# Polo 9n3 GTi Daily...



## Paulbag (Jun 5, 2012)

Hi there, I'm Paul, new to the forum. So I'm just copying this off another forum. So the dates don't really line up lol

Been looking for a new car for a while, ever since I sold my Clio.










So found the car on Pistonheads/Edition last week and was talking to the boy back and forth. Eventually got flights booked for this morning and me and Dad headed over to see the car in Leeds. 
Car was really clean as expected and sounded and well extremely well. 
After some negotiating (as usual) we agreed on a price and the car was mine 
As for plans; I don't really have any at the minute. Just drive it and enjoy it and then prob change of wheels and bit lower or something Not too sure.

Spec of the car ;
FK Coilovers
Full Turbo Back Miltek Exhaust
Jetex Air Filter
Forge Front Mount Intercooler
Forge Dump Valve
Forge Front Strut Brace
Custom Stage 2 Map to 220bhp
LM Reps 8x17 with genuine bolts replacing the fake bolts with the centres painted a bronze colour (hard to explain) with Falken Tyres

Car was a good spec from the factory and came with Xenons, Auto dimming rear view mirror, heated seats and full climate control.

I haven't really got any good pics of it as of yet so here is a couple.


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## Paulbag (Jun 5, 2012)

So it's been ages since I've been on here. Since I got the car I've been busy pottering about at it. 

First thing I done was take the Lm Reps off as the dishes were not lacquered and put on a set of steels with beetle hub caps.

Then set about getting the car sitting lower, so out came the helper springs. Hit a bit of a problem while doing this as the small nut in the top mount started spinning within it's housing. 










After the top mount breaking I got new one and drilled old on out. I screwed the coils up to roughly the same height though. 

Also got the front brakes on. Was definitely a learning curve. Never done brakes before. Only had on real head scratcher moment when the driver side calliper was on passenger side and brake line wouldn't reach lol. But that was quickly sorted 

It's a really weird setup as the standard brakes don't fit behind the Comps but the 312mm do!? They ht the carrier on the standard setup but the carrier sits further in with the new setup so tho means I'm happy 

Clearance with the steel.










Then came the Compomotives. They are 16x8 ET30.



















So after the Comps went on, I screwed the front on down and had the chassis notched. 

Then came UD, which on the way to Newry I couldn't brake, as every time I touched the brake the front set chassis on shaft, as the notch was not big enough. So had to get the car renotched once we came back. 

Few UD pics...























































And my favourite one...










Still got a few things that I want to do to the car. I want to get it sitting better on the Comps, relocate battery and make an induction, 4 bar fuel regulator and a couple of silicone hoses through out the bay. Also going to hopefully semi smooth the bay over time


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## Paulbag (Jun 5, 2012)

Found a couple more pics from UD and a couple from Dubshed too


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## Paulbag (Jun 5, 2012)

So I have updated this in a while, because I haven't been doing much lately. I've given up on the engine bay at this minute, and going to run the red Samco hose for the mean time.

So last week I tried the RS's on to see if they were gong to clear the brakes on the front. They didn't! So I put them on with a 10mm spacer, making them ET 2 on an 8.5J. The rears cleared no problem 



















Front...














































I think they sit well, although could do with being brought in ever so slightly. I was looking at adjustable top mounts, so that is always an option, if I decide to run them. 
Although I'm not sure if they really suit the car or not, and the centres would put me off wanting to run these as well, they are not gong to take well to hard driving! lol


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## Paulbag (Jun 5, 2012)

Went round to Ians the other night. Pretty much to see what the wheels would sit like if the car was bagged. 










The aftermath..




















Got to love anti-roll bars...



















Now my head is truly f**ked lol


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## Paulbag (Jun 5, 2012)

So I have had a Samco Turbo Intake Pipe sitting since just after UD. I've been hesitant to wether or not to put it on as I didn't know wether to go red or black. Decided today may as well through it on until I decide. I also found out that the Forge Motorsport one is more of a job as it goes the hole way tot the turbo, rather than the Samco hose connecting to the metal pipe connected to the turbo.

After installing it, I definitely think I would rather have black. So I'm gonna order a black Forge TIP and intercooler to inlet manifold pipes in the next few weeks.

