New polo, mod advice please!

[Toole]

Well, it's just been my 21st birthday and (after four years of promises) my 'rents have finally sorted me out with a car! I'm now the proud owner of my mum's old 1.4tdi 6n2 polo, which she's had from new. It's a five door in silver with 60k on it, it's had a top to bottom service after being stood for a couple of years and it's sweet as a nut now. I'm due on my intensive driving course in a couple of weeks (which shouldn't be too much of a hassle as I've had bike licenses in one form or another for five years). I've got it parked and I already want to get modding

After a bit of consideration I've decided that I'd like to go for a reasonably subtle series of mods to make it look more like a nice GTI than a proper custom job, and this means that I need a bit of advice regarding exactly what mods I should be getting. I'm going to be leaving the engine alone for a year or so just to sort out my insurance etc. so it's really just cosmetic mods for the moment. When/if I do engine mods I'd be looking at something like a moderate ECU remap, sports filter and exhaust system for the engine modding. I'm also a uni student working part time so I obviously don't have a huge amount of cash to be chucking at this. My planned mods are as follows:



- New GTI style grille - these are all over eBay and are apparently not hard to fit? I'd also be looking at the little red surround on the grille, is beading the best way to do this? Where's a good place to buy the stuff from?

- Honeycombe lower grills around the fogs etc. to match the front grille. Again, I should be able to fit these myself? Where's the best place to get these from?

- Suspension drop. I can't have this too low as I'm living in city centre Manchester (speed bumps) and on a pretty steep hill, so this can't be so low as to not be practical. What sort of drop would I be looking at for a slightly more aggressive look without being too low? What would be the kind of cost I'd be looking at for a garage fit? (I'm reasonably handy but I don't want this botched!). If I need replacement parts for this, what would you guys recommend that's reasonably budget minded? Any recommended garages around manchester for fitting?

- Dependant on how the drop looks and how much clearance I have afterwards, I was thinking of a possible small front splitter? What would you guys recommend here? Will it look silly without skirts etc.?

- Xenon type headlights and chrome style indicator bulbs. These shouldn't be too hard to fit? How much would these be?

- Clear side indicator covers. Again, souldn't be too hard for me to fit? How much would these be and where would I get them?

- Taking pins or the door locks down for a flush fit to aid security and to make it look nice. DIY job.

- New exhaust system. Now, I realise that this is a diesel car and don't want it to sound like a tractor, so nothing MOT voidingly loud. What kind of exhausts are on the polo GTI? The other style I was considering was something like the ones on the r32 golfs. Obviously something a little smaller given it's a polo What sort of money would I be looking for on this and is there anywhere you guys would recommend having it done in/near manc?


I realise this is an arseload of questions and I really appreciate any help on this! Thanks guys!

[Tim_GTi]

welcome ot the site mate,

All the grills are easy enough to fit. I'm fairly sure the best way to get the centre lower grill off is to remove the frobnt bumper though? (someone else will confirm).

Yes I would red beading is the best way to go in terms of a red lined grill. I got mine from clublupo, but it seems now that you can get the stuff from eBay also.

A sensible drop - I'd look at 60mm lowering kits then, both shocks and springs. If you fancy it though you could get some coilovers which are height adjustable. These don;t have to cost the earth either, a budget set will set you back around £220.

The GTi splitter is the most popular choice, and is a very nice one. Expect to pay around £40 for this from the dealers.

The GTi has a different, and large backbox to it than the lower spec 6N2s, like all of them though they are hidden. It totally depends what you want from it as to how it would sound, what it looks like and how it performs. You could pay anything from £30-400.

[Toole]

welcome ot the site mate,

All the grills are easy enough to fit. I'm fairly sure the best way to get the centre lower grill off is to remove the frobnt bumper though? (someone else will confirm).

Yes I would red beading is the best way to go in terms of a red lined grill. I got mine from clublupo, but it seems now that you can get the stuff from eBay also.

A sensible drop - I'd look at 60mm lowering kits then, both shocks and springs. If you fancy it though you could get some coilovers which are height adjustable. These don;t have to cost the earth either, a budget set will set you back around £220.

The GTi splitter is the most popular choice, and is a very nice one. Expect to pay around £40 for this from the dealers.

The GTi has a different, and large backbox to it than the lower spec 6N2s, like all of them though they are hidden. It totally depends what you want from it as to how it would sound, what it looks like and how it performs. You could pay anything from £30-400.

Thanks mate I'm not too fussed about the suspension being adjustable, so long as I can stick it back to full height with the old shocks & springs should it become necessary then that's cool. Is the splitter just something you can get from a VW dealer? Will it just stick straight on to my front bumper?

As for the exhaust, I was after something visible but relatively subtle and not a huge amount louder than stock, just a little more sporty. Would just the backbox & tip be a better idea given I'm not really after any more HP than an ECU remap would give?

Edit: I'm assuming this would also take some work to the bumper? Any ideas on the kind of cost to make it look less like I've had to cut a huge chunk out of it? :p

[Tim_GTi]

I'm not greatly clued up on the TDi engine, so I don't know what they have to offer in terms of a remap or anything.

Generally the polo mark5 is a poor car for engine modifications, but I have heard you can get awesome figures out of the TDi engines.

£200 would get you a nice backbox with custom parameters on size shape and noise. Or you could spend £30 on a universal eBay one. It totally depends what you want it for and how much your willing to pay.

[3LL1077]

I got some cable ties in my lower bumper grilles and just yanked it off, if your putting the honeycombe grilles in whats the prob with snapping the standard grille lol

Makes it look way better when you have them all matching

As for bulbs mate, go and have a look on good ol' ebay. They will have all the bulbs you will need.

