Maybe future owner of Ralliart

[Madcaddies]

Hello People

First of all. Man it was hard to find a site for Ralliart owners. Not many if any in Denmark/Europe. But I got a link from a guy in Denmark to your site cheers.

Well straigt to the matter at hand. I am selling my Golf mkv Gti and have my eyes set on a sedan ralliart from 2011. I have had two test drives in the car but is still not sure if it is the right car for me. I need your help:)

Here is why:

The car is not with the optional Recaro racing seats so my butt/body does not stay planted in the seat like for example in my GTI sports/racing seats during spirited driving.
The car is with full spec I think you would call so it has heated seats and don´t know how to go about if I decide to change the seats to racing seats. Dont think I can afford the optional recaro seats so thinking og getting some aftermarket ones.

Furthermore I am 186cm tall, dont know what your measurement is in Canada. Do you think it is a problem that the steering wheel is only height adjustable? Can you find a comfortable drivning position in your Ralliarts if your are a bit tall and wide haha?

Also I think the car is screaming to be lowered with springs or coilovers. How much does this affect the handling since I find it a bit on the soft side stock?

And most importantly of all how is the car to live with everyday? Cars are very expensive in Denmark so looking at keeping the car for at least 4 years. No kids yet but hopefully in the near future. So need for the car to be fairly easy to live with:)

Also looking to tune the car lightly nothing fancy like bigger turbo and that kind og stuff. Thinking of full exhaust, ams evo x IC and some sort of intake. Thinking of starting with hardware up grades and then software later when the car has more miles/km on it;)
But I am confused since been reading about tuning of the Ralliart engine and that you need a tuning software/map if you upgrade this kind of hardware. Is this true?
Will these upgrades not give the car more power themselves without software or give the car more turbo lag.
Is it true you can´t install an intake without getting tuning software?
How do you go about when the car goes in for a service and you have tuning software? Do you use a device so you can switch between standard and tuning software?

Man that was a little longer than I had planned but really need som help to make my decision to buy one or not.

The Alternatives are honda civic type R championship white edition, Mazda 3 MPS, Seat Leon Cupra R and Golf 6 GTI.

Cheers:p

[GAbOS]

I can answer a couple of your questions. You will require a tune if you change the intake with turbos being so picky of Air/Fuel ratios. The good news is, the stock intake with a good filter (I went with Cosworth) is a pretty good setup as is. On the cheap, i would get a replacement filter and just do cat-back exhaust. This will allow you to run the free GST base tune and gain an easy ~20hp to the wheels., more if you add the boost pill($25 bucks US) and load the free tune for it. The Evo X FMIC is a perfect upgrade and highly recommended.

The ride is a tad soft for the class it's in, but it is still pretty capable. No one really offers any aftermarket struts for us yet, and just upgrading the springs will cause the stock struts to over work and possibly fail over time. There are some coil over options available at decent prices. Roll bars and other underbody suspensions stiffeners are available from Whiteline which would definitely help with body roll, with or without springs/struts. One of the biggest improvements I made to the 'setup' of the car under hard driving was the tires. I was not impressed with the Advans.

[Madcaddies]

Thank you for your reply:)

Guess it is the wrong section I have posted this. Should introduce myself instead in here.

Well I am 33 years old and from Denmark. Currently thinking of getting a Ralliart but stille have my doubts.

Not sure it is a car I can live with for 4 years.

The car needs the recaro seats so bad and this is probably not cheap to buy either so decisions decisions you know:)

[gamaliel612]

I'm on the same boat..But for my girl..I'm telling her to get a
ralliart(just so my evo's still faster lol)...On the serious side
that's why I joined this forum too...She wants to get a turbo
car next year so I'm doing some research...

PS: First post wohoo!!:D

[MTZL]

if you can afford maintenance for 4yrs,
SSTF isnt cheap.
The rest of the required fluids are not as expensive.

Im 5'11" 170lbs. Non-recaro. Yes my left knee always find its way towards the driver side door on the track from hard right turns. (Left hand drive)
After mental awareness I can point my left foot inside & no-longer an issue. Wish I had recaro but it is too-expensive for me also.
Only thing about the car is it attract crooked cops.

If you have a wagon or SB you could get away with +5-10mph.
If you have the sedan +1-5mph can get you pulled over.
Well at least in the California.

TC-SST isnt a big issue once you get over the noises it makes.

RA isnt for everybody although Mitsu tried their best to make TC-SST for every one. it is quirky takes time to get used to.

To me every car has quirks. It just take abit to learn to live/drive with it. Give & take relationship.

Safety on the SST can make some people walk away. (Limp mode prevent TC-SST over heating)
Another one is you cant down shift when in higher rpm. (prevent blowing the motor)
However, it has heel-toe downshift rev match without having to do the fancy footwork.
You can rev until you run out of rpm. not like the traditional automatic with torque converter.

I can drive mine like I drive the manual except shift lock drift. (no clutch pedal)

I do wonder after TC-SST hacks if you can intercept the signal to a pedal to control/overwrite automated clutches manually. :confused::rolleyes::cool:

1st gear is quirky but Im sure that can be tuned out. Only time will tell.
Reverse is quirky but Im sure that can be tuned out also.

It is fast but past triple digit it would lose steam. No replacement for displacement.

[Madcaddies]

Thanks a lot for your reply:)

No doubt you will always find things you like and dislike about any car.

I am going to test drive the type r championship white and mazdaspeed 3 mps tomorrow and will base my choice completely on which emotions/feelings these cars give me.

I have tried the Ralliart two times already so I have a good feeling of the car but wanna make sure I make the right decision.

And yes I can afford the car, but if only you knew how much tax there is on danish cars when you buy the car you would have a fit:mad:

The Ralliart sportsedan with the whole package from 2011 and 4000km on it will cost me 77.369 american dollars:eek: