I've got a Driver without PAS and a Gti with it at the moment, driving them more or less alternately. Whenever I'm in the Driver, I notice the heaviness of the steering, especially at a mini-roundabout where I hang a right near home; but it doesn't bother me at all. When I'm in the Gti, I mainly think about how long it took me to unseize that long 'hinge' bolt from all the bits it goes through , so I could actually adjust the belt tension. Literally everything was seized solid. It did give me an excuse to buy and fit a very shiny re-furbed bracket that some kind soul was selling on ebay for not-a-lot: The other thing I don't like about the PAS set-up is the relative difficulty of changing the water pump (the real reason I got involved with it), and the pain-in-the-arseness that a roadside alternator belt change would be. If the Gti hadn't come with PAS, there's no way I'd consider adding it.
If the steering is getting difficult when turning right and it's wet, then you could be missing the v-belt guard. Stops the wheels spraying the ancillaries belt.
My Bro's 8v was non PAS and i loved driving it! got a real good feel for the car and the road. My 20V's got PAS, will see how i get on with it. might keep it for the 'torque steer' lol
no PAS on my GTI, mainly because I can t be bothered to fit it. the only time its annoying is maneuvering in car parks. If i havent driven it in a few months, my arms ache for a few days lol but i dont really miss it on the roads.
I think I'll go for it and keep the PAS bits when I break the old car in case I discover I'm too much of a wuss
PAS all the way! I don't get the whole "feels better with manual rack" thing, if it's good enough for the top Berg Cup cars it's good enough for me, if you are having hassle with the pump just fit an electric one.
You sir are a legend! since i fitted my ABF with Mk3 pas stuff, every time its ****ing down and i turn right, the belt slips, i have tightened it about 3 times and it still does it. i just put it down to my car being fairly low and pas belt being so close to the puddles etc. so what is this bit that i may be missing???
+ PAS for me, i had a couple of mk2's one in which i pranged the side of a parked car mid corner, i was going a bit too fast admittidly, hit a bit of a bump mid corner and i didnt have enough of a grip on the wheel. it ripped out of my hand and swerved the other way lol schoolboy error!! having said that though i also like the feel without it. with PAS i think you do lose a bit of that, but as a daily living in hastings where parking is always an issue, it has to be PAS.
It's just called a v belt cover. Different parts for either big bumper or small. If you ask for one at vw I'm sure they could find it on the system. Then you could make sure you get all the fixings also. Found this on another forum posted by rubjonny (who else, lol)PAS belt splash guard kit: 191 825 250 A 01C - cover (big bumper models) - v-belt - Â20.29+VAT 191 825 250 01C - cover (small bumper models) - v-belt - Â20.29+VAT Prices might have changed but part numbers always helps vw to find the illustration
got manual on mine, love it better feel and easier to maintain drove a mates GTI with PAS and spent more time fixing it then making use of it, what a pain in the ass! every bolt around all the barckets had seized solid, couldn't get the right length belt, broke one bracket, slips like mad in the wet, more hassle than it is worth on the mk2. if that car had been mine i would of changed it to manual steering!
Got to agree with the majority , non pas for wins! Im running non pas with a 300mm momo, used to have a 280, but getting feeblein my old age. Its a treat to drive as long as tyre pressures are correct, hate driving my girlfriend new polo with pas, End up swaying about on the road.
maintenaince side of things i do have to agree with, the bolts ceased on mine as its so close to the road i guess, i haven't had any probs with mine other than a snapped bolt, which is still snapped, its still holding together though, but yes i dont look forward to doing a water pump on it. good job its been done while the engine was out!
Mine has always been non-PAS. Its certainly heavy when parking and difficult to get into tight spaces, but once rolling its fine and feels great. I've never really tried one with PAS, but i don't think i'd bother with all the effort of 'upgrading'.
