Stage 2+ Shopping Trolley - GTI Edition 30 Content
Discussion
Thought I’d update this as a it’s been a while.
Car went and had its inspection/service. All seemed pretty good. Confirmed as being APR Stage 2+. Cam follower was replaced and oil/filter change done.
However, coming back from the service the car had a bumper:deer interface. Left it looking rather sorry for itself.
On the plus side it turns out that it does have a rather nice Airtec intercooler which was an unexpected bonus!
Car ended up needing a whole new bumper, grill, passenger wing, xenon light and all the little bits like headlight washer jets etc as I’m super fussy - basically if any clip was broken etc it got replaced. I’m sure it could have been done cheaper with half the parts or by using pattern bits but I wanted to make sure it was sorted properly.
I then broke out the polisher with some Scholl S20 black compound. I think It comes up well for an old car.
After all that it was time for a tasty treat!
Not much to report for a while after that aside from another service, replacing the PCV valve and a rear wheel bearing (easy job if you have a scaffold pole handy to give you the leverage needed on the hub bolt!).
It also got two new Michelin PS4 tyres to replace the worn fronts. I also took this opportunity to remove the wheel spacers. Whilst it did look a bit better with them on - the combination of the slight lowering and large spacer meant that the wheel would rub occasionally on a spirited B road drive. I hate wheel rub so decided they had to go. As a bonus it felt immediately nicer to drive (more likely to be the new tyres though!).
As Covid restrictions started to ease I began to think more about some track days etc. As I’ve mentioned before the brakes have always been a weak point so I decided to do something about it.
Managed to source some R32/S3 callipers and carriers so I sent them off to Bigg Red Brakes for a refurb - they did a cracking job
TTS 340mm Brembo discs, Ferrodo DS2500 pads and HEL lines completed the job
Clearance much
I also got a set of matching rear S3 brakes. They take it from 286mm solid rear discs to a 310mm vented. Again brembo discs, DS2500 pads and HEL lines finished them off.
Not everything was straight forward with the swap. New rear caliper hardlines were needed along with a near side front chassis hardline. Fortunately nothing too difficult and everything was bled through with ATE type 200 fluid.
Brakes now are excellent - pedal feel is brilliant and they are super powerful. I’ve experienced no fade or pedal lengthening yet either. For the price it seems to be an excellent upgrade.
Whilst sorting the near side chassis hardline I noticed the brake booster hose was split along with the VWR filter looking a little worse for wear. Replacements for these were also fitted.
With that now sorted I’m off to a Drive Limits day with a couple of friends on Monday. Gave the car an obligatory clean for the inevitable photos and videos we take on the day.
I’m sure when I remember I will add some here!
Car went and had its inspection/service. All seemed pretty good. Confirmed as being APR Stage 2+. Cam follower was replaced and oil/filter change done.
However, coming back from the service the car had a bumper:deer interface. Left it looking rather sorry for itself.
On the plus side it turns out that it does have a rather nice Airtec intercooler which was an unexpected bonus!
Car ended up needing a whole new bumper, grill, passenger wing, xenon light and all the little bits like headlight washer jets etc as I’m super fussy - basically if any clip was broken etc it got replaced. I’m sure it could have been done cheaper with half the parts or by using pattern bits but I wanted to make sure it was sorted properly.
I then broke out the polisher with some Scholl S20 black compound. I think It comes up well for an old car.
After all that it was time for a tasty treat!
Not much to report for a while after that aside from another service, replacing the PCV valve and a rear wheel bearing (easy job if you have a scaffold pole handy to give you the leverage needed on the hub bolt!).
It also got two new Michelin PS4 tyres to replace the worn fronts. I also took this opportunity to remove the wheel spacers. Whilst it did look a bit better with them on - the combination of the slight lowering and large spacer meant that the wheel would rub occasionally on a spirited B road drive. I hate wheel rub so decided they had to go. As a bonus it felt immediately nicer to drive (more likely to be the new tyres though!).
As Covid restrictions started to ease I began to think more about some track days etc. As I’ve mentioned before the brakes have always been a weak point so I decided to do something about it.
Managed to source some R32/S3 callipers and carriers so I sent them off to Bigg Red Brakes for a refurb - they did a cracking job
TTS 340mm Brembo discs, Ferrodo DS2500 pads and HEL lines completed the job
Clearance much
I also got a set of matching rear S3 brakes. They take it from 286mm solid rear discs to a 310mm vented. Again brembo discs, DS2500 pads and HEL lines finished them off.
