StuF presents Candy White 3 Door GTI

[StuF]

No tips really buddy, I just cleaned my wheels, covered the tyres and cracked on in the garage. I would jack your car up and do two wheels one day, let them dry over night and do the other two the day after.

Honestly it's easy stuff to use and very forgiving - wish I was brave enough to go for a more lairy colour scheme!

[lukemk5gti]

No tips really buddy, I just cleaned my wheels, covered the tyres and cracked on in the garage. I would jack your car up and do two wheels one day, let them dry over night and do the other two the day after.

Honestly it's easy stuff to use and very forgiving - wish I was brave enough to go for a more lairy colour scheme!

A new plastidip shop opened near me so I went in to get some smoke spray to do my rear lights and got chatting to the owner.

He told me a girl called in with a beat up old clio with steel wheels and bought neon green and neon pink spray.
She sprayed her steel wheels neon pink and the hub caps neon green and went on her merry way 

He did actually have one useful tip. He told me the guys doing the Cannonball run came in with their flash cars and bought cans of the clear plastidip. They sprayed their bonnets to prevent stone chips and when they finished they just peeled it off. Good idea!

[StuF]

Small update - today I decided to finish fitting the upgraded xenon bulbs
I bought a pair of Osram D2S Xenarc 4300k from eBay to replace the standard Philips items.

The drivers side bulb was replaced no bother however I couldn't get the passenger side unit to unclip so I read up and decided to remove the whole light unit.

Was pretty straightforward and all sorted now. Hoping for an improved light output now.
Here are a couple of pics





All washed and clean now! Winter is not the best time to have a white car.

[marticroft]

Hi Stuf,
          Think the gti is looking the dogs m8. Had you fitted the eibach sport line springs when you posted the photos under the list of mods? I have recently bought a 56 reg black gti but needs dropping and thought the drop on yours looked the exact look I was after. Are the springs fitted to standard shocks and would you say the ride height is good for everyday use ... Including speed bumps and petrol four court gulleys? Is the ride bearable or too crashy?
Cheers for any advice in advance
Marticroft 

[StuF]

Hi buddy,
Thanks for the kind words - the pics on page 3 show the golf after the Eibach springs were fitted, the ones on the first page show the car on the standard springs
After around 2k miles on the springs which are fitted to the standard shocks the ride is still brilliant - no appreciable difference from stock to be honest, however it handles like its on rails.
Have several speed bumps on my way to work which it takes with ease, its my daily so gets driven in all weathers/conditions and I cant fault the springs.

Will be tipping over to 170,000 miles in the near future and feels tight as a drum!
 

[jedi-knight83]

How has the bulb upgrade worked. Much better? I never thought about upgrading the xenon bulbs tbh. Is it worth it. Never felt the oem ones needed it but interested to see the difference now.


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[StuF]

How has the bulb upgrade worked. Much better? I never thought about upgrading the xenon bulbs tbh. Is it worth it. Never felt the oem ones needed it but interested to see the difference now.


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I have noticed the difference - have driven a few 100 miles in poor weather since installing the fresh xenon bulbs, the light output feels crisper and more defined with a brighter whiter light than before. My old philips bulbs were ok but had seen many many hours of use so wanted to get a fresh set in.

[GrayMK5GTI]

Hi buddy,
Thanks for the kind words - the pics on page 3 show the golf after the Eibach springs were fitted, the ones on the first page show the car on the standard springs
After around 2k miles on the springs which are fitted to the standard shocks the ride is still brilliant - no appreciable difference from stock to be honest, however it handles like its on rails.
Have several speed bumps on my way to work which it takes with ease, its my daily so gets driven in all weathers/conditions and I cant fault the springs.

Will be tipping over to 170,000 miles in the near future and feels tight as a drum!
 

Great to see she's still running strong Stu!

