Buying a Bora 4motion..help?

[Jaydnisevil]

Hey, listen I will try and keep this short.
My old car was a 02 Impreza RS, handled fantastic but didn't have much poke.

I was looking at buying a Mk4 GTi, but have decided I want a Bora 4motion or 4motion sport (with around or preferable less than 100,000kms)
Just had a few questions, such as things to look out for etc.

Firstly, id like to know is there a difference in any mechanical way, between the normal 4motion and the sport?
Im told its just a body kit and rims, but have heard lowered/firmer suspension as well. (Not that much of a problem since I plan to put H&R's in it)
The seats I noticed are different, is it just the headrest that changed? or are they more supportive?
I would love the seats that went in the Mk4 VR6

I was also told that the sports didn't have the woodgrain trim, and it was replaced by a black insert
Now this unfortunately doesn't seem to be the case, I dont really like the woodgrain either

We have found a few decent 4motions for sale currently, and one good one in Qld. However its blue..... and I dunno, not a big fan of the colour. I know its a small thing to get in the way, but its really...............blue. I still reckon silver or black looks the best, but beggars cant be choosers

Mods, well as I said H&R's planned. I would LOVE to get it sounding like.
Wouldn't mind putting my Alpine IDA-X100 unit in to work with the iphone.
YouTube - Mk4 Golf R32 - blipping throttle with Milltek Sport Exhaust

Any help would be greatly appreciated guys and possibly but less likely girls

[dylan8]

4mo and the sport are really no different other then minor things like the bodykit as you said.
the head rest change is across the board with the boras, pre 2001.5 have cut outs and post 2001.5 have filled in and maybe smaller headrests (i think that's the date anyway.
No change in suspension, engine tuning etc have a feeling the wheels were the biggest change, but your best to do a search on here, it was covered less then a year ago im pretty sure
Colour wise dark blue, black, and silver seem to be the most common, they do look good in black as the bottom lips on hte front and rear bumpers are a black plastic.
Silver dub had planned to do some colour changes on his silver bora and it looked amazing in contrast to the black features.

Good luck on the buy!

[BI65ND]

Wheels, spoiler, were about it. Might have been a couple of other small things but nothing major. When I had mine it was a late 2003 non-sport model, and it had dark woodgrain, almost black, instead of the bright orangey stuff. However, the interior pieces are interchangeable with the golf, so it's also easy enough to get R32 interior bits, the brushed aluminium ones, and put them in instead. The seats were also the full black leather sports seats, and the head rest didnt have a cutout. Not sure if you've driven one yet, but these really are a great car, and will surprise A LOT of unsuspecting wannabe traffic light racers. I kinda regret getting rid of mine in a way, but Im very happy with my golf still.
My recommendation would be get it, do the suspension because the stock is way too soft, do the haldex upgrade, exhaust, hi-flow air filter/induction kit and re-chip it, and it really will be a weapon.

[Jaydnisevil]

Fantastic, thanks!
I learnt the hard way with my impreza that N/A's dont make much power from mods. I should have just done the suspension, instead of spending hundreds on exhaust parts etc. Although with the UEL headers it sounded fantastical =)
YouTube - 2.5 RS Subaru impreza open header

Im so glad to hear the woodgrain is replaceable! I would love like a dark piano black insert, so will keep my eyes open.
No I havnt driven one yet, hopefully later today. Iv been driving a 1984 corolla at the moment, so its going to feel like a friggen rocket! lol.
I most definitely will be purchasing H&R's for them, had them on my impreza and LOVED them!
I am concerned that H&R say with xmm drop you need their front sway bar to clear the drive-shafts adequately.

Haldex upgrade im not sure what that does just yet, id imagine its like Subaru's DCCD system where you can divide up the torque how you want. Whatever it is, it sounds expensive lol.

Exhaust, well im weary here... last time I was not happy with my system, I spent hundreds trying to fix it and still wasnt happy. It leaked, was too loud and was a general pain in the ass. I would consider a pre-made system, so long as it sounds like that milltek I posted earlier

Generally air intake and exhaust cause more problems than they solve (without a tune)
I dont know what the ECU's are like on the boras, but the N/A scooby one was pathetic.
I have a Unichip C sitting in my cupboard, which was intended for my scoob. Ill do the ring around and see if they are compatible.

