Fast forward to about a six weeks back; I'd noticed that prices for the mk6 GTI had started to be within my affordable range. I'm an impulsive person, so after a frenzied week of searching various online listings, I'd set my sights on a car, drove some 400km up north to see it in person, and plonked a deposit, as I worked out the remaining paperwork with my bank.
Another few more weeks of hibernating in my carpark and with all the necessary items taken care of... I spent some time cleaning up the car for some quick pics. Allow me to introduce... the r3GTI:
Ok- so let me first put it out in the open: my ultimate goal is not to extract every single hp from the engine, or have the stiffest most rigid handling hot-hatch around. My car is a daily driven car so it needs to be 1) reliable 2) usable 3) fun. No plans to ever track the car (tried that on the Polo, doubt I will want to in the Golf), so not necessary for BBK, LSD, etc.
Target? Between 230-250hp, with a slightly more rigid rear. Stock brakes are good for everyday use, SSBH and pads would be perfect, I reckon. Most important -- the car must look and sound fast. For me, this is actually more important than actually going fast; I have many opportunities to drive really fast cars, so I don't need to go all out with the r3GTI.
Anyway, its obvious I'm an aesthetics kinda guy, so less than 24 hours of having her, I took a long lunch break, then did the mandatory light change.
My options were limited; most of the vendors listed on a local marketplace no longer had any in stock, and with the mk6 getting older, most of them told me it was unlikely they would stock more. Eventually, I went for Taiwan made reps (that cost 60% the price of an original set). I've decided prior, that I do not want to spend more than 10% of the price of the car on mods, so decision making is a fairly straightforward process.
Scheduled an appointment for 12:30 noon, and after a brief wait, they had started work on my car. By the time I grabbed my camera, the two guys had pretty much already removed the original lamp housings, and were working on installing the new ones. In total, it took them something like 35mins to complete the job. No coding, all just plug and play.
What's the difference between reps and ori, you ask? Well, I've never felt a set of ori R lights, but I can tell you that the housing on my burger lamps feel better constructed, heavier than these reps. You can feel this as soon as you hold both in your hands. But I'm happy with the end result -- the R3GTI looks much, much better now!
