Sunset Red 1.4 TSI(TFSI) GT Sport - daily drive & track car

[rex]

Hi everyone.

In the summer of 2007 I decided to change my Renault Megane and get a Golf. I liked the GTI ED30 (and still like it) very much and I wanted something that resembles that car. The GT Sport was suppose to have the exact same front and rear valances and should have been close (look wise) with the Ed30.
Of course, when the car came, it was with the standard, black, front and rear valances.
The engine was a complicated choice, but, because I wanted a cheap, reliable, cheap to maintain petrol engine, I got the 1.4 TFSI 122 bhp engine.
The color is Sunset Red and it is quite rare. It was only available for some countries and only from Model Year 2008 on. I am really, really proud of the color, I like it very much.

After I bought the car priorities changed and I began modifying the car. Many people ask me why I do not sell the car and get a GTI (especially because I like to track) but I became very attached to this car and I would like to keep it.
I will describe the mods in separate posts to give every modification the attention it deserves
So, here are the pictures of the car as I got it (new) and, then, the car with the new RLine rear valance.

[big al]

Very nice, cool to see something done differently,
And a very nice colour too. Keep up the good work.

[rex]

Thanks!

So, let me continue the story. After changing the first things I started to get the taste of it. And I didn't stop changing yet. I want to make my car the best it can be, style and performance wise. So, here are my next modifications:
- BBS VZ 032 8x17 rims with GoodYear Eagle F1 Asymmetric tires. I am really proud of these. I consider myself lucky because I love the way they look and I also got them when they were on sale so I got a good price. The tires are also great for my needs.
- Painting the brake calipers. These were light gray form the factory and I really like the red GTI look. I had the same caliper as the GTI, but with smaller disks, 288 x 25
- Painted the front valance. As I said in the post above, the car should have come with a GTI ED30 / RLine front valance. It did not. So, as a temporary solution I painted it red for the time being
- RLine bumper vents. These are better in terms of look and also for performance. Now I have more air inside the engine bay for the Cold Air Intake.
- REVO software. I met with the REVO dealer in Romania and he convinced me to have a REVO remap, great choice, if you ask me.

After these modifications (minor modifications) I had my first trip to Nurburgring and I LOVED IT. It is truly awesome, every petrol head should go there at least once. On this trip we only stayed there for 2 days and made a total of 5 laps. 4 laps were in my car and one lap was in a rented GTI DSG. As you would expect, the time was not so good. I managed 10.17 in the forth lap with my car and 9.37 on the only lap with the GTI.
This experience started my obsession with track day and I would like to visit as many as possible. Unfortunately in Romania we have NO tracks, the nearest one is in Budapest and this is opened only 3 times a year. But, I try to do my best and track as much as I can.

P.S. I will show only a limited amount of pictures since I do not want to bore you with pictures.

P.S.2. Time on the Ring is not important. I only told you the time to have an impression of how I went. I think safety comes first I and don't take to much chances on the track. This does not mean I take no chances, but I think it is better to take it one step at a time :).

[rex]

And the story goes on...

I couldn't stop and so I continued to modify here and there:

- small shark fin antenna. I can not stand the normal antenna and so I had it replaced.


- Revo Select Plus. I wanted to be able to change back to stock and have different software for different fuel. Unfortunately RSP does not have the same functionality for my engine as it does for 2.0 TFSI


- Janus V2. This is the camera I am using to video tape myself when I'm on a track day (and not only). It is a really nice camera and it shots both inside and outside (you will see some videos later)






- cruise control. I have about 1000 miles to get to Nurburgring and I really needed this.


- GTI steering wheel. After I drove a GTI on the Ring I feel in love with this steering wheel and I had to have one of my own. But I still have the GT badge since my car is not a GTI


- Bilstein B16 (PSS10).






- K&N 57s-9500 Cold air intake


- GTI front and rear brakes with DS2500 brake pads.



After all of these were done I had my second trip to Nurburgring. This time I completed 14 laps (the total number of laps reached 19). This was a trip where I video taped all my laps (but one) using my new camera. I will show you some of the videos next episode. Now, only pictures:















Sorry for the long post 

[TrickGTI]

Looking good and good choice on the mods so far  looking forward to the videos 

[TopOfTheFlop]

Yea very good post indeed Rex!

A good read buddy - keep it up!

[rex]

Thank you, guys.

As I said I will show you some Nurburgring videos. Some of you know that filming is prohibited on tourist rides. As I found out this rule was made after a lot of people were filming their accidents and these were bad publicity for the Ring.
This is the general rule but I found out that few people respect this rule. Even TopGear had a trip to Nurburgring and had footage form these tourist rides.

I would like to show you this video just to show you the thrills you get over there (even if you have a slow car and a not so good driver)…
Because of those thrills I recommend this track. This track should be a must for every car lover.

Here are some thoughts about this video:
1. It was my 8th ever lap on the Ring. The time was a modest 9.57. The time itself is irrelevant since the “fun” part is all that matters.
2. I have made many mistakes and I am aware of them (or most of them). Please don’t be too critical. I might show some other films were I made much fewer mistakes.
3. The passenger had 1 or 2 laps of the Ring, so it is not his first ride here (although you might think this). He drives a MTM Beatle.
4. Sorry for the sound. It is not my fault, the editing software (Corel Video Studio…) is messing the sound. I have my footage with great sound, but when editing it, the sound got messed up.
5. Sorry for the gym gloves. The track store was closed and I could not buy proper driving gloves (I only bought them the next day). And gloves are a must for me because I have a problem with loosing the grip on the steering wheel.

Enjoy

[keano]

Just watched the video. Looks great!

Your friend's face is priceless! 

[TimR]

beautiful car man!

[cmdrfire]

Very good looking car and in a beautiful colour 

I think the OEM LED tail lights would look superb on that colour.

[rex]

Thank you guys for you comments!

About the tali lights... I am not so sure  . I borrowed the LED tail light from a friend and I actually thought that the Stock tail lights look better (you have the images attached). The LED tail light really work well on other colors (like white, black, grey, etc) but I am not so sure it looks any better on mine.







I also tried with RLine (ED30, R, RLine) tail lights and these seem work better for me. The tail light that you see here are not OEM RLine tail light, but they look a lot like those. These are painted stock tail light. This mod only costs about 5-10 GBP. Since I think I will redirect my money towards performance upgrades I will either go this way or leave them as stock.







What do you think?

[York_GTI]

The tinted light in your pictures looks fantastic - way better than the OEM LED units

[cmdrfire]

I agree with you, the tinted lights do actually look better on yours than the LEDs do.

[the bruce]

Nice GT, nice color combination !!

 

[rex]

Thanks guys!

Here are 2 of my best laps at Nurburgring:

Lap 17 (from a total of 19 laps so far on the Nurgburgring) is my fastest yet around the Ring. BTG is ~9.24. Still the lines or the speed are far from perfect but you can sure see the improvement.
Please excuse the sound. I was using the same editor as last time and the editor is sh***.
Enjoy!

Lap 18 should have been my fastest but I was held by some traffic. But I do not feel bad, I am glad I got back in one piece  (and the car also) and I am glad because I had a great time. And that is all that matters.
Please excuse the sound. I was using the same editor as last time and the editor is sh***.
Enjoy!