Just got Golf MK3 GTi 2.0 8V, what to do....

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Devon
Well now this is my first ever project and i dont know where too start. I know the MK3 isnt uncommon and plenty of people have modded these before. So im hopping that theres some of them people here that can tell me where to start with modding mine. I want to do a bit of body modding but engine tuning i want to try and do as much as i can, so i suppose really the question there is where do i start with that? I am on a budget, a very tight budget so really its all got to be done 1 thing at a time and if that one thing can be broken down into more one things ill be happy :D
Thanks
 
Induction kit, Sports exhaust, Fast road cams, bigger valves, gas flowed head, FSE Fuel boost valve.

Then Nitrous!
 
We've teamed up with POTN - see the shop link at the top prices are so/so but there are bargains dotted around plus you'll be supporting Torquecars :D .
 
snap i have exactly the same car and am looking to do the same thing, one thing at a time. iv decided though that the best thing to get started on is the shell worry about the engine at a later date.

start of by de-badging the thing i.e straight through grill think about converting the headlights to mark4 style this will allow you to take away the current indicaters as the indicaters are fitted in the headlights. take out the fog lights and fill in the holes giving it a unique look.

i think trying to keep it looking original is key, with only a few miner changes drop it 30-40mm and bring the wheels out with spacers say 10mm this with give it a euro look. keep the wheels on there, unless you have the older model the last of the mark3 gti's have better wheels instead of replacing them think about getting them sprayed a diffrent colour.

maybe the same colour as the black plastic trim? or you can look at getting the black trim colour coded to your car? once you have done all this i think you will have a nice looking car with the personal extras. so my thinking is once you have got the body looking as you want it go ahead with looking to get the engine sorted my suggesten drop a vr6 engine in or 16v?

if not then get semi locking diff as found on the a3 t sport this should increase acceleration, followed by induction kit and sports exhaust? hope i could help maybe you can let me know how you got on as i see this was posted some time back? my project starts soon any tips appreciated!!
 
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I wouldn't bother changing the engine to a 16v or vr6 as you can buy a mk3 with one of these as standard. It would be more cost effective to just buy a factory made 16v or vr6 . . The mk3's are very cheap nowdays.

The standard vr6 engine in a mk3 golf isn't that fast and is quite thirsty. Far better to stick it into a mk2 and have some fun :)

if you do want to make an engine transplant, maybe the 1.8t 20v ? as these are lighter engines and very tunable. Other than that, maybe just tune the engine that's in there.

I found that more emphasis was put on the mk1, mk2, mk4 for power, whereas a lot of mk3's focused on looks ie. euro look, nicer interior etc.
 
agreed! i was going to suggest the 1.8t, personally i like the 8v its alot more sensable what with petrol prices rising! it isnt bad for an 8v! is any one a member of no-rice, golf meeting tonight guildford?
 
Hi Thomas and welcome to TorqueCars nice to have you along. Feel free to post up meets (NOT ILLEGAL CRUISES THOUGH) in the events section so if anyone is close they can drop along and say hello. ;)

The semi locking diff in the A3 is very effective. The 1.8T engines are personal faves of mine they are very tunable so after you transplant there are lots of options for taking the power up to Impreza/Evo territory.
 
Im buying a mk3 golf gti 2.0L 8v this week, already lowered wit nice rims..
Im guna plan on keeping it for awhile n do some engine mods,
i was wondering if any1 knew the kind of gains i would get from each of them mod's wain mentioned above?

any extra advise is more than welcomed, :) thanks guys.

Edit- and what are you opinion on getting it sportchipped( a friend suggested it the other day)
 
Engine mods on an 8v mk3 are in my honest opinion a waste of time. IT WILL NEVER BE FAST, FACT. sorry but thats the truth. mk3's are too heavy and the engines dont respond all that well to tuning. for the amount you'd have to spend on the 8v for a decent amount of power, you couldve bought a 16v mk3 and started tuning that!

check the "best golf ever" thread for an honest rundown of the mk's.

