New MK6 GTI Owner, Wondering what to do with my car

[cclemmons112]

Im a new GTI owner and my specific car is a MK6 (obviously) with 70k miles. The car is in pretty good shape for the miles and I'm just wondering what to do for cheap to the car. I don't want to do any major mods but I want to have some fun in the car. I want the car to stay within reason but have it fun like I said. If any one has any suggestions I'll listen to them.

 

[slowgti08]

Stage 1 tune!, Rear Sway Bar, Tires, the list goes on.

 

[MMKAY6]

Sell it and run far away!

J/k...tune, chassis mods, brakes.

 

[zrickety]

Stage 1, Whiteline control arm bushings, subframe mount (HPA or VWR), in that order.

 

[GeorgiaBII]

Check timing chain...

Then go straight to stage 2. Don't bother passing stage 1.

 

[PhthaloType]

Welcome! I'm on the same page with my car, I'm not looking to go too crazy since it's my DD and I wanna keep it livable/comfortable.

Just a head's up, everyone's gonna say "get a tune!" It's... it's the thing to do. I wouldn't say it's cheap, especially if you go past stage 1, since at that point you have to start replacing hardware, too.

That being said, your first step should be to check on some common issues these cars can have. Fortunately with a '13 you're safe from the biggest one, the engine-killing timing chain tensioner failure (the part was revised during the 2012 model year). A few others to be aware of, though:

-Bad PCV causing rear main seal to leak
-Excessive carbon build-up in intake manifold/valves (side effect of direct injection)
-Water pump. I think this was mostly just on the early years, like '10-11, someone correct me if I'm wrong.
-Suspension subframe shifting, both front and rear, due to loose tolerances from the factory. Pretty easy fix, and there are kits available at various price points. I'd recommend doing it even if you don't notice any shifting.

Manual or DSG?

Oh, if you didn't know, it's got fake engine noise. You can disable it in five minutes with zero tools (reversible). Google "mk6 soundaktor delete" if you're interested.

 

[SnailPower]

Yeah probably stage1 if you think the car is tugging a small boat behind it when you accelerate. That might help there. You also technically do not need 1 piece of hardware for it. I didn't for over a year and it was perfectly fine. I eventually did update the coil packs out of recommendation here to get the R8s but my stock ones were fine as far as I could tell.

Beyond what everyone else mentioned I suppose it just becomes a mod bug that bites you and in the end you wonder how tf did you go from keeping it simple to not being able to pass inspection

 

[cclemmons112]

Welcome! I'm on the same page with my car, I'm not looking to go too crazy since it's my DD and I wanna keep it livable/comfortable.

Just a head's up, everyone's gonna say "get a tune!" It's... it's the thing to do. I wouldn't say it's cheap, especially if you go past stage 1, since at that point you have to start replacing hardware, too.

That being said, your first step should be to check on some common issues these cars can have. Fortunately with a '13 you're safe from the biggest one, the engine-killing timing chain tensioner failure (the part was revised during the 2012 model year). A few others to be aware of, though:

-Bad PCV causing rear main seal to leak
-Excessive carbon build-up in intake manifold/valves (side effect of direct injection)
-Water pump. I think this was mostly just on the early years, like '10-11, someone correct me if I'm wrong.
-Suspension subframe shifting, both front and rear, due to loose tolerances from the factory. Pretty easy fix, and there are kits available at various price points. I'd recommend doing it even if you don't notice any shifting.

Manual or DSG?

Oh, if you didn't know, it's got fake engine noise. You can disable it in five minutes with zero tools (reversible). Google "mk6 soundaktor delete" if you're interested.

It's a manual, which is what I love about the car, but like you my car is my DD so I do want it to be something very reliable. I need it to take me to school and other places, but I want to have fun while doing it. I just want the car to sound good, be fun, and look cool. I'm not to crazy into modding the crap out of it but I'm down for tunes or other parts that go into to much depth.

