My Pocket Rocket - White Candy - VW Polo 1.5 GT TDI


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The Hunt:
Its been going to be two years since i took delivery of my GT TDI. This thread is about the ownership experience, the Modifications i did on my GT and the modifications planned for future to make it a complete Pocket Rocket.To summarize its the journey so far with my Candy white polo GT TDI.

I zeroed in on Polo after a long 2 year search for a new car. In between had given booking amount to buy a Maruti suzuki Ritz and later after a year we cancelled and given that amount to book the Polo GT TDI.

At first we were looking to buy a car with a Maximum Budget of 5 lakhs in Third quarter of 2013. Dad wanted to buy a Maruti for obvious reasons such as low maintenance and high resale value and most importantly the service centre is just 3 km away from Home.

We started with Wagon-R and and later end up giving booking amount for Ritz during First Quater of 2014. Then due to some financial issues it got extended and by the End of 2014 we decided to get the Ritz by 2015 March as the offers will be good at that time as its the year end closing sales offers.

Then VW launched the New Polo with 1.5 tdi Engine. I have always loved the soild build quality and high speed stability of Polo , only the 1.2 3 cyl engines was the problem for me. We took a test drive and loved it. Now we had to push the budget more and decided to get the lower Trendline Varient. But later decided to comfortline as it offers little more features and ABS. In meantime we had numerous test drives and were in touch with the SE. I told him to let me know if any offers comes by March 2015. We also TD'd Hyundai I20, But i loved the Polo More for the driving Feel. No way the I20 is bad. Its that its not for me.

How the competition fared:
#I20 is for a family Which needs the backseat space and to accommodate 3 in back in comfort. The steering is light, and has numerous features but suspiciously the Avg FE and DTE is missing. In new design, Its looks classy too.
#Punto is a car with solid tank like build quality only let down by the weight and its ergonomics. Yes its the best to drive because of that hydraulic steering but neither dad nor me could get a comfortable seating position in punto.
#Polo ticks almost all boxes. Its safe with ABS and Airbags, Solid Build Quality and Have enough features we would need and a reasonably large boot in the segment. And we both enjoyed the driving experience too.

Final Call:
So Polo it is. SA called up in March saying there is a cash discount offer going on for polo and with that we could get Highline at the price of Comfortline. We planned to keep the cars for 6-7 years , hence decided to get the Highline as it was in the budget even though its stretched. And When we went to Book the car, I casually asked about the GT TDI as there was a one on display and he said same offer is there for GT, and its the first time VW offering discounts for GT. I was too tempted and said dad lets book GT TDI instead of HIghline. Dad was like why you need more power , even the normal polo is powerful for our kerala highways. Are you going for any race events?. I convinced him saying already we stretched this much and getting Highline so why wont we get the best under 10lakh by paying a 50k more. Though he was not convinced we did book the polo GT TDI in Candy White colour. (I wanted Flash red though, but compromised the colour for GT as dad wanted White[:D])
 
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Thread Starter #2
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Re: My Pocket Rocket- White Candy - VW Polo 1.5 GT TDI

MY WHITE CANDY-THE POCKET ROCKET [evil]
f8c3aa3b67365b010f1b5aae7634e630-1.jpg

I decided to take the insurance from outside as i got better quotes from outside as the dealership was quoting me 32k. finally got B2B from dealership as they matched the quote i was getting from outside for 20k with cashless.I also saved 10k by making them strike off the Handling/Incidental charges from Invoice. Details in the Link below:
http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...8-handling-incidental-other-charges-scam.html

I negotiate further with the SE and got the Mud flaps and Rubber Floor mats for free and by taking into account the prices that time i got the GT TDI almost at the price of a Highline TDI and for me it was a steal deal [:D]

Likes & Dislikes:
Its been going to be two years since i took delivery of my GT and ran around 32k km and the experience so far have been good. Touchwood. The Things i like about the GT are the Powerful Mod friendly Rev happy diesel Engine , though it doesnt sound that good with all that diesel clatter outside its doesnt bother much inside as the sound insulation is good. The biggest plus is the way polo masks the speed and the way it gains speed. Just change through gears and you will be doing triple digit speeds in no time and you feel like going in 60-70 something even though the speeds are in 100-120 range. The ride and handling balance is good but i feel it does lack the handling of old polo 1.2 tdi. may be they made the suspension softer for better ride quality. I would have liked a little bit firm suspension so the body roll is minimal. The body roll is there but its controlled. no surprises there. And being a diesel it gives good numbers in FE. If you cruise in 80-100 on highways could easly get 19-20kmpl. I have always got 14-15kmpl even after over enthusiastic driving in single carriageways with traffic. The build quality is solid and close the door and you can feel its safe to be in it. The quality of interior too is good comparing to segment and the dash layout is simple yet functional. The MFSW is useful and the audio quality of the HU is not that great but not that bad too. The only gripe is that the bluetooth mouthpiece is fixed on the co driver side of HU so you need to talk a little bit loud so the caller could hear you clearly.

I wish the GT comes with All round disc brakes for better braking and a little bit firm suspension and better tyres. Even though the rear is low on space its can seat two in comfort and the three could be seated but the middle transmission tunnel makes it difficult to sit comfortably for the one sitting at middle. The spare tyre is not an alloy, not even the OEM size its a size smaller , space saver . So it can be only used to reach till the puncture repair shop and rated at 80kmph max speed.

Yes. There are things i dont like , minor things but it do make me grin while i floor the A pedal, and dad is in love with the power it has and the way it masks speeds , which makes you munch miles without knowing and that too faster than before.[:)]
 
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Thread Starter #3
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Re: My Pocket Rocket- White Candy - VW Polo 1.5 GT TDI

The Transformation:

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The main reasons i went for the GT version from Highline version is because i wanted the black interior and a little more power in stock form and most importantly the deal i got. Coming to Power i never felt its not enough or underpowered but as a petrol head the power was never enough. Though there is saying There is no replacement for displacement.But With turbo charged engines these displacement issue can be sort out to a extent by remaps or tuning boxes which tweaks the ECU parameters. So i did a online research on this and found out remaps are better if you want the power in a specific manner , like you need a better low end and doesnt care about much topend. Tuning box in other case you cant have the specific setting its all pre set and they do gets you what you want if you just looking for power and not specific demands. And another pro for tuning box is can be fitted and removed so no one can findout and hence the warranty wont be void. But remaps void the warranty , though the routine service cant detect a remap and its reversible to stock. After a lot of time spent on internet reading many posts in forums and articles i decided to get the remap done if ever i going to get the power up. Because i feel in kerala roads what i need is Low and mid range power and torque. This doesnt mean in stock it doesnt feel good. Its i want better. better than the good. I thought will wait for two years before making any changes or start to mod the car. The plan is to start modding the car after the warranty expires. I feel if you can live with the beige interior then its best to get the highline version ,if you have plans to get a remap as both has the same engine & other components considering the price difference you will have to pay.

The polo is mainly used by dad for his highway trips and Dad used to get around 20-21kmpl mileage (still couldnt crack how?) while me 15-16kmpl for obvious reasons[;)]. The power delivery is linear but there is slight surge after 2000rpm but not evident like in the swift. Everything was going well, then After few months the VW emission scandal issues came out and there was talks of updating ECU software and which may result in reduction of the power. Me didnt want to loose the power , that too even after paying a premium for the 15ps and 20nm eventhough its just a ECU tune.No mechanical difference to Highline version. Just subtle changes like alloys and all black interior and a black spoiler. So i started looking for ECU remap options again as there is a chance of rewriting the old ECU map if the new ECU map is worse. But for the same, i need to get the read of my old ECU map first. Back at search for a tuner for the remap and after a lot of search i zeroed in on Code6 Tuning as i have read many good reviews about them and they are based in kerala and people behind code6 were petrolheads like us. They Have a Garage in cochin so i have a place to go and meet them if have any issues. Nothing against other tuners , its that all others i contacted said they will include me in schedule when they come down to kerala. Didnt wanted that as i may have to wait till they come again to kerala for any changes in ECU map or to revert back to stock. Yes, Petes was there in cochin and i didnt chose pete's as they didnt had a option to customise the ECU map as per customer requirement then. Code 6 Tuning also offered a lifelong support for the map including tweaking of the map as per my requirement.

