Thanks that was my first attempt at sanding any metal work, I've got a polished up inlet mani and Im working on an AGN valve cover at the moment, it's alot of elbow grease but maintenance isn't as bad as many think. Picture of new inlet mani to be put on after the engine rebuild:
I've recently spent a bit more time on my engine bay because as a sleeper it's not eye catching and when parking up on a cruise people don't look twice at my car, they all look at my mates scoobys and evos, so this is bit of an outburst without ruining the sleeper look.
Back on topic though, power to weight is very important but I think given the average age of the mk4 golf owner, alot of members would not be able to live with a stripped out shell with engine on wheels as a daily car and I admit I myself find it a headache to drive in the wet (no ABS or traction control), in the snow, in traffic and when I'm not feeling in the mood. There can be little compromise when it comes to weight savings, it's a case of all or nothing, so to the OP it might be easier to just go for more power. I would steer clear of CR Turbo hybrids, I've a few 1.8t mates who have had nothing but bad luck with them, better off going big turbo or jbs hybrid, just avoid any boost spikes or massive torque and you
should be fine on the standard block making a healthy and strong 270+ or even go for a k04-02x like the one in the picture above
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