RPS99SHO
Ready to race!
On May 12, 2010 I strolled into a VW dealership. I had been looking into Golf TDIs as I have a 100 mile roundtrip daily commute. I was on the hunt for a black, 2 door, 6 speed manual Golf TDI. This dealership was the only one in the mid-atlantic area at the time that had what I was looking for. Only downside was that it is a zero-option car. No HIDS, no nav, no buttwarmers. Lucky for me this dealership was just down the road from my work. I went on my lunch break one day to take a look. I took it for a drive. I never went back to work that day. I signed the paperwork and traded in my 2006 GTO:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi23w83XHkM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMFI_P9NjjU
I have a history of recklessly throwing money at my cars, but I promised myself this new car would be simply an appliance and I would keep it stock. Sadly, I broke that promise to myself. This car is very fun to drive, and the car guy inside me would not let this stay stock. It's in my DNA, so no use fighting it. Here is a timeline and pictures of everything I have done.
5/12/10: Stock. The BURNOUT tag was carried over from my GTO.
6/20/11: VCDS mods.
- Disable DRLs, disable honk-lock confirmation, disable seatbelt warning chime, enable windows up/down with keyfob
7/20/11: Dieselgeek shifter and Golfball shiftknob.
12/14/11: DriverGear springs installed. It was about a 25mm drop all around.
Also received my new, more appropriate tags.
12/15/11: Mufflerectomy, GTI-style rear exhaust.
I sourced a pair of GTI tips from a forum member here, I believe they were taken off of the APR racecar. I purchased a GTI rear valence from a VW dealership and took my car to a shop to cut out the stock muffler and weld in straight pipe from the rear axle back to the GTI tips.
1/15/11: Euroswitch and parking lights trigger wire installed.
6/12/11: Recorded my best 50 mile trip mpg.
6/19/11: Recorded my best tank mpg and range. 821 miles on 15.0 gallons. 55mpg average for that tank.
7/25/11: Tint. 3M ColorStable 35% on all windows behind the windshield. The windshield itself received a 6" 5% strip.
And the wife even agreed to pose for a few pictures.
7/27/11: Liftgate auto-open. Do a search for how to do this mod, it is super easy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pA5FCYODcvI
8/6/11: More VCDS mods.
- TPMS disabled, fogs on with highbeams enabled.
8/9/11: I got bored with the golfball shiftknob, so I purchased a GTI knob from a forum member. I think that the red on the GTI shifter goes well with the non-GTI interior. There is enough red on the dash to help the shifter not look out of place.
8/12/11: Color-matched sidemarkers installed. The difference is small, but the overall impact is HUGE.
8/12/11: New wheels. Avant Garde M310. 18"x8" ET 45 non-staggered. Machine/gunmetal. I had Continental ContiExtremeContact DWS 225/40/18 put on them, no TPMS. This is the way the car sits currently.
And a few pics to give you an idea of the flushness of these wheels. I'm sure these are not hellaflush by some of your standards, but these are functional flush enough for me. They are pushed out just enough to look fantastic and don't require any fender mods, though I may remove the fender screws for more peace of mind.
Thanks for reading and I will keep it updated with more pics and future mods! :thumbsup:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi23w83XHkM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMFI_P9NjjU
I have a history of recklessly throwing money at my cars, but I promised myself this new car would be simply an appliance and I would keep it stock. Sadly, I broke that promise to myself. This car is very fun to drive, and the car guy inside me would not let this stay stock. It's in my DNA, so no use fighting it. Here is a timeline and pictures of everything I have done.
5/12/10: Stock. The BURNOUT tag was carried over from my GTO.
6/20/11: VCDS mods.
- Disable DRLs, disable honk-lock confirmation, disable seatbelt warning chime, enable windows up/down with keyfob
7/20/11: Dieselgeek shifter and Golfball shiftknob.
12/14/11: DriverGear springs installed. It was about a 25mm drop all around.
Also received my new, more appropriate tags.
12/15/11: Mufflerectomy, GTI-style rear exhaust.
I sourced a pair of GTI tips from a forum member here, I believe they were taken off of the APR racecar. I purchased a GTI rear valence from a VW dealership and took my car to a shop to cut out the stock muffler and weld in straight pipe from the rear axle back to the GTI tips.
1/15/11: Euroswitch and parking lights trigger wire installed.
6/12/11: Recorded my best 50 mile trip mpg.
6/19/11: Recorded my best tank mpg and range. 821 miles on 15.0 gallons. 55mpg average for that tank.
7/25/11: Tint. 3M ColorStable 35% on all windows behind the windshield. The windshield itself received a 6" 5% strip.
And the wife even agreed to pose for a few pictures.
7/27/11: Liftgate auto-open. Do a search for how to do this mod, it is super easy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pA5FCYODcvI
8/6/11: More VCDS mods.
- TPMS disabled, fogs on with highbeams enabled.
8/9/11: I got bored with the golfball shiftknob, so I purchased a GTI knob from a forum member. I think that the red on the GTI shifter goes well with the non-GTI interior. There is enough red on the dash to help the shifter not look out of place.
8/12/11: Color-matched sidemarkers installed. The difference is small, but the overall impact is HUGE.
8/12/11: New wheels. Avant Garde M310. 18"x8" ET 45 non-staggered. Machine/gunmetal. I had Continental ContiExtremeContact DWS 225/40/18 put on them, no TPMS. This is the way the car sits currently.
And a few pics to give you an idea of the flushness of these wheels. I'm sure these are not hellaflush by some of your standards, but these are functional flush enough for me. They are pushed out just enough to look fantastic and don't require any fender mods, though I may remove the fender screws for more peace of mind.
Thanks for reading and I will keep it updated with more pics and future mods! :thumbsup:
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