This morning on the way back from Galveston I was traveling on I-45 Northbound heading into Houston. I notice a car that looks to be modded out and I speed up to it quick. I notice that it is a VW with the badging GLI (in red letters) on the back of the car. I do not know much about VW's (until I researched the vehicle a few minutes ago), so I decide to see if he will give me a go.....

I pace him for a bit until I finally get his attention, he then smiles and launches and I do the same.... (we are already going about 65-70 when we started racing).... he jumped on me by about 1/2 to a full car length while we were hitting up to the 105-110 mph mark.... I was pissed that he was still ahead, but I noticed that as soon as I hit about 100-110, that it was I that was pulling ahead of him, by 120-130 he was clearly behind playing catch up.... I thought this was a fluke (since his car appeared to be heavily modded, you know the black rims, red calipers, the exhaust mufflers, seats with the GLI lettering, etc....) so I decide to race him again, I let him catch up to me and we give eachother the thumbs up and we go again (second time also from already cruising at the same legal highway speed) Well, this time he jumps on me again and keeps ahead mainly because his car is smaller and he was able to dart through traffic faster than my car. (Traffic was not heavy, so don't flame).... Even as he was able to speed ahead faster, by the time we got to about 120, our bumpers were even....

He has to slow down due to oncoming traffic in his lane and I am able to get ahead of him.... We are back down to highway speeds (that are legal) and then all of a sudden I see him in my rear view and he is coming up on me real fast, he gets on my side and we go again, same result, I chase him from about 65-100 and then I just take over....this last race is where I got to about 135mph and I just flew.... I felt awesome when I slowed down (back to highway speeds) and he comes up waving a white tissue declaring a surrender..... He just smiles and knods his head and (while still driving) I ask him what he is running and he tells me that he just has a V6 with a turbo..... the VW then exits off and I keep driving on to Houston.....

Now my question, I am saying I got a kill or what not.... (trying to humble myself).... but I was surprised about this vehicle. To be honest I never heard of the GLI Jetta (my ignorance)... I got back to the office and did some research and this car does not seem to have much. So i am still wondering why did the VW get the jump on me when we started (around 70mph) and then why did he maintain that lead up until about 100 where at that point the TL just rocked..??? I don't want to say i beat him and shit, because the race started and ended with us both still driving and there was no definitive marker to race to....

Now, if i raced this car from a standstill, would I win??? And do the GLI's come with a turbo (OEM), or if this guy had an aftermarket turbo, how much could it really make a difference?? Sorry for the long post and all replies and remarks are welcome except for those that are going to flame because we raced on a highway..... (not many cars were on the road and we waited for open road before we went at it, I am not that stupid).....

btw, my car is a stock 2003 TL-S.... (working on getting the mods, when the money comes in )

 

Jettas aren't the fast ones, GOLF GTI's are.

 

first of all, he lied. he didn't have a V6. it's a 1.8T. they are quick fun cars. my bro is getting one this year.
MADCAT: jetta's and gti's share the same 1.8T or VR6 powerplants. the only difference is the weight. plus the GLi has a 6 speed tranny and i believe it's a little faster than a regular GTI. the GLi was a 1.8T.

good kill man!

 

the jetta GLi is a sportier jetta that comes factory with the red calipers and red GLi seats and 18" rims! but its still the same engine as a regular jetta 1.8T 180 ponies except for the tranny, like badazztl said, it's a 6spd! other than that, nothing much has changed. they all got juice! and they're easily modded to gain massive hp. how do i know, bcuz i sell em! and the turbo is a stock turbo!

 

Actually, the GLI up until 2004 had a 24v VR6 in it. Only the very newest GLI's come w/ the 1.8T. And you guys are wrong about the Jetta vs. GTI thing. Jettas and GTI's with equal power, the jetta will pull on the hwy as it has significantly better aerodynamics and I've seen some VERY fast Jettas in my day

 

badazz, thanks.... the GLI, if the guy I raced, did infact have a GLI, then it had to be atleast a 2003, because GLI came only in 2003 and they have a 2.8L V6 which puts out 200 horses....

A418t81, would I have lost this race if i raced him from a standstill???

 

I doubt it. The VR6 is a great motor and sounds INCREDIBLE when uncorked, but it just doesn't make that kind of power. A 1.8T GLI with full exhaust, chip, and intake would most likely make mince meat out of you, however, if its running like it should. Those cars typically trap ~100 mph on pump gas which is much faster than the usual ~94 mph a TLS pulls.

 

what do you mean by the car traps???

 

trap speed, quarter mile speed, drag race


@cUr@-TL

 

The GLI was always meant as an inexpensive sports version of the Jetta. They were created as stripped down versions of the Jetta with a big motor commonly found in the the racier GTI's. The newer GLI's all come stock with a 1.8T engine rated at 150bhp. The 1.8T's actually make 152 bhp at the wheels, so they make probably more like 180-190 at the crank, but VW would never advertise this because they wouuld lose sales to there more expenive VR6 models. I highly doubt he had a VR6 with a custom turbo. The VR6 makes massive low end torque, and the addition of a turbo would only really boost the high end. If he indeed had a boosted VR6 he would probably be able to pull on you much higher than 110 mph. i'd say he had the stock 1.8T with some light bolt on mods. Either way, props on holding you own against him. The 1.8T GLI are seriously quick, torquey little cars that take to mods very well. They can easily hold up to 350bhp without even breaking a sweat. Nice Kill!