What hot hatch do you own? This poll is closed. |
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Golf GTI / R / R32 | 196 | 0.02% | |
Impreza WRX / STi | 133 | 0.01% | |
Mazdaspeed 3 | 92 | 0.01% | |
Veloster Turbo | 20 | 0.00% | |
Focus ST | 149 | 0.01% | |
Other Hot Hatch | 230 | 0.02% | |
Elantra GT | 1000001 | 99.92% | |
Total: | 1000821 votes |
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I've had my 05 Golf GTI MKV for 3 years now, still a pleasure to drive. I haven't done anything to it except promise myself an APR tune 'one of these days'.
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# ? Jul 3, 2013 11:22 |
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# ? Jun 10, 2024 12:01 |
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Previous owner of a clownshoe Z3 M Coupe, possibly soon to be owner of a Z4 M Coupe. BMW hot hatches are the best hot hatches. I've always been more of a sedan guy, but that fat BMW hatch rear end gets me going. omgitstheinternet fucked around with this message at 14:02 on Jul 3, 2013 |
# ? Jul 3, 2013 13:59 |
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I'd be happy with a non M Z4 coupe, pretty much my almost-but-not-quite attainable dream car
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# ? Jul 3, 2013 15:54 |
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omgitstheinternet posted:Previous owner of a clownshoe Z3 M Coupe, possibly soon to be owner of a Z4 M Coupe. BMW hot hatches are the best hot hatches. I've always been more of a sedan guy, but that fat BMW hatch rear end gets me going. If the 1 had been available as either a 3-door or a 5-door I would not have gotten the ST.
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# ? Jul 8, 2013 03:37 |
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This thread is perfectly timed, I'm in the market for one of these right now. I did a test drive round up of the big three (GTI, Speed3, Focus ST) and for comparison also checked out the Toyobaru and Genesis Coupe 2.0t since there were in the price range and similarly "sporty" if not nearly as practical. The GTI had a great interior and more upmarket fit and finish, but felt a little sluggish and has the most conservatively designed exterior. As the former owner of a late-model Audi the upkeep cost on them was also a factor in the back of my mind too. The Focus was shockingly impressive. I came in with an admitted anti-Detroit bias but it really delivered. The powerband was smooth, the interior nicely appointed and it sounded amazing to rev. It's still a little too neutral in the exterior design department for my taste though. Right now I'm leaning towards the Speed3, it was a great balance of power, cost, and sheer smile generation when I pushed it. The style is polarizing, but right now I'm driving a gen1 Scion xB so I'm very accustomed to getting to love a goofy design. My real problem now is biding my time and seeing if the new 3's get a speed variant or try and get a good deal on the current gen. edit: grammar is your friend
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# ? Jul 8, 2013 05:01 |
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If Mazda decides to build a next gen. Speed3, it will be at least two years before they hit the lots. So, I wouldn't let that be a deciding factor.
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# ? Jul 8, 2013 05:10 |
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They're saying it's vaguely possible we might get a Volkswagen GTD in the US, which is like a GTI but with a diesel engine. This is the most awesome hatch I can conceive of. http://www.caranddriver.com/news/2014-volkswagen-gtd-diesel-photos-and-info-car-news
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# ? Jul 8, 2013 05:17 |
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What is this diesel obsession?
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# ? Jul 8, 2013 08:27 |
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Test drove a Fiat 500 Abarth, MazdaSpeed 3, and a GTI. The Abarth was too small but really fun. The MazdaSpeed 3 was almost scary, you put your foot down and it surges and shoots right. Along with the dated interior and itty-biddy LCD screen that seems to be 50 feet away from your eyes killed the Mazda for me. Almost 100% set on a GTI. Then, because everyone was raving about the Focus ST, I went and test drove that. I loved the power and how good it felt driving, but it almost offended me with how juvenile I thought it was on the inside. The quality of some of the materials too, man. The back doors don't have soft-touch plastics like the fronts, screaming 'cost cutting' at me. I did not like the visibility or the interior at all. The weird 3 gauges that seemed to be stuck on as an afterthought in the dash, the horrible italicized fonts, I just couldn't look past it. Probably didn't help that the dealership catered to the sort of clientele that I'm not fond of. The whole shopping experience made me realize I'm way more conservative than I thought I was when it comes to cars. Even the GTI started getting on my nerves with the red stitching and stripes on the exterior. So I got a Golf R instead A great fit for me, even if people claim it's a tuned-up GTI (It's really a hyper-practical Audi TTS). I got a 6 speed, all-wheel drive that I didn't know I'd really appreciate (do a back to back drive between the GTI and the R and you can feel the difference), glorious turbo whine and an interior (and exterior) that makes me feel like a grown up. I was coming from a BMW, so the whole Ford thing was going to be hard to swallow anyway. KakerMix fucked around with this message at 10:17 on Jul 8, 2013 |
# ? Jul 8, 2013 10:15 |
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dissss posted:What is this diesel obsession? It's the greener grass effect. USians don't get a lot of diesel cars, which makes them special and exotic in the US market.
