Yianni's GT Sport TDI

[golfmeup]

Nice work mate!
Those wheels should look a treat!

[Creampuff]

Great work mate, impressive read.

[Hiken]

Thank you guys! Hope to do some more stuff soon!

[Hiken]

Been a while:

So it's been a while since I last updated this thread. I ended up having a bit of a bingle and the whole front mask was replaced, meaning the annoying Euro plate holder was put back on (stock).
The wheels which I finished in satin black were unfortunately scratched while in storage, so I had to go through repeating the whole paint process (sand, sand, sand, sand, sand). At least it gave me some time to save for a good set of tyres. I ended up going with Bridgestone Adrenalin R003s, and was fortunate enough to grab them when Bob Jane had a buy 3 get 4 sale! Went with stock size 225/40/18 although in hindsight should have gone 235 as I look at the back and the tyres are so skinny

Another thing which wasn't really happy with was the finish on this car. Since I bought it, the finish has been plagued with hard water spots and swirls all over the United Grey paintwork. I have been spending quite a bit of time researching about polishing and paint correction, so I decided to try it myself and bought a Rockwell DA polisher on sale from Supercheap Auto, along with the Meguiar's Ultimate Kit (Ultimate Compound, Polish and Wax), as well as Shine Mate Black Diamond pads from waxit.com.au (I do need a smaller backing plate). I must say the finish is vastly improved, however being VW clear coat (notoriously hard) not all the swirls were removed. It looks like I'll have to buy a couple of harsher cutting pads (most likely will go to microfibre) and maybe even a harsher cutting compound. The process I followed to correct the paint was: Foam Wash, Wash (2 bucket method), Clay Bar decontamination, Cut (Ultimate Compound - SM Black Diamond Blue pad), Polish (Ultimate Polish - SM Black Diamond Orange Pad), Wash again to remove all polish oils and residue before wax, Wax (Ultimate Wax, applied by hand). Unfortunately I don't have many pictures of the process, but here are the results:

Overall, the car has been good, due for a service in a few thousand k's as well as a DSG service. I have purchased a VCDS cable in the meantime and am trying to sort out the remaining gremlins:
- CAN Bus incorrectly coded (I'll be making a separate thread on this)
- Heated seats are out (circuit is open somewhere, been like this since I bought the car)
- Headliner is sagging everywhere, coming out (Separate thread)
- Flatbottom steering wheel is worn and needs re-furb (may get away with just redye)
- Brake service soon (caliper paint time muahaha)
- Euro front lip, GTI rear roof spoiler (possible last mods)
Here's what the car looks like currently, after a month without washing and sitting out in rain, dust, etc:

Finally, check out my latest project. I am rebuilding the brake calipers for my old man's Mercedes E55 AMG. Fun fact: the front disc size for this car is unique (only 3 other cars wear same size discs) measuring at 334mm x 32mm. A cool $700 each . We finished them in Royal Blue, and I freehanded the AMG logo (cast in the caliper) with some touch up paint I had laying around and an old paint brush. Came up alright!

[MK5_GTSport]

Hey Man! Car looks dope!

[MK5_GTSport]

Dude have you lowered it?

[Hiken]

Dude have you lowered it?

Hey mate, the car is still stock mechanically.
I don't really plan on any performance upgrades, as it's a diesel and there's not much potential. Besides I also put a lot of kilometres on it. Nearly at 140k now..