New Member Saying Hi

[stubobby]

Hi all – just saying hello and asking a couple of questions about my new-ish golf…..

So….. wanted a GTI for ever and a day….. but could never afford one – house, kids, motorbike, e39 resto project etc etc etc never allowed it to happen…..

Previous car was a 1.6 TDi Ibiza…. Had over 100k miles and was great for all the house work etc etc – too small for the kids – but we have a touran so that’s fine – but earlier this year it gave up…. Coincidently I got a small promotion at work so after a lot of discussion with the wife… I was “allowed” to get a GTi….. didn’t want an S3 or 340i or fast ford etc etc – it was a GTi or nothing a  BMax (for the kids) 

So having found a ’19 plate with 17k miles from an independent they took my knackered seat and I drove away with my “new” car….. I am chuffed….

Even though the £££ is a factor I actually wanted a 7.5…. I think they are better looking than the 8, I wanted a manual, I wanted the “old fashioned” heater controls and I wanted to avoid the high tax as I think a mk8 might have been over the £40k mark and under 5 years….

So here we are – 6 months on – I LOVE IT….. the kids go in it and the wife gets to drive it occasionally(not PC I know – sorry) – but its mine and its great – its gets kept clean and tidy and I am really happy and lucky to have one….

So onto the questions….

I am a huge fan of winter wheels and tyres (based in scotland) have been using them for years and think they are worth their weight……

SO – question is so I move from my 18” austins to 19” brescia (which I like) and put 18” winter tyres on – or do I get 17” winter wheels and keep the austins…. Option 1 means the car will look nice in the summer but its an expensive path with genuine brescia being £££ and 18” winters will also be £££ OR do I just go with keeping the austins – its certainly the cheaper option – but I really like the 19s although I am worried about the ride given the state of our roads….

Next thing – engine mapping – My local is ECOTUNE who seem to have a good rep – but that standard map puts the bhp up quite a bit – its all well and good them saying its been well tested  - but the increased stress to the engine must be significant and all the power through FWD only – any thoughts…. Much discussion here I imagine…

Finally is anyonw a fan of subtle exterior upgrade – I would l like to make the car a bit “darker” and meaner looking without going full chav if I can help its – any suggestions welcome…

Anywho – happy to have chat about this and anything else related to GTi stuff –

cheers

[Watts]

Hi and welcome to the forum! Nice choice of car and good mileage. Pictures always go down well...

You'd be better posting your questions in the MK7 section as there is more footfall there.

Briefly though, clutches can be an issue on remapped cars so budget for that. Otherwise the standard car can take some decent power hikes. Tyres will have an impact on traction though, if it has standard Bridgestones you may struggle so again, budget for that.

Colour might be a factor in exterior mods, again a picture or more details would be useful (ie no point suggesting a black roof wrap for a black car!).

 

[stubobby]

[Exonian]

Welcome stubobby 

Funnily enough (or not) I was thinking exactly the same as Watts when reading through your post.

A couple additional thoughts: don’t worry about 19’s making the ride too harsh, the suspension isn’t so hard that the wheels make a massive difference to ride quality. Been there and done it a few times.
If you’re remapping then I’d recommend something like a set of wheels with Michelin CrossClimates and a summer set with Pilot Sports or Goodyear Assy to maximise warm weather traction. On a manual car you’ll certainly notice the extra mid-range oooomphh once remapped and traction will be an issue at times. Been there, done that, repeated it…
Maybe ask for a low torque remap first of all to see how your clutch behaves. If it slips then get a better one and then get the boost wound up - it’s addictive!

Black mirror caps and roof wrap will look great on a red car, it’ll add purpose whilst still looking classless. I’m not a huge fan of black badges but if done right they can look ok.
Wheel spacers will add a degree of “how it should have come from the factory” look and square the proportions up a bit.

[Watts]

TR, perfect choice! Agree with Exonian about black mirror caps, or carbon fibre ones. Relatively easy to change although the cf ones are a bit more rigid and fight back but well worth doing. These were off ebay for around £100:



Perhaps a small additional spoiler would help too, plenty available and just stick on.

I have 19s now and on my last car, this one has DCC the previous didn't. Both feel good to me but it might depend more on your local roads. The 18s you have look good and are practically speaking the better option but the 19s do look better imo.

[Adam T7]

Looks great👍

[stubobby]

Thanks to all for answers, appreciate the input and info….

Cost might lead me down keeping the “Austin “ wheels and trying to get 17s for the winters. I prefer a higher profile narrower wheel for winters and whilst the all seasons really are great tyres I have had really good performance out of mid/budget winter tyres and given I fit in late October and take them off in march/April I’ve never had any wear issues, in fact I got 4 seasons out of a set of Fulda on a VW TOURAN

in terms of summer choice that is interesting as I don’t really like the Bridgestone potenzas that are on it they have shown premature cracking and I don’t think they’ll are all that grippy tbh

Any other thoughts welcome

[Exonian]

Bridgestone Potenzas are universally hated by hot hatch drivers and yet seem to be OE fit for lots of marques.
A nice set of Michelins would be my recommendation. PilotSport 5’s have a lovely sidewall that you could sit and stroke…
I’d have recommended Goodyear Assy’s too but a colleague of mine has recently junked a second set of those in under 12 months due to premature cracking in the tread, one tyre even leading to an MOT fail despite still having loads of tread. The tyre had split down to the canvas in one small place and it’s not like the car is driven hard, it merely commutes at 70mph on a dual carriageway. Goodyear were unhelpful and refused a warranty claim saying the tyre had been under inflated. But he’s not the sort of guy to ever let his tyres be under inflated, he’s very anal about details like that.

17’s (with winter tyres) will be a tight fit over those brakes. You’ll have to watch width and offset carefully. 

[stubobby]

Dear all

thanks again for posts and answers - the chat has now sorta moved, more appropriately to

https://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=289638.0

thanks