A few questions on the mk5 GTI

[Garth]

I've got a few questions for the more enlightened of us....

First off, did the GTI always have black headlight inners? Mine has a light grey inner that matches the paintwork, but I'd rather have the black. Do you think these are non-GTI that have been installed (after an accident perhaps??) or have VW changed the colour at some point? Mine is a late 2005 car.

Does anyone else have trouble with traction on a standard GTI? I can easily spin the wheels without trying when pulling away or booting it from a low speed, more than I would have expected. Would the tracking being out cause this to some extent? New wheesl and tyres should be on later today so I'm hoping that has a small effect to reduce the wheelspin, then it's suspension soon I hope. And also this leads on to my next question....

I have read a few times about early GTI's having a software update to stop jerkiness at low speeds, how can I tell if this has been done to mine? Is this a chargeable update from VW? I need a service soon anyway so if I could get it done at the same time. Mine does appear a little jerky with the power coming in very quickly, leading to the wheelspin.
If I get a remap, can I get the power feathered in more gradually so not increasing the power until after about 1.5k revs?

Those should be enough for now 

[john_o]

1. only black std on GTI , either accident damage , just damaged + wrongly replaced , or owner preferred colour matching  

2. effected greatly by well setup suspension etc. Also by type of tyre and pressures. With it all working well, you should be able to deploy the full beans in a std GTI without wheelspin (except 1st in the wet). but as with all things you need to modulate the throttle.
think about a full checkup on tracking etc after the new tyres are on. as well as that consider a WALKit

3. Just ask the dealer when your in, should do it for free if you ask nicely. Power delivery should be clean for a K03 (never jerky).
you running high octane fuel? Jerkiness could be more a symptom of excessive engine movement on the mounts rather than an engine issue. (stage 1 fix is simple rubber insert , stage 2 fix are different engine mounts)

Remap delivery can be modulated to some extent by using REVO select switch to alter boost setting, but your right foot is your best friend here
Id suggest you get the car 'sorted' first , then move onto a map when your happy it a-ok  

hth
John
p.s. have a gander round the  product review section 

[Garth]

Thanks for the response John.

Hmmm looks like my car has had more repairs than I thought then. It's an ex company car so there's no way the owner would have changed the lights for fun.

Revo isn't THAT adjustable using the select switch. I had Revo on an Ibiza Cupra a few years ago and the boost came in with an almighty spike no matter what level the boost was set to. Que LOADS of wheelspin in 1st if you booted it. It wasn't a very progressive map and I didn't like it. I tried Revo again on my S3 (1.8T) and the car really hated it, jerky and stuttered. I replaced it with AMD which was so much smoother and a much better map.

I'm trying to sort the car now, hence the questions. If the jerkines at low speeds can be sorted by decent mapping, then that's  thewayforward. The engine feels fine and is certainly not down on power, just that the delivery is not as smooth and progressive as I would have liked. The power just seems to come in a big lump rather than being a nice smooth surge, if that makes sense