Zonas Golf! My 1995 VW Golf 1.4

[Nurburgthing.]

Those Enkeis , I was worried about what wheels you would choose for a while.

I've found a set of lowering springs and shocks that lower my golf 60mm all round (which was the height i wanted originally). They're made by a company called Vogtland and cost £245 inc vat+shipping. The company seems to have quite the history and they supply top nascar teams, from the reviews that I've read for various cars, they seem to be highly rated and provide the best bang for your buck. So I reckon I'll pick these up along with some eibach anti roll bars in september.

I'm running JOM coilovers on my Mk2 Golf, had them on for about 4 years now and they're still going strong. Not bad for £180. Unfortunately, I am also on my 4th sump pan, my 3rd pair of inner CVs, all of my bushes are dead and the gearbox is kaput. When you ride low, EVERYTHING under the car gets put under a lot of strain so look into polybushing it if you're going loooow. Air is the ultimate, around £1600 though . I have raised it 1 inch all round and I recently fitted Mk3 top mounts which bumped the front up another 11mm. Now there is not so much scraping around town .

Personally, I would look for some painted bumpers (don't paint the black ones, they always flake and look wrong), GTI rear lenses, GTI interior (I have an all black leather interior from a GTI colour concept for sale), a Vento front end conversion (just need lights, grill, bonnet and front panel. Wings are the same) and some wings from a later model with the oval side repeaters.

Even though it has only 16k on it from new, it's still only a base model Mk3 so I wouldn't worry too much about modding it.

As for a new engine, I would try and grab a 1.8t. The amount of money you need to spend to make big power from a VR6 is stupid compared to a 1.8t.

I'm going for an ABF 2.0 16v for my mk2 with a view to turboing it at a (much) later date.

Great car, VW 4 lyfe.

edit: don't forget, Mazda MX5, new minis and E30 BMWs have the same stud fitment so wheels from these cars will fit, you might need a centre bore adapter for the Mini or Mazda.

You can also get a nice set of 16" 2 piece BBS wheels and a stubby mk4 shaped mirror from the facelifted Mk3 cabrio. You have to get one mirror from the UK for one side and the other side from a LHD car if you want double stubbies.

 

[Zona]

Performance wise - I'm not going to be doing much to this car apart from an intake and exhaust as she is a daily driver, I'll be picking up an ek civic next year to turn into a crazy track weapon.

As for coilovers, I'm going to get AVO GTZ coilovers and I will also be getting a full powerflux kit for underneath. I've been on the hunt for front bumpers for months but haven't been able to find any mint ones near me.

I do want to upgrade my fk rear lights to genuine oem gti tailights, but I don't want to go the vento front end route.

How much would you want for the Color concept interior? PM me some pics!

 

[Zona]

Here's a more recent picture of my golf:

 

[Zona]

Got some bits on order and in the mail over the weekend.

Got my trs tow strap in, I know some people hate them but I like it and makes my car a bit more race car ish.

Also expecting a delivery tomorrow of the following:

JOM debadge grille
Bonnet Bra.

I also have on order:
Golf MK2 Golf ball gear knob (brand new oem/nos).
A couple of stickers from my owners club.

 

[Katiegan]

I have nothing against tow straps, especially TRS ones. My mum makes them.

 

[Zona]

Hey that's pretty awesome Katie!

How are things going with Bruiser?

 

[Katiegan]

Hey that's pretty awesome Katie!

How are things going with Bruiser?

Haha, I know - free tow loops and harnesses for me.

He's doing good! I gave him a much needed thorough wash inside and out yesterday, and he turned a few heads afterwards.

 

[eiriksmil]

I do want to upgrade my fk rear lights to genuine oem gti tailights

Sweet.. Enkeis look good on it, clean and effective.. Do coilovers instead of springs, 60/60 will give you a reverse rake look and 60/40 is decent, but can't be adjusted just right, opposed to coilovers.. I remember when everyone had 60/40 kits and 9Jx16 rears with 7.5J up front.. It looked cool, but not near as finished as todays options..

I like your progress here.. Be careful with the hood bra though, I never got the tip of my hood just back to Tornado red on my old Mk3.. Moisture trapped inside the bra and heat on the outside/inside is not so good for paint.. As long as you wax the hood and don't leave the bra on for too long you'll be fine Just an advice from someone who learned the hard way lol.

 

[Zona]

Sweet.. Enkeis look good on it, clean and effective.. Do coilovers instead of springs, 60/60 will give you a reverse rake look and 60/40 is decent, but can't be adjusted just right, opposed to coilovers.. I remember when everyone had 60/40 kits and 9Jx16 rears with 7.5J up front.. It looked cool, but not near as finished as todays options..

I like your progress here.. Be careful with the hood bra though, I never got the tip of my hood just back to Tornado red on my old Mk3.. Moisture trapped inside the bra and heat on the outside/inside is not so good for paint.. As long as you wax the hood and don't leave the bra on for too long you'll be fine Just an advice from someone who learned the hard way lol.

The paint on my hood is messed up anyways, the car will be going for a re spray next year so im not too bothered. Thanks for the advice though.

