WhiteJames
Fun Nazi
- Location
- Sydney
- Car(s)
- VW Golf GTI MKV
APR - MKV GTI
Vehicle:
2007 Silver MkV Golf GTI DSG fully optioned.
Owner: GT15VW (Matt).
List of modifications:
- APR chip
- APR exhaust – full system
- APR torque arm insert (TAI)
- Oettinger Intercooler
- Dbilas CAI
- Neuspeed 25mm f & r 3 way adjustable anti-roll bars
- APR front bumper/spoiler/splitter unit complete with open grill mesh inserts.
- APR high pressure fuel pump
- Bilstein PSS10 coilovers – lowered 10mm front & 15mm rear – dampers set on 4 front and 3 rear.
Assessment:
WOW … This is the fastest GTI I have driven to date. Yes. The butt-o-meter indicates that this vehicle feels faster than TinyGTI (another Matt) Silver 2005 GTI with GIAC + CAI + AWE + Lightweight wheels + host of other mods which pushes that GTI to a 13.8 second quarter mile. There are a couple of reasons for this, I’d imagine.
One – The APR vehicle sports an intercooler assisting with cooler running temperate and fuller turbo boost.
Two – APR fuel pump. The fuel pump adequately ensures that the motor receives its fair share of juice when the revs rise. Motor just feels stronger and smoother all round. Fuel Pump also adds to the responsiveness of the throttle delivery, which still retains that trade mark APR smoothness right through the rev range.
Three – Later mode GTI. I really noticed this when comparing later model Bluefin software tuned vehicles. The 2005, while having better running gear like forged pistons and the like, also runs a higher compression motor (10.5:1), so you are limited in the amount of boost on the turbo. The later lower compression motors (10.3:1) as in the APR vehicle feels stronger as a stock unit, let alone with a software boosting up the turbo.
Drive Impressions:
Matt’s APR vehicle pulled so strongly going up an incline on coarse smooth bitumen, traction broken away in second gear half way up the rev range … phenomenal. I thought, “This Silver APR GTI is likely to get me into trouble.” - It did later on, but more on that later. This car is riding on top of the range Pirelli P-Zero Nero rubber – 235/35/19 wrapped around Oettinger Wheels - so the shoes are not the problem in this respect.
The power delivery worked very harmoniously around a tight twisty hilly terrible rut and pot hole ridden section of country roadway – nothing uncouth about the power delivery, of course except the grip levels with judicious throttle openings.
The Dbilas CAI makes a chirp sound when the Silver GTI changes gears or on throttle lift off. You can hear it from outside and inside the vehicle. Under load the CAI is near stock in noise levels.
The exhaust makes a droning sound at idle, especially so at idle or with a small amount of revs. Once underway and doing the business, the exhaust is surprisingly quiet. Nothing too much louder than stock, albeit a different sound note. No major lag was experienced with the CAI and exhaust as can be the case with other setups or half setups (CAI or exhaust only).
The Neuspeed Tubular anti-roll bars (25mm f & r) are set on soft for front and hard for rear, dialing out under steer as much as possible. As in the Eibach –v- Neuspeed write-up earlier in the piece, the Neuspeed feels softer at the front, with a bit more push under steer initially, with a quicker transition into over-steer, than the progressively neutral H&R sway bars. But that’s only half the suspension story.
Bilstein PSS10 coilovers adjustable 10 ways for compression/rebound together are fantastic. They offer the trademark Bilstein reactive high pressure inverted gas mono-tube ride that has you feeling everything that is occurring underneath you.
In contrast, the Koni FSD that was favourite with the newbie drivers on this section of roadway offered a more comfortable, but distant & less sporting ride. The difference is a matter of personal preference: adjustability & sports –v- convenience & comfort/semi-sports. If you even read a comparison better a Lamborghini Gallardo (Koni FSD) –v- Porsche 911 GT2 (Bilstein) or BMW 330i (Bilstein) –v- new Mercedes C280 AMG Sport Package (FSD), you will know what I’m talking about.
Bear in mind the drive was only on a 5km stretch of outer Sydney blacktop that I would describe as shockingly bad, and still curse Jester_Fu for showing us this route. Although seeing how the PSS10 handle a terrible piece of roadway did put the PSS10 to the test. The ride with front set on no. 4 and rear on no. 3 was definitely tolerable, telegraphing much more information than the Eibach Prokit/Koni FSD combo that was driven immediately before this run. No rubbing on Matt’s Silver APR as in the case of my Eibach ProKit/Koni FSD GTI on a tight 20kph downhill left hander.
At times I do miss the super responsiveness of the Bilstein sport dampers – it gives a different ride to the firm and carpet smooth ride of Koni.
