And so the mods begin...

[mr_walker]

Well I bought a bunch of stock Polo GTI stuff from Timbo today so I can get to work on my Polo TDI which is a new addition to the family ...



This is my first go at modding a car, and I'm playing it safe by sticking with factory VW gear.

Does anybody have the springs colour coding figured out? My Polo came with a tow pack, so it probably already has stiffer springs in the back ... I'm guessing. I just noticed the colour dots today and I'm guessing they mean something.

I just checked the stock Polo TDI with tow pack - Rear: Yellow,Yellow,White,Orange Front: Red, Blue, Blue, Blue (and small white dot).

The stock GTI gear is - Front: Red, Red, Red, Green,Green and Rear: Orange, White, White, Orange

Cheers,

Walker

[GoLfMan]

get a SEAT intake for it mate i just got one and it smooths out the power delivery alot

cant wait to see this stuff on it, will look good!!!!

[Ben_GTI]

See Josh GTI suspension on a TDI

[mr_walker]

get a SEAT intake for it mate i just got one and it smooths out the power delivery alot

cant wait to see this stuff on it, will look good!!!!

Where'd you get it from GolfMan?

[Blitzen]

Where'd you get it from GolfMan?

http://www.dubaddiction.com.au/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=11&zenid=rlu0toouhg4rgltbvsvpujaph2

Tim from Dub addiction is your man there. Or try Shaneth at Eurokraft on here too...Both are in the parts suppliers section.

[GoLfMan]

yup what Ryan "blitzen" said mate

Tim from Dubaddiction

[gerhard]

With the diesel engine up front, your springs & dampers may need to be "heavier" than those on a GTI. But then, the GTI ones may be heavier than the diesel ones already.

Good luck with all the fun

[mr_walker]

With the diesel engine up front, your springs & dampers may need to be "heavier" than those on a GTI. But then, the GTI ones may be heavier than the diesel ones already.

Good luck with all the fun

Yeah - Timbo had a look at the spec sheets, and the TDI is only 30kg heavier than the GTI (but I'm sure it's distributed differently), so hopefully it won't be a problem.

[mr_walker]

yup what Ryan "blitzen" said mate

Tim from Dubaddiction

Cheers - I had a look at his stuff, and SWMBO is already eyeing off the top dash compartment. Well if that means I can get the other bits ... then all's good

[Timbo]

Good to see they've gone to a good home, Simon. I'll look forward to seeing the l'il 'burner when she's all fitted up

[572]

A friend up here has fitted GTI suspension to a 1.6l Match, and with the new suspension it sits a little higher at the front than a GTI does. Still, with the rear swaybar fitted, it's a very capable handler.

[mr_walker]

Well I spoke to the learned folk at the local dealership (like we have a big choice in Canberra) and with his official VW hat on he had to advise me that any changes to the stock configuration may void my warranty...

But he was able to advise me *not* as a VW mechanic, that there should be no problem at all with swapping out the shocks/coils, provided that the mounts were the same. He also said the tow pack doesn't provide different springs, so all's good on that front.

He did warn against changing the calipers/rotors because the master cylinder on the TDI is not as big as the GTI's one he thinks, and could cause all sorts of nasty problems (can anyone confirm this?).

Interestingly, VW doesn't provide the information to decode the colour dots on the coils to find out the spring rating. The service department just matches the colours to what the VW manual says.

I've gotta get a couple of small warranty issues attended to in the coming weeks, so there's no way I'm going to give them a reason to make excuses for not honoring it. But after that's all sorted out...

[mr_walker]

A friend up here has fitted GTI suspension to a 1.6l Match, and with the new suspension it sits a little higher at the front than a GTI does. Still, with the rear swaybar fitted, it's a very capable handler.

Cool. I'm guessing that with a heavier block, the TDI will sit about the same as the GTI at the front. Won't know until I try it though.

Swaybar ... does the TDI already have one? I'll have to check it out.

[philthy]

Swaybar ... does the TDI already have one? I'll have to check it out.

None of the polo's have rear swaybars from the factory, but whiteline make an aftermarket kit. I believe the GTI has a larger front sway bar than the other models.

[mr_walker]

Well it's taken long enough, but I finally got around to putting aside some coin (and getting spouse approval ) to fit rubber to the GTI wheels I bought off Timbo, and got them on the car this week.

Now I have to work on the suspension...