Gti Mk6......Anyone tried one ?

[phil1975]

Tks for your thoughts.

Interesting on the chain tensioner issue, I hadn't realised that was such a potential issue.

This doesn't seem to get the same level of internet scare mongering as early Porsche water cooled engines for example. Did VW revise the tensioner at any point in the models life?

Beezer diesel, tks I appreciate people will have tried the mark 6, hence my question, there doesn't seem much coverage on the mk6 forum or on here if you run a search.

Maybe mk6 owners have difficulty expressing their thoughts in words or are just arrogant...sounds ideal! 

Arrogant!? Bit harsh I'd say.

I traded my mk5 for a mk6 after 3 years with the mk5 and have been pleased with my decision, the time was right for me my mk5 was 6 years old and I swapped it for a year old mk6, I understand the criticism of it being a mk5.5 but for me its builds on the good points of the mk5 and updates the package.

Look at it this way by just tweaking the mk6 over the mk5 it must have helped keep the values of the mk5 up.

[BeezerDiesel]

Beezer diesel, tks I appreciate people will have tried the mark 6, hence my question, there doesn't seem much coverage on the mk6 forum or on here if you run a search.

Maybe mk6 owners have difficulty expressing their thoughts in words or are just arrogant...sounds ideal! 

I definitely fall into the latter category!

Despite Steve P's best efforts (and I think I was probably one of the main posters on the mk6 forum when I had my first one and there was a lot of retro fit action going on) the mk6 forum never really took off on here. Most of the mk6 action was over on golfgtiforum.co.uk where I'm still active on and off but not in the mk6 section any more!! (different user name on there).

The reason there's not a lot of mk6 replies to this thread is also down to the fact you've buried it in the mk5 General area instead of the chat section where it would be spotted more easily by mk6 owners as once you've moved on from one model you eventually drift away from the sections and visit certain parts less frequently as your experience becomes a bit 'dated' and the world moves on.
For example I sold my last mk5 over four years ago and there's little I can offer in terms of advice now as the cars have aged a fair bit since I had mine. So I visit this part of the forum very infrequently.

Snoopy on here is a moderator in the other forum I mentioned and is very familiar with the cam chain issues.
I'm not sure it's endemic to mk6's and their close relatives that use the same engines but it's not uncommon and as Andy Wigit says, there are modified parts available if your car is out of warranty.

Some (me included) prefer the smaller IHI turbo'd normal mk6 and some love the K04 ED35. Depends on your driving style.
One needs a cam belt change every 4 or 5 years and one was supposed to navigate round that problem but was fitted with a duff tensioner it seems!!!! Que sera sera!!!

There are lots of benefits of the mk6 over the mk5. As this is a general mk5 forum most on here will say they prefer the looks of the mk5 but maybe that's more to do with the mk5 being their main focus. I think the mk6 still looks quite up to date and in certain colours and in certain lights it still looks quite futuristic.
The biggest game changer with the mk6 was the electronics and a lot of us had lots of fun in the early days seeing what we could and couldn't retrofit for far less money than the factory were charging for optional extras. With the mk7 the electronics have moved significantly on again and it seems that even the ECU is proving a headache for the remappers to crack...

[candy turbo]

I had an ed 30 a few years ago now have a mk6 gti dsg , i think the mk6 feels sharper all round , the inside is nicer but not sure on quality i looked at loads with worn interiors with not many miles on

[GTI5]

As previously mentioned most MK6 owners seem to be on Golf Gti Forum including myself.

I recently suffered the dreaded Tensioner failure which cost me £670 by the end of it (No warranty), all the info you need on this fault is over on the MK6 section.

I would try and get as late a model as you can or find a car with FVWSH or decent warranty and maintain either.

[clubsport]

Guys thank you very much for your responses and heads up on the timing chain issue highlighted on golfgtiforum.

That has thrown a real spanner in the works for me, I thought the mk6 would solve my dislike of the built in manufacturers service tax that is the cambelt.

I am shocked at how VW are effectively chancing the owners luck on mk6 engine issues with an apparent design fault. I really would not respond well to VW charging me to strip a broken engine under these circumstances.

So a mk5 Ed30 may make the most sense, I can't really justify an Ed35 for a car I will rarely drive.

Cheers.