mk5 golf gti - mod advice

AHarvey

AHarvey

AHarvey

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Joined
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Stoke area
Hi all,

Picked myself up a 109k VW Golf Gti a couple of months ago. It needs some work doing to it, alloys have been curbed, slight accident damage that has been repaired at some point and some electrical issues to sort but it's got a full service history, DSG, leather, winter pack, xenon headlights, semi electric seats and it's a pleasure to drive.

However, after having the little bits tidied I want to start getting more out of it.

First, recommendations on brake discs and pads? tyres are fine but after a rather spirited drive home a few weeks ago my rear drivers brake was smoking quite badly and had some fade a week later.

Also, want recommendations for a replacement air intake for it, stock one does limit it a little.

Starting small but ultimately i want stage 2 remap.
 
Just what were you doing to cause the rear brakes to smoke badly?!

Sounds more like a stuck caliper issue anyway which has caused the fluid to boil and now isn't working correctly / efficiently any more. Any discs & pads on the back will be fine as they do minimal braking, most is done by the fronts. Pretty much any disc on the front would be fine too, for the most part discs are nothing special really unless you're doing loads of track work. As for pads, depends on your budget really...you can spend £15 for generics through to £100+...

I'm not so sure slapping a CAI or even just a random cone on without getting it mapped would make much if any difference to performance.
 
Did u buy that dodgy looking golf GTI that you linked to on a thread you started a while back that was really cheap?
If so I wouldn't bother modding a car like that that's done over 100k unless you have deep pockets. Remapping puts added stress on already worn gearboxes, turbos etc
 
Handbrake cable sticking in rear caliper. Or it’s the caliper itself which is a common issue.
 
If your ultimately wanting to go to stage 2, then you might as well only do things once.

For the brakes, the R32 / Audi S3 / A3 3.2 brakes are a big step up, and the way I have went on my Edition 30. You get 345mm discs on the front, and 310mm on the rear. Should be more than enough for the GTI at stage 2. You can put the lighter TTS 340mm discs on the front though, which is what a lot of guys do too. The Mk7 GTI PP front brakes are the same, but a bit lighter, and I beleive slightly bigger pistons, possibly. Expect to pay about £300-£400 for a complete front brake set-up with discs and pads, calipers, caliper carriers and brake guards and lines. You will need new brake lines for the fronts too, R32 spec. Just go HEL braided lines for £40.

The rears should be doable for around £150 for the full set-up. But a lot of jokers think they are worth £300+ for the rears, so be wary of scene tax. I paid £300 for my fronts off an S3 and £100 for the rears of a 3.2 A3. They are all the same. The 8V S3 fronts should fit, as will the mk7 fronts. But the rears in the newer ones wont, because of the electric handbrakes. You can maybe find the front and rear set-up off an 8P S3 or Mk5 R32 for about £500, which would be decent. Have a look in the classifieds on the likes of Audi-sport and R32OC for decent deals.

I wouldn't worry too much about "upgraded" discs and pads. I'd just go for good quality. So Mintex, TRW or ATE or similar.

Took me a while to source the rear stuff, so I did consider new parts for a while. TRW are the OEM manufacturer, so searching for the TRW part numbers get you the exact same equipment. R32 stuff seems cheaper than the S3 stuff for some reason though, despite the only real difference being basically the colour. There was a EU site, Rexbo or something, I found were about as cheap as possible, at around £200 delivered for rear calipers and carriers. So might be worth considering. Part numbers are as follows:

R32
TRW BDA690 - R32 caliper carrier rear left
TRW BDA691 - R32 caliper carrier rear right
TRW BHS938 - R32 caliper rear left
TRW BHS939 - R32 caliper rear right

S3
TRW BDA1068 - S3 caliper carrier rear left
TRW BDA1069 - S3 caliper carrier rear right
TRW BHS1028 or BHS1028E - S3 caliper rear left
TRW BHS1029 or BHS1029E - S3 caliper rear right
Click to expand...

The E I think refers to exchange parts, so probably not the way to go.

If you are having to replace calipers anyway, then might as well upgrade the whole set-up. It was really night and day difference putting the S3 fronts on. Better spending a bit more for actual bigger brakes, than for just "upgrading" the discs and pads at the standard size.

