MK2 GTI's - Yay or Nay

[TheyCallMeDale]

Hey everyone

I remember there was a thread about this way back in the day on the old old e3s but alas its long gone. My uncle's best friend owns a shop specializing in Volswagon cars. One of my friends back home has dealt with him alot but he knows his stuff. As Im in the market for a new car Ive narrowed it down to a select three (the e30 being my number one choice). The other two being an mk2 golf gti or a 1991-1995 nissan sentra se-r. Now of the latter two I would much rather drive the v-dub as Im a lil sick of nissans after my experiences with my POS pathfinder. Now what is everyones opinion on this car. I kinda like it. The lines are classic with the bigger euro bumpers and 4 headlights and the 16v motors are real quick. Even better is that my uncles friend can build em up for about 1500 to make enough power to run 14.1's. Im not sure exactly what mods he does but the friend I mentioned went this route and the 14.1 is his personal time. This seems damn impresive to me. This in conjunction with the lines and german engineering make it seem like a viable option. Now I know this is an e30 forum but the only gti forums I could find online (mind you I did a quick search) were in the UK and I know at least a couple of you know some stuff about em (Stu., werent you going to get one before your e30). Plus I think I can get a mint one much cheaper than I could get a mint e30. Any ideas comments suggestions?

[Jordan]

Modded MK2 GTi's can look badass, but no matter how you cut it, they are wrong wheel drive.

[Diplomat]

theres nothing wrong with fwd in terms of handling ability...you just have to adapt to it.

[e9nine]

..on an e30 board like this everyone will root for rwd. In the context of an open mind, there's nothing wrong with a mk2 GTi, lots of my buddies are dubheads. In the long run it all sums up to what you want outta the car. A FWD in the hands of a competent driver can smoke a rwd, I don't care what you say. 'roccos are the shit, GTis are the shit :P

[TheyCallMeDale]

If I do get one itll be my first front wheel drive car so Im sure itll take some gettin used to. Also a big selling point for me is gas milage. Outside of the 318is the 4cyl v-dub would be awesome on my wallet. A nice drop, tint the windows, some solid bbs rims, exhaust and eventually the motor and Id be happy.

The main selling point I guess is cash - a mint gti would be alot cheaper than the e30, not the same quality or style wise - but money makes the world go round. Still cant decide

[M-technik-3]

As an ex fwd driver you can have a nice balanced set up FWD car that is just as quick as a rwd. I liked my awd Audi but it tended to plow to much.

My ex rocco

http://spedmonkey.com/vortex/rocco

[M42Technik]

If I didn't have an E30, I'd be looking for a '91-'92 MKII GTI. Go for it. They're quick and the power - weight ratio is great, and then you can make it even an even better ratio.

[TheyCallMeDale]

anyone know a good forum for these cars?

[M-technik-3]

Only the best one out there www.vwvortex.com

[lowslowe30]

Nice scirocco m technik. I vote yay for 8 valve gti and nay for 16. 16 valves are very unfriendly, 8v are bulletproof. Build quality that you would get with an e30 is definatley above any v dub imo.

[Werksmini]

Im looking at going mk2 GTi or corrado...
e30s suck. 8) Naa im just kidding, but I want something cheaper and something for a beginner auto x/tracker. an 18is would work to...
Whatever im lost.

[natorious]

mk2 gtis and other old school vws are great... i LOVED my corrado... but sadly i think i am going to have to part with it... needs to much and i dont have the time nor the money to take care of it

to be totally honest the corrado is alot more fun to drive than the e30 is... e30 is way more solid tho.. could be that the corrado was modded and stick.. and the e30 is bone stock and auto (not for long) tho

a corrado is hit or miss either it will run forever or it will break 3 times a week... all depends on how it was treated... and how you treat it.. i beat the f*** outta mine and payed out the ASS for it...

BTW i am vwg60kid on vwvortex

[tobybmw]

as noted above www.vwvortex.com is a great site. My roomate owns a 1990 GTI but is the 8 valve. The car is really nice and can put down some good numbers with a cam chip and exhaust. The mods are much cheaper than the E30 bimmer crowd. He bought a 272 cam cat back exhaust and chip all for $300. And it is all new.
Andy

[decay]

if you don't mind FWD, either of those cars is an excellent choice IMO.

however, look hard to find a '90-92 gti 16v, as these had the Central Electric 2 wiring system which makes switches to other management systems more like a plug-and-play affair as far as wiring is concerned (and you _will_ be disgusted once you find out how CIS/Motronic meters air and delivers fuel). switching to the digifant-1 setup from a corrado g60 will get you a MAP sensor and fuel/ignition maps on the same chip. a place called snstuning will remap a corrado ecu for a 16v engine for you.

i've owned two 1991 se-r's as well, and loved them- a FWD car with a limited-slip is a way different beast. look hard for a 1991/92 car as these came with the better "high-port" heads, and the fewest available factory options (ensuring a low curb weight). HUGE aftermarket support for this engine, with most of the good stuff coming from a shop in TX called JWT (jim wolf tech) or Hotshot. they also have the biggest internet cult following i've seen, with an excellent email list and website at http://www.se-r.net/ -

my $.02

[randomtask37]

theres nothing wrong with fwd in terms of handling ability...you just have to adapt to it.

i beg to differ

name ONE real race series car that is fwd

nascar, indy, rally, even dirt racers and such are either rwd or awd

i wont be caught owning a fwd... mostlikly ever.