t makes me mad! Most of the car mags outside

t makes me mad! Most of the car mags outside the performance world (you know, the
ones that have identical contents, which feature the Japanese car of the month, road
tests of the latest sport uriliry vehicles, and where to dine while driving) seem to have
made mere passing mention of the newest VR6 GTI. It must not be heavy enough, or
maybe it's too low to the ground or offers too much perf~rmance for the buck. Maybe
it just doesn't appeal to enough gourmet readers to really remark on it for what it
is- heir apparent to the throne, the worthy successor of the car that started it all. Those
magazines must not understand how the aftermarket, liow the enthusiast, how the
guys that love cars respond to the magic of those three letters. It's the hot hatch on hormones, blistering performance in a compact box.
Well, we know that our gentle readers fully understand just what the GTI is about.
Let the big guys ignore things on their way to a wine-and-cheese tasting in an under
sprung, overweight sport ute. In fact, let them do whatever they want. We know that
you're more interested in taking VW's latest offering and turning it from merely magnificent to extremely extraordinary. That's we have the following offerings, caught by Les
Bidrawn's expert lensmanship. They show a lot of things that some of the big guys seem to
have forgotten exist-the kinds of performance and sryling upgrades to transform a hardrunning VW into something even more special, the tricks that let anyone upgrade a good
car to a great one, and making a personal statement along the way.
One important point about performance VWs is the way the tuners take the time
and m ake the effort ro develop the goodies to get more out of most every model.
Neuspeed, for example is no stranger ro the VR6. The company bought a Euro model
in 1992 and brought it over ro provide a head start on the rest of the crowd. Then, in
early Spring of 1995, Gary Starns,
a Neuspeed distributor that runs
a co mp a ny called Wolf!GRS
Performance (serving the needs of
VW and Audi enthusiast in the Las
Vegas, Nevada area) called Aaron
Neumann up and offered to provide a new GTI VR6 ro Neuspeed
to work out final engine development on the U.S.-spec car.
Aaron and the development crew
spent a full six months dyno testing,
making changes and dyno testing
agai n. This is the car used to test the
VR6 P-chip, P-Flow and throttle
body, as .well as the 260° and
268 ° cams and several prototype
by James Sly
PHOTOS BY LES BIDRAWN
D EC EM BER
I 9 9 5
117
exhausts. The car also served as a mule for the latest Neuspeed rear stress
bar. A strong-engined GTI to begin with, it was driven from the dealer in
Vegas to Neuspeed's Camarillo, California headquarters, and with less than
500 miles on the clock, development on the dyno began. When Aaron was
done, final output of the 2.8-liter VR6 on the APS chassis dyno read 177
road horsepower, making it one of the stronger bolt-on VR6s that Aaron
has tested. The trick to getting that power: A Neuspeed P-Chip, P-Flow air
cleaner, larger throttle body and Schrick 268° cam. Gary's car also has red
Neuspeed plug wires, a good choice to replace factory wires that have been
less than reliable.
Sure, it's great to have a strong
motor and high output in a car, but
there's other considerations to think
about. Suspension is one, brakes are
another. And no car is fully "tuned"
without a distinct appearance. Not
to forget high-performance sound,
too. Gary and Michael didn't neglect
a single one of these categories. Each
took a different route, resulting in
two performance GTis that aren't
"cookie cutter" variations of each
other but are as distinct and different
as they are similar under the hood.
We'll start with Gary's car. Notice
first the complete ProjektZwo body
conversion in glass-reinforced composite. The look is awesome-a GTI
transformed in hot wax. The
kit has a flowing one-piece
front bumper/spoiler assembly, and the smooth contours
of the nose really benefit
from the lack of a seam or
excessive horizontal lines.
Pronounced side ski rts, and a
detailed rear bumper cap
combine with the distinctive
nose for an integrated look that really stands out.
The qualiry of the four-piece kit is outstanding. Everything
needed is there: special glue for the side skirts, new front bumper
guide tracks, new front turn signals for the bumper cap (Mazda
Miata, by the way) and mounting hardware to re-use the standard
GTI DE projector fog lights.
The kit goes on simply, considering the completeness of the
transformation. Four screws along the top edge of tl1e grille and
three in the lower radiator opening mount the kit at the front,
while four more inside the rear deck lid are all it takes. Guide
tracks on the side of the car from the factory locate the stock
bumper cap, and the ProjektZwo kit includes new bumper guide
tracks for the new bumper cap. At the rear Hella Red
taillights-Audi S4 sryle-match the paint nicely and enhance the
"smooth" image of this car. Zender upper and lower rear wings
and Kamei headlight masks complete the coachwork mods. Gary
finished the slippery body transformation off with a nice graphic
touch, a diagonal "slash" of repeating Neuspeed logotypes.
After flowing over the curved lines of the body kit, the next
thing your eye settles on is the whopping big rubber mounted on
17-in. MOMO Arrow wheels. The 8.0-in .-wide wheels have a
118 E U R 0 P E A N
C A R
Road Horsepower Results from the
N euspeed Chassis Dyno
180
J
160
~ !"""
v
~
120
~
plus Neuspeed PChip
,/
---
~
40
20
30
40
50
60
70
rpm x 100
Wind it Out!
This pair ofhot six es were both subjected to ex tensive dyno testing on the Neuspeed chassis dyno during the development ofall
the bolt-on VR6 equipment. The five entries on this chart show
the progession from mild to wild as. the various components were
added. The biggest gains are at high rpm, but check out the
midrange gains from about 3500 rpm up.
35mm offset and fit perfectly with wide and sticky 215/4017 inch Toyo T-1s performance radials. That's right: There's
no rubbing problem on this lowered GTI. Lowering comes
in the form of standard Neuspeed Sporr Lowering springs,
marched up with Neuspeed's cusrom-valved Bilstein Sport
shock absorbers w ich are a correct match for the GTI's facrory srrurs. Roll snlfness is provided just the way you'd
think: 25mm Neuspeed front anti-roll an and 28
rear
Neuspeed bar. euspeed also su . plied the upper 'Strut tie
and rear rie bar to help stiffe 1 e A3 chassis. Braking ls
pgraded
w~th
Neusgeed
cross-drilled
rot?,rs,
Te · on™/srain1ess..sreel braided b~ake lines and upgraded
brake pads.
I side, notice the pair of race seats from MOMO's new
" op NASCAR" line. Schroth Rallye 4 belts eii.h'ance safery
and help keep ~ e driver in place. Also notice rhar rhe facroqy air bag steering wheel is gone, replaced wid] a euspeed
Ca,rbon look u ir. Final touches are the slick >Shi fting
Neuspeed short shift kit, and MOMO leather sfiift boot
wirh Neuspeed Carbon Look shift knob and Autolook pedals.
oar
From No-speed to Neuspeed
Michael bought his GTI to
replace a Saturn, and jokingly
refers to his choice in vehicles as
going from
no speed to
P-Chip, P-Flow
Neuspeed. " Michael ordered his
and Throttle
car in November of 1994, finally
Body
receiving it in January of 1995,
making it rhe first GTI registered
in Las Vegas. There was no delay
268° Cam, Pbefore the modifications starred;
Chip, P-Flow
Michael swapped in Neuspeed
and Throttle
Race springs the very first night he
Body
had the car! T hree days later rhe
fu ll -o n AutoPower 6-po int roll
cage was installed, and the car hit
the track soon after char. Mike's
GTI VR6 competes regularly in
SCCA Solo II competition and
also is used as a daily driver. The hat~ has clocked almost
30,000 miles so far, showing that a track car and daily driver
can be em inently compatible.
As we mentioned earlier, Michael's car features the same
basic engine upgrades as Gary's. Sryling and suspension wise,
the cars are somewhat different. M ichael's front end treatment
features Hella blacked-out headlights (Euro version) that he
brought back from a trip to Europe last summer. Adding rhe
lights required a good deal offabricarion work, but the unique
results are worth ir to Michael. An Abr grill and European
Hella blacked our front rurn signals and fog lights finish up
the front, while Hella blacked out rear taillights, and a pair of
Zender rear wings offer some great rear appearance improvements. Another distinctive touch finishes up rhe rear of the car
-a pair ofH&R 3-inch stainless steel exhaust tips make quire a
statement to the ve hicle you've just passed. T he rest of rhe
body work is dressed up with color matched factory
European-sryle fender flares. Schroth AutoControl harnesses
help hold Michael in place during hard cornering episodes which we suspect is prerry often.
