Yomillio's Journal: 2013 Candy White GTI DSG 4-Door

Hello all - welcome to my build thread; please feel free to question or comment!

Background:
I'm new to the VW community and German cars completely, having previously owned a 2005 Subaru Impreza RS and an awesome 1995 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme SL (first car; a loving, giant boat it was). I started looking at getting a new vehicle in fall 2013, having a good idea of what I was looking for in a car. I went around test driving a few different cars, some used and some new, and fell in love with the GTI after taking a used one from the local VW dealer chain for a test drive. It put a smile on my face to drive it and yet was also comfortable (I'm 6'5"; many smaller cars aren't comfortable for me), and the build quality was there. It was the best combination of these factors that I found at that price. And to further put this in perspective: I swore I'd never own a Volkswagen, and I wasn't really planning on my next vehicle being FWD (living in New England gives me a good excuse to go AWD; being an enthusiast makes me want RWD). That tells you a bit about how much this car impressed me.

I ended with striking up a deal for the car you see below, a 2013 GTI Wolfsburg Edition 4-Door in Candy White with DSG. It was the last 2013 that the dealer had in stock across all three of their dealerships in this particular combination, which I quite wanted. It was on the dealership floor of the particular one I went to for the test drive, and ended up making a deal for it a few days after I visited.

My intention with this build is to:
1.) Enhance the fun-to-drive nature of the car, and
2.) Maintain daily-driver type comfort and reliability.

This is a car I want to be able to drive to work everyday, take on trips, and do it all without having to worry about a thing - all while keeping a smile firmly planted on my face. That's the focus for now. It's not going to be a track-car type build, though I would like to bring it to an autocross or two eventually. Things will be slow going at the start (transitioning through life phases right now, and working on picking up a career - as well as wanting to keep her warranty-friendly), so most initial modifications will be inexpensive and cosmetic based - just little stupid things that make me happy. However, I most certainly have some build plans, and she'll get there eventually.



Current Mods:

Performance:
- APR Carbonio Intake, Stages 1 & 2

Cosmetic, Exterior:
- Rear License Plate Wellnut Mounts (Install Link: Post 2)
- US Mill Works Lightened Front License Plate Relocate
- Nokya 2500K Fogs
- Klii Motorwerkes CW Rear Emblem Inlay Vinyl
- Underwraps GolfMK6.com decal
- deAutoKey LED License Plate Lights
- OEM Euro Front Lip from Keffer VW

Cosmetic, Interior:
- eBay GTI Seat Handle Inlays (Review Link: Post 3)
- Klii Motorwerkes Interlagos Steering Wheel Emblem Inlay Vinyl
- deAutoKey LED Interior Lights w/ Red Footwells

Removed Modifications:
- Klii Motorwerkes Interlagos Rear View Mirror Vinyl Wrap
- deAutoKey LED Reverse Lights

Miscellaneous / How-To's:
- How to Change your Oil (Guide Link: Post 6)

Used-to-be Current Photos (Credit to my friend Hunter Kelley):








I will likely be updating this thread with some new posts very soon covering details of what I've already done. My hope is to provide tips and feedback on things I've purchased and give some little mini-reviews. Also can't wait to be able to add some performance-based content here, that's for sure .

Rear License Plate Wellnut Mounts:
So, I don't know about you guys but to me, the stock rear license plate arrangement left a lot to be desired (as does the front, but that's for another post). When I purchased the car, the dealer went over and mounted my plates straight to the plastic. It was a bit crooked, but at least they used some stainless screws . This was one of the first things I got to fixing on the car, as I didn't want:

1.) Paint scratches under / around where the license plate mounts, or
2.) Unnecessary rattles, or
3.) To strip out the plastic around the screws if I mounted / dismounted the plate a few times.

Call me anal, but this is the type of preventable stuff that drives me nuts. It took me a while to come up with a solution I liked, but here it goes. What I decided to use are called "well nuts". They are a rubber grommet-type thing with a threaded nut inside. The idea is that they contract length-wise and expand width-wise when you tighten them down, leading to a solid friction mounting in whatever you put them in. They're ideal for thin mounts, but worked on the fairly thick rear bumper arrangement as well.

Here's more or less what they look like. You'll notice they also have a lip, which helps in standing the license plate off of the bumper:




And first, the stock arrangement (ignore the dirt, it's winter in the northeast ):




From here, I drilled the stock holes slightly larger (and more on-center with where they should have been) in order to fit the well nuts. I made a paper template with the license plate so I could mark out where to drill out.

Here's the top done:




And now, the bottom done using the same template method I used above. At least this time, I didn't have existing holes to worry about. To me, having four clean holes is a lesser evil than a bunch of scratched-up paint:




Before mounting the plate onto the holes, I put some bits of rubber strips on the back of the license plate just to make sure the plate really stands off from the bumper, and won't be the source of any scratches or rattles. The "cloudy" areas you see around the rubber bits is just an adhesive primer. These are unlikely to cause any scratches on the surface of the bumper, as they're tight enough to the bumper that dirt won't get between them and the paint.




And the final product, mounted with stainless machine screws and washers:





What do you guys think? I'm happy, because I covered all of my objectives: my paint is safe, it's solidly mounted without rattles, and I can remove the plate as many times as I like while detailing without worrying about stripping out the mounting holes.

If anyone likes this enough to be interested in doing this, I have a pretty good amount of hardware left over - get in contact with me; I can probably put something together for a reasonable price!

eBay GTI Seat Handle Inlays:
Ahh, yes. The infamous seat handle inlays. The upgrade almost everyone has. I was skeptical of these at first, because while they come highly recommended, I normally hate ordering this type of thing from sketchy overseas vendors. I'm pretty OCD and like all of my things to look and fit perfect and with this type of thing, I just feel like you can never be sure of what you're getting.

But, when I checked everything out, I found these for $6 USD. Shipped to my door. From Asia. If they fit or looked like poop - who cares? I'd just throw them out.

Luckily, they're pretty awesome! They came in fairly quickly and the package was in good shape. I found only one small blemish that was too small / minor for me to get a picture of. Also, I was thrilled to find genuine 3M double-sided mounting tape on the backside of the inserts - fantastic stuff in my experience, and it will likely keep a deathgrip on the interior plastic.

Here's the before picture, after making sure to wipe it down with some dishsoap and water to make sure there were no oils present to ruin the tape's adhesion, and letting it dry for a bit:




...and the after, all mounted!





So, no complaints. I wanted to put this up for people interested in doing the same, but were hesitant for the same reasons I was. As you can see, the fit and finish is acceptable and they look pretty good! I got mine from eBay seller "koolertron-incarnavi", but imagine most of these from the various vendors are likely the same.

For 6 bucks you can't beat that!

Nice pickup! Welcome. You'll love it. I, like you, was interested in a RWD car, but after choosing to test drive the GTI first, I fell in love. Something about it had me a first sight... lol:laugh:

But seriously enjoy it :thumbsup:

How to Change Your Oil on a 2013 GTI:
I wish this post were useless; unfortunately, it isn't. I ran into two concerns with oil changes, somewhat unrelated to each other but having everything to do with why I made this guide:


1.) I bought my GTI brand new. The first oil change is due at 10,000 miles. This doesn't seem right to me, for two reasons:

- 1a: I would expect a smaller break-in interval. Old knowledge points to this being necessary; new knowledge says that on some motors, the particles and contaminants are good to "polish" some surfaces of the engine, and is the only way to get an effective seal on other components. I decided I didn't want my filter loaded with particles for the first run of its life, so I went for an early change at 1,500 miles. Further, I noticed my oil distinctly smelled of gasoline - possibly due to idling done while on the showroom floor. I did not want to be running gas-diluted oil for another 9,500 miles. I'm not suggesting or even recommending that anyone do their change this early - study both sides of the issue and make your own judgement. When in doubt, follow the owner's manual.

- 1b: I would expect a smaller "normal" interval. If the information I read here is correct, 5K mile intervals were the standard for the TSI until Volkswagen started offering 2/3 year free maintenance programs, where it was promptly switched to 10k. I'm rather pessimistic about the world (and profit-making motives) and will do all of my oil changes at 5k miles. Again, this is not a suggestion or recommendation, but rather make your own judgement.


2.) It seems Volkswagen has frequently changed their mind about the design and materials of drain plugs and crush washers. I couldn't find a single answer regarding what design of drain plug I had (to my knowledge, VW has switched between standard hex bolt, metric allen head, and Torx head plug designs within the MK6 platform). Granted, this is an easy thing to check for yourself when you have access to ramps or a jack, but I had to make ramps for my ramps to get under the stock GTI .



What you will need:


- Oil, meeting or exceeding VW's 503.1 or 505.1 spec. I opted for Belgian-made Castrol Edge 0W-30 (the old "German Castrol"). There is much good information about this oil online; you can do you own research on it if you're so inclined. The cheapest price I could find was on Amazon; the case of 6 quarts was about $45 shipped. (Oct. 2014 addition: I used Mobil 1 Euro Spec on my next change; available at Walmart for ~$25 for 5 quarts. No reason other to change things up.)

