Gti Performance Pack for daily drive

[oztadpole]

My previous car was the Audi, which had Xenons and I liked the illumination qualities the provide, so I personally couldn't go back to halogens .
At the time of purchase, I was pricing up the price difference between GTI + Xenons vs GTI PP and figured the for the small extra I would get the benefit of 19" wheels, diff , LED DRL's and LED taillights, alcantara inserts and a small power increase (only offsets the increase weight of the diff). It may be dubious value, but I went for it - I have no regrets.

Reassuring to know I'm not the only one thinking this way. (gti+Xenons vs PP).

[oztadpole]

My previous car was the Audi, which had Xenons and I liked the illumination qualities the provide, so I personally couldn't go back to halogens .
At the time of purchase, I was pricing up the price difference between GTI + Xenons vs GTI PP and figured the for the small extra I would get the benefit of 19" wheels, diff , LED DRL's and LED taillights, alcantara inserts and a small power increase (only offsets the increase weight of the diff). It may be dubious value, but I went for it - I have no regrets.

oztadpole,
I've had a PP for about 3 months now and clocked up about 5000km in it. I drive it everyday to work and back (50km round trip). I find the ride to be quite comfortable and the cabin noise it low. You do get a bit of road noise above 100km/h however its nothing too bad.
Lately I've been leaving mine in Comfort mode because of the rubbish NSW roads and I've found it a bit nicer ride over Normal. It just makes riding over those small bump that bit better.
I drove it to QLD and back last month (approx 1600km all up) and it never missed a beat. 700km+ from each tank of fuel and in comfort mode it was a nice ride. The bolstered seats did sometimes get annoying as they are quite snug but that was mainly when I was the passenger trying to sleep.
When purchasing, the Bi-Xenon's were definitely a selling point over the standard GTI. Not only are they better headlights, but they finish off the front end nicely with the red stripe carrying on from the grille. And the LED tailights/blinkers look really trick at night. The other thing was availability. I was told 6+ months wait for a GTI, however I had my PP within 2 weeks and a pick of any colour. So like you said, by the time you add $2k for Bi-Xenon's to a stadard GTI (which you can no longer option), it was only a bit more for the PP.
I can't speak much for the diff as I've never driven a standard GTI hard, however I've taken mine for a few 'spirited' drives on quiet roads and they way the car pulls out of a corner when accelerating is impressive! No under-steer, no torque-steer. It just points and shoots exactly where you want it to go. And as for the brakes, I made myself car-sick they pull up that hard!
One thing with the 19in wheels though. Be prepared to wash them a lot! they get covered in brake dust (as would the other GTI ones) however due to their design they are a pain in the @ss to clean. I've just brought a brush which should make it a lot easier.

Reassuring to know I'm not the only one thinking this way. (gti+Xenons vs PP).

Reassuring to know I'm not the only one thinking this way.

Sorry guys my posts are a bit all over the place. I'm new at this.

[oztadpole]

Does anyone know if the suspension setup is the same on both cars. Or is the PP stiffer/lower?

[aj555]

Does anyone know if the suspension setup is the same on both cars. Or is the PP stiffer/lower?

I had a quick look at the tech specs in the brochure: the only difference seems to be that the Front and Rear Track is 4mm and 3mm narrower than the std GTI. Height is the same at 1466mm

[oztadpole]

I had a quick look at the tech specs in the brochure: the only difference seems to be that the Front and Rear Track is 4mm and 3mm narrower than the std GTI. Height is the same at 1466mm

OK. Thanks. Should've looked in the specs myself.

[oztadpole]

OK. I'm pretty comfortable going with it (the PP that is).

Only question is should I try to downsize to 18"? Or would it be marginal? I'd only do the downsize if I can get the dealer to swap.

Also, thanks for the feedback from all so far. This is a great forum.

[aj555]

I think it would be marginal, but it depends on how bad the roads are where you drive. Other than rim size, the std GTI runs on a 40 profile so will contribute to a softer ride
Pity you can't drive both to compare.

[Jimi]

The suspension tune is the same on both the GTI and the GTI PP. In other parts of the world there is no difference in model, the diff, brakes and power bump are just like any other option. Any difference in ride will be purely down to the wheels

[oztadpole]

I think it would be marginal, but it depends on how bad the roads are where you drive. Other than rim size, the std GTI runs on a 40 profile so will contribute to a softer ride
Pity you can't drive both to compare.

I have driven both. I drove the std GTI a few times and quite extensively. Including on the freeway.

However I drove the PP on a another day and only a very short spin and a different route. I felt it was a tiny bit firmer. Certianly nothing harsh.

[oztadpole]

The suspension tune is the same on both the GTI and the GTI PP. In other parts of the world there is no difference in model, the diff, brakes and power bump are just like any other option. Any difference in ride will be purely down to the wheels

Thanks for that. That's good to know.