2013 VW GTI progress

[bimmer635csi]

First off, this is my first post on this forum. As you may guess by my username, I'm a fan of the old-school 6ers by BMW.

Recently however, I'm finding BMW overpriced and underperforming, so I thought I'd give a try on another German car.

This post is more for me to follow the progress of my car from order to the autocross season. Now that the racing has started, I've created a new thread for that HERE.

Feel free to give ideas, and thanks for allowing me to participate in the GTI experience.


Car is 2013 GTI, Base model, in Carbon Steel Gray Metallic, 4 door, DSG

Useful note for anyone who is member of SCCA, there is a form you can download to get supplier pricing on most VWs. Thankfully I found that before I ordered.

Most Current Photo:

Most Current Race Video:



• Found good settings for dampers for:
{1} Daily driving on crap Michigan roads - Fr: Middle-soft, Rr: Middle-soft (still need to count the clicks)
{2} No bumps autocross and {3} Bumpy autocross - Fr: Middle, Rr: Full stiff minus 1 (still need to count the clicks)


2012-Dec-01 to 2013-Feb-16: Car order to delivery dates

Changes:
• 2013-Feb-20: Installed 5 Digital Fit floor mats ... No pics, but if you want them, ask and I'll post them

• 2013-Mar-10: Installed Garage Door Button (and Ejector Falsie) ... HERE

• 2013-Mar-16: Cancelled. Parts returned.

• 2013-Mar-23: Installed black coolant reservoir cap. Left the blue washer cap because, well, windshield washer fluid is typically BLUE! Pictures if requested, but there are many on the internets already.

• 2013-Mar-29: Installed Red LED interior lighting. The trunk light was a real PITA because VW shipped the car with a deranged metal spring clip. Other than that, no issues. I found this link to be the most useful and informative, as well as assisting me to fix the trunk spring clip.

• 2013-Mar-29~31: Removed all springs & dampers from the vehicle. Reassembly will be after I can get the springs measured for rate/force to achieve the best balance with OEM springs possible. ... HERE

• 2013-Apr-01: Got the Enkei RPF1 wheels wrapped in Dunlop Direzza ZII from Sonny at Tire Rack. They came in at 174 lbs (including lug bolts and packaging). The stock Detroits with Dunlop A/S came in at 204 lbs without bolts or packaging. At least 27 lbs of rotating mass saved. Not installed yet because the dampers aren't on the car.

• 2013-Apr-06~07: Got the rear suspension put back together. Got the front struts assembled, but need 2 parts replaced before I can reassemble the car completely. I was really hoping to drive it this week, but I guess not.

• 2013-Apr-08: Got the right front ball joint from dealer (thanks to wife) and assembled the right front corner (save putting caliper back on the knuckle) ... HERE

• 2013-Apr-09: Got the left side strut installed. Need to get a can of brake clean and 4 caliper to wheel bearing housing bolts before dropping on the tires to go get alignment. Hopefully that can happen before Friday evening.

• 2013-Apr-13: Dampers (They aren't "shocks") - Öhlins R&T, Audi TT Shock Mounts, SKF strut bearings, 6 bolts, 2 nuts, Best 4 of 8 stock springs (Got a spare set from TewFoxy, measured by Kaz Technologies)
• Passat Steering Knuckle and caliper bolts (Unsprung weight reduction of 3 pounds each side)
• 2013-Apr-14: Plasti-Dip on front VW and GTI emblems, Plasti-Dip & background color for rear emblem ... HERE

• 2013-Apr-14: Installed a permanent power cell phone charger in the dash cubby. Used instructions found elsewhere to install an additional circuit on the fuse box and disassemble a USB charger to make it hard wired to the fuse box. I will try to assemble a listing of all the websites I used to assemble this, but for now, let's just say everything I did has already been documented on the internets.

• 2013-Apr-18: Tint installed on all windows, windshield strip, and 4 corner markers. Every piece of tint was 3M FX Premium 35% and includes a lifetime warranty. (Pics will follow when the weather allows)

• 2013-Apr-21: Lug studs and lug nuts to make it easier to switch wheels at the autocrosses. Got hardened steel with black coating to prevent rust and still look like the lug bolt caps are in place. Also aligned the front toe to about 24 minutes total toe out, but I doubt if it is that accurate using the toe plate and measuring tape method I was using. Also removed the Airbag Warning Labels from the sunvisors.

• 2013-May-31: Adjusted XDS to 2 (and various other non-driving adjustments as well)

• 2013-Jun-02: Installed the sway bars and belly pans. Haven't had a chance for proper testing of the sway barsyet. But looking forward to it. Initial setting is to "medium" so that if I need to change, I should only have to change once.

Hotchkis swaybars: Got a great deal off of amazon that someone else had posted on the forums. They were delivered on Apr-16. (I'll wait to see how the car feels before deciding which one to install since I like an ultra-oversteer car and the SCCA car class that I run in only allows 1 bar for 2013, but is proposing 2 bars for 2014.)

• 2013-Jun-02: Debadged rear hatch

• 2013-Jul-15: Installed 235/40/18 Direzza ZIIs on race wheels. Noticed that the old fronts were wearing heavier on inside shoulder, so added a little bit of toe-in to the alignment. The wider front tires allow for higher engine speeds on launch and make the car rotate very nicely with the extra grip up front. Just need to find good tire pressures now.

• 2013-Sep-14: Took rear spacers off wheel hubs. Hoping that it will help the turn in to have a narrower rear track width. Actually needed a torch to get some heat into the spacers to get them off the hubs.

• 2013-Sep-22: In an extreme effort to make the car turn like a BMW, I set the rear dampers to full stiff minus 1 click. The car was just a shave too loose then, so I put more air in the front tires to help minimize the roll over on the tread. Now I just need to remember to take the 9 or 10 clicks out of the rear after October 6th.

Waiting for Permanent Installation:


Temporary Installations for Autocrosses:
• Lightweight Battery - Genesis G16EP & various pieces for installation

• Tires & Wheels - Dunlop Direzza ZIIs on Enkei RPF1 18x7.5 et48 with 3mm spacers Front 235/40/18, Rear 225/40/18

• Metal hubcentric rings (the plastic ones can't take the heat)

Plans:
Autocross the car weekends, so I don't want to go bonkers with mods. Daily driver otherwise.

• Brake pads (Probably Carbotech AX6, mostly because Hawk has no plans to make the pads for the newer GTI rear brakes ... but after searching, it seems that Hawk does have HPS rears now, so maybe HP+ are soon to follow?)

If needed:

• Audi S3 control arms - The front camber really needs these. Will research over the winter.

Canceled plans (aka decided otherwise):

• Catch Can (Decided not to do this. Long reason why and I'm still formulating a discussion about it.)

• Sharan Front Sway Bar ... because in 2014, the SCCA Street Classification for autocross will allow both swaybars to be aftermarket, so there is no reason to sneak a slightly stiffer front one this year.

• Steve Petty Motorsports cat back exhaust

 

[snobrdrdan]

Which dealer are you working with?

They couldn't locate one for you though?

 

[bimmer635csi]

Which dealer are you working with?

They couldn't locate one for you though?

Knowing how people (a.k.a. myself) drive cars that are sitting on dealer lots, I prefer to have a car that wasn't abused. I've ordered the last 4 cars I've purchased, and have an alternate to drive right now, so it isn't a big issue.

The dealer is Suburban Imports in Farmington Hills, MI. They have an Audi and Porsche dealer in the same building which could prove to be fun in the future.

 

[lilfleck]

I like your plan of action except catback. All of your other mods are useful except that one. That's just sound.

 

[Djmikeyd]

Downpipe instead of catback

 

[bimmer635csi]

Downpipe instead of catback

I like your plan of action except catback. All of your other mods are useful except that one. That's just sound.

Good input. Thanks for being helpful.

I need to investigate the rules for Stock category cars on autocross ... downpipe may put the car in a different class, and therefore, I shouldn't do that. I will report any info/updates I figure out along the way though.

Cheers.

 

[MAD_GTI]

Knowing how people (a.k.a. myself) drive cars that are sitting on dealer lots, I prefer to have a car that wasn't abused. I've ordered the last 4 cars I've purchased, and have an alternate to drive right now, so it isn't a big issue.

The dealer is Suburban Imports in Farmington Hills, MI. They have an Audi and Porsche dealer in the same building which could prove to be fun in the future.