Not everything was straight forward with the swap. New rear caliper hardlines were needed along with a near side front chassis hardline. Fortunately nothing too difficult and everything was bled through with ATE type 200 fluid.
Brakes now are excellent - pedal feel is brilliant and they are super powerful. I’ve experienced no fade or pedal lengthening yet either. For the price it seems to be an excellent upgrade.
Whilst sorting the near side chassis hardline I noticed the brake booster hose was split along with the VWR filter looking a little worse for wear. Replacements for these were also fitted.
With that now sorted I’m off to a Drive Limits day with a couple of friends on Monday. Gave the car an obligatory clean for the inevitable photos and videos we take on the day.
I’m sure when I remember I will add some here!
Brakes were more than up to the job in the drive limits day. For anyone who’s ever thought about it - go do it. It’s a great day and I learnt a lot.
Interestingly the chassis loved to oversteer on a neutral throttle. I expect it may have something to do with the Rear anti toll bar that has been fitted. Made it exceptionally flogs fun though…. Even if the tyres weren’t too impressed!
Interestingly the chassis loved to oversteer on a neutral throttle. I expect it may have something to do with the Rear anti toll bar that has been fitted. Made it exceptionally flogs fun though…. Even if the tyres weren’t too impressed!
Haven’t updated this in a while
Golf is still going strong - did a day at Bedford which was great fun. I swapped the wheels round so the older Goodyear eagle tyres were on the front with the newer PS4’s on the rear. Whilst it helped kill the Goodyears - they were definitely passed their best! I now have some PS4’s alround and will ideally pick up a set of Team Dynamics 1.2 or similar with some more track biased rubber for next time.
Prior to the trackday I had an additional resonator fitted to the exhaust just to bring it a bit closer to standard noise levels - I much prefer how it sounds now!
Passed its MOT the other week with no advisories, It has however only covered about 2500 miles since its last MOT - now we have the Tesla it’s not being used as a daily, so it gets taken out occasionally at the weekend for some fun. It’s a relatively low mileage example anyway only sitting on 74k now so it’s more of a toy now.
Quick comparison to the Tesla (Model Y Dual Motor). Tesla is far quicker 0-60. When rolling the golf walks away from it though. Steering feel and just general “fun” factor the golf is far more enjoyable. The Tesla handles great for such a big heavy car and generates a ridiculous amount of lateral grip, but it’s just numb compared to the golf. I also would really miss a manual. Makes a fairly nice pairing though as the Tesla is far more suited to commutes and day to day!
I have a couple of bits I’d like to do to it as well as the wheels;
One of the new RNS car play stereos
Drivers front wing has a very tiny patch of rust starting so need to get that replaced
Wavetrac front diff - this will likely wait till the clutch needs doing though.
Couple of shots of it from Bedford;
Golf is still going strong - did a day at Bedford which was great fun. I swapped the wheels round so the older Goodyear eagle tyres were on the front with the newer PS4’s on the rear. Whilst it helped kill the Goodyears - they were definitely passed their best! I now have some PS4’s alround and will ideally pick up a set of Team Dynamics 1.2 or similar with some more track biased rubber for next time.
Prior to the trackday I had an additional resonator fitted to the exhaust just to bring it a bit closer to standard noise levels - I much prefer how it sounds now!
Passed its MOT the other week with no advisories, It has however only covered about 2500 miles since its last MOT - now we have the Tesla it’s not being used as a daily, so it gets taken out occasionally at the weekend for some fun. It’s a relatively low mileage example anyway only sitting on 74k now so it’s more of a toy now.
Quick comparison to the Tesla (Model Y Dual Motor). Tesla is far quicker 0-60. When rolling the golf walks away from it though. Steering feel and just general “fun” factor the golf is far more enjoyable. The Tesla handles great for such a big heavy car and generates a ridiculous amount of lateral grip, but it’s just numb compared to the golf. I also would really miss a manual. Makes a fairly nice pairing though as the Tesla is far more suited to commutes and day to day!
I have a couple of bits I’d like to do to it as well as the wheels;
One of the new RNS car play stereos
Drivers front wing has a very tiny patch of rust starting so need to get that replaced
Wavetrac front diff - this will likely wait till the clutch needs doing though.
Couple of shots of it from Bedford;
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