VW Polo GTI 1.8T - Ultimate Ownership Guide

VW 9N3 Polo GTI is a very flawed hot hatch, the Joker to its elder brother Mk5 Golf GTI. A total of 50 units equipped with 1.8 litre turbocharged and 5-speed manual gearbox were brought into Malaysia back in March 2008. RM139k was logically expected to be at the right market segment below its elder brother. But reality was not kind to this car, the response was so bad that forces VW Cars to put it on a fire sale at RM99k 2 months later. 

My journey with this car was well documented here in this blog. I have tried and experimented many things with helping hands from virtual friends across continents. And what was originally perceived as flawed suddenly turned into one of the very best pocket rockets. The kind of car that I think represents what the Mk4 Golf GTI should be like. 220whp and 330nm in sub 1.2 tonne trolley. Raw, rapid and restless, became formidable weapon for sunday drives among my Godzilla friends. 

It was not until recently I’ve driven friend’s bone stock Polo GTI. Almost 200k kms mileage clocked but lost none of its original character and still runs like clockwork. You can scroll through Mudah.my and can spot few on sale from as little under RM20k. I think it’s an excellent value for a transition car for you to be ready into the world of performance cars. 

I have had 7 colourful years with this car, and I think it would be the right time to write about an ultimate ownership guide for those interested in buying one. At RM20k, you just can’t do much wrong and this guide will help you navigating it through the rough seas. So here it goes. 

Engine

Wholly developed by Audi, this 1.8 litre 20v turbocharged engine is generally a very strong engine with heaps of potential. Simple remap and mods will get you above 200whp easy. And to this day, I would rate it higher in terms of longevity and robustness over newer VW EA113 and EA888 2.0 engines. Don’t worry about maintenance, they’re quite straightforward and won’t break your pocket. 

Maintenance & Repairs:

• Engine Oil & Filter: It requires 4.5 litre of fresh 5w40 fully synthetic engine oil every 10k kms to avoid oil sludge build up. I’d think Castrol Edge or Petronas Syntium 3000 5w40 would offer ideal balance between performance, protection, and price tag. Oil filter should be circa RM35.
• Air Filter: Go for maintenance free drop-in air filter from K&N or Pipercross which should be around RM250. It will last you a lifetime.
• Spark Plugs: Go for NGK BKR7E copper plugs (a step cooler) which is about USD8 per pack from ECS Tuning and will last for 30k kms. Alternatively, BKR7E-11 Iridium can be purchased locally.

• Coil Pack: Like any high mileage cars, coil pack failure is a common issue. You can expect rough idle where one or more cylinders misfiring. When that happens, I would recommend for you to replace them as a set which should be around RM500-RM600.
• Coolant: Stick to either VW G12 or G13 spec coolant which should be RM75 per bottle. Additive like Redline Water Wetter can help for greater cooling efficiency.
• Radiator Fan: Radiator fan assembly will get cracked as the car hits over 100k kms mileage. OEM replacement should be around RM600.

• Thermostat: I would recommend for you to replace this when the car past 150k kms mileage. Treat it as precautionary replacement to ensure consistent water temperature reading. 82c thermostat can be purchased online at USD50 but otherwise OEM 87c rated ones would be just fine.
• Oil Cooler: The most common failures of the oil cooler are leaks, which lead to a mix of coolant and engine oil. I would consider this as remote case but if it happens at least you know.
• Timing Belt: I would recommend timing belt change (including water pump) every 80k kms mileage. You wouldn’t want to be cheap and risk the possibility of bending 20 valves and a cracked piston.
• Diverter Valve: Stock diverter valve wouldn’t last long especially when the ECU is already been mapped. And when it happens, you’ll get boost leak. Go for aftermarket stainless steel diverter for peace of mind. Aftermarket DV should be around RM500.

• Crankcase Breather Valve: Make a habit to inspect for signs of oil leaks from here. Should be below RM100. 

• N75 Valve: This valve is responsible for controlling the movement of the pneumatic actuator which drives the wastegate. When you sense the engine is not boosting right, this is one of the culprits. I would avoid “race” version of N75 as you will get into limp mode frequently.
• Turbo: Stock K03S turbo tends to slowly get cracked after 150k kms. You could hunt for new OEM ones in eBay below USD200. And K04-001 turbo which is slightly bigger is also plug and play and not much expensive. Generally this doesn’t require any remap.