That's where I bought my CSG GTI last march, awesome service, and its nice to see an RS4 and a 911 around when you take it in for service.:thumbsup:

 

[snobrdrdan]

Knowing how people (a.k.a. myself) drive cars that are sitting on dealer lots, I prefer to have a car that wasn't abused. I've ordered the last 4 cars I've purchased, and have an alternate to drive right now, so it isn't a big issue.

The dealer is Suburban Imports in Farmington Hills, MI. They have an Audi and Porsche dealer in the same building which could prove to be fun in the future.

Yeah I know the dealer, lol....bought a couple GTI's from there myself and it's where I used to go for most of my service until they red flagged my GTI for being tuned

Good luck on the transaction....definitely not the best place to buy a new car from, especially one you ordered. I hope you, at least, got invoice pricing or better

My experience....their pricing was high/off the wall. I had to shop elsewhere & then come back to them & have them beat other deals to get reasonable pricing.....since they were the closest dealer to me for service/what not.

Example: my '13 CC....they told me $587 a month, $910 due at signing, 36 month, 12k/year lease for a CC Sport.

What I ended up getting was a '13 CC Sport Plus (next level up) for $330 a month, $0 due at delivery/signing, 36 month, 12k/year from Fox VW instead.

Fox automatically sells for invoice (usually better) thru the online guy.
Ordering a car might be different though, but just saying.

 

[bimmer635csi]

... until they red flagged my GTI for being tuned

I hope you, at least, got invoice pricing or better

I had to shop elsewhere & then come back to them & have them beat other deals to get reasonable pricing

Yikes. How did they catch that it was tuned? What software are you using?

The SCCA discount is fixed at invoice minus 5 bills, so not having to negotiate that made the dealership I chose depend on my trade in. Both Thayer and Suburban gave me the same price on the trade in, but the people at Suburban are a lot nicer, so I chose them. Plus, I'd rather look at Porsches and Audis when getting my VW serviced than a bunch of used trade-ins on Hyundais at the other joint.

 

[snobrdrdan]

Yikes. How did they catch that it was tuned? What software are you using?

The SCCA discount is fixed at invoice minus 5 bills, so not having to negotiate that made the dealership I chose depend on my trade in. Both Thayer and Suburban gave me the same price on the trade in, but the people at Suburban are a lot nicer, so I chose them. Plus, I'd rather look at Porsches and Audis when getting my VW serviced than a bunch of used trade-ins on Hyundais at the other joint.

APR.
Any tune is detectable now though....I was just one of the first ones to have it happen when I had my MK6 GTI. Now it's a widely known fact that with a quick scan of the car they can find it & red flag it with a "TD1" code under your VIN and VW will know you're tuned.

Ahh....I see on the discount. Yeah that's the same as the VW Friends & Family discount too.

As for Thayer & Suburban....Thayer might not be the nicest dealership, I understand that...BUT they are truly car guys and are into modding and all that.
Suburban....those guys know NOTHING about cars or modding. They just work there to sell cars.

But with service work....Suburban will give you a rental car, so that's why I go there sometimes.
Thayer is more mod friendly though for service, FYI.

 

[bimmer635csi]

snobrdrdan, thanks for the info. I don't intend to go nuts with mods, so hopefully I can keep the warranties in place.

Thayer is on my way to work, so I'll probably have to use them for service anyway.

 

[andy_uranium]

Welcome, another local on the forum is always a good thing!

 

[snobrdrdan]

Your mod list is coming together very nicely......and quickly, lol!

 

[bimmer635csi]

Your mod list is coming together very nicely......and quickly, lol!

I think 20 steps ahead (which drives my wife nuts). But it allows me to see what errors might occur before they do.

Must be why I became an engineer.

I'm actually going to do some paperwork on the GTI order today, so there might be an update this afternoon.

 

[snobrdrdan]

I hear ya.

Only flaw in that plan though is.....you can get bored quicker with the car.
Been there, done that a bunch of times.

Instead if you get a car and then slowly work on it....it's a project & always evolving.
Or if you just go crazy with the car right off the bat.....you run out of stuff to do with it.

That's what happened on my MK6 GTI....after 9 months....bored & then switched to a different car (the CC) to start over

Maybe you're not like that....I'm just saying from experience.
Having a wish list ahead of time can be curse though, is what I've learned, lol