Anyway a few pictures.




























Next on the agenda is a 4 bar fuel regulator, SAI delete along with another map then starting to gather up parts for smoothing the bay over the winter. 

I've decided to hold of on the clutch until it starts slipping worse, so probably end up changing it over winter also as I'l have the box out anyway.


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## Paulbag (Jun 5, 2012)

Seeing as it was a sunny day today, I gave the car a quick clean


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## Paulbag (Jun 5, 2012)

So I have had the Polybushes sitting for a while now. Eventually got around to fitting them last night with the help of Robin and Jonny. They seem to be a real good job. 

Also put in my Super Pro Dog Bone Mount Bush. It is real nice to drive with. Much better feel with power delivery. Steering wheel shakes slightly on idle, but nothing major 





































Then he got his way and got the yellow fogs off! lol


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## Paulbag (Jun 5, 2012)

That's everything to date. I'l try and keep it up to date now  

Some very useful threads on here about tips on smoothing bay. Great forum!

Any comments/criticism welcome 

Paul


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## damianni (Jun 2, 2012)

amazing polo!!!


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## Paulbag (Jun 5, 2012)

damianni said:


> amazing polo!!!


Thanks man


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## Paulbag (Jun 5, 2012)

Couple of pictures from a local show I was at yesterday.  



















And a wee pictures of the Ni-Euro stand we had, minus Ian's Polo who got cut off :lol:


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## Mashmarriner (Nov 1, 2011)

get BBS on  look epic thou


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## Paulbag (Jun 5, 2012)

So wee bit of an update. 

Ordered couple of parts of Forge couple of days ago and should arrive today  I got a Secondary Air Induction blanking plate and a Intercooler to intake Silicone pipe in black  

Gonna do Wellan in the car and maybe Cork then take it off the road and start the bay  

It all depends on where I go for my years placement, being if I need a diesel daily. I have got a couple of crazy quotes for multi car insurance atm for a 325TDS and the Polo. £958 for the Polo down from £1500 lol So looking into this more  

Couple of Pics from Cruise for Cancer


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## Paulbag (Jun 5, 2012)

So guys going to shave the bay and wire tuck it over the winter. Anyone got any tips/advice? 

what gauge of wire is best to use for what parts etc?


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## Paulbag (Jun 5, 2012)

Tried Ians wheels on last night... 


Picture time.. We took loads.. lol 




























































































Opinions?


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## VW indahouse (Feb 25, 2012)

Sorry man, like the dark rims better :thumbdown:


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## dood786. (Dec 6, 2007)

Lovely car man 

I have a 4door 9n3 gti here in South Africa, would love to run it that low but coilovers and "proper wheels" are not cheap


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## Paulbag (Jun 5, 2012)

Haven't updated this in a while.

Car has been bagged there in the last couple of weeks and is actually off the road now for a wire tuck and bay shave!
































































Tried a mates Modern Lines on....


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## Paulbag (Jun 5, 2012)

So been pottering around at this over the past week and a bit.





































I started extending the loom on the passenger side, got a fair wack of it done yesterday, then ran out of wire. Need to get more on Monday and then hopefully that loom should be done by the weekend. the it will be onto the other looms 

At the minute...


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## Paulbag (Jun 5, 2012)

OK, so sorry it has taken so long, but I've been working away this quite a bit. 

Got the loom tidied up running down the wing and p-cliped to the body. Also put some edging around the edges of the hole just to be on the safe side. 



















Got a power and earth cable made up out of 2 gauge wire and got proper ends put on them, with new battery terminals. 



















I then ran the power down the car form the battery in the boot under the carpet and through the bulkhead along under the passenger chassis leg and onto the starter. The earth is going to the spare wheel well, that is sanded down to bare metal (not sure if i like it there or not, may change to the rear seat belts). Instead of running two cables down the car I branched off the starter for power for the distribution box and fuse box, which would normally sit on top of your battery, from the starter. The distribution box was moved into underneath the scuttle panel. I then got the alternator power from branching off the starter also instead of running another heavy cable up through the wing to the distribution box. 

After the power was sorted to the car and the rest of the looms had been lengthened to where they needed to go, We taped the rest of the looms up individually. 










Then came the time to connect everything back up again, which actually wasn't as hard as I originally thought it would have been. 