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# ? Jul 8, 2013 12:09 |
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KakerMix posted:Then, because everyone was raving about the Focus ST, I went and test drove that. I loved the power and how good it felt driving, but it almost offended me with how juvenile I thought it was on the inside. The quality of some of the materials too, man. The back doors don't have soft-touch plastics like the fronts, screaming 'cost cutting' at me. I did not like the visibility or the interior at all. The weird 3 gauges that seemed to be stuck on as an afterthought in the dash, the horrible italicized fonts, I just couldn't look past it. Probably didn't help that the dealership catered to the sort of clientele that I'm not fond of. It sounds like you drove an ST1 or ST2 - the full leather, non-color trimmed seats of the ST3 wouldn't have been interpreted as juvenile by any stretch of the imagination. Which is actually the exact issue Car and Driver had when they recently compared the 2013 ST in the ST2 trim to the 2015 GTI - "too juvenile" might have been the exact phrase they used. Either way, the Golf R is a heckuva car! Any plans to buy a tune for it? I bought one for my ST and it has transformed the car pretty significantly. bobfather fucked around with this message at 18:41 on Jul 8, 2013 |
# ? Jul 8, 2013 18:33 |
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bobfather posted:It sounds like you drove an ST1 or ST2 - the full leather, non-color trimmed seats of the ST3 wouldn't have been interpreted as juvenile by any stretch of the imagination. What kind of tune did you pick up for your ST? I'm seriously considering picking one up and I'd like to see what options are out there.
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# ? Jul 8, 2013 19:47 |
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Boaz MacPhereson posted:What kind of tune did you pick up for your ST? I'm seriously considering picking one up and I'd like to see what options are out there. The standard tuning devices out there are from SCT and Cobb. The SCT devices are so-so. The SCT X3 is big, cheap feeling, but also the cheapest device of the bunch (~$379 or so). The SCT LiveWire TS is a full-fledged touch-screen device and is about the size of a GPS unit. It looks nice and the display is quite good. It also supports plugging in a backup camera. One con against it is that the touch-screen sensitivity is absolutely awful. It also is the most expensive tuning device at $599. I have one of these because I wanted the backup camera capability, but I paid $400 for a second-hand device. I really like it, but I would never pay $599 for it. Regarding the SCT devices, if you buy them straight from SCT the off-the-shelf tunes they come with are pretty lame and unspectacular. SCT does not (yet) support the Focus ST like it supports other Ford vehicles, meaning you can't program in specific strategies for your ST dependent upon the equipment you have on your ST. I emailed SCT about this and they said they have no idea if the Focus ST will ever have that level of support. On the other hand, Cobb has their AccessPort (AP) tuner which is leaps and bounds better than SCT devices in terms of hardware, support, and price. The AP hardware is smaller and sleeker than the SCT hardware, and Cobb has been supporting the Focus ST very well and actually just released version 4 of their off-the-shelf tune for the Focus ST. Price for the AP is typically $450 with your odd sale bringing the price down 10% or so. Now, you could easily buy either an SCT device direct from SCT or a Cobb device straight from Cobb, but the better thing to do would be to pick the device you want and then buy the device from one of the many custom tuners out there. For the Focus ST right now the hot custom tuners are Unleashed Tuning and FSWerks. Unleashed has a stable, nice tune they provide for the SCT X3 and the SCT LiveWire. I have Unleashed, and it works very very well! Very noticeable improvement in power and responsiveness. I believe that the dyno results for the tune show +23 HP and +~50 torque over the stock tune on 93 octane. FSWerks offers their custom tune on both the SCT devices and the Cobb AP. A lot of people choose FSWerks for this reason, because the Cobb harware (and support) is really superior compared to SCT. I don't know as much about the FSWerks tune, but I know it also yields 20+ HP and 50+ torque increases. Honestly, I would say choose the hardware you want, then buy your tune based on that. If you prefer SCT the Unleashed tune might be better for you, and the guy who does that tune (Torrie) is awesome in terms of tech support. Otherwise, if you Prefer Cobb go with FSWerks. The nice thing is that if you buy your device from Unleashed or FSWerks, the price is the same as if you would have bought directly from SCT or Cobb themselves, but you get the custom tune support in addition to the off-the-shelf tunes from SCT or Cobb.
