ARL TDI 4x4: My Experience with the 1.9 TDI 150 HP Engine

Hello!

I've been driving a VW Golf IV Highline TDI 4-Motion with a base engine of 110 kW since mid-February.

I have to say that since 1999, I've driven the following cars, alternating between them:

1999: Volkswagen Golf IV TDI, engine tuned from 81 kW to 103 kW using Digi-Tec technology.
2000-2001: Audi S3, engine tuning by MTM, increasing power from 154 kW to 202 kW.
2001-2002: Audi A3 TDI, 96 kW, original.
2002-2003: Audi S3, 165 kW, without modifications.
Since 2003: ARL-TDI engine with an *** chip tuning module.

So... I just had bad luck with Audi; I had to return the last two cars. Also, I drive up to 60,000 km per year, so a diesel is generally a better choice. After extensive research and consideration, I decided not to buy an A4 TDI with a V6/132 kW engine, but rather a Golf All-Wheel Drive with the 150 hp TDI. I actually drove this Golf in stock form and then with tuning from *** to 129 kW, and it performed better than the V6.

And so it happened: the Golf was a company car from Volkswagen AG, with 8,000 kilometers on the odometer, registered for 3 months, 5 months old, and priced at exactly €10,800 – which was €26,500 below the list price. That's incredible.

After having the car for a few days, I saw that *** was offering a chip tuning promotion. I didn't hesitate and drove from Hamburg to Kempten to have the car tuned for €950, including the (manufacturer's) warranty.

As soon as I pressed the gas pedal on the highway, I knew: WOW! Sure, this ARL isn't an Audi S3, but it really goes incredibly well. It accelerates smoothly up to 220 km/h, and then it takes a bit longer to reach the speedometer-indicated maximum of 230-240 km/h. I measured it with GPS for over 4 minutes: my TDI actually reaches 222 km/h, registered at 216 km/h instead of 211. The lower top speed compared to the front-wheel drive version is due to a shorter gear ratio, I was told. The test car (front-wheel drive) had a speedometer-indicated top speed of around 250 km/h. However, my car is especially fun in the range up to 220 km/h.

Regarding soot emissions: my old Golf IV with 140 horsepower had been tuned by Digi-Tec: that thing just smoked, and I was very unhappy. In contrast, ***: after pressing the accelerator pedal, there's a brief puff of smoke once... then it's fine, as it should be!

Consumption: between 6 and 10.5 liters maximum; I typically drive it around 8.2 liters per 100 kilometers.

Weight: 1490 kilograms.
129 kW at 4150 RPM.
400 Nm at 1900 rpm.
6-speed.
0-62 mph: 7.8 seconds.
100-200 km/h: Achieved in 25.8 seconds in 5th gear on a straight road, measured with GPS.

'I find the values acceptable, especially because I no longer feel that pain in my soul when pressing down on the accelerator pedal, unlike with the S3, where 15 liters of premium gasoline were standard if you didn't want to be stuck in the right-hand lane.'

The other day, I was driving near St-Peter-Ording and had a MTM 130 PS TDI behind me... it was quite fast, but it lacked exactly what the ARL offers: strong power delivery without a noticeable drop in performance all the way to the rev limiter.

I've already experimented with this on an A3 2.0 TDI: both with and without a chip tuning module. Without the chip, there's no comparison... With the chip, I only have the advantage of having what's called a 'better' acceleration gearbox, but I think that with 180 horsepower in the slightly heavier A3, it's more or less a tie.

I'm not a mechanic and I don't delve into the problems of an engine... for me, it just needs to run well... but I can wholeheartedly recommend this engine.

I now have 29,000 km on the odometer; at 22,000 km, I had to bring it in for an early 30,000 km inspection. Otherwise, only the driver's seat (EasyEntry) was sticking... otherwise, no other defects on the Golf... and the Audis before were so bad!


If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask them here.

And one thing is clear to me: there are always some people who criticize measured performance figures, etc... Let me say this: one person can always do it better than another, and besides, there's always someone faster, and I won't dwell on that.

Regards,

ARL-TDI

Nice advertisement for ***!

Hi!

'I'm sorry, that wasn't exactly what I meant. There are certainly other tuners who know their craft as well, such as MTM or ***.'

'But what I liked about *** was the price and the factory warranty. If they hadn't had those chip tuning options, I probably wouldn't have done it! This isn't meant to be advertising; I just wanted to share my experiences.'