:)
 
Induction kit - Adds sod all, loses power on almost every VW. panel filter in standard airbox will add 2bhp if your lucky

Sports exhaust - very minimal gain on its own. about 3-5bhp. in conjunction with panel filter and de cat, about 10bhp

Fast road cams - worth doing. will see an increase in bhp but dont forget the higher the figure claimed it is only a peak figure, which is likely to be much higher in the rev range. generally a 276 is about sufficient for an 8v vw. gives nice power spread over decent portion of rev range. about 2.5 - 6k rpm.

bigger valves in gas flowed head - definately worth doing but your looking at £500. can see gains in excess of 10-15bhp with a decent head session.

FSE Fuel boost valve - ABSOLUTELY NO GAIN. the only applications an FSE will boost power on is inadequate fuel injection systems, ie those that cant provide/maintain enough fuel pressure for max throttle. VW dont suffer from crappy injection systems and have more pressure in the system than you will ever use in your 8v golf.

hope that helps and sorry if it shatters any illusions!
 
oh, an a remap is advised above a chip. chips are programmed for standard engines. if you have any engine mods you;ll want a remap suited specifically to your engine and mods.
 
Hey pikey, thanks for the reply, i was planning on reducing the weight on the mk3 aswel, the reason iv choisen the 8v over the 16v is they seem too have less go wrong as iv had a 16v engine b4 n had to spend endless money to keep it running. hence why iv choisen the 8v n how to get as much as i can out off it, with weight reduction (which doesnt cost much in till you start with carbon fiber) then the plan was too work on the engine. It may not be quick compared to some cars, but i belive overal wit it looking nice as it will then the engine mods it would be a really nice car.
any more adivse would be appreatied.
 
8v lumps are bomb proof, so good call on that, also you are very sensible to go for weight reduction as your first mod. it is probably the single most effective modification you can do on a mk3 as it is a bit lardy....:lol:

if it were me, this is what id do....

1. lower the car on some good quality shocks and springs. think koni,apex, avo etc and you wont go far wrong.A Good quality shock and spring combo will ALWAYS provide better handling out the box than coilovers, which need to be counter weighted and set up with precision to be as effective)

2. Give it a diet. remove rear seats, all trim, passenger half of the dash (can be made to look good with some fibreglass and skill) passenger seat (no passengers wouldnt bother me!) remove all excess metal, inner door skins, chop into body with holesaw under bumpers, remove all sound deadening/ tar (this is generally 10kgs on its own!) etc etc etc

3. upgrade the brakes, vr6 items if you have a 5 stud or g60 mk2 items if you have 4 stud. larger master cylinder also helps. think you can go all the way up to a 26mm item from some SEAT's and possibly a later Passat??you should have a 9" servo as standard i think, if not, id fit one. also fit braided brake lines all round, and completely drain the brake fluid system, flush, and refill with dot 5.1 fluid.

4. engine mods, 276 cam and vernier pulley, k&n panel filter in Original airbox, ported and polished head with bigger ex valves, blueprinted (pistons,flywheel,crank etc lightened and balanced), 4-2-1 manifold and full 2.25" stainless exhaust (larger bore due to other mods, stick with a 2" if not doing headwork/blueprinting) then a remap to make most of all the extra flow the engine now has.

and yes id do it in that order. it is much more cost effective to make your car faster point to point than it is in a straight line. with better handling you can corner faster, better brakes means you can stay on the throttle that bit longer etc.

THEN go nuts on the engine!

carbon is all well and good, but is very expensive for what it is, you can replace a boot,bonnet and wings in fibreglass for the price of a decent bonnet in carbon. Polycarb windows are also a massive weight saving that often gets overlooked.

hope some of that is useful for you!
 
hotrider im in the same boat i bought an 8v 2.0 gti it looks stunin as it has a rieger wide arch kit and split rims and coil overs big brakes the lot but to be truthful the performance is weak im giving up on tuning the 8v and wanting to do an engine conversion but im strugglin to get any advice on this i hope your 8v gti project goes better than mine i must say its my first vw and i love it
 
struggling to find info on mk3 engine conversions? dude, google is your friend.
you could also try a number of golf gti forums etc there are like a million how to guides to doing these conversions!
 
ha cheers but google is not my friend i keep coming up blank on everything i joined this site hopin to find some useful info out but again im strugglin but i will keep tryin as i love my vw now
 
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