Some people run caddy rear calipers though. They have a bigger piston diameter, but keep the same calipers, discs and pads. Apparently match quite well to the S3 fronts. But if you are needing new calipers anyway...

As for the intake. I run an APR Carbonio on mine. Only because it came with the car when I bought it. The RAMAIR one appears to be the most popular, because it's a touch cheaper than the other ones. But it still isn't hugely cheap. And the top TFSI tuner about recommends the Revo intake for the best performance. So I would just get the Revo and know you have the best performing one.
 
If your rear brakes were smoking, they're almost certainly knackered rather than in need of upgrading.
 
What was I doing to make it smoke? rather spirited driving very early in the morning, heavy braking. Brakes are fine now, but I've had 1 instance of what felt like brake fade but no cases of smoking since. Stopping and handling are more important to me at the moment.

xs2man said:
If your ultimately wanting to go to stage 2, then you might as well only do things once.

For the brakes, the R32 / Audi S3 / A3 3.2 brakes are a big step up, and the way I have went on my Edition 30. You get 345mm discs on the front, and 310mm on the rear. Should be more than enough for the GTI at stage 2. You can put the lighter TTS 340mm discs on the front though, which is what a lot of guys do too. The Mk7 GTI PP front brakes are the same, but a bit lighter, and I beleive slightly bigger pistons, possibly. Expect to pay about £300-£400 for a complete front brake set-up with discs and pads, calipers, caliper carriers and brake guards and lines. You will need new brake lines for the fronts too, R32 spec. Just go HEL braided lines for £40.

The rears should be doable for around £150 for the full set-up. But a lot of jokers think they are worth £300+ for the rears, so be wary of scene tax. I paid £300 for my fronts off an S3 and £100 for the rears of a 3.2 A3. They are all the same. The 8V S3 fronts should fit, as will the mk7 fronts. But the rears in the newer ones wont, because of the electric handbrakes. You can maybe find the front and rear set-up off an 8P S3 or Mk5 R32 for about £500, which would be decent. Have a look in the classifieds on the likes of Audi-sport and R32OC for decent deals.

I wouldn't worry too much about "upgraded" discs and pads. I'd just go for good quality. So Mintex, TRW or ATE or similar.

Took me a while to source the rear stuff, so I did consider new parts for a while. TRW are the OEM manufacturer, so searching for the TRW part numbers get you the exact same equipment. R32 stuff seems cheaper than the S3 stuff for some reason though, despite the only real difference being basically the colour. There was a EU site, Rexbo or something, I found were about as cheap as possible, at around £200 delivered for rear calipers and carriers. So might be worth considering. Part numbers are as follows:



The E I think refers to exchange parts, so probably not the way to go.

If you are having to replace calipers anyway, then might as well upgrade the whole set-up. It was really night and day difference putting the S3 fronts on. Better spending a bit more for actual bigger brakes, than for just "upgrading" the discs and pads at the standard size.

Some people run caddy rear calipers though. They have a bigger piston diameter, but keep the same calipers, discs and pads. Apparently match quite well to the S3 fronts. But if you are needing new calipers anyway...

As for the intake. I run an APR Carbonio on mine. Only because it came with the car when I bought it. The RAMAIR one appears to be the most popular, because it's a touch cheaper than the other ones. But it still isn't hugely cheap. And the top TFSI tuner about recommends the Revo intake for the best performance. So I would just get the Revo and know you have the best performing one.
Click to expand...

Thanks, lots of info there. I'm aiming on handling/stopping first, then buying performance bits and getting it all done in a short time frame. I did look at a new brake conversion to a bigger setup such as the REVO kit but prices starting at £2k, nice to know there are other alternatives out there.


Dav4 said:
Did u buy that dodgy looking golf GTI that you linked to on a thread you started a while back that was really cheap?
If so I wouldn't bother modding a car like that that's done over 100k unless you have deep pockets. Remapping puts added stress on already worn gearboxes, turbos etc
Click to expand...

