MKIV GTI Owner - just found this forum!!!

[QLDGTI]

Hi All,

Must say how good this forum is.

I have had my 2003 MKIV GTI with 50,000 KM (pic attached from a dodgy camera phone, its Black with Red/Black inside) for 12 months and only recently discovered this site.

Due to your advice and stories, I went to see Alex at Harding/APR here in Brisbane on Monday and got it chipped to 147kw/325nm and boy it flys!!!

Kicking myself why I didnt do it earlier.

Going to get the suspension done next, although all the advice says this should have been first! But def on the list.

In Brisvegas, who are the suspension people to see? I dont have a huge budget as the second kid arrives in July so Koni is out of the question me thinks.

Also looking at a new head unit and stubby ariel. Does anyone know if the Forges stubby still pumps out enough for my iPOD and Belkin FM kit to work with any power?

Thanks once again to all the advice and tips. Great stuff.

Cheers

QLDGTI

[gtimk5]

Hi QLDGTI, welcome to the forum. Great Golf you have there. Yes, suspension is a must for the Mk4. You wont regret that either.
Hope you enjoy the forum and make many new friends here.
Andrew

[DubSteve]

Hi QLDGTI and welcome to the forum good to have another queenslander on bored nice choice of car, you will be very happy with your choice of car.

There are a few of you up there and have many GTGs.

Cheers Steve

[fuzion]

welcome on board..

major flux of mk4 owners lately lol!

the forge antenna's are probably the closest oem like reception for any stubby antenna ive noticed .. so it would def pick it up (does on the gfs black gti)

[phaeton]

Welcome QLDGTI

[gpk_gti]

welcome QLDGTI, keep us up to date with your mods!! and post some more photos!!

[91eah]

Hi and welcome! I just got my 2001 GTI 3 months ago, and everyone here is a helpful bunch!

Good work on going to Harding, Alex is a great guy, very helpful!!

I just picked up some H&R Coilovers for mine, so cant wait to have them put on!

P.s. - i got my stubby antenna from alex!!

[spa]

is getting better suspension definitely a must?
what improvements/differences are there over the stock suspension?

anyone here from adelaide?

[fuzion]

is getting better suspension definitely a must?
what improvements/differences are there over the stock suspension?

anyone here from adelaide?

It isnt a must, its Dependant on the driver itself. If you feel that you want it lower or a bit firmer for better handling then of course there will be a major improvement from stock.

Stock is for a comfort yet sporty ride. With a set of coilovers you'd have comfort (depending on setup) and able to adjust height/rebound and so forth.

KW's v1s start from about $2k+

All depends on what your wanting from it..

[gpk_gti]

is getting better suspension definitely a must?
what improvements/differences are there over the stock suspension?

cough cough,,ummm,if you want your car to handle and not behave like a boat(stock).I swear by coilovers(h&r) and this is my 2nd set I have ever owned.in my experience just having lowering springs and good shocks just doesnt feel as solid as coilovers,and if you really want proper handling ,after you install your coilovers ,take it to a proper wheel alignment place and they will lower the car by load on each wheel(forget what its called exactly),so they will turn the dial untill exactly the same pressure is loaded onto each wheel.as the chassis is not perfect so each side might be out a couple of mm and that affects your handling.my mate did that on his TT and WOW!!! what a difference(cost over $200).
also,if you intend on putting some bigger wheels,you have the capability to raise and lower the car exactly so you fill the guard/stop scrubbing..

ps.. what year is your car?? if its more than 3-4 yrs,has the shocks been changed??

[mikinoz]

Hi All,

In Brisvegas, who are the suspension people to see? I dont have a huge budget as the second kid arrives in July so Koni is out of the question me thinks.

Also looking at a new head unit and stubby ariel. Does anyone know if the Forges stubby still pumps out enough for my iPOD and Belkin FM kit to work with any power?

Welcome;

And then when the work is done with the koni/eibachs, stubby ariel you will look like this...

But that is not a bad thing

[h100vw]

take it to a proper wheel alignment place and they will lower the car by load on each wheel(forget what its called exactly),so they will turn the dial untill exactly the same pressure is loaded onto each wheel.as the chassis is not perfect so each side might be out a couple of mm and that affects your handling.my mate did that on his TT and WOW!!! what a difference(cost over $200).

Corner weighting is the name for the process.

I live in Adelaide as does evorobin and several others on the forum.

Gavin

[spa]

cough cough,,ummm,if you want your car to handle and not behave like a boat(stock).I swear by coilovers(h&r) and this is my 2nd set I have ever owned.in my experience just having lowering springs and good shocks just doesnt feel as solid as coilovers,and if you really want proper handling ,after you install your coilovers ,take it to a proper wheel alignment place and they will lower the car by load on each wheel(forget what its called exactly),so they will turn the dial untill exactly the same pressure is loaded onto each wheel.as the chassis is not perfect so each side might be out a couple of mm and that affects your handling.my mate did that on his TT and WOW!!! what a difference(cost over $200).
also,if you intend on putting some bigger wheels,you have the capability to raise and lower the car exactly so you fill the guard/stop scrubbing..

ps.. what year is your car?? if its more than 3-4 yrs,has the shocks been changed??

my car is a 2003, i only just got it a month or so ago... i find the suspension very stiff, which is good when the road doesn't have many bumps in it. i'm just not sure what i'm missing out on, because it seems like there's a lot that can be done to this car, and i've only ever been in one golf gti. (actually two, but the other gti i test drove wasn't in very good shape)
it's possible the shocks have been changed, i'm not really sure..
as you can see, i'm a bit of a newbie when it comes to cars (first car)

went on a cruise with some friends just last week, one of them stupidly led us down a bumpy dirt road. my car didn't like that very much. n: