JDigitals Mod/Build Journal

So, I hope this isn't against the forum rules as I have wanted to have an online "journal" of a car build from brand new and document each modification that I do to the car.

My 1 month old 10' Golf 2.5 will be the first car that I do this journal with, as I never planned to modify my 2008 GMC Canyon that I just got rid of.

I will attempt to document upgrades/mod with as many photos as I can.

Modifications (Current or Planned):

- Shave "GOLF" & "2.5" badges (Complete)
- Redo "VW" emblems front and rear in Matte Black (Complete)
- 15% Window Tinting
- 3M Front bumper/Hood Nose/Mirrors (ASAP) [I hate myself for not getting around to this, my front end is chipped to hell!!!! ]
- JOM Blueline Coilovers Arrived. Install on 08/28/11
- Avant Garde M310 Matte Black (18x8F & 18x9R)
- Votex front Lip
- GTI Manual Pedal Kit
- LED Licence plate/Trunk/Footwell lighting
- AWE Tuning Catback Exhaust
- Intake (still deciding on make)
- New Stereo including Head Unit
- Smoked Taillights
- Color Match side markers

Will add to the list as other things get completed.

Few pics when it was bone stock:



Needs MORE LOOOOWWWWWW: :laugh:




Shaved the rear the "GOLF" and "2.5" badges last week:






I never got any photos taken today of the process of blacking out my front VW badge, but this is how it turned out.






That's enough for the first post I suppose... Don't want to be a shameless :attention_whore: haha!

Hopefully this thread will progress quickly.

Took this afternoon to spray my rear "VW" emblem. I did a fair bit of reading to figure out which route to take, and removing the badge seemed a bit risky with all those tiny clips that could possibly break. I decided to tape off the majority of the rear end of the car with yesterdays news paper. Here is the process step my step. Probably a bit more work but at least I know I won't break any clips. :thumbsup:

Beginning Prep:


Taped and covered in newspaper:


After taping it all off and sealing all the seems in the paperwork, I begin with a light wet sand using 400grit sand paper. Just to give the emblem a minor rough surface to the paint to adhere to. These are the products I used.


Final sanding, just enough to remove the gloss look:


2nd Coat of paint if I remember right. I used 3 coats at 1 hour intervals.


3rd Coat moments after spraying:


Finished product after another hour of drying after 3rd coat.


:w00t:

kinda kool imo a more glossy look wouldve been kool but this is deff something i want to do in the future (CW backing with a Black symbol)

Very interesting, i will check back and follow your progress "Makin it your own"

SethProSTx said:

kinda kool imo a more glossy look wouldve been kool but this is deff something i want to do in the future (CW backing with a Black symbol)

Click to expand...

They may stick our like a sore thumb right now, but once I get my wheels (which will also be Matte Black finish) it should all come together nicely. I thought about gloss, but any of the photos I saw with gloss didn't do much for me.


Carbon Steel: Thanks. :w00t:

Well finally, after 13 months of ownership.. I finally ended up purchasing my first major upgrade.

So because the city of 1+ Million people I live in doesn't have a decent track which is on the verge of being bulldozed, I was really only looking for a suspension setup that would allow me to be height adjustable as we get some pretty good snow dumps in the winter, and just overall drive-ability. I did not feel the need for adjustable dampening, rebound and whatever else you can get with the high end coilovers.

This is a daily driver after all.

So I went ahead last night and ordered a set of JOM Blueline Coilovers from PG Performance in Vancouver. Most of the reviews (which wasn't many out there to begin with) had positive things to say. They will go about as low as I am looking for, and they are affordable ($515 shipped).



They ship out Monday so I am gonna be pretty anxious next week. Shouldn't take more than 4-5 days to hop provinces. Hoping for install before September.


Here's an MK5 on them... He says they will go lower too.




In other news... I regret not getting my car 3M'd when I first got it.. I took it to the wash last night, and the front end is just pitted with rock chips on the hood and fenders... the front bumper actually has pebble size gouges in the plastic. I was (am) furious and sad at the same time. I love Black, but I will never buy a black car again. VW needs to throw a few more layers of paint or clearcoat... this is ridiculous!

UPS showed up today while I was at work and were kind enough to leave my suspension on the front step all day.

Unboxing..












Will be installing them this Sunday! :thumbup: Finally after a year I can get rid of the horrible wheel gap. :laugh:

Been waiting for this build thread to come back to life! Its going to look good.

This was the day after install 9 days ago.



Will take to the wash tomorrow and measure my fronts. I may go slightly lower up front.

Looks good dude keep it up.

anything new? I had my tint done (10%) last week and it changes the look of the car for sure. What rims are you looking at still?

Vancity2Constantinople said:

anything new? I had my tint done (10%) last week and it changes the look of the car for sure. What rims are you looking at still?

Click to expand...

The only other thing I have done since dropping it was add a badgeless front grill, but have yet to get my hood notch filled in. I guess I should get a pic or 2 up now that I have a new camera. My 2 main things this summer will be Tint and Wheels.

I am currently looking at a set of 2pc AMG Aero II's, unfortunately they are 17" which I'm not completely sure on yet, although with the rough roads here in Alberta the extra rubber in the sidewall might make the ride a bit smoother.

PS: This is my new account, I couldn't remember the login info for my JDig account or the email I signed up with to get my login info. :bellyroll:

PPS: I could have swore we had a 17" wheel pic thread on this forum?

Bit of an update post for anyone interested.

I am trying to make some progress on my build this summer. The key component that I am stuck on is wheels due to the simple fact that I can not come to a conclusion on what I want. When I started this thread I had a list of things I wanted to accomplish by now and have fallen well short of it. Working on paying off my debt became a priority (and still is).

Things I have accomplished so far..

- Shave "GOLF" & "2.5" badges
- Redo "VW" emblems front and rear in Matte Black
- JOM Blueline Coilovers
- New Stereo including Head Unit (In progress)
- JOM badge-less front grill (still want to get the hood notch filled in)

I still need to get a shot of the front grill, but I figure I will wait till I get the hood notch filled in.

I have currently blown 2 of the 4 woofers (front pass and rear driver) so the stereo upgrade has been pushed ahead. I was always impressed with the sound of the factory setup to be honest, so upgrading was never a priority, but now it's at the top of the list.

I got what I feel is a great deal on a BNIB Alpine Type R 10" Sub and Alpine MRP-M650 Mono Amp this weekend... I know they are slightly older models, but they are brand new, never used. I couldn't pass it up.



My plan was to stock pile the pieces of the system, but once I got home with that stuff yesterday I started looking around at speakers to compliment the sub. I went today and ordered the following:

Alpine Type R 6.5" Component Speakers (Front doors)
Alpine Type S 6.5" Component Speakers (Rear doors)
Alpine V-Power MRP-F300 4/3/2 Channel Amp (to power the speakers)

Yes, I am a bit of an Alpine fan until I get to HU. Now the only piece of the puzzle left is a Head Unit. I've currently got it down to either of these:

Single DIN - Pioneer CD Receiver With Bluetooth (DEHP9400BH)


Double DIN - JVC 6.1" Double DIN USB/CD/DVD w/ iPhone Control (KWAV60)



Things I have not accomplished

- Avant Garde M310 Matte Black (18x8F & 18x9R)
- Votex front Lip
- GTI Manual Pedal Kit
- LED Licence plate/Trunk/Footwell lighting
- AWE Tuning Catback Exhaust
- Intake (Carbonio)
- Smoked Taillights
- Color Match side markers

A lot of those have not been done as I changed my mind on many of them. I will no longer being smoking out the tail lights, so that can be removed. Like I mentioned my wheel choice has changed probably 15 times since I decided on the M310s, so that can be removed or at least left as open. I still want to add a front lip, whether or not I go with an actual Votex or a replica is to be determined. When I do purchase that, I am considering a sticker bomb look to it.. (feedback?)

I have no excuse really for not having the GTI pedals and LED lighting. haha I've just procrastinated on making the order.

Intake and Exhaust. I still want to go with a Carbonio Intake. As for the exhaust, I've changed my mind about the AWE tuning exhaust. I had plans to disconnect the rear suitcase muffler this weekend to see what type of exhaust tone the 2.5 produces with out, but I have yet to get around to that.


So after all that my revised list is as follows.

Things I have not accomplished

- Wheels of some kind.. :laugh: (18x8F & 18x9R)
- Votex front Lip (or replica)
- GTI Pedal Kit
- LED Licence plate/Trunk/Footwell lighting
- Intake (Carbonio)
- Color Match side markers

Wrong section dude!!! :thumbdown:

I realize that, but I can't move the thread to the journal section myself.

If a mod wants to move it, feel free.