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0-60. on vw GTI (4 banger) '96-98

gduk3gduk3 Member Posts: 9
edited March 2014 in Volkswagen
i was wondering whats the 0-60 on a gti 4 banger.
whenever i ask someone, all they would say its
slow... can someone tell me with numbers? also i
read an article that said when the golf GTI 4banger
reaches over 55mph, you have to worry about more
things than just the speed. what did they mean by
that??? i would really appreciate it if some can
help me here. thanks.

Comments

  • gduk3gduk3 Member Posts: 9
    oh yeah another thing. the only reason im wonder about the std GTI and not the vr6 is because of insurance. i've heard that the GTI vr6 insurance is higher than the std GTI. is it true? if so, is it a big difference. by about how much?. thanks
  • kevinckevinc Member Posts: 51
    Sure, the VR6 will be more expensive to insure.
    It depends on your age and driving record though.
    I'm older and have a clean record - and my VR6
    is very economical to insure.... the 4-cyl GTI isn't a "real" GTI, it's a Golf GL with a Fuba antenna, a couple of cosmetic cues, and a GTI badge. They are slow as molasses (9.7 0-60 I believe.. arrgh!).
  • nedzelnedzel Member Posts: 787
    The Golf is just too heavy for the 4 cylinder. that was true of the MkIII Golf and is even more true with the new Mk IV. On the other hand, my 2000 GTI GLX really scoots ;-)
  • nyvr6nyvr6 Member Posts: 1
    I drove(beat the hell out of) the 8v golfs Beatles and Jettas all day long at Driversfest this summer. At the end of the day when I got in my GTI VR6 it was like moving from a Geo Metro to a 1,500 hp 1/4 mile car. If you are looking to buy a VW, go back 2 or 3 years and buy a used GTI VR6 or Jetta GLX vr6. Insurence is no thing major. It's maybe $150 more a year than my old 94 Accord EX.

