Soon to be '07 Polo GTI owner in Victoria.

[AntiFun]

Hi guys,

Recently my Nissan pulsar GTI-R broke down, and I've been fed up with servicing/repairing a '93 car, with no resale value ( I'm trying to pawn it off for 5K and no one wants it... ) Don't get me wrong, I've always wanted a GTI-R since I was a kid, but they're getting on in age and I don't have the money to be rebuilding engines and repairing a million things, I bought the car for ($6.5K) $7.5K after i did rego and rwc on road two years ago, and spent approximately ~4K in labour/parts over those 2 years... Not to mention personal labour times.... And now I'm selling for -2K :s ANYWAYS!

After much internal debate, I decided to up my spend to around 13K, I settled on a POLO GTI as the number one car in this bracket (~13K to ~17K), this was based on year range / average kilometers / current value versus current value of other cars I wanted.... It just comes up trumps on everything (In my opinion anyways...) Not only that, but the other thing that attracts me is the "little brother" syndrome it has, similar to the GTR little brother syndrome the gti-r has... Small and Zippy has always interested me.. straight line speeds aren't really my thing, and again, the polo gti does well in all categories against its competitors. And who DOESN'T like tartan cloth honestly.

To get into the particulars, the current GTI I'm about to look at is sitting at approximate 80,000K.... and finding reliable service schedule information on the make is hard... As a precaution the first thing I want to do is get the timing belt done. The other thing is I'm finding mixed points of views on what to do about this. So I've decided to get it done ASAP and then I can forget about it.

Currently, I would like someone to clarify for me some things, and please correct me if I'm wrong...

1. 80,000K's is "pushing it", even though VW recommended 120,000k's originally for a timing kit change... (supposedly revised?)

2. is ecstuning is the most popular place to source the kit from the uk?

3. ecstuning has a "genuine timing kit" - $672, "ecs timing kit" - $239, "ecs kit with underdrive pullers" - $400. Looking at those prices why wouldn't I want the kit with the underdrive pulleys? has anyone gone lightweight pulleys? will the car require a re-tune if I get the underweight pulleys? How does this effect the car? (In certain cars, like my gti-r, going lightweight is a big nono and the only people that make lightweight pulleys are dodgy chinese manufacturers who don't know any better...)
- As I'm new to euro, in particular VW, what is the deal with genuine versus non-genuine?
- here's the link to the one im talking about that i liked Volkswagen Golf IV 1.8T > Search > Timing Belt > ES#5140 ECS Tuning Timing Belt Kit - Ultimate - 06B198479V2UDRED

4. Are all the kits actually the right ones? Or am I looking at the wrong things?

5. I live in the nothern suburbs Coburg area... I know dealer repairs are generally a no no, I was thinking maybe I should get a quote of this group? Prestige Auto Works - Specialising in BMW - MINI - VOLKSWAGEN - AUDI Ph: (03) 9939 6055 or maybe these guys Motor repair Airport West - Volks Repair with a wide range of services to get you moving Has anyone had any experience with either?

6. I'm looking at approximately 500 to 800 bucks labour depending on what else is done?

Hope all goes well sourcing this car!!! should have it by this time next week and it's a stellar example compared to the others available. I really really want a polo gti they're awesome

[seangti]

welcome. Jump into the Polo 9n section for answers around the light weight pulleys. Yes they've been done and I vaguely recall the feedback has been positive. Check out the build threads, the Red Devil thread details light weight pulleys, as do a few of the other build threads. I wouldn't think 80k is pushing it, but would be dependent on the age of the vehicle. If it's an 06 model, than yeah I'd be thinking about getting it done, but probably not rushing.

Also check out the forum vendor area to support those who support the forum. My experience with the vendors have all be +ve.

[AntiFun]

Ok, yep, I been researching the 9n section to decide on whether I should get the car or not and I'm pretty happy with everyone's opinions and everyone's experiences both good and bad with the 9n, the section was disabled once I signed up earlier lol, but I'll try do some more hunting for the moment.

I think I might order the parts asap, and then save some pennies for the next service, just trying to be proactive

Will make sure to update this thread once I secure the car...

Ok here are some self sourced answers.

- There's no negative comments about ECS's stuff versus VW. ECS is part of the vendors section ??

- Lightweight Pulley's is a risk on an engine without a built crank as you run a risk of killing the stock crank (just like any other car).
ECS doesn't do a kit, ask them to make one up for me.

- I might give the Pulleys a miss, but running with the gates racing timing belt might be a good idea, might ask ECS their opinion

couldn't find much on where to get timing belt service done, a lot of mixed answers