My Mk4 Golf GTi

[M90SR]

End of November I was drunk at my cousins party celebrating a religious thingy ma bob and one thing lead to another and I had bought a car off my cousin.

So couple days later I picked this up:

This car is stupid fast and has had various improvements made to its running gear to insure that it is far from ordinary.
Don't have latest dyno figures but it is over 230bhp and 280lb-ft I think. I can get this to 280bhp with upgraded headers, MAF, intercooler etc... and can also get 330bhp if I decide to put a K04 turbo on it. But I'll see how it goes...

Anyways this cars had a colorful past and I am giving it the TLC it deserves, hopefully should look fairly like new when I am done
Thats all really for now, its stored away until say april time. In the mean time I will be working on it and will update when I can.

 

[Stay Puft]

I strangely like these, looks tidy!

 

[Russ_16v]

Looks tidy mate! But a K04 wont flow 330bhp. 280 bhp would be about right, with 300 ish with a Relentless manifold. But I would put uprated conrods in for that, they are the weak link in the 1.8T.

What turbo is on it at the mo? I assume a K03S if its making over 200bhp - if so id imagine the torque is around 240bhp as a ko3s wont get 280lb ft. limit on bhp for a ko3s is about 240bhp so if you have a ko3s you will be near its limit.

 

[M90SR]

Looks tidy mate! But a K04 wont flow 330bhp. 280 bhp would be about right, with 300 ish with a Relentless manifold. But I would put uprated conrods in for that, they are the weak link in the 1.8T.

What turbo is on it at the mo? I assume a K03S if its making over 200bhp - if so id imagine the torque is around 240bhp as a ko3s wont get 280lb ft. limit on bhp for a ko3s is about 240bhp so if you have a ko3s you will be near its limit.

Ko3s currently, off the top of my head can't say for sure but its got a custom manifold to custom exhaust, forged internals and block. According to R-tech its got more life left in it for more power. I have seen K03s go up to 250bhp and 280lb-ft.

Not sure about rods but I did read a Ko4 can do 330bhp. But like anything if you throw enough money at it, it will do it.

 

[Russ_16v]

I have never seen a ko3s hit 280lb ft - im not saying its impossible but I didn't think they could flow enough to get that lol.

A ko4 hybrid would get 330bhp mate, but not a normal k04. well not for long anyway lol. it simply cannot flow that much, and it will be screaming its head off.

I would get a proper turbo at that power - if you do have an uprated bottom end (Check what rods you have) then with a proper turbo you would easily get 380bhp with matching torque.

The only issue you would have is transferring it to the road! I would be happy with what you have now - anything more and you're going to need a diff IMO.

Plus suspension and brakes - a good brake upgrade is the 312mm brakes off a 1.8T 180bhp model / 20v V5 - much better than the 288mm brakes you probably have now

 

[Russ_16v]

.

 

[DaveDreads]

I really like Mk4 Golfs i'd love another one, yours looks in really good nick.

 

[M90SR]

I have never seen a ko3s hit 280lb ft - im not saying its impossible but I didn't think they could flow enough to get that lol.

A ko4 hybrid would get 330bhp mate, but not a normal k04. well not for long anyway lol. it simply cannot flow that much, and it will be screaming its head off.

I would get a proper turbo at that power - if you do have an uprated bottom end (Check what rods you have) then with a proper turbo you would easily get 380bhp with matching torque.

The only issue you would have is transferring it to the road! I would be happy with what you have now - anything more and you're going to need a diff IMO.

Plus suspension and brakes - a good brake upgrade is the 312mm brakes off a 1.8T 180bhp model / 20v V5 - much better than the 288mm brakes you probably have now

Yeah I am leaving the power as is, as the MPG is already in low teens. Its got coilovers and the brakes from a TT RS, also got fair few suspension bits from the TT RS, bushes and sub frame have been changed as well.
Basically its got it all nothings really missing from it. Just needs TLC as its feeling sorry for itself at the moment.

