So today I popped down the M1 from York to Sheffield for my first visit to Statllers to have a GIAC DSG Stage 2 remap done, a set of S2T aluminium paddle shifters fitted, and swapped the VWR intake that was on the car when I bought it for a Revo intake.
Firstly can I just say what a great guy Steve at Statllers is, made me feel so welcome right from the start and took me out in the car to get a feel for it beforehand, made me a few cups of tea and got to see the work going on in the workshop and watched a before and after dyno run. Can thoroughly recommend them for any work you need doing!
On my previous car, a Mk5 GTI, I had an ITG Maxogen induction kit fitted, which as many will know is fairly loud with it's open cone filter, and to be honest I was missing that suction sound that wasn't as present with the VWR filter. The new Revo intake is very similar to the Maxogen, apart from it looks a lot tidier with it being a one piece system instead of lots of hoses clamped together. I had a before and after dyno run and it pulled 6 more bhp with the Revo intake, maxing out at 345bhp IIRC. Not quite the 360bhp quoted by APR for a Stage 2+ but not all that bad none-the-less.
I had the GIAC DSG remap done for a few reasons, firstly I found when stopping and starting in traffic it was pretty jerky going from a standstill to a crawling pace and now it feels far smoother. The shifts are faster and it has also added 40ft/lb of torque which is really noticeable when dropping down to 4th on the motorway to pull an overtake, the car just launches away leaving everything else at a standstill! Steve took me out for a quick demo afterwards to get a feel for it and he set it into launch control mode. I have done 2 launches beforehand but this time... oh my god, it is fast! Immensely fast!! It's the first time I've felt my insides being sent backwards with the G-force, like on a rollercoaster, nearly swallowed my tongue! Beforehand when doing a launch it felt like there was a slight delay before the power kicked in, but now with the remap raising the revs on the launch you get a massive surge of power right from the beginning, and for the first time I felt some wheelspin too, then it just goes like a fu*king rocket, stronger than any car I've driven before (and I've driven Aston's, Ferrari's etc!)
All in all, money well spent, and a big grin on my face!
I'll post a few photos of the new intake and the S2T paddles in a few days if anyone is interested.
Oh, and guess who popped in for a chat whilst I was there, Mr Hurdy himself! Was good to meet the guy for the first time in person and chat about all things Golf!
Chris