Hi Peskarik, great to have you back on here
I never really considered myself a "hardcore" tuner at all.
I love VW's in all their forms, be they air cooled classics or modern street cars, stock or modified. Basically I'm just a bit of a petrolhead.
I've never really thought about having a good go at modifying a car until this one. Sure I've had remaps, aftermarket wheels, the odd bodykit and exhaust, but never thought about creating a balanced FWD hatchback until I got my grubby mitts on the ED30
My dad (god rest him) loved his cars and always tinkered with them, he started me off young and I was taken to the Earl's Court British motorshow from being eight years old. He bequeathed me some money in his will and so this ended up being sidelined for the ED30. If you like, it meant I was doing it as a bit of a remembrance to him.
The ED30 itself will never be as adaptable as a rear wheel or 4WD sportscar and I know that, having done quite a few supercar trackdays and rallying days. What I set out to do was try and make my FWD hatchback as good and as balanced as I could make it in my eyes. This doesn't mean it will necessarily be everyone's cup of tea, but as long as I end up happy then I will have achieved my aim. I'm not just speaking about handling and power, I'm also talking about how the car looks and even sounds. I don't want to end up with a bewinged monster with 25 amps and 30 speakers, I am after an optimal balance.
The sound system isn't really the best, so I asked professional advice on a good balanced set up that would provide a good, clear, defined sound along with an easy to use head unit that had all the functionality that I would use (bluetooth, satnav, IPOD, reverse camera etc) and that didn't look too aftermarket.
The power of the ED30 as standard is plenty for most, but I wanted to see just how far the envelope of the car could be pushed without having to resort to a big turbo conversion. Realistically I would say that 320bhp is about where the balance of the car lies when combined with other modifications like suspension and brakes.
You simply cannot have upgraded power in the ED30 and expect it to simply adapt itself and remain a balanced car. The brakes for me are an integral part of the ability of a car and by adding over 70bhp you have to upgrade the brakes if you are going to utilise this power. Similarly the suspension, it is very good on the standard car, but it can be improved on, ARB's and coilovers or uprated springs and dampers will have a benefit.
Visually a car is going to be developed to the owners own likes and everyone is different. For me I like a visual alteration to look either performance related or OEM+ and so carbon fibre is obviously performance related when utilised correctly and the headlights look OEM unless I turn on the DRL's.
I could just go out and buy a sportscar/supercar if I wanted, but that isn't the point. For me it is all about individualism and making a car your own and for that the VW scene and particularly the Golf is one of the best ways of expressing it, and for that I'm grateful.
I hope this goes some way to explaining my fetish for modifying my car Peskarik.