I agree with you about the KO4 hybrid setup thats the one I was reading about. Question though what makes it hybrid? I seen the word hybrid mentioned so much I just thought it was normal.

 

[Russ_16v]

Sounds a great setup mate!

Well when someone says a turbo hybrid, the standard turbo is rebuilt using modified parts - so it looks like the standard turbo (and retains all standard fixings) but returns more power.

 

[Chambers_RS]

I love the 1.8t engine!

K04 setup with a diff and decent suspension setup is hard to beat on track or a good B road!
I stretched 299bhp out of a K04 in my Ibiza but was far from just bolting a K04 on and mapping.

 

[_Tom]

Russ knows..I'm another fan of the 1.8T and had it in various setups. Best bet is to get a K04 and be happy with 280 and not bending your rods.

 

[leedsboy]

Really like these as well, would look better without the tints though IMO.

 

[JackD]

Looks great mate, as above, if it were my car I'd remove the tints but other than that it sounds like a really decent buy pal, enjoy!

 

[Ills]

Obviously not renowned for their handling but I really liked my golf gti, only got rid because the seat was giving me sciatica like symptoms!

 

[M90SR]

Really like these as well, would look better without the tints though IMO.

Looks great mate, as above, if it were my car I'd remove the tints but other than that it sounds like a really decent buy pal, enjoy!

Tints were removed by my cousin before I got it although I liked them IMO the black on black look is awesome. The pic was taken in late August last year. Planning on getting more pics up later tonight but its in a garage so quite hard to get good overall pics of the car.

 

[M90SR]

Right so update time....

Basically the image at the top shows the car looking fly as f**k. But nope it is far from that.
Que all things wrong with this car:

Crappy dent in the boot lid:

Crappy paint chips on the side of the car:
I reckon it was sprayed over at some point but not cured as there is orange peel.

Crappy anniversary vinyl which has been poorly applied (also can be seen crappy gear knob and somewhat crappy headunit):

Crappy crack marks on nice leather recaros:

Crappy broken trim (my fault):

Crappy centre caps stuck on wheel:

Crappy algae build up of inside of headlight (dont have pick but you can use your imagination):

The rest of the car is just dirty, there some other stuff which I'll get round to posting but for now these are key areas which shall be looked at.
Plans for this vehicle... well make it look tidy and do some sensible, tasteful mods to it.

 

[DaveDreads]

Those lights are gash, makes the car look surprised, like it's seen something that's upset it.

 

[cs_dave]

1.8t ftw as alteady said after 280 rods need changing.

 

[M90SR]

Those lights are gash, makes the car look surprised, like it's seen something that's upset it.

they don't look that bad when the cars uncovered (see very first pic at top) tempted to either spray the chrome black or to tint them darker slightly to make them look less bright.

 

[_Tom]

Those lights are gash, makes the car look surprised, like it's seen something that's upset it.

That's genuine MK4 xenons.
Doenst look the best condition. Some good money there if you break it though..

 

[clio007]

They arent genuine MK4 Xenons as the genuines do not have have a spot light built in. They have two indicator lenses instead as shown below.

 

[JonnyK]

^^ i'm confused. Are you saying the lights you posted are different from the OP's? they look the same to me!

 

[clio007]

They are different. Look at the picture I posted. It has two indicators built into the headlamp. Now look at the pic the OP posted - they dont have the two indicator lenses built in

The ones I posted are factory optional Mk4 xenons which are standard on the MK4 R. It looks as though the OP has aftermarket project headlights.

 

[M90SR]

They are Hella after market headlights with Angel eyes. But IMO they'd pass for regular Mk4 xenon's

 

[Akay]

Hella Celis lights.

 

[M90SR]

So it seems that I have the only golf in the world with trim on the drivers side interior window switch thing. Being unsuccessful at finding a suitable replacement for cheap I decided to repair the trim I had.
To begin heres the broken piece and the door trim.

I used some epoxy to stick the trim back together and to make sure it bonded properly so that it reduced the depth of the crack (hehe 'crack')

I then proceeded to use light filler and sand gently the surface so that any cracks or marks were removed.

