My other German fling: Mk6 GTI

[CDR20]

You're going all out on this thing..

[Lucas_R]

You're going all out on this thing..

Thought we may as well spend a few grand straight away on it and get it looking good and fix up a few things on it. They are a bit boring in stock form

[Lucas_R]

VMR wheels and tyres have arrived. Couldn't get the Goodyear tyres in the end (the tyre shop only had 2 left) so i got Michelin Pilot Sport's instead.

ECU arrived back from DNA Tuning. Stage 2 . Time to get some boost (and hopefully some turbo noise) into this thing. It was an anti tune ECU, so it had to be bench flashed.

Also just ordered the Unitronic intake. Its coming from America-land so it will take a few weeks to get here.






18 x 8 ET50 VMR's have arrived:






And more dirty vs clean pics:

[Dutch77]

VMR wheels and tyres have arrived. Couldn't get the Goodyear tyres in the end (the tyre shop only had 2 left) so i got Michelin Pilot Sport's instead.

...

18 x 8 ET50 VMR's

They look sweet, looking forward to the fitted pics. Didn't know the VMRs now came in a x8 ET50 fitment which is a lot friendlier than the x8.5 ET45 or so that was on offer when I was looking. Damn, now I've got ideas again down the track when I get bored with the stock Austins..

Incidentally do you work or have any other hobbies..

[brad]

Nice wheels. I subscribe to the less is better theoru when it comes to spokes as well.

[Lucas_R]

Needs some 25-30mm springs pronto - but really happy with the new rims. SPM springs (28mm drop) on order from DubAddiction, which should sort out the gap between the tyres and the guards.





Well it's been both a very busy and expensive week. Wow.

The new wheels look great but the car desperately needs a bit of a drop in ride height. So looks like ill be doing a spring install next week - luckily i anticipated this and purchased the strut spreader tool from ECS Tuning about a month ago.

I did some research on the SPM springs and there is good feedback both locally and from USA. So i thought id give them a try - and they are red....which of course match the car

Brakes have been bedded in and i am enjoying the reduced brake dust and less touchy initial brake pedal feel.

But whats been putting a grin on my face the past few days is the new found power, torque and turbo noise - courtesy of the tune that DNA Tuning flashed onto my ECU this week. Even though the car is running the stock intake (for now - new intake on order) and a modified OEM dump pipe (removed top cat), there is a significant increase in power/torque throughout the rev range. Pull's consistently up to 6,000rpm now. Wifey is loving the power and she gave it the boot a few times over the weekend

And you can actually hear the turbo and DV now, whereas prior to the tune you wouldn't even know the car was a turbo.

[BLN355]

Truck stance!!!

Haha looks great mate. I love your style with getting ish done. No messing around here

Have you got any vids up on the Tube yet?

[Lucas_R]

Na mate - no vids of anything yet. The suspension has settled a wee bit over the past few days (car had been up on stands for a week just before those pics were taken) so its not quite so bad anymore. New springs should be here this week so it will look better in no time

Will wait for springs before i get an alignment done and then new pics with improved stance.

Yeah we decided to just do everything in one go and then enjoy the car with it running well and looking good. A bone stock GTI does very little for me. At least now it goes better and looks a bit better.

I'll get a down pipe at some stage later in the year, but for now the modded OEM dump pipe will suffice. But that will be about it from a performance point of view - otherwise it will be wheel spin city. Got to remember this is wifey's car, so it needs to be girl friendly. She is super happy with the new power after the tune - so no need for much more than that.

[Lucas_R]

SPM lowered springs arrived yesterday. Looks like installing them will be my job on Saturday morning.

Rear springs are a sinch, fronts are a bit of a bugger. I've got the proper strut spreader tool this time, so should be faster/easier than when i did the springs on my R.

[brad]

I made a strut spreader - ground flats on a 6mm shafted bolt. Worked surprisingly well

[Lucas_R]

I made a strut spreader - ground flats on a 6mm shafted bolt. Worked surprisingly well

Yes - i did a similar thing last time (used a 7mm alley key and ground it down). It worked, but was a bit awkward - so i figured id be best off to buy the right tool.

[Dutch77]

Be interested to hear your thoughts once the springs are in as to ride quality. Haven't seen much on the SPM range and I don't think was an option when I went the VWR route.

I did get rub on some cambered corners at speed on the fronts, never got around to attempting a fix prior to selling.

[Lucas_R]

The springs have only been available for about a year or so, so they were most likely not available when you were looking for your car.

Im hoping the 28mm drop wont be enough to have rubbing issues in the front - but there is a screw (one of the many screws that secures the plastic inner guard lining) that you can remove which gives more clearance. Removing this screw is quite a common 'mod' on MK5 and MK6 Golf's to give a little extra clearance.

Feedback on the SPM springs is somewhat limited, but positive - so i thought it give them a try. If by chance im not happy with them, ill sell them and go with the H&R springs. I've spoken to a few people here in Australia that have the SPM springs and they have said they ride nicely - so fingers crossed. A bit of info and pics here.

Be interested to hear your thoughts once the springs are in as to ride quality. Haven't seen much on the SPM range and I don't think was an option when I went the VWR route.

I did get rub on some cambered corners at speed on the fronts, never got around to attempting a fix prior to selling.

[Lucas_R]

Installed the SPM springs on Saturday. They ride really well and have reduced some of the factory sloppiness in the steering and handling. Got these from DubAddiction and they were delivered within a few days. There’s not a lot of info/pics/feedback on these springs around, so I thought I would give them a try.

Even with the correct tools (proper strut spreader), i still maintain that the front suspension on these European cars is a bastard to remove/re-install. Jap cars are so much more straight forward (better and more simple design on the front struts).

No doubt the springs will settle another 5mm or so over the next few weeks, but the pics below show the before, during and after installation. The ‘after’ shots were taken only a few hours after installation.

My only slight negative comment is that I wish the rear sat a little lower (1cm or so) but the springs will settle over the next few weeks. Otherwise, the subtle drop has made the car look better, while still retaining a useable ride height and level of comfort.


Stock springs front and rear:






Front SPM springs compared to stock:




Front SPM springs installed onto OEM shocks:




Rear SPM springs compared to stock:




Rear springs installed onto OEM shocks:






New ride height front and rear with SPM springs:






How the car is sitting straight after SPM springs were installed:

[Lucas_R]

Also picked up a GFB DV+ and another carbon fiber shroud for the air filter that i will make work with the Unitronic intake. Also looking for either new black wheel bolts or some new black covers for the stock bolts.