The VW GTI 1.8 T mini review
07-02-2003, 08:46 AM
#1
retired
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The VW GTI 1.8 T mini review
Ok terrific I took delivery of the car last night and now have some miles on the little turbo mobile (long commute ) .
Exterior ,clean simple elegant no silly doodads all over the place terrific paint quality with no orange peel .
Interior ,this car is a good reminder of what German cars are really all about ,DRIVING! There is no fake wood no plastic aluminium .Leather is leather ,vinyl is vinyl ,plastic is plastic with no pretenses to be anything other than good high quality plastic .The night lighting is a shock when you first see it with it's blood red and purple but in short order this serves up a very readable instrument panel with all the minor controls illuminated should you ever forget where they are .
Engine ,virtually no boost lag ,good shifter but a bit long on the throws .The power delivery is deceptive as the car is very quiet and you find yourself motoring along at a good speed before you know it .
Suspension ,typical German car .It sits on the road like a rock and gives every indication of being as stable at 60 as would be at 120.
Brakes ,HELLO ACURA !!!!!THIS IS WHAT BRAKES ARE SUPPOSED TO FEEL LIKE !!!!!! rock solid pedal ,great feel ,'nuff said .
Gizmos and gadgets ,yup it's got a few cool things like the wacky switchblade key and the power moonroof twist button .The key allows you to close the whole up the whole car windows and all should you forget to do so and allows you to open windows before you get in to get rid of that blast of hot air before you get in .Monsoon audio is nice too but like all factory systems need some bass to get it really where i want it.
Complaints ,The sales department was great but the cleanup on my car makes me wonder if they even washed it .Guess I will do it myself this way I know it is done to my standard.No boost gauge of any sort ,this was a dissapointment to me but hey the aftermarket will soon be making money on this car anyway .
First mods planned ,boost gauge,turbo timer,and XM radio which with a special adaptor can be plugged into where the optional cd changer is in the trunk so the sound quality is real digital not FM modulator mush.
Jens
Exterior ,clean simple elegant no silly doodads all over the place terrific paint quality with no orange peel .
Interior ,this car is a good reminder of what German cars are really all about ,DRIVING! There is no fake wood no plastic aluminium .Leather is leather ,vinyl is vinyl ,plastic is plastic with no pretenses to be anything other than good high quality plastic .The night lighting is a shock when you first see it with it's blood red and purple but in short order this serves up a very readable instrument panel with all the minor controls illuminated should you ever forget where they are .
Engine ,virtually no boost lag ,good shifter but a bit long on the throws .The power delivery is deceptive as the car is very quiet and you find yourself motoring along at a good speed before you know it .
Suspension ,typical German car .It sits on the road like a rock and gives every indication of being as stable at 60 as would be at 120.
Brakes ,HELLO ACURA !!!!!THIS IS WHAT BRAKES ARE SUPPOSED TO FEEL LIKE !!!!!! rock solid pedal ,great feel ,'nuff said .
Gizmos and gadgets ,yup it's got a few cool things like the wacky switchblade key and the power moonroof twist button .The key allows you to close the whole up the whole car windows and all should you forget to do so and allows you to open windows before you get in to get rid of that blast of hot air before you get in .Monsoon audio is nice too but like all factory systems need some bass to get it really where i want it.
Complaints ,The sales department was great but the cleanup on my car makes me wonder if they even washed it .Guess I will do it myself this way I know it is done to my standard.No boost gauge of any sort ,this was a dissapointment to me but hey the aftermarket will soon be making money on this car anyway .
First mods planned ,boost gauge,turbo timer,and XM radio which with a special adaptor can be plugged into where the optional cd changer is in the trunk so the sound quality is real digital not FM modulator mush.
Jens
07-02-2003, 10:49 AM
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Hey to let you know now.. the Turbo Timer is a bitch with 02 and up models. It is kinda screwy with the wiring. It can be done, but it interferes with your alarm system. I have a write up on this if you would like to read more about it.
Great first mods, are suspension, chip, boost gauge as you have said, and well i could go on for days. But good luck with your car. Hope you enjoy it as much as i do mine. Oh yeah with lil work it is a easy 13 sec car
.
Great first mods, are suspension, chip, boost gauge as you have said, and well i could go on for days. But good luck with your car. Hope you enjoy it as much as i do mine. Oh yeah with lil work it is a easy 13 sec car
.
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07-02-2003, 11:06 AM
#8
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Re: The VW GTI 1.8 T mini review
Originally posted by Jens H.
The night lighting is a shock when you first see it with it's blood red and purple but in short order this serves up a very readable instrument panel with all the minor controls illuminated should you ever forget where they are .
The night lighting is a shock when you first see it with it's blood red and purple but in short order this serves up a very readable instrument panel with all the minor controls illuminated should you ever forget where they are .
