Hi to everyone registered in this community. I had found this place whilst doing a google search on Car Audio and i encountered a few members on other overseas forums as well, so i have taken this opportunity to join in the discussions on my passions ie cars and car audio. My name is Nitin (it seems a very common name amongst the members of this forum but in my area it isnt as common)

My grandparents and parents originally came from India however i was born in Durban, South Africa and funnily enough even though im now 42 years old i havent visited India as of yet. I am hoping to soon correct this by visiting the country soon.

in terms of cars i have had too many up to now to mention and most of those would not have been available in India, sadly the current car i drive is also not available in India either and im not 100% sure that volkswagen will introduce it there because there are probably far cheaper and more efficient modes of transport available from other brands in the area already

but anyways heres a few pictures of my vehicle








i then changed the wheels because the 18" golf GTI wheels kept on losing tyres each time i hit a pothole and even though they looked very attractive it was expensive to keep replacing pirrelli P zero tyres - so i dropped a size from 18" rims with 215/35/R18 tyres to 17" rims with 205/40/R17 tyres



it is a 2007 model Volkswagen Polo GTI which uses a 1.8 litre turbocharged motor whch develops 110kw (150bhp). I had ordered it with the optional sunroof and leather interior - heres a pic of that



when i had purchased the vehicle i also did an elaborate ICE setup because i love music - the audio system included JBL amplifiers and a huge JBL 15" subwoofer - the audio system has undergone many changes but i will probably describe those in the ICE section of the forum

the JBL 755.6 which is a 6 channel amplifier which powered the entire system in the custom built amp rack behind the seats



when you opened the hatch this is the sight you were greeted by ie the 15" subwoofer and the lighting had a pressure switch which switched it on when the hatch was opened



the grille on the subwoofer which wasnt added on in the previous picture



as i have said the audio system pictures are from when i purchased the vehicle. The system has not remained as it was then, it evolved into a monster SQ setup and is currently still undergoing many changes which relate to equipment. The final install will be completed only when ive finally gotten all the equipment i plan on using but i will update more on that in the ICE section soon

[absynthguzzler]

aaah ! the GTI Golf....... the Ultimate hatch and only the Clio Renaultsport comes close.

Welcome Nitin !

Originally Posted by absynthguzzler

aaah ! the GTI Golf....... the Ultimate hatch and only the Clio Renaultsport comes close.

Welcome Nitin !

Thanks for the welcome. Just one quick point even though my car is a GTI it isnt the Golf but is in fact the Golfs little brother the Polo GTI. the MK 5 Golf which is what i originally wanted has a 147 kw motor and the MK 6 also has just been released here. I will probably either get that or the scirocco next. that is if i dont decide to switch brands completely to Mercedes

[absynthguzzler]

Originally Posted by naughty001

Thanks for the welcome. Just one quick point even though my car is a GTI it isnt the Golf but is in fact the Golfs little brother the Polo GTI. the MK 5 Golf which is what i originally wanted has a 147 kw motor and the MK 6 also has just been released here. I will probably either get that or the scirocco next. that is if i dont decide to switch brands completely to Mercedes

Didn't know the Polo grew so much! ...... those headlights have "VW Golf" written all over them design wise.

need to start visiting the international auto thread more often.

Edit : Just looked at the pictures again and nothing convinces me its a Polo , im still shocked!
Edit2 : Im still shocked!

It is actually the Polo 9n3 iteration and the Polo keeps mirroring the golf anyway so yes it does become very confusing. To add to the confusion when i purchased the vehicle i replaced the original wheels with the ones from the Golf GTI - but as ive stated above this didnt work out too well since the roads here are constantly under repair at the moment for the world cup resulting in lots of potholes which i hope will soon all be repaired

for 2010 there is a new Polo due as well - which looks remarkably close to the Golf MK 6. It seems like VW want to keep a family resemblance inbetween the ranges

[McLaren Rulez]

Oh such a pity that you had to change the rims! But I guess practicality above design is the lesson in this case. Welcome to the forum and have a nice time here.

yes indeed, practicality is definitely now high on the list and the next car i get will remain factory standard besides for my ICE setup, will have to get that up to my standards

for the guys that are unaware of the Polo vs the Golf im going to post some pics that will clearly show the difference as well as the similarities

the three door Polo GTI (pic from netcarshow.com)



the golf MK 5 GTI (pic from netcarshow.com)



the Golf 6 GTI (pic from worldcarfans.net) this has just been released here in South Africa - and from what ive seen of it, its a terrific vehicle. It even features a park assist feature which will parrallel park the vehicle for you without any driver intervention



and to emphasize the similarities here is a pic of the upcoming 2010 Polo which was shown in (i think) the Geneva Motor show



the Polo does look nice and a diesel variant of that will probably be an interesting offering considering that diesel is around the same price as petrol but you get far higher mileages from the diesels as well as sporty performance because of the higher torque output of the diesel engines. The new Polo GTI is probably going to feature the 1.4 TFSI motor which is interesting because it has both a small turbo as well as a supercharger on the one engine

but if i can afford it my next car will definitely be wither a Golf 6 GTI (maybe even a R20T) or a Scirocco R20T

heres a pic of the scirocco (from netcarshow.com) i can just imagine this one in black with a tan leather interior. Its the stuff dreams are made from, at least it gives me something tangible to work toward instead of the childhood dreams of Lamborghini's and Ferrari's. At least this one is within reach if i work hard for a year or two

[profold]

WOW naughty001,
From south africa you say? Shall we send a real warm welcome, now that you are in mid-winter in the SA.
Do tell us sometimes about the beautiful highways and the off-roaders (range rovers and likes) for which SA is so famous. Or am I misinformed.

Originally Posted by profold

WOW naughty001,
From south africa you say? Shall we send a real warm welcome, now that you are in mid-winter in the SA.
Do tell us sometimes about the beautiful highways and the off-roaders (range rovers and likes) for which SA is so famous. Or am I misinformed.

Hi profold

indeed it is middle of winter here, and to remind me of this i am sitting here with a warm blanket wrapped around me and combating influenza whilst totally up to the gills in medication (just kidding it isnt that cold here in winter and im only suffering from a mild flu)

Durban actually enjoys warm weather most of the time and only occasionally do you get reminded that its not always supposed to be hot and humid.

There are more than a normal amount of off roading vehicles here, that is true enough because almost everyone loves an outdoor sporty type of rugged lifestyle, and the highways were indeed beautiful though they are beginning to spoil those by adding bus lanes into already congested areas leading back into city centres. What is also spoiling things a bit on the road infrastructure is the amount of repairs required and the maintenance of the roads is now reaching a stage where its becoming horrid. The tar being used here isnt of the highest quality which is a pity because wherever they repair it's done very well, however that doesnt last long since within two years it begins to deteriorate again

certain tourist areas are well maintained as well as the main highways but as ive said bits of them are being redone which causes huge backlogs and delays in certain areas. In city centres as well the telecommunications infrastructure is being upgraded which means that many newly laid roads are being dug up just to lay cables and these are sometimes left for weeks as open potholes which can damage car tyres if you are not careful. They are eventually sorted out but it takes a bit long sometimes (too long for my liking since ive lost a few expensive low profile tyres on my vehicle)

i suppose im being unduly pessimistic and i suppose its mainly due to the upgrading of facilities here due to the upcoming football world cup that i see too much of hurried construction in certain areas with a far more sedate pace in repairing areas that actually affect my daily life so i suppose it isnt as bad as i make it out to be in the above paragraphs but my two pet peeves in this place is violent crime and now poorly maintained roads some of which were previously actually amongst the best in the world (and lets not forget the hell caused by the usage of minibus taxis instead of proper public transport like trains and busses - but i suppose since its cheap for the masses so i shouldnt complain about that either)

on the positive side of things once you get used to the minor gripes im mentioning above its a pretty decent road infrastructure here and if you travel long distance then a few of the highways do have a certain charm about them ie for example the garden route on the way to Cape Town, and the mountain passes all over the country so i would have to conclude that you were not altogether misinformed. Inbetween my pessimism i do have an inate admiration for the place and bits of it are indeed terrific though i just wish that they would hurry up with all the road repairs but that is being totally unrealistic on my part since roads cannot be repaired or laid overnight. I suppose i cant call it an idyllic paradise but there are very few places in the planet that can be considered such, so best way to make up your mind about this place would be to visit (that is if my unreasonable grumbling three paragraphs above hasnt put you off )