[graaja]

Originally Posted by Cool_SRK

While Michelins are great in comfort and handling, how much life can one expect from them ?
I'm pretty much happy with the durability (only) of stock apollos which are still good for another 5K kms, but I'm not going to wait till then.
Is any other option - Continental / Yokohama / Bridgestone / Goodyear - good enough to choose over Michelin for comfort, ride quality and durability reasons ?

P3STs are the best when it comes to balance between comfort, handling and road noise. They will not be as durable as the stock tires though. I think you can expect anywhere from 35K to 40K tire life.

You can also consider Continental MC5 which also offer a balance of ride and comfort. But the MC5's in my GT have become quite noisy after 15K kilometers.

Check out the Polo Tire and wheel upgrade thread for more inputs.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-a...de-thread.html

[Mission_PGPX]

Originally Posted by Cool_SRK

My GT has done 47k kms on the odo and it's time for a tyres change. From the numerous posts that I have read on this thread, I guess Michelin P3ST's are a preferred choice with an upsize of 195/60 R15 as compared to stock. Few questions -
While Michelins are great in comfort and handling, how much life can one expect from them ?
I'm pretty much happy with the durability (only) of stock apollos which are still good for another 5K kms, but I'm not going to wait till then.
Is any other option - Continental / Yokohama / Bridgestone / Goodyear - good enough to choose over Michelin for comfort, ride quality and durability reasons ?

Go with P3ST and you will not regret. With timely rotation , alignment and balancing expect a life of at least 50K, which is good enough in my opinion. You will love the sound of engine after shifting to P3ST from apollo. The grip in wet condition and silence on dry tarmac are things you dont really get from any other.

[kkdelhi]

Originally Posted by samyakmodi

So I picked up my 1.2 GT TSi in Carbon Steel on the 23rd April. Have barely driven the car for about 200 kms since then.
Here are a few initial queries
4. The fuel efficiency seems to be a bit low than my expectations. Getting barely 8-9 kmpl in the city, while driving sedately. Have heard claims of 14-15 by the sales staff.

I got about 15 kmpl (sometimes reaching 18 kmpl) during my initial days with the GT.

6. Switching off the A/c is kind of quirky. First you rotate the blower knob to minimum, wait for a few seconds and then rotate it further to switch it off. Am I doing something wrong?

What I do is I switch off the A/C button first, then rotate the knob to the left.

Also observed, that the handling isn't something to write about. The car's steering feels a bit vague.

My opinion. I think the handling is way up there. The steering is precise and the car obeys the commands really well.

[deepfreak15]

Originally Posted by samyakmodi

So I picked up my 1.2 GT TSi in Carbon Steel on the 23rd April.

Congrats on your new car!

Originally Posted by samyakmodi

4. The fuel efficiency seems to be a bit low than my expectations. Getting barely 8-9 kmpl in the city, while driving sedately. Have heard claims of 14-15 by the sales staff.

Pedal to the metal driving in S or tiptronic mode used to give me a mileage of 8km/l, albeit on the highway but have seen around 11/12 in the city however, with steady cruising at 120 km/h I have seen 16km/l on the MID.

Originally Posted by samyakmodi

5. Brakes like many had suggested feel a bit inadequate. Can something be done? Or should I consider changing the brake pads so early on?

My OEM pads lasted around 15000 kms with heavy dust build up after every highway stint. I did upgrade to Brembo rotors and pads but the benefits wore off pretty soon. So I would recommend driving the car for a bit and see how the brakes suit you and then first try non OEM pads and see if that helps.

Originally Posted by samyakmodi

The Punto definitely handled better and was more confidence inspiring than the Octavia and at par with the Laura.

The Polo is definitely NOT in the same league as the Laura and Octavia(assuming this is the 1.8 TSI) they have a completely different suspension set up. So again I would recommend drive the car for a few thousand kms and then decide if you want to replace the dampers.

