2021 Golf GTI - Atlantic Blue

[Tallpaul]

I’ve found my previous Golfs have always got absolutely filthy at the back (mk5, 7 & 7.5). I think the mud flaps are helping a bit here though.

[Exonian]

I can’t believe I’ve only just spotted this thread.

Two lovely Golfs indeed but how do you feel driving a Golf after owning a beautiful BMW like that? What a beast, and what a shine on all three cars - great work! 
Owning an M3 is waaaayyyy above my pay grade but I do admire them.


I also find my mk8 shocking for attracting crud all over the rear end, I don’t think it’s quite as bad for it as a mk2 was though! I might be wrong, it was rather a long time ago.

[SRGTD]

@Exonian; agree - the two Golf’s and the BMW look great.

A dirty rear end is one of the downsides of the ‘two-box’ car design (e.g. hatchbacks, estates, SUV’s etc.). My understanding is that when the car is moving forward, a low pressure air zone is created behind the car, and when the roads are wet / dirty, that low pressure zone sucks road spray and dirt onto the rear facing surfaces. With VW’s rear bumper design on many of their cars - the Golf included - that flat horizontal area of the bumper immediately below the bottom of the tailgate is a real dirt magnet too!

@Tallpaul - IMHO and from personal experience I don’t think rear mud flaps do that much - if anything - to stop the amount of crud being attracted onto the rear end. I’ve owned cars with and without mud flaps and there’s been virtually no difference in the level of dirtiness of the rear facing surfaces whether mud flaps are fitted or not. I think the main benefit of rear mud flaps on a hatchback shaped car like the Golf will be;
a) to help protect the area of the bumper immediately behind the rear wheels from stone chips or similar damage
b) to reduce the amount of caked-on mud accumulation immediately behind the rear wheels if travelling on muddy roads.

The Soft99 Fusso Coat Dark will help repel the dirt. I used both the Dark and Light versions and I rate them highly for durability and gloss. They’re good value for money too.

[Tallpaul]

I can’t believe I’ve only just spotted this thread.

Two lovely Golfs indeed but how do you feel driving a Golf after owning a beautiful BMW like that? What a beast, and what a shine on all three cars - great work! 
Owning an M3 is waaaayyyy above my pay grade but I do admire them.

Sorry, totally missed this reply. It was great to own the M3 for a year and experience it but I was happy to come back to a hot hatch. In all honesty, the M3 was too much car for me; on a fairly smooth, dry road it was stunning. If you dialed everything up, the shove from the torque and brutal gear changes were just awesome but if it was cool and/or damp it could get you in trouble very quickly.

[Tallpaul]

Car is coming up on 6000 miles and a year old so I've booked in for its first service in June.

It's picked up a few stone chips (worst on one of the alloys!) so I've touched those in and it's getting a full paint correction and ceramic coating in a couple of weeks.

I've been on version 1890 of the software from day 1 and by and large I've had very few issues. No errors at all. Occasionally driving on ACC it picks up a car on the inside lane - this tends to be after either I or the car in question have just changed lanes.

Recently CarPlay has messed me about a few times with the iPhone thinking it's connected and the car not. This seems new so may be related to an iOS update but who knows!

[Tallpaul]

A few things happened/happening with the Golf:

- full paint correction and ceramic coating applied. Still trying to capture a good shot to show the difference this has made to paintwork. The flake really pops now
- going in for its first service tomorrow at 6,300 miles. This is under the service pack and the engine cover will be removed under the recall
- Milltek OPF back exhaust being fitted on Friday. Got a killer deal with 15% off RRP and free fitting over the Jubilee weekend with a local VAG specialist. It’s a bit of a punt as there’s not much info online from Euro spec GTI owners about this system
- also this is going on after the exhaust:



I thought about the RacingLine intake but it’s a lot of money and seems to be nearly as quiet as the OEM intake. As the only reason for an intake is to release some induction noise, open cone seemed the way to go. Not sure if it’ll stay but cheap enough not to worry about and very quick to swap

[Tallpaul]

Had the Milltek OPF-back exhaust fitted today. It went on with minimal fuss, just a little tweak to the backbox mounts as the resonator is larger than OE and needed a bit of spacing to give good clearance of the heatshield. Here's a few pics:

OE exhaust removed:


Comparison of Milltek tip v's OE:


All buttoned up:


Had a 30 mile drive home from fitting. Here are a few thoughts:

- Cold start is louder than OE but not obnoxious. Quieter than my M3 was on its stock exhaust!
- Idle is pretty quiet, really not much louder at all
- In car it's definitely louder, accelerating in 2nd generates a fair amount more noise. It definitely changes the exhaust note, not just amplifies it. I like it but it's not sonorous - it's still a 4-pot!
- I've not noticed any intrusive drone at steady cruising but the drive was all NSL A and B roads.  I've got a longer motorway journey tomorrow so that will be a better test
- Exhausts tend to 'bed in' over time. Not sure if this is still true with the cleaner emissions due to the OPF but it'll be interesting to see if anything changes in the sound over the next 500-1000 miles
- Looks: I went for the polished tips to keep a more OE look. I hadn't fully appreciated how huge they are but they fill the opening in the diffusor nicely. I think they give the back end a bit more of a purposeful look so I'm pleased

[Tallpaul]

120 drone-free miles on the M11 yesterday in the rain meant bath time today

[Tallpaul]

Fitted the Ramair induction kit yesterday.

This kit doesn't seem too popular on the mk8, most people fitting an induction kit seem to be going for the Racingline setup which I don't really understand; firstly it's expensive but more importantly I don't really see the benefit. An induction kit will not provide any performance gains on a stock car. I've absolutely no idea when the OE induction becomes restrictive on the standard turbo but I suspect it probably won't! Therefore, the only reason (IMO) for fitting an induction kit is sound which the Racingline doesn't fully provide as it's still an airbox design. Anyway...

Here's the kit. Basically the same as the mk7 kit but with a slightly different vacuum hose (longer run on mk8):



Some assembly is required but needs only basic tools. Removing the OE airbox is literally a 60 second job. When you're done the engine bay will look like this:



I'm pretty pleased with the sound, induction noise is clearly audible in the cabin but not loud, you get a nice wooshy sound when the charge pressure is released. You can still bimble around town in near silence.

For £200 and the ability to swap it in 15 minutes I think this kit is great but only if you want sound. If you're looking for performance gains save your money for an intercooler!

[Tallpaul]

Car now sold. Exhaust and induction kit up for sale