As by now dad too got used to the power and didnt want to lose it at any cost. I was not sure whether vw update the map when the polo goes in for 1st year service which was due in a month. So i got in touch with code6 and dad took the polo to cochin as i was in Qatar that time. I may be the first guy who made his dad to took the car for a Remap[:D]. The reason dad agreed was because of the fear of lose of power after update. so i told him will just take a ECU read so as to revert back if the new updated map is Worse.The read of Ecu was taken and a mild remap was done. As the engine oil was due for change and the vehicle ran around 14k didnt want to push the power much. Anyway the plan was to get a powerful proper ECU map when i come down home after two months. The car got mild remap and the main thing the ECU map read has taken and its safe to send polo to service without the fear of being update of ECU Map and leads to reduction in power. Dad got the 1st service done and the Bill came around 9k and they haven't done any updates to ECU map as no updates were available then. So all well. Got remapped even though a mild one. The first mod i have done that too towards the performace. Now the wait begins to reach home and get a powerful ECU map to make it a Pocket Rocket [evil]
 
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Re: My Pocket Rocket- White Candy - VW Polo 1.5 GT TDI

The Pocket Rocket is Born:

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The very next day i came home from qatar, i went to cochin to get the polo mapped with a powerful map from Code6. I had already scheduled a appointment for the remap. My requirements were Better low and mid range power and torque. Didn't cared much about high end, As in kerala it difficult to find a stretch to go beyond 120kmph unless there is a strike:tongue:. If found there would be a speed cam for sure. And as the car will be used by my dad most of time wanted in gear acceleration and low and mid to be better , what we need most in the traffic of kerala roads in which most are single carriageways. Reached code6 garage at cochin by morning 9 am. As my map turned out to be a different one than the polo's they worked before, they said will take sometime to develop a base ECU map on which they will work on to make it as per my requirement. It took more than half a day to prepare the base ECU map. Then the test runs began to verify the maps. When all went well they flashed a ECU map and asked me to test drive and comment on the changes i need. The map was good better power and torque than the stock but not what i wanted. Its that it had the mid and high end power but low end was not that different.

So after sometime a new map was ready and flashed to ECU. Then asked to test drive and comment on this new map. The moment i reversed polo for test drive from parked lot, i knew its so powerful as i can feel the horses waiting to be unleashed. Its a feeling i cant explain. The engine felt like there is a lot of power and torque its kept to unleash the moment i touch the A pedal. Oh boy , Indeed the map was awesome[clap]. Had so much punch in low and mid. I was blown away by the way my car pulls from the word go. There is too little or no turbolag i could feel. Its tailored the way i wanted my car to perform after the remap. In gear acceleration was good too.Also the diesel clatter was a little down and the engine felt little smoother and free revving. yes, The Pocket Rocket is Born. Was so happy as i got the map i wanted. I was told it may take few hundred km for the ECU to learn the new ECU map and will feel even better after the learning curve of the ECU. So with that the stage 1 of my performace mod is complete. Now the performance is in Check. To all those who wonder whats the FE i am getting after this awsome Remap of my ECU, dad got mileage around 22-23kmpl on highway cruising at 80-100kmph. It was after the car ran few hundred km since the remap after the learning curve of ECU and its settled down. It was win-win situation. Power + efficiency.[:D]
 
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Re: My Pocket Rocket- White Candy - VW Polo 1.5 GT TDI

Teaching Pocket Rocket Road Manners :

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After the car got remapped, though i was happy with the way car performs for even slight A pedal input but not so happy with the comfort oriented Suspension in new polo. It does strike a balance between comfort and handling but for me after experienccing the old gen polo's handling in my friends 1.2 tdi it does roll a bit in corners. to say not as planted nor confidence inspiring in corners. Its sad VW gave more power but soften the suspension. Atleast they could have left the GT's from it. Anyway after the remap and i am satisfied with the power the next mod i want to do is for better handling. i.e, Tyres and suspension.

