[kvigneshbhasker]

I have been using and still use a Skoda Laura Ambient diesel since Jan 2011. The car is simply superb. I'm one of the lucky few who hasn't had any major issues with the after sales service centre. The only annoying part was to keep the car for 4 days for a simple service.

The Laura is being used by my Mom now , and while I ended up getting a Merc C250 CDI a couple of years ago, I really enjoyed the overall experience of the 3 pointed star. Its something to cherish forever. Unfortunately I had to sell it for personal reasons and was stuck in a dilemma wondering what car could replace that.

I have been so used to a diesel automatic, I narrowed down my choice to the Octavia and Jetta. The cars I did test drive were the new Corolla and the Fortuner. The Corolla diesel simply didn't have the oomph or an auto option and the Fortuner felt a little just too big for my needs.

So the choice was between the rivals/sisters. Octavia Vs Jetta. I'm not going to be too elaborate on the comparison and there have been very detailed reviews and comparisons on the forum already.

Having used a Skoda for so long, the obvious choice came to the Octavia . Its refreshingly new looks, lovely interior, options list made it a blind choice at first. But when I test drove both the cars, I must say the Jetta just blew me away. Simple things like the way the doors closed, the way the car looks from all corners, the attractive LEDs, the simplicity of the lines, the weight of the bonnet and doors all made it just a fraction better to trust and feel comfortable in.

Price wise, the Octavia was more expensive just for a sunroof and a few options here and there. The irony is, not too long ago, the Laura was cheaper than the Jetta (old model) as Skoda was secondary to VW. Today, the Octavia is more than the Jetta. Wonder what's going on with the VW group management as I don't understand this.

Anyways, I ran to our long trusted dealership in Chennai - Sundaram Motors who have been in this business for the longest that I can remember. I booked the Highline DSG without any doubt, as I was keen on a diesel automatic. They had stock of the Toffee Brown and delivery took just 3 days. I managed to get a discount of 40k and they let me buy the insurance from outside, Saved almost 20 grand compared to what they were offering. Didn't take the additional warranty at the time of delivery, will take it in a few months.





Mods done
1. Tyre change - Michelin Primacy 3ST 205-55-16. I wanted the car to look as stock as possible, so gave up the idea of upsizing to 17".
2. Racechip tuning box
3. Wax and Paint sealant treatment

Mods in future
May get a Banks Power exhaust kit and an AFE Air Intake. But not till the first service is done with.

The racechip tuning box is a definite must . I strongly recommend it for such ease of acceleration, and driving in city traffic is a breeze with the added torque.

Import duty charged by UPS - 4081 Rs
Cost of the chip - 149 Euros
Shipping - 45 Euros







When I wait at the signal and see an A4 drive up next to me, I wonder why would you pay twice as much as the Jetta for the same engine and not to forget who owns Audi

Installation guide for the race chip
1. Switch off ignition and wait for 1 minute in case of any reverse current.
2. Loosen and remove engine cover.
3. Identify and Localize the connection options..
4. Loosen the original plug. Connect the matching RaceChip plug of the supplied cable harness to the original plug.
5. Check the installation of the cable harness by means of the supplied control plug. (Only RaceChip One)
6. Connect the RaceChip module to the matching plug of the cable harness.
7. Fix the cable harness and the RaceChip Chiptuning module to the supplied cable ties in the engine compartment.

In addition, there are several DIY videos on YouTube to help you out.













YOU ARE READY TO GO !!

Once you have fixed the chip, you need to drive normally for a few minutes and the chip will soon get customised to the engine.

Driving Pleasure:
The Jetta already has a very responsive unit, and the DSG gearbox along with the Paddle Shifts make it lovely to drive. With the installation of the chip, some of the immediate changes you would notice are:
1. Due to the higher torque at demand, the gearshifts are way quicker and CRISPIER.
2. In city driving conditions, there has never been a case of high revs, the gear changes happen at a slightly lower RPM.
3. When you are cruising at 40, and suddenly want to overtake, the sudden surge in power when you press the throttle is so SATISFYING. You tend to forget you are in a Diesel car.
4. There is always power on demand, and it comes without any holding back. No surprises or disappointments when you hit the throttle, overtaking is so much more confident.
5. I took the car to Pondicherry recently and driving with a few bursts of joy, I got an average of 17.6 KMPL which I think is fantastic.
6. In the city under normal driving conditions, I get 10.8 KMPL with heavy traffic.

Will be adding an in-gear acceleration and 0-100 video shortly.

Cheers

[Octane_Power]

Hearty Congratulations Sir. One of my favourite colors.

A bump of 37PS and 69NM for 20k INR, that's simply awesome. Is the RaceChip direct plug-n-play or need to do some additional settings as well?

-Bhargav

[kvigneshbhasker]

Originally Posted by Octane_Power

Hearty Congratulations Sir. One of my favourite colors.

A bump of 37PS and 69NM for 20k INR, that's simply awesome. Is the RaceChip direct plug-n-play or need to do some additional settings as well?

-Bhargav

thanks Bhargav. Its a direct plug n play, takes less than 5 minutes to install. It comes preset with the optimum setting for the car.

[Zahir]

Originally Posted by kvigneshbhasker

So the choice was between the rivals/sisters. Octavia Vs Jetta. Im not going to be too elaborate on the comparison and there have been very detailed reviews and comparisons on the forum already.

Having used a skoda for so long, the obvious choice came to the Octavia . Its refreshingly new looks, lovely interior, options list made it a blind choice at first. But when i test drove both the cars , i must say the Jetta just blew me away. Simple things like the way the doors closed , the way the car looks from all corners, the attractive leds, the simplicity of the lines, the weight of the bonnet and doors all made it just a fraction better to trust and feel comfortable in.

