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Deep's first car build!

deep.mit

Go Kart Champion
Hi, my name is Deep. I will start with a big thanks to all you guys for helping me and turning my novice questions into interesting discussions :) This is just the beginning. I hope to keep learning and imbibing as I go along!

Coming to the car, a 2013 tornado-red Mk6 GTI, for which I had to wait for almost 3 weeks! I wanted a 2dr stick-shift, and none of the dealers in bay area had one in red. Nevertheless, she came to me right off the delivery truck with all of 12 miles on her! Picked her up on the 22nd of Mar'13.

My first car, the first and the best hot hatch ever :) The GTI is brilliant in stock form and I needed help to find out things that could make it better (to my taste). It's too boring to be just a passive car owner. And the best way to get involved with your car is to start tweaking things. That's when I started searching up the internet for forums. And voila, I was treated a number of good ones! :) Something about this forum stuck with me and before I knew, I was spending hours here everyday! :)

This is how Schatzi looks today:
Headshot:
IMG_9044_edited-1.jpg


Front three-quarter (best angle IMO):
IMG_9080_edited-1.jpg


Tailshot:
IMG_8979_edited-1.jpg


This is how it looked just out of the showroom:
 
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deep.mit

Go Kart Champion
I have been a car fanatic since I was a kid and lapped up all auto mags I could :D Talking about cars is my favorite pas-time and I have always run out of audience. This is the place where I found people like me!:happyanim: So what if I get to be the audience here most of the time :D

Lots of talking! Now, let's get down to the real thing. It's just been 10K miles with my Schatzi (German for 'darling'). Yeah, that's what my girlfriend named it :wub: I have ended up doing some significant mods to it and thought this was high time I started logging them.

I am never going to track my car.
Above might not be true for too long. I took my car to AutoX. Loved every bit of it :) Track day isn't too far?

This is a daily-driver and my only car.

So, I have stayed away from lowering the stance and other suspension tweaks.
Underlined text above is no longer true! Yes, I gave in to the temptation! And boy, the car looks so much better without that fender gap! Read on for more details :)

Below is the classified list:

Exterior:
- CF front splitter (removed).
- OEM front-lip splitter (2/11/14) - removed.
- Vinyl wrap (1/20/14).
- 35% window tint (10/4/14).
- Klii Plaid rear-badge insert (4/30/14) - removed.
- Klii Color-matched (TR) rear-badge insert (8/27/18).
- Decals.
- VAGCOM key-fob window operation.
- Stage1+ badge (7/7/14).
- License plate frames (7/14/15).
- Depo LED R-tails (11/29/14).
- Ed's bi-xenon HID headlights (10/16/15) - removed.
- Spyder LED headlights with Morimoto H7 HIDs (4/08/18).
- Lamin-X protective film on headlights (4/08/18).
- deAutokey fog-lamp LED kit (10/23/15).
- Side-marker color match vinyl (3/21/15).
- MK7 GTI fender badge (8/26/16) - removed.
- MK7 GTI black fender-badge (3/19/19).
- ECS Tuning front splitter (6/04/17).
- USMillworks tow-hook license plate mount (6/04/17).
- Maxton Side Spoilers (1/26/2018).
- Ebay lug-nut and valve-stem caps (08/22/18).
- Badgeskins (08/26/18).
- Black rear-emblem (08/27/18).
- Black front-emblem (11/10/19).
- Maxton rear diffuser (11/10/19).
- Sequential mirror turn signals (11/10/19).
- Blind spot mirror attachments (04/10/14).

Interior:
- Plaid seat lever insert (8/16/14) - removed.
- Bold-sport "GTI" seat-lever inserts (3/12/19).
- Dashboard APR badge (7/7/14).
- VAGCOM: Seat-heater memory.
- RNS-315 (3/25/17) - removed.
- RCD-330plus (1/23/18).
- Newsouth Performance Boost Gauge (6/4/17).
- Bold-sport Auto Light switch (6/4/17).
- Double-Apex garage door opener (11/10/19).

