And so the mods begin...

[572]

A friend up here has fitted GTI suspension to a 1.6l Match, and with the new suspension it sits a little higher at the front than a GTI does. Still, with the rear swaybar fitted, it's a very capable handler.

[mr_walker]

Well I spoke to the learned folk at the local dealership (like we have a big choice in Canberra) and with his official VW hat on he had to advise me that any changes to the stock configuration may void my warranty...

But he was able to advise me *not* as a VW mechanic, that there should be no problem at all with swapping out the shocks/coils, provided that the mounts were the same. He also said the tow pack doesn't provide different springs, so all's good on that front.

He did warn against changing the calipers/rotors because the master cylinder on the TDI is not as big as the GTI's one he thinks, and could cause all sorts of nasty problems (can anyone confirm this?).

Interestingly, VW doesn't provide the information to decode the colour dots on the coils to find out the spring rating. The service department just matches the colours to what the VW manual says.

I've gotta get a couple of small warranty issues attended to in the coming weeks, so there's no way I'm going to give them a reason to make excuses for not honoring it. But after that's all sorted out...

[mr_walker]

A friend up here has fitted GTI suspension to a 1.6l Match, and with the new suspension it sits a little higher at the front than a GTI does. Still, with the rear swaybar fitted, it's a very capable handler.

Cool. I'm guessing that with a heavier block, the TDI will sit about the same as the GTI at the front. Won't know until I try it though.

Swaybar ... does the TDI already have one? I'll have to check it out.

[philthy]

Swaybar ... does the TDI already have one? I'll have to check it out.

None of the polo's have rear swaybars from the factory, but whiteline make an aftermarket kit. I believe the GTI has a larger front sway bar than the other models.

[mr_walker]

Well it's taken long enough, but I finally got around to putting aside some coin (and getting spouse approval ) to fit rubber to the GTI wheels I bought off Timbo, and got them on the car this week.

Now I have to work on the suspension...

[h100vw]

The colour codes are listed in ETKA. I have looked them up for MK3s and Passats in the past.

Gavin

[VWindahouse]

Car looks mint with the GTI feet on...... will look even better when dumped

[Jessica]

Sorry, Completely irrelevant to what your talking about in this thread...

But how do i change the front grill?

Again so sorry.

[Matt P]

Sorry, Completely irrelevant to what your talking about in this thread...

But how do i change the front grill?

Again so sorry.

easy

head down to the local vw dealer and say the following

"i should have just bought what i wanted in the first place, can i trade this on a gti"

[mr_walker]

Well we flogged out the LHS caster bearing on the Polo, and it was sounding terrible. The replacement required the front suspension to be dropped out so I figured I'd finally put the GTI suspension in as half the labour was done already (and the stock suspension has done more than 120k now).

VERY happy with the results. Ride is a lot firmer, and there is a big reduction in body roll. Suspension was a straight swap out with no issues at all. Minimal change in height, but that wasn't my goal.

Thanks Timbo!

Cheers,

Walker