The Footprint

Stock Tyres were the appolo alnacs , though it lost the grip it had and noise increased a little bit it was serving well and it didn't require a change for the use dad has. So planned to change them at 30k mark on odo, the time by which they will be due for change as per the tear and wear they had after 20k. At around 28k i changed all 4 tyres to Michelin P3st 190/60 R15. the main reason for the tyre change was one of the tyre had a big puncture and t was running with tubes. so didnt want to risk the safety and changed the tyres so it compliment the suspension upgrade. And in anyway they had only 3-5k thread left on them.According to reviews online its silent, comfort oriented and offers decent grip in all conditions. I dont want to put some performance tyres and made the ride more hard after the suspension upgrade as my preference is comfort as its my dad's daily driver and he will be using it most of time. And after using these tyres for about 6k km now its stands good to the claims the online reviews made.


New Engine Oil - Make Pocket Rocket to Fly Smoother & Silent

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Meanwhile i did change my engine oil at 22.5k from carmed, cochin. Also cleaned the air filter by using air compressor. The engine oil change was done as the car was remapped and the engine is churning out more power and torque the oil will get dirty sooner. so i decided to stick to a 7k km oil change interval.
The VW manual says can use any spec oil that complies VW 505 01. And i could only find Castrol Magnatec and Motul Xclean. I decided to go ahead with Motul X clean 8100 and that made a huge difference to the GT's Engine. After the Engine oil change the diesel clatter of the engine reduced and the engine felt a lot more smoother.

New Suspension- The Big B's

The suspension that came stock with the new polo is softer than the old ones. It did affect the highspeed stability and cornering. It was more evident to me as i drove my friends 1.2tdi. Though it lacked power it had a better stability at high speeds and handling on corners. It doesnt mean the new gen polo is bad handler but not as good as old gen polo.

I started search for a better suspension struts for the polo than the current OEM ones. I found out earlier shocks were made in europe and was a little on the hard side while the new gen gets made in india soft er shocks which are comfort oriented.. I considered bilsteins b4,TRW, and OEM vw that is in old polo. Bilsteins B6 was not considered as i was looking at the ones that doesnt cost me a bomb. B6 were 75k at petes. Then after few online research found out bilsteins can be bought cheaper if ordered from online sites. I found many sites selling bilsteins but only few had international shipping options. The plan was to ship the suspension to Qatar and then take it with me to india when i come home. So i can save around 10k in terms of customs charges in india if customs didnt bothered to check. I guessed they will be ignoring me as who else will carry a shocks from Qatar to India which will be weighing mor ethan 10 kg's.[:D] Finally after so many negotiations and contacting many sellers, i decided to buy it from Ebay Germany as they had the best rates i am getting including shipping and two year warranty. At that time taking in account the conversion rates i was charged around 33k including shipping through DHL to Qatar. It was like less than half the price petes were selling it in kerala. I am no way saying they charging more. usually Car parts attract a 30% customs duty on your Invoice Value.if you add dealer margins, importer margins, VAT at 14.5% to that you know why the prices at petes are twice the price in Germany. There is a risk factor in the online purchases. But the offer is too sweet to let go. so bite the bullet and ordered the Bilsteins B6. I did got it delivered within a week to Qatar. Now the wait began for me to go back home. Literally was counting days to be home looking at the bilstein box laying at my room.

IMG-20170107-WA0007.jpeg

Link to the seller from whom i bought the Bilsteins B6 is below. If anyone Interested. He now has increased his shipping charges. Still can be bought under 40k.
PS: You can negotiate to bring the price a little bit down. I did it and though not much, got little off from the listed price.

4 Bilstein B6 Sport Stoßdämpfer für Audi Seat VW vorn + hinten | eBay

The Part numbers for bilstein b6 for polo are:
35-168560 - front axle & 24-067898 - rear axle.
 
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Thread Starter #6
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Re: My Pocket Rocket- White Candy - VW Polo 1.5 GT TDI

Power. Check. Handling. Check. Comfort. Check

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Had some issues at my work so had to postpone my leave and after waiting for almost two more months i reached back home for my vacations. I Packed the Bilsteins in the same bilsteins box they shipped to me from Germany. Was carrying the bill and all documents if ever the customs guys ask me about it. But luckily, our customs officers were busy catching ones with TV,'s and other electronics so they let me pass :tongue:. Infact i sacrificed 18kg of my luggage allowance for the shocks alone. But it was worth it. The very next day morning went to Carmed, cochin for suspension Change. In no time the car was on lift and all the tyres came off.