Modification Tips:

• APR, Revo, GIAC and Unitronic do offer tried and tested remap. Depending on the health of the engine, stage 1 or 1+ will get you between 170-180whp and 250-260wnm torque.
• Catless 2.5” downpipe would do just fine to free another 10-15whp. To avoid engine check light, you would need an inch up spacer to sit between it and secondary o2 sensor. At this point you can also consider extending the mods to aftermarket muffler but the gain would be marginal and realized at high revs.
• To avoid heat soak, you can consider front mounted intercooler. You can go for either off-the-shelf kit or custom route using good intercooler core. I’m a fan of local fabricators and mine proved to be more effective and cheaper. While you’re at it, you can consider doing open pod filter and diverter valve relocation.

• There’re many routes for more power. Easiest one is getting K04-001 turbo which is direct fit. Or for more adventurous ones and still intend to retain stock internals, you can consider bigger K04-015 from eBay or FrankenTurbo F21 kit. The kit should come with 3” MAF housing, exhaust manifold and inlet turbo pipe. You may need to purchase either 380cc or 415cc injectors plus 4 bar fuel pressure regulator. The result would be minimum 260whp. In a sub 1.2 tonne Polo 9N3, it would be madness.

Gearbox and Misc. Drivetrains

It is perhaps the only VW you can buy officially here with manual gearbox until today. There was a known issue with 02R 5-speed box synchro in early batch of cars but all that kinks already resolved out before coming here. 

Maintenance & Repairs:

• Gear Oil: You can use almost any type of gear oil but for some reason it loves Redline MTL. Get it refreshed every 30k kms and you will be just fine.
• Clutch: The stock clutch tends to struggle after 40k kms mileage. I would recommend for you to go for ECS stage 1 clutch kit. This is basically an OEM VR6 style clutch with 228mm single mass flywheel that can harness more power while retaining daily drivability. Should you opt for 7 or 14 lbs flywheel, expect diesel-like chatter on idle like in the old school Porsche 911s.
• Clutch Slave Cylinder: You can expect the clutch biting point to be off marked right after 150k kms. Replacing clutch cylinder would do the trick and it’s not expensive at USD40 for OEM ones.

Modification Tips:

• Gear Linkage: While the gear ratios are fine but engaging from cog to cog feels too disconnected albeit short throws. If you can find someone who can shave or remove out the rubber bushes all together to get bolt-action rifle gear change, by old means please do so. 
• LSD: Problem with remapped Polo 9N3 is about putting the power to the ground and making use of it through the corners. One of the workarounds is to get mechanical LSD fitted. The only problem, besides the money of course, is you need to bring down the gearbox down to see if it needs 113mm or 114mm ring gear before start ordering. 

Suspension

Inherited from Mk4 Golf as base, the overall suspension structure and setup is basic. Independent MacPherson strut up front and twist beam rear. They work alright but nothing magical. 

Maintenance & Repairs:

• Anti-Roll Bar Drop Links: When the car started to clunks under rough roads, be sure to inspect or replace ARB drop links. The bushes likely shot and need replacing. 
• Front Bushings: The front’s rear lower arm control bush is known to fail after 50k kms. Go for solid rubber bushes from Seat Ibiza R for below RM200 including shipping. Replacing it will cost some money as you need to take out the subframe.

• Rear Axle Beam Bushings: This will tend to crack at 100k kms. I would recommend replacing it with OEM ones rather than PUs as you need the chassis along with suspension to still breathe on our Malaysian roads.
• Shock Absorbers: The stock shock absorbers will last about 4-5 years of usage provided you use stock spring. OEM shocks should be sub RM1k for a set.
• Alignment: One of the very areas you don’t have to worry because you can only tweak the front toe. The rest is fixed. If anybody mentioned your camber or worst subframe needs adjustment, walk away.

