Candy White Golf GTI Ed. 30 - 8th track day at Estoril

[Shoduchi]

Great shoot!  2 beautifull vdubs! 

Thanks mate! How is your upgrade going? Still waiting for parts to arrive or you have news?

[fazi123]

I usually hate these golfs in Silver! But damnnn - yours looks amazing!

Oh and the candy white one - we all know how stunning they are! 

[Shoduchi]

I usually hate these golfs in Silver! But damnnn - yours looks amazing!

Oh and the candy white one - we all know how stunning they are! 

Thanks fazi123! I'd love to own that silver but it's from a friend. My wife's Golf is less modded and not so good looking.

[rex]

Had a small photo shoot session with a friend and his highly modified GTD. He has the proper camera and skills to make our cars look so good.































 

Some great photos worthy of the next years calendar. 
It is going to be hard to pick only 3 

[Shoduchi]

Some great photos worthy of the next years calendar. 
It is going to be hard to pick only 3 

Thanks buddy! I was forgetting about that. This year with the track day photos and my friend's photos I have nice photos to apply. 

[Shoduchi]

Picked up the Eddy from my mechanic today.

Got these bits fitted:
-TyrolSport deadset rigid front subframe collar kit (TSDSKVW)
-TyrolSport deadset rigid rear subframe collar kit (TSDSKVWR)
-ECS Tuning billet aluminium oil filter housing kit 2.0T
-ECS Tuning magnetic sump plug
-SuperPro adjustable ball joints (TRC0003)

Had the oil changed, the front calipers spacers were customized to increase the gap between the calipers and the wheel spokes and had a more track oriented wheel alignment done (not full track because the tyres wouldn't last much when daily driving).

The SuperPro adjustable ball joints are much bigger than the OEM parts so after being fitted they were pressing the dust shields against the brake discs. My mechanic had to cut them twice and had to cut the dust shields as well to prevent them from rubbing (especially on hard turns).

Loved the quality of the ECS Tuning oil filter housing and sump plug but he didn't like the copper washers for the sump plug. He advised me to always use an OEM steel washer.

Loved the quality of the TyrolSport deadset subframe collar kits (especially the front kit). He had to disconnect the front anti-roll bar to be able to fit all the bits in their places, though. The rear subframe was shifted to the right, most likely due to the track day abuse.

The 200 miles return trip was done just on highway so I still didn't have the chance to do some proper hard turns with the new setup.

Really pleased with the sound of the engine idle. It's so quiet! And my mechanic was surprised that after 2500 miles there was no oil consumption.

I'm waiting to receive the best pictures of the work done from my mechanic . Will post them later.

[RBS]

Let's get this bomb out of the dust here!
How's the dead rigid collar kit working?
Do you Feel the difference in stifnes?
 

[wazza16]

White is awsome...

[slimjimvw]

White is awsome...

This 

[Shoduchi]

Let's get this bomb out of the dust here!
How's the dead rigid collar kit working?
Do you Feel the difference in stifnes?
 

You're right buddy! An update is due for some time now!

The dead rigid collar kits give an extra stiffness indeed. I'm liking it. But the true test will be when I take the car next time to align the wheels after a track day.

[Shoduchi]

White is awsome...

Thank you!

[Shoduchi]

White is awsome...

This 

[Shoduchi]

So after having those last parts fitted I had some problems with the car that I've been dealing with.

Had to replace the outer left CV boot that had a small cut. Unlucky since I was at the time 300 miles away from my mechanic that recently changed parts in that area... Got the kit from VW and booked for another local mechanic who replaced the boot.

Finally had time to solve a problem with the AC. Three or so months ago I noticed the low gas pressure error on VCDS. Since it wasn't that hot then I let it be. Well, when finally Summer temperatures came they weren't like last year. It's been really hot during whole weeks recently (38-42ºC) in the countryside.

First tried to recharge the AC system. It was completely empty... Passed the vacuum test and hold the correct pressure but then the compressor didn't want to kick in. Damn! Now I knew I had to replace the compressor.

The condenser had some stone damages but using the leak detector no leak was seen. To be on the safe side I decided to replace the condenser with the compressor.

Ordered the parts and talked with my friend who fitted the gadgets in my car. He's one of the few that I know that retrofitted the Climatronic to his mk5 Golf with manual AC.

Took the car to his house, we replaced the compressor and fitted the new condenser that for both our surprise it was silver!? I wasn't expecting that! The part number of my original condenser is 1K0820411Q, that unfortunately was discontinued by VW. The replacement part number is 1K0820411AH that can be silver or black when searching online (ECS Tuning sells it silver, for example). I decided to continue with the silver condenser since I needed the AC to work. I could always get a black condenser later...

Went to recharge the gas and the compressor didn't start again! Due to lack of time I went back home and a week later I could see a low gas pressure again in the AC with VCDS. I still had a leak in the system...

Searched more online about the problem and decided to replace the gas pressure sensor and fit a new black condenser.

Got the parts and then went back to my friends house. He started troubleshooting the system and found that the control pressure valve of the new compressor was faulty. That we weren't expecting too!

We also saw that the gas pressure sensor was leaking oil from the electric contacts so the leak must been from there (at least I hope so). Got it replaced with a new version and also replaced the compressor belt with a new one.

I decided to get a new valve since sending back the compressor for warranty would make me lose more time and money. Since we needed to take out the front of the car to fit the valve in the compressor I went back home by train. This was in a Saturday.

Fortunately in the next Monday I could order a new control valve from a specialized shop in AC and my friend got it in the next morning by delivery. He then got all the bits fitted back together, went to recharge the system and all worked well. So at the end of the day I went to his home and picked up the car.

I also asked him to fit a new DSG gear lever frame from a mk6 R that doesn't have the rubber touch that's easily damaged. Now it's like new!

Now some pictures of the work done:










New valve from Jintan (Japanese company) in the right:


Almost done:


Recharging the gas:



Yesterday I received a new pair of Philips X-treme Vision LED 360º W5W T10 6000K to replace a LED in the front dome that was blinking after being on for a while. These give a bit softer light and look great since they're white and not yellow (the SMD that is, not the light they give). Still need to see how they are at night.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/112049938135


I'll need to remove the SuperPro ball joints since my mechanic couldn't make them fit with my brake discs without rubbing on hard cornering. Since those are going out I've ordered new caliper adaptors that should be better than just the bolts: https://www.epytec.de/3788/vw-golf-5-6-gti-a3-s3-8p-seat-leon-cayenne-zr18-bremssatteladapter-r32-bremssattel-vorderachse

That's it for now!

[Shoduchi]

The LED from Philips are approved! They're as bright as the ones from deAutoKey that I had fitted in the dome, but since they have that white plastic bulb the light is a bit softer on the eyes.

[Wolf Burger]

Just spent the last hour reading this in detail. 

Fantastic car.