The 19 Oettinger Wheels on 235/35/19/8.0-8.5/ET50 Pirelli P-Zero tyres didn’t roughen up the ride too much. The owner, Matt, did comment that the ride was different to Rocco’s GTI coupled with PSS10 coilovers + large H&R anti-roll bars on OEM wheels. More luxurious due to the less stiffer Neuspeed anti-roll bars on the Matt’s ride, extra sidewall of the bigger sidewalls of the 235/35 tyres and heavier 19” Oettinger wheels.
The Oettinger Wheels themselves would be quite heavy – I’m guessing around 30lbs or more.
It is worth noting that when you lower a MKV GTI, the front wheels develops some negative camber (from zero/dead plumb), which assists with the prevention of rubbing on the top inner mudguard flange & screw.
The APR front bumper, while makes this the best looking GTI to date with lower ride height, poses a problem. The front bumper sits very low with minimum ground clearance. I found this out the hard way, when driving gingerly onto a one lane wooden bridge of the terrible road loop.
Going over a slight rise with ruts and corrugations, the front bottom carbon fibre splitter brushed the wood of the bridge and split. $500 replacement cost – I fitted about 75% of the replacement bill, for not slowing down enough and being the driver. Matt kindly shouldered about 25% of the replacement bill for forgetting to remind me to slow to a crawl. Aesthetically, the bumper makes the car look great. Practically, it’s a nightmare, especially with lowered ride height of the PSS10.
Overall:
Matt’s GTI is a very well setup up car. Everything seems to work cohesively and it retains or improves on the smoothness of the OEM GTI. The suspension system makes Matt’s GTI feel tight & secure, and at no time did I not feel in control of what was going on. I’d probably set the rear PSS10 down at notch at the front and up a notch at the rear for a more neutral chassis setup for my personal driving preference.
I think the biggest advantage that Matt has for this setup was that he mostly stuck to the APR items, which are designed to work harmoniously with one another.
Positives:
Smooth power delivery, mostly lag free like OEM, little increase in noise with full exhaust once moving from standstill, increase in power over stock GTI motor, a great looking car that is not too over the top, ability to make mince meat of far more potent makes of vehicles.
Negatives:
Traction issues with over judicious throttle application, no LSD, brakes may need upgrading to match the power increase, front APR bumper/spoiler a nightmare. Cost of APR products, it doesn’t belong to me.
Cheers
WJ
Vehicle:
2007 Silver MkV Golf GTI DSG fully optioned.
Owner: GT15VW (Matt).
List of modifications:
- APR chip
- APR exhaust – full system
- APR torque arm insert (TAI)
- Oettinger Intercooler
- Dbilas CAI
- Neuspeed 25mm f & r 3 way adjustable anti-roll bars
- APR front bumper/spoiler/splitter unit complete with open grill mesh inserts.
- APR high pressure fuel pump
- Bilstein PSS10 coilovers – lowered 10mm front & 15mm rear – dampers set on 4 front and 3 rear.
Assessment:
WOW … This is the fastest GTI I have driven to date. Yes. The butt-o-meter indicates that this vehicle feels faster than TinyGTI (another Matt) Silver 2005 GTI with GIAC + CAI + AWE + Lightweight wheels + host of other mods which pushes that GTI to a 13.8 second quarter mile. There are a couple of reasons for this, I’d imagine.
One – The APR vehicle sports an intercooler assisting with cooler running temperate and fuller turbo boost.
Two – APR fuel pump. The fuel pump adequately ensures that the motor receives its fair share of juice when the revs rise. Motor just feels stronger and smoother all round. Fuel Pump also adds to the responsiveness of the throttle delivery, which still retains that trade mark APR smoothness right through the rev range.
Three – Later mode GTI. I really noticed this when comparing later model Bluefin software tuned vehicles. The 2005, while having better running gear like forged pistons and the like, also runs a higher compression motor (10.5:1), so you are limited in the amount of boost on the turbo. The later lower compression motors (10.3:1) as in the APR vehicle feels stronger as a stock unit, let alone with a software boosting up the turbo.
Drive Impressions:
Matt’s APR vehicle pulled so strongly going up an incline on coarse smooth bitumen, traction broken away in second gear half way up the rev range … phenomenal. I thought, “This Silver APR GTI is likely to get me into trouble.” - It did later on, but more on that later. This car is riding on top of the range Pirelli P-Zero Nero rubber – 235/35/19 wrapped around Oettinger Wheels - so the shoes are not the problem in this respect.
The power delivery worked very harmoniously around a tight twisty hilly terrible rut and pot hole ridden section of country roadway – nothing uncouth about the power delivery, of course except the grip levels with judicious throttle openings.