 

Modification Tips:

• Spring & Shocks Combo: Rather than just changing the coil springs, I would encourage for you to consider lowered spring with matching short stroke shocks. H&R Cup Kit and Bilstein B12 Pro Kit are among known brands that have been tested for the car. 
• Coilovers: H&R, KW and Bilstein produce coilovers for this car. Alternatively, you can engage Fawster for custom inverted monotube coilovers with body shift capability at competitive price. And while you’re at it, get them to set it up properly and it will be well worth it.

• Rear Toe Shim: Whiteline produces shims to zerofy the rear wheels toe in. It would make the car’s handling more neutral under braking. Advisable for track junkies though.
• Wheels and Tyres: Depending on your preference, you can remain with 205/45/16 or upsize an inch bigger to 215/40/17. Not much difference in terms of steering feel and grip, but surely looks the part.

Braking

The braking system is made up of Lucas single-pot with 288mm brake rotors front and single-pot with 232mm brake rotors rear, driven by single brake master cylinder. They’re good enough for occasion fast road driving for a car of this size and weight. Generally they’re problem free. 

Maintenance & Repairs:

• Brake Fluid: Supports all forms of Dot 4 and Dot 5.1 fluids. I would recommend Bendix Dot 5.1 or ATE Type 200 Dot 4 for not much money. 
• Brake Pads & Rotors: Standard wear rate. Genuine and OEM pads can be purchased locally without issues. Circa RM400 for pads and RM600 for rotors, for a set. For better bite, you have the options of going for EBC Green/Red/Yellow pads while MTEC do make variety style rotors (cross-drilled, slotted, c-hook) at reasonable prices.

Modification Tips:

• Brake Lines: Going for stainless steel braided lines is ideal upgrade for better pedal feel. The ones meant for Mk4 Golf are direct fit. 
• VAG OEM BBK (Front): You have 2 options. Audi TT 1.8’s ATE single-pot 54mm calipers with 312mm brake rotors which will snugly fit inside original 16” wheels. They’re also same setup used in Polo GTI Cup. Or, Mk4 Golf R32 Lucas twin-pot with 334mm rotors, requires 17” wheels. Both options are direct fit.

• VAG OEM BBK (Rear): To provide the balance with front brake upgrade, you can consider reusing Mk4 Golf R32 single-pot with 256mm rotors. You need different hub carriers to fit. 
• After Market BBK: If you wanted more, you can consider Wilwood Forged Superlite 6-pot kit with 327mm rotors meant for Mk4 Golf. They’re lighter at 22kg total. 

Interior

Like any German made cars, majority of them are very well built with good materials but doesn’t necessarily cope with our weather. Expect to spend some money to tidy up.

Maintenance & Repairs:

• Cup Holder: Almost all cup holders are broken. Just ignore it. Roof Lining: They will sag after years of use. Budget around RM500 to replace.
• Door Trims: Like the roof lining, they will sag and peeled off. Budget similar amount for replacement. 
• Aircond: Majority of continental cars are using closed loop system and this car is no exception. Pay close attention getting the filter cleaned or replace and ensure the compressor has enough fluids to run. Compressor failure will clogged the pipes, receiver dryer and condenser. If you’re not lucky, you need total system replacement and that will comes with RM4k bill upwards.

My Cave and Tools

I believe every car nut would love to have their own version of dream garage. We don’t need anything fancy but just enough space and atmosphere to have our own form of escapism during the weekends. And this is the story about my cave and tools. 

Ever since I relocated to my new apartment, I was lucky enough to get hold on additional parking bays that fit the most checkboxes that I have in mind. Nicely enclaved, generous space, far enough for much needed privacy and next to a garden with flat surface that I could launch and land a drone. A total of 2+2+1 parking bays occupied by a unit that still yet to have a sofa for guests to sit. 

 

I’m not by any stretch a handyperson. But when you go to occasional track days and sunday drives, it is hard to keep going to workshops or tyre shops for simple fixes. So naturally whatever I could do, I would do it at home within my spare time. It just makes better sense both for convenience and plain jane economics.

