Cheers guys for all the feedback and advice. All taken on board!
Sorry for the lack of updates. I've got a new lip which I've yet to install. I've also just had the brakes looked at and will be going solid rotors (on order) which apparently will outlast the floating rotors in any case (interesting).
Re: Suspension I've been looking into KW Clubsports but the deal I had going might have fallen through. I love the dampening on these CROSS Coilovers though so I've decided I want to fix them.
Re: Skirts on the white GTI above are OSIR.
Re: UNIbrace. I can hear the difference going into and out of my driveway everyday. Where there were once creaks from flex there isn't any now. Can't say it's a radical difference though, more like putting a strut brace on a car as opposed to a roll cage (which makes a world of difference!).
Re: Comparing the GTI to other Japanese cars = Can of worms! I've owned and tracked so many great modified cars, funnily enough the car the Golf most resembles on a track is my old Alfa 147. European cars and Japanese cars are like apples and oranges.
The Golf is super solid, even opening and closing a door on the Golf gives you a sense of safety and quality. The interior on the Golf is a nice place to be too whereas the interior plastics in Japanese cars look and feel cheap.
Image wise the Golf is so much more invisible on the streets than say a DC2R, DC5R, MX5 or EVO. Less attention, less people want to race you.
The Golf, even modified, feels very heavy in the corners in comparison to a modified EG Civic, or even my old Jazz with K20A engine swap, S2000, MX5, EVO, DC2R, you name it. Most of the cars I've owned felt better on a track (even a bog standard MR2 had 100 times better turn-in than the GTI), but in the end of the day the Golf makes for a great daily driver, even with semis and a stripped out interior! The DSG gearbox is fun and easy to live with and the car is responsive. Boost kicks in early like an EVO (whereas my GT-R is a lag monster).
I suppose for me right now it's more about compromise. It's a car I can track but also drive on the street in track trim without copping too much attention. Where I sometimes felt embarrassed to be seen in the Jazz/Fit (despite having a K20 engine swap), or in a white DC2R with white wheels and a big wing I feel confident in the Golf. IE: Image wise I think it's easier to live with. The DSG gearbox is a huge plus too as it's my daily driver.
PS: My other car is a GT-R. It's been modified in a similar fashion. Which car would I rather daily? The GTI of-course. Which car would I rather track? Well the GT-R but it's a different experience. In the GTI I can drive at 8/10ths pretty comfortably. In the GT-R I shit my pants a fair bit. It's a different game completely. Sometimes you have more fun out there on an underpowered car than something you have to wrestle with, probably explains why go-karts are so fun!