- Oil filter. I went straight to my local dealer and got the proper OEM filter for about $14 after tax; part # 06J 115 403 Q. You can also order from other sources such as ECS, though their prices were not significantly different. Based on recent research I've done for multiple applications, I will likely continue to use OEM filters on any oil changes I do.

- Crush washer. From what I understand, you can get these at the dealer for cheap cheap. I made the mistake here of forgetting to pick a new one up, and just flipped over the original with no leaks yet. From what I've heard, you can get away with doing this once before it becomes a bigger issue. (Oct. 2014 addition: I ended up picking one up my next oil change. OEM part # N-013-815-7; less than $1 from the dealer.)

- Oil filter cap wrench. The one I found to fit best was a 76mm, 14 flute model by Performance Tools, part W54063 or W54106. I bought mine at Advance Auto Parts for about $6.

- Bit, socket, or allen key for the drain plug depending on application. Mine in fact required the proper Torx bit, size T45. I bought a set of Torx bits that included a T45 (1/4" and 3/8" drive wrench mounted) from Harbor Freight on sale and after coupons for about $10.

- Torque wrench for both the oil filter and the drain plug. My filter wrench and T45 bit both required a 3/8" drive wrench, so I only needed one single torque wrench. Mine was purchased at Harbor Freight on sale and after coupons for about $12.

- Standard 3/8" drive ratchet for undoing the existing filter and drain plug. I already had one of these, and don't remember how much it had cost. Based on what I spent on a torque wrench from Harbor Freight, you could probably get one there for $10 or less.

- A funnel. This is not distinctly necessary if you're confident in your pouring abilities, but I'm a clumsy fool and the filler has a nice cutout to hold the funnel, so why not? Only a few bucks anywhere you can find one - or make one by hand.

- An oil catch basin (not pictured). I've had mine forever, so it slipped my mind to include it in the picture. A quick search on Amazon suggest you can get one for between $10 and $20. My model allows for the oil to be contained within the unit, which is nice because I don't have to transfer the dirty oil into another container for transportation.

- Rags and newspapers (the more, the better).


Money spent:
- One-time fees: ~$50 (will be more if you go with higher quality tools).
- Every-time fees: ~$40-$60.



Procedure:

1.) The first thing I always do is warm up the motor to normal operating temp. This lightens the viscosity of the oil and allows it to drain more quickly. The oil will drain back towards the bottom of the engine as we move on to the next steps before opening the drain plug.


2.) Either jack the car, get it on ramps, or otherwise get the front end lifted so you can comfortably and safely work under the car. Always use high-quality, well-manufactured, and properly-placed jacks, ramps, stands or lifts. This is no joke. I do know of a "friend-of-a-friend" who lost their life performing an oil change. You literally can never be too safe when a ton-and-a-half object is standing above you, with nothing between you and it except for whatever you put there.


3.) Raise the hood. It should look similar to this. If it doesn't, there may be a problem:




4.) Remove the filler cap and dipstick. This helps to alleviate any vacuum effects when you open up the drain plug. If you're working in a dusty environment, I would cover the filler and dipstick openings.






5.) Pop off the engine cover. This is done rather easily by simply prying it upwards. It doesn't take much force. After this is done, you can also clean the rubber gasket that exists around the oil filler cap before returning it to its original position. Mine was home to a good amount of dirt / random small debris.






6.) Prep under the car. Layout a fair amount of newspaper (before you get a few changes under your belt, you can truly never have enough of it under the car) and place your drain pain in an appropriate place to catch the oil. Remember that centering the middle of it directly under the drain plug isn't always the best idea; account for gravity and any wind.






7.) Undo the drain plug. For this, I used the standard 3/8" drive ratchet along with the T45 Torx bit. Sometimes you'll just want to start undoing the plug with the wrench before doing the rest by hand; find the method that works for you. WARNING: The oil can be VERY hot depending on how long you've waited since warming up the car. Keep yourself clear of hot hot oil. Let the oil continue to drain while we move on to other steps, but clean off the threads of the drain plug before you set it to the side.






8.) Undo the existing oil filter. To do this, I unlatched the hose that is routed right against the filter and got it out of the way a bit. You should also have the new filter out, with its box empty and ready to receive the old filter. Luckily, the OEM filter design has a back-flow stop so it doesn't dump oil everywhere when you remove it, though I put a bit of newspaper in the area for extra protection. Mount your filter cap wrench to your standard 3/8" drive ratchet, and undo the filter. Remember: lefty loosy, righty tighty!