[dylan8]

Oh yes, the sway bar fun. 1.4inches i think it is, and as small a drop of 1inch if you doing agressive driving. Can get a sway bar or differnet end links to solve this, sometimes the end links do always cover it so your better off just buying a sway bar. Wouldnt have to get a H&R, other brand should also work as long as they list that it solves the problem

[Jaydnisevil]

Well I dont particularly want to drop any more than 1.4 inches, but the H&R website says their sport springs make a drop of 1.8 and 1.6"
Which sounds like an awful lot if you ask me!

Well they dont actually list a bora, just a jetta 4motion.
2000 Volkswagen Jetta IV Applications || H&R Special Springs, LP

[BI65ND]

I had an induction kit on my Bora and it made a noticeable difference. Noticed it the most when I took it off to sell the car. The thing you've got to remember about intake/exhaust mods is theyre not really designed to be a major increase in power. Stock items are generally very restrictive, and these mods are made to free the air flow up. The difference you should notice with them is throttle response improves and the acceleration will be alot more even over stock - where you may notice the acceleration can be very jumpy.
ECU upgrades are definitely not cheap but can be very rewarding in VW's, as most versions we received in Aus are downtuned quite a bit. I'm not sure how accurate this is, but I was speaking to an owner of an R36 golf, who told me that they are restricted to 100hp less than the exact same model in Germany, all by a simple lock in the programing. So there can be a heap of power to be unlocked from chipping.

[BI65ND]

www.tirerack.com

Check out this site, got a full H&R kit for 633 american, another 200 odd for delivery, and with the strength of the Aussie dollar it'd prob be well worth getting

[dylan8]

hmm it does, but then again its not that bad, really its only 4.5cm.
I have mine on coilovers and its fairly low, i drive around on country roads as a daily and i get in and out of most places without touching the ground.
I cant think of any 4mo owners on here with H&Rs to have a look at.
They should give your bora a great stance

[Jaydnisevil]

Well yes there is a difference, but has anybody compared it on a dyno?
Intake and exhaust mods can have great yields, but the ECU has to be capable of adjusting its fuel maps to cope.
My impreza made 10awkw more with the exhuast, but it was boggy as ****. The adaptation was so poor, the 0-100 time stayed the same.
The 3000-4000 in 3rd increased by a second!

Well depends how detuned the engine is in the first place aswell

Well I want H&R's for the feel more than the look, they are anything but harsh while driving normally. But hop in a roundabout, and youl just want to keep going round and round and round and round and round

Yea I looked at the touring kits, I would definitely prefer to get than than just the springs (Easier to install aswell!)
I am concerned that the H&R website says they only offer springs and swaybars for the 4motion.

[Gravey]

check out Eibach Springs and Bilstein Shocks for the Bora too....lots of guys here running this combo and everyone raves about this setup. Not a huge drop though (I think I achieved between 15-20mm, low enough for me) but the performance is amazing.

[TazzyVR6]

Eibach Pro Kit springs and Bilstien sport shocks is the best money I've spent on my golf! Not a huge drop but no longer spongy!

[Back Door Shenanigans.]

how do the Eibach and Bilstein shocks differ from the sport shocks?

[BI65ND]

how do the Eibach and Bilstein shocks differ from the sport shocks?

As in the standard VW sport shocks? Theres no comparison. The standards are way too soft. Too spongey and have way too much play in them. Bilsteins will give a lot better control over all, when cornering you wont get that big dive in then float out that the standards give you.

[TazzyVR6]

The Eibach Pro Kit springs are 30mm lower than a standard golf or bora (or 15mm lower than a GTI) and the Bilstein shocks are slightly stiffer and better suited to lowering springs being I think slightly shorter? and a bit stiffer. The combo of the two is great!
I think I saw on here someone was quoted $1400AU or something for the Bilstein shocks from somewhere like Pedders and the Eibach springs are normally about $660AU. I got mine for about $1000AU all up, shocks from ECS and springs from the Eibach Australia clearance store.