Good-Bye Ephatch [Archive]

JDMEP3

07-30-2003, 01:02 PM

Just sayin a sweet good-bye to all that have made my stay here an enjoyable one. I recently traded in my EP for a 25th AE VW GTI 337. My experience with Honda was not good and I am so pissed with Honda I thought that I would completely get rid of all ties to Honda I with that I lived in the U.S. because here in Canada there was no action that was taken. Plus the local dealership that I was getting my car serviced were a bunch of idiots! Good-Bye fellow Ephatcher's it's been a good ride.:'( A special thanks to Ephatch Girl and Chuck & Rocky @ showstoppers USA for the Tein spring that I never got to install because of my endless suspension problems

ssvr6

07-30-2003, 01:06 PM

Nice choice, but it's not a 25th AE 337, it's just the 337.

Europe got the 25th AE (2002 Model)
North America gets the 337 (2002 model) and the 20th AE (2003 model).

Congrats!

Steve

EPHatchgirl

07-30-2003, 01:35 PM

Awww. I'm blushing...:o ;)
Nice choice in a ride, that is a sweeeet hatch back, pretty badass man. Sorry to see you go, but you are in "good hands". Enjoy the new car!

Civicvtec1ps

07-30-2003, 01:56 PM

new car looks great as well
enjoy

RacingCivicSi02

07-30-2003, 02:24 PM

Looks good. have fun and take care

IceD out N CALI

07-30-2003, 02:28 PM

congrats on the new ride. how much did they give you on your ep trade in?

TrippZ

07-30-2003, 02:37 PM

i love the rims man

what are you gonna do with the springs?

stubbs

07-30-2003, 02:52 PM

That should have the 1.8T motor, correct? I know a lot about modding that motor, you won't believe the possibilities.

ssvr6

07-30-2003, 03:37 PM

You know a lot about it? Like what?

Steve

02TafWhtSi

07-30-2003, 03:39 PM

337's are sweet - good trade up :)
Good luck with her!

JDMEP3

07-30-2003, 03:45 PM

Thanks everyone!!

I'm going to try to sell the springs to a friend that has a 02 Civic Coupe.

Stubbs what kind of mods are we talkin' about??? I really don't want to do too much because the car already has quite a bit done to it stock, and yes I too really like the 18" BBS RC Wheels:D Hope you all don't have the same problems that I ran into with Honda and with the dealerships. Best of luck to you, take care and drive safe!

PM me stubbs with the mods to do to the 1.8 Turbo

JDMEP3

07-30-2003, 03:45 PM

JDMEP3

07-30-2003, 03:46 PM

opps and I got 22,000 CND for my ep sorry about the double post:angel:

stubbs

07-30-2003, 03:59 PM

There is a company called AMS that does custum computer upgrades. They are well known and have a solid proven product. An Mk 4 1.8T motor is listed as a 60 hp gain for 595.00 bucks. It is a direct swap with a trade in program. The web site is www.advancedmotorsport.com and their # is 1-888-267-7693.
Intercooler piping kits are available and add around 10HP. I have not found a direct swap intercooler upgrade yet. Downpipes are also available and are worth 12-15 HP. The stock turbo is good up to around 310HP, after that you will need to upgrade. And I am sure you know about boost controllers. I know plenty more including retailers and plenty on suspension and brake upgrades as well, just let me know what exact kind of info you are looking for.

JDMEP3

07-30-2003, 04:16 PM

Stubbs thanks for the info and the web-site I am totally new to the VW Fam because I have owned Honda all my life so I know about Spoon....Mugen....Tein...just to name a few where is there a good site that I can learn more about my car....like ephatch.com? Oh and I don't know about boost controlers eather because this it's my first car that's a turbo...well a little my Dad has one on his Duramax. So if you can give it to me all I want to fill my head with knowledge. I am ready:D

stubbs

07-30-2003, 04:22 PM

OK for your simple CAI and exhaust I would go with NEUSPEED, plus they sell tons of other stuff like short throw shifters, suspension setups and even K04 turbo upgrades. A boost controller will allow you to take more control of you boost setting to achieve a few more pounds of it(like 2 or 3). Here is another good site to check out www.abdracing.com you might be overwhelmed.

ssvr6

07-30-2003, 04:23 PM

Here, check out my other site and click on the links. There's plenty of sites there to keep you busy for a while.

http://www.quickvws.com

Go to www.goapr.com or www.giacusa.com for the 2 top chip makers in the VW/Audi community.