[raghuveerk]

Brethren - I own the GT TSI which is one year old and has done about 5500 Kms. Needed your advise on a couple of things:

1. Living in Mumbai and having given the liberty to the apartment car cleaners to wash my car, I have now realised that the rusting especially around the VW logo and other areas on the exterior has turned out to be more pronounced than I had expected. Any specific anti rust treatment that you would recommend along with say a simple paint protection added in? I stay in parel, so any suggestion nearby would be helpful.

2) the Braking on this car IMO is pretty poor and I have a couple of close shaves when sudden braking was required. Since the car has just done 5500 kms, would you suggest I think of replacing the stock OEM
Provided ones so soon? Any other way I can address this?

[wangdu]

Originally Posted by samyakmodi

So I picked up my 1.2 GT TSi in Carbon Steel on the 23rd April. Have barely driven the car for about 200 kms since then. ...
3. There is a "whooshing" sound that comes from the bonnet the moment the turbo kicks in. Is it normal?
4. The fuel efficiency seems to be a bit low than my expectations. Getting barely 8-9 kmpl in the city, while driving sedately. Have heard claims of 14-15 by the sales staff.

Also observed, that the handling isn't something to write about...

Congrats, same color here too and proud owner since Nov'17.

No "whoosh" just the good faint growl per my experience. Check if any of the windows is slightly down.

From day 1, I'm getting 18kmpl in D (80%) driving sedately to mildly aggressively when average speed is 40+ kmph over my usual 50km one way. Within the stop and go city traffic and very short trips, yes the FE drops in all cars.

Originally Posted by kkdelhi

... The steering is precise and the car obeys the commands really well.

+1
For fun sake, in S mode i floor the pedal at high speed already and all horses break loose (that feeling in Abarth). Even at such speed, the steering is very precise if I have to correct the direction slightly.

Originally Posted by raghuveerk

Brethren - I own the GT TSI which is one year old and has done about 5500 Kms. Needed your advise on a couple of things:

1. Living in Mumbai and having given the liberty to the apartment car cleaners to wash my car, I have now realised that the rusting especially around the VW logo and other areas on the exterior has turned out to be more pronounced than I had expected. Any specific anti rust treatment that you would recommend along with say a simple paint protection added in? I stay in parel, so any suggestion nearby would be helpful.

2) the Braking on this car IMO is pretty poor and I have a couple of close shaves when sudden braking was required. Since the car has just done 5500 kms, would you suggest I think of replacing the stock OEM
Provided ones so soon? Any other way I can address this?

I have used 'Autosol' & 3M all purpose spray to help easily remove rust spots on chrome/aluminium parts of bikes & cars. Also, I recommend keeping the car covered. I'm not using the sevice of car cleaners since a while and that surely helps.

I've no complaints regarding brakes. Do you usually do high speed braking or inadvertently keep the pedal pressed slightly? Please have it checked at workshop at the earliest.

[rageshgr]

Originally Posted by raghuveerk

Brethren - I own the GT TSI which is one year old and has done about 5500 Kms. Needed your advise on a couple of things:

2) the Braking on this car IMO is pretty poor and I have a couple of close shaves when sudden braking was required. Since the car has just done 5500 kms, would you suggest I think of replacing the stock OEM
Provided ones so soon? Any other way I can address this?

Coming from a Santro, I felt brakes very inadequate in Polo initially, but the brakes of the Polo is pretty decent but kicks in late, so ginger pushing of the brake pedal is not enough. You need to shove it 60% to get the bite. Brake bite during initial travel is less.

Another thing people have done is set Brake Assist to "Early" using VCDS. Check out threads by Prithwi, graaja etc.

If you want to make hardware changes, I have heard Tarox G88 rotors with stock pads is very effective. But the rotors are costly and your pad life will reduce.