    -Mabe
    1995 GTI VR6
  • judasjudas Member Posts: 217
    until the 4 cylinder turbo hits the US (If thats where you live). It'll be cheaper than the VR6, lighter, better weight bias, and it's THE engine if you want to modify your car. 250 HP out of the 1.8T is about 2500 bucks. With just a chip exhaust and intake you'll be able to get it to 200 HP.
  • gduk3gduk3 Member Posts: 9
    are the reliability any good on vw's?
    i've heard negative stuff about it...is it true?
  • rollerfunkrollerfunk Member Posts: 15
    In Europe, VW's had an EXCELLENT reputation, except those junky Corrados/Golfs G60 supercharged.
  • autoplileautoplile Member Posts: 1
    The VR6 is a wonderful engine, true.
    But the 4 banger is just fine albeit not as powerful! I just sold my '98 after 30k wonderful miles. I don't know if I got lucky with a extra good as-built or the K & N filter helped alot.
    True, the VR6's will leave you behind but these 4's are much maligned by boy racers. Set your ego aside and try one. You'll save thousands. If you race all the time on tracks get a real racer. These cars on the road however are quite satisfactory. This from a Saab Aero and SC400 owner. I'll miss it. Especially the 40+MPG road trips with the air on!
  • only1harryonly1harry Member Posts: 1,140
    The problem is that the Golf is too heavy.
    The new Golfs averages about 2800lbs!!
    There is nothing wrong with the 4 cyl. 115hp engine. It has decent torque and it would work great in a 2400lb Civic but it's just underpowered for the total weight of the car.
    If the Golf were to weigh around 2500lbs it would be almost a whole second faster 0-60.. or low 9's. The average I 've seen is 10sec+ now..
    Take a 2260lb Civic hatchback with 106hp. 0-60 is 8.7-8.9s. A 2410lb Civic LX sedan w/same HP does it in 9.1-9.5s (I always give the low's & high's that I 've seen).
    I 'd say if they 're going to keep the current design and weight they need to up to the motor to put out around 20hp more for it to have decent acceleration.
    As far as the turbos go, many manufacturers don't export the turbo versions to the US. US insurance companies charge a heavy premium for turbos and turbos don't usually sell too well in the US. They 've done their market research..
    I wish they 'd bring some of those cars over here!
    Take the turbo charged Subaru Impreza WRX in Japan, 220hp! The RX7 twin turbo which is still produced over there, etc. etc. Although I think the GTI 150hp version would sell good here. But we get the VR6 (174hp) version so it's not bad.
    In Europe they 've had the Civic hatchback with the Integra GSR 170hp and call it VTi. They 've had it for years and comes with a sports suspension.. How come they didn't bring that little 2360lb pocket rocket over here? I can go on & on..
    '99 Integra GSR
    '06 Civic LX coupe
    '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
    '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
  • fervor1fervor1 Member Posts: 5
    I have a '98 Golf GL and I love the acceleration. It is true that it is not as fast as the V6 or the turbo but it is still an incredible experience to drive. The motor pulls strongly and smoothly from 2000rpm to redline without a hickup in between. Freeway on ramps are no problem and passing is a quick 'drop it into 4th and go' situation. If you are not someone that needs to win every stoplight race, you don't need to pay the extra money. The incredible handling of the Golf is still there, the shifting is precise, and the car just feels fast. Don't buy into this "get all the horsepower you can afford" crap. This car goes and handles great and is all that you need. 80mph runs to Denver don't even tax it. Added bonus: 33mpg in mixed driving. Don't get me wrong, I like to run with the big boys now and then but for having fun in everyday driving, this car is it.
  • ramonramon Member Posts: 825
    Also the VR6 would bring the Golf to 3000lb car. And it would be alot more nose heavy thus hampering overall handling. A 1.8t would be jus tnice IMHO. I fyou want a VR6 engine, I suggest skip the Golf and ge tthe Jetta. At least you have hte extra trunk to help balance the rear a bit. Well unless you just want to go straight....
  • autoexpertautoexpert Member Posts: 2
    i put a mach 10 space mission ship engine and some rocket boosters into my '91 tercel, not to mension a 52 gallon nitrous oxide detane tank, with time placement valves along side a dual flux capacitor with time travel controls. Let me tell u ive blown away many gtis and golfs not to mension ferraris. i use lamborghini engines to motorize my power windows and door locks.
  • autoexpertautoexpert Member Posts: 2
    thats neat that your car can time travel. i tried to modify my car for time traveling but it was unsuccessful. well i have a vw golf gl its not that fast but im good friends with tiger woods. he has one too. he likes it because he plays golf and his car is named golf. get it "golf". we both take turns driving each others car. its fun because sometimes late at night we drive through the golf course. well i just lowerd my car to the ground its so low that it scrapes the ground when i drive and makes alot of sparks. people like to see that.
  • cinemafiacinemafia Member Posts: 57
    Well I guess Tiger Woods traded in his Golf for a Buick...have you seen the commercial? I mean c'mon do you really think a multi-millionaire golf pro would be driving around in a fricking Buick?

    Anyway, I once owned a '66 AMC Rambler that could travel at three and four sevenths the speed of light...well, as long as I didn't roll the windows down that is.

    But my current car, an '89 VW Cabriolet, can get up to about 316 mph with the 24 cylinder, 120 valve, 16 liter Behemat engine I stalled under the hood. Well actually it's not exactly under the hood, in fact it's so big compared to the car I had to remove the hood and the fenders and it completely blocks the windshield so I can't even see where I'm going. One time I was doing 210 mph. in a school zone and...well you'll see it in the papers.
  • only1harryonly1harry Member Posts: 1,140
    someone has been smoking something..
    '99 Integra GSR
    '06 Civic LX coupe
    '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
    '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
  • cinemafiacinemafia Member Posts: 57
    I smoke ganja
  • tutoo7tutoo7 Member Posts: 10
    Right now I have a GTI 1.8T and i added a chip to it. Im telling right now it is easily as pwerful or evem more powerful then the vr6.
  • dantleydantley Member Posts: 1
    Why not chip the VR6? Then who will be more powerful?