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# ? Jul 8, 2013 20:32 |
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Holy crap that was informative. Thanks!
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# ? Jul 8, 2013 20:58 |
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pindleskin posted:They're saying it's vaguely possible we might get a Volkswagen GTD in the US, which is like a GTI but with a diesel engine. This is the most awesome hatch I can conceive of. I like and hate the GTD. As a Fast TDI I think it's great. But you're basically saying "Let me take a GTI, which is slow, and make it slower, and also heavier. Then I will give it good gas mileage." I don't know, I don't really think it's that awesome, especially considering you can figure on a price premium. Make a Sportwagen GTD and then we're talking. Bobfather, nice post on the tunes. I may check something out. I liked the Golf R but didn't feel it was better enough at anything than the GTI to make it worth the extra money. I miss some premium touches in the BMW (bottom-hinged accelerator, better sunroof controls, better dead pedal) as compared to the ST, but frankly Ford can keep the six bucks that it would cost to make the back doors soft touch. I went for the ST3 in part due to the interior improvements and "mature" appearance.
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# ? Jul 8, 2013 21:37 |
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The diesel hot hatch / "sporty car" makes more sense if you think of it from the point of view of somebody cross shopping diesel cars, as opposed to people cross shopping petrol hot hatches. Also in the UK some companies have a diesel only rule for company cars. From a TCO / fleet management point of view it makes sense, on the other hand it's also a bit stupid, but that's another discussion altogether.
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# ? Jul 8, 2013 22:08 |
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bobfather posted:It sounds like you drove an ST1 or ST2 - the full leather, non-color trimmed seats of the ST3 wouldn't have been interpreted as juvenile by any stretch of the imagination. Nah, it was the full-on ST3 package. The problem I had wasn't with the seats, it was the layout of the dash, the placement of the gauges, the general feel of the inside of the car. This was the same day as the test drives of the GTI and R, so the differences were pretty stark to me. As for mods for my R, I'll probably do the LED rear light swap. I'm mildly interested in the 'stage 1' tune from APR for the R, but my dealership is not friendly to the tune (I asked them directly and they follow VW's lead) for warranty purposes. KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:
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# ? Jul 8, 2013 22:52 |
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stump posted:The diesel hot hatch / "sporty car" makes more sense if you think of it from the point of view of somebody cross shopping diesel cars, as opposed to people cross shopping petrol hot hatches. This is it. Dumbing things down to 0-60 performance, the Golf 6 GTD (8.1) sits exactly between the GTI (6.9) and 103TDI (9.3). For the Golf 7, these times seem to have shifted down by ~0.5 seconds across the board. I'm glad it exists but it's compromised compared to the GTI. I'd say I see about 5-10 GTI for each GTD in Tasmania. sadnessboner fucked around with this message at 23:10 on Jul 8, 2013 |
# ? Jul 8, 2013 23:08 |
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KakerMix posted:Nah, it was the full-on ST3 package. The problem I had wasn't with the seats, it was the layout of the dash, the placement of the gauges, the general feel of the inside of the car. This was the same day as the test drives of the GTI and R, so the differences were pretty stark to me. Word, the Golf R is a Golf that does all the Golf things better. It just didn't fix anything I didn't like about the Golf. Even with really good pricing, I couldn't get past the whole "you want WHAT for that, again?" But I am weird and wanted five doors, so that is part of what pushes the R in to Silly Money territory.
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# ? Jul 9, 2013 02:12 |
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I don't own it yet, simply because it won't be here until December at the earliest, but I do own a large deposit on a Mercedes A45. My specs look like this, but with a massive sunroof: I ordered it for my mother to replace her Mark V Golf GTI but I kinda sorta want to keep it for myself after seeing the first reviews...
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# ? Jul 9, 2013 02:24 |
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I've never owned a car with a trunk!(sorta) I owned an 83 Audi Coupe GT for a while but that's not really a trunk. After that a 92 Golf, then a 2007 Accent, and currently a 2007 GTI. Next car will most likely be a Fiat, but the plan is to drive the GTI into the ground first. The body has about 92,000 miles and the engine has only about 10,000 miles. VW replaced my engine after a catastrophic failure they determend it had left the factory with. At the dealer in the middle of surgery.
