this was awhile back but i thouhgt id post it here...a good friend of mine has an 03 VW GTI, it has the 1.8 Turbo with the VR6 transmission...when we raced he had a downpipe, BOV (if that matters), exhaust, and an upgraded ECU...my motor was stock as it is till this day...but we took off when the light turned green and i got a slightly better launch and got a bumper lead...

when VTEC hit id pull a little bit, but then id have to shift and he'd reel me in, then he would shift and id be able to pull again...

we both shut off at 115 and i was ahead by the front bumper...

has anyone ever GTI, if so what happened and please leave comments on what you think of this match up...

 

Doesn't sound like you are racing properly. If you start from a stop, a proper launch will have you in vtec from the start. If you are starting at 2k rpms, that result sounds about right. You are probably losing well over a 1/2 second by not launching the car.

A mildly modified golf should not be in the same league as your car. Just went on VW Vortex board and they seem to be quoted low to mid 14's at best, all the way to upper 14's for chipped, cai, exhaust 1.8 turbo GTI's. So, considering they would post their best and not lie, a properly driven S should hid upper 13's, which is 1/2 second better than the modded GTi. So, it would appear that 1/2 second is lost in your lack of drag race skill.

Not to be a jerk, but I would say either stop drag racing a car meant for twisty roads, or learn how to launch properly as to not embarrass our cars.

 

it was a 2500-3000 K launch..and yeah ill stick to the canyons for my spirited driving...

 

Please do not launch in that range, you will end up hurting your car. It is much safer to break the tires loose than to launch at 3K. Your differential absorbs all of that shock when you don't get a good spin off the line. If you want to launch get it up to atleast 6 to 6.5K

 

Seriously. The last thing I want to read on this board is another thread about a failed differential. 3k launches just aren't going to cut it on a car with this little of torque.

It is also correct about the need for landing in v-tec after the initial spin. You probably would have ran mid 14's at best at a track with the launch you described.

 

When I do hard launches, I usually launch at like 5k or 5.5k... usually not over that.

Good enough???? For some reason... launching from that high of an RPM doesn't seem pleasant... seems like it's hurting the clutch with all that slipping.

Andre

 

Tire slipping = good. Clutch slipping = bad. You're supposed to drop the clutch so fast it doesn't slip much and breaks the tires loose. Not easy to get it right -- you have to nearly side-step it.

 

the 1.8t engines can produce easy hp with little mods. i had a jetta 1.8t and with a giac chip and exhaust you could have 240 hp.. the car comes with 180 stock (not at wheel) give he was front wheel you had the advantage, but you would of launched higher he would have never gotten closer.. stay in vtec at a launch something has to give: clutch, diff, tires...you rather it be tires nice ownage though

 

a 1.8t with a chip is nothing to sneeze at. I used to have one and my dad's 04 s2k would beat me by a bumper and I had a chip and a few other small bolt ons.

 

not to get off topic, but fmi to save my diff. does any kind of launching in your car will wear and tear on the diff or only 2-3rpm drops will? what if we dont launch and take off like we normally would?