20th Ann. Edition 2003 GTi

VW engines aren't broken in until they have 100,000 miles. 300,000 miles is quite regular for some. Coils have been addressed. Any oil pan can be fragile. On my car the oil pan it is covered by a plastic shield so only big rocks, curbs and other large solid heavy objects would have the opportunity to hit the pan. Your car may be different.

A big tire on a light rim will not hurt performance. That assumes that the locations of weight are the same. More weight farther out the more it will slow down acceleration. On my old car steel rims and 13" tires weigh as much as 14" factory aluminum wheels and tires. Similar results on more modern larger wheel cars. Unless you do the clown thing and buy shiny chromed wheels which can be real heavy.

A 4 cylinder turbo engine will not feel the same as 6 cylinder normally aspirated even if they have the same peak hp and torque. You first have to get the turbo spinning to feel some of its boost.

Best th>I just traded in my '97 GTi VR6 with 114K miles for a new 20th Anniversary

Jim B.

Even if there are problems with coil packs or oil pans, how would that prevent you from getting long service life? Coil packs and oil pans are just parts, that can be *replaced*. But I've gotta say, if long is really a major concern, maybe you shouldn't've gone with a turbo?

I sure would.

-- Mike Smith

"Wayne Daigle" wrote in news:be83j9$8v1$ snipped-for-privacy@slb0.atl.mindspring.net:

(snip)

Get one of the brochure sheets from the dealer and look at all the fine print warnings about the tires. It says the tires are not suited for winter driving. It says "You must install winter or all-season tires if you have to drive on ice or snow." It also says to call VW Customer Service to find out which winter tires are approved for your vehicle.

If you are going to drive the car all winter in salt country, I would suggest buying a set of steel wheels with 'VW approved' winter or all weather tires. Just remember, you may need to mentally re-calibrate your speedo.

Denis

haven't heard of the oil pan thing but the coil issue has been fixed.

I think you'll get 114K out of this engine in general, but the turbo requires care.

You can even get 15s if you want. I'd say go look at the rim size and tire size for a Golf GL with standard wheel covers (steel rims underneath) and get that steel rim and that tire size for the winter.