GTI model questions

[sierra055]

Hi everyone!
Firstly, I just wanted to thank everyone for a great resource here, it has been really helpful reading everyones questions, answers etc.

I'm looking to purchase a Mk4 GTI, and have narrowed down (thanks to this forum) to a 1999-2002 model as I really want the deeper Recaro seats.

One question I've had, and apologies if it has been answered elsewhere (I did do a search though). Whilst looking at a number of cars, I've noticed that some cars have the 20v badge on the engine cover, while others only have the 1.8T badge. Is there any actual difference, or were all the 1.8T motors a 20v engine? If there was a difference, is it desirable to specifically look for the 20v model?

Thanks in advance!!

[99gti]

Most of the Mk4 GTI's had the AGU 20v 1.8T. There are a few varients, but all are 20v. For the period your looking with the deeper recaros, it's the non-drive by wire model AGU.

I hope this answers your Q.

And - welcome aboard! Good luck with your search.

[ope126]

2003 onwards, the engine cover says 1.8T.
Pre 2003 20 Valve Turbo on engine cover.

Just a cosmetic update.

Same engine though...

[gtimk5]

2003 on models were assembled in Africa??
Welcome to the forum too, ask away, we are ready to help out.
Andrew :)

[sierra055]

Excellent, I thought that might have been the case, but just thought I'd ask.

Thanks heaps for your answers guys!

[SoVeReIgN]

Ones that have the 20V badge on the rear of the car are only 1.8 (Non turbos) however! :)

[gpk_gti]

gutless wonder!!!!!!!!!!:( watch out for that one!

[SoVeReIgN]

Nah I thought the 1.8 was quicker than the 1.6 AND the 2.0L, stronger gearbox too!

- Dave

[gpk_gti]

you are right,but I was comparing to the 1.8t.....

[SoVeReIgN]

haha oh yeah, gutless. j:

[YellowDieselGolf]

Most of the Mk4 GTI's had the AGU 20v 1.8T. There are a few varients, but all are 20v. For the period your looking with the deeper recaros, it's the non-drive by wire model AGU.

I hope this answers your Q.

And - welcome aboard! Good luck with your search.

No, all 1.8t Aussie golfs have the same drive by cable AGU engine. The beetle and polo turbos are DBW though.

In ~2001 they dropped the recaros, so if they seats DON'T say RECARO on them, they're not. However, the later (non recaro cars) get a trip computer and the generic sport seats are still very good.


2003 on models were assembled in Africa??
Welcome to the forum too, ask away, we are ready to help out.
Andrew :)

My MY03 was made in Wolfsburg


Ones that have the 20V badge on the rear of the car are only 1.8 (Non turbos) however! :)

No, the badge says 1.8 and they were only available in very early model years (99ish?)


gutless wonder!!!!!!!!!!:( watch out for that one!

The 1.8 NA would be my 2nd preference.

As far as things to know about GTI's? MY01 and before have recaros and standard sunroof. Very early models have Montreal wheels. Later cars MY01+ish have an optional sunroof, generic sports seats and a trip computer. Not sure when the montreal II wheels arrived, but they're much better looking :)

Otherwise, they didn't really change.

[sierra055]

Thanks YDG, there's heaps of great info there!
One of the VW dealers near me have 2 GTi's, 1 99 model with the recaro's/sunroof and an 03 model with the non branded seats.

Being able to jump between the two had me convinced very quickly that I really wanted the deeper buckets. I can comfortably live without a trip computer, but after reading some of the extra gains/abilities of a chip on the drive by wire models had me thinking again. So which models DID have drive by wire? Vortex FAQ show 02+ cars with the AWP motor, but I guess that was US only?

I've got 4 cars that I'm looking at tomorrow, so fingers crossed!

[gpk_gti]

I had the same problem as you,but the recaro's won the day!:D

[spa]

Yeah, I own an 03 without the recaros, and I reckon they are pretty uncomfortable now that I’ve had it for a while, didn’t realise this when I first bought it though...
But, I didn’t know the older ones didn’t have a trip computer… I’m always looking at mine, what do the old ones have instead on that little screen?

[shami]

Yea mines like that too...crappy non-recaros....

the older ones have nothing on the screen!

[Lima]

Thanks YDG, there's heaps of great info there!
One of the VW dealers near me have 2 GTi's, 1 99 model with the recaro's/sunroof and an 03 model with the non branded seats.