The stock shocks are made in india Shocks

mDE INDI.jpg

I used the stock springs with Bilsteins B6 shocks as i didnt want to lower the ride height. This car is my dad's daily driver so didnt want to compromise the practicality much. From online forums many using this setup to retain stock height but better handling due to slightly harder shocks of Bilsteins. If you really want to lower the ride its better to get coil overs.

Stock spring on B6 Shocks

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Bilsteins getting fitted on to the pocket rocket.

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Bilsteins B6 shocks with stock Springs at Front

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Bilsteins B6 shocks with stock Springs at Back

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The change from stock to bilsteins B6 took around 2 hours. After the change the car stance felt like it was on stills. The wheel well gap at rear and front increased, although the rear wheel well gap was huge even with OEM shocks. I knew it will make it a little bit high from those who went for this change , but it was more than i imagined and hope would lower a little bit after run-in. Anyway went for a test drive. At low speeds the ride was too hard and harsh. I can feel everything the tyre is going on. I felt like i made a mistake and disappointed on the ride quality. It was too hard even at front seats. I was looking for a firm but a comfortable ride. But it turned out too hard. Now just had prayers and hope that will be ok after it settles down after a few hundred km. But one thing i noticed was it was stable at high speeds than OEM and murders potholes and undulations of road at avg to high speeds, like its gliding on them. nothing is felt inside the cabin. Only at low speeds had a very hard ride.

As i mentioned before had the tyres changed to Michelin P3ST 195/60 R15 and i doubted it might make the car a lot tall and make the handling worse as the side profilr is high michelins are said to increase the GC a little bit. The only thing that comforting is it is more a comfort silent tyres so could reduce some harshness from the shocks i thought. So got the tyres changed and still the wheel well gap was looking so bad and high and yes the GC increased a little bit.

Also installed Tyre Pressure monitoring system with internal sensors while the tyre change. Ordered it from aliexpress. Was confused between Internal and External Sensors. At last bought external sensors as i want to keep my car a sleeper for now. No exterior mods than subtle changes. I went for internal sensors as its more convenient and doesn't get noticed easily, sensors are inside, so. No. Need to worry about theft or damage to them. This particular unit has a battery. So doesn't need it to be plugged always to work and better has solar panels to charge when it senses light. It can also be charged by using a mobile charger. So no wires and tangles. Just place unit and take it and charge if you need. For me it went around 4 weeks before charge completely ran out. It including solar charge it got while driving during day light.Displays temperature and pressure and has warning for low and high pressure and temperature and if the air is leaking.

The aliexpress link to the seller from whom i bought TPMS is Below.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32713562005/32713562005.html?shortkey=qeARrANf&addresstype=600

The TPMS Displays. Shows Tyre Pressure and Temperature.

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The Internal TPMS sensor which comes attached with valve cap. This is what visible from outside.

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And a view from drivers seat.

view from drivertpms1.jpeg

It can be placed anywhere. The main advantage is as it has a internal battery doesn't need to be attached to a charging wire always. and uses a solar panel so gets charged a little during travelling at day time. The only thing is as they dont come with chargers to charge the display unit you need to use your own charger. |Any android phone charger will do as it uses micro usb slot to charge. but do check rating of your charger. I used my turbo charger and it fried the board inside the display. The seller was kind enough to ship me a new one free of cost.

So after the Remap,Bilstein B6 and Michelin P3ST upgrades the Power, Handling and Comfort was in check. And after running about 300 km the B6's settled in and the ride was not that harsh now at slow speeds and it did got more comfortable as miles munched in by the Pocket Rocket. The wheel well gap too decreased, may be because of the new tyre with high profile and the run-in completed for suspension. It looked like its sitting lower than the OEM polo looking at the wheel well Gap. Thia is how the Pocket Rocket looks now.

IMG-20170108-WA0005.jpeg
 
Thread Starter #7
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Re: My Pocket Rocket- White Candy - VW Polo 1.5 GT TDI

Bilstein B6 + Michelin P3ST Review & Other Subtle Modifications

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I had a trip with my family and friends after the suspension and tyre change and the Pocket Rocket performed well in ghats, highways and city roads. The high speed stability has increased, body roll is still there a little bit, but much better than before. The roll is more controlled and can carry more speeds than before to corners. Bodyroll may be because of soft compound tyres and high GC as both bilsteins and michelin p3st increased the GC of the polo to the level more than the cross polo has. The roll is not that bad as before controllable and predictable like the old gen polo, infact i felt a little better than that. The low speed ride comfort increased as miles got clocked in and its no more harsh or hard now. Its comfortable yet firm. Can only feel little firmness on bad roads at slow speeds at back seat. Now the Pocket Rocket Can fly through bad roads with the bilsteins and added GC. [clap]

The Michelin P3ST, as in the reviews its so silent that i can hear only the engine note now. No more tyre noise.Its super silent and with Bilstein's it provides a comfortable yet grippy handling and the pitching i had before at high speed on some roads has gone and it rides flat now. All thanks to Bilstein's b6. I would say the suspension and tyre upgrade should be on first priority in modification lists, if one plan to mod their car. Its worth it. Really transforms your car. The way the car drives. Actually you may feel like a new car with a different characteristics. My Pocket Rocket with the Bilstein's, michelin p3st and code6 remap can munch miles so effortlessly now, that too with making the one behind the wheels grinning from ear to ear.

Now some may wonder how much GC does my pocket rocket has that i claim more than polo cross . You guys may not believe, Its ladakh ready now. Infact its a mini SUV now. Its a mini Suv with improved handling and driving comfort.

Thats a pet Water Bottle, to get a rough idea about the GC

gc w bot.jpg

And the length of the bottle is [gun]

bot len.jpg

Yes, around 205mm. Isnt it a mini SUV now.

And the wheel well Gap at rear after the B6 + P3st 195/60 r15 mods

wheel gap.jpeg

Its actually better than the stock. Stock could fit both my Hands. Its reduced by half. The Wheel well gap looks even and better now and i am happy the way car performs and looks. And yes i am in love with the Candy White colour now, though i preferred Red Earlier. Its still looks like fresh out from showroom as me and dad never let anyother wash the car and even at service just ask them to clean the engine bay. The paint quality is worth calling candy white , always deserves a second look back after parking her and leave.

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Other Subtle Modifications

# I changed my cabin light to the one with map lights. It provides more light in cabin + map lights are useful if the co-driver wants to turn on lights without disturbing the driver during night drives.Its really useful.

cabin lit.jpg

The aliexpress Link of seller whom i purchased the lights is below:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32664153551/32664153551.html?shortkey=6V3IRjQb&addresstype=600

# I changed my stock Antenna with a sharkfin antenna. Its the only visual mod i had done. It looks cool. And its functional. The radio is working good. But signal capturing strength is a little bit low. As i don't use radio much doesn't care about that.The Main reason of getting that was i feared the car cover may damage the stubby antenna and the sharkfin antenna looks cool and its cheap.

sharkfin.jpeg

The aliexpress Link of seller whom i purchased the lights is below:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32288244705/32288244705.html?shortkey=2qUnIfYv&addresstype=600

The Pocket Rocket is running fine and clocked more than 32k kms now, 17k km after remap and 5k km after the suspension and tyre changes. I am in totally love with my Pocket Rocket. I am not planning on any mods on Pocket Rockets looks as i want to keep the stock looks intact. So for layman its a normal looking polo [evil] . The gloss black wrap on roof and A and C pillers and blackened alloys are the ones i am planning to get done if at all i am getting any exterior mods to enhance looks. The next mod planning is for more performance from my little pocket rocket's Engine as power is never enough for a ********. Will update once its confirmed and get done. As For now this is my GT TDI aka Pocket Rocket & mods done so far. Cheers!!

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350Z

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Re: My Pocket Rocket- White Candy - VW Polo 1.5 GT TDI

Note: Thread now live. Great choice of car and excellent review. [thumbsup]

Drive Safe,
350Z
 

bhvm

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Re: My Pocket Rocket- White Candy - VW Polo 1.5 GT TDI

Clean Write up, Crystal clear Pics!
Well done mate. Wish you many happy miles with your Mini SUV.
yes, 205mm is Safari/Scorpio class. Infact XUV is 180mm !
 
