matsu... take it from me, modding is a slippery slope as Robin frequently says. I had never spent anything on modding cars - and I've been through about 25 Golfs - until I bought my Ed30. I had intended on getting a nice and sensible Stage 1 Revo for my 06 plate GTI since GTI International 2006, but never got round to it until November 2008 when JKM put Stage 1 Revo on my Ed30 and dyno'd it showing 278.4 bhp... I also had the Forge DV installed at the same time. I had stalled since 2006 as I was suspicious that the remap wouldn't really be all that and it would be a wate of money... after all, its just a software change and so I couldn't see why it cost so much - still think Stage 1 is too bl00dy expensive - but I thought its a one-off and 'only £499', wilfully choosing to ignore the fitting of the DV valve, VAT, the dyno etc.... The bill came to almost £800
I swallowed hard, paid up with a smile and went on my way. I pulled the car out onto the main road... didn't seem
that much different - maybe a bit more eager but thats all... I decided to hold judgement until the engine was warmed up and I was on the motorway slip road... On the slip road I gave it some... OMG!!!! I was blown away... The car was now RAPID. There was NO WAY I was going back to standard.
I didn't realise it then, but it was only the beginning of my modding adventure.
I phoned JKM the next day and booked in some more mods including Stage 2. Over the next few days, I trawled this and other forums and kept adding 'little essentials' onto the list for the modding work to be carried out at JKM the next week
Anyway, my train of thought went something like this... I need the Hi-Flow Sports Cat to make the most of that Milltek Cat Back, and then you might as well take a look at the whole of the engine 'breathing' system to make sure there are no bottlenecks - otherwise, it would ruin the Miltek gains - so things like either Carbonio would have to be on the shopping list... or you could do it properly and get a real cold air intake like the EVOMS one... and after all that, you would have to get a remap to take full advantage of the bolt-on mods... Stage 2 is only £50 more so you might as well go the whole hog... and then you might need an aftermarket fuel pump then - what the hell... just chuck it in, you've come so far already. Then you'ill stand back and think.. hang on, what about the handling?! Of course, you'ill have to go out and get Koni FSD/Eiback Springs - or expensive coilies - and the white line anti lift kit - a snitch at around an affordable £130 and maybe some anti-roll bars to round it all off. Then you'ill look at your bank balance - hovering somewhere around 0 or some unmentionable negative number and truely understand the words of the wise elder Red Robin, who warned you that this is a slippery slope.
The bill totted up to circa £7000 with extra BBS wheels, mods etc...
I then also had some custom painted BBS CHs put on and the car looked something like this...
It was truely a beast now running at a dyno'd 321bhp and since then, I have had a carbon fibre front grill, bonnet and badges put on as well as a VWR Quaife, VWR Race Spec Solid Aluminium engine mounts - Stage 2+ which I'm having issues with that at the moment though, but they'ill be resolved and 350/60bhp will be on tap
My Ed30 a month ago - bad pic quality as it was taken at night...
