MK5 Golf GTI vs GTX?

OK new page,

DSG is a manual transmission, so you are looking at manual or manual on a Golf, LOL.

i am well aware of that thanks, the only thing i am worried about is mechatronic failure if driven hard, i trust the other mechanicals.

the only thing I would be worried about with a manual is my knees (damage to both) so an easy clutch would be nice, and I came on here for car advice not wanting some tool to spout of half arsed opinions after never having driven the cars i mentioned, after driving both Legacys a B4 RSK ( brothers old car) stock standard, i brought a then new shape 03 GT and was extremely dissapointed it diddn't hold a candle to the B4 RSK that it replaced infact i sold it and brought a VZ V8 Commodore Calais a better car in every way (apart from handling) but sold it as fuel consumption in christchurch traffic was a killer and brought a diesel truck (aka the Jeep) i can assure you the only thing i have my other hand on when driving is the gear selector or the wheel.

No need to worry about that at all, those transmissions are super robust and capable of handling far more power than the 2.0 T will produce. Even with a fairly modified/uprated engine they seem to last well.

About the only problem you used to see now and then with them was valve body issues, this tended to be early ones and those affected mostly seem to be sorted by now. I suspect a lot of these failures were simply down to so many people completely ignoring VW's service schedule.

The good news is if you do get unlucky and have that happen, it's only a few minutes to replace the unit, it's super easy to access with the transmission still in place.

You can either repair or replace, replacements can be had quite reasonable.

Aside from the knee issue, you will never want a manual one after driving the DSG for a while, especially on the track. They are by far and away the best transmission I have ever driven, and 12 years after release in the Golf I still haven't encountered another manufacturers product that's as good.

Lastly, if you are still worried about the longevity of that transmission for hard use, remember too that the car won't let you do anything stupid to harm it, and it also constantly monitors transmission fluid and clutch temperatures for you.

But really, if it's been serviced and you continue to service it properly (which is easy and can be done in your home garage) you are highly unlikely to have trouble.

You asked about economy early on, it's a bit how long is a piece of string, but for general mixed use driving it normally with traffic something like 8.5l/100km is probably about right. There are a few on here with them, it might be an idea to ask what they are getting. We can always do better, but our running is very free flowing. They were the pinnacle of efficiency in their day, I don't see you finding anything else in the price range with that performance which will beat one. Combination of direct injection set up for ultra lean burn, the DSG being so efficient in power transfer and shift selection plus all the little things VW did to improve economy.

Economy will be affected by a PCV Valve needing replacement (easy and cheap) which is part of the "common three" issues you check on those. The other factor that can really affect things is how clogged the intake/valves are.

I always listen to how they idle, if it's missing at idle it's usually a coil pack (cheap and easy to fix) or carbon buildup. They seem to last really well if run on 98 Octane and the CORRECT long life oil, but will clog quickly on 91 and even build up with time on 95.

Given these cars are 10 years old now it might be time to start factoring in an intake clean if you want top performance/economy.

thank you Jazz unlike most on this communist message board for so called motoring enthusiasts, i respect your advice you would have to be a complete tool to run any high performance turbo engine on 91, hell we don't even run our outboard or lawn mower on it, most people in this country (stuck in the 1970's when it comes to motoring) do not understand high performance engines and how to look after them, maintenance isn't an issue for me just efficiency but i do have to admit due to our 3rd world fuel quality in this country direct injection engines with EGR do concern me, including my current Jeep Grand Cherokee with the 2.7 5CYL Merc engine but i run that on ultimate diesel.

No clutch pedal ?

You are most welcome. BTW if you want to have a laugh at our communist messageboard, check out the Hyundai van thread. I haven't read the comments (as I have a troll blocker that just removes certain users posts) but the little troll heads indicating a troll has posted are lighting up like a Christmas tree. My money says a million lengthy posts criticising/running down my couple of posts.

Anyhow, that aside. BP Ultimate 98 is really good fuel IMO, so provided you have access to that you are good as gold. Just be aware that Mobil's version appears to have bio ethanol in it which along with another brand (which we don't name for legal reasons) are also unsuitable. This is really important as MK5's are not generally bio ethanol compatible, not that I would tend to use it anyway.

Pretty much with the EGR and direct injection, VW's units are very well engineered and robust, the vast majority of their petrols have been direct injected for a decade now. It's only really the cheapest Polo and the like that missed out.

If you start with a clean intake, (or clean an existing one) keep the oil changes up, use the correct VW accredited oil (Penrites one from supercheap is fine) they seem to last just fine in my experience. If you really want to get OCD about it there are loads of catch can kits to re-route the pcv, you can re-program/delete the egr etc. You may even like to fit a water/methanol injection system which will allow for performance upgrades AND keep the intake clean.

The great thing with the Golf being the most popular car in the world (by a country mile) is there is an enormous tuning community, which means loads of after-market upgrades, cheap full diagnostic software and endless help online. Pretty much if you can dream it, someone else has likely done it and written instructions.

Now that aside, have you read, any of the other MK5 threads where I explain about the cam follower issue? If not yell out and I will give you a quick run down.

Pretty much aside from the regular things you would look for in a car, service history (or low km's) on the transmission, smooth idle as mentioned already, the cam follower for the high pressure fuel pump is the big thing to check out.

Also. if you haven't already, head over to the ecs tuning website. It will give you some good ideas on upgrades, hp etc.

Lastly, thanks for the note of appreciation. It means a lot.

You should also look at the Audi A3 2.0T's, these have the same DSG Gearbox and Engine as the Golf GTI, sometimes these come up for some really sharp prices and you might be able to get a 2008 one for the price of a 2006 Golf GTI for example.

A friend of mine went for that model, but he really liked the Golf GTX I had, which sold him on the engine/dsg combo, hes had his A3 for 2 years now, which is a record for him, he usually gets bored and sells the car 6 months later.

"You are most welcome. BTW if you want to have a laugh at our communist messageboard, check out the Hyundai van thread. I haven't read the comments (as I have a troll blocker that just removes certain users posts) but the little troll heads indicating a troll has posted are lighting up like a Christmas tree."

Actually most were returning the compliment of "a troll" or pointing out basic mistakes like "Towing a caravan with Hyundai's 1980's technology 4 speed auto" when they have not been 4 speed for some time.

So, DSG Golfs or A3's (including the Quattro) with a towbar. avoid or can they handle towing ok?
(Ideally i'd like a towbar but the only models I've seen with one are Quattros. and I'm a bit iffy on their increased maintenance costs and fuel consumption over the FWD A3/Golf)

Care to detail what you've heard about increased maintenance for the Quattro.? (I've never heard of one breaking or causing an issue) Increased fuel consumption is minimal and on the basis of not getting anything for free it's hardly a concern. At least it makes towing feasible eh.?

Simply the fact that it has 2 more of everything (sparkplugs, leads etc etc) being a 6 and generally a more complex vehicle.