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# ? Jul 9, 2013 02:40 |
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Finch! posted:I don't own it yet, simply because it won't be here until December at the earliest, but I do own a large deposit on a Mercedes A45. My specs look like this, but with a massive sunroof: You look at the price tag and specs on this and say "Yes, this seems like a breakthrough car". Then you look at the interior. What the fuuuuuck why is Mercedes the only manufacturer doing thisssssss
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# ? Jul 9, 2013 03:41 |
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BEARS IN THE BARN posted:You look at the price tag and specs on this and say "Yes, this seems like a breakthrough car". Seriously. The CLA45 AMG is the same price as an optioned up lancer evo. A 355hp AWD mercedes the same price as a 291hp plastic fantastic mitsubishi. Somebody is doing something wrong. It's a shame the A45 isn't coming over to north america considering it's so similar to the CLA.
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# ? Jul 9, 2013 03:47 |
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Powershift posted:Seriously. The CLA45 AMG is the same price as an optioned up lancer evo. Any amount of competition is good, I mean Subaru doesn't want to make a hatch model of their new WRX concept but I'm sure they'll cave at some point if the market is there. (which is crazy, Subaru saying no to a hatchback is like Honda saying no to a boring car )
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# ? Jul 9, 2013 03:52 |
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BEARS IN THE BARN posted:You look at the price tag and specs on this and say "Yes, this seems like a breakthrough car". It's a relative bargain here. It's not much/any more expensive than a well optioned Golf R, Audi S3, or M135i but comes with just about everything standard and is much more powerful. We have the option of black wheels, an aerodynamics package, and a track suspension package. That's it. Given the state of Australian roads, the aero package will hit everything and fall apart and the suspension will be intolerable on anything but a perfect racetrack. The interior makes no sense whatsoever. None. WHY is there a giant ugly telephone keypad when there's voice control? Why is the screen not touch? Why are there so many buttons? The interior of my five year old VW R36 is miles ahead in terms of ergonomics and aesthetics. Honestly, the interior (well, mostly the interface between driver and gadgets) is the worst aspect of the A45. I can handle the faux carbon fibre (but I'd much prefer something else, like dark alcantara) and gaudy red trim but I just can't understand why it has a 0-9 keypad and no touch screen but does have voice control that actually works. Mercedes Finch! fucked around with this message at 03:59 on Jul 9, 2013 |
# ? Jul 9, 2013 03:57 |
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Personally I loving hate touch screens and would much prefer tactile buttons that I can press by muscle memory. Have context-sensitive functions, fine, but don't make me have to stare at the screen to see the thing I'm pressing.
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# ? Jul 9, 2013 03:59 |
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Fucknag posted:Personally I loving hate touch screens and would much prefer tactile buttons that I can press by muscle memory. Have context-sensitive functions, fine, but don't make me have to stare at the screen to see the thing I'm pressing. From that picture Finch! posted there is no muscle memory involved in that, since you are going to have to look at what the hell you are touching. If the voice thing isn't terrible then maybe that would work. Personally I like a mix of options. Some general purpose buttons (like a physical back button) along with a nice responsive touch screen and a few wheel buttons is the right mix. I was bitching about the Focus ST before but the inside of that A45
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# ? Jul 9, 2013 04:34 |
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KozmoNaut posted:It's the greener grass effect. Because they're so rare I think we don't see the downside to owning them (is there a down side?). I'd get one in an heartbeat if they were more common. Looks like my hot hatch days are numbered. Ordered a 2013 Venza (fully loaded awd v6) and getting rid of my 2003 matrix xrs. The venza would be more fun if the drat thing didn't weigh 5000 lbs.
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# ? Jul 9, 2013 05:09 |
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Bob A Feet posted:That being said, its no way to judge the other model ST's that get an awesome touch screen set up that is very sexy. The audio quality itself is very nice, as with the rest of the interior. It, like complaint about the fold down seats, is small potatoes compared to how good the car is. The nav-equipped version is also annoyingly slow. Other car's computer is much faster and they are the same model year. Very strange.
