Another MK5 GTI
Discussion
Another car ticked off the list. Finally got myself in a MK5 GTI, always sort of fancied one having read about them in TG and EVO mag when I was a kid and despite being a bit of a Honda fan boy, I just couldn't get myself to buy an EP3 at the prices they're going for and knowing the treatment they've all had.
I spent a few months looking for this car, mainly because I'm a bit of an options bore so heated tartans, sunroof and electric folding mirrors were a must. Ended up finding this one which ticked all the options boxes and had a full VWSH to boot.
It's been a little bit "dubbed" with coilovers, aftermarket wheels and silly stretch. I've quite grown to like the wheels so they'll be reshod with some good rubber of a suitable size and I plan to raise it 20 mm or so as it's pretty crap both around town and on a spritied drive on anything other than flat tarmac.
I've had it just over 3 months now and I still like it. I usually have a crap attention span and have changed cars every 4-6 months or so over the last few years but this one feels like a bit of a keeper. I was a bit apprehensive at first as I've always been a 6 pot BMW person and going from that to a GTI felt like a bit of a downgrade initially. Those thoughts were quickly changed as soon as I had a chance to take it on a proper back road run. It reminds me of a grown up version of my Panda 100HP which brings back some first car nostalgia.
In the last few months it's had a cambelt, waterpump and thermostat change done by AMD tuning. I've given it an oil service and have got some preventative maintenance to do on it (cam follower and diverter valve). I've also installed an Apple Carplay system which has hugely modernised the interior imo.
So that's pretty much it so far. Once the preventative maintenance bits have been done, I'm considering maybe going down the stage 2 route, so induction kit, turboback exhaust and a remap. I'm planning to retrofit xenons and fit some LED tail lights and finally wrap the car a MK2 Oak Green type colour.
I spent a few months looking for this car, mainly because I'm a bit of an options bore so heated tartans, sunroof and electric folding mirrors were a must. Ended up finding this one which ticked all the options boxes and had a full VWSH to boot.
It's been a little bit "dubbed" with coilovers, aftermarket wheels and silly stretch. I've quite grown to like the wheels so they'll be reshod with some good rubber of a suitable size and I plan to raise it 20 mm or so as it's pretty crap both around town and on a spritied drive on anything other than flat tarmac.
I've had it just over 3 months now and I still like it. I usually have a crap attention span and have changed cars every 4-6 months or so over the last few years but this one feels like a bit of a keeper. I was a bit apprehensive at first as I've always been a 6 pot BMW person and going from that to a GTI felt like a bit of a downgrade initially. Those thoughts were quickly changed as soon as I had a chance to take it on a proper back road run. It reminds me of a grown up version of my Panda 100HP which brings back some first car nostalgia.
In the last few months it's had a cambelt, waterpump and thermostat change done by AMD tuning. I've given it an oil service and have got some preventative maintenance to do on it (cam follower and diverter valve). I've also installed an Apple Carplay system which has hugely modernised the interior imo.
So that's pretty much it so far. Once the preventative maintenance bits have been done, I'm considering maybe going down the stage 2 route, so induction kit, turboback exhaust and a remap. I'm planning to retrofit xenons and fit some LED tail lights and finally wrap the car a MK2 Oak Green type colour.
This is amusing. I spent ages looking for a good Mk5 with a £5k budget and concluded I wasn't happy spending the kind of money ropey ones go for and ended up buying a Ep3 Civic Type R for £2k that has been an absolute pleasure to own.
I still fancy a Mk5 though..
The OZ Futura wheels on your car are VERY smart wheels!!!!
I still fancy a Mk5 though..
The OZ Futura wheels on your car are VERY smart wheels!!!!
aka_kerrly said:
This is amusing. I spent ages looking for a good Mk5 with a £5k budget and concluded I wasn't happy spending the kind of money ropey ones go for and ended up buying a Ep3 Civic Type R for £2k that has been an absolute pleasure to own.
I still fancy a Mk5 though..
The OZ Futura wheels on your car are VERY smart wheels!!!!
I think for me it's a case of don't meet your heroes. I'm a big Honda nerd because that's what we had at home growing up so I didn't want to get anything short of a lovely example or I knew I'd be disappointed, when I was looking in Nov/Dec 2020 a decent condition 100k mile EP3 would set you back around 5k. I still fancy a Mk5 though..
The OZ Futura wheels on your car are VERY smart wheels!!!!
Im not sure why but I thought at that point a MK5 gti was better vfm at the time and I've not yet owned an "enthusiast" turbo car yet so another box sort of ticked.
Thank you! I've written aftermarket as sadly they're not real OZ Futuras 😂, they are in fact Dare F5's
. Almost 5 months into ownership and my first chance to get a proper run out in it.
As the weathers started to improve I've found myself sneaking out for drives purely for the sake of driving which I haven't done in a very very long time!
The car is fantastic, the turbo power delivery makes the car feel deceptively fast and with the coilovers and aggresive front camber it is quite good at turn in and if you're aggresive enough with a turn in and throttle adjustment you can get the rear to rotate into a corner a little bit. It's properly properly fun!
I've just done a minor service on it and ordered the cam follower from the local VW dealer so it should be mechanically sound by the end of this week.
Some photos of my run out to C&M
As the weathers started to improve I've found myself sneaking out for drives purely for the sake of driving which I haven't done in a very very long time!
The car is fantastic, the turbo power delivery makes the car feel deceptively fast and with the coilovers and aggresive front camber it is quite good at turn in and if you're aggresive enough with a turn in and throttle adjustment you can get the rear to rotate into a corner a little bit. It's properly properly fun!
I've just done a minor service on it and ordered the cam follower from the local VW dealer so it should be mechanically sound by the end of this week.
Some photos of my run out to C&M
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