Congrats! Looks awesome. Great engine. Seems like you're one of the few people who have managed to get a dsg in the past month. Seems to be completely sold out all over.

Out of curiosity, why didn't you just wait for the new facelift launching in feb?

[rpunwani]

Dear kvigneshbhasker,

Thanks for sharing your mods on your Jetta. I see that the torque has gone up from 310 N-m to 379 N-m.

The Jetta is fitted with a DQ250 Gearbox with a max rating of 350 N-m. I wonder if continuous use of the RaceChip at high torque will damage the gearbox. The learned members can through some light on this.

Reason for asking is that I have the Passat 2.0 Tdi which is 170 BHP (125 kW). The RaceChip will bump up the torque to 420 N-m. If fitted, will it have any detrimental effect on the Gearbox?

[kvigneshbhasker]

Originally Posted by rpunwani

Dear kvigneshbhasker,

Thanks for sharing your mods on your Jetta. I see that the torque has gone up from 310 N-m to 379 N-m.

The Jetta is fitted with a DQ250 Gearbox with a max rating of 350 N-m. I wonder if continuous use of the RaceChip at high torque will damage the gearbox. The learned members can through some light on this.

Reason for asking is that I have the Passat 2.0 Tdi which is 170 BHP (125 kW). The RaceChip will bump up the torque to 420 N-m. If fitted, will it have any detrimental effect on the Gearbox?

Dear rpunwani

Ive used this product on all my cars for more than 2 years and there hasn't been any sign of wear n tear . Maybe the experts can throw some light on this.

Everyday is not going to be a drag race, just when u need that extra power to pass thru and some sunday afternoon drives:-)

Originally Posted by Zahir

Congrats! Looks awesome. Great engine. Seems like you're one of the few people who have managed to get a dsg in the past month. Seems to be completely sold out all over.

Out of curiosity, why didn't you just wait for the new facelift launching in feb?

Dear Zahir

Unfortunately in India, facelifts are a mere cosmetic update with new headlamps and tail lamps with not much of a difference. plus the wait for 6 months when i needed a car and also the price tag that comes attached with facelifts.

[BackInTheFold]

Congratulations on the new ride and what appears to be a great bang-for-buck mod. I'd be very interested to hear your feedback after a few months on sustained performance gains and drivability. Happy motoring!

[Zahir]

Originally Posted by kvigneshbhasker

Dear Zahir

Unfortunately in India, facelifts are a mere cosmetic update with new headlamps and tail lamps with not much of a difference. plus the wait for 6 months when i needed a car and also the price tag that comes attached with facelifts.

True. I'm actually very interested in the DSG. I have an Audi with a similar gearbox, same engine & I love it. Just waiting for the launch because if rumours are true, the jetta should see an increase in power and a few new features like the reverse camera, led tail lights etc. Plus I prefer the alloys on the 2015 model.

Any reason for changing the tyres? I read somewhere that the stock ones are pretty decent

Also rpunwani makes a very valid point on the upper limit torque on the gearbox. Any concerns there?

[coloneljasi]

Congratulations, kvigneshbhasker! The Jetta A6 is a brilliant all-rounder, happy motoring.

Do keep us posted as you mod the VW to your tastes. Have fun.

[D C]

Congrats kvigneshbhasker on your new ride. Jetta is a great choice.

Just a quick question. Would the installation of Race Chip void the warranty?

[rpunwani]

Originally Posted by kvigneshbhasker

Dear rpunwani

Ive used this product on all my cars for more than 2 years and there hasn't been any sign of wear n tear . Maybe the experts can throw some light on this.

Everyday is not going to be a drag race, just when u need that extra power to pass thru and some sunday afternoon drives:-)

I emailed the guys at RaceChip and this is what they have said:-

"The maximum torque of the engine will reach the limit just for a very short time. For this reason you will never get an overloaded double-clutch transmission.

We have just good results with many different engines, performance classes and
manufacturer.

The 2.0 Ltr TDI of Volkswagen is one of the most sold engines in the world. So we have much experience with it and you don’t need to be afraid.

Also will our RaceChip don’t overwrite some software on the ECU so all security systems are still active. As soon as you will chose a too high setting or the chip has some defect, the security system will tell you that something is wrong. In this case you can reinstall the RaceChip and just install the blind plug for getting the stock version back. The message will delete itself after a few kilometers driving without RaceChip and you can test a new setting."

I must confess that I am very tempted to go for one

Out of the three, which one to go for??

[kvigneshbhasker]

Originally Posted by D C

Congrats kvigneshbhasker on your new ride. Jetta is a great choice.

Just a quick question. Would the installation of Race Chip void the warranty?

It won't as you can pull it out before your service

Originally Posted by rpunwani

Out of the three, which one to go for??

The basic one is more than sufficient . worth the money

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Modifications Section. Thanks for sharing!

[iliketurtles]

Originally Posted by rpunwani

The Jetta is fitted with a DQ250 Gearbox with a max rating of 350 N-m.

Reason for asking is that I have the Passat 2.0 Tdi which is 170 BHP (125 kW). The RaceChip will bump up the torque to 420 N-m. If fitted, will it have any detrimental effect on the Gearbox?

Hi!

As far as I know, the DQ 250's limit is 420 nm, so the racing chip still operates well within the gearboxes limits. I'd recommend you don't remap/chip it to 420nm as it will mean you're operating on the edge of what the transmission can handle.

Nice mod Vignesh! I'm more inclined for a remap than a racing chip, but I have to admit you got great value for money with the chip. Any particular reason you went for it over a remap?

[kvigneshbhasker]

Originally Posted by iliketurtles

Any particular reason you went for it over a remap?

I already had the chip as I was using it on my c250 cdi. The same box could be used in the jetta with different settings. All I needed was the cable :-),