Tuning boxes can cause issues like over boost errors that remain logged in the ecu. That's what happened on my 2013 gtd that had a god awful dtuk box on. I was able to clear the faults but they remain in the history even after clearing.
Yes, the tuning box will leave plenty of markers that a deep scan by VW will find easily enough, they know what they’re looking for.
How long until you are out of warranty? A remap is better than running with a tuning box, so if you only have a year or so left it could be worth the wait.
That’s a good suggestion and one I’d agree with.
So long as the car is healthy, well serviced and not driven like a loon regularly then the likelihood of major engine failure is fairly low on a tried and well tested unit.
My question to the OP is why you want the extra power?
Is it for extra mid range ooomph, is it for top end performance or is it because you find the car a bit lacking?
Depending on your driving style the first thing I would recommend is a pedal box to see if that wakes the missing feeling of responsiveness up that many of us find lacking with the standard car.
The GTI does benefit hugely from a remap or tuning box. I’ve had at least one remapped/boxed example of every generation of GTI since VW first started strapping turbos on them over 20 years ago. Nobody appreciates the extra mid range urge and willingness to rev more than I do.
However if your driving style involves a lot of running up to the red line then I’d strongly recommend you looking at a car such as the R or TCR as a better long term base for tuning. It’s a stronger engine and the turbo has masses of headroom unlike the standard GTI turbo which runs out of puff at lowish revs.
My personal driving style is that of a boring old fart and I do actually much prefer a tuned 300 PS small turbo GTI engine over a standard 300PS R engine because of the massive low rev shove of the small turbo. I rarely use high revs, but someone else will be the opposite (most sporty car drivers probably!) so I’m merely offering a view from years of my own expensive experiences.