AMS is among the bottom feeders IMO.

Steve

stubbs

07-30-2003, 04:26 PM

All of the pro teams that I know of use AMS, I put one in a friends car and those 2 things are enough that I will never buy anything else. European Car also rated it very very high.

ssvr6

07-30-2003, 04:45 PM

All of the "pro teams"? Really?

http://www.goapr.com/Audi/race/index.html

http://www.awe-tuning.com/pages/info/competition.cfm

Read up some...

Steve

stubbs

07-30-2003, 04:51 PM

Every single VW and Audi I have seen on speedvision has the big AMS sticker on it. I believe I will go with what I see winning the race and not just what I see on a website.

stubbs

07-30-2003, 04:52 PM

The AWE tuning site won't open though?

ssvr6

07-30-2003, 06:12 PM

No offense man, but what you know about dubs could fill a thimble. I have a lot more experience in this field than you.

Again, no offense, it's just the truth.

Steve

stubbs

07-30-2003, 06:24 PM

Not to disagree but I have built 3 now, I am not familiar with those companies you like but I have been doing this for awhile now. Maybe we go about things in a different way but I do know what I am talking about. I love all cars, and try to learn everything I can, but there is a lot out there.

EP3_DC5

07-30-2003, 06:29 PM

www.vwvortex.com is all you will need for your VW.

I was originally planning on getting the GTI 337, but ended up getting the RSX-S, so I was on VWvortex for a while religiously. I learned a lot to be quite honest.
You should get intake, exhaust, downpipe, up-pipe...... as for chip either APR or GIAC (Garrett). A nice 1.3 bar chip should do you good. Your car will be VERY VERY quick.

Karim

07-30-2003, 06:37 PM

Awesome choice in car dude!!!!! After some mods those badboys can be some real killers...and after the mods come make sure you have a decent tire budget :D You'll get to love the torque those things can put out.

fyi most of the vw's and audis i've played with all have APR parts on them, very nice stuff! Neuspeed's exhausts are nice also, the others I have never delt with.

Karim

EP3_DC5

07-30-2003, 06:44 PM

Originally posted by Karim
Awesome choice in car dude!!!!! After some mods those badboys can be some real killers...and after the mods come make sure you have a decent tire budget :D You'll get to love the torque those things can put out.

fyi most of the vw's and audis i've played with all have APR parts on them, very nice stuff! Neuspeed's exhausts are nice also, the others I have never delt with.

Karim

Hey Karim, I raced my first S2K the other day!!! All I can say is I LOVE MY CAR!!!;)
I like your more though......:(
I wish I didn't need cargo room and had a winter car...... I'd be driving one as well right now.

golferjn

07-30-2003, 06:48 PM

nice 337. have fun man

SarahVTEC

07-30-2003, 07:20 PM

How come you didn't wait for the VW Golf R32?

http://www.vagparts.com/images/Golf/32/bumper.jpg

edmunds.com (http://www.edmunds.com/future/2004/volkswagen/golfr32/100193804/preview.html?tid=edmunds.f.mmindex.content..0.Volk swagen*)

vwvortex.com (http://www.vwvortex.com/features/06_03/page2.shtml)

ssvr6

07-30-2003, 07:27 PM

The R32 won't be out until spring 04. It's $30k. The 337 must be used since they don't make it anymore. My guess is price.

Steve

JLannoo

07-30-2003, 09:42 PM

Originally posted by ssvr6
No offense man, but what you know about dubs could fill a thimble. I have a lot more experience in this field than you.

Again, no offense, it's just the truth.

Steve

What prompted this? ^^^

You sound like your getting your toes stepped on or something. He was just trying to offer a opinion.

IceD out N CALI

07-30-2003, 10:13 PM

cool, well good luck to you:)

EPHatchgirl

07-30-2003, 10:38 PM

Personally, I have found VWVortex one of the less useful/helpful/friendly forums out there... and you thought E-thuggin' was bad here????

I went there asking about VW stuff a couple of times, and it seems that the atmosphere is not "help thy fellow gearhead..." but "hey let's put this A-Hole down"

Just my own 2 cents...:)

Gov_E

07-30-2003, 10:43 PM

Crazy! I'm just finding this site after spending two years on VWVortex.com . I'm planning on trading in the 1.8T for an Si in the next month.

You'll have LOTS of fun with this car.

For dreamers, there's the HPA 500hp twin-turbo VR6 (AWD) coversion at around 60K-

http://www.hpamotorsports.com/

I've always heard the best things about APR (i think ssVR6 posted this link)- I met all of the programmers, and they are very into thier work to say the least. With the APR chip, you can use the steering wheel controls to change your boost settings from stock to race. There's even a setting for Valets so they can't go scream around in your car - rad.

You should also check out www.1552design.com they're great guys too, from FL.

ssvr6

07-31-2003, 04:29 AM

1552 went out of business unfortunately. Brad and his crew were a great bunch of guys, it's really sad.

APR also has a new way of chipping cars, it's really cool.

They "upload" the program to your car via the ODBII port. If you want to "try it out", they can upload with a "timer" on it. Let's say 8 hours. Not 8 hours straight, but 8 hours of actual drive time. If you want it, you don't have to go back to the shop. You can call them, they give you a code that you input with the cruise control stalk and you can pay over the phone.

It's the greatest thing ever IMO. This is one of the reasons that APR is one of the best companies out there. A good friend of mine recently joined their management team. Seriously, it's a great group of racers, enthusiasts, and hard core programmers.

Steve

rgGolf4

07-31-2003, 06:52 AM

I would have to second the mention of APR and GIAC. I know there are a couple of others, Upsolute comes to mind. But, I believe APR has that cool chip with the valet mode and other neat features.

Oh, and I had a Neuspeed P-Crap on my VW and it sucked. I got rid of it as soon as I could. You actually lose power with that thing. There are some nice intakes for the GTI, I beleive a member on the Vortex was making some that worked great (CAI), were made well, but half the price of others. Go to the Vortex and look around. Tons of good stuff there.

I can't remember the options that are on the 337, but if it has the standard suspension...upgrade it. The MKIV suspensions are horrible.

And just to warn, if you thought Honda service was bad, just wait. VW service is one of the worst in the industry. Hopefully you get lucky with a good dealer, but they are few and far between.

ssvr6

07-31-2003, 07:32 AM

The 337 and 20th AE both have upgraded suspension but could use a set of sway and strut bars to tighten it up.

Steve

Gov_E

07-31-2003, 07:53 AM

yeah, my experience with VW dealers is terrible - good luck with that one.

real sad to hear about 1552, i had no idea.

JDMEP3

07-31-2003, 01:46 PM

Thanks for all the infomation Guys and Girls:D Ya I didn't want to pay sooo much for the R32 eventhough it would have been nice. I paid $29995 For the 337 (Canadian Dollars) It only had 10000km on it so it was in really good shape. It's in the shop right now getting painted because some old man back up into it in the parking lot but that was before I bought it....my luck really isn't that bad I just am dealing with idiots...praise the Lord. The guys at the VW dealership are really and make an effort to come out and talk to me. I went in there to drop off my car and in 10 mins I was out of there with one of their new 03 Beatles to drive around for the next couple of days while my car is in the shop...they seem really nice and I have heard good things about them.

Peace Out