So me and my vw buddies were discussing the turbo the gti came with and a question came up. Why didn't vw just put a k04 from the factory? Plenty of other cars before it's time came with them (ex: cobalt SS) and ran perfectly fine. Also the gti would've been ahead of its time regarding power and would've been up to speed in the later years. Was it just that extra couple grand (guessing) that vw didn't want to add to the gti to maintain its reasonable price point? Did they think their customer base wouldn't like/ be able to handle the power of a k04? I just don't get it
6
General performance question
- Thread starter demon342
- Start date
MmmmmBoost
Ready to race!
I think it's because they didn't really want it competing with the golf r at the time.
smanierre
Autocross Champion
It's probably a combination of reasons. Yes, a k04 in a fwd platform will provide much more difficult to handle than a ihi/k03. Also why give a gti as much power as a golf r when they could give people a reason to spend much more on a golf r. It's not that they couldn't put a k04 in a gti, it just doesnt make sense from both the consumer perspective, and the profit perspective
Sent from my XT1635-01 using Tapatalk
Sent from my XT1635-01 using Tapatalk
smanierre
Autocross Champion
Europe gets all the good stuff :thumbdown:
thatspsychotic
Ready to race!
To echo the others I think it's totally a product positioning decision. Can't have a lowly GTI competing with a Golf R or an Audi S3 for an appreciably lower price point.
That still holds true today with the Mk7 range, except the IS20 has a lot more room to tune over stock vs the Mk6 IHI. The IS20 is within spitting distance of the K04, whereas the IS38 on the Mk7 R has a bit more potential than the K04. So they've shifted both product positions up towards more power.
It's more like pick a power output level to get the product positioning you want, and fit the smallest turbo you can (considering efficiencies, not absolute smallest) to achieve that power target for the best responsiveness. With that in mind, if VW set out to position the Mk6 GTI at 210 HP from the factory, a K04 is comparatively laggy and way overkill to make 210 HP, vs. the IHI/K03.
SnailPower
Autocross Newbie
Exactly. They don't want to cut into their own markets regarding power levels and price. As you know, you can easily unlock an extra 60+hp just from a tune and no additional hardware, so why didn't VW even do that? Why under tune the car? Obviously they don't want you getting close to their own higher tier cars that cost more $$$ and need justification for the costs. So yeah, it sucks on the outside world where VW cars are under powered compared to their competitors, however in VW's world, they are all powered/priced appropriately.
SnailPower
Autocross Newbie
I think the better question is why doesn't VW offer a performance program similar to Dodge did back during the SRT4 days where you can have your SRT4 upgraded right to Stage 3 at the dealer and including all warranties? Having the extra options would be great for the more performance oriented fans and for those that just want the car and don't care about blowing the wheels off can keep it completely stock.
riceburner
Autocross Champion
THATS A STUPID QUESTION. YOURE A STUPID POSTER!
LOL
LOL