9.) Clean up the filter mount point. There will be some oil where the filter was; just clean it up with a lint-free, clean rag.






10.) Prep and mount the new oil filter. Any time a new filter is installed, you should put a light amount of the new oil around the filter's gasket. This helps create a seal with the mating surface, and makes the filter easier to install and remove later on. Place the filter cap wrench on the torque wrench, and set the torque wrench to 18 ft lbs. Thread the filter on by hand at first, making sure not to cross-thread it. Finish off the tightening with the torque wrench, stopping when you get the distinct "click" at 18 ft lbs. **Note that the picture below of the torque wrench shows 20 ft lbs, this is not the proper setting.








11.) Re-install the drain plug and new crush washer. First, mount the T45 bit to your torque wrench. Next, set the torque wrench to 22 ft lbs. Finally, get the plug with washer hand-threaded in (don't cross thread!) and finish it off with the torque wrench, stopping again when the wrench "clicks" at 22 ft lbs. You may choose to wait as long as you want before performing this step, if you'd the as much oil as possible to drain out.




12.) Fill 'er up! Place your funnel in and start filling her up with 4.9 quarts of oil. You can be like many others and just dump in a quick 5 quarts, or be stupidly anal like me and put in about 4.5 before continually checking the dipstick and topping it off a bit at a time. Your choice; just make sure to replace the dipstick and filler cap when you're done!






13.) Clean up. Put your tools away, clean up your rags and newspapers, and bring your oil somewhere for proper recycling.


14.) Optional - record your service in a log. In all my cars, I've used a bound index-card book like this to keep track of all maintenance and service. I record the nature of the service, the parts used, the date, and the mileage.


15.) Check your oil level after you run the engine for some miles. I usually check the oil level after my first or second drive after the change. It is important as sometimes the oil soaking into the filter will drastically change your oil level, and the level can vary greatly from cold to running temp. Top off if necessary. Now you're done!

Disclaimer: I cannot be held responsible for any damage that occurs to you, your property, or your vehicle by following or consulting this guide. Please perform any work at your own risk, and BE SAFE AND SMART!!

Sorry if this was long, drawn out, and more in-depth than necessary. Hopefully it can help someone, even if it's me! That said, if you have any suggestions or necessary alterations, please let me know!

Update 10/2014:

Well, I guess I missed out on doing a summer update. We actually ended up having a small house fire the day or two after my last update, so this summer has been crazy and I haven't been able to get much done with the car. That said, here's what has happened in the last five months:

- I removed my Klii Interlagos rear-view vinyl because unfortunately, it started to peel around the edges as seen below. Too unsightly for me to keep it like that, though it was awesome while it lasted. It started peeling just a few days after application, so I don't know if I tried wrapping it too tightly or what.






- I removed my deAutoKey LED reverse lights. I needed replacements on my Subaru when I sold it, and these were causing the GTI to throw a code - so they got swapped. I can be anal like that... I don't like seeing a "SOMETHING'S WRONG!" signal every other time I drive my car.


- I bought up an APR Carbonio intake, stages 1 and 2, used on here. It took a few weeks, but I did get it put on in the summer months. Nothing noteworthy to mention about it, really - installation was unremarkable, as were any potential performance gains. However, it does make a pretty awesome noise and it does seem to breathe better on the top end. I'll be keeping it on for when I (hopefully, eventually) get tuned.


- I purchased and installed an OEM Euro front lip, bought from Keefer. Again, nothing remarkable here to write. Keefer provided excellent service and a perfect product just like everyone mentions around here. It took me a few minutes to figure out how the parts you get are supposed to interact with the parts on the car (who knew they could integrate so many separate plastic bits), but once you get there, it's easy.


- The GTI went in for some warranty paint work after I discovered a spot of peeling paint along a plastic seam on the rear bumper. The local VW dealer referred me to an outside paint shop who did a pretty decent job. Not factory-paint perfect, but certainly better than the spot was before.


What's next?
- Winter mode update coming shortly. Nothing too exciting, but the GTI will be ready to conquer the New England snow. Last year I had the luxury of having my Impreza; this year it's all on the GTI.

- I have to shoot deAutoKey an email to see if I can get my driver's side footwell LED replaced. It's out.

- I'm half-assedly working on getting a catch can kit. There was a noteworthy amount of oil in the intake tract that I noticed when installing the APR intake. Nothing too crazy, but enough to make me unhappy. We'll see how this develops.