Following the humble victory of RS Golf in the UK-MKIV/Vs Car of the Year competition 2005, we wanted to know a little more about the man and the car who were causing a stir all over UK-MKIVs. We know the basic details from a mini feature following his Car of the Month win in August 2005 but it's time to get in-depth...

UK-MKIVs: When did you first get interested in VWs?

RS Golf: I first got into VWs about 5 years ago. I used to hate Golfs as I was very much a “FORD” man. Whether that was due to living the south side of the Thames to Dagenham, I’m not sure. Due to being very much into the Max Power scene when I was 14-15 years old, I loved the RS Turbo and Cosworth brands from FORD, and the Pug 205 and the MK2 Golf were the enemy. I used to go to a lot of car cruises and I was at as many as I could, whether it was the famous Chelsea Cruise in London to the regular Friday and Saturday night cruises. The main turning point was when I saw my first MK2, 3 door Oak Green Golf 16v with the big bumpers, and a hybrid Mk2 Golf with a Corrado front end.

I mainly got into the VW scene back in 2001, as I wanted a new hatchback car that had a turbo charger and the Golf seemed to fit the bill. The only other turbo hatchback I nearly bought was a new Audi S3, but the other half did not like it and told me it looked like a Vauxhall Astra from the rear (sorry to those that own one). I had to keep her happy and went with the Golf. This has now got me into the VW scene big time and I’m sure the next car I buy will be from the VAG family

 What other cars have you had / modified in your car owning career?

The First car I owned and sadly modded was when I was 18, it was a 1.4 GL Vauxhall Cavalier salon. It was good enough for me back then and I decided to mod it by adding Nova SR three spoke alloys (please don’t laugh) which were a massive 14”s in diameter (the same size as the brake discs on my Golf…LOL…LOL), and of course a Pioneer head unit, the only brand to really go for back then. I had this for a year before moving onto a Tungsten Grey Renault 5 GT Turbo which remained standard, as insurance was mega money and in those days there weren’t that many hot hatches that could touch it.

I then moved onto the Ford brand and I had a mint H Reg Escort RS Turbo in white, which was one of the last few made. I did not modify this car apart from a Kenwood head unit and a K&N induction kit and of course a dump valve.

The next car was a little faster, an RS Cosworth which was heavily modified by Slater Motorsport in Kent (Brands Hatch). This was a dream car, until the insurance companies decided to massively increase the insurance premiums and I realised the car was costing me too much to run.

I then moved back to the Renault brand and bought a Clio Williams, which was a great car to drive and the handling was a dream. After owning this for a couple of years I switched over to the VW brand in 2001 and I still have the same VW after nearly five years. It’s a personal record for me to own a car so long…LOL…LOL…. as normally 1-2 years was the max.

Where did you get your inspiration & ideas from?

I’ve been into the car scene for such a long time and I remember reading tuning magazines… well Max Power and Fast Car when I was in my teens. I think I have a good eye for things that work and also going to many shows over the years and getting inspiration. Now a lot of inspiration comes from forums like UK-MKIV’s and magazines like Performance VW /Golf+.

 Did you attend any shows in 2005?

I try to attend as many shows as I can with out going over the top as I have to keep the other half happy (as she does not like cars one bit).

The main shows I attended last year were GTI International, GTI Trackshow and the whole weekend at Edition 38.

 Who carried out the work on your car?

Most of the work is carried out by myself on the car, due to the fact that in this day and age, not many people want to provide customer service or make the customer happy once you’ve paid your money. I’ve had a couple of issues with a few companies, who do not take care with my car or send me a completely different item to what I have ordered.

I’ve had an alloy wheel damaged by a garage when I had the front bushes changed many years ago so now I read up on how to do things myself and the internet and this forum seem to make modding a Golf very easy.