This is also an excuse I keep using to my better half to collect a bunch of tools that help me going through this unexpected and somewhat an embarrassing hobby. One that keep my friends rolling on the floor laughing: changing tyres. That is going to be separate story I plan to write in the days to come. But for now, let me run through the whole list of tools that I stashed in between the parking bays. They are not complete but enough to do some simple stuffs along the way. Treat it like a knowledge sharing from a newbie to another. It might help you in your quest to identify what is worth buying and what is not. 

1. Screw Drivers, Spanners & Allen Keys

I’m a growing fan of SB Tools. They offer industry-standard tools at reasonable price. You can buy per-item or as a set with variety level of completeness. I would recommend a set of screw drivers for RM60, heavy duty allen keys for RM60 and spanner set (8-24mm) for RM110. You also would need a pack of cable ties and disposable gloves which you can buy cheaply at Mr DIY.

2. Tyre Pressure Gauge

Never leave home without one and buy the best that you can afford. I would recommend for you to go for 0-60psi gauge where the centre would be between 30-35psi. This is because centre readings will be the most accurate. In my case, I bought this Longacre tyre gauge for USD25 back in 2015 and still working like a charm now. If you want to be even more associated with high end motorsport, you can consider Intercomp but at double the price.

3. Breaker Bar

A must and greatly assist in removing wheel lug nuts, better than air gun (especially with aftermarket lug nuts). I would recommend 1/2" socket and 24” length to give you about 500nm of strength. You can get it for RM70 in SB Tools or online store. In addition, you would need 3 types of socket: 17mm (5H wheels), 19mm (4H wheels) and 21mm (4H wheels like Perodua Axia). They are RM15 each.

4. Torque Wrench

Highly recommended if you intend to regularly swap and rotate tyres. Go for good brands like SATA or Toptul 1/2" 0-200nm rated as they offer decent accuracy but within good price bracket. They should be between RM350-RM400 in online stores. You might also need an extension bar RM15. Speaking of which, the wheel torque spec highly depends on the lug nuts itself. In most cases, they are between 110-130nm.

5. Floor Jack

I have all types: scissor jack (JDM and continental), mini floor jack and full-size floor jack. All of them have their strengths depending on mobility factor. The mini floor jack, which you can buy for RM80 in supermarket is in my view has the best of both worlds, but they don’t last long. Full size floor jack is the most effective as it requires less stroke to lift vehicle up but would be absolute back breaker if you want to bring it to track days. But you know, they are quite affordable now at RM350-RM400 range for dual-pump ones. Should you have loads to spare, I would recommend full aluminum which offers approximate 50% lighter but at almost triple the price.

6. Jack Stands

Never put the trust solely on floor jack to hold the weight of the car, especially you intend to work underneath it. Get jack stands and they are not expensive at less than RM50 for a pair.

7. Jerry Cans

Not necessary for many but essential for me as my Satria Neo loves to drink in track days. There are many sizes to choose: 5, 10 and 20 liters. I’m using jerry cans made by Scepter both 20 liters size and one of them was made in 1990 and still sturdy till today. Hardly surprising since Scepter is a brand famously associated as king of containers that manufactures products for civilian, marine, and military use.

8. Cordless Impact Wrench

This is for sure an overkill but the gap between need and want can get very blurry especially when you’re so used to buy using plastics. Milwaukee is the industrial standard for cordless gun. You have the option of either M12 Stubby (up to 338nm) or M18 (up to 813nm for mid torque version). M12 Stubby is obviously the lighter one and cheaper at RM1.4K, while M18 at RM2K. For normal tyre change, I would say M12 Stubby is good enough but struggle to open lug nuts above 130nm especially with extension.

9. Mobile Air Inflator

Comes together as a kit with M12 Stubby (separately around RM450). Strangely I feel this is worth buying than the impact wrench. The practice of driving to petrol station for brimming the tyres with air and then trim it the next morning, is a thing of a past when you’re using this. Word of caution, they’re quite loud.

10. Tyre Repair Kit
Tyre punctures are a definite possibility. You can be the most vigilant driver around but your tyres may still being hit with nail, screw or stick in the tread or sidewall. It would be a good idea for you to have good tyre repair kit. The one below, again from SB Tools around RM70.

11. Battery Jumper Cables

Battery jumper set are one of the many items that you should never ever buy the cheapest one. You usually use it at the most inappropriate times. Do go for thicker cables as they are capable of transmitting more electric current. Don't buy like the ones below.

