Need Gtir advice

A

abs

Guest
I'm wanting to buy a GTIR as my second car..
I thought id first search around and see what theyre like.
Firstly ive heard ALOT goes wrong with them, and that it costs alot of money to repair them. I jus wanted to know to what extent this is true.
Are they real headaches? Is all my time gonna be spent getting it fixed? lol
Also are they worth buying? what kind of maintainence is required as ive heard they need alot of it.
umm...also wat is a common problem with them?
yeah...over all i just wanted some opinions from people who have owned them, u know, just let me know the pros and cons of the car, stuff like that. Wat is a reasonable price and wat is a rip off.

I read the buying guide n ill stick to that very closely.
And this is prolly a noob question but in a manual car, what happens when ur gears slip? ive never experianced it (thank God)

Thanks heaps
 
Trondelond

Trondelond

Active Member
Just out of curiosity, by "second car", do you mean "I have a REAL car now that is pretty fast, and want an 'R as a daily driver", or as the second car you'll own? :)

They're getting to be old cars, so of course stuff will break. But there's no shortage of parts yet, and if you take care of the car, there shouldn't be any major problems. But if buying the car is a stretch financially, don't buy it. There _will_ be problems (as with any car this age), and you'll probably want to upgrade the performance as well. I've had mine for a year and a half now, and there have been no real problems. The only thing that has broken on it during this time is a wheel bearing. And the alternator belt snapped. I've used it as a daily driver, and on trackdays.
 
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davey red.r

davey red.r

New Member
if your wanting an r as your second car,then get something that has had recent work done gearbox ,forged pistons etc,yes they can be expensive,if you buy a dog,if you get yourself a nice example,you should have more chance of periods of trouble free motoring,
ive spent 7k on mine,quaife gearbox forged engine,as my plans are 400bhp+,
if your wanting to keep your r standard,then as i mentioned above, a good example,with recent rebuild should see you ok.
ive had mine 3yr, and have only had failed leads to replace,
and have loved owning it,there very rewarding if looked after.


good luck
davey;-)
 
A

abs

Guest
thanks for the advice.
I ment second car as in my second car owned lol.

i dont want to do many modifications as yet since the car stock is pretty quick.
i wanna keep it stock for a while, n ill be driving it pretty much everyday. I drive relatively normal but thers the odd drag at the lights.
If i keep it stock would i run into much trouble?

thanks
 
neil240z

neil240z

Member
they are generally reliable, piston problems and gearboxes tend to be the most common problems but that is usually down to hard driving, excessive boost pressure and launching are usually the causes.

look for a car that has been well maintained by a forum member, and try and buy a car that has a forged engine (its worth the extra money) in all fairness gti-rs in totally stock form are really sluggish, an exhaust, 1 bar upgrade and fuel pump filter, intercooler etc... can make as much as 300+hp and be reliable (that is so much better than stock)

providing you dont launch the car every five minutes gearboxes are usually fine and stick to uprated organic clutches rather than paddle if you ever need to change it.

you can find one with sensible mods in good condition for 4k.

regards

Neil
 
A

abs

Guest
yeah i cant modify it to much like u said to. I dont wanna grab too much attention from police. Front mount intercoolers are kinda somthing cops notice..and know wat they are..i like the idea of a top mount one since its hidden.
 
A

abs

Guest
In the end..if i want to keep it mostly stock. What would u guys recommend for me to change in order to get more drive time and less fixing time lol. Of course in time somthing will eventually need fixing, but i jus dont want to spend every few weeks fixing somthing wrong with the car. Worst when you fix somthing, and then somthing else stuffs up then u fix that, and then another. tryna keep it to a minimal lol.

And is there anything i could do, just like small everyday things to keep the car in good condition?

Btw thanks alot for the replies, its really helping with decision making. :)
 
Trondelond

Trondelond

Active Member
The usual first things are to up the boost, exhaust, intake and uprated fuel pump. I'd also recommend a remap. This should place a grin on your face until you get used to the performance, and you want more. :)
You'd probably want to do somethings about the brakes as well, as they're not too good.

As far as everyday things go, I'd say change the oil often, keep filters clean, and don't launch at 6000rpms. ;)
 
A

abs

Guest
ah thanks heaps

That sounds good. Very reasonable things to do.
Sorry but im a little new to the whole technical business of cars lol.
could u please explain wat you mean wen u say intake, do u mean like a air filter or do u mean to change the intercooler?
also wat is a remap lol.
i feel stupid but i needa start somwhere.

the exhaust and fuel pump sound like good.

thanks alot
 
Trondelond

Trondelond

Active Member
everyone has to start somewhere. I'd recommend the faq's on here, there's a lot of useful info to be found.

By intake I mean throwing out the original airfilter box and installing a shiny new aftermarket thingy. I'm using the Apexi one which has a nice fitting kit. The intercooler is not neccesary to change for such modest powerfigures.
A remap is modifying the original ECU (car's brain) to adjust fuel and air mixtures more correctly when you turn up the boost. You can also get aftermarket ECU's that have been preprogrammed, or you can go for a full-on ECU that you can tune everyting with. This will of course be the most expensive.
You'll be pretty safe with the stock one though.
 
A

abs

Guest
thanks heapppppsss...uve made life that much easier for me lol.
yeah sorry about the noob question. ill be sure to read the faqs first :)
thanks heaps for the info guys...appreciate it.

cheers :-D
 
snoon

snoon

New Member
I know all i ever talk about is fault code checks but do 1 on every pulsar you go to see. Look in the problem solving section, this will make sure you don't buy 1 with any faulty sensors. They can be a ball ache and costly to replace.
 
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