[dhruvritzed]

Got my GT Tsi serviced earlier today at 40102 Kms, the previous service was done around​ 26600kms. I took the car in as I was feeling it needs an air filter change plus new spark plugs. To my surprise, the service advisor was not at all in favour of changing the spark plugs, don't know why but he said they should be used till the car starts misfiring.
Anyone who has driven the GT Tsi and changed spark plugs, please let me know if I should get them changed soon, from them or outside? I've heard that a lot of performance spark plugs are available for the GT Tsi but haven't come across any.Suggestions welcome.
The following work was done in the car and I was present​ there right through, my car was out in an hour exactly. Work:
1. Engine oil change
2. Air filter change
3. AC filter change
4. Oil filter change
5. Wiper motor was checked and cleaned as it wasn't pumping enough
6. Washer fluid was added
To my surprise my car had an engine protector plate which I always thought wasn't there.
Charges for the service were 9200rs

[Dead Head]

Hello BHPians,

My new Polo GT TSI has done 1200 kms on the clock. Sadly most of these 1200 kms have come in bumper to bumper traffic of Mumbai suburbs. But then my few observations:

- engine & transmission - superb as expected

- fit and finish - great

- ride quality - extremely poor , the car has been a complete let down in this department. The ride is bumpy and all small undulations of the road are transferred to the car. The car rattles considerably as a result of this. It is most unsettling to drive the car.

Tried reducing the pressure in the GY tyres to 24psi , the bumpiness reduced marginally but the roll increased.

Not happy with my purchase. Wish I had saved my money and gone in for some other hatch.

request the learned BHPians to let me have a solution. Thanks

[VeluM]

Originally Posted by Dead Head

Tried reducing the pressure in the GY tyres to 24psi , the bumpiness reduced marginally but the roll increased.

Not happy with my purchase. Wish I had saved my money and gone in for some other hatch.

request the learned BHPians to let me have a solution. Thanks

Is the suspension noisy too? If yes, ask the ASC SA to re-torque the suspension and speak to the service engineer as well. IMHO it would be the sounds that make you believe that the suspension is bumpy.

My Rapid has been noisy as heck compared to my father's Vento. Happened by chance to be assigned a good Service Advisor last service and he had this done properly. I used to maintain 30/28 instead of the recommended 32/30 and slow down for every crack in the road, but now I can ignore them despite 58k kms driven and 32/30 psi as recommended.

Simplest solution, hope it resolves the problem for you as well.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by dhruvritzed

. I took the car in as I was feeling it needs an air filter change plus new spark plugs. To my surprise, the service advisor was not at all in favour of changing the spark plugs, don't know why but he said they should be used till the car starts misfiring.

As in use it until it's broken? That is a very weird attitude from a service adviser!

Guys, do they still do old fashioned basics like look at the spark plugs and check the gap? Or did that go out with distributors?

[graaja]

Originally Posted by dhruvritzed

Anyone who has driven the GT Tsi and changed spark plugs, please let me know if I should get them changed soon, from them or outside? I've heard that a lot of performance spark plugs are available for the GT Tsi but haven't come across any.Suggestions welcome.

If I remember correctly, the spark plugs need replacement at 30,000km or 2 years whichever comes first, as per service schedule. Though my car has done only 18K kilometers in 2.5 years, during the 2nd year service, they did replace the spark plugs. As yours has done 40K kilometers, I would recommend you to get them changed.

Originally Posted by Dead Head

- ride quality - extremely poor , the car has been a complete let down in this department. The ride is bumpy and all small undulations of the road are transferred to the car. The car rattles considerably as a result of this. It is most unsettling to drive the car.

Tried reducing the pressure in the GY tyres to 24psi , the bumpiness reduced marginally but the roll increased.

Unfortunately, the stock suspensions of the Polo GT TSi leave a lot to be desired when it comes to comfort and handling. Bilstein B6 suspensions would solve the problem of comfort and handling at higher speeds, but as your problem is primarily at low speeds, not sure if there is a solution.

Check out the below thread and see if B6 can help you.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modifi...k-springs.html

Also 24 PSi is too low a pressure. At this low pressure, there is a high chance of sidewall damage on the tires. I wouldn't recommend anything less than 30psi.

[Dead Head]

Thanks graaja. You have understood my issue quite well. Till date I have hardly stretched the car on the highways and have not gone beyond 80 /90 so high speed comfort handling is out of the question.

The issue I feel is at low speeds, say withing 40kmph when I find that the car transfers the road undulations directly. I can feel the vibration on the floor and in my legs and it is a very uncomfortable ride. Because of the vibrations , the car also rattles. This is mostly on the concrete sections of the road. On the smooth asphalt sections, the car rides satisfactorily.

I am surprised that others do not seem to have this feedback.

I agree that 24 psi is very low but if I maintain the correct pressure, the car is even more uncomfortable. Most times, the car is driven with only one person in it so load/tyre is not dangerously high.


Overall a poor experience on the GT TSI. Am deeply regretting my decision to go in for this car. Should have saved some money and bought an I20 or a Baleno.

Originally Posted by graaja

If I remember correctly, the spark plugs need replacement at 30,000km or 2 years whichever comes first, as per service schedule. Though my car has done only 18K kilometers in 2.5 years, during the 2nd year service, they did replace the spark plugs. As yours has done 40K kilometers, I would recommend you to get them changed.



Unfortunately, the stock suspensions of the Polo GT TSi leave a lot to be desired when it comes to comfort and handling. Bilstein B6 suspensions would solve the problem of comfort and handling at higher speeds, but as your problem is primarily at low speeds, not sure if there is a solution.

Check out the below thread and see if B6 can help you.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modifi...k-springs.html

Also 24 PSi is too low a pressure. At this low pressure, there is a high chance of sidewall damage on the tires. I wouldn't recommend anything less than 30psi.

Thanks VeluM.
The suspensions do not seem to be noisy. The car transfers all small road undulations directly making it a very uncomfortable ride. Dont know what to do with this car, badly stuck with it.

Originally Posted by VeluM

Is the suspension noisy too? If yes, ask the ASC SA to re-torque the suspension and speak to the service engineer as well. IMHO it would be the sounds that make you believe that the suspension is bumpy.

My Rapid has been noisy as heck compared to my father's Vento. Happened by chance to be assigned a good Service Advisor last service and he had this done properly. I used to maintain 30/28 instead of the recommended 32/30 and slow down for every crack in the road, but now I can ignore them despite 58k kms driven and 32/30 psi as recommended.

Simplest solution, hope it resolves the problem for you as well.

[AbhisheKulkarni]

Originally Posted by Dead Head

The issue I feel is at low speeds, say withing 40kmph when I find that the car transfers the road undulations directly. I can feel the vibration on the floor and in my legs and it is a very uncomfortable ride. Because of the vibrations , the car also rattles. This is mostly on the concrete sections of the road. On the smooth asphalt sections, the car rides satisfactorily.

I am surprised that others do not seem to have this feedback.

Overall a poor experience on the GT TSI. Am deeply regretting my decision to go in for this car. Should have saved some money and bought an I20 or a Baleno.


Thanks VeluM.
The suspensions do not seem to be noisy. The car transfers all small road undulations directly making it a very uncomfortable ride. Dont know what to do with this car, badly stuck with it.

My GT TSI has done ~34k/3+ years. I will share feedback regarding the observations that you have mentioned.

The low speed ride of the GT was always not-so-good. This must have been aggravated when VW increased the rim size to 16".

Vibrations on a concrete surface are going to be felt in pretty much every car, albeit, with a varying degree.

Which car did you have before? Did it have an absorbent ride at low speeds? If yes, then you need to let yourself adjust to the GT TSI's ride quality.

You seem to be feeling buyer's remorse, however if this helps, neither the i20 nor the Baleno have better ride quality at low speeds.

[deepfreak15]

Originally Posted by Dead Head

The issue I feel is at low speeds, say withing 40kmph when I find that the car transfers the road undulations directly. I can feel the vibration on the floor and in my legs and it is a very uncomfortable ride. Because of the vibrations , the car also rattles.

From my 49000 KM experience with the first gen TSI this definitely sounds like an anomaly. You definitely may want to have a thorough check done at the service centre. And yes the 16inch rims change the dynamics completely.