Sandman GTI MK7 PP DCC Lighting Pkg - The Journey begins!

paulkromz said:

zipties and cardboard with rubber as insulation? why the heck would you order that?

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Big hockey pucks.

Or expensive cardboard with extra packaging.

Sandman GTI said:

Big hockey pucks.

Or expensive cardboard with extra packaging.

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Same here when I ordered my two sets of alloys, 8 big boxes...how much did that lot cost??...err mumble mumble........I'm selling the factory ones, see so that wipes out the cost of one of the sets....cough lie cough...

Maybe I ought to take up stamp collecting as the packages are so small.....

Wheels and Tires Go Round and Round!

After my pot hole damage I decided to go ahead and get a second set of wheels/tires. The OE Austin was repaired and I have a new tire, