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pdan's CW GTI log

pdan

Ready to race!
Hey guys so this is pretty much just a place for me to try and mostly keep track of what I've done with the GTI. Not really a build thread, more a semi-organized timeline.



Current setup:



Stratified 93 Tune

Unitronic Intake

R8 Coils

NGK Plugs

ECS Tuning 3 in catted downpipe

Neuspeed Catback

ECS Tuning Dogbone Mount

GFB DV+

OEM LED Dark Cherry Tails



Future Plans:

Suspension work (definitely coil overs, still have a lot of research yet to do on everything else

Southbend Stage II Daily Clutch

BBK

Intercooler

Probably lots of other stuff....





Traded in my old 09 Jetta TDI that I had throughout high school and the first few years of college during the buyback and got a sweet deal from the Dieselgate payouts, so I was able to finally start actually looking for a GTI. I originally really wanted a Golf R, I drooled over those for so long. Eventually due to finances and some pickiness on my end I was able to snag a CPO CW GTI with 32K miles.



It had pretty much everything I wanted: 2 door, 6 speed manual, (both absolute musts), HID's, with plaid interior.



Bought it in PA when I was working on Cape Cod so my parents were nice enough to drive to it up visit me.



Finally ended up back at school in Alabama and could start making it mine.







Started with some really minor stuff, lamin-x side markers, fog lights, and rear badge inlay.



Added a Unitronic intake that I got for a decent deal. I know performance wise intakes don't do much, but it was something to get my feet wet into working on the car and it sounded awesome to me.





Managed to get backed into when I was at the pool by a F-150 trailer hitch that was "self parking until it shot backwards" ......






I was pretty pissed, but eventually got over it and had the dealership in Montgomery fix it for me.




Decided it was time to hardwire my radar detector to clean up the interior a bit. I hate electrical stuff and have a hard time understanding it, but I managed not to electrocute myself or blow something in the car and eventually it worked. Highly recommend it, very satisfying and clean looking.





After lusting over LED tails I found them for a great deal used on here. By far my favorite exterior change, I think they look so damn good.







Changing the oil threw me for a bit of a loop the first time as I wasn't expecting to find the torx pattern or whatever that was, but managed to get it out and replaced it with a magnetic drain plug.





Decided to change up the front grille and plasti dip it white. I really like the all white look and really need to just sit down and sand and paint. While the plasti dip is good for a quick and temporary look I think it'll look much better painted.



I do feel bad driving the car as much as I do, I wish I didn't put so many miles on her so quickly. But after a few trips back and forth from Alabama to Pennsylvania and Florida the miles really start to rack up. Attempting to protect the front from the more major rock chips. It sorta worked, but was a huge pain to take off on the other end with all the residue.





Decided I wanted a little bit moar loud and found another good deal on the forums for a local Neuspeed catback. It sounded great, but as a young hooligan I still thought it could be louder....



Tried my best to wash and polish up the car and the exhaust. With a decent amount of elbow grease it ended up looking much better.





Road trip to Florida again, just happy to have something to park under rather then street parking.



Originally I did not want to tune because I knew I risked the CPO warranty, so I figured I would get most of the car set up in case I finally decided to bite the bullet. Ordered an ECS Tuning downpipe for a pretty good deal around Christmas and installed it in my grandfather's shop with his help. To this date the most frustrating thing I have done with the car. But so worth it, sounds so fantastically great to me.



Finally decided to screw it and get tuned. Originally was planning on going with APR since they are right down the road but after a lot of reading and thinking I decided to go with a Stratified tune with the Cobb Accessport. GTI is a whole different beast, it really is astounding. Went with 93 and 91 tunes in case I move somewhere where I can't find 93. It was relatively cheap peace of mind for me.



Was lucky enough to test drive an F-Type R while down in Florida again, and oh man does that thing go.



After finally getting the P0240 code I ordered a spacer which seemed to solve it until I went WOT a few times.



I had wanted to get the GTI tinted since I got it and I finally went and did it. I had 35% on my old Jetta and wanted something a little darker this time. I wanted 20%, and the closest thing they had was ceramic 15% so thats what I ended up getting. May have gone a little too dark. During the day its great, but at night just a little too dark from me and I'm always anxious about cops. But luckily I drive with the windows down anyway so not a huge deal.





Time to leave Alabama, after college and working for a year it was time to move onto a new job. I have a habit of packing everything that'll fit into the GTI and moving more than I would like.



Quick stay with my parents up in PA and was able to install a GFB DV+. Honestly didn't notice a huge difference but if it is able to hold more boost that thats fine by me.



Moved out to Missouri, places I never thought I would end up in. Not a lot of euro stuff out here, mostly big diesel trucks. Oh well, trying to make the best of it. Oh well, at least I’ve got a car port now ha.



Popped 2 codes and first real issues that the GTI has given me. Trying to do a little troubleshooting and hoping to solve them without spending $200 on O2 sensors, I had no idea they were that much money.
 
Last edited:

zef

Drag Racing Champion
Check out Blend Mount. They make a cleaner mounting solution than suction cups. Mounts to the rear view mirror. Is that an Escort detector?
 

pdan

Ready to race!
Check out Blend Mount. They make a cleaner mounting solution than suction cups. Mounts to the rear view mirror. Is that an Escort detector?



I have before, they look great. And it’s a whistler cr90. Not the greatest, but it’s worked fairly well for me so far. Definitely paid for itself. The false alerts are the most annoying thing about it, but I’ve gotten used to being able to tell what’s real and what’s not.


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pdan

Ready to race!
Well, clutch has finally started slipping. So im starting to look at options. Considering SB stage 2 endurance or stage 3. Plan on eventually going ko4.
However the only problem is that I just moved to Kirksville, MO aka 1,000 miles from nowhere.

I called what seemed to be a reputable shop in town and asked them if they’ve worked on euro stuff, since everyone drives American stuff here. Their response: “Well oh yeah I’ve worked on a VW or 2 before”......not exactly confidence inspiring. Before I start looking at driving to Kansas City or St. Louis is a clutch on the GTI something that should really be done by a European shop or is it a pretty general and straight forward install?

I would love to install it myself, however I have neither the knowledge nor space to do it.


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Roadrunner_GTI

Drag Racing Champion
Well, clutch has finally started slipping. So im starting to look at options. Considering SB stage 2 endurance or stage 3. Plan on eventually going ko4.
However the only problem is that I just moved to Kirksville, MO aka 1,000 miles from nowhere.

I called what seemed to be a reputable shop in town and asked them if they’ve worked on euro stuff, since everyone drives American stuff here. Their response: “Well oh yeah I’ve worked on a VW or 2 before”......not exactly confidence inspiring. Before I start looking at driving to Kansas City or St. Louis is a clutch on the GTI something that should really be done by a European shop or is it a pretty general and straight forward install?

I would love to install it myself, however I have neither the knowledge nor space to do it.


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I wouldn't trust a shop that doesn't routinely work on Euro vehicles. It's a big enough job to take to a reputable Euro Indy shop, so you can get it done right the first time.
 

pdan

Ready to race!
Yeah I really would like someone who knows what they’re doing to install it, plus I want to have some other seals and potentially other stuff installed while the car is in bits for preventative mx. Planning on the rear main seal, axle seals, and all of the bolts that should be replaced.

Working on compiling a list right now, I don’t think the southbend kits come with all the necessary bolts that need replacing. Also if anyone knows of a reputable shop I should check out in either Kansas City or St. Louis let me know.