Thread Starter #10
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Re: My Pocket Rocket- White Candy - VW Polo 1.5 GT TDI

Clean Write up, Crystal clear Pics!
Well done mate. Wish you many happy miles with your Mini SUV.
yes, 205mm is Safari/Scorpio class. Infact XUV is 180mm !
Thanks mate. Yes. Its a mini suv now. Didn't need to be bothered about scraping my pocket rockets belly while negotiating bad roads now. I never did these mods to increase the GC. I knew the michelins would increase the GC because of larger profile but was surprised to find out after mods it got the GC of 205mm. The best thing is that though its standing tall its handles better than OEM polo. Thanks to bilsteins and michelins. [thumbsup]
Pics were taken using my mobile camera and some edited a little via snapseed.
 
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Awesome review [clap]. Congratulations on your Mini SUV. I will be glued on to this space going forward. I am eyeing the Ameo TDI as my next car. Hence your reviews will help me take an informed decision. Can I request you to update this review often with your experience? Wishing you million miles.
 
Thread Starter #12
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I am eyeing the Ameo TDI as my next car.
Thanks @a4arun. Unless you looking at TDI DSG i would suggest you to get the polo TDI as i feel its a better looking car and features are almost same, yes there are some omissions like armrest, rear ac, reverse camera. Hoping it too will be added soon to polo. Nevertheless Ameo TDI with its new turbo developing 110bhp is good on papers. Read good reviews too about the diesel. Never driven one though. Will update the thread as soon as any new additions or modifications done to the Pocket Rocket. For the time being pocket rocket is used by my dad for his highway runs and running smoothly and the added performance and handling makes it more engaging to drive. Now looking for a decent quality dash camera. Will update if i zeroed in any and review when i get it installed .
 
Thread Starter #13
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Missing Updates From Review

Few updates and info i missed in my review. Will put it as a summary of my time with Pocket Rocket from 0-present Km clocked on Odo with all details.

IMG_20170227_185709_534.jpg

10-7500km


The pocket rocket Odo read 10km at the time of delivery. I was keeping the rpm below 2500 till the initial 1000km. Even it was more than enough as 100kmph comes just after 2k rpm at 5th. First few days had a little problem with the stalk being in the 'wrong' side. The car performed well and ride quality was good. My mom and sis felt comfortable at rear. Polo is a 4 person car and fifth will be not much comfortable with the transmission tunnel in middle. The FE i got was around 15-17 kmpl in city and highways mixed. Though the dual barrel headlamps has increased the light throw than the single headlights in previous gen polo, it was still not adequate for me in highways. The MID has all the relevant information and the Multifunction steering wheel is a treat to use. The Bluetooth integration is good but the mouth piece is located on the co driver side. I loved the all black interiors. The thing i miss most is the omission of a lamp in boot and split rear seats. I feel the alloys though old design looks better than the new one.

Around 5k km the oil level was low when i checked so went and topped up from service Centre. They didn't charged me any neither a job card was opened. Was done in 15 min. Then i went again for 7.5k free checkup and the bill was zero this time too. Overall happy with the service.

7.5k - 15k km

Changed the headlights to philips extreme vision plus and foglamps to philips white vision bulbs at around 9k. After the change the light through and intensity was better. Though the output was white it had a tinge of yellow to it. But it improved the performance of the headlights by around 40-50% for me though they advertised 130% improvement. I ordered the bulbs from powerbulbs site. The service and delivery was good and customer service is best. They sent me a replacement when i didn't got delivered a set of bulbs i ordered for my friend, and as it was sent by without tracking mode they sent new set with tracking, they were quick to reply to mails and more than happy to sent a replacement. I recommend them if anyone wants to buy bulbs for their cars. They do have a one year warranty on the bulbs too.

Around 13k the brake shuddering issue started to crop up and the vw guys advised to skim the rotors at lathe. They quoted me Rs.500 for the job. I was not happy with this as was not expecting the rotors to go bad this soon that too in a VW.

