Golf TCR

[jf111]

I picked up my GTI TCR last weekend. Not the spec I would have ordered myself but it's still a great car. I got such a good price on this car it was worth sacrificing some options like the wheels, as I can change those. Belvedere wheels look a lot better IRL so I'm still on the fence about it.

It's a 20 plate Pure Grey TCR with the honeycomb stickers, DCC, Dynaudio and 90% tints. My car doesn't have the 19" Reifnitz or Pretoria wheels or the "performance pack". It does have the Akrapovic exhaust as it's an MY20 car (which sounds awesome if you're outside of the car, rather muted inside). With regards to the performance pack, I'm really not arsed about the minor increase in top speed. Apparently the car would sit lower with the performance pack but I can't see much difference in ride height between mine and any I can find online?

Quick question- If I put 19s on, would I need to lower it to keep a similar look/stance? As it has DCC, I'm not sure how lowering springs work...

Anyway, I took a couple of pics on collection day:




I decided quite quickly that the stickers needed to go. Look at them, they're just silly



I thought I'd see what they're like in real life but I still don't like them. Everyone else said the same, except young children who seem to like the stickers.

It was easy enough to remove them - £11 heat gun from screwfix + tar and glue remover + helpful friend to make the process much quicker. They just peel right off, it took about 20 mins including the glue removal bit. No marring or scratches left in the paint from this process.





Stickers all gone:



Car washed:




Akrapovic



Slightly concerned at how easily the wheels are getting scratched on the black surface. Not sure if this is corrosion or some polish/other compound stuck in the edge of the lip. Didn't have time to look properly today. I may change the wheels .. not sure yet



Overall I am enjoying the car so far! Glad to be back in a VW. It's still only got a few hundred miles on the clock and I am following the owner's manual advice on running in. Still, it feels pretty quick so far and is a really nice place to sit. Can't wait till I can explore the performance a bit more and have bedded in the brakes, suspension, exhaust, etc, a bit more

[Toeman]

Health to drive  have the gti performance myself. But your tcr looks magic

[Guzzle]

Looking good 

That looks low enough already to me. You shouldn't need to lower it for 19's, they will look fuller in the arches. Just buy the right tyre profile and all should be well.

[clubsport]

Looks great, even though I would have kept the stickers!

The damage to the wheel, if it is not the result of kerbing that should be an easy warranty claim for a replacement, especially as the mileage is so low.

[Exonian]

Lovely looking TCR jf, well at least now it’s got the decals off it is!!

It looks good on the 18’s and I’m sure the optional packs only lower it around 5mm further *but* as yours is specced with DCC it might even get the same springs as the optional pack gets, it’s not unfathomable that that’s the possibility. It’ll not be much ride height difference even if it doesn’t.

Swapping the wheels to 19’s will fill the arches better if you go for the right offset and width as above.
235/35/19 tyres will have a very similar rolling circumference to your 18” wheels and those are the tyres that the optional packs come with.

Hopefully it’s just polish residue on your wheel spoke there but it could be tarnished and would therefore be a warranty claim, if the latter it needs reporting to your dealer ASAP.


Have fun running it in! They’re great cars to pootle around in so running in won’t be much of a chore listening to that Akra soundtrack. 

[jf111]

Thanks for the kind comments. I love it so far! It gets a lot of attention on the road and have had a few people ask questions about it in car parks etc. Unusual for a Golf but it's quite a striking car.

I need to have a proper look at the wheels and pop into the dealer if it's corrosion. Worrying if that's happened this early on 

I think I'm going to get Reifnitz reps or maybe something more aftermarket. I might even stay with 18" wheels. Does anyone know which offset I would need, or if not how do I find out?

[Exonian]

Offset can vary quite a bit, plus it depends on how wide the wheels are.
A few here run 8.5J wheels with a 45mm ET which is pushing it to the limit at the front I’d think!
On an 8J wheel I’ve run ET41 which was marginal on the front but reckon you could get away with 8J ET35 on the rear.
At one time I was mulling over importing a set of Borbet FF1 wheels in 8x18 with 45mm front and 35mm rear on a previous mk7 Golf I had.
CM Wheels do 18” Reifnitz reps which means you could reuse your original tyres (your original Bridgestones will do about a zillion miles before they wear out).

[SRGTD]

@jf111; car looks great . The VW dealer I take my car to for servicing and MOT had a grey one (no side decals!) in their showroom when I was there last month and it certainly was a head turner compared to all the the other cars in the showroom.

I’d certainly get that wheel looked at by the dealer. Because of the manufacturing process for diamond cut alloys (whole wheel powder coated / painted black, then the bare metal exposed by re-cutting the face on a diamond cutting lathe before applying the protective lacquer) you’d expect there to be a ‘sharp’ edge between the black and diamond cut sections. Does the edge of the spoke feel rough to the touch? If so, there could have been an issue with the forging process which means that might be a slight imperfection on the finish of the alloy before it was powder coated / painted and then diamond cut. Provided the lacquer surface isn’t broken, it should be OK, but in your position, I’d still report it to the dealer and get it noted on luthier system against the car, in case it does develop into early white worm corrosion.

I’ve found the gloss black sections of VW’s diamond cut alloys are very prone to swirling, but you can minimise the risk of this happening by using a safe wash method - pre-wash, two bucket method (2BM) and a soft lambs wool or microfibre mitt for washing, and a good quality car drying towel (or warm air dryer) for drying. If you’re OCD about your wheels (as I am ) it might be worth investing in a set of Wheel Woolies that’ll enable you to get to those hard to reach parts of your wheels to clean them; much better and safer when used in conjunction with a 2BM wash method in terms of scratch / swirl prevention than a ‘soft’ nylon bristled wheel brush.

If you keep your wheels well protected with a good quality wax or sealant or a coating such as Gtechniq C5, dirt or brake dust will be very easy to remove and rescues of even removes the need to use a specific wheel cleaner.

Enjoy your car; I’m sure you will .

[CP15FUN]

Mine came with the decals but had them straight off! How VW can justify £550 for them, God knows.

[Jason b]

Very nice Sir .beautiful