Reflex Silver Golf GT Sport .:R-Line 1.9 TDI - 200k km reached

[Shoduchi]

Just ordered a LED reverse light, a pair of LED parking city lights and 2 pairs of 3D LED door warning lights from Boldsport.

Still waiting for the pair of mirror LED puddle light housings ordered from aliexpress.com 2 weeks ago, since they're a bit cheaper there.

[Shoduchi]

Btw, still not sold on the LED interior lighting as most people are (for what I observe).

[Shoduchi]

Went to the Post Office to pick up the LED side mirror puddle lights sent by Aliexpress and fitted them. Another very easy mod.

When I fitted the LED it was still daytime so no photo atm. Will take one later.

[Shoduchi]

Took a picture of the new Full LED wing mirror puddle lights. In this example they're literally puddle lights:


It has been raining a lot these last days...

[Shoduchi]

Had a dyno run yesterday:


It's still tweakable to decrease smoke in the higher rpm. Maybe it can make a bit more power too.

Future planned brake upgrades:

• Rear brake discs: DBA 2811S of 253 mm
• Rear brake pads: Ferodo DS Performance FDS1083/Ferodo Premier FDB4183 of 52,9 mm
• Front brake discs: DBA 42808S of 345 mm
• Front brake pads: Ferodo DS Performance FDS1765 of 72,9 mm

Cheers

[Shoduchi]

Update:
-MOT passed with no issues.
-Replaced the factory battery with a new one because I was noticing some difficulties starting the engine when it was hot. Fitted a Tudor Technica TB740 74Ah 680A. I've still not yet needed to start the engine hot to test the new battery though, since it can also be an issue due to the engine starter needing a refurb.
-Yesterday I received the LED from Bold Sport. Had no trouble with the reverse light and the 3D door warning lights. The sidelights were a completely different matter. The left one I eventually got it out using the index finger from the right hand and the thumb from the left hand. Due to the air box I couldn't use a pliers easily. Took me about 30 min. fighting with that light... Then I went for the other. WHAT A PITA to get it out! Released the diesel filter to have more room to work with, tried everything I could but eventually a neighbour appeared and tried. Failed so he called another neighbour with a longer pliers and after a while he managed to remove the d@mn light! It was stuck really hard. Just for that lamp I think it took 1h30.

Well, here's the outcome of the new LED fitted. The pics are crappy because they were taken with a cellphone:

Sidelights 6000K:


Sidelights 6000K +  puddle lights:


Reverse light 6000K:



Door warning lights:


With this I end the illumination chapter. Really pleased with the result.

Cheers

[Shoduchi]

Just an update on what I want to do this year still:
-Chrome windows and fuel door buttons
-GTI rear sway bar and bushes
-SuperPro ALK with "Supaloy" brackets
-Subframe bolts and shims (N90823501 and 7M3499349A), since I think I've heard a clunk
-Remap adjustment to produce less smoke in WOT
-Driver's side rear door without ashtray
-Rear doors rubber inserts (1K486814571N and 1K486814671N)

 

[Shoduchi]

Finally fitted the rest of the mk6 brushed metal switches (windows, wing mirrors and fuel door).

Tomorrow if all goes as planned I'll get this fitted:
-GTI rear sway bar and bushes



I thought about getting a RARB from Whiteline but after talking with a few GTI owners friends I've decided to keep an OEM setup so I won't increase the (current low) NVH. If later I still think I need to improve my Golf's handling I'll get the purple Powerflex bushes.

-SuperPro ALK with "Supaloy" brackets


-Subframe bolts and shims (N90823501 and 7M3499349A)



I'm going to keep my rear ashtray since the person interested in it bailed out.


Ordered a cherry red hazard switch and a generic adjustable short shifter for VAG 6 speed models from ebay. Next year I'll order the 42 Draft Designs shifter bushing set and see if I can improve my shifting with this setup.


PS: My list of future mods keeps increasing even though I keep doing mods to my Golf.

[Shoduchi]

Also, turned off the cold diagnostics of my LED lights (sidelights, rear lights, backup light and license plate) with VCDS, to prevent shortening of their life (at least the sidelights and rear lights flickered during a cold start).

Source: http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?6026926-Installed-deAutoKey.com-LED-Interior-License-Plate-lights-vCDS-coding-changed&p=81668713

I'd like to mention that 99% of the time our LED will work fine without turning off Cold Diagnostics, however we recommend you turn these off anyway because it prolongs the life of the LED.

The reason why is that Cold Diagnostics on a VW sends pulses of high volts to your lights to check if they are working, these high volts kill the lifespan of your LED and in some cases causes them to flicker when you turn on your car.

Again, great write up.

[Shoduchi]

New material fitted today!

SuperPro ALK with "Supaloy" brackets:



Subframe bolts and shims (N90823501 and 7M3499349A):



GTI rear sway bar and bushes:



It's raining a lot here so after this was fitted I only went for a short drive. So far I'm pleased with the handling improvement and I didn't notice any difference related to NVH.

[Shoduchi]

Tonight these guys had to suspend their game in a nearby town...





They'll continue the match tomorrow with less water hopefully.

[rex]

Very, very nice progress  .
Why did you decide to change only the rear sway bar (BTW... is the GTI one different to the original one)? Why not buy a ARB kit (it will really improve the handling)?

[Shoduchi]

Very, very nice progress  .
Why did you decide to change only the rear sway bar (BTW... is the GTI one different to the original one)? Why not buy a ARB kit (it will really improve the handling)?

Thank rex!

Looking at the VAG codes on the label of my trunk I saw that I had the same front sway bar as the GTI, just the rear was thinner (20,7 mm x 2,8 mm). I asked some friends for opinions and some GTI owners were happy with just adding some Powerflex bushes to the RARB, but also said the NVH increased.

At the moment my ride is quite comfortable and I like it that way. Since I'm not thinking of doing track days I thought why not upgrade the rear bar with a thicker OEM bar with rubber bushes? Aftermarket ARB kits also have PU bushes so they should increase the NVH to the same level has the Powerflex bushes do.

Today I had the chance to try better the new setup (no rain today) and I'm very pleased! The SALK is great and I have no harshness going through roads with pot holes. :)

[Shoduchi]

First piece of the shifter mod arrived this week:


Loving what the SALK has done to the front axis.

[rex]

Very nice! Is your car 5 speed or 6 speed?
Where did you buy it from? I only found short shifts for 2.0 TFSI gearbox and nothing for other gearboxes.