And as you all know went for the code6 remap at 14k km because of vw emission scandal issue and news of new map lowering power. So went in so as to get my power back if vw detuned it. Went to first sevice at 14.5k km and all went well, apart from they adding the AC disinfecting in my bill even i asked them not to do anything extra as per schedule and if any get prior permission from me. Last they did deduct the amount from bill. Final Bill came to Approx 9K. I did the Wheel alignment and rotation from outside at 10k km.

15k - 22k km

Got the remap done properly as i wanted and the car performed well in low and mid range, was happy. As my car was remapped i went in for oil change at 22k km and decided to go ahead with Motul 8100 X-clean after a lot of research. Though it was a little bit difficult to procure was worth it. Engine noise came down and engine felt smoother. As of now i have decided to go on with Motul 8100 X-clean till i can procure it. Its difficult to procure as they are importing it. I shot a Mail to Motul india regarding availability as its shown in Website but not in stock with the dealers, Motul replied back and gave me the contact of Area Manager of Motul. He helped me to Procure it. Also cleaned the air filter while engine oil change. Did the Wheel alignment and rotation at 20k from outside. Also got delivered the VAGCOM cable clone i ordered from aliexpress and did some tweaks to Pocket Rocket like Indicator Celebration,Emergency Braking Light Flashing,Fuel to be replenished in MID etc.

22k - 28k km

Many mods happened in this including bilsteins B6 suspension and Michelin P3st tyre change. I did my second paid service and made the vw service centre change my oil with the Motul. Though they didn't agreed after a lot of arguments with the service advisor and manager the manager finally agreed to change the oil with the motul i bought with me. They did mentioned it in bill though. The last thing i said to manager was the oil i bought is vw approved and in service manual its just written the oil grade so no problems in that in compatibility . And as far as warranty is concerned its given by VW not dealers. And if any issue comes with this oil change i will deal with it. As its the same spec they mentioned in service manual and castrol is only vw recommended not the only one should be used. After this manager agreed with treatment as exception customer. Also did changed my brake pads during second service though it had life for another 2k-3k km, as i had a few long trips with family and friends coming.

28k - Till Present Km

Till now, the Pocket Rocket had ran more than 33k km and after the Suspension and Tyre changes its a hoot to drive coupled with the Code6 Remap. I am planned more performance upgrades by the end of this year when i come back home for my vaccations. I have ordered a Dash camera for the Pocket Rocket from aliexpress. Went with VIOFO A119 after reading good reviews about them, as my priorities were small, compact and good quality day & night time video recording in the price range of 10k. I ordered it with all goodies including CPL Filter, GPS and Memory Card and had some coupons and a sale was going on so got it all around 87USD including shipping. Will post the review once i get it delivered and installed on Pocket Rocket.

Aliexpress Link of the Dash Camera is below:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Fre...32701811121.html?spm=2114.13010608.0.0.7YjSOp
 
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Hi MJamshad, nice review you had.
I'm driving Polo Sedan (Vento) from Malaysia. Always feel my car sway too much (like continuous crosswind effect) during highway drive. By 8k km, sent my car to on-wheel suspension test, result showing both rear absorbers were failed +- 25%. Had argument with VW as they claimed no visible oil leak no noise means absorber in good condition...
So decided to replace my rear absorbers last week, the original were India GJ5 6RF 512 011A, which I couldn't found using Google. One of it was very soft (able to press down using thumb), with no rebound. Another seems harder, but no rebound if pressed too low.
Story cut short, I replaced it with Bilstein B4, 19-230573. After replacement, I immediately found the ride was too harsh, with every single bump/undulation will be "direct" transfer to cabin. I surprised this happening as I only replacing the rear absorbers. I actually regret of not using the original shock now..
Does your Bilstein B6 runs smoother and softer by now?
 
Thread Starter #15
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Hi @vonniq, thanks Bro. sorry for the late reply. I don't have experience with B4. I think its better to change it all round with B4. why you went only with the rear suspension change with B4? When i replaced mine with B6 on shock springs the ride was too harsh and can feel every undulations on road. really regretted the change. but after 1-1.5k km the suspension settled down and now its have the right balance of ride and comfort. May you too need to give some time for the suspension to settle down. I suggest to change the front shocks too to B4 else it will be hard suspensions at rear and relatively softer at front and it might affect the ride quality and to an extent the handling.
 

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