The Dbilas CAI makes a chirp sound when the Silver GTI changes gears or on throttle lift off. You can hear it from outside and inside the vehicle. Under load the CAI is near stock in noise levels.
The exhaust makes a droning sound at idle, especially so at idle or with a small amount of revs. Once underway and doing the business, the exhaust is surprisingly quiet. Nothing too much louder than stock, albeit a different sound note. No major lag was experienced with the CAI and exhaust as can be the case with other setups or half setups (CAI or exhaust only).
The Neuspeed Tubular anti-roll bars (25mm f & r) are set on soft for front and hard for rear, dialing out under steer as much as possible. As in the Eibach –v- Neuspeed write-up earlier in the piece, the Neuspeed feels softer at the front, with a bit more push under steer initially, with a quicker transition into over-steer, than the progressively neutral H&R sway bars. But that’s only half the suspension story.
Bilstein PSS10 coilovers adjustable 10 ways for compression/rebound together are fantastic. They offer the trademark Bilstein reactive high pressure inverted gas mono-tube ride that has you feeling everything that is occurring underneath you.
In contrast, the Koni FSD that was favourite with the newbie drivers on this section of roadway offered a more comfortable, but distant & less sporting ride. The difference is a matter of personal preference: adjustability & sports –v- convenience & comfort/semi-sports. If you even read a comparison better a Lamborghini Gallardo (Koni FSD) –v- Porsche 911 GT2 (Bilstein) or BMW 330i (Bilstein) –v- new Mercedes C280 AMG Sport Package (FSD), you will know what I’m talking about.
Bear in mind the drive was only on a 5km stretch of outer Sydney blacktop that I would describe as shockingly bad, and still curse Jester_Fu for showing us this route. Although seeing how the PSS10 handle a terrible piece of roadway did put the PSS10 to the test. The ride with front set on no. 4 and rear on no. 3 was definitely tolerable, telegraphing much more information than the Eibach Prokit/Koni FSD combo that was driven immediately before this run. No rubbing on Matt’s Silver APR as in the case of my Eibach ProKit/Koni FSD GTI on a tight 20kph downhill left hander.
At times I do miss the super responsiveness of the Bilstein sport dampers – it gives a different ride to the firm and carpet smooth ride of Koni.
The 19 Oettinger Wheels on 235/35/19/8.0-8.5/ET50 Pirelli P-Zero tyres didn’t roughen up the ride too much. The owner, Matt, did comment that the ride was different to Rocco’s GTI coupled with PSS10 coilovers + large H&R anti-roll bars on OEM wheels. More luxurious due to the less stiffer Neuspeed anti-roll bars on the Matt’s ride, extra sidewall of the bigger sidewalls of the 235/35 tyres and heavier 19” Oettinger wheels.
The Oettinger Wheels themselves would be quite heavy – I’m guessing around 30lbs or more.
It is worth noting that when you lower a MKV GTI, the front wheels develops some negative camber (from zero/dead plumb), which assists with the prevention of rubbing on the top inner mudguard flange & screw.
The APR front bumper, while makes this the best looking GTI to date with lower ride height, poses a problem. The front bumper sits very low with minimum ground clearance. I found this out the hard way, when driving gingerly onto a one lane wooden bridge of the terrible road loop.
Going over a slight rise with ruts and corrugations, the front bottom carbon fibre splitter brushed the wood of the bridge and split. $500 replacement cost – I fitted about 75% of the replacement bill, for not slowing down enough and being the driver. Matt kindly shouldered about 25% of the replacement bill for forgetting to remind me to slow to a crawl. Aesthetically, the bumper makes the car look great. Practically, it’s a nightmare, especially with lowered ride height of the PSS10.
Overall:
Matt’s GTI is a very well setup up car. Everything seems to work cohesively and it retains or improves on the smoothness of the OEM GTI. The suspension system makes Matt’s GTI feel tight & secure, and at no time did I not feel in control of what was going on. I’d probably set the rear PSS10 down at notch at the front and up a notch at the rear for a more neutral chassis setup for my personal driving preference.
I think the biggest advantage that Matt has for this setup was that he mostly stuck to the APR items, which are designed to work harmoniously with one another.
Positives:
Smooth power delivery, mostly lag free like OEM, little increase in noise with full exhaust once moving from standstill, increase in power over stock GTI motor, a great looking car that is not too over the top, ability to make mince meat of far more potent makes of vehicles.
Negatives:
Traction issues with over judicious throttle application, no LSD, brakes may need upgrading to match the power increase, front APR bumper/spoiler a nightmare. Cost of APR products, it doesn’t belong to me.
Cheers
WJ