Rince and repeat...

Sanded back and primered:

This is where the pics ended for the prep work.
You're probably wondering about the finish I am going for and that is 3M Carbon vinyl. Generally piano black finish is my favourite but it looked so boring in this particular interior so in goes the carbon!
All done ready to go on:

 

[M90SR]

Also decided that the trim might aswell be refurbished:

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Where it stands:

Because I'am maddeningly in consistent here's a pic of the new dials I picked up for the Golf. Being from 1999 it does feel dated but these bring it up a little bit.

 

[M90SR]

Having gone with carbon fibre interior accents I also pondered with the idea of spraying the wrap in gloss to give it that gloss carbon mclaren look. Needless to say I failed but it does/doesn't look that bad. Most of the CS lot would not approve of the carbon and would say gloss black well with the sprayed wrap you get both.
Heres a pic of the cup holder done in just wrap and has NOT been sprayed, and the bottom A/C controls wrapped and sprayed:

What you thinking?

 

[M90SR]

Carbon fiber completed looks good. I did a fade effect so its glossy at the bottom but not at the top. The picture doesnt do it justice.

 

[BGEarles]

Looks good [emoji4]

 

[M90SR]

UPDATE TIME! *Audience cheers*

So been a while since I have updated been busy doing the one cosmetic mod I think all MK IV owners should do and that is the MK V boot latch mod.
I didnt intend on doing this mod the opportunity just became available. Basically my good friend had a rear end shunt in his MK5 Golf so naturally the first thing you ask is how much he'd part the boot for. To which he then just gave it to me (not like that) through his back door (literally).

So I had the full setup MK5 boot lid with mech and wiring harness (which you dont need).

Wasted no time stripping and cutting. Using precise measurements I set about cutting the boot latch mech out.

Anyone want a MK5 boot lid? Got a small hole in it Im sure a little T-cut will sort it....

I started my marking the centre line for the boot. The masking tape was used only for me to write on it has no other purpose in this.

Skipping ahead to when the cutting was done and some grinding (not like that) to place in my mates garage.

So I like to try things myself so I can learn and to understand the work involved. I did the welding which was not bad but not good enough (I didnt know at the time) so I continued with body filler using fiber glass filler to build up the strength. Then handed it over to my body shop guy who done the welding properly and filled and painted the boot.

The finished result:

The badge has to be replaced with the original MK4 one which a 3d plastic looking one whereas the MK5 one is a GEL sticker kind of thing and it looks bad.

 

[M90SR]

it used to look like this:

 

[Alastair.]

That's a cool mod, fuk load of work though.

 

[Slammed172]

I don't get the love for the 1.8T. I have owned the MK4 1.8T and own a 225 TT and they are heavy and slow. Maybe I'm missing something
--
Anyway, loving the rear end, never seen that MK5 rear boot mod. That's great. Finishes the rear off nicely, good work. Good to see the tints have gone.

 

[M90SR]

I don't get the love for the 1.8T. I have owned the MK4 1.8T and own a 225 TT and they are heavy and slow. Maybe I'm missing something
--
Anyway, loving the rear end, never seen that MK5 rear boot mod. That's great. Finishes the rear off nicely, good work. Good to see the tints have gone.

Tbh I felt the same way I did find them likeable but never enough to own one but now its mine ahah. I mean this ones over 230+bhp so its not slow and weighs about 250kg more than the Clio so not to much. The appeal for this was more for the power you can get for the what I can insure, being 19 its still silly money and this by far the most powerful thing that I liked which I could get without buying a newish 2010+ car. I'm just waiting till November until my 3rd years no claims then hopefully can change this for a 335d :smile:

 

[M90SR]

@Knuckles you wanted to see the outcome of the boot fella here it is

 

[imprezaworks]

Looks ace

 

[Scrooge]

That's a great job!

 

[Knuckles]

That looks an epic job!

 

[DaveDreads]

That looks so good, the boot handle on the Mk4 has always annoyed me because it looks like an after thought and makes it look messy.