I find working on your own car helps to understand how it all works and sometimes you can do a better job than a garage can do, as you want to put in the extra time and get the job done perfectly. I also service my car myself once a year so I am happy it gets done correctly and all parts are checked, but I also get the car serviced at VW once a year to ensure the service book stays up to date. The main time consuming mods that I carried out myself were the coilovers and the new brakes. Fitting the coilovers were surprisingly easy but time consuming, and setting up the ride height and damper settings I wanted was a pain, as it was very much trial and error until the car sat level. The brakes were easy to fit, but you need to be careful not to damage anything due to the cost of the parts. The main nightmare with the brake install was the bleeding of the brake fluid. I flushed the system out with completely new and better fluid, but to get the feel right in the pedal I had to bleed the brakes a total of four times to remove trapped air.

What is the history of your car acquisition and mods?

I picked up my new Golf from a VW dealer in London in September 2001 and I started the mods straight away. Before I had picked up the car I had my coilover suspension sitting at home waiting to go on and a new set of 18” alloys waiting to be ordered.

As I have owned my Golf for many years now I have been through one set of 16” alloys (the Standard rims), one set of 17” alloys, three sets of 18” alloys and I’m on my first set of 19” alloys.

My car has changed many times over the years on the outside and also under the bonnet.

The current mods I have on my car are as follows:

Engine:

• 1.8T AUM K03s turbo
• Jabba Sport Engine Management Remap 
• Escort Cosworth large turbo Green Powerflow induction filter 
• Stainless Heat Shield  with 3” smooth aluminum cold air duct
• Full Samco Turbo Pipes 
• Samco Turbo Intake Pipe
  ABD Racing Oversized Lower Intercooler Tube
• Milltek Ultra Flow CAT  2.5” downpipe (homemade turbo manifold to downpipe gasket)
• Milltek Stainless Anniversary Exhaust
• Forge Motorsport Uprated Intercooler with Audi TT vent in the arch to allow air flow
• GFB (Go Faster Bits) Atmospheric and Recycling By Pass Valve
• Uprated Powerflex Front Bushes
• Dog Bone Mount 
• Engine Grounding Kit
• Audi S3 Engine Covers

Chassis:

• 8.5x19 "  BBS Challenger (CH) Rims 
• 235/35 R19 Toyo Proxes T1-S Tyres
• Fully Adjustable Weitec Hicon TX Coilovers (Adjustable Front and Rears)
• ABD Lightweight Front Anti Roll Bar and Bushes
• Front ECS Tuning Stage 4 355mm Porsche Brakes
• Rear 308mm ECS Tuning Stage 1

Body Styling:

• Anniversary Front and Rear Valances
• 3 door R32 Side Skirts
• R32 Rear Roof Spoiler
• Front R32 Aero Wipers
• Polo Rear Aero Wiper
• Debadged Bonnet
• Debadged Front Bumper
• FK Automotive Debadged Grill
• Audi TT arch liner vent behind the Intercooler to aid airflow
• Golf and GTI Badges Removed From Tailgate and Replaced with RS Badge From Audi RS4
• Hella Darker GTI Rear Clusters

Inside:

• Recaro Interior Re Trimmed with Full Carisma Black Leather and Red Stitching including Head Rests and Door Cards, and Handbrake retrimmed to match
• R32 Steering Wheel
• R32 Pedals and Dead Pedal
• Brushed Aluminium Trim
• R-Line 5 Speed Gear Knob
• W8 interior light
• Climate Control
• Sunroof
• Illuminated Bora Vents
  
• Sunglasses Holder

 I.C.E.:

• Sat Nav Version G (with Sat Nav Disc 2005)
• 6 Disc Boot Changer
• Glove Box DVD Player

When I first bought the Golf I fitted the coilovers and ABD ARB at the front. I then fitted an ABD increased diameter metal intake pipe and the increased intercooler pipe. And then I went to Upsolute to have a chip put in, along with a K&N panel filter and a GFB dump valve.

After running the car like this for a while I decided to get a K&N induction kit, which sounded very nice and then I had the car REVO’d as I heard very good stories about the performance figures REVO had produced.