After everything was connected we had the intense moment of turning the key, and at this stage all that was going through my mind was "Oh *, if this doesn't start, where the hell do we begin looking for a fault" and "How much would a loom be?", so with the heart trying to jump out of my mouth I turned the key and the dash lights came on the head unit came on and the you could hear the fuel pump turning itself on and general electrics of the car starting up. I turned the key and... NOTHING, not a damn thing! After pottering around and looking puzzled at the car I remembered that you had to earth the engine to the chassis leg, so I done this out of the original earth cable, only a temporary job to see if it would fix the problem, and after trying again there was still not a thing! Everything was right and we couldn't figure out what was wrong with it! So after a lot of head scratching and cursing, we called it a night. 

I cam out to the garage on the Sunday to get my car keys and thought I'd have another look and discovered the two windscreen washer plugs (or what I thought was these, then following the loom up I found 2 more plugs labelled "windscreen washers" at this point I was like WTF and started scanning the bay for empty plugs, to my relief I found two, where? on the bleeding starter! HOw we missed them the previous night I don't know, so we got them lengthened on Monday evening and it STARTED! Without a light on the dash, other than airbag and coolant, because there is no seats and no coolant sensor. 










So as you can imagine I was happy and even better than that, I was for DUblin the next day, so I had a 'few' celebratory beers! 

The way it looked. 



















Started into the car tonight again and got the rest of the loom taped up and into a position I was happy with. Then started into the vacuum and fuel systems. 










There a couple of How to guides on VW Vortex about the vacuum systems on the 1.8t, but none for my engine code which appears to be different. So after studying it, I'm pretty confident I know what to remove and what to keep, and what to do with the sensors. 

Tomorrow I'm going to see about getting the braided fuel lines made up and find out what is the best way to connected the braided hose to the existing fuel lines without having to replace the lot. 

It seems to be getting there slowly but surely. Once the vacuums is sorted, I'l have another start to make sure it likes what I've done and then it'l be time to strip it back down and take engine out for a lot of de-seaming, grinding, welding and then off to paint. 

After the car was started and we were happy with the wiring, we decided to hide the ECU. We decided to put it in the scuttle area and then cover it to stop water getting in at it. Only problem was that the distrubtion box took up most of the ridculously small scuttle panel. We moved it to near it's orginal position again and intend to attach it to the bracket of the power steering resivoir. Got that sorted and then started it once more (just to be sure). 

We then set about stripping the car down again, remvoing the front end etc. We disconnected all remaining plugs to the engine and moved them out of the road. We started disconnecting the gear linkages, downpipe and fuel lines in preparation for the engine coming out. 

I got hold of an engine crane from a friend and on the Saturday, with the help of Robin (thanks buddy  ) we set about taking the engine out. 










After a while the engine was out. 



















We then removed the box, clutch and flywheel so we could mount it on the engine stand. 




























Then I started about removing the air con lines and heatshield off the bulkhead. 

The next thing was to attack the seam sealer and earthing mounts. So we made note of the chassis number just incase. 










We then ground of the mounts and done the sealer by using a wire wheel on end of a drill. This ripped clean through the seam sealer like nobodies business. 



















I then removed the master cylinder and brake fluid resovoir to gain access to the bracket around the fuel lines. 










I then drilled through the spot welds and removed the brackets for the fuel lines and coolant ball. 





































That is pretty much how the car stands at the minute. As i previously said, I sourced and bought I set of seats for the car, which arrived today. Pics are from the add. 





































And finally, provisionally bought a set of wheels. Putting a deposit on them on Friday. You may know them  










Next objective is relocating the ABS unit. Was an impulse decision, but it has to go. Either going to put it in the boot or run a non abs master cylinder and servo from a mk4 golf. I would rather relocate it though to stop lights on the dash. Has anyone ever had experience of lengthening brake lines? Is this a bad idea, or will it affect braking feel/distances? Any ideas or opinions welcome  

That's all for now folks  

Paul


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## dood786. (Dec 6, 2007)

Dude 

we need updates


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## Paulbag (Jun 5, 2012)

Got a bit more time for an update now. 

