[sameer_vwagner]

After close to 13k kms on the odo and close to 10 months since i bought this beautiful car, i wanted to flag some issues that i have seen. These never happened with my Vento. If anyone has seen this, please let me know how you all corrected the same.

- The doors don't shut with the lovely thud i was sued to in the first 8 months of the Polo and still used to in my Vento. They shut like a Maruti WagonR these days.
- I had installed a VW genuine armrest (I am used to resting my left hand on the armrest from my Vento days) (Part code - 6RF-061-123- -XPA (Titan Black)) and a few days back, the armrest cover broke. Yes you read it right, it broke. This was after i parked my car in a tight space in Pune and had to move the arm rest arm in the "up" (perpendicular to the foot board) position. I spoke to my service chap and he says broken arm rests are not covered under warranty. Quite taken aback by this poor quality of the armrest (i just store spare cash / mall parking tickets in it).

[VishTks]

Hello Bhpians,

This post solely focuses on the after market add ons done to my Polo Tsi. Let me get straight into the details :

1) Custom Projectors -

These custom projectors come with Led High beams & Halogen Low Beams.

I decided to replace the halogens to P8 HIDs with 6000 Kelvin.

After the upgrade, The low beams throw were phenomenal.

Requirement of high beams were minimal as the combined throw would be overkill at usual low light situations.

Also, the colour of the lights were slightly bluish in tone which looked really swag.

Indicators are dynamic swipe meaning they move in action.
They look fantastic in motion.

Daytime Running Lamps come along with these lights and they give the car a much meaner look compared to stock unit.

They resemble angry looking eyes with a nice flowing light
strip underneath them.

Switch on the car & DRL comes up with an animation which shows small LED strips joining into one big strip along with blue to white transition of the DRL pattern.

They resemble exactly how Mercedes cars light up their DRLs but with the addition of LED strips animation.

This animation is so striking that whenever I turn my car on, people would give a sustained stare at the car for a while.

Overall, These lights are a 10/10 and definitely must be the first major upgrade in my opinion.


2) Rockford Fostgate Bass Tube rf 1400t -

I am a person who likes music with a blast which lead me to get a Sub / Bass tube fitted to the stock audio.

We did a detailed research on various brands and it was concluded that Rockford Fosgate is right at the top.

Availability of Rockford Fosgate products in and around our locality were limited but I managed to find a person who could get me one. He was considerate enough to give me two choices of Subs that can be unboxed and tested in my car before deciding on one.

Firstly, we installed a JBL Sub making around 1300 watts and tried playing various music.

It gave the song the required amount of low frequency bass and it was the typical subs that are fitted to cars giving the thump.

We were happy with it as it gave the required bass and felt like the typical sub we all have in mind before getting a sub.

But we still did not try out the second choice which was the choice that had come on order - Rockford Fosgate rf 1400t Bass Tube.

We installed this one right after testing the JBL.
The bass levels were placed exactly the same as when we tested the JBL.

Similar music were played and damn, the bass hit so hard, thick and clear that i was out of words !

Whatever the JBL did good, the Rockford Fosgate did it 5x better to say the least.

It is not just about the outright bass, but the manner in which the bass was delivered without distortion.
The clarity from the bass were extraordinary.
The clarity was ever so present even when the bass levels were increased to higher levels.

And of course, the outright bass were brutally solid.

Mind you, bass levels are to be kept at -9 or - 8 if there are non bass heads travelling inside the car.

Levels at -7 to -3 are considerably bass heavy and would suit regular bass heavy listening for bass heads.

The zero mark till +4 is extremely aggresive which must be played when on a raging road trip

When the levels are nearing the +9 mark, just hope that the glass won't break as they are prone to shatter.

I am planning to add high quality tweeters soon and I recommend this to anyone plan to attach a Rockford Fosgate Bass Tube to their stock audio as the high frequencies from the stock speakers are unable to completely match the strong wave of bass from the bass tube.

Setting the high frequency levels to max on the audio system does help to an extent but addition of tweeters would make the audio sound delightful.