12. OBD2 Scanner

I’m using Lemur BlueDriver OBD2 wireless scanner, a convenient tool to perform basic read and clear diagnostic trouble codes and real-time data logging of engine parameters. This is among the better ones in the market today. Works with iOS and Android. USD100 from eBay.

  

13. Ideal Transporter

I will never be able to get all of these into my Satria Neo CS for track days. This is where majority of the time, I would get either my wife or brother to drive my Golf R along just to bring all of these stuffs including a pair of spare tyres. It has enough space, power, and traction to do the job :P

Proton Satria Neo R3 Clubsport

Many people might not know this but Satria Neo is the only Proton that was fully developed in Lotus headquarters UK. It has achieved an exceptional body rigidity along with fluid suspension setup making the car genuinely nice to drive. Now, imagine it being turned up to eleven, that is what you will feel driving this Satria Neo Clubsport. To me, this is closest thing we could have to Proton GT3. And here I’m going to tell you why and how.

This car comes with considerably chequered history. I bought it from my good friend who back then bought it from his friend. It wears number 18 out of 20 with total production of 18. Confusing? Yes, it is because they skipped no. 4 and 13 avoiding unnecessary bad luck. All 18 of them did participated in one make races for a year before hibernating in covered garages. However as of today, I think there are only 6-8 being kept to road worthy condition as the rest might have gone rouge chasing after perfection in Sepang.

To be honest with you, I did not plan to get this car at all. Was looking at a car for my brother but I ended up test driving this instead of him. A 10-minute test drive and 3 days of sleepless nights is enough for me to beg, borrow and steel for it. My friend, no stranger in maintaining fleet of exotics did a remarkable job in doing the restoration bits plus added much needed performance boost with Sprintex supercharger kit, Haltech Sprint 500 ecu and Mivec CK RS gearbox with 1-way full lock LSD.

If you can tolerate irritating clicking noise and occasion tramlining from the LSD, this car is docile and fun enough for daily and spirited driving. But, when the keys are with me, I subconsciously ended up turning the volume even further. Everything we did centred around “responsive” theme throughout the engine, steering, suspension and braking. And the end result is a “road worthy” Satria Neo that does 2.45 consistently in Sepang driven by novice driver like me. And if I can be even more honest, the car is should do genuinely 2.42-2.43 given the right driver and conditions. That ladies and gentlemen is the qualifying pace of average Satria Neo race cars.

I would like to start with the engine. We retained mostly stock engine internals, gearbox and supercharger kit. Just to make it livelier, we added in Matspeed 278 deg cams, Arospeed cam pulleys, Obuddy valve springs, 450cc injectors, DW200 fuel pump, Arospeed fuel regulator, K20 setup coil-on-plug and drive by cable conversion with Works 70mm throttle body. R3 extractor also being retained but connected with a single mid box and 2.5” piping mufflerless exhaust.

The drivability though is a little bit compromised as it gets lumpy at low end. But Choman of DNT manages to push the power band upwards and registers a healthy 178ps and 19kg of torque with maximum rev of 7.5k rpm. Looks good on paper but even better when you drive it for real. The power delivery is like a line that you can draw from nought till the rev limiter at 45 deg straight. You will love the throttle response. The engine feels eager with raw raspy exhaust note yet still feel true to its naturally aspirated roots. Just a word of caution, you will definitely need a pair of noise cancelling earphone to drive it on the street because it’s darn loud!

At 1,050 dry kerb weight, it is pretty light even with non-chromoly 6-point roll cage. I went to Faidzil of Fawster to rebuild back the R3 fitted D2 monotube coilovers with winning recipe. Spring rate is 10kg front and 8kg rear. The front sits -4 deg (-0.5 toe) and rear -1.8 deg (+0.5 toe) where the ride height readjusted slightly for better crossing. I must also add that the front lower arms were altered to accommodate in custom spherical bearings.