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# ? Jul 9, 2013 07:42 |
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Badmana posted:(is there a down side?). I'm a diesel fanboy but, Power delivery - Good but not "sporty", there will inevitably be a quicker petrol model available Noise - Agricultural Reliability - A few possible big ticket items like injectors, around the 100k miles and onwards. Cost - Unless you do a lot of miles the equivalent petrol may be cheaper overall (resale night be better though) Fuel availability in the US maybe? vvv That too. stump fucked around with this message at 08:01 on Jul 9, 2013 |
# ? Jul 9, 2013 07:50 |
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Badmana posted:Because they're so rare I think we don't see the downside to owning them (is there a down side?). I'd get one in an heartbeat if they were more common. Its the extra weight and power delivery that I don't like.
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# ? Jul 9, 2013 07:53 |
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I detest the power delivery. Stick a dual-clutch auto behind a diesel engine, though, and it's pretty nice. Edit: I also (in addition to a low annual mileage) do a lot of short journeys, and would cause death by EGR system in very short order). InitialDave fucked around with this message at 18:19 on Jul 9, 2013 |
# ? Jul 9, 2013 18:14 |
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Powershift posted:Seriously. The CLA45 AMG is the same price as an optioned up lancer evo. Wait what: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130617/carreviews/130619854 Price: $48,375 That's a 10k+ gap, which is sizable.
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# ? Jul 9, 2013 21:07 |
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Octopus Magic posted:Wait what: A 10k gap if you buy the evo with cloth seats and a spartan interior. An evo MR with the touring package and navigation is $46,675
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# ? Jul 9, 2013 22:00 |
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Powershift posted:A 10k gap if you buy the evo with cloth seats and a spartan interior. An evo MR with the touring package and navigation is $46,675 If you're paying anywhere near that MSRP at a Mitsu dealer I have some waterfront property to show you. Also you're going to have a hard time getting a Mercedes dealer to hit 48k. But whatever I'm not buying either of the cars ever. Octopus Magic fucked around with this message at 22:27 on Jul 9, 2013 |
# ? Jul 9, 2013 22:18 |
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bobfather posted:tune stuff questions: 1- are there deadspots in the throttles? on focusst.org i was reading that some people found dead spots in the top and bottom of the throttle because of their tunes. 2- can you run them on 87/89 octane? I can always just start buying 93 3- Are there any like daily driving/ highway tunes for mileage? if so, do they work at all?
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# ? Jul 9, 2013 23:37 |
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Bob A Feet posted:questions: You should already be using 91/93 (whatever it is that is available). The difference in price is close to negated with the increase in power and gas mileage. To get better economy, lay off the go pedal.
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# ? Jul 10, 2013 00:59 |
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Bob A Feet posted:questions: No noticeable dead spots in the throttle. I have not read anything like that online. Here's a link to the dyno chart for the Unleashed tune: http://www.fastpartsnetwork.com/images/fst1.jpg You can see from the graph that stock, the FST tops out at about 5500 RPM and HP starts to really drop off past 6000 RPM. The updated tunes (both Unleashed and FSWerks) really try to extend that power, but the fact is that the turbo for the FST is optimized to spool quickly, and not necessarily to pull hard all the way to redline. It is not advisable to run a 93 octane tune on 87 octane fuel. However, Cobb has some off-the-shelf maps for 87 octane fuel, and as well both FSWerks and Unleashed will build you a custom 87 octane tune if you ask them to. You would just send an email to Torrie (Unleashed) or Randy (FSWerks). Cobb has a tune for fuel economy, however people have reported that it doesn't work very well. YMMV, but a lot of people (including myself) have gotten the best mileage by running 93 octane on a 93 custom tune and then driving conservatively. The problem is that the custom tunes give the car so much more pep it'll be hard to stay off the throttle!
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# ? Jul 10, 2013 01:02 |
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I tried out the economy tune when I had an AccessPort on my WRX, and it did nothing. Eventually I'll do an APR tune on my GTI but I have 50 months/44k miles left on my powertrain warranty and VW/Audi are doing checksums now.
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# ? Jul 10, 2013 18:12 |
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# ? Jun 10, 2024 12:01 |
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mafoose posted:You should already be using 91/93 (whatever it is that is available). I actually had no noticeable difference in power or mileage between the two gases and that's with staying off the pedal too. Either way, the car's manual says it can take 87 and 91/93. Thanks though. I'll get the FSWerks one here soon. I had already been eyeballing it and its the crowd favorite as well. I just don't ever do anything with the car other than accelerate stupidly fast away from stop lights so its hard to justify more power which means more gas and more tires in the future.
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# ? Jul 10, 2013 20:26 |