Calling all customers of JKM Performance

[C4]

Hi Everyone!

Just wanted to get some opinions and experiences from anyone who has been to Portsmouths JKM performance, were they good? were you treated well? did your greens get well spent? Was the work top quality? i wanna know everything as jkm was highly recommended to me and they are a 2 minute drive from where I live (i was very excited knowing a specialist is just around the corner) 

my first mod may be a forge adjustable SEMI recirc valve, (unless the complete recirc valve is better).

[illyun]

They are excellent.  I've had a LOT of work done on my car with them and they've been first class.  I'm off to JKM this Friday morning for a RR session, turbo boost gauge fitting and diagnostics... my nth visit.  By the way, I drive all the way from Ipswich to get my car to them, so thats saying something.  I had the following done with them:

Eibach ARBs
Bilstein PS9 Coilovers
Revo Stage 1 and then 2
Milltek Non-Res and Sport Cat Back
WALK
Front wishbone Polybushes
EVOMS Intake
Forge DV
APR Fuel Pump

maybe more but I can't remember.  Basically they won't BS you, they err on the side of caution when tuning although of course you have the final say - but they'ill discuss all the pros and cons of the direction you want to go in.  I get all my tuning done with them, my servicing and warranty from my excellent local Dealer Wolsey, Ipswich and chassis mods from VWR in Milton Keynes.

[C4]

sounds very promising  were you ever pressured or swayed in any direction?

hey about the evoms air intake, could you tell me more about it? did you hear a nice induction sound? can you hear more turbo whistle and the recirc valve?

and most importantly did it affect that air sensor thing that everyone says it'll do? cos i have a currnetly completely standard car and was seriously considering evoms then was told not to cos it mess the air sensor thing. do you remember how much they charged fo the fitting of the intake? thanks dude 

[illyun]

sounds very promising  were you ever pressured or swayed in any direction?

Yes, it was terrible    They seemed so nice and didn't push me towards anything at all, but it was all a devious plan to get me hooked on raw power and speed.. rather like a dealer who gives you your first crack bag (or whatever that stuff comes in - not that I'd know of course  )  I went into JKM a mod virgin and came out a mod whore and my initial intention to stick to Revo Stage 1 and a DV valve only, was shattered the moment I put my foot down as I entered a motorway... I HAD to get more - so I booked the car in for the week after for Stage 2... which was a bit embarassing as I had made all the right noises when getting Stage 1 done that I was too old for too much power, I wanted to keep the mods conservative and sensible, that I didn't want to stress the car and that I wasn't a power whore.... blah blah blah  

I'm now on Stage 2+ and running circa 350bhp (will find out on Friday exactly how much) and I attend the local Modders Anonymous meeting every week   

 I wasn't pressured or swayed although if you ask for advice they'ill give you their opinion... For example I asked about coilovers vs shocks and springs and was correctly told that a KoniFSD/Eibach set-up was best for a road car (Mk5 GTI that is) and offered best value, while going down the coilover route was a waste of money unless you're willing to buy the best - it was left to me to research on the net what the best were...

[illyun]

hey about the evoms air intake, could you tell me more about it? did you hear a nice induction sound? can you hear more turbo whistle and the recirc valve?

and most importantly did it affect that air sensor thing that everyone says it'll do? cos i have a currnetly completely standard car and was seriously considering evoms then was told not to cos it mess the air sensor thing. do you remember how much they charged fo the fitting of the intake? thanks dude 

You can hear the EVOMS sucking in the air as the revs rise although I'm not very fond of the noise - at least no one outside can really hear it thank God - unless you're into that kind of stuff.  After 4000 miles of driving my engine/exhaust light has come on and the rev needle is hunting at idle - its either a vacuum leak somewhere or the MAF is knackered due to the EVOMS and i'll hopefully find out on Friday what the issue is.  However, I rang JKM and they don't think its the EVOMS as they have never seen a MAF issue due to the intake on a new car like mine - 57 plate - and the issues with EVOMS or other filters affecting the MAF are with cars before 2004 mainly.  I don't know how much they charged for fitting as I had a lot of other stuff done at the same time so it was all one labour charge.   

BTW, the Forge DV doesn't make any noise -you need a chavvy atmospheric dump valve for that  - Forge do them too...

[C4]

very informative, i totally agree with you, there is never enough bhp, a few weeks ago when i first got the car i thought "this is more power than i can handle", today i was thinking "i need more power! lol

Im glad the intake isnt too loud but has a nice sound to it, first i gotta look into the dv valves, cos whenever my dsg changes gear in D mode i can hear a loud but soft thump sound kind of like a big loud thud, do you have this? i thought it may be a problem with the oem DV. might consider a semi recirc as i heard it take pressure off the turbo.

Really looking forward to mods from jkm now 

they seem like a pretty safe bet, thanks dude

[RedRobin]

....

I'm a JKM fanboy too, and very proud of it.

I first came across them about 2 years ago when I was researching remaps. At no time whatsoever have they ever given me any sales spiel or hard-sell - I'm particularly sensitive to that and really detest it - It's whether a part is best for your individual car and not about moving retail goods off shelves (incidentally yet another reason why I'm also a VWR fanboy).

JKM are a small family business - Jim and Kate are brother and sister - And they are enthusiasts brought up in that enthusiasm by their late father (I now learn he's alive and kicking! Sorreeee!). Keith is a specialist and expert on the 2.0T FSI engine and tuning. They are extremely hard working and caring. As with all businesses, it's the staff who matter and they are a happy crew.

Although JKM are about 2hrs drive away and not my nearest Revo tuner, I happily go to them. I use my VW dealer for normal servicing, JKM for tuning and some engine mods, and VWR for more specialist things like suspension and Quaife, though JKM are quite capable in those areas too.

Having a support team who care about your car as much as you do is a great joy and brings great peace of mind and trust. You can't really ask for much more.

Their prices are very competitive but not always the very cheapest but I think that anyone who buys on price alone is a fool. Kate is your first point of contact and she's a diamond!

Come along to this event and meet JKM and some of us : - http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=104066.0

[bacillus]

illyun I know that this sounds stupid but double check that your petrol cap is fully tightened as if it's not, it may give the error you are logging.

[topher]

Never heard anything bad about JKM, which to be honest is a rare thing (I get to hear most of the horror stories about VAG tuning companies). As Robin said though they aren't the cheapest so when it comes to having expensive parts fitted you may do well to try to source certain parts yourself and just pay them the labour charge.

[topher]

illyun I know that this sounds stupid but double check that your petrol cap is fully tightened as if it's not, it may give the error you are logging.

Pretty sure I already suggested that, not sure if it was tried though because I didn't end my post with FACT!