From Polo Gti to Big Brother Golf GTi

[Chipped]

Hi All,

looks like I might finally be upgrading to the Golf Gti. Obviously after heavily modding my Polo Gti the first thing i would do is APR ECU it. (followed bu RSB FSB etc....)
My question as follows. A Polo with a KO4 turbo (180kw) upgrade suffers greatly from torqe steer not to mention wheel spin and stress on clutch etc..
How does the Golf GTi perform with the ECU alone (188kw) in regards to traction etc.. Being a heavier car I assume it gets the power done more effectively?

Would love some opinions?

Thanks

[Maverick]

Wider larger wheels, better suspension, better chassis and minimal torque steer - does the polo have Electro-mechanical power steering??

The car handles APR stage 1 without any problems, just got to learn to not give it too much until the car is moving.

[chrisgti]

Get giac it'll go faster

[Maverick]

There's nothing to suggest that GIAC is faster and there's more to the Golf than just speed. You want speed get a cheap Jap turbo, you want a quality ride get a GTI/R32.

[maca]

Get giac it'll go faster

There's nothing to suggest that GIAC is faster and there's more to the Golf than just speed. You want speed get a cheap Jap turbo, you want a quality ride get a GTI/R32.

Now now boys, we aren't starting another chip war....

[G-rig]

Good upgrade why not. GTI is a great car.

Get giac it'll go faster

You may as well have wrote FTW, as it tells us nothing really.

[Steve_GTI]

Stage one is fine. There is no torque steer to bother you. I dont know about stage two.

[Maverick]

Stage one is fine. There is no torque steer to bother you. I dont know about stage two.

The electro-magnetic steering system counteracts most of the torque steer.

[Chipped]

thanks heaps folks. After going mod mad on the Polo gti...only to possibly now sell it. I'm thinking the top 5 initial mods for the Golf GTI would be.

ECU
APR CDA CArbino panel air filter thingy
Engine Mount
Rear Sway Bar and Front Strut Brace
Larger intercooler for those long hot perth summers.

PS I am not buying new...looking at 30,000-50,000km old car.

Now, having never driven DSG before...how does it compare to good old manual...I suspect clutch replacements would be more pricey etc.....

Thanks again

[Maverick]

thanks heaps folks. After going mod mad on the Polo gti...only to possibly now sell it. I'm thinking the top 5 initial mods for the Golf GTI would be.

ECU
APR CDA CArbino panel air filter thingy
Engine Mount
Rear Sway Bar and Front Strut Brace

TAI is a good buy, consider the 80 duro rather than the 90 duro APR one as it's a little softer and less harsh.

Front strut brace is not needed. I doubt you'll find anyone in Australia with one as they're very complex in design and completely pointless due to the rigidity of the chassis.

Larger intercooler for those long hot perth summers.

Not sure I'd bother with that one, I'd see how the car goes before you consider that one as it could be a heap of dollars with minimal improvement.

Now, having never driven DSG before...how does it compare to good old manual...I suspect clutch replacements would be more pricey etc.....

Clutches are designed to last for the life of the car so you shouldn't need to ever touch them.

[tinto]

ECU
APR CDA CArbino panel air filter thingy
Engine Mount
Rear Sway Bar and Front Strut Brace
Larger intercooler for those long hot perth summers.

Now, having never driven DSG before...how does it compare to good old manual...I suspect clutch replacements would be more pricey etc.....

I'd put coilovers and a 'sporty' wheel alignment before all of those mods.
They diffuse axle tramp massively (so the engine mount is less of a priority, assuming you're talking about the torque arm insert).
They also remove some of the need for sway bars by stiffening things up overall.
MKVs look great with a drop too, so that's a nice benefit
The downside (depending on your state of mind) is that it is stiffer overall - a harsher ride. But you can tune some to be 'near' stock comfort.

A front Strut brace would be a waste of $.
Hardly anyone runs them - something about a stiffer shell in the MKV

Intercooler would definitely benefit in the heat of summer (but I'm not in a hurry to do it).

For me the list would be:

1. Coilovers
2. ECU
3. Turbo back exhaust
4. Intake
5. talk to whomever tuned my ECU about stage 2...
6. brakes (like AP/Stoptech)
7. actually, search for kryten2001's build thread. he's pretty much dealt with most perceived deficiencies.

My KW coilovers will be going into my Pirelli GTI as soon as the new front springs arrive.
I had them in my GT Sport and that was a LOT of fun to drive, despite having a significant power deficit from a GTI.
It is more 'chuckable' than on the stock suspension.

As for DSG... I won't be buying cars in the future without some sort of dual clutch arrangement.
However the 6 speed manual is a really, really nice box, especially with a short shifter. Either way there you won't be disappointed.

No doubt a DSG clutch will cost more to replace, but it will be longer between changes because there's a computer managing the clutch engagement rather than the big uncoordinated lump of ham we call our left legs

[GIB-8]

nice list tinto.. hehe.. I'm interested to find out as I've just purchased the pirelli gti, who/where do you go to for the KW coilovers? And, for the front strut brace being a pointless upgrade, how about the rear? It'd be nice to reduce the roll during conering..

[Bug_racer]

Wider larger wheels, better suspension, better chassis and minimal torque steer - does the polo have Electro-mechanical power steering??

The car handles APR stage 1 without any problems, just got to learn to not give it too much until the car is moving.

The Polo first got electro-mechanical steering back in 2002 . It was also the first ones to have the vin encoded to ecu and dash .

[tinto]

nice list tinto.. hehe.. I'm interested to find out as I've just purchased the pirelli gti, who/where do you go to for the KW coilovers? And, for the front strut brace being a pointless upgrade, how about the rear? It'd be nice to reduce the roll during conering..

I'm not sure where you'd go in Melbourne.
The importers are - http://www.inmotive.com.au/ - maybe ask them who they'd recommend or someone from Vic may recommend a shop.
Ideally you want to go to someone who knows their way around a Golf

I went through Wheels World here in WA.

I think the rear strut brace is much the same as the front - not needed (enough to add any noticeable benefit) and you'll just lose a chunk of boot space/convenience.

I should have added, if you don't fancy going for full coilovers, I can see why front & rear swaybars would be worthwhile.
They can tighten body roll up without compromising too much comfort.

[GIB-8]

Nice.. Thanks tinto.. Save heaps as well and not giving up comfort.. just the thing i was looking for..