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pdan

Ready to race!
Well called a few shops that work on Euro vehicles in Columbia, MO as it is a shorter drive for me. Most seemed around $1000, except for one that had it at $500, however I’m not sure I trust the shop. Probably going to go with a shop that does aftermarket tunes and has worked on VWs for years, guy seemed pretty genuine. It was the most expensive at $1120, but I’d rather not worry about the quality of the install and will happily pay a little extra.
Also decided on southbend stage 3 daily as I figure it’s probably better to build way ahead of what my plans for the car are just so I don’t have to worry about it down the road. Also still putting together a list of stuff to replace while I’m in there. Can’t wait to get the clutch in and retune for stage 2.


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pdan

Ready to race!
Clutch replacement is finally scheduled. Ended up going with a euro shop in Colombia, MO. Makes me feel a little better that they’re used to dealing with this kind of stuff. Ordered a Southbend stage 2 daily through them, after reading more it seems like it should be fine for potential ko4 and the organic disk makes it more similar to OEM.
Not the cheapest by a long shot, quoted about $2,000 for everything. But I’ll have some peace of mind I guess. Hoping they can get it done in 1 day so I don’t have to spend the night in a hotel.


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pdan

Ready to race!
New clutch is finally in and it feels good. Well stiff, really stiff is what it feels like ha. Got it taken care of by a shop down in Columbia, great service and they are a nice group of VW guys. Definitely different then stock, but I’m starting to get used to it over the past few days. The weight lost from stock is also a nice treat.


So obviously Ive been told not to launch it or dump the clutch until is pretty much broken in, but it’s hard to drive like a civilized person for the next 500 miles or so. Trying to get a nice small but even wear out of it with lots of shifting and see how it’ll hold up when broken in. Looking forward to a new tune from Stratified as well to take advantage of it. Hoping that it I get a tune about the time the clutch is good to go.


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pdan

Ready to race!
Clutch feels much better, nearly OEM now. Or I’m just used to it, either way it feels great. Still in the break in phase so diving nice and gentle, haven’t gotten to really drive it hard yet. Waiting another 200 or so miles until I get to. But new tunes arrived from Stratified that include the upgraded clutch hardware so I can’t wait to flash them and see how the car performs. In the meantime bought a lip and unibrace and installed them last week or so. I think I’m going to repaint the front lip, for now it’s just rattle can white.




Also bought a Microcan cable finally....now I just need a cheap windows laptop....



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pdan

Ready to race!
Also had noticed oil dripping from the trans and spots wear I park, and started to get really worried because I had them replace the rear main seal as a preventative measure when the clutch went in. Well, drove 1 1/2 hours back for them to say yeah....it’s probably the rear main seal leaking. Pretty frustrating.

They had offered an aftermarket replacement with their warranty for the seal even though I had brought an OEM one, and I figured it would probably be best just to go with OEM, so I had them install that one. After talking with them today, they said if it was installation error they will cover the cost of replacement, but if it was error on the part I brought in, it would cost me. I asked them how would the part have an error, and they said if it was a previous revision. Pretty sure I bought the newest revision so hopefully I should be good.

Bringing it back next week, now have to get a hotel for the night so they can make sure it seals overnight.....not great.


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riceburner

Autocross Champion
nice updates and car! kinda miss when i was 'in the zone' like you going through everything :)
 

pdan

Ready to race!
Thanks, and yeah I’m loving the whole process. Wish it wasn’t so much of a money pit but hey, life’s short.


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pdan

Ready to race!
Finally got my rear main seal replaced again, it leaked 2 quarts of oil in 5 days, yikes. But the shop covered the labor which was great. Clutch is broken in, and I finally can flash my new Stratified stage 2 tunes and see what I’ve been missing out on since I’ve had a downpipe. Pretty excited about it.


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pdan

Ready to race!
Wow I’m really bad at updating and keeping track, even with this being my only social media. Anyway, not too much has happened recently. Trying not to drive the GTI as much this winter to hopefully save it from salt and all kinds of crap. Also been away from home for work about half the winter so far.
Clutch is still great, pretty broken in at this point I think. Had some issues because the shop that put the clutch in and had to redo the rear main seal didn’t button everything up when they finished so I had to go hunting for leaks. Found a couple, and everything seems to be working correctly since then.



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