@ Oops my bad - No worries on tin potting the VXR, I can't stand the bloody garish things! Also where can I fetch some decent OEM bolt covers dude?
@ Weeeebz - Cheers buddy. I've always really liked the colour on the mk5, going back to 05/06. I honestly feel as though VW were short changing, mk5 Gti customer's, by not colour coding the rear bumper, side skirts and front skirt.
@ R32UK - It's all about the 'stealth' dude. I love having a relatively standard looking Gti, knowing that there's an extra hidden gem under the bonnet. Never had a whistle of trouble from the 'old bill' and so far all trouble free miles. By the way your Gti looks fab too dude. I love those kind of alloys and if I couldn't have found a grey Gti, my next choice was black. It looks so sweet polished up!
Anyway, thought I'd bring your attention to the latest addition made to the Gti. Four brand spanking new, Avon ZZ3's. These tyres put simply, are the business! ZZ3's are British made road/race tyres, specifically designed for hatchbacks weighing between 1000-1400 kilos and specifically designed to suit our milder and colder climate. They offer maximum feedback in the wet or dry. And they never stop giving. Twice already I've been hanging it round corners and thought to myself, "oh sh!t, this is it" and with even more turn in, I've hit the apex, the car begins to realign, I give a stiff prod of the accelerator and in an instant, I've forgotten the last corner and am fast approaching the next. And at less than £110 per tyre, including fitting, I ain't complaining! Having covered 3,500 miles already, I can accurately, guesstimate that if swapped front to back at 50% wear, then I should see 13 to 15,000 miles from a set. Not bad considering they get totally abused and mostly on winding, country roads. I suspect that if treated with the respect they deserve, they would probably yield 25,000 miles plus.
I recently drove a mk6 Gti, belonging to a friend. The car has been remapped and has a full stainless exhaust system. It puts out a respectable 250bhp. And even with a brand new set of P-Zero Rosso's, at a whopping £135 per tyre. They were nowhere near as grippy or as planted as my ZZ3's. I was fortunate enough to drive the car in both wet and dry conditions, such is the weather by the coast
and although they were good tyres and were relatively compromising in the dry, when the rain fell, they went to pieces and the car was, at times, undriveable under acceleration. Not something I was used to with the Avon's! Oh, and my friend, Pete, the owner, has only clocked 5,000 miles on the tyres so far and yet they've only got 2mm left on the front
I'm glad he'll be picking up the £540 bill every 7,000 miles and not me!
One other thing I'd like to touch on is the matter of burning oil. Having just recently had a full service, some 1,500 miles ago and having just had 4.5 litres of Mobil One's finest dumped into my b!tch. I can testify, that whether it's cheap Unipart oil or £20 a litre race oil. My car will still burn a litre every 3,000 miles regardless of quality. Have any Gti owners has similar traits with their cars? Is this completely standard for the GTI?
I must say that when I had my service, I had the FORTE engine flush and oil treatment, run through the engine. And I cannot believe the difference. The car is now cleaner on idle, at low revs, under acceleration and has found an extra 2 or 3 mpg over the course of a tank. I've also noticed far less build up of carbon on the tailpipes of my exhaust...Bonus!
I also had my Yellowstuff pads, cleaned up at the service. They suffer badly from, heavy brake dust and sometimes a build up forms on the face of the pad, much like varnish or paint, builds up on sandpaper. The difference was more than noticeable and a more than worthwhile investment.
I replaced the battery in the car too and immediately found that 'starting' the car, was now a much crisper and more pleasant experience. And whether or not it's psychosomatic or not, I feel as as though the whole electronics package is working far more competently and with more gusto than before.
On a different tangent altogether. I finally managed to achieve a timed 0-60mph run. It was a cool, dry day and the time was exactly 5.66 seconds. Although that was with a passenger and I may have mentioned before that I weigh nearly 300lbs
It was done on the 'Slapton Sands' road in Devon. I can also confirm that the top speed of the motor is roughly 164mph. I ran out of bottle, truth be told, but I don't think she had much more to give. Although I'd like to boast she's good for a 170mph. I'm extremely pleased that for a few grand, we've managed to wipe 1.5 seconds off the 0.-60mph time and increase the top end by 20mph. And best of all, the car is still so drivable! If you want to pootle around, then fine, please carry on. It's also good for 33-35mpg when being driven like this!
There's only one car thus far that has embarrassed the Gti on the country roads and that car is the Caterham! It's in a league of it's own that car, I swear. The Gti is easily in the range of Bmw M3's, Impreza Turbos and entry level 911's and yet it looks so standard by comparison. For me that is the biggest appeal of this car, by a country mile!
Finally, as far as I'm concerned, my most important and most treasure modification, are the uprated brakes. They're a 'must have' for anyone who has increased power beyond standard. I feel extra safe, knowing that my brakes will take me from 60mph to 0mph, one whole second quicker than the standard Gti does the same feat, with some 70bhp less! Imagine standard brakes, on a Gti, that
has got an extra 70bhp or so. That time would be increased further still
Anyway's enough ramblings. Let us know what you think and your own opinions. I would be really happy to hear from y'all. Peace out.
