Rich's Mk4 1.8 - learning as i go - Whiteline ARB is on

[Rich2086]

Hello all, long time lurker of these forums but not a prolific poster but thought it was time i started this thread about my little Golf 

This is my first Mk4 my car history reads Rover 214  - Land Rover defender 300tdi  - Mk2 golf gti  - Land Rover defender Td5  - and now my 1999 mk4 golf.

My defender was starting to cost me a small fortune i probably could have bought a decent mk4 just in what it cost me to get it through its MOT so decided to sell up. knew i wanted a mk4 1.8t but didnt know much about them and what to look for.

Ended up finding this one on ebay



Body work was spot on paint was good wheels were good only 2 owners 12 months MOT 6 months tax and only 59k on the clock. He wanted £1800 i snapped his hand off.

On closer inspection once home i found a pipercross panel filter and a forge 007p

It also looks as though its had its suspension changed in some capacity its got blue springs and the front is pretty low but the back is still fairly high. I really need to look into this because id like to know what its on.

[Rich2086]

Mods iv made so far

Ebay 3 inch exhaust - got this fitted by a VAG specialist as i think its a ramp job and im a complete novice and its been great the only problem i have is that it makes a noise under the centre console when you turn at very low speed. So took it back for him to take a look at and he said something about something moving from its mounting position and rubbing on the heat shild ( really should have listened harder) anyway he seemed to sort it but then started again 100 miles later 

Neuspeed p-flo cone filter - bit of a waste i cant hear or feel any difference from the pipercross panel filter.

New gear knob - What a bugger of a job getting that clip off 

[Rich2086]

Got a bit arty with my new camera 



Took a trip upto R-Tech a couple of months back. I always thought the golf pulled well so after seeing there reviews on here i thought wow an extra 25% out of this and it will fly.

So Got up there after a 2 hour drive and i cant say enough good things about these guys instantly they thought they recognized the car but couldnt work out where from  was a bit worried by this at first.

Anyway turns out it had already been mapped by the previous owner and when he had it part ex'd with the dealer on ebay he hadnt told him and wasnt with the paperwork.

The did some tests and put it on the rolling road and it reached just shy of 180bhp so was pretty pleased with that.

They told me the way to go next was Ko3s and FMIC which iv been looking into but havnt done yet as i want to shore up the handling as it isnt exactly planted.

[Rich2086]

Right thats pretty much the last few months in a nutshell i havnt had the car very long probably only 6 months.



This is the latest edition iv got high hopes for it



Whiteline rear adjustable ARB me and my girlfriends dad are gonna try and tackle this one hopefully shouldnt be to hard 

Im also working on wrapping the wood trim in brushed aluminum for that R32 look.

 

[Rich2086]

Wrapped my dash today, just finished it now (11pm  ) and im well pleased its worked out quite nicely. Its not 100% but not bad for a first effort.


not the best photo ever

[Rich2086]

Went to do my rear arb today but could not remove one of the shock absorber bolts  got it so far but then wouldnt have the rest so ill probably just cut it off when i get chance in the week. Bit gutted as i was looking forward to testing the results

[Rich2086]

After a lot of jiggling around and the cutting of a bolt my rear anti roll bar is on. Had to cut one of the shock bolts off as it was just on solid so my dremel came in handy for that. All in all im quite pleased found one of the D-Bolts very hard to get on but its on. Did this job on the floor would have been made easier if id have used my ramps really but hey ho.

[Rich2086]

Finally got round to having a look at my throttle body in the hope of curing my erratic idle. Havnt tested it yet that will wait until tomorrow but turned out (i hope) to be an easy job hopefully it worked. Either way it was pretty bad was surprised it was this bad as the previous owner had it mapped and would have thought it would have been done then?

Anyway tomorrow morning its gonna get a wash and im gonna get it up on the little ramps to see if i can cure the exhaust rattle as its driving me mad.

Food for thought at the moment is black R32 wheels 

[Felton]

Bloody hell mate you have been a busy bee it gets very addictive doesn't it I've just spent around £2000 on mine and still haven't had it mapped lol

[Rich2086]

Bloody hell mate you have been a busy bee it gets very addictive doesn't it I've just spent around £2000 on mine and still haven't had it mapped lol

I know, another thing in the back of my mind at as well is K03s and FMIC