Mk4 Golf GT TDi 130 - A Quick Project

[martin mrt]

mwstewart said:

martin mrt said:

I forsee a clutch change Mark, the 2 mk4 TDiS I have remapped both needed a clutch soon afterwards.

Were they generic maps, Martin? Jabba offer both a generic map or 'bespoke' remap which they tailor to a specific car and adjust the torque curve to suit a stock clutch.

I do hope my clutch lasts. I'm very sympathetic and tailor my throttle use to avoid any resonance as the boost builds around 1.2k RPM, and I don't let the engine bog. If the clutch does let go I will get the Sachs SRE version, but I really want to avoid that if possible.

After posting that I remembered one was remapped, the other (my grey 150) had a tuning box added

The first one I remapped was my Anniversary, it had a revo remap installed, and made 190ish bhp with 290lbft of torque, the clutch lasted approximately 2k miles, if memory serves me right it was around 62k when it started to slip, thankfully the 1/2nd gear selector fork broke the following day and it was all repaired at the same time.

I fitted a new Sachs DMF and a Sachs organic clutch (I'm sure that it will be the same as the SRE type you mentioned) it took a bit of getting used to.

The grey 150 I think I fitted a clutch prior to the tuning box (my memory isn't what it used to be) as it started slipping, it was showing 108k miles I think, I'm presuming it wasn't an original clutch.

I just fitted a stock Sachs DMF and clutch, a friend now owns the car and it's been fine in his ownership

I think 60k is the life expectancy from the stock clutch.

[mwstewart]

RS Grant said:

Y'know.. looking at the detail you go into and the care you take with your cars, I actually can believe that Mark!!

The MK4 is not a razor sharp driving tool, but in my opinion, when looked after they are fantastic cars as daily drivers and extremely well screwed together in my experience. But finding a well cared for example is actually quite difficult these days... there are a lot of them dragging their sumps on the ground with 20" Bentley wheels running 165-section tyres etc, which is a shame.

Completely agree. I gathered a lot are in the wrong hands by looking at some of the VAG websites. In view of what’s going on I think I’m going to keep the exterior of mine exactly as it is now.

GreatGranny said:

Missed this first time round.
Really impressive work as usual.
You said you use a VW dealer in Lincoln.
Are you based in Lincoln?
Not stalking honest, I'm just outside Sleaford so just curious.

In that case I have family quite close to you I took the car to Vertu when visiting them.

martin mrt said:

After posting that I remembered one was remapped, the other (my grey 150) had a tuning box added

The first one I remapped was my Anniversary, it had a revo remap installed, and made 190ish bhp with 290lbft of torque, the clutch lasted approximately 2k miles, if memory serves me right it was around 62k when it started to slip, thankfully the 1/2nd gear selector fork broke the following day and it was all repaired at the same time.

I fitted a new Sachs DMF and a Sachs organic clutch (I'm sure that it will be the same as the SRE type you mentioned) it took a bit of getting used to.

The grey 150 I think I fitted a clutch prior to the tuning box (my memory isn't what it used to be) as it started slipping, it was showing 108k miles I think, I'm presuming it wasn't an original clutch.

I just fitted a stock Sachs DMF and clutch, a friend now owns the car and it's been fine in his ownership

I think 60k is the life expectancy from the stock clutch.

Thanks Martin, that’s really helpful. I must admit I expected it to last a lot longer than that! The SRE clutch is around £1k fitted – it starts getting expensive from then on in.

[martin mrt]

No problem Mark, happy to advise as much as I can.

I ad the opportunity to buy my grey one back around a month ago, but I had already done a deal on a mk6 GTD, had I not, I'd happily have had it back, actually regret parting with it.

Pleased to hear your keeping the exterior as it's meant to be, good mk4 Golf TDIs are getting scarce

[mwstewart]

The Holy Grail for me on this project: 3 door cream - one of three colours - handles without chipped/peeling paint, and walnut - one of three wood types - trim which is also in good condition.


Mk4 R32 DSG Snorkel
The piece comprises a two piece shroud for the front panel and a snorkel leading to the airbox.


The benefit is most likely negligible but it all helps. I think it is a really nice piece of packaging.



Lower section of shroud fitted. The inlet tract visible in bottom left of photo.


Comparison of stock - top - and R32 - bottom. Not much difference at the airbox end. Maybe 20%


The inlet end in contrast is much larger.


Full assembly fitted. I sprayed wax on any earth points I could whilst performing this work; it is often silly things like corroded ground points that cause issues on older cars that are used in all seasons.


New Undertray and Fastenings
eBay non-OEM under tray kit. It's perfectly OK. The OEM tray is crap and this kit is certainly is no worse.


EGR Removal
I decided to blank off the EGR system and at the same time remove the inlet manifold and give it a good clean through. The following photo shows pretty much the worst case scenario:


My journeys in the Golf are always motorway speed and around two hours and proof enough that those kind of operating conditions are perfect for a Diesel:



It took around two hours to remove the manifold and clean it, even though it really wasn't required! New OEM gasket and EGR blanking plates used:


Exhaust manifold end.


Inlet manifold end.


TT Chassis and Suspension Conversion
I've decided to convert the colt on chassis and suspension parts to TT spec. The list is:
- TT roadster or 3.2 Coupe subframe, which has additional reinforcement;
- S3 subframe reinforcement brace;
- TT/S3 Steering rack;
- TT hubs (early bolt type to match my driveshafts);
- TT lower arms;
- DEFCON inserts to allow fitment of the earlier rear TT bush (Audi enlarged this to induce understeer after the high-profile deaths in early TTs);
- TT 225 front ARB;
- TT FWD rear ARB.
- TT front and rear struts. Sports/reinforced chassis type.
- My standard Golf springs. I think they are fine!

Here are the hubs ready for refurbishment.


Darkside Side Mount Intercooler
Kit as shown in my previous post. It should be a straight-forward bolt on.


One thing I wanted to spend some time on was the hose and cable management incorporated in the OEM boot pipe, shown here between the header tank and the cam cover. The Darkside kit comprises alloy tubes which obviously don't have this facility.


Comparison of OEM and Darkside IC. The OEM IC is a tube and fin type. The Darkside is a bar and plate type and between 30 and 40mm deeper.



Shrouds from what I gather are really important for optimising cooler performance. The OEM shroud fits but must be trimmed. The IC is also a very close fit to the headlamp washer jet and I needed to tweak the IC mounting tabs to accommodate it.


I took the decision to leave the EGR and Anti-Stutter Valve (ASV) valve body in place. This does mean that I am left with a quick release fitting in the system, but in my case it is in perfect condition, and the compromise of leaving that in is outweighed by the benefit of having a functioning ASR.


I gave the underside a clean with brake cleaner whilst there. I noticed a slight seep from the O/S driveshaft seal and the crank end seal so I'll have them both replaced ASAP.


Final job: aforementioned cable and hose management from the OEM boost pipe. My Dad chisseled off the management parts and I will bond them to the Darkside pipe.

[leglessAlex]

Unbelievable attention to detail as usual Mark.

Whats the thinking behind the TT parts? Sharper handling?

[leglessAlex]

Thanks for explaining.

Will there be a reduction in comfort levels? As this is your daily I would have thought you were happy to keep it as is, although from what I remember of my Mk4 Golf it could have benefited from some more body control.

[mwstewart]

leglessAlex said:

Unbelievable attention to detail as usual Mark.

Whats the thinking behind the TT parts? Sharper handling?

Thanks Yes -see my annotations in bold:

- TT roadster or 3.2 Coupe subframe, which has additional reinforcement;
The subframe bushes contain a greater ratio of aluminium to rubber isolation material, and the subframe itself is braced in multiple places.

- S3 subframe reinforcement brace;
Stiffens the horizontal plane between front forward wishbone mounts.

- TT/S3 Steering rack;
A different ratio equates to 2.7 turns lock-to-lock compared to the standard Golf's 3.5. This will require TT ESP module to keep ESP functioning as OEM.

- TT hubs (early bolt type to match my drive shafts);
Different geometry to Golf (lower roll centre for one) to aid handling.

- TT lower arms;
Stiffer and have camber adjustment.

- DEFCON inserts to allow fitment of the earlier rear TT bush;
- TT 225 front ARB;
- TT FWD rear ARB;
Quite a few people died in early TT's which resulted in Audi making a number of changes to the car in an effort to make it more predictable, and more prone to understeer. These changes included larger bushings on the control arms and a reduction in ARB size. The platform is very tail happy with the right ARB combination and I want that kind of setup.