[Tim_GTi]

If your doing it Elliott's wayI'd be careful of the edge of your bumper!

eBay do do alot of xenon match bulbs, the colour match on most of them is decent. But they are just cheap painted bulbs so won't be any good for actual visiblity.

If you want good bulbs but can't afford HIDs, take a look on the powerbulbs site, they have alot of different type bulbs

http://www.powerbulbs.com/

we get discount too!

[3LL1077]

LMAO Tim!

I read my post and realised how much of a cowboy i sounded haha!

Just give it a careful, but firm tug (oer ) and it will come out, you are bound to break some clips tho, but it doesnt matter as you are replacing it with the honey combe one

May i recommend you spray the bumper grille black before you fit? Makes a huge difference, especially on silver gtis

[Toole]

I'm not greatly clued up on the TDi engine, so I don't know what they have to offer in terms of a remap or anything.

Generally the polo mark5 is a poor car for engine modifications, but I have heard you can get awesome figures out of the TDi engines.

£200 would get you a nice backbox with custom parameters on size shape and noise. Or you could spend £30 on a universal eBay one. It totally depends what you want it for and how much your willing to pay.

Well, from reading around on the remap plenty of people are reporting decent BHP increases, with manufacturers claiming a lot more :p The engine in it at the mo chucks out about 75 horsies and I'll be pleased to get this to around 90. I don't really need much more power than this - if all I wanted was that I wouldn't have sold my bike (YZF600R - knocked the socks off fararris!). I'd just possibly like a little extra kick so that it's a bit more fun to dive around in.

So what's the big difference between a custom exhaust and one I could just buy from eBay or whatever? I know that I could tailor the exhaust sound more with a custom one (having something stupidly loud is the main thing I'm afraid of - I don't want to look like some of the dicks you see in novas with 6 inch tail pipes!). Would it be worth a custom one just for enhanced cosmetics and a little more noise?

Edit: It's also worth mentioning I'd want the exhaust fitted to my rear bumper so it looks more like something that came stock with the car sooner than something just underslung & looking silly.

[Toole]

LMAO Tim!

I read my post and realised how much of a cowboy i sounded haha!

Just give it a careful, but firm tug (oer ) and it will come out, you are bound to break some clips tho, but it doesnt matter as you are replacing it with the honey combe one

May i recommend you spray the bumper grille black before you fit? Makes a huge difference, especially on silver gtis

Thanks for the tip!

Many thanks to both you guys, you've been a great help

[young dubber]

yes dude you replace your old splitter (rather small) with the gti one! you need a flat blade and abit of force to get it off but it does come off and make sure all your clips on the new ones have lined up with the slits else it wont clip in properly!

on your exhaust being custom you can have it however big or small you want so maybe 2"inch rear pipe for subdtle! as for your questions on what the exhaust will do. if your going cat back to rear backbox this will free up restrictions in the system as i think there is a middle box (not sure on TDIs) and make the exhaust gases flow more freely giving you abit more poke. plus the original exhaust bore with be thin (i think i can gab mine) but your custom one will be slighty bigger freeing more exhaust gas flow!
now if you want abit more poke the other option is to De-cat the exhuast as this is a major restriction. removing this you can see a 10-15BHP increase. also with custom exhausts you might hear your turbo spooling up through the exhaust which personally sounds mean!

your remap should see a 20-30BHP increase so along with your exhaust and remap you should see over 100BHP! this also helps with fuel economy!

as your wanting abit of practicality i would go with tim on a 60mm drop.it will be low but no very low thus helping you with speed humps but still coilovers should be on the cards as you can set it up how you want as you could wind them up or down to get it as low as possible or at the stance you want for how high the speed bumps are!

most little things that can be done are in DIY guides on the forum and have been a great help to me i dont no about any1 else!

hope all this helps

jay

[lolhoward]

Hi mate. I've got some surrounds for the fog lights if you need them. In the for sale section. Sounds like you've got yourself a nice little project there.

[lolhoward]

Also mate i've got some chrome inicator bulbs for sale. Also in the for sale section.

[DanOliver]

Everyone keeps talking about these honeycomb lower grills and chrome indicator lights. But for some reason, it would appear mine already has a honeycomb lower grill and although you can see the orange bulb in my indicators, the actual reflectors are all clear and chrome.

Could it be that the person before me has modified the car already or do some of the 1.0Mpi models come with these features factory fitted?

[Toole]

on your exhaust being custom you can have it however big or small you want so maybe 2"inch rear pipe for subdtle! as for your questions on what the exhaust will do. if your going cat back to rear backbox this will free up restrictions in the system as i think there is a middle box (not sure on TDIs) and make the exhaust gases flow more freely giving you abit more poke. plus the original exhaust bore with be thin (i think i can gab mine) but your custom one will be slighty bigger freeing more exhaust gas flow!
now if you want abit more poke the other option is to De-cat the exhuast as this is a major restriction. removing this you can see a 10-15BHP increase. also with custom exhausts you might hear your turbo spooling up through the exhaust which personally sounds mean!

your remap should see a 20-30BHP increase so along with your exhaust and remap you should see over 100BHP! this also helps with fuel economy!

hope all this helps

jay

Thanks man What are the legalities on de-catting the car? It's not pre 95 so wouldn't that be illegal? Do they ever check for this either on MOT or after a crash etc. Would a performance cat from someone like magnaflow see a similar increase?

Sorry for all the questions, but the prospect of ~110hp has got me all excited!


@lolhoward: I'll have a look but I'm not planning on doing much beyond the grille, splitter and lowering for a wee while

Thanks to everyone again

[lolhoward]

The reflectors will be chrome and clear but will have orange bulbs as standard.