tempted to get a 1.6 TDI and add a big turbo, but I don't want to get rid of my 9n 1.4 TDI just yet and can't justify keeping two sensible cars

Ash

I see thanks for the info Ash! Mines a 1.2 TDI hence why I thought the parts maybe different! I am hoping to see a remap in the future of around the 130hp and 300nm of torque as I want to keep the clutch alive for as long as possible! I had the 1.4 TDI too and it felt faster to me even though it had less power and torque, it definatley had less turbo lag and the torque felt better used in that! I am also weary of the conrod as I have heard them bending just on one of these chips that I'm running now!

[K.I.T.T.]

Ah I see. This so called "chip" is what the yanks call a tuning box - chip / tune / remap is used interchangably (I spend too much time on American forums ). It's alleged that a tuning box bent the rods in a 1.6, but maybe there were other contributing factors. Unfortunately, there aren't any options (as of yet) to allow a proper remap on the Delphi ECU found in the 1.2. It's relatively recently that the Siemens VDO ECU in the 1.6 was cracked.

Anyway, the 1.2 is to the 1.6 what the 1.4PD was to the 1.9PD, ie the 1.6 block minus a cylinder. The internals are the same, and you use the same clutch, however I'd recommed staying below 300NM in the 1.2 to be safe.

Random question, but was there any particular reason you went to the 1.2 from the 1.4 rather than just wanting a new car? How does it compare MPG wise? My 1.4 PD is putting about 100bhp now and whilst I love the look of the 6r, I wouldn't have bought a 1.6 a few months ago as there were no remap options and I'd have ended up with a slower car. I wouldn't mind to try a 1.6 with a larger turbo though, but then again, there's still another 40 odd bhp that can be squeezed out of the 1.4, so I'm not done with it yet.

I wish they'd put the 2.0 CR in the Polo - they have them in the Ibiza and the A1. The former feels like it's made out of tracing paper and the latter seems like a poser mobile - ie overpriced Polo with a fancy frock on. Needless to say I don't like either.

Ash

[jimbo_tdi]

Ah I see. This so called "chip" is what the yanks call a tuning box - chip / tune / remap is used interchangably (I spend too much time on American forums ). It's alleged that a tuning box bent the rods in a 1.6, but maybe there were other contributing factors. Unfortunately, there aren't any options (as of yet) to allow a proper remap on the Delphi ECU found in the 1.2. It's relatively recently that the Siemens VDO ECU in the 1.6 was cracked.

Anyway, the 1.2 is to the 1.6 what the 1.4PD was to the 1.9PD, ie the 1.6 block minus a cylinder. The internals are the same, and you use the same clutch, however I'd recommed staying below 300NM in the 1.2 to be safe.

Random question, but was there any particular reason you went to the 1.2 from the 1.4 rather than just wanting a new car? How does it compare MPG wise? My 1.4 PD is putting about 100bhp now and whilst I love the look of the 6r, I wouldn't have bought a 1.6 a few months ago as there were no remap options and I'd have ended up with a slower car. I wouldn't mind to try a 1.6 with a larger turbo though, but then again, there's still another 40 odd bhp that can be squeezed out of the 1.4, so I'm not done with it yet.

I wish they'd put the 2.0 CR in the Polo - they have them in the Ibiza and the A1. The former feels like it's made out of tracing paper and the latter seems like a poser mobile - ie overpriced Polo with a fancy frock on. Needless to say I don't like either.

Ash

I thought this was the case with them just chopping off a cylinder, the 2.0 TDI turbo sounds interesting but then again it would just result in more turbo lag, I will wait and see what the future brings... Yeah I was aware that the new ECUs were 'uncrackable' and annoyed me a little but hey ho, life goes on... I would have actually kept the 1.4 TDI if I hadn't been made redundant, I've had every single Polo except the MK1 1975 variant. All of them were petrol until I got the 6N in the 1.9 SDI and ran that engine in the 6N2 I had and the 9N, I usually keep them 4/5 years and then sell them, since they didn't do a SDI in the 9N3 I opted for the 1.4 TDI Match MY2009 and loved it as I felt really quick compared to the sluggish SDI's I had been used too... Then I lost my job and was forced to sell it a year later and downgraded to a S A/C 6R which made no logical sense thinking about it now as it drank petrol like no tomorrow. It wasn't until June that I found a job which required me to travel 50 motorway miles + a day to get to work, I was thinking of tracking my beloved Polo down and offering the owners to buy it back but the 6R cabin was just a nicer place to be, no more creaks or squeaks and the wind noise was reduced! DRAMATICALLY! So I did intend to buy a 1.6 TDI but there was loads of DPF issues with it and surging problems so I left it. When looking around I saw a 2010 '59 1.6 TDI SE from my dealer with 27,000 miles on it - £10,750 there was this 2011 '11 1.2 TDI SE at the same dealer with less miles on it and it was £11000 - I obviously chose the latter and got a nice round discount to I think it was £9500!

I really want the 2.0 TDI too! Who knows maye they will introduce it as part of the R-Line range!

[K.I.T.T.]

Tell me about the rattles and squeeks. The 9n and 9n3s don't feel as well screwed together as the 6n and 6n2. Heck, A mk3 86c puts it to shame on build quality. I've heard nothing but good things about the 6r.

You'd be surprised with how far turbo technology has moved forward. 3.0 TDI turbos are being used on 1.9 TDIs to push 300bhp and they don't spool significantly later than the stock turbos. The 2.7 TDI turbo actually spools sooner than the stock turbo on a 1.9 and flows enough for ~230bhp. Heck, the 2.7 unit spools almost as well as the stock turbo on the dinky 1.4 from some testing!

Maybe I should come and say hello next time I'm round your way? I visit Milnrow quite often.

Ash

[jimbo_tdi]

Tell me about the rattles and squeeks. The 9n and 9n3s don't feel as well screwed together as the 6n and 6n2. Heck, A mk3 86c puts it to shame on build quality. I've heard nothing but good things about the 6r.

You'd be surprised with how far turbo technology has moved forward. 3.0 TDI turbos are being used on 1.9 TDIs to push 300bhp and they don't spool significantly later than the stock turbos. The 2.7 TDI turbo actually spools sooner than the stock turbo on a 1.9 and flows enough for ~230bhp. Heck, the 2.7 unit spools almost as well as the stock turbo on the dinky 1.4 from some testing!

Maybe I should come and say hello next time I'm round your way? I visit Milnrow quite often.

Ash

lol I know! I loved the 6N2, felt so rugged and sporty, it was light too so didn't feel as slow as the 9N, just wished that it had the 9N safety or I would of kept it, but with three kids safety was important! Interesting to hear about the turbos! I knew that VW liked to recycle parts throughout VAG but not this much lol, makes logical sense, I will be on the lookout for a 2.7 TDI soon! Yeah you definitately should! I live in Norden so only 5 minutes away! be nice to see what you've done with yours!

[vc-10]

The rattles and squeeks are one of the reasons why I want to get rid of my 9n. There's a really annoying rattle from somewhere behind the glovebox, another in the driver's door, and when the demister's on hot something expands and rattles too!

[jimbo_tdi]

Only just saw this! But when I had the windscreen demister on full I could hear something cracking like popcorn, it turned out that my son had put one chewing gum in every vent on the dashboard! I did think about removing the dashboard and getting them all out but I really couldn't be ar*ed! Haha

[Gewoonjan]

Just saw this thread and yes I also have a 1.2TDI, a slowmotion as it's called in the netherlands
I also tuned it via a box and it now does about 100/105 hp with about 230 nm, drives a lot nicer than stock

As I read about the box you bought (and ofcourse checked out the link) I immediately saw something we in the netherlands consider to be crap (no offence though)
Why? well if I'm correct it only connects to the commonrail and all it does is give the engine a bit more fuel.
Nonetheless my box also is plugged between the commonrail sensor, but in addition it's also plugged in between the camshaft sensor and boostpressure sensor

that's the box model, but as you can see for my car there is a different cable for it

now for the record a few dyno runs (not of my car, but from the tuners test car)
original map:


same car with 're'map


comparison between stock and 're'mapped


For you interested in the tuner: JD Engineering
(almost a legend on tuning in the netherlands oh and they are also owners of those images)

And now for the price of my chip: 690 euros. But well worth it if you ask me
(obd flashing would be alot better though )

[susube91]

Hi, new to forum but have had a polo for 1 & 1/2 years, ive got a 1.6tdi 90, and already its a superb car, quick and great pull on it, I did test drive a 1.2 tdi, 1.6 tdi 70, and they just felt they were lacking some umph, so tried the 1.6tdi which was an ex demo, so had around 2000 on the clock, and instantly fell in love, the gear box feels a bit industrial and the ride height seems too high, so getting back to tuning, the lovely fellas at fatdubbers (based in wrexham), upped my bhp from 90 to 144, near enough doubled the torque through a remap, it cost £375, i had eibach springs to lower it 25-30mm they were 175 fitted, not a stupid amount to drop but enough for you to notice handling improvements, and now shes a beast, mpg increased and added around 8-10 more, i was already getting 55-60mpg, so its closer to vws quoted 65-70mpg, can handle any road i throw at her, she even beat an 2010 320 bmw the other day (the complete douche bmw looking driver too, he must have had crap tyres as he sat there wheel spinning while i was off like a rocket, either that or typical bmw driver that cant drive) as for tyre wear etc, not noticed any great loss, i have the continental premium sport contact 2's and they are well worth the money, so get your tdi remapped, totally worth it

[S_evans91]

i am wanting to get 1.6 tdi (90) polo remapped and have been quoted figures off 140bhp and 300 torque im guessing this is the same amount of torque roughly as yours. how much is the performance enhanced ie 0-60 30-70 times. also what is your economy like now. would be great to get some feedback.
Thank you.

[greypolo9n3]

Anyone with a 1.6 tdi..I highly recommend a remap!!

I got my DPf removed at the same time

Its a HUGE difference...the car is properly rapid after the map...2nd gear is amazing

0-60 is around just around 8seconds...Economy wise...I drive 35 miles to work everyday and average 60'ish mpg sitting at 70mph with a gentle foot

Definitely recommended, I got mine done from shark performance as i know them and theyre really good with their jobs

[v896]

Great hear from the 1.6 Tdi ppl on here I have a 75 1.6 TDI just wondering did anyone get more mpg out of the box or a custom remap? if so could anyone point me in the direction of or recommend to a guy who knows what they are doing and could remap my car in the midlands?

many thanks in advance

[greypolo9n3]

Great hear from the 1.6 Tdi ppl on here I have a 75 1.6 TDI just wondering did anyone get more mpg out of the box or a custom remap? if so could anyone point me in the direction of or recommend to a guy who knows what they are doing and could remap my car in the midlands?

many thanks in advance

Definitely good MPG and from a custom map. I also recommend you get rid of your dpf at the same time.

The best guy in the midlands to talk to is ben from shark performance, mine was one of the first few he did and hes done a great job