Ive got a GTI as you can see in my sig. My roomate has a '00 ITR. I am defintely more of a European car person but I do love the ITR and S2000. Just here to learn more about the ITR and share anything you want to know about my 1.8T GTI.

 

Welcome.

This can be an enjoyable, informative place. Just ignore the flames and blatant bullshit when they come around. The search function, when it works, is a valuable tool on this forum. Don't be afraid to ask questions and participate in discussions.

<--Former Karmann Ghia owner.

 

You should ask your roomate to let you test drive the car if you havn't done so yet.
A good way to learn ITR can start on autocrossing. Find a local spot, drive your GTi and your roomate's ITR there, swap cars after runs and you will notice the difference...precisely in handling and its NA powerband and momentum.

 

I have driven it. The first thing I noticed before anything else was how LOUD it was! Even with an intake my GTI is relatively quiet other than the turbo whistling. After getting used to the close ratio gears compared to mine and my first VTEC experience I was able to try it out a bit. It is pretty scary getting up over 8000 rpms the first few times. My car even after chipping it tops out at about 7000 (turbo power drops off closer to 6000). The thing that did blow me away was handling, it feels like a gokart: barely any body roll at all. I did miss the tourque of my turbo though (have never dynoed but should be around 215-230tq and ~190 hp at the wheels). Powerwise my car has an edge however any true car enthusiast knows it is not all straightline for fun. My car handles well (nothing like the R) but suffers from significant body roll. In a couple months I will be installing an eibach spring and shock setup as well as a rear sway which along with my stock 17's should help my body rolling problem. As for the R, clearly no corners were cut for performance, but I need a little refinement as well (seat heaters, sunroof, smoother quiet ride). That was my experience with the R, there will defintely be more soon.

 

i have an ITR and my brother got a gti 337. my car is stock while his car has cai, bof, test pipe, rear strut and itss chipped. i had a chance to drive his car for a week. one of the few things that bother me was the 6 speed manual, it felt really mechanical and had a hard time finding the the rite gears, not like the smooth shifting on the R. Also i think the stock 18inch bbs wheels were too big, it made it feel sluggist. The car felt heavy and not as nimble around corners. the boost felt nice gave it nice bit of torque, but 5 gear seem a lil tall to me. the stock recaros and momo like steering wheels were really nice but the interior seem to be falling apart. overall i think its a good car, but driving it made me realize how much i love my R.

 

Hahaha, I've just been searching around for hours to help out a freind of mine get his 03 GTI track prepped. I found the funniest thing was in all of the mission posts most of the VW crowd would either prefer a honda mission or wish theirs was like it. Forget about all the stupid tools and rediculous maintenance procedures of the VW, honda's were meant to race. Unfortunately no VAG.COM for us here, so aftermarket hondata systems is where most people end up. Also Honda/Acura OEM parts are key for almost everything and are hard pressed to be beat. You may find some products that perform better, but reliability may fall compared to an OEM part. There are so many guys racing or driving their car at HPDE or auto x events on this board, that are a great resource when deciding on parts because we are usually breaking parts that would last on a normal car 100,000 mi.+. Have fun checking out the other side

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nEoMuGen &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You should ask your roomate to let you test drive the car if you havn't done so yet.
A good way to learn ITR can start on autocrossing. Find a local spot, drive your GTi and your roomate's ITR there, swap cars after runs and you will notice the difference...precisely in handling and its NA powerband and momentum.
</TD></TR></TABLE> so very true

 

If you have a chance, find another VW owner with that Eibach setup. It will decrease your body roll, but not by that much, Eibach's are relatively soft. We put a basic Weitec suspension on my dad's MkIV, and that's quite nice, a bit stiffer than the Eibach's I've ridden on. From what I've heard from more experienced VWers, the sway bar upgrade is a good thing as well. I don't know if you're running on the stock Michelins or not, but if you are, think about an upgrade for them as well, they're pretty junky for any kind of sport-oriented driving. Lastly (sorry to run on...and on...and on...), one of the biggest differences between the two would be the ITRs limited-slip differential. I know there's the Quaife available for VWs, and while it's a costly upgrade, several who have tried it, espeicially on turbo cars, say it's really worth the money.

 

Welcome to the site.

I like the APR chip (until it leaves you stranded like it left me (friends GTI, not mine, I don't own one)). Def. feels faster than an ITR but that's just torque, I'd be surprised if it actually was faster (with a good driver in both cars).

I love VWs though. They are nice cars although I do prefer the lighter A1 and A2 cars.

As for that Eibach setup, I'd recommend against it. I've driven a friends 2002.5 GTI above with that setup (also with a NS 28mm rear sway bar) and both the owner of the GTI and myself dislike the setup. I would def suggest more research (preferable by riding in/driving local VWs with other suspensions) before making a purchase like that.

Also as mentioned above, get some real tires on that car. Those miche's suck ***.

 

Oh yeah, what's a N75 J valve and a euroswitch? is that the headlight switch or something else?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Dave-ROR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Oh yeah, what's a euroswitch? is that the headlight switch or something else?</TD></TR></TABLE>
Yeah, Dave. It removes the day time running lights and allows you to pimp w/ just your bumper lights on instead of always having your headlights on


As for the suspension ?'s I used to run Weitec fully damper adjustable shocks)forgot which kit it was) and Neuspeed sport springs. Car was dumped especially with the Euro Lip I put on(no more than an inch of road clearance in front )! The suspension was really tight and handled great after I installed a front tower brace and front/rear sway bars.

