TSR Performance Bridgewater - Anyone had dealings with them?

[LiverpoloGTi]

Hi,

I've almost settled upon using TSR in Bridgewater to do the engine conversion on my GTI and as a final check before paying my deposit wanted to know if anyone from UKP has dealt with them or knows anyone who has?

Any snippets of info welcomed.

[Torq-Al]

Make sure you do plenty of research on them, as Liverpool to Bridgwater is a good 220+ miles!

Check some of the Golf Forums for info, as a lot of Golf owners may of used them, as TSR used to do very good 16V coversions on mk1 Golfs. Although the guy who started it, (Tim Stiles, (Racing)), gave up a few years ago & moved away, i beleive.

Try www.uk-mkivs.net & www.clubgti.co.uk

[chrischap2003]

after a quick browse i found this, may be of interest to you: -

http://forum.performancevwmag.com/viewtopic.php?t=33648

[N3_OLP]

Hi,

I've almost settled upon using TSR in Bridgewater to do the engine conversion on my GTI and as a final check before paying my deposit wanted to know if anyone from UKP has dealt with them or knows anyone who has?

Any snippets of info welcomed.

Yeh i wouldnt use them imo. I no some1 that bought a gti in there and when she took it to VW and they took the sump tray off, the gearbox was siliconed up and oil leaking everywhere.... Not the best thing to find out as you will all know, the boxes are made of chocolate. I would jus be careful if you go there mate, thats all i can say really...

Spect that isnt the best thing to hear, but would rather warn you.. They may do your engine conversion fine...

Sorry for the not so gd information.

Cheers

[bbspolo]

just out of intrest what do they charge for the conversion??

[LiverpoloGTi]

Torq-Al yeah my 1st concern was the distance as I prefer to meet the mechanics in person and have a look around the workshop before parting with any cash but a 450 mile round trip to pay a deposit with these petrol prices is putting me off somewhat.

TSR's website says of its company history...

Many people know that Tim Stiles was the founder of TSR Performance nearly 20 years ago. From its start in his garden shed, TSR Performance under Tim's guidance, grew to be the Number One tuning company for the Volkswagen Group, selling not just to the UK market but worldwide. After many successful years at the helm of TSR Performance, Tim sold the business and moved to France to... um, well, to drink wine and relax!

TSR Performance was sold to new owners and unfortunately after two years went into receivership. In October 2006 the company was bought from receivers by a local businessman. His son Rob, with three former employees: Tom Walker, Justin Napper and Ross Anderton, decided to restore the company back to its former glory.

Our new workforce is taking TSR Performance back to its roots with the same quality service and value associated with the company when under Tim's ownership. We will be moving forward with many new product lines but still be catering for older models and motor sport customers as we did in the past.

TSR Performance has a new catalogue, and an ebay shop for on-line convenience buys, we also have a new 4-wheel drive rolling road and also an MoT bay to cater for customers' servicing needs.

Thanks for the links Torq i searched the forums and have not yet found any posts about problems with their work.

Although the link Chris posted worries me alot and im going to speak to TSR about that particular horror story and other concerns tomorrow. Im hoping that, it was the work of the last owners when they were running the business into the ground.

N3_OLP when did the person you mentioned have her car in at TSR? Just wondering which set of owners she dealt with.

bbspolo Engine conversion, exhaust, remap + coilovers for 7k


Thanks for the opinions so far, anyone for anymore?

Edit: Just found this thread, which is pretty recent and positive.

[N3_OLP]

N3_OLP when did the person you mentioned have her car in at TSR? Just wondering which set of owners she dealt with.

Yeh, the TSR in bridgwater is next door to taunton road car sales, im sure they are owned by the same bloke. They will prob be fine with your engine conversion just fought i would let you know they looked at her car and put silicone round the gearbox before she bought it, not something she really wanted to find out when she got the car.
7k, can i ask what engine you have to put in it?

Cheers

[LiverpoloGTi]

My original plan was to drop in a 225bhp s3 engine, although I may now opt for a 180 golf engine instead.

Alot of the details are still up in the air atm

[Torq-Al]

Yeh, the TSR in bridgwater is next door to taunton road car sales, im sure they are owned by the same bloke.

If you search 'TSR, bridgwater', u'll find that the company is also Top Gear Alloy Wheels & Performance Parts. Same address & phone number.

Torq-Al yeah my 1st concern was the distance as I prefer to meet the mechanics in person and have a look around the workshop before parting with any cash but a 450 mile round trip to pay a deposit with these petrol prices is putting me off somewhat.

Depends how many times you will have to make that trip!? If you have problems it will get expensive & time consuming to make the trip. You'd be best to find a good mechanic local (within 25-50mls) to you, that would complete the work. Just think in the long term, if it comes with a warranty on the work (which it should, i hope) you don't want to transport it all the way back to Bridgwater for repair!
Think long & hard before parting with any money.

[LiverpoloGTi]

Thanks for the advice everyone, ok so now im about 50:50 as to whether ill use TSR, I havent spoke to them yet, instead I rang all local mechanics listed in the yellow pages, found one less than a mile from my house that mainly does ford and subaru motorsport work, he said he is happy to do the work but wants to have a chat with his good friend Ian Birch (formerly of DubSport) to find out exactly whats invlolved. I'll wait to see what he says on Monday before getting in touch with TSR again.

[Torq-Al]

Thanks for the advice everyone, ok so now im about 50:50 as to whether ill use TSR, I havent spoke to them yet, instead I rang all local mechanics listed in the yellow pages, found one less than a mile from my house that mainly does ford and subaru motorsport work, he said he is happy to do the work but wants to have a chat with his good friend Ian Birch (formerly of DubSport) to find out exactly whats invlolved. I'll wait to see what he says on Monday before getting in touch with TSR again.

Sounds like you're on the right road, if you use a local mechanic you can be more involved & get a feel for how they operate too. And if they do a good job, you've found an ideal place to do any future upgrades & maintenance!

I hope the mechanic you have spoken to comes back to you on Monday with a positive answer, as will make your choice simple.

PS. Looked at your Vids. Nice Motor.

[bbspolo]

7k u know its not rocket sicence putting a 20v into polo (not easy ither) but for 10k i know a guy who has had a 450hp rwd cosworth focus built!!
seriously call up a mate of mine ellie at voodoo motorsport!!!
last i heard he was changing 4k all in plus the guy who atchily builds the cars was a vw teck!!

[LiverpoloGTi]

Hi bbs

Both JBS and Awesome GTI quoted me 10k for the work!!!
So 4k from Voodoo is looking like a real bargain (are they reputable?)

Thanks for the details ill look into it on Monday after I speak to the ford motorsport guy who I saw today, as I really want them to do the work. They are less than a 5 min walk from my house (dont know why I hadnt asked him about this before today really) to the garage so I could check up on progress and workmanship on an almost daily basis.

So hopefully his quote will be ok and I can have the work done there although Ill be sure to mention that it can be done for 4k down south if his price is on the high side.

Anyway thanks for the heads up

Torq-Al
Thanks for your comments about my little GTI, its a nice feeling when someone comments positively about your car


Roll-on Monday..

[bbspolo]

o good good! ring as many places as posable (play them against each other ) sadly i dont c or talk 2 elly much these days but a few years back they were doing 20v conversion at the rate a 3 a month
not sure how things are going for them 2day but if there work then was anything 2 go by they will still be doing well! and alot of there cars were and i asume still are very much feacher and show cars! in fact i drove a rocko 2 edition 38 for them a few years ago that had one of the most amazing conversions i had ever seen (and 400hp 2 boot ) and if u still have no joy let me know cos i work with a guy who has just done his polo and is talking about doing them for other ppl!

[Torq-Al]

Out of interest, what are you getting for the 7-10k if you were to go with these big name firms?
Are you sourcing the engine, or are you getting a refurb/tweeked motor in the price?
Price would seem very excessive if you're supplying the engine!

I would get around some of your local motorsport clubs & see who they use/recommend, might find a gem of mechanic from them.