The power delivery is great but not the best thing about the car. It is the driving dynamics. To begin with, you sit low and hugged like a baby courtesy of the Recaro TSG and reworked seat mounting points. The lowest of any Satria Neos. The combination from the steering, balance and impressive lateral grip that makes you don’t want to stop driving it. With the spherical bearing on the front lower arm, the steering is even more crisply weighted and gives you almost millimetre response just after off-centre.

You could almost have the feel movement right down to the steering’s tie rod end giving better understanding how much grip level you can further extract from it. If you lift in the middle of the corner, the rear will step out just like how performance front wheel drive should be. Going towards T5 and T6 of Sepang, the car can go in at 130 and exit at 132-135 kmh gps. And in the middle of it you might be touching 140 because you don’t lift, you rely the dynamics of the chassis and suspension to rotate with minimal steering correction at the exit. One of the places it shines the most.

Even the suspension is being setup focus for track application, surprise-surprise the damping over our infamous roads is almost compliant. If for some reason you “jump” over slight crest, the suspension able to control lift and lands smoothly with single compression and rebound and regain back its composure almost immediately. Something close to that you get from Ohlins DFV. It is weird really because we never get the same feeling in my brother’s Satria GTi with the same set of D2 coilovers. Perhaps the stiffer chassis in this Neo CS works better with high spring rate than GTi.

Brakes. Ok, I went a little bit more crazy on this one. The car initially comes with Ferrodo DS2500 pads which works well in all conditions, but I needed a bit more bite and resistance against fade. I tried to make custom order for Endless CCRG pads that works with stock calipers. But unfortunately, I was left hanging for a month by both local dealer and maybe Endless themselves. But it was Christmas comes early when another good friend offered me brand new Endless 4 pot BBK at the price that I shouldn’t say no, and couldn’t say no.

To get it to fit, we need to fabricate new brake brackets, ARP wheel studs, 20mm wheel spacer and new wheels with larger inner barrel. Sought help from GME Racing, well known fabricators for a pair of cool custom brake ducts. Endless has awesome stopping power and consistent enough to cope of 80m threshold braking for T1 every single time. But modulation feel needs improving, I always struggle to put in as much pressure on it without locking the front wheels. This is something I learn the dark side of BBK that many don’t realized or be bothered. Aesthetically, Endless with RE030 replica, Yoko A050 and flushed upfront is just aces.

It is coming to 3 years of ownership and I have been often asked, how much have been spent and is it really worth it. Hmm you know I do keep everything recorded in my spreadsheet and the numbers are scary and dumfounded. Yes, beyond any doubt, this is my money pit. It is true, I could go for latest and greatest and be miles ahead but there is something about driving mechanical car in this digital world that gives you bundle of joy.

Perfection is a moving goal post. There is always something to explore, something to try and something to improve. It is a keeper and together with the right people, we plan to continue with development journey with clear target in mind. 2.41 scorecard, immersive driving experience and comfortable enough for commuting to office and business meetings. And like I said in the beginning, this is the closest thing we could have to Proton GT3 and to stay true to R3 motorsport roots.

I'm Back

7 years, 1 month and 2 weeks. That’s how long I’ve been away from this page. Everybody is into YouTube and Netflix. Be that as it may, nothing beats the everlasting effect of writing. I’ve been paid to make money making proposals so why not turning it into my own library personal hits and miss. Yes fellas, I’m back!

My Humble Garage

I can’t start without saying something about my, well ex-Polo GTI. I’ve sold for back in 2015 and she’s still running strong as ever. Since then, I’ve been fortunate enough to have access to couple of money pits and these are going to be the centre of this blog.

• VW Mk6 Golf R, my workhorse and cross-country breadvan
• Proton Satria Neo 1.6, our everyday anytime shopping trolley
• Proton Satria Neo R3 Clubsport Supercharged, my only money pit warhorse
• Proton Satria GTi 1.8, my brother’s 190+whp on DD, play and pray
• Kawasaki KSR 110, my ideal version of usable bicycle

I would like to do it right and get it right this time around. You’ll read, yes read about many things centred around cars and hobbies:

• Long-term fleet reporting
• New car review
• Driving review & experience
• Modifications
• Garage & DIY life
• Cameras, drones and photography

There’s a lot to take in both you and me. Stay tuned as more things coming along very soon.