Tax Time, extra money and opinions

So I am fairly new to the GTI world. Grew up in mini-trucks and hot rods. I've had my 13 csg gti since July 2017. The mod bug has been itching and now it's time to scratch. We just got our taxes did and are gonna have some spare cash. Girlfriend has given me the green light to do "some stuff" to the car. One catch though, $500 budget.

The only "performance mods" I've done are red top coil packs, ngk iridium plugs, cobb panel air filter and 034 MS Dog Bone Insert. I have already laid the plans for a Cobb AP with Stratified tunes this summer.

I'm looking to upgrade performance and drivabliltiy, so what to spend my monies on? Here is where I am torn. Do I :

A. Intake? If i do intake, I want it to be enclosed. Just my personal preference and love the clean, semi-OEM look of them (Cobb $399, Arma $529 on ECS, got some wiggle room)

B. Lower? Thinking VW sport springs (230 on ECS) and the ECS Ball Seat Stud Conversion and Flush kit (I hate wheel bolts and if lower, I would like the wheels to line up with the fenders). I live in Missouri so I don't think we'll ever have winters like we used to.

C. Exhaust? Cat Back or Down Pipe? I know neither will probably do much good until i have a tune.

I am open to Pros/Cons, suggestions, ideas, criticisms or just general ramblings.

Skip the intake, does nothing except add a little bit of noise. The lowering springs paired with oem suspension isn't going to improve the ride quality, your car will be really bouncy without a good set of struts/shocks to pair with them.

Go with a downpipe and get a stage 2 tune. That's where you're going to get a huge bang for the buck and some added exhaust noise.

Bank that money or take your girlfriend out for a nice weekend. Your call, you got my opinion because you asked.

jay745 said:

Skip the intake, does nothing except add a little bit of noise. The lowering springs paired with oem suspension isn't going to improve the ride quality, your car will be really bouncy without a good set of struts/shocks to pair with them.

Go with a downpipe and get a stage 2 tune. That's where you're going to get a huge bang for the buck and some added exhaust noise.

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^^I'd go with this idea. A nice set of coilovers will run you 700+ and a good cat back is around 600+. Intake will just give you a nice woosh sound but not worth to spend right now.

Its all personal bud but let me give you some input.

I have NeuSpeed Lowering springs on my stock suspension, love them but slightly stiff. I've become used to it. Improves handling and looks amazing with my 17 in RPF1s.

I have an autotech intake, I didn't care for the carbanio and I didn't want to buy a stage 1 and stage 2 intake separately. Autotech is a single piece intake, so basically stage 1 + 2. However doesn't utilize the cold air coming in from the grill. Sounds amazing and love the sound of the DV and the turbo.

I do not have a downpipe, but ARM Motorsports has some good deals on a downpipe. They had an issue earlier but it was addressed. You can get a catless downpipe for under 300 shipped. I plan on doing this soon myself.

If you have 500, get an intake and dp. You should be able to get both for under 550.
Then save up for a stage 2 tune. Once you go stage 2, start looking for a clutch depending on mileage.

Good luck, these decisions are always difficult!

Another answer: Do what will make you the most happy! You can never go wrong with that!

jay745 said:

Go with a downpipe and get a stage 2 tune. That's where you're going to get a huge bang for the buck and some added exhaust noise.

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^ agreed.


Look at my post count and jay745s post count. Nuff said trust us on this one.

jay745 said:

Skip the intake, does nothing except add a little bit of noise. The lowering springs paired with oem suspension isn't going to improve the ride quality, your car will be really bouncy without a good set of struts/shocks to pair with them.

Go with a downpipe and get a stage 2 tune. That's where you're going to get a huge bang for the buck and some added exhaust noise.

Click to expand...

This. What Jay said.

My vote is downpipe only, check on youtube for example vids of aftermarket downpipe with stock catback. My opinion is that they sound great without being annoy-the-neighbors loud. Will also allow for increased tune performance once you go Stratified.

Definitely agree with others on the suspension front. There isn't a way to go lower cheaply without significant ride quality tradeoffs, and suspension can be a rabbit hole. If you do lowering springs, you'll hate the ride and want upgraded dampers, and when you see the price you'll think should have just gone with like an ST X kit, and you'll do either of those two, then once you have more damper performance you'll realize you want stiffer LCA bushings, then Tyrolsport subframe collars, nicer wheels, etc. etc. I'm cautiously wading my way into this territory and I can easily see the slippery slope into a bunch more money.

thatspsychotic said:

My vote is downpipe only, check on youtube for example vids of aftermarket downpipe with stock catback. My opinion is that they sound great without being annoy-the-neighbors loud. Will also allow for increased tune performance once you go Stratified.

Definitely agree with others on the suspension front. There isn't a way to go lower cheaply without significant ride quality tradeoffs, and suspension can be a rabbit hole. If you do lowering springs, you'll hate the ride and want upgraded dampers, and when you see the price you'll think should have just gone with like an ST X kit, and you'll do either of those two, then once you have more damper performance you'll realize you want stiffer LCA bushings, then Tyrolsport subframe collars, nicer wheels, etc. etc. I'm cautiously wading my way into this territory and I can easily see the slippery slope into a bunch more money.

Click to expand...

TBH the slippery slope is when you do your first mod, LOL.

DASVDUB said:

TBH the slippery slope is when you do your first mod, LOL.

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Fact. OP! Get out while you still can!!

Depends on what you want, OP.

If you want power: listen to the others and go downpipe with stock cat-back (cat-back tends to only add noise - not power). And get a stage 2 tune. You can leave the stock intake for this. Keep in mind though, if you have a manual transmission car... be prepared for clutch slip to occur. I went stock to stage 1 Revo and my OEM coilpacks failed a couple days later and then my clutch started to slip like a week later. Others have been luckier though. I'd plan for a new clutch if you tune and are manual transmission. DSG will hold the power; need DSG tunes eventually though.

If this is your daily driver and you want to lower it a bit, I've had good luck with the DG springs and stock struts. Gets rid of a lot of the wheel gap and is fairly cheap to do.

Intake is nice but doesn't really add any power; you can sure hear that turbo spool though.

buy my carbonio intake lol and buy spring and done haha

Thank you all soooo much for you input! It is truly appreciated and well taken. So here's my small mind's synopsiys/take away:

1. Intake: Nothing but a whoosh
2. Lowering: stay stock to keep driveablility or go coilover so not too much modification
3. CBE or DP: Down pipe seems to be the likely culprit but some questions (i'll also be using the remarkable resources we have here):

-I thought only a tune would unlock the full potential of DP? possible waste unless tuned (forgive my ignorance on this)
-Does getting catted dp vs non catted dp effect sound/performance/future tune? (don't want to be too loud but kinda leaning more towards catted DP)
-Any brands to stay away from? (due to budget concerns, thinking ARM dp or ECS)

For coil overs you get what you pay for. Remember that. Spring and shock combo trumps cheap coil overs. You need a tune with down pipe to not throw code. There’s a way around that but idk how to lol. If you have smog testing go catted. If you like loud like me, go the catless route. If you’re going catless any pipe without a cat is just a metal pipe and doesn’t matter. For catted it does matter (for the most part), get something with a high flow cat. Avoid CTS lol. I know others have had good luck, but others have had shit luck with fitment lol. It’s always worth saving up more to get a quality piece. You get what you pay for in the car modding world.


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Can pass emissions with 42 draft designs 02 spacer on downpipe...but it all depends on downpipe combo etc.

pony up for downpipe and tune youll love it...maybe use your local resources to find someone with a stage 2 gti for a ride along.