What are the best tuning cars?
These are the most tuner-friendly cars you can buy
Who could possibly understand the passion for performance better than a motorsport pro?
We love making engines even faster and even more efficient. A huge range of different engines has already passed through our Area 51 Tuning Workshop. Some cars and some engines are especially well suited to a performance boost. So here, we present the best tuning cars.
What are the criteria for finding your tuning car?
This is a very individual question, because it depends on your situation and what you want. Beginners who want to do some DIY will find different things important from experienced motorsport enthusiasts with their own team of helpers. Your budget is also an important consideration. For beginners, it’s therefore a good idea to choose a car for which inexpensive tuning parts – with approval – are available.
To find your tuning car, you can therefore ask yourself the following questions:
- Will I do the tuning myself, or get someone else to do it?
- How much time can I and do I want to invest?
- Is there a price limit for the purchase and the desired modifications?
- Is it for driving on the road or the race track?
- How much power am I aiming for?
- What kind of sound do I want?
What areas do I want to tune?
What are all the things that can be tuned?
For some people, tuning is just a bit of airbrushing on the outside, which is not even close to what we understand by engine optimisation. We’re talking here about a genuine performance boost, which will bring tears of joy to your eyes. And depending on the engine and your personal wishes, many different options can be considered. Mostly, we begin with chip tuning, then we move on to the mechanical tuning of parts, and then raise the bar even more to include installing additional components. The parts that we upgrade include:
- Chip tuning
- Intake
- Water injection
- Pistons & con-rods
- Exhaust system
- Turbocharger/compressor
- Sports clutch
- Intercooler
- Downpipe
- Upgraded fuel pumps
- Etc.
How far you want to go depends firstly on your wishes, and secondly on what it takes to get your engine into shape. Never blindly install new parts without adapting the software, for example. In the same way, some upgrades also require the modification of other parts, to really cope with a beefed up performance.
Tuning cars for beginners
For tuning beginners, the most suitable cars are those that have already often been tuned in the past. For these cars, there are many tuning parts, numerous instructions and, above all, visible results. This is also an important factor for beginners who have to watch their wallets, because the costs will be calculable to some extent. Below are a few cars that are especially suitable for tuning beginners:
One of the best-known tuning engines of all. Can be tuned extremely well, because there are heaps of parts for really every need. This way, you will find a solution and a guide to every problem. So if you want to do it yourself, a 1.8T is an excellent option, even for a beginner. And most importantly, you can easily get the 1.8T up to 400 PS (294 kW) (the 1.8T with engine code AMU and 225 PS (165 kW) as standard, for example), so there’s an awful lot of tuning potential there.
- Golf 3 and co. with VR6 engine:
The VR6 series is also part of the bedrock of the tuning scene. Here too, you will find masses of tuning components and, above all, many are approved. Retrofitting a turbocharger is a wonderful option – find out more in our tuning guide for VR6 engines. You could of course consider the Golf R32, which already comes with 241 PS (177 kW) as standard, for your tuning project.
- Golf 2 and co. with G60 engine:
If you’d like tuning with a bit of nostalgia, the G60 is also an interesting tuning engine for beginners. The advantage of old cars is that you can still do a lot mechanically, as they are not as high-tech. Here too, there are a lot of parts and tuning guides for G60 engines. With a bit of luck, you might also get the car in original condition, so that you can customise it exactly as you wish.
- BMW E36 and E46:
The BMW E36 or BMW E46 are rock solid and extremely popular among BMW tuning fans. The 325i 2.5l engine, for example, gives you a good foundation and great potential for your tuning project. The rugged cast iron engine block and aluminium cylinder head can easily be souped up without the con-rods blowing up in your face.
Tuning Guides
Tuning guide for 1.8T AUM, ARX, AQX engines with 150 hp
Pro guide for up to 666 hp power!
2.0 Engine Tuning Guides
Tuning guide for 2.0 EA888 Gen.3 up to 245 hp
Even more power for your VW Golf GTI and others!
2.0 Engine Tuning Guides
Tuning Guide for 2.0 TFSI with K03-Turbo
Professional tuning for your 2.0 TFSI in five tuning stages
With these power levels you can reach up to 666 hp!
Tuning Guides
Tuning guide for 1.8T BEX engines
Full power for your Audi A4: Up to 666 hp performance!
2.0 Engine Tuning Guides
Tuning guide for 2.0 EA888 evo4 up to 265 hp
Even more power for your GTI!
Tuning Guides
Tuning-Guide for 1.8T BFB engines with 163 hp
More driving fun with your Audi A4 - up to 666 hp!
Tuning Guides
Tuning guide for 2.5 TFSI RS3 from 340 hp
The sure-fire way to a tremendous 650 hp
Tuning Guides
Tuning-Guide for 1.8T APP, ARY, AUQ engines with 180 hp
From 180 hp up to 666 hp with your 1.8T engine!
2.0 Engine Tuning Guides
Tuning guide for 2.0 EA888 Gen.3 from 265 hp
The guide for Golf 7 R engines from 265 hp as standard, for example
Project cars in the BAR-TEK® fleet
It sounds easy, and it is! If your budget is big enough, almost anything goes. But even here, some cars are especially ideal for tuning – because they are simply enormous fun, for instance. You can see how much we love getting even more out of a powerful car in our own tuning projects.
Here are some of them:
- Lamborghini Urus 4.0l BiTurbo
OK, maybe we’re a bit biased, because the Urus is in our fleet and is one of our tuning projects. But even being entirely objective, you could say that this car, with its 650 PS (478 kW), is a real powerhouse. You may well argue about whether you could beef it up even more – but that’s precisely what motivates us.
- Audi R8 with 5.2l FSI V10 engine
If you think that an R8 without a second turbocharger is boring, then this car is also a wonderful tuning vehicle for you. Bartek agrees, which is why we’ll soon be breaking the 1000 PS barrier with the R8 in our Area 51 Tuning Workshop.
- 1000 PS (735 kW) in the VR6
It’s not necessarily what you need for driving to the corner shop: our VR6 was the fastest and most powerful VR6 turbo in Germany (2013). See for yourself!
So, can you hardly wait to start your tuning project?
If you’re ready to finally to get started, we’re here for you. Send us a chat message and we’ll give you advice for your next project.