Wiring is from Blaupunkt.

JBL amplifiers were paired with the Bass tubes and these were decided after getting advices from experts in the field.

Overall, These were a boon to young people like me who get our adrenaline pumped from the bass inside music.


4)Exterior Dechrome -

Blacking out the chrome parts of the exteriors gave the Polo a much more aggressive stance. It looks sportier and is highly recommended.


5) Steering buckle with the German Flag colour -

It is a small upgrade but holds a significant aesthetic value.

Overall, this minor upgrade made the steering wheel look Sportier and the Colours break the monotone looking black-grey interior.



6) Side Doors Logo projectors -

They look fabulous as they project the VW logo when one opens the car door.

They are installed on both the front side doors.

They look aesthetically beautiful and at the same time, they act as illumination when we get down from the car at night.

Overall, these add the 'look cool' factor on your car. Though not mandatory, we humans tend to get excited over these aesthetically pleasing stuff which doesn't need to be rational.


7) Footwell Ambient lighting -

I have installed LED multi coloured lamps under the footwell for the front passengers & under the front seat for the rear passengers.

They illuminate the entire floor of the car and they look gorgeous at night.

There's a dedicated remote that can be used to change the colours of light, light animation ( static / dancing / slow transition ) , brightness levels, on off etc.

Overall, interior aesthetics significantly improved and it is a light show at night.


8) Window Tint 3M Reflective -

I had to tint my car for two reasons :

* To make the car look cool
* To prevent UV radiations entering inside

The tint used is 3M reflective at 35% visibility.

A total of 65% vision is blocked.

Overall, the tint made the car match the sporty exteriors and the harsh rays from the sun were filtered.

9) F1 3D Gel number Plates -

The regular number plates made the car look dull and hence to give it some style, I reached F1 number plates to send me 3D gel plates with my personalized font style, clipart, and wordings.

The texture of the plate is mildly honey comb patterned resembling my front grills. These honey comb patterns also are reflective and look well at night.

Overall, these number plates give the car that extra bling.
A few would argue saying " It's just a number plate" but they certainly do increase the styling quotient of any car.


I have attached all the pictures of the above mentioned modifications here.

Thank you Bhpians for taking your time to read. Have a great day!

[VishTks]

Hello Bhpians,

I am a proud owner of the renowned German hot hatch - the Polo Tsi (Manual) . It has completed around 8000 kms which include 5 long trips (highway runs, hill stations etc.). My journey with this car has been very delightful so far. I am a young enthusiastic petrol head and my priorities were getting a fast fun to drive car. Hence, the Polo Tsi took a place in my garage and I must say no other car close to this side of 25 lakhs is as fast and as fun. As there are plenty comprehensive reviews about the Polo, my focus on this thread is engine and performance.

Engine and Performance :

The 1.0 Tsi engine - This engine is indeed a cracker.

In City Experience -

In the city, the engine has lag. Below the 2k Rpm mark, the engine is tractable but the pace is moderate. If you stomp the accelerator, the lag is clearly felt and it is no match to the naturally aspirated engines at low rpms.

Outright Performance -

Floor the accelerator pedal & the initial lag makes you feel that it's any regular engine. But the moment the needle nears the 2k Rpm mark, things start to transit into a different story as we can feel the reserved power all ready to let loose. Once the needle crosses the 2k Rpm mark, there is a mad rush & after the 3k Rpm the pull is getting more violent continuing all the way to the redline. What's stunning is that the power is released all the way till the 6.7K Rpm.

And my god! That is one crazy experience. There are times where I buried the throttle while the car is moving at crawling speeds and once the initial lag is crossed, the wheels start spinning struggling for traction in first gear. And mind you, this happens even when not launching it from standstill.

