Life on Fast mode or mods

Keeping to its promise, the Fast has indeed made me proud and felt like road warrior! hahah

All in all, the car was superb in its power category. Was told its stock, but to be honest - I reckon it has been ECU remapped....WALD tune perhaps and well thrashed?!?!

On the other hand buying a used Fast can be challenging to maintain, after all it made me a very sensitive person to any issues that made me worried. Err, did I say worried? Yes. Since it is a performance car, safety comes first.

There are some experience that I would like to blog about and this may give some heads up to some potential future owners of GTI MK5 out there. Please note that these pointers are not applicable to all used Fast in the market.

Surprisingly, there are also those who known me and has asked the same questions about maintaining the Fast. My Fast was aged 4.5years with about 48k km milleage on it. Maintenance was supposedly fully done by an authorised service center at Sg Besi.

Let me share some of my pointers and experiences with it. :)

1. Experienced 2 major breakdown incidents. One of which was due to Steering Rack and the other the Alternator. Both of these incidents had caused me some traumatic on-the-fast-lane experiences, whereby electronically the car failed to function and the dashboard alert lights litted up like Christmas lighting! Well, I am lucky to have survived both incidences stranded beside the roadside and calling SOS for my car to be towed. One thing to look out for a potential failure on the steering rack is the scraping sound when doing full stationary turn from one side to another.

2. Other minor pointers are like:
- Cam Follower (this is only for MK5, a regular check will prevent engine rebuilding!)
- Coil Packs and Spark Plugs (for smooth acceleration)
- Fuel filter (may be due to poor petrol quality)
- DSG oil and filter change (do this every 40k km or earlier!)
- Air cond service (to avoid being choked up by the HAWT weather)
- Cooling fans (loud noise and malfunction)
- Wheel bearings (early wear and tear due to our infamous 'road craters')
- Shock mount and bearings
- Arm bush knocking noise from front
- Cabin noise (which is surprisingly normal)

3. DO NOT speed through flood - no matter how shallow it seems. DSG unit has a breather that takes in air and also any water that goes on top of it!

On the other hand, I would like to also share some cool mods I have done. More interesting than the things above! haha

Before the mods

After the mods

1. BBS CH 19" wheel - this is a cool upgrade to transform a Fast to a mean Fast! It was on met black with red pin stripe! YUM! This is one of my favourite that I traded in my Detroits for it! Later did I found out that the Detroits have great value and demand....hahah
2. 3M Crystaline window tint - not really effective considering its top of the line.
3. R-line fog grill - cool cosmetic upgrade!
4. Votex lower bumper lip - got this from Singapore. A cool cosmetic upgrade and a favourite for many!
5. Stage1+ Unitronic - ECU remap - one of the best bang for buck performance upgrade! Overtaking on the fast lane has been so addictive and effortless!
6. C-tech full underbody brace - nice mod to stiffen the chasis
8. RNS510 replica with HD touch screen - generally good but not very stable? Nice screen resolution.
9. Pivot XV - multimeter for oil, water and max boost readings. Cool gadget!
10. DIY 3M carbon fiber stickers on door and dashboard trims. Looks better than the plain aluminuim strips!

Oh great! After listing down I have indeed fast forward on all the mods done....what a productive life...hahah

Fast forward!

Time flies indeed....so much that I need to Fast forward my chronology to becoming Fast! *grin*

*Flash back*
"What? Changing your brand new sedan (Jetta) for an old and small hatch (Golf)? That can't be right....", a general and cynical remark from a sane and logical person. *SIGH*

Oh yes.... I have been poisoned hard. All I did was getting onto a stock Silver Reflex MK5 GTI! THAT was the greatest mistake for another roller coaster ride in my pursue to be Fast.

THE ride was as simple as a lunch date with my ex-boss. Everything thereafter was history! Well, the difference was beyond how I can stretch my both hands to the opposite direction as if to measure how wide the earth is - err Heaven and earth?!? The ride is firm, steady and lively! Power on tap everytime I need. No more sluggish gear change with the excellent DSG predicting each of my gear change, ear pleasing exhaust note, chasis rigidity with confort and my hunger for acceleration has caused a disease spreading on right foot with no antidote to cure...in the midst of the calm cabin ambience where we chat softly.....WOW!

Next I know, I was hunting for a second hand ride at most dealers and also other makes. I must say its quite hard to beat on papers. One of it was the 308GT Peugeot. Well its not up to par....mainly its also my confidence on after sale and also the capability of upholding the value in the used market. It never happened......no dealer would take my Jetta at a reasonable price as they do not know how to value my ride since its only 2 months?? Damn....

I have gone through few potential buyers but the deal did not went through. But in the end, I manage to find a buyer who was also looking for the same model. Thank God!!!

Thats when I am more active in looking for a good condition and well taken care MK5 GTI. Looking for one is difficult as it seems the second hand value is upholding quite well. Imagine a 2007 manufactured at that time is still asking for 155k-170k thereabouts! I keep looking around until I managed to pass by Pudu area whereby a shimmering Tornado Red 2005 WALD MK5 GTI was as if asking to "I am here, take me!" hahah, mind you that this is the 4th test drive.... I am getting tired too as some has very basic features and the engine seems quite overworked!

It was the perfect combination of specs that I ever wished for... a sunroof and 18inch Detroits wheel. :)

With some haggling, I managed to own it after a short test drive.....WOW!

My Tornado Red FAST waiting to be driven back!
Historical date: 20th July 2009

Sporty blue lited and colourful meter cluster with low mileage reading

Thereafter my life on Fast is indeed "Fast" forwarded....why a small hatch? think again, its the experience that will get you hooked!