No, found another private sale down London way. The 2 I found before, 1 didn't recognise the reg plate and was impossible to contact, the second was a lovely car but the lad had no V5 or service book/history for it despite advertising it. 3rd time was the charm though, nice deal and good condition for the age, just needs some tidying. As for the 100k issue, really doesn't bother me, over the next year I'm aiming at upgrading most bits anyway. I'm replacing my Corrado's and want something that's going to be fun and track worthy and plan on keeping it.
 
Last edited:
Anti lift kit if you add power, as it’ll help the front end no end. Maybe take it on track if you want to stretch it’s legs rather than doing it on public roads too.
 
Rear anti rollbar is a very good mod for the mk5 gti. If you're going to get it mapped take it to R-Tech if you can.
 
NewGamer11 said:
This is not intended to be flippant but go to www.golfgtiforum.co.uk and the model specific boards and ask there. There are a lot of knowledgeable posters there and tons about modding mk5s.
Click to expand...

Issue with a lot of the forums is that they aren't the most active for the older models, lots of things have been done already by their members and a lot of the info/links/images are now out of date, no longer sold or images have been removed due to changes at photobucket etc. I've joined a few Facebook groups which seem to be more active than the forums but a reason for asking here is that I know the crowd, i know how passionate a lot are with their cars and you always get good advice :)

Thanks si and duke.
 
Take it to R-Tech. Even just a stage one map will give you a nice boost in power.

Stage 2 I think you are looking at induction of some kind, turbo back exhaust and an intercooler off the top of my head.

Check their Facebook and website. Plenty of info there :)
 
Echo all the people who say take it to R-Tech. Had Revo 2+ and DSG map on my 2011 S3 and it made nowhere near expected power, felt very flat, slightly more than stage 1 and was massively torque limited. R-Tech woke the beast :)
 
AHarvey said:
Hi all,

Picked myself up a 109k VW Golf Gti a couple of months ago. It needs some work doing to it, alloys have been curbed, slight accident damage that has been repaired at some point and some electrical issues to sort but it's got a full service history, DSG, leather, winter pack, xenon headlights, semi electric seats and it's a pleasure to drive.

However, after having the little bits tidied I want to start getting more out of it.

First, recommendations on brake discs and pads? tyres are fine but after a rather spirited drive home a few weeks ago my rear drivers brake was smoking quite badly and had some fade a week later.

Also, want recommendations for a replacement air intake for it, stock one does limit it a little.

Starting small but ultimately i want stage 2 remap.
Click to expand...

Head over to http://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum there's a lot of helpful folk on there but it all depends on how much you want to spend tbh. For handling a good quality Coiloverkit, Anit Lift Kit, Front and Rear ARB's will get it handling like a dream.

If your rear brakes were smoking its likely you have a sticky caliper, the rears are known to seize with time on the MK5's. Budget depending you can upgrade to RS3 calipers front and rear or even Porsche ones.

Intake best value is RAM Air one tbh, race cat and turbo back exhaust (either Miltek or BCS) will get it breathing a lot easier as the cats are quite restrictive on the GTI. If you are wanting Stage 2 then, S3 intercooler, up-rated HPFP and up-rated Diverter valve (plus the exhaust and intake) will be required imo.

Also make sure the usual suspects have been replaced before you start modding and that the DSG has been serviced as well.

Molesy
 
Molesy79 said:
Head over to http://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum there's a lot of helpful folk on there but it all depends on how much you want to spend tbh. For handling a good quality Coiloverkit, Anit Lift Kit, Front and Rear ARB's will get it handling like a dream.

If your rear brakes were smoking its likely you have a sticky caliper, the rears are known to seize with time on the MK5's. Budget depending you can upgrade to RS3 calipers front and rear or even Porsche ones.

Intake best value is RAM Air one tbh, race cat and turbo back exhaust (either Miltek or BCS) will get it breathing a lot easier as the cats are quite restrictive on the GTI. If you are wanting Stage 2 then, S3 intercooler, up-rated HPFP and up-rated Diverter valve (plus the exhaust and intake) will be required imo.

Also make sure the usual suspects have been replaced before you start modding and that the DSG has been serviced as well.

Molesy
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, DSG is due a service now so getting it booked in asap :)
 
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