All Things Mk5 > Members Rides
Calum’s pride and joy
LC5F:
I do like those RSII's - I can remember being parked next to a new at the time big Audi with those on, very nice.
Lots of people refurb split BBS wheels - suspect BBS are just covering their arses incase something goes wrong.
Only problem with going up 2 sizes in diameter will need 2 drops in profile - to cope with terrible roads, I prefer a bit of sidewall - hope the roads are good near you -or- you drive like a granny!
CalMac:
--- Quote from: LC5F on August 08, 2021, 05:44:46 pm ---I do like those RSII's - I can remember being parked next to a new at the time big Audi with those on, very nice.
Lots of people refurb split BBS wheels - suspect BBS are just covering their arses incase something goes wrong.
Only problem with going up 2 sizes in diameter will need 2 drops in profile - to cope with terrible roads, I prefer a bit of sidewall - hope the roads are good near you -or- you drive like a granny!
--- End quote ---
Thanks! I like them a lot too, glad to hear that you agree about the email I got. These are 18” so it would be just 1 wheel size up for me, 19s are a bit too much for me personally. Most likely gonna keep my Monzas for winter.
Unfortunately, ‘good roads’ and ‘North of England’ never appear in the same sentence :grin: .
CalMac:
Hi me again :)
I really haven’t made many changes to my car in the past few months, I’ve just been enjoying it while the nice weather lasts, and getting a bit of extra maintenance in. However, doing this has revealed more issues which will need to be addressed at some point.
I’ve recently had:
1- New front brakes and pads to correct some awful brake judder - £90 labour, £130ish for parts
2- a front wheel alignment - rear is too rusty to adjust - £40
3- a pair of part worn tyres for the front - £75 supplied and fitted
1- I’m not entirely sure of what caused the brake judder, it must be down to irregular pad/disc wear, the slide pins seem healthy and all. Anyway new pads and discs sorted that and I have a lot more confidence back in the car.
2- I really wanted a 4 wheel alignment in preparation for getting new tyres however the rear axle and bolts are so rusty that adjusting the alignment is futile. Gonna have to get the rear axle off at some point and freshen it up with new hardware too, perhaps the power flex road series bushings also? I really wish I had some garage or unit space to do more stuff myself, it’s impossible to find that kind of space and doing roadside work is not too kind for my neighbours.
3- About the new tyres…
when I bought the car, it was equipped with falken ziex up front and ‘gt radial’ on the rear. I knew the rear tyres weren’t the best anyway after feeling the back end step out on the twisty roads. But very manageable. I had been using them ever since buying and I decided that I should rotate the wheels to save me some tread as the fronts were now ~3mm and rears were ~4mm.
With the ‘gt radial’ on the front they were the worst tyre I’ve ever used, the compound is rock hard compared to the Falkens, they will spin some in the dry and they turn into bars of soap in the wet. Driving in the rain was dangerous even 30mph turns on a normal largish roundabout would cause understeer.
I would not normally buy a set of part worns but I just HAD to get rid of the ‘gt radial’ ones on there, and my 17s are my winter wheels anyway so not bothered. I managed to get some continental contact 5 tyres with ~4.5mm tread on them still, this will easily get me through winter. They are run flats so there’s a lot of ‘noise’ transferred to the steering wheel but not uncomfortably so. The road holding is light years better.
As an interesting side note, my friend who bought a mk7 R about 6 months ago, also recieved it with the exact same tyre set up except in 18”. I suspect that this is some sort of dealer way of installing the cheapest tyres possible on cars before they sell them? He also would say that the back end would be less stable than anticipated sometimes.
Nice part,
I took the car for a blast on the moor roads near me, just to get used to them. Once I found the rhythm of the roads and my car it was super, I really don’t need much more than what I already have. My confidence in the car is stronger since I know what my brakes are up to. The gear change felt super slick probably cause it was up to proper temps. I had a good play with a red 6R polo gti too.
Unfortunately I have developed a sort of dead spot in my steering now. I’m assuming it’s from bush wear or tie rod ends, the middle of the steering had maybe half an inch of steer which is noticeably lighter than the rest. I’m quite sure this isn’t some adaptive steering feel feature.
CalMac:
I wanted to make this as a separate post cause I think it’s important.
The rusty front wing problem on the mk5 is very well documented and almost everyone will encounter it. I fully advise if you haven’t already, pulling back the fender liner and giving the whole wheel arch a real good clean. I used meguiars multi purpose cleaner, a rag and a brush.
I was shocked how much crap was stuck in my car and thoroughly advise everyone to give these spots a check!
Very fortunately, the chasis rail end, bottom of door bit, whatever it’s called, was completely intact with no rust. I probably made a nice weight saving on each side too :grin:
I sacrificed one of my Amazon detailing brushes to get all of the muck out which really helped.
CalMac:
I’ve been having myself a little internal struggle recently, toying with the idea of selling my golf for a 330i/ci, specifically an e46. I’ve actually come across a stonking good deal for one right now, 2 owners £2500 and 100k miles. But after a lot of research and deliberation I can still never make my mind up.
I would like to experience a rwd car and get comfortable driving one, I would also like to drive on track eventually and become a ‘better’ driver. After doing all the research I have and using what I know from experiences, I can’t seem to justify letting my gti go. It’s just on the verge of 86k now I think, niggling things go wrong never anything major, most people tend to have the same experience, a few peace of mind replacements here and there. Whereas on the m54b30 engines, people tend to either have near perfect reliability or a travesty of repairs.
For me at my age, despite having paid more money for the ‘slower’ car, the gti is much more suited to what I need it to do, a fun fast road, daily-able car. It doesn’t cost the earth to run. I’m sure an e46 doesn’t have to either but this is my perspective.
M54b30 requires you to have to apply yourself wether you like it or not. Making repairs as and when needed, carrying out preventative maintenance often much in advance. I.e. entire cooling system, oil pump nut, disa valves.
The tfsi on the other hand has a longer list of things that may go wrong but for the most part they are relatively simple fixes and much less detrimental to the life of the engine like swapping the cam follower on time.
I really just needed to write this down somewhere to ground myself, I’m forever chasing ideas in my head that seem excellent one day and terrible the next. This thinking has made me fall in and out of love with my gti a lot lately despite really enjoying ownership on the whole.
As a young car guy, I do feel sort of pressured to aquire the cars I want to drive while I can still buy them at a reasonable price. I’m sure many others feel like this too and perhaps it’s safer if I let the bimmer slide. After all, were any good decisions ever made in haste?
It is very easy to get swept up in performance figures, stats and reviews. Constantly comparing and contrasting what we have and what we could have, it is very easy to be swayed this way once you have gotten very used to your car. I think it is important to remember that things aren’t so bad, take a breath, remember what you have and be grateful for it.
This is all my own opinions and before I’m hounded, I understand that I am comparing apples to oranges here.
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