Being able to jump between the two had me convinced very quickly that I really wanted the deeper buckets. I can comfortably live without a trip computer, but after reading some of the extra gains/abilities of a chip on the drive by wire models had me thinking again. So which models DID have drive by wire? Vortex FAQ show 02+ cars with the AWP motor, but I guess that was US only?

I've got 4 cars that I'm looking at tomorrow, so fingers crossed!

As Pete said no Australian Mk4 GTIs had the DBW engines, they were all cable driven. DBW 1.8Ts delivered to Australia were/are New Beetles, Polo GTIs and A3s. Oh, and probably the A4s as well.

I used to drive an Oct00 build MY01 Mk4 GTI, at the time no options were available, although leather seats were a new option shortly after this. My Mk4 had the sunroof and Recaro seats as standard, along with Montreal II alloys. No trip computer though, and no remote central locking either!

[Lima]

Yeah, I own an 03 without the recaros, and I reckon they are pretty uncomfortable now that I’ve had it for a while, didn’t realise this when I first bought it though...
But, I didn’t know the older ones didn’t have a trip computer… I’m always looking at mine, what do the old ones have instead on that little screen?

These pics of the dash aren't great, but the best I have on file...
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2007/09/19174387M-2.jpg
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2007/09/19174101M-2.jpg

And one of the Recaros...
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2007/09/19174077M-2.jpg

I reckon a rear hatch spoiler is a must as well...
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2006/11/19174029M-1.jpg

[shami]

Love those seats...anyone know where i can get a set??? :D

[TobyG]

Hi Sovereign... i have a question for you. Why do you have an image of a Honda Integra Type R tacho as your i.d. thingy ? If you're a fan of VW's, why not use an image of a VW tacho ? Or is a 6000 rpm red-line a bit underwhelming ? hah ;-)

[spa]

I reckon a rear hatch spoiler is a must as well...



yeah, where can i get me one of those...? :cool:
i've been wanting to get one!!


Also, I noticed when I was looking at gti’s, that the 99 model had a different cup holder, that wasn’t as fun to press as the 03, hehe :P

[sierra055]

Yeah, I definately want the rear hatch wing.
MiniGolf, are those photo's from your 00 GTI? Isn't that a trip computer below the odometer? Or is there an additional one in the later models?

It's a bit of a worry actually, have already bought some r32 pedal's and organising a chip.... and I still don't have an actual car for them yet! :rolleyes:

[NGOLF.U]

dunno if this is true or not, but i was told that the glove box compartment is shaped perfectly to fit a bottle of wine flat.

[Lima]

Yeah, I definately want the rear hatch wing.
MiniGolf, are those photo's from your 00 GTI? Isn't that a trip computer below the odometer? Or is there an additional one in the later models?

It's a bit of a worry actually, have already bought some r32 pedal's and organising a chip.... and I still don't have an actual car for them yet! :rolleyes:

That is where the trip computer would go, but the screen in my Mk4 only had warning lights, park brake lights and such, there was no LCD screen with fuel consumption, avg speed etc.

As for the rear wings, IIRC the run out model 2.0 Sport's had them, as well as similar dash cluster dials to the Bora V6 4motion as standard equipment. The spolier on my car was the OEM Volkswagen one, but Oettinger, Reiger and other usual suspects also make them. Check out http://www.awesome-gti.co.uk/ or similar if you don't fancy going through your local stealer.

spa: didn't know about the change to the cupholders???

[spa]

spa: didn't know about the change to the cupholders???

Hehe, yeh, nto much difference… in the 99 model I checked out, the cupholders at the front were a fixed size (ie. round), in the 03 model, the cup holding bit extends for bigger cups…

[dancet]

Actually I discovered two new cup holders I didn't know existed the other day. So that makes it two in the dash above the stereo, two (dodgy) ones in the door of the glovebox when it's open, and the new ones I found...

Anyone know? hehe...

[sierra055]

behind the rear ash tray in the centre console?

[NGOLF.U]

bingo, THEY ARE CRAP THOUGH!

[sierra055]

bingo, THEY ARE CRAP THOUGH!


HAHAHA, sounds like you might have learnt the hard way??

Well, hopefully I can come home tonight saying that I'm the proud new owner of a GTI :D

[peedman]

Throw up some pics!