So after the paint being a disaster the first time, I got it redone - Ends up he had the wrong hardener mixed in. He was more than happy to redo it and even lifted the windows out for me as I sort of sorry for taking so long measure. 

Got it home and the paint is 100times better, really happy with it this time. 










Bought a 4 bar fpr for handy money - will hopefully let the car go a bit better with the aid of a decent map.










Stripped engine and got a parts painted. Got the Air con pump, alternator, 2 engine mount supports, the bracket for holding the alternator, starter and the gearbox all painted. Waiting for more paint to come through in the post to allow me to paint the inlet/throttle body. 




























Then I bought some parts - which took forever to come from Awesome GTI but they sent a £10 voucher 










Then I found my nemesis -_-



















:lol:

Started to tape up the car for painting the cage - it took ALOT of paper and masking tape! So I called in the troops for a lot of sanding and taping.










Got the cage painted yesterday thanks to Gizmo but we ran out of paint, so it is getting another coat on Monday/Tuesday.

Then it is engine time and get it back into paint


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## Jonnyboi (Nov 25, 2012)

Hello. :wave:

Seam to be everywhere with this don't you 
Never noticed you'd tried on RF's before. they looked good!


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## Paulbag (Jun 5, 2012)

A few build photos!

Getting cage made....


















































































Then the car went to get the bay finished.....










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Then we set about getting the cage painted ( this is the time i regretted getting a weld in cage!)























































Received Parts....










Set engine in.....




























Car was then built up...










Then it went for the respray! I decided to get the aerial smoothed out of the roof and lose the plate recess also.

We then picked the car up from paint on thursday evening (8days before we had to leave for UD)










Then we set about getting changing the rear brakes to the 256mm brakes and bleeding the hole system as I had replaced the complete brake lines with braided lines and moved the ABS pump. 




























One week until UD!










Started fitting the carpets and plastics again....



























Got seat rails made and test fitted the seats....










Got the windscreen and quarter glass into the car on Tuesday before UD, then the seat rails were anodised on Wednesday!














































The car then had to go back into paint for side strips to be put on and front grill to be painted again as it cracked during installation of the bumper! 










At this point I was really panicking a the car had very little brakes (for some unknown reason) we then lifted the car on Thursday afternoon and took it to get plugged into VAGCOM to see what the lights were on the dash for. Turns out it needed a wheel speed sensor! 

Got the car home on Thursday evening and thanks to a load of mates, there was a lot of building and working on the brakes to try and get some feel in the pedal! after pumping 10litres of brake fluid through the entire system, we decided that it was to do with the braided lines and it would just take some getting used to. So we got the car as good a pedal as possible at around half 2 on Friday morning. ( 12 hours before the boat) Next was starting to stance the car up a bit, this went on for a bit and we eventually got finished up at around half 4! 



















We then realised I had no seatbelts nor harnesses for the car, which was a small problem! Then came a surprise when my mum said she would getup eatly and drive to Dublin (120miles each way) to get these for me if it would mean the car would make UD! The woman is an absolute hero! So she set off just as I was getting into bed!

We got couple of hours sleep and we were up again for the journey to Dublin for the boat! We then met my mum in Newry on her way back up with the harnesses! 

On our way the car was lying on the drivers tyre and managed to burn through my nice fresh paint. Was a bit annoyed about this, but thanks to Thomas who took our luggage and even donated his bumpstops from his Passat to keep the Polo off the tyres! 

Couple of pics from the journey over! 




























And a few of mine from the actual show...










Bonnet in the hotel room 























































Apologies for such a long update and so many pictures! 
Hope you enjoyed the read

Paul!


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## Paulbag (Jun 5, 2012)

Got best Polo at Dubshed 2013. 

Couple of pictures....


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## dood786. (Dec 6, 2007)

Really top notch work here hey

Well done man

Whats up with the for sale stickers? Looking to get rid of it?


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## HMvwgti (Apr 9, 2015)

*Polo gti 9n3 caliper upgrade?*

Hi everyone I need abit of help if possible, I have just bought my lovely polo gti 9n3 after looking for one for a long time. I'm looking to do quite a few things to it and one of them is to upgrade the calipers all round I have been looking at porsche and leon cupra calipers, what I would like to know is if it can be done and what do I acctually need to do?

Many thanks


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