I & miss my MK3 Jetta VR6

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by opie112 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Yeah, Dave. It removes the day time running lights and allows you to pimp w/ just your bumper lights on instead of always having your headlights on </TD></TR></TABLE>

Gotcha. I thought you still had to tape up a pin to get the DRLs off on the european headlight switch? I think it just allowed bumper lights without headlights? I could be wrong of course

 

How much boost can the stock 1.8T bottom end handle?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Dave-ROR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I thought you still had to tape up a pin to get the DRLs off on the european headlight switch? I think it just allowed bumper lights without headlights? I could be wrong of course </TD></TR></TABLE>

You do infact have to install dummy relays pins in the fuse box they were provided in the kit.

What it did on my Jetta was, it removed the day time running lights and had 4 different positions that you could run to any thing you wanted if you had the general knowledge. It allowed me to have no lights, pimpers, pimpers and my fogs, and then then add the headlights. There was a way to wire up a rear for though I could not figure that one out

That switch was my single favorite upgrade on my Jetta besides the Techtonics exhaust...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Reid &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">How much boost can the stock 1.8T bottom end handle?</TD></TR></TABLE>

A friend of mine was running 20psi for a long while with a stock motor top and bottom. You rarely see VW motor's getting ripped up like people(us) do with Honda's( at least in my experience). One thing I noticed when I was really into the VW scene was that most people had every bolt on, suspension piece and body piece possible before ever wanting to open up their motor.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Dave-ROR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Oh yeah, what's a N75 J valve and a euroswitch? is that the headlight switch or something else?</TD></TR></TABLE>

The N75 vlave is the wastegate actuator selenoid.

 

Welcome

D, who is a fan of the 1.8T powerplant but not the VW pissing dog maneuver.

 

I could write an essay on the topic but to make it short, sell the 1.8T and get an ITR if you can. You will NEVER look back. I had an 02 GTI 1.8T. I bought it because it seemed different, I loved Honda's way before I even considered owning one but it was a mistake buying it. There fun cars none the less but to me they don't come close to an ITR. Hell Id even take an 01 GSR over an 01 1.8T any day.

 

I have done lot's of research for suspension setups. I do not race or autox. I am only looking to improve handling slightly, reduce the body roll and eliminate the notorious 4x4 look even with my 17's. The eibach setup will drop it between 1-1.5 inches and be slightly stiffer. The rear sway is what will improve handling the most. I have read numerous personal reviews that feel this is the perfect compromise of performance and comfort. I just want to have a nice sporty suspension (there is nothing sport about the stock sport suspension!).

As for boost I have not been able to get a hold of a gauge yet. I will be getting the omori boost gauge which is a perfect match to the VW red and blue interior lighting. People with similar mods see boost up to 22psi and with the N75J valve hold around 18psi. I should be around there somewhere. As for your freind broke down with APR, never heard bad things about APR. They are the msot reliable chip tuning company out there. I have had no problems and never hit "limp" mode (factory safety feature that limits you to 5 psi if you feed it too much boost). The APR chip is amazing changes crank #s from 180hp to 215hp and tourque from 174 lb/ft to 247 lb/ft (so they say). I also have the ability to switch the program back to stock for dealer visits. As it is a flashed program (no physical chip) there is no way for them to tell its there.

The euroswitch along with the electrical tape to turn off the daytime running lights allows me to have my parking lights on which light up the highbeam casing and have somewhat of an angel eye efffect of BMWs (bad comparison but best I can come up with). The N75J valve as previously stated is a wastegate for the boost and simply holds it a bit longer and increases boost about 2psi. Best $65 I've spent on my car!

 

Oh well if your keeping it, get the Koni Coilovers. I had them on my car along with some Azenis, 28mm rear sway and it handled great. I did have the 16's though, they make a difference over the 17's. If the coilovers are too pricey then I don't know anything about springs with stock shocks because I personally wouldn't recommend that. A good cupkit would be awesome too.

I had the APR 91/100 Oct program, it hauled *** ill tell ya that much.

 

Welcome - that's a great motor you got in that Gti of yours.. just wish they were a little lighter...

My GF just picked up a beautiful 02 TT with 40 miles on it! It is the 180 hp Fwd, five speed model (very similar to your GTI in suspension and powertrain). The car is gorgeous inside and out, and has a nice suspension which minimizes body roll, but doesn't beat you up like the ITR (doesn't corner like the RRR though...).

for Audi / VW products - just wish they would put the 1.8T motor into a lightweight chassis...

 

I know what the APR chip does. But, for the record, their chips are soldered horribly. Still a good chip though.

I'll just say it again, ride or drive in a car with those eibachs. They suck ***.

 

Welcome to the board and I do have a quick story to tell,

A friend has 1.8 GTI with upgraded turbo (stage 3 i think), shocks, prings, exhaust, chipped, down pipe, APC front rotors and calipers, front & rear sway bars... and all other mods for a turbo car you can imagine.. oh, he's running 22psi i think. He autox regularly and a HPDE instructor.

The funny thing was I let him tried my ITR for the first time at the local autox and it turned out that his time in the ITR was faster than his own in the GTI. You should have seen the on my face eventhough I did not do good that day. Maybe he had it set up more for track use than autox use. For straight line, it's a beast.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Dave-ROR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I know what the APR chip does. But, for the record, their chips are soldered horribly. Still a good chip though.

I'll just say it again, ride or drive in a car with those eibachs. They suck ***.</TD></TR></TABLE>

He has the flashed chip, no soldering required. For being chipped for 6 months so far, his car and chip seem pretty reliable.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RGoose18 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

He has the flashed chip, no soldering required. For being chipped for 6 months so far, his car and chip seem pretty reliable. </TD></TR></TABLE>

K, missed that. Last APR chip I dealt with was ~ 1 year ago and it's been sent back twice. Maybe APR finally got their **** together.

And no, I don't hate APR. I think they have one of the better programs, but (at least their older chips) soldering is the quality of a 2 year old's work.