On the side, can you just replace the dash cluster for a pre-01 model to get the trip meter readouts??

[gpk_gti]

way too many sensors..... be a major headache ! never say never tho!:D

[sierra055]

Well, I am the proud new owner (or at least will be next Saturday when I can pick it up) of a 2002 Silver GTI :D

Looked at 5 cars today, and this was the stand out, despite it not having the recaro's I had my heart set on. This one was just in too great condition.

I'll post some pics next weekend, but it is a very stock affair in very clean condition.

Thanks again to everyone who posted some great information in this thread, it was a big help!!

[gpk_gti]

no problems mate! that what we are here for! now for the obligatory PICS OR BAN threat!!! hahahahah :D

[Cache]

Congrats mate on the purchase. Pity its silver......you can always paint it blue later on :).

Cheers

[Lima]

Congrats sierra055. :)

[YellowDieselGolf]

I reckon a rear hatch spoiler is a must as well...
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2006/11/19174029M-1.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/forums/images/imported/2006/12/smokerear-1.jpg

I don't :)

[99gti]

Well, I am the proud new owner (or at least will be next Saturday when I can pick it up) of a 2002 Silver GTI :D

Looked at 5 cars today, and this was the stand out, despite it not having the recaro's I had my heart set on. This one was just in too great condition.

I'll post some pics next weekend, but it is a very stock affair in very clean condition.

Thanks again to everyone who posted some great information in this thread, it was a big help!!

Congrats and welcome aboard Sierra055. We'll look forward to seeing the pics once she arrives! j:

[Lima]

I don't :)

Yes you do Pete, you're just in denial.

[Jimbo14]

Hey guys,

This is my first post, I just found this great forum. My name is James and I am from Melbourne.

This is a great thread and I myself was thinking of buying a MK4 GTi very early next year and I just had a couple of 'super newbie questions' to add to this thread.

1. The MK4 GTi's only came in five door in Australia yes?

2. Did only the 99-02 have the spoiler lip and the deep recardos (I know it was asked earlier in this thread but I was abit confused)?

3. Did all Mk4's had the 1.8 litre turbo with 130kw and weighed 1300kg?

Sorry about these newbie questions I know some were answered before - I just wanted to clarify.

Cheers,
Jimbo14

[sierra055]

Hey Jimbo!
Welcome mate... as one newbie to another, let me just say that this forum and it's members are a huge help!

From what I discovered whilst finding my car to answer your questions (i don't claim i'm 100% correct however, this is just what I found in my personal experience)

1. Yes, only 5 door here in AU for the GTi, the R32 came in a 3 door.

2. My car is an 02 and doesn't have the deeper Recaro's (despite that being what I was really after) In fact, 2 01 model cars I looked at didn't have them either. So if you're specifically after those seats, stick to 99-00 cars.

3. AFAIK, the cars delivered here are the non drive by wire and are the 110kw 150hp versions.

[Jimbo14]

Thats for the warm welcome Sierra055!

I did not relise the MK4 GTi's were only 110kw/150hp.
I thought they were all 130kw/180hp.

Can anyone clarify?

[spa]

any unmodified mkiv gti that you buy here will be 110kw.
there are higher powered ones sold overseas.

[Jimbo14]

Damn, thats a kick in the pants.

I was all exciting thinking they were pretty fast with 130kw (stock).

[sierra055]

With a little bit of a tickle (read: dump pipe and chip) you would be making above those figures anyway... I wouldn't get too disheartened.

Have you driven one yet? If not, you might be pretty suprised. I know I was!

[Jimbo14]

No I have not had the opportunity yet. I am sure even if the golf has 110kw they would still be a very fast automobile.

I was just also looking at a 2003 Subaru Imprezza WRX which as you know does not have the european flavor but im guessing it is alot faster. :?

[markjb]

I'm curious, as my new toy was German delivered with 2 doors, 16'BBS wheels, Recaros but no sunroof, and obviously LHD....

Were 2 doors every sold in Australia??


Mark

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

ps did the big straight-through chrome muffler this week

[spa]

nup, not that i've read anywhere, here all gtis are five door, all r32s are three door.

[YellowDieselGolf]

Unless info #53

a handful of 3 door NON R32 cars made it to Australia. They were not GTI's and if I remember correctly, some didnt even come with A/C