Every time you drive it hard, a lot of adrenaline is pumped to the max. First gear tops out 50 kph, 2nd gear tops at 100 kph. The gearing is tall and it is exciting to see 2nd gear reach 100 kph with full gusto. The 0 - 100 kph is finished at 9 seconds. I have tested my car and It does the exact 9 seconds timing. This timing is quite remarkable as there are few sub ten seconds cars even at a segment above. It's not just about the 0 - 100 kph, but the pull after 100kph is also very strong.

Overall, the naturally aspirated engines stand no chance against the Tsi engines in terms of outright performance.

Highway Performance -

Don't let the displacement fool you, as this car can maintain triple digit speeds with no effort. 100 kph comes up around 2k Rpm mark in Sixth gear. In general, highway cruising is a cake walk as the sixth gear comes into play.

This car can cruise all day long without any fuss. The engine also doesn't heat up like the older 1.2 Tsi as the internals are more advanced. Hence, there's no let up in performance even after prolonged driving.

Hill Driving -

Considering the initial lag of the engine, my initial thought was that the polo could possibly struggle when the rpms went low. The first time I drove up the hills, i was noting down the experience. And to my surprise, the car climbed the slopes seamlessly. This wasn't expected as the initial lag and the small displacement would tell otherwise.

You can't expect fast momentum at low rpms, but the engine was very tractable even at the slopes. You could easily keep up with other cars by short shifting. Sure, you need to drop a gear to fly past other traffic. But if you decide to drive sanely, this car is ready to obey.

Therefore, I conclude that this engine is made for people who crave for sheer performance & acceleration.
Forgive the initial turbo lag, and you are treated with a blast!.

[ais]

Here are the videos of the performance of DHC 4300k bulbs.

In light rain-

https://youtube.com/watch?v=4ZYsNRT76y0?feature=share

In pouring rain, with the left high beam bulb loose in the socket, so almost totally ineffective.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=yrWrvJtRm4A?feature=share

Few Team-BHP.com mates have asked for videos to check the performance. I hope this leaves no doubt that this performance is unbeatable even by laser assited projectors.

More of this in my upcoming thread on the mods and upgrades I'm about to complete (just a sway bar and a top notch DSP music system remaining).

[Transmission]

Originally Posted by ais

Here are the videos of the performance of DHC 4300k bulbs.



In pouring rain, with the left high beam bulb loose in the socket, so almost totally ineffective.

Do you mean to say that just one bulb was producing the illumination and even then it was that good?

Also which specific model is this? I went through DHC's website but couldnt find a 4300K LED model.

Thanks!

[ais]

Originally Posted by Transmission

Do you mean to say that just one bulb was producing the illumination and even then it was that good?

Also which specific model is this? I went through DHC's website but couldnt find a 4300K LED model.
Thanks!

Its right there on the DHC website.
https://www.dhcindia.com/f55-car-led.html

One bulb, left high beam, was loose. Other 3 were fine. The post is quite clear.

[amrit_bareta]

Your Polo is looking too awesome, this kind of modification is only done by someone who has a lot of love for his car. may God always bless your car. Why didn't you put LED bulbs in the fog lamps? In the photo, I see that you are using halogen bulbs in fog lamps? And please can you share the Price of headlights!Great to read your story about the performance of the car and a new surprise to hear that the Polo TSI reaches 100 in second gear. Can you tell the maximum speed at which you drove this motor?

[SuperSuri]

Originally Posted by VishTks

1) Custom Projectors -

Looks like good mods done to your car. How’s the throw of these headlamps when you compare it with stock? I’ve heard from quite a few people that the throw of aftermarket headlamps is lower than the stock headlamps.

Did you upgrade the projector as well? And how much the lights costed you, without hid?

Thanks in advance.

[VishTks]

Originally Posted by amrit_bareta

Your Polo is looking too awesome, this kind of modification is only done by someone who has a lot of love for his car. may God always bless your car. Why didn't you put LED bulbs in the fog lamps? In the photo, I see that you are using halogen bulbs in fog lamps? And please can you share the Price of headlights!Great to read your story about the performance of the car and a new surprise to hear that the Polo TSI reaches 100 in second gear. Can you tell the maximum speed at which you drove this motor?

