Golf GTI TCR...A dream made a reality.
Discussion
Have been on here in dribs and drabs but more and more so recently so guessed it was about time I started a thread on a car that I've had for just over a year now! Genuinely a dream car just a few years ago and it has definitely lived up to the hype.
Ive never been one for owning just the standard version of a particular car. Having owned 2 Edition 30's and 2 Edition 35's I couldnt just buy a "standard' GTI. Ive really liked the MK7.5 since it was released with the newer front end and the digital cockpit so it had to a 7.5 Performance or the TCR. When I was looking early last year, COVID prices were still a little silly and a decent GTI Performance was over £25k with a decent TCR being low £30's. With man maths it made more sense so look at the TCR closer due to the rare nature and the idea that is should hold its value better over the next few years.
Initially spec wise it had to have the Performance Pack, the Akra exhaust and the Pan Roof but after seeing horror stories on the pan roof surrounds cracking and pretty much all of them getting closer to the expiration on the warranty it made sense to shelve this one. I wasn't too fussed on the colour but it couldnt be the grey. As good as the grey can look, I have a 'thing' for silver wheels and the grey with silver wheels just doesn't work imo.
In the end I found the perfect car. Tornado Red, PP, Akra and Dynaudio, plus the already brilliant spec these come with. Ed at APS in Brackley was superb and overall the car has been superb. Ive covered 11000 miles in it and apart from a few small warranty issues (which credit to VW were sorted in a very timely manner) the car has been fantastic. I am writing this from France where we have just driven over 1000km to come and see my other half's parents and sat on the M25 and French Toll roads have averaged over 40mpg. Pretty ridiculous if you ask me.
I do like to do a few tweaks to my cars mainly to make them OEM+ but with the TCR it is already an amazing package it's hard to find fault. The few things i've done can be very easily reversed if the next owner wanted too. I have had the wheel retrimmed by the great guys down at Royal Steering Wheels and have fitted a set of Silver Revo RF0 18's. I had the wheel on my ED35 retrimmed in full alcantara by Royal and the quality was fantastic hence going down this route again. I also felt that the TCR should probably have come with a full alcantara wheel from factory to match the gear gator and door cards and for me it ties it in fantastically well with the rest of the interior.
On the wheels front it had the be the Revo RF0's. I have been after some for a few years but they never came up at the right price and I didn't really want to spend £1200 plus tyres plus the cost of the having them repainted in silver. For anyone who doesn't know, you can't buy the Revo Wheels in an 18' in Silver (more on the 18's in a second). I came home from work one evening and out of interest had a quick look on eBay only to find a very reputable dealer selling a set of freshly painted, brand new pair of RF0 18's in Silver for £700. I instantly hit buy and the rest is history. With this being a PP car the stock wheels were the 19' Reifnitz and whilst I think they look fantastic I the car drives far better on 18' in my opinion with it being more nimble, less road noise and also an added bonus of tyres being a good chunk cheaper. This also means the PP wheels are sat in the garage for when I want to sell it. The Revo's will be staying with me for a very long time
I have no real further plans for the car other than to enjoy it. I may lower it at some point but this would be purely visual and whilst it has recently become a weekend car, I do tend to drive it in a lot of different places so the extra ground clearance is a nice bonus.
Few photos for you all to feast your eyes over. Everytime I look at the car I still can't quite believe its mine.
Cheers
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/jC5riwnQ[/url
]
Ive never been one for owning just the standard version of a particular car. Having owned 2 Edition 30's and 2 Edition 35's I couldnt just buy a "standard' GTI. Ive really liked the MK7.5 since it was released with the newer front end and the digital cockpit so it had to a 7.5 Performance or the TCR. When I was looking early last year, COVID prices were still a little silly and a decent GTI Performance was over £25k with a decent TCR being low £30's. With man maths it made more sense so look at the TCR closer due to the rare nature and the idea that is should hold its value better over the next few years.
Initially spec wise it had to have the Performance Pack, the Akra exhaust and the Pan Roof but after seeing horror stories on the pan roof surrounds cracking and pretty much all of them getting closer to the expiration on the warranty it made sense to shelve this one. I wasn't too fussed on the colour but it couldnt be the grey. As good as the grey can look, I have a 'thing' for silver wheels and the grey with silver wheels just doesn't work imo.
In the end I found the perfect car. Tornado Red, PP, Akra and Dynaudio, plus the already brilliant spec these come with. Ed at APS in Brackley was superb and overall the car has been superb. Ive covered 11000 miles in it and apart from a few small warranty issues (which credit to VW were sorted in a very timely manner) the car has been fantastic. I am writing this from France where we have just driven over 1000km to come and see my other half's parents and sat on the M25 and French Toll roads have averaged over 40mpg. Pretty ridiculous if you ask me.
I do like to do a few tweaks to my cars mainly to make them OEM+ but with the TCR it is already an amazing package it's hard to find fault. The few things i've done can be very easily reversed if the next owner wanted too. I have had the wheel retrimmed by the great guys down at Royal Steering Wheels and have fitted a set of Silver Revo RF0 18's. I had the wheel on my ED35 retrimmed in full alcantara by Royal and the quality was fantastic hence going down this route again. I also felt that the TCR should probably have come with a full alcantara wheel from factory to match the gear gator and door cards and for me it ties it in fantastically well with the rest of the interior.
On the wheels front it had the be the Revo RF0's. I have been after some for a few years but they never came up at the right price and I didn't really want to spend £1200 plus tyres plus the cost of the having them repainted in silver. For anyone who doesn't know, you can't buy the Revo Wheels in an 18' in Silver (more on the 18's in a second). I came home from work one evening and out of interest had a quick look on eBay only to find a very reputable dealer selling a set of freshly painted, brand new pair of RF0 18's in Silver for £700. I instantly hit buy and the rest is history. With this being a PP car the stock wheels were the 19' Reifnitz and whilst I think they look fantastic I the car drives far better on 18' in my opinion with it being more nimble, less road noise and also an added bonus of tyres being a good chunk cheaper. This also means the PP wheels are sat in the garage for when I want to sell it. The Revo's will be staying with me for a very long time
I have no real further plans for the car other than to enjoy it. I may lower it at some point but this would be purely visual and whilst it has recently become a weekend car, I do tend to drive it in a lot of different places so the extra ground clearance is a nice bonus.
Few photos for you all to feast your eyes over. Everytime I look at the car I still can't quite believe its mine.
Cheers
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/jC5riwnQ[/url]
ajap1979 said:
normalbloke said:
Am I the only one in here expecting Scalextric content?
I'm too young to remember something from the late 70s.Nice car OP.
Total Control Racing. My first ever electric car racing set. Smaller in scale but not as good as Scalextric. https://youtu.be/MU_A88OMnuw?si=X7momXpNVXlF6Njt
T_S_M said:
That looks brilliant! Love the silver wheels against the red paint.
I’ve always thought these needed some kind of spoiler to balance the rear (looks wise) against the rear diffuser.
Completely agree with this. If the wing matched the MK8 Clubsport I feel it would be perfection. I’ve always thought these needed some kind of spoiler to balance the rear (looks wise) against the rear diffuser.
I’ve been keeping an eye out for a bigger wing but haven’t spotted one I like the look of yet.
Monster Mash said:
Lovely looking car OP - the TCR is a rare beast. I’ve recently collected a 7.5 GTI PP as my daily and I’m already smitten with it. Please keep us posted as you enjoy your car!
Cheers. It’s definitely a rare beast and to be honest it’s one of the reasons I went down the TCR route. Great car those PP 7.5’s. Enjoy it.
Peter_booker2003 said:
Completely agree with this. If the wing matched the MK8 Clubsport I feel it would be perfection.
I’ve been keeping an eye out for a bigger wing but haven’t spotted one I like the look of yet.
Would the wing off the MK7 Clubsport 40 not fit? It's a very similar shape to the MK8 version...I’ve been keeping an eye out for a bigger wing but haven’t spotted one I like the look of yet.
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