ROAD TEST: Packing a punch into VW’s Golf 7.5 GTD

As I said in our last long-term update of the VW Golf 7.5 GTD, we are going to up the performance ante this week with a capital “REVO”.

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I can count on one hand the number of VW Golf GTIs or Golf Rs that are stock standard in South Africa. The rest are modified and are taking names on the street and at the dragstrip as a result.

VW’s performance cars are probably the most modified cars per manufacturer in SA by far. In fact, we are the only market in the world where the GTI derivative outsells all the other model derivatives in the range combined.

The mods range from mild stage one software upgrades that give your car that little extra oomph when you want it, to bigger turbochargers and internal engine changes with lots of boost that can destroy the likes of Nissan GT-Rs with relative ease.

Modifications to standard production cars is a highly contentious issue due to the manufacturers being stuck in the middle when it comes to irresponsible and abusive owners and tuners who push the limits too far.

So I decided to speak to VWSA and get their comment on where they stand when it comes to their warranties and the modifying of their cars.

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Their official line is that they do not condone or warrant the fitment of any non-VWSA approved aftermarket equipment or software in any way whatsoever.

Should you choose to go against this policy while your vehicle is still covered by its factory warranty and something goes wrong with the parts or software you have changed – and if there is resultant damage to other components as a result – VWSA will not be responsible for the replacement of any of these parts or cover any of the costs.

You might also lose the portion of your factory warranty that covers these parts, but the balance of your warranty that covers the non-affected parts will remain in place.

The same applies should your vehicle be covered by a VWSA service plan.

Servicing for all standard parts will happen as per schedule but all aftermarket parts might not be serviced and maintained at VWSA’s cost.

This is a fair enough deal.

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Use your car responsibly and make sure you have the right stuff fitted by the right people and you and VWSA should enjoy a long and mutually beneficial relationship.

And it was with this in mind that I then asked around for a well-used, highly respected and reputable VW tuner to see what their stage one software only upgrade would do for a car like our DSG REVO VW Golf VII GTD DSG long-term GTD 7.5.

The Golf GTD is known as SA’s only true-performance turbodiesel and when I ran the standard car against the clock at Gerotek, I got a decent 7.7 sec to 100km/h and a top speed of 220km/h.

Not slow, but you feel it would be that little bit better with something extra under your right foot.

I approached Shaun Mooloo from REVO Technik South Africa and asked if I could run his first VW Golf 7.5 GTD against my car and see what a basic software flash could offer.

He jumped at the offer.

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REVO Technik is the only official REVO-tuning specialist in Southern Africa and they specialise in software and hardware upgrades for various VAG vehicles.

Their signature high performance ECU upgrades are quick, easy and done to suit your driving style. REVO Technik’s performance R&D team has established itself as pioneers in the industry with over 100 years of combined experience.

REVO performance software is designed to safely enhance the driveability of your vehicle, giving access to more power and torque throughout the rev-range while maintaining the extensive factory safety mechanisms.

Although REVO offers some of the most substantial performance increases on the market, peak figures form part of a much bigger picture and are never the sole focus during development.

Their software offers the perfect balance of performance, economy, longevity and safety.

My first impression driving the REVO enhanced was a good one as the throttle response is better and offers more immediate urge. If you don’t want to, you don’t need to drop down a gear to get past traffic on the open road.

There seems to be a perfect balance of enough performance for you to have fun, while still retaining the stock refinement and efficiency of the GTD.

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I noticed a slight improvement in fuel consumption when driving normally.

This stage one upgrade has seen the power go from 130kW to 160kW and the torque from 350Nm to 470Nm (although numbers of around 175kW and 515Nm could be achieved if you want to push the limits).

And looking at our data you can see the impressive difference in performance numbers that this has resulted in.

If you want to know more about how you can go about extracting extra power from your VAG product in a safe and reliable way, contact Shaun at REVO Technik on 083 255 0089 or e-mail them at info@revotechnik.co.za.

Alternatively visit their website at revotechnik.co.za.

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Our next update should include some much-needed openroad family time with our longterm VW Golf GTD.

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