Thank you Brother! As you say, my passion has led me to make my car specced differently.

1) My foglamps are halogens as the HID, LEDs or any white light don't give out much visibility during rains. Halogens really do help out in that case.

2) The price of these headlamp unit costed me around 25k with LED highbeams built in.

3) Yes, The Polo reaches 100kp/h in second gear at the 6700 RPM Redline and it is pretty rev happy

4) The maximum speed? Let me Dm you those details if you wish. Let's just say that it's a really fast car in general.

Thank you for taking your time to read. Peace.

[VishTks]

Originally Posted by SuperSuri

Looks like good mods done to your car. How’s the throw of these headlamps when you compare it with stock? I’ve heard from quite a few people that the throw of aftermarket headlamps is lower than the stock headlamps.

Did you upgrade the projector as well? And how much the lights costed you, without hid?

Thanks in advance.

Hello brother, the reason for upgrading my headlamps were because the throw of the stock lights were poor.

The aftermarket headlamps are projector units. They would always beat the stock headlamps by a far margin unless there are some manufacturing defects with the unit.

Additionally, I upgraded the low beam bulbs to HIDs and the light throw is phenomenal. The throw is easily on par with BMW headlamps.

The Aftermarket Headlamps costed me around 25k without the HIDs.

Thank you.

[amrit_bareta]

Originally Posted by VishTks

Thank you Brother! As you say, my passion has led me to make my car specced differently.

1) My foglamps are halogens as the HID, LEDs or any white light don't give out much visibility during rains. Halogens really do help out in that case.

2) The price of these headlamp unit costed me around 25k with LED highbeams built in.

3) Yes, The Polo reaches 100kp/h in second gear at the 6700 RPM Redline and it is pretty rev happy

4) The maximum speed? Let me Dm you those details if you wish. Let's just say that it's a really fast car in general.

Thank you for taking your time to read. Peace.

Thank you very much friend for taking your valuable time to give such a good answer.
I also had modified headlights in my vento and got them for the same price, but yours are much more awesome.
Also thank you for your valuable opinion about the fog lamps because my car also has halogen bulbs in the fog lamps, I did not change them because I did not get a chance to change them, but now after listening to your advice I will keep them halogen instead of LED.
God bless you and your car, and I wish you Happy Million Miles with your car brother.

[amrit_bareta]

Originally Posted by VishTks

Hello brother, the reason for upgrading my headlamps were because the throw of the stock lights were poor.

The aftermarket headlamps are projector units. They would always beat the stock headlamps by a far margin unless there are some manufacturing defects with the unit.

Additionally, I upgraded the low beam bulbs to HIDs and the light throw is phenomenal. The throw is easily on par with BMW headlamps.

The Aftermarket Headlamps costed me around 25k without the HIDs.

Thank you.

Brother which hid kit did you put in low beam, and how much did it cost you? Because my car also has similar headlights with company fitted led in high beam but in low beam I am using halogen H7 bulb.And I am also thinking of getting the HID kit installed in the low beam.

[VishTks]

Originally Posted by amrit_bareta

Brother which hid kit did you put in low beam, and how much did it cost you? Because my car also has similar headlights with company fitted led in high beam but in low beam I am using halogen H7 bulb.And I am also thinking of getting the HID kit installed in the low beam.

I have attached P8 55w 6000 Kelvin HID units and they lean towards a cool colour tone ie, they show a slight bluish white tone.

5000 Kelvin HIDs are more white in colour tone.

Honestly, 5000 Kelvin will suffice as 6000K units are just for aesthetic purposes.

[losblancos_sr4]

Where did you buy the puddle lamps from? Are these available for the Skoda Kushaq also?

[VishTks]

Originally Posted by losblancos_sr4

Where did you buy the puddle lamps from? Are these available for the Skoda Kushaq also?

Hello brother, This purchase is interesting as they are available on Amazon. I am not sure about skoda but they should be available if you check them online.
It is an easy installation as well and is DIY.