Engine/Tranny/Brakes:
- APR Stage 1 (7/7/14).
- APR Stage 2 v2.1 (4/18/16).
- APR Stage 2 v2.4 (12/27/16) --> Read about this later in my thread.
- Carbonio Intake (7/7/14).
- Magnaflow CBE (4/16/14).
- USP Motorsports Catted Downpipe (4/16/16).
- S3 Intercooler - AWE tuning (4/16/16).
- Neuspeed Short Shifter (removed).
- 42DD Shifter Bushings (removed).
- Raceseng Topology Shift-knob (9/14/15).
- Dieselgeek Sigma 6 Shifter (11/13/14).
- Verdict Shifter Bracket Bushing (2/19/14).
- HSTuning RSR clutch kit (2/20/16).
- Stoptech Street Performance Brake pads (4/17/14), (3/25/17).
- Stoptech Slotted Rotors (3/25/17).
- Tyrolsport Brake Stiffening kit (4/16/14).
- USP Motorsports SS lines (4/19/16).
- eBay clutch stop (11/3/14).
- VAGCOM (XDS-2, BrakeAssist-2, emergency flashing brakes, cornering lights, gauge needle-sweep, ESC off).
- GFB DV+ (9/10/15).
- 034 Motorsports Billet Insert (06/28/16).
- NGK BKR7EIX spark plugs (06/28/16).
- R8 Ignition coils (06/28/16).
- OEM GTI Battery (10/25/16).

Suspension/Chassis/Wheels:
- Unibrace UB (2/12/14).
- Koni Orange struts (7/20/15).
- VWR lowering springs (4/24/15).
- Audi TT rear spring pads (4/29/15).
- Tyrolsport Stage1 hatch-brace (3/25/17).
- Michelin PSS (2/13/15): removed.
- Michelin PS4S (5/20/19) @34,025 miles.
- Gunmetal Neuspeed RSe12 (8/29/14).

A special mention for APR Stage 1:
I had my apprehensions about factory warranty, but the gains were too much to not have! By far, these have been the best 500 bucks I have spent in my life! Now, the car doesn't simply launch, it leaps ahead, at any gear! Pulls way harder at least till 90mph. Revs do not climb up as easily as stock, but commit yourself to it and it will go beyond 6k rpm. And when it does, it simply is in a different world! I am perplexed why didn't VW tune it this way from the factory! Nevertheless, I don't complain. They should leave some space to play with :)

I have thoroughly enjoyed my car till now and look forward to lots of happy miles with it :) The experience of mod-ing has only added to the level of involvement and made it *my* GTI rather than just another VW GTI. All thanks to support from this forum. Looking forward to many more interesting discussions and experiences :)
 
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deep.mit

Go Kart Champion
Some random pics:

Unibrace UB:
With the Unibrace, I can really feel the chassis stiffness around those long curves. Turn-ins are sharper now. Also, launches from standstill have become better. Wanted the XB as well, but was skeptic about drilling holes into the body.


Intake/Exhaust:
If nothing else, the combination of exhaust and intake made the car growl and sound like it should have had from day1! Moved away from the Gentleman's hot hatch image to something I relate to more. More like the Clio/FiestaST in attitude. A slight increase in low-end pull (probably the intake helping here) was a welcome change.

The intake:


Magnaflow CBE:


Stoptech Pads:
Tyrolsport Brake stiffening kit:
After opening up the breathing and exhaust of the car, next thing I wanted to do was upgrade the brakes. I can vouch for the stiffening kit. There is definitely more bite throughout the pedal travel and more modulation available. IMO, the brake-pads upgrade was necessary to handle the extra power from the chip tuning I had started planning already.
 
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Tk_mkv1

Go Kart Champion
Hey thanks!
I have already made a wish-list:
1. Summer tires - once the standard all-seasons wear out.
2. Set of lighter wheels to replace the Detroits.
3. Boost gauge. Mostly P3.
4. I may go Stage2 in the future. That would implicitly include an IC, DP and clutch (when it starts slipping) as well.

FTFY, those are some good plans considering its your first car
 

Noob_2.0T

Go Kart Champion
Hey thanks!
I have already made a wish-list:
1. Summer tires - once the standard all-seasons wear out.
2. Set of lighter wheels to replace the Detroits.
3. Boost gauge. Mostly P3.
4. I may go Stage2 in the future. That would implicitly include an IC and a DP as well.

Yeah If I could go back I would have done clutch first then stage 2. My clutch started to slip 2-3 months after I went stage 2.
 
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