- TT front and rear struts. Sports/reinforced chassis type;
TT's came with 'sports' suspension and 'regular chassis'. The dampers are obviously different rates to the Golf and the 'sports' configuration sees a different ARB location to increase its effectiveness.

- My standard Golf springs. I think they are fine!
I find I'm quicker on most roads with a more forgiving spring rate.

[mwstewart]

Here are the OEM cable & hose management parts bonded to the Darkside boost pipe. Now from the engine bay the only giveaway to anything non-standard is the alloy pipe visible at the O/S front.


My car has the OEM rain sensing wiper option but the Mk4 platform never had auto headlights. This plug and play auto headlights kit uses the Mk5/6 Golf headliere's thght switch with its 'Auto' position and brushed aluminium accents, which is physically plug and play in the Mk4 dash, and an interface module with light sensor that plugs into the Mk4 loom and makes it all work.



It would be a shame not to update the rest of the switches to Mk5/6 style, so:



Also an Audi S4/6 compass equipped mirror to replace the current Anniversary auto-dim unit:

[mwstewart]

leglessAlex said:

Thanks for explaining.

Will there be a reduction in comfort levels? As this is your daily I would have thought you were happy to keep it as is, although from what I remember of my Mk4 Golf it could have benefited from some more body control.

I don't expect a perceptible reduction mainly because I'm keeping the standard GT springs. As you know they are pretty soft things in standard Form so quite a few changes can be made without impacting too much on civility.

[martin mrt]

Mark the attention to detail, as ever is brilliant.

I like the auto headlight retrofit

[ManOpener]

Where did you get the sidelight bulbs from? Are they "legal"? I miss having HIDs and if decent LED bulbs were a viable replacement I'd be interested in them.

[mwstewart]

martin mrt said:

Mark the attention to detail, as ever is brilliant.

I like the auto headlight retrofit

Thanks Martin.

ManOpener said:

Where did you get the sidelight bulbs from? Are they "legal"? I miss having HIDs and if decent LED bulbs were a viable replacement I'd be interested in them.

They are from eBay and to my knowledge are legal. I think sidelight bulbs only become illegal if they are a silly colour.

I'm not in a rush to fit the Ferrari clutch as the car won't be in use again until next summer, so I've decided to perform some annual maintenance and improvements on the Golf as I'll feel the benefits of that work straight away - it in constant use.

The Golf has now covered 60k miles and as with most cars it is the point when a full suspension overhaul is required if spirited driving is to be enjoyed as much as it should be. The Gold recently passed its MOT without any advisories but there is a potential gulf between suspension suitable that passes an MOT and suspension which is still near optimal; the Mk4 has a benign setup as we know but I was finding an increased lack of precision at the rear end - likely beam bushes - and wear at the front end - likely lower arms.

I've been accruing a selection of parts to improve on whatever I take off. This involved eBay and a trip down to Norfolk to VAG breakers 'VAG Shack' - their prices are good and the service is excellent. I really recommend them.

TT lower arms - shot blasted and coated, billet inserts so I can run the early TT front bush, LEMFÖRDER bushes and ball joints. Old bushes left in for coating purposes. As per the M3 project I found that LEMFÖRDER are the OEM supplier to VW and most of their parts have the OEM markings and numbers on them, and some come with the VW logo ground off. They cost a fraction of the VW supplied identical equivalent.


TT hubs and spindles - shot blasted and coated, new OEM nuts, bolts, and disc splash shields to suit 312mm brakes, which I'll cover in a later update.


TT front and rear ARBs, LEMFÖRDER drop links and bushes. I got really lucky with these ARBs which were from a scrap TT but were both recently brand new OEM parts and the early pre-understeer type.


TT quick rack, LEMFÖRDER tie rods and ends, Cupra R ESP module coded ready for the quick rack, TT master cylinder and servo with two pressure sensors to suit the upgraded ESP program, and new OEM fluid and fluid port crush washers. I also went for Powerflex Black Series Polyurethane rack mount as I prefer solidly mounted steering racks.