 

[SnailPower]

It's a manual, which is what I love about the car, but like you my car is my DD so I do want it to be something very reliable. I need it to take me to school and other places, but I want to have fun while doing it. I just want the car to sound good, be fun, and look cool. I'm not to crazy into modding the crap out of it but I'm down for tunes or other parts that go into to much depth.

Yeah if you want reliability with a tad more "umph", go with Stage1 and try and STAY there ,lol. Stage 1 with the over year I had it gave me zero issues and I think improved my gas mileage actually.

 

[Tony48]

List of small things to do that improve driveability and fun:

• Clutch stop (I've been very happy with one like this)
• Short shifter or shift bushings to get rid of slop. My recommendation is to go straight for a DieselGeek Sigma 6. In the long run it will be better and cheaper than upgrading each piece individually. This is one of my favorite things I've done to the car.
• Remove the clutch line restrictor (tutorial for MK7 but it's the same for MK6). A (free) upgrade I wish I had made sooner.
• Dogbone insert (Aluminum or poly)
• Remove/unplug Soundaktor (seriously do this)

Exterior & cosmetic items:

• Black/color matched emblems
• Klii badge inlays
• Window tint
• Tinted/color matched side markers
• LED interior/exterior lights if you're into that
• Find someone to do some VAGCOM coding for you...windows up/down with keyfob, gauge sweep, fogs as cornering lights, disable DRL's, etc.
• Wheel spacer "flush kit" (10mm front / 15mm rear spacers)

As others have said, go stage 1 as soon as you can! There's no real downside other than potential warranty stuff. But if you're smart about it you don't have to worry. If you think you will potentially want to go a bit further or want more options look into getting a Cobb Accessport. You can use the Cobb off-the-shelf tunes or get a custom tune from a company like Stratified. My recommendation (and what I wish I had done from the start) is to buy the Accessport through Stratified with their flash tune. Then you have room for future changes and can always sell the Accessport to recoup some money. Plus it's not any more expensive than getting a flash tune from APR/Unitronic, especially if a shop is going to charge you an hour of labor to install the tune.

 

[cclemmons112]

Thanks for everyone helping. My ideas with this car have broadened much more now! As many of you are saying to do my idea is to do stage 1 with some other minor things. How much involvement is put into doing a stage 1 tune? Also which should be my option when doing the tune. Also would a tune affect in any way VW dealer working on the car for the minor things I can’t do. I know some about cars but i’m not a mechanic and can’t do everything. Like I said I appreciate everyone giving ideas!!!

 

[SnailPower]

Thanks for everyone helping. My ideas with this car have broadened much more now! As many of you are saying to do my idea is to do stage 1 with some other minor things. How much involvement is put into doing a stage 1 tune? Also which should be my option when doing the tune. Also would a tune affect in any way VW dealer working on the car for the minor things I can’t do. I know some about cars but i’m not a mechanic and can’t do everything. Like I said I appreciate everyone giving ideas!!!

Unless you bought an Extended Warranty of some sort and it has fine print that a tune would void it, I don't think it will, at least nothing that they could prove the tune caused.

I went with APR Stg1. at the time because I was new at the whole tune scene and it seemed like APR had enough experience to offer a solid tune. After dealing with APR for Stg2 and Stg2+, I'm not honestly sure that they make the best Stg1 tune but again, I never tried anything else. I had zero issues with their Stg1 tune however some might complain about jerkiness to the throttle at lower RPM.

You will hear Cobb, Unitronic, and Stratified Tune names thrown out here often. They are also very well known and respectable tuners.

 

[cclemmons112]

Has anyone heard of Integrated Engineering Stage 1.

 

[PhthaloType]

For the interior, one of the first things I did was get a pair of these logos for the seat height levers. A couple of bucks on eBay, and they perfectly fill those spots that look like something was supposed to go there.

Someone mentioned interior LEDs... I recommend red footwell LEDs. You can get other colors, but red matches the rest of the interior lighting and looks more natural. $twenty-something maybe?

 

[Boscogn]

Check my Signature for my build thread I got a good list of mods with links

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