After hearing the stories of the oil on K&N filters messing up MAFs, I decided to remove this and replace it with a Jabbasport Induction Kit with a heat shield. I then installed a Forge up-rated side mounted intercooler and had the car custom remapped by Jabbasport.

After a while I decided to treat myself to Samco turbo hoses and a Samco turbo intake pipe (so I had to remove the old ABD metal intake pipe) and a full turbo back Milltek exhaust system. I then took the car back to Jabbasport to have the final and current custom remap done.

I’ve had a further induction kit from ECS Tuning, which was the Cold Air Intake style kit which was very good and created a great noise. I then decided to put a metal mesh Blitz filter on the ECS kit which made a very cool breathing noise and the performance improved very nicely.

After getting a little bored with the noise I decided to fit an induction kit from the brand Green, which I have heard have very good airflow rates. I did not want a normal size filter, so I went for the massive Escort Cosworth filter. The sound and performance from this filter is very good and I think I have finally found the filter for me… Well for now anyway.

I would say that one of the best mods I have done to the car was the full Carisma leather retrim. This was by no means a cheap mod, but a very rewarding one as you fully appreciate it while driving and after four years the leather still remains in great condition without any cleaning or additives being used.

 How do you care for your dub?

I care for my Golf a lot and some times I give the car more attention than myself..LOL…LOL…LOL….. I’m known by my neighbours as being the guy that will clean his car no matter what the weather… as rain and snow never stop me and even in pitch black darkness I’ll be out there cleaning my car if it needs it. I have a very large selection of cleaning products… more than I could possibly use in a lifetime and I’m always buying new items to try. Due to the fact I’m always cleaning and waxing my cars, I get a lot of friends and family asking me to clean and wax their cars and sort out problems with their paint work.

I’m quite obsessed with cleaning and every few months I take my wheels off to fully wash and wax my alloys and wax my calipers…. I even wax my exhaust!!!!!!!! And I do this because I enjoy it not because I have to.

I’m also quite obsessed when it comes to parking anywhere and I will try to park next to an expensive car. Or I’ll park in the quiet parts of the car park and hope no-one parks next to me where a door could open onto my Golf!

I try and give my car the best treatment all the time and that’s why I service the car twice a year. The Golf has always been given higher octane fuels (Optimax) and better quality oils.

To keep the engine healthy I created my own “Engine Grounding Kit” (with help from GaryM) to keep the engine working and earthed in the best possible way. I also change the Coolant every year and use a strong mix in the summer months to keep the engine healthy and free from coolant rust build up. The MAF gets hoovered every month along with the interior to remove dirt and debris, and to keep the car working perfectly. Coil packs get changed every year also - I'm current running Pack "L's".

When cleaning my Golf the Intercooler gets cleaned with washing-up liquid and blasted with a jet wash to remove dirt, leaves and bugs.

I think that’s about it, did I mention that the my Golf gets treated like a member of the family...LOL...LOL...

What are your plans for the future?

My car has done quite well in 2005 with compliments as I have won Car of the Month, I won a place on the UK-MKIVs 2006 calendar and also Car of the Year. My car has also been received very well at all the shows and meets I went to last year which is great. People seem to like my car but I don’t really see what all the fuss is about! Most people have only seen it when it was a finished item though, whereas I have seen the development of the car changing over the years and therefore it has not been that much of an overall impact on me.

I’m not sure what the future mods will be at this time, as I would like a Charge Cooler and a further remap of the engine, either from Jabbasport again or possibly Custom Code as I like what they have done with GaryM’s car.

I may even sell the car at the end of 2006, as it is getting a little old now. Even though the car has not covered 30,000 miles yet I do fancy a change. I would like another car to modify possibly an Anniversary MK5 GTI (if they bring one out). That plan has hit the anchors for now though, as I’ve been told by the other half that I should buy a sensible German cruiser like a BMW or Merc and then leave it alone. For now…. I’ll just keep treating the MK4