Both cornering and sryling are aided by the massive OZ
Racing "Monte Carlo" road wheels, 17-inch diameter and 8inches wide. Sticky Yokohama AVS tires are fitted, 215/40-17s
front and rear. As we mentioned, Michael went more radical
than Gary on rhe suspension, choosing race-track proven
Neuspeed Race coils with substantially higher spring ratesabout 2.8 rimes as stiff as the stock spri ngs or 1.7 rimes as stiff
P-Chip and PFlow
if/
100
60
~
~v
140
80
v \,
Baseline stock
VR6
~
Gary didn't forget the tunes,
either: A 7821 Alpine CD head
unit feeds one of Alpine's hot new
"V12" amps, sending sonic excellence to Boston Acoustic speakers,
Railey Separates, and an 8-in.
Bazooka tube.
T he results of Gary's efforts are
an absolute show-quali ry project
car, a rolling showroom for
Gary's company, Wolf/GRS
Performance. Friend and customer Michael Bulasko, also of
Las Vegas, Nevada, took a different approach.
122 ~
D EC E M BE R
I 9 9 5
119
A PAIR OF SIXIES
~
Torque Results from the Neuspeed Chassis
Dyno
180
- - - - Baseline stock
VR6
170
- - - - plus Neuspeed
P-Chip
160
150
P-Chip and PFlow
140
- - - P-Chip, PFlow and
Throttle Body
130
120
- - - 268° Cam, PCh ip , P-Flow
and Throttle
Body
110
100
20
30
40
50
60
70
rpm x 100
Torque Monsters
·
The area under the torque curve is pretty much what determines how a car ftels when you drive it.
More torque and area under the cruve, the stronger the car ftels. The same chassis dyno tests used to
show the horsepower curves are converted to their torque figures here. (Dynos measure torque and
then convert it to horsepower. The formula to derive horsepower from torque is:
Horsepower=(Torque *rpm)/5250. As you can see, the small horsepower changes in the midrange
with these engine modifications are pretty noticeable torque gains. Driving the cars they seem even
bigger. Note the small midrange trade offwith cam, in exhange for a!! that torque at higher rpm.
as the Neuspeed Lowering Springs that
Gary selected. Sport-valved Neuspeed
Bilsteins, Neuspeed upper strut tie bar
and 25 mm front/ 28 mm rear Neuspeed .
anti roll bars complete the rad suspension
system. Braking has been upgraded with
Neuspeed cross drilled rotors and Repco
Metal Master brake pads all around.
Like Gary, Michael's vision of a performance car includes great sounds. He opted
for a Sony CDX-590 CD head unit, driving
Boston Acoustic separates with a high output Orion 250-SX amplifier. Other interior
mods include the complete Neuspeed VR6
short shift kit, and MOMO leather shift
boot with MOMO polished aluminum ball
"Competitione" shift knob, and aluminum
Autolook pedals.
Michael acknowledged the help of a
number of people on his project car, including his mechanic Wolfgang Blum, Gary at
Wolf/GRS Performance, and Perfect
Vision, who did the paint on the Euroflares. He also gives special thanks to his
girlfriend, Angela Klosowski, who supplied
some of the upgrades on the car as gifts.
We're happy to write about both of
these outstanding cars for a very good reason: They represent excellent workmanship, performed by people who think like
we do. They show that there's room for
choice, as the cars are distinctly different
while sharing a "need for speed " and
meeting that need with proven tuner
solutions. Both cars happened quickly,
soon after the GTI was available, showing
just how enthusiastic VW enthusiasts can
be. We think it's sad that in-depth cover-
age of these cars is lacking in the general
press. We should be happy, I suppose ,
since our readers are readi ng ec to take
advantage of this sort of coverage, which
only we offer.
We don't want anyone to take this
wrong at those other books. And we don't
mean to offend "gourmet readers" and
wine and cheese parties, either. It's just that
our readers know there's more to life than a
tailgate parry, even one serving pan-fried
brook trout, fried potatoes with artichokes
and truffles, and a bottle of crisp, chilled
Puligny Montrachet. We think you're
more interested in a car that can eat the
rest for breakfast, not what kind of croissants and cappuccino were served... ~