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Author Topic: How to drive the GTI?  (Read 9874 times)

Offline Janner_Sy

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Re: How to drive the GTI?
« Reply #30 on: February 17, 2012, 10:11:57 pm »

Offline Janner_Sy

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Re: How to drive the GTI?
« Reply #31 on: February 17, 2012, 10:26:30 pm »
I do agree that stock torque won't make much difference, but mapped is a different matter

Offline the bruce

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Re: How to drive the GTI?
« Reply #32 on: February 17, 2012, 11:14:15 pm »
Fine.

From what I understood Craighs question was how to drive an ordinary Golf GTI.
No race car, no 350 BHP beast:


Sorry for yet another question... It might be a stupid one but i've never driven a fast car before. My previous was a Vectra 1.6 Saloon lol

Anyway... I was wondering how to get the best out of the car in terms of driving it. So for example lets say I am going to go onto the motorway and I want to pick up speed quickly... how would you go about doing this? do you build up most of your speed in 2nd, 3rd or 4th gear? When building up speed do you literally put your pedal to the floor?

I don't really know how long to stay in each gear for. What I did in my old car was to literally come out of 1st gear almost straight the way... and then when I hit 20mph I would go into 3rd gear... when I hit 30mph i'd change to 4th.... and then anything over 50mph id go into 5th gear.

In the golf I don't want to end up burning out the clutch or summat by staying in say 2nd gear for too long trying to build up speed when I should be changing up to 3rd etc

Sorry for such a weird question and i've prob gone a really long way around explaininig what I mean but any help would be great :)
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Offline maxload

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Re: How to drive the GTI?
« Reply #33 on: February 17, 2012, 11:37:59 pm »
This is fast turning into a classic thread  :congrats:

Offline rich83

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Re: How to drive the GTI?
« Reply #34 on: February 17, 2012, 11:53:33 pm »
Rectal Rooter_Sy


What the fuuuuuuuu  :grin: :grin:


Offline Janner_Sy

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Re: How to drive the GTI?
« Reply #35 on: February 17, 2012, 11:56:56 pm »
Rectal Rooter_Sy


What the fuuuuuuuu  :grin: :grin:


That will be TC.  You can't beat a moderator in a p1s$ taking contest  lol

Offline maxload

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Re: How to drive the GTI?
« Reply #36 on: February 18, 2012, 05:57:11 pm »
Does anyone have any more suggestions?

Offline rich83

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Re: How to drive the GTI?
« Reply #37 on: February 19, 2012, 12:49:14 am »
Yes.

1 - You should drive it fast.

If you have not pooped your pants by the end of the journey repeat step one until you do. Then make a cup of tea and get on camskills.co.uk to order some new front tyres.

Offline RedRobin

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Re: How to drive the GTI?
« Reply #38 on: February 19, 2012, 08:48:45 am »

From what I understood Craighs question was how to drive an ordinary Golf GTI.
No race car, no 350 BHP beast:


....It doesn't matter what you drive, the art of safe driving (fast when you want it) is learning good road sense and understanding the limits of whatever vehicle you are driving.

It's not something you can learn on the hyperinterwebbynet - Do a 1-day professional course. I did CarLimits on an airfield and then Drivetrain on the roads of Oxfordshire.

If you want to do trackdays, there's usually tuition available. Simples.


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Offline ub7rm

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Re: How to drive the GTI?
« Reply #39 on: February 19, 2012, 02:15:39 pm »
Hold the revs at some point above ~3k rpm for a second then foot to the floor for the best acceleration.  (while rolling - not talking about a take off).  Not sure why - I guess the turbo is fully spooled up and eager to go.  Acceleration feels a bit flatter on mine if I just floor it from say 2k rpm than if I hold it at 3k for a second or so.
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Offline Hurdy

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Re: How to drive the GTI?
« Reply #40 on: February 19, 2012, 02:55:14 pm »
To the OP.

Drive the car to your own limits - build it up slowly as you get used to the car.
Don't redline it everywhere - it will prematurely harm mechanical parts.
Ensure the engine is warmed up before full throttle blasts (needle on 90 degrees for a minute or so.)
Ensure the car is cooled down for 20 seconds or so before turning it off (allows the turbo to spool down)
Maintain the car as it should be - a neglected car is likely to go wrong.
Gearchange as you see fit - you will learn when the car is happy to accelerate and in what gear as you use it more.
Don't ride the clutch - you'll end up without one!
Above all enjoy it  :happy2:

here endeth the lesson :smiley:
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Offline jimk04

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Re: How to drive the GTI?
« Reply #41 on: February 19, 2012, 09:12:31 pm »
And now lock the thread?!

The baby said it all!

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Offline Frenzy

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Re: How to drive the GTI?
« Reply #42 on: February 20, 2012, 12:55:27 am »
not yet i've got tuppance to add:

1.) To start the car, put the key in the ignition and turn one notch - this will light up the vitals on the dash.
2.) don't touch anything else at this point other than your seat belt  - put it on
3.) next you fully depress the clutch (leave the gear stick in neutral)
4.) once clutch is fully depressed you have permission to switch on the engine

the other tip is don't give it the beans until the thermo meter for the coolant has hit 90 degrees PLUS
a.) add on another 5 minutes drive time for warm weather
b.) add 10 minutes drive time for cold weather

the reason for this is that the thermo is only showing you the temperature of your coolant, not your oil. Your oil takes longer to get up to temperature than the coolant so if you start thrashing it as soon as it shows 90 the likelihood is that you'll be maxing the engine and turbo when your oil temp isn't at optimum causing undue wear and tear. These times are probably a bit longer than necessary but unless you have an oil temp gauge i would always say its better to be safe and sorry when you are operating off guess work.

Final tip is to enjoy, it's a great car to drive, i've had mine for 7 months and i've never driven anything better, it still puts a smile on my face every time i take her out  :love:

Offline flipmyflipper

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Re: How to drive the GTI?
« Reply #43 on: February 21, 2012, 06:21:16 pm »
I cannot believe your all taking so much time and effort to tell someone to drive a car, I don't know who's more insane!?  :smiley:


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Offline RedRobin

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Re: How to drive the GTI?
« Reply #44 on: February 21, 2012, 07:49:53 pm »

I cannot believe your all taking so much time and effort to tell someone to drive a car, I don't know who's more insane!?  :smiley:


....We're just having a laugh and a banter and we're saddo's who spend too much of our lives on the hyperinterwebbynet thingy


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