Complaints ,The sales department was great but the cleanup on my car makes me wonder if they even washed it .Jens
07-02-2003, 11:39 AM
#9
retired
Thread Starter
BlueTrbo ,I would be very interested in your writeup on the Turbo Timer ,thanks
Davo CLS ,Yeah is was kind of bummed about the poor cleanup but I am not going to bust balls either .The salesman was a newbie so he was nervous as hell .I am in the same business as he is so I felt for the kid .It was funny when he offered up the paperwork for the car for my signature as he was not really sure what was what .So I ended up going over the contract with him and he was grateful as hell as nobody had ever really showed him how these things work in plain english .But he was a good kid and worked to get answers to questions I had so all is well ,we are all newbies at one point in our lives ,
Jens
Davo CLS ,Yeah is was kind of bummed about the poor cleanup but I am not going to bust balls either .The salesman was a newbie so he was nervous as hell .I am in the same business as he is so I felt for the kid .It was funny when he offered up the paperwork for the car for my signature as he was not really sure what was what .So I ended up going over the contract with him and he was grateful as hell as nobody had ever really showed him how these things work in plain english .But he was a good kid and worked to get answers to questions I had so all is well ,we are all newbies at one point in our lives ,
Jens
07-02-2003, 12:14 PM
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Originally posted by Jens H.
BlueTrbo ,I would be very interested in your writeup on the Turbo Timer ,thanks
BlueTrbo ,I would be very interested in your writeup on the Turbo Timer ,thanks
But i do still have some valuable info on the install in general. The problem is you have to weed through all the BS. Check your PM cause i do have one quick write up.
And anymore questions, just tell me and i will send you the loooong thread about the 02-03 turbo timers.
*edit wont fit in the pm
* Do you have an email address i can send this to?
07-02-2003, 02:33 PM
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07-02-2003, 06:35 PM
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The key allows you to close the whole up the whole car windows and all should you forget to do so and allows you to open windows before you get in to get rid of that blast of hot air before you get in
A chip is the ultimate first mod for a 1.8T. The 70+ ft lbs extra tq is a very nice feeling. I don't mind just waiting in my car for it to cool down. I also have a garage at home, so a turbo times isn't for me. That said I have a brand new Greddy one in a box in my room. Enjoy the car.
07-06-2003, 09:03 PM
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TypeS4me VW GTI 1.8T
Originally posted by TypeS4me
I recently got my 20th AE GTI and this car is amazing. I will be posting pictures soon.
I recently got my 20th AE GTI and this car is amazing. I will be posting pictures soon.
Smitty
07-06-2003, 09:25 PM
#16
Suzuka Master
Hmm... i could get MAYBE $20k for the CL-S... 20th anniversary GTi is only $23k...
What's better - VR6 or 1.8T? The VR6 is more powerful stock, but i assume you can mod the 1.8T to be much quicker?
What's better - VR6 or 1.8T? The VR6 is more powerful stock, but i assume you can mod the 1.8T to be much quicker?
07-06-2003, 09:29 PM
#17
Suzuka Master
Originally posted by Jens H.
BlueTrbo ,I would be very interested in your writeup on the Turbo Timer ,thanks
Davo CLS ,Yeah is was kind of bummed about the poor cleanup but I am not going to bust balls either .The salesman was a newbie so he was nervous as hell .I am in the same business as he is so I felt for the kid .It was funny when he offered up the paperwork for the car for my signature as he was not really sure what was what .So I ended up going over the contract with him and he was grateful as hell as nobody had ever really showed him how these things work in plain english .But he was a good kid and worked to get answers to questions I had so all is well ,we are all newbies at one point in our lives ,
Jens
BlueTrbo ,I would be very interested in your writeup on the Turbo Timer ,thanks
Davo CLS ,Yeah is was kind of bummed about the poor cleanup but I am not going to bust balls either .The salesman was a newbie so he was nervous as hell .I am in the same business as he is so I felt for the kid .It was funny when he offered up the paperwork for the car for my signature as he was not really sure what was what .So I ended up going over the contract with him and he was grateful as hell as nobody had ever really showed him how these things work in plain english .But he was a good kid and worked to get answers to questions I had so all is well ,we are all newbies at one point in our lives ,
Jens
I got warm fuzzies reading that. I hate people who are complete snobs at the dealership. I've seen people bitch because they had to wait in line 5 minutes before paying for their service. I once stood around for 10 minutes waiting for the service guy to find my car (turns out it was parked 10 feet behind him: the person pulling up cars brought it up without asking). And they still had the paper floor covering and plastic seat covering on it when i did finally get my keys. I just took it out and found a waste basket - not hastle, no fuss, no problems.
Sure, i get totally bent over when i go there for service, but the people are friendly and always answer any questions i have. They were busy on the day i was there, no biggie. so i had 10 fewer minutes to play video games and do homework (yeah, like i was gonna do it in the first place...).
/rant
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