The Cupra R and TT both run the same quick rack and upgraded ESP program, however for some reason the TT module - although still an MK60 - is wired very differently to the Cupra R, hence it makes more sense to get the latter. There are still wiring differences as I have found out, but nothing ridiculous. Here's my working out sheet in case it is of use to anyone else:


Bilstein B4. More sport biased than OEM but still comfortable.


TT facelift (>2001) springs which are 10mm lower than the launch versions. I decided that if I'm going to this trouble I may as well increase the spring rates slightly.


LEMFÖRDER front & rear top mounts, and front bearings.


New rear splash shields to suit the vented disc setup as I just trimmed my standard versions, and all new OEM fastenings for the front/rear suspension upgrades.


TT Roadster/3.2 front subframe which features the two additional reinforcement legs to tie it into the chassis - shot blasted and coated, lower strut brace from a BAM engined TT - shot blasted and coated, new OEM fastenings, and new OEM TT Roadster/3.2 subframe bushings, which are stiffer than the rest.


LEMFÖRDER Fabia VRS rear beam bushes. These have a built in limiter.


BAM S3 upper strut brace.


I haven't eradicated all the trim noises so I'll try to do a better job this time!


Electric window switches with chrome accents to match the Mk4/6 headlamp switch included with the auto headlight conversion kit.


My drivers side Recaro was looking tatty on the bolster so I was over the moon when I found a heated, cream, Recaro in amazing condition. It is incredibly hard to find leather Golf seats in acceptable condition let alone the driver’s side seat in cream leather! It's a bit grubby at the moment but there is a fantastic seat underneath that'll clean up like new.

[Usget]

Best have the chiropractor on speed dial with those TT springs, if mine is anything to go by! Although the 18s on mine won't help.

[mwstewart]

Usget said:

Best have the chiropractor on speed dial with those TT springs, if mine is anything to go by! Although the 18s on mine won't help.

The 18" wheel models all have the G87 option code from the factory; struts, springs, wheel bearings/hubs, track rod ends, and tie rods are all beefed up over the standard facelift variants. I'm not a fan either - the unsprung weight from the wheels and beefed up components is considerable, so are the spring rates as you've found out. I had a BAM S3 on GmbH suspension - which was even lower than standard BAM engined cars - which was also on 18" OEM RS4s, and felt much like your TT sounds.

I'm keeping 16" wheels and I've gone with 'non sport' components from the facelift, which are lighter, and the spring rates are softer, just a bit lower than early models..

[Whatty]

Bookmarked.

Mark, message sent.

Cheers
Whatty.

[Usget]

mwstewart said:

I'm keeping 16" wheels and I've gone with 'non sport' components from the facelift, which are lighter, and the spring rates are softer, just a bit lower than early models..

Sounds like the best approach! I was thrown by your reference to 2001--> TTs, as I thought that all post 2001 cars had the "Sport" pack (which, I've found, does nothing to aid sporty driving - as you say, the wheels weigh a ton and the stiff springs make it jittery and unpleasant on B-roads). I assume your Golf will end up as the best of both worlds really.

[mwstewart]

Whatty said:

Bookmarked.

Mark, message sent.

Cheers
Whatty.

Cheers Rob.

Usget said:

Sounds like the best approach! I was thrown by your reference to 2001--> TTs, as I thought that all post 2001 cars had the "Sport" pack (which, I've found, does nothing to aid sporty driving - as you say, the wheels weigh a ton and the stiff springs make it jittery and unpleasant on B-roads). I assume your Golf will end up as the best of both worlds really.

You've made me double check things and you are absolutely correct: all the post 2001 TT's had the lower suspension and the G87 option code. I need to find a set of front springs without a red dot in the colour code, or six coils instead of the five I have.

The rear springs I have are non-G87 type but fronts aren't

[golf4v6]

only mk4 r32, tt mk1 r32 and cupra R have the quick rack.
normal tt rack and s3 rack are just with restricted stroke for bigger and wider wheels
if you dont believe me ask him http://www.drive2.ru/l/3349632/

[mwstewart]

golf4v6 said:

only mk4 r32, tt mk1 r32 and cupra R have the quick rack.
normal tt rack and s3 rack are just with restricted stroke for bigger and wider wheels
if you dont believe me ask him http://www.drive2.ru/l/3349632/

Thanks, mine is from a V6 TT: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161473980336?_trksid=p20...

[golf4v6]

perfect! you are on the right way then