Please get her over 200,000 miles

[StuF]

Hi buddy,
Thanks for the kind words - the pics on page 3 show the golf after the Eibach springs were fitted, the ones on the first page show the car on the standard springs
After around 2k miles on the springs which are fitted to the standard shocks the ride is still brilliant - no appreciable difference from stock to be honest, however it handles like its on rails.
Have several speed bumps on my way to work which it takes with ease, its my daily so gets driven in all weathers/conditions and I cant fault the springs.

Will be tipping over to 170,000 miles in the near future and feels tight as a drum!
 

Great to see she's still running strong Stu!

Please get her over 200,000 miles

Haha - thats the plan, 200k+ on (mostly) original parts!
I know it is still running happily on its factory DMF, Clutch, Dampers, Wheels,Intercooler and so on!
Did nearly 500 miles last week without using a mm of oil although the same cannot be said for windscreen washer fluid!

Was planning performance mods however am moving towards improving the tunes/satnav to a RNS including reverse camera and updated climate panel
Feel the 200bhp is adequate at the moment although maybe thats my age! Turning 37 this year!

[GrayMK5GTI]

Sounds like a great plan, the problem with performance mods. . . You keep wanting more  :
 

If she's not burning oil, that engine is probably about as worn as an engine with half the miles on 

Would be interesting to see how she performs on a Dyno run 

[StuF]

Dyno run could be interesting - wonder how many horses have departed the stable over the last 170,000 miles 

I recently remembered I had a set of standard lights buried away at the back of my garage so dug them out and decided to see if I could do a reasonable job on converting them into ED30/R32 rears.
We are saving hard for our 10 year wedding anni trip to Sri Lanka so cant go spending £150+ on a real set 
Off to eBay I went and purchased some cheap tinting spray - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/351198040901?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
Retrieved my old lights from the depths of the garage, cleaned them then masked them up ready for a play



I managed to blag a couple of hours free at work today to do a bit of painting, so two light coats of the tint were applied over 2/3 hours, didnt want to go too dark and at the end of the day I finished with two further applications of clear gloss effect lacquer.

End results can be seen below



Standard lights for difference



Comparison shot



Decided not to take the mickey at work and install them there - got home and swapped them over, only took 20 mins
Half done for comparison sakes again



Both



Was loosing the light at this point but you can see the overall effect





I thought after fitting them I should check if the bulbs still work after 3 years in a box!





I am quite pleased with the effect although I dont know how long the tint will last - but hey if it looks pants after a while I can refit my standard lights and have another go! 
Also the wifelet is happy as I have done it without spending much cash!

[MarkyN]

 

Looks spot on that mate

[lukemk5gti]

I was going to do the exact same so I tried it out with smoke plasti dip on a spare light and it turned out great.

I didn't follow through because I questioned its durability. Would that paint coating hold up to stone chips and constant washing I wonder.

What clear lacquer did you use? Did you just lacquer the sprayed bit or did you do the whole light?

[StuF]

Not sure how durable it will be to be honest but wouldn't be a massive chore if it lasts a couple of months and then reapply.
I just used a clear lacquer - like this sort of stuff

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Car-Clear-Lacquer-Spray-500ml-Quality-Clear-Coat-Gloss-PROFESSIONAL-QUALITY-/251651860862?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3a979ea97e

I applied it over the whole light once I had removed the masking tape, let me have a uniform finish across the lens.
For the cost of doing it I don't mind if it gets a bit worn - even the plasticoated wheels are doing fine with not a single issue so far, in particular I have had a tyre removed and refitted without damaging the finish!

So to sum up the whole process was -
Clean lenses with soapy water and dry
Mask of centre areas with tape
Spray light coats of tint to achieve desired colour +2hrs between coats (probably less in summer)
Remove masking tape
Two light coats of clear lacquer across whole lens surface +2hrs between each
Check finish and install

[Shoduchi]

Well done, sir! It looks just like new from the factory and they're a great addition to the rear of your GTI.