I'll be getting some ta technix coilovers next pay check for cheap lows

 

[eiriksmil]

Word.. TAs (and TuningArt which are basically re-badges or so I've heard) go low, I got them on my Mk2.. For something I drive more than tops twice a year I would get something better though - not so much they're stiff, more the fact the set-up is too soft so you'll be hitting bump stops and bouncing a lot if you go pretty low.. I used to run a set on my winter beater Mk3 also, I smashed a small leak in the gear box, not because it was low but rather because the second bounce was harder than the initial hit from a dip or a bump.. Again just some observations of mine.. The set impressed me when it comes to holding up over years/cost and also ride quality wound 1/2 the way down.

 

[Zona]

I'm not going to be super low on this I want to go around 2 inches all round or something like that, because i daily drive this and have two big speedbumps that I have to get over on the way to work <_<

 

[Zyla]

Fantastic wheels. Looking good, my friend.

 

[Zona]

Thanks Zyla, just need to get something different for winter now.

Also this happened today:

And I don't have enough cash left over for a good exhaust

 

[Zyla]

You could always cut it off. lol

 

[Aquarelle]

You could always cut it off. lol

How about, No.

 

[eiriksmil]

Sime string and exhaust paste may work for a short period.. I feel I come off as gradually more grumpy with age, but a good idea is to have a back up fund to replace things like these instead of spending all your hard earned at once

 

[Zona]

You could always cut it off. lol

It's not a Civic

Sime string and exhaust paste may work for a short period.. I feel I come off as gradually more grumpy with age, but a good idea is to have a back up fund to replace things like these instead of spending all your hard earned at once

Thanks dude, paydays coming up a week friday so I will be able to order my full stainless then I do need to set up a savings lol, i'm horrible with money

 

[Zyla]

How about, No.

I was kidding.

 

[Ronald6]

I was kidding.

It's hard to tell with you. I was expecting you to suggest stripping the inside next.

 

[Zyla]

It's hard to tell with you. I was expecting you to suggest stripping the inside next.

Because I do that to all of my cars, right?

 

[Zona]

It's hard to tell with you. I was expecting you to suggest stripping the inside next.

I'm actually doing that. Got some corbue (sp?) Bucket seats and a personal suede steering wheel with trs harnesses to buy over winter in prep for my 1.8t swap.

 

[eiriksmil]

@Zyla tell him how fun a fully stripped out daily isn't..

1.8T swap and buckets are good moves though.. BAM engine and Recaros As is how I would do it. Still think this car is too clean and original to go crazy with but that's just my opinion

 

[Zona]

@eiriksmil

I know it will be noisy but I'm still keeping my audio and door cards, just stripping out the back seats because I don't carry more than 1 extra in my golf as I find that passengers or more of a hinderance than a plus.

These are the bucket seats I am going to be getting:

£180, non fia spec, but that's not a big deal to me as I won't be competing in FIA events in this car, just the occasional trackday and rwyb.

Doing the engine swap in this car as it's a no rust shell which is rare for a mk3, the 1.4 engine is just a weak commuter engine.

I also want to get a subwoofer for my car, any suggestions for a decent one for around £200 including amplifier?

 

[Zyla]

@Zyla tell him how fun a fully stripped out daily isn't..

Not gonna lie @Zona, he's right. I don't know if you ever saw it, but my previous car was a '93 Legacy wagon that I tried to go all-out on in terms of racing mods, and it didn't work out too well because it was my only car and I didn't have the best income.

If you can afford it and be comfortable with it though, by all means, yank that interior out. That's what I did. lol

Edit: I don't have any actual experience with Corbeau, but I hear they're pretty good. Nice and sturdy for a fraction of the price of a brand such as Bride or Recaro. They're used a lot in off-road racing for/and Jeeps.

 

[Aquarelle]

What is with people on this website and being obsessed with ripping out their interior without stopping to think about it for more than 5 seconds.

Weight reduction is a fine art, especially when using factory shocks that you can't adjust with the new weight balance in mind.

If you're ripping out just the rear seats I don't really see any issue as often with hatches like these it can be quite handy, but for the love of god leave it at that.

As for the buckets, they're an immense nuisance for daily driving, I'd advise you go for something less extreme, maybe try
some GTI seats? or even some moderate street spec reclinables. The snug feeling of a bucket is nice and all but they're a massive pain to live with and lets be honest your money should be going elsewhere to get the car to a point where you'd even be needing to consider fixed buckets..

Up to you of course, everybody else seems to insist on ignoring me and learning the hard way.

 

[Zona]

Installed my MK2 golf ball gear knob today and it looks pretty slick. Gotta sort the gaiter out though any tips?

The main plan is to just take out the rear bench and parcel shelf as they don't get used that often.

 

[Clark]

Might want to inform your insurance company then. Otherwise they might not pay out if you have an accident, you're modifying the car.

 

[Zona]

Might want to inform your insurance company then. Otherwise they might not pay out if you have an accident, you're modifying the car.

Way ahead of you, my insurance know about the lowering and wheels. It's being renewed in November for a price of £375 with all mods declared through Admiral multi car

 

[Clark]

And the removal of seats needs to be know as well if you do that.

 

[eiriksmil]

Up to you of course, everybody else seems to insist on ignoring me and learning the hard way.

Your signature is pretty spot on I guess

Build a rear seat delete.. Something like this

If you want sound insulation and creature comforts.. Also the advice over here is good - buckets are pretty awesome but less so for daily driving. Mk3 VR Recaros are both supportive and are OEM options, my old: