Some subscribers to our YouTube channel will have already watched the 2 part series on tuning the latest 2.0 engine VW have to offer

We find the Mk7 / MQB Platform 184 models with the CUNA or CUNA Engine code usually produce between 170 and 180bhp on our dyno in standard form. The GTD in the videos made 170bhp when flashed back to stock, 177bhp on an updated stock file, 188bhp with previous old tune that quoted 230bhp and then 209bhp with our custom remap. This was not unexpected to see inflated figures from other tuners as we have a lot of enquiries asking for turbo upgrades to go beyond 220-240hp!

With a custom tune we can take this engine to 210-215bhp whilst maintaining safe EGTs. The cost for this at the time of writing is £400 + VAT (up to date pricing can be found here - https://www.darksidedevelopments.co.uk/ecu-tuning/). At this power the engine is limited by the factory GTD1449VZ Turbocharger @ 2.bar (31psi) boost. This is very high compared to earlier engines where just over 200hp is achieved at less than 1.8bar of boost pressure, its woth adding that this is only in the mid range and boost does taper quite hard towards the higher RPM's.

This compares to the OEM CUNA Turbo:

The EA288 family of engines follow suit with most of VW's earlier engines with the lower power units sharing many components with the highest output 184 / 190bhp engines.
The 110 and 150’s have slightly smaller turbo’s that can be swapped, tuned and the above is possible. Example Engine codes are CKYB, CRBB, CRBC, CRLB, CRVA and CRVC

We have a few 'Go-Faster' parts that we have proven to not add any real power, these are the Silicone Intake Pipe and Air Filter / Induction kit. In this project no air filter at all was same power as stock so no restriction is present in the standard paper element even at almost 300hp. Basically you don't need these parts unless you want to hear the turbo compressing the air more.

The standard head bolts are a weak point so we recommend upgrading to these immediately before any further tuning. This will prevent head lift.
The factory bolts are a 10.9 grade so this is a similar mod to the old PD150 head bolts we use very often.

With the above turbo kit installed it's almost guaranteed to exceed the limit of the standard clutch and flywheel, we recommend upgrading to this kit:

Custom tune with the above upgrades would be £600 + VAT and you should be up to around 250bhp, right on the limit of the stock fuel system, mainly the fuel pump itself, see graph below:

The stock CP4 Pumps (Fuel Pump - 04L130755D - CR/CP4HS1/R35/10-S) will experience Rail Drain at around 245bhp Stock fuel pump cannot maintain rail pressure after this so the car may drop in limp mode periodically if too much fuel is requested at the injectors, a Mild upgrade would be to fit our larger metering valve.

To exceed 250bhp you will need to upgrade the fuelling system, CP3 Fuel pump will add 10+hp throughout RPM range but engine will still be EGT limited at higher RPM so peak power would be similar.
The Standard injectors will make 340bhp safely Similar flow figures as our Stage 1 for previous gen engine

CP3 kit is not our usual off the shelf kit and was made to fit this car with modification.

Custom tune with the CP3 HPFP Fitted would be £1000 + VAT

There are no upgrades for the intercooler as the charge cooler has been proven to maintain IAT's of ~ 40° even with a much larger turbo so there is no need to consider swapping. We did see a marked improvement of IAT’s by Ultrasonic cleaning the Chargecooler, this is due to EGR flow passing through the cooling core and reducing its effectiveness.

Cylinder head porting will give you around 10-15bhp however this isn't a service we currently offer. If you port head we recommend the following:

At present there are no camshaft upgrades available. These are the next limiting factor as well as cylinder head, the head design makes this almost impossible to remove them so its unlikely any upgrade will be possible unless VW make a module with a better profile.

Due to the cam limitation, we would only see 285bhp safely on our dyno regardless of turbo choice. We would advise customers to only exceed 250bhp if they are willing to spend in excess of £10,000 including tuning and labour.

For the exhaust, depending on options - https://www.darksidedevelopments.co.uk/products/darkside-developments-custom-exhaust-systems.html

The car is quite fast after all these mods even if the power figures are not record breaking!

0-60mph = 6.11
0-100km/h - 6.22
0-100mph - 12.11
100-200km/h - 12.61