    '00 GTI VR6 (tropic orange)
    '00 Boxster S (artic silver)
  • judasjudas Member Posts: 217
    Probably still the 1.8T actually, the gains from chipping the VR6 (And most stock naturally aspirated engines) are fairly minimal, all it has to work with is timing, fuel delivery, etc. And VW already did a pretty good job with it. With just a chip you might be able to get another 5 or 10 horsepower. With the 1.8T it can up the boost pressure, so you can easily get another 35-50 HP with just a chip. No doubt about it, if you want modifications the 1.8T is THE engine to go with. For 1900 bones you can get a chip and an upgraded turbo that bumps you up to 225-235 HP. For that amount of money you're not going to be able to get anywhere near that with the VR6.
  • ramonramon Member Posts: 825
    I second that Judas. The vr6 when chipped can get about 190hp. That's all it can do. Also the 1.8T probably handles better due to lighter frontal weight compared to the heavy 2.8l VR6. In anycase, the 1.8T is the best buy for Golfs right now.
  • only1harryonly1harry Member Posts: 1,140
    does this chip do? Increase the boost? by how many PSI? does it also change the fuel maps? Does it increase the redline or REV limiter at all? Sounds like a good mod. Has anyone dynoed their 1.8T before and after the chip to get exact HP and torque gains at the wheels?
    And finally does this chip cause the "check engine light" to come on? and how does it affect reliability (I know your warranty is void)?
    '99 Integra GSR
    '06 Civic LX coupe
    '11 BMW 335i coupe xDrive
    '13 Honda Accord sedan (wife's car)
  • kubbokubbo Member Posts: 7
    Only1harry (is this like obi1kenobi?),

    The 1.8T usually boosts from 0.5bar to 1 bar turbo pressure (from 7.25 psi to 14.5 psi, I hate this standard system!). It also alters the fuel maps. I don't know about the rev limiter, some chips do, some don't, just depends on what chip you buy. It does not cause the "check engine light" to come on. Reliability is no problem, most chip manufacturers give warranty on the engine for about 3 years or 100.000 km (yes, the metric system rules). You even won't loose factory warranty, because it's the law that the manufacturer has to prove that it is the chip that caused the part (whatever part may break down) to fail.

    Kubbo
  • judasjudas Member Posts: 217
    Hold up there a second kubbo. You're pretty much wrong on the warranty part. It's not going to be difficult to prove almost any type of engine component failure was caused by the turbo. Blown headgasket? Caused by increased boost. Bad valves? Same thing. Cracked block? Burning oil? Darn near anything internally on the engine could be blamed on the increased boost. Blown tranny? Caused by the increased power.
    Reliability shouldn't be a problem, as Audi does something very similar in the 180 HP and 225 Hp versions of the TT, but your warranty is going out the window, unless the service manager is your brother or something.
    Also, I'm pretty sure your boost specs are a little off. I don't think the KO3 turbo can handle 14-15 lbs of boost, and I know it's not efficient at that level. The chip bumps boost up to around .75-.8 BAR around 11-12 psi. If you want to replace the KO3 with a KO4 you can run 1 bar or a little over, 14-15 psi. Last time I checked the cost of a KO4 kit was around 1900 bucks.
    I also don't know of any chip manufacturer that would warranty the engine like that when the chip is increasing boost. On a non turbo maybe, because the chances that the chip would cause major problems are pretty much 0.
  • kubbokubbo Member Posts: 7
    Judas,

    Thanks for your response but if you visit www.chip-tuning.com you will find that they boost pressure on a Passat B5 1.8T and golf IV 1.8T from 0.48bar to 1 bar. And that's only for the 190HP chip. They also sell the 235HP package, unfortunately they don't spec the boost pressure with that one. It is also this site where they're talking about the 100.000km warranty without specifying the model or chip. The only thing I forgot is that in most cases you have to buy this warranty (when your car has more than 5.000 km, cars with less than 5.000 km have full factory warranty).

    And yes, your right about the fact that almost everything that breaks down can be blamed to the boost, but blaming is not the same as proving. The manufacturer has to PROVE it was the chip. I really don't know how a manufacturer can prove this, but than again I'm not an expert (and also not a lawyer).

    Kubbo
  • judasjudas Member Posts: 217
    Kubbo, they won't have a problem, they deal with it all the time. You think that Ford is going to cover the warranty on a new Mustang if you install an 8psi supercharger on it? It's the same thing. You say you don't have any experience with it, then you shouldnt be telling people that it's true, I do have experience with, having worked at car dealerships in the past. Your warranty won't be honored if you monkey around with the boost, trust me. According to the people that make the KO3 any boost above 12 psi isn't going to be effective due to it not being 'on the map' as far as efficiency goes. You can keep increasing boost but the returns aren't going to be as great. I'll check this again when I get home.
  • judasjudas Member Posts: 217
    On that site they dont have the Golf IV listed in the English portion of the site, they do list the Beetle 1.8T as .8 BAR.
  • kubbokubbo Member Posts: 7
    Judas,

    Finally we're getting somewhere. I'm learning every day. You're right about their English portion of the site, although they do list the Passat 1.8T with 1 bar, but maybe that engine has a bigger turbo that the Beetle, I don't know. On their German portion (which is mostly in English) they list the Golf IV 1.8T with 190 HP. They don't specify the pressure, but I assume it is the same as the Passat because it has the same (end) power. And yes, you're right about me having no experience, but it has never been my intention to tell the truth (or lies), I just tell what I read and hear and try to share it with other people and try to get responses so I can start building my experience. The reason for this is that I want to built a turbo or supercharger on my car. But before I do that I first need to know what it's all about, and that's what I'm doing right now. So, if I insulted you with my previous posting, I apologize for that.

    Ok, now we cleared that one, back to the warranty. With warranty it is always the same with whatever company you deal with. It's always somebody else to blame and to claim. But why do they write on their (German) site that you can buy warranty for 1 year or 100.000 km, and why do they write that in case of a factory warranty you should turn to them? What to do, believe them or not? And yes, before you buy a product they always tell you that they have great warranty, but as soon as you start having problems they don't answer your calls and all that kind of crap. But I think, and that's my personal opinion, that somebody who sells a product with warranty has confidence in his/her product.

    Ok, that's it for now, have to go,

    Kubbo
  • judasjudas Member Posts: 217
    Maybe Germany has different laws than the US, but I can guarantee that in the US if you cram 15 PSI into your GTI and you blow a headgasket the company is going to have absolutely NO problem proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the problem was caused by the turbo. As before, ditto almost every other problem. You could put an aftermarket exhaust on your car that gives you ten more HP and then blow your tranny and all the company has to say is 'Hey, the engine was making more HP than it was supposed to, that's why the tranny blew.' Occasionally you'll find service managers that are willing to overlook slight modifications when it comes to warrantys, but something as major as doubling the boost is going to void your warranty, in the US at least, every time.
  • qwordqword Member Posts: 20
    I know that this is a little off but, I added a after market cool air intake onto my TDI that made it's tone quite noticeable. When I took it in for it's 15k mile service, the service manager asked me what all I had done to my car. I popped the hood and showed him and had no warranty problems what so ever. I told him of my future plans which includes full exhaust by Techtonic, a chip by New Dimensions, and a intercooler by APR. According to him (the service manager) the only thing that would void my contract was of course the chip. I checked with New Dimensions and they confirmed that their own chip would void my warranty. Also according to the service manager adding the intercooler, intake, and exhaust will increase the life of the turbo. Funny because just the other day I read that same quote in this months issue of European car....
  • ataieataie Member Posts: 84
    have a 96 GTI 2.0, and looking to purchase a 95 VR6. the 2.0 has been very good, but need to know if there are anything I need to be aware about this model?

    also do these engine have timing belt or chain?
  • circa69circa69 Member Posts: 1
    In the US, u should have very little trouble getting warranty service.
    I say this for several reasons:
    1 - '00 GTI warrantied with blown gasket, it was my best friends car. He blew it from too much boost (we think). The dealer did not (could not?) notice the remapped software.
    2 - My solution to insure that I have coverage was buying an extra ECU with the chip. It cost me an extra $400 but I keep the original in my trunk and can switch them in about 15-20 minutes. The extra $400 is a very small price to pay next to voiding the warranty.
    3 - I did a massive ammount of research before getting a chip. It is very difficult for a dealer to prove that a chip (or MOD in general) cause the problem. Dealers most often can not prove it. They do resort to stone wall tactics and I have talked to several people who have had to involve lawyers to take care of it. This why I did what I did (see # 2).
    Also I would like to note that these problems are few and far between. Chipping WILL increase the chance of problems but it is still most likely you will go 100,000 miles w/o a chip induced problem.

    On HP gains....
    The APR chip takes the 1.8T to 196HP and 240lb-ft. This thing will scoot compared to the 174HP, 180lb-ft VR6. As a side note, you WILL need stickier tires to keep the beast in check.
    The VR6 has the most potential (500+ on an EIP golf ~$6000 best I can figure on EIP's site) but you have to pay for every little bit of it. The 1.8T is the way to go if you have a budget(~$1000 with ECU) but from there the price goes up and you will not be able to achieve as much as with a VR6.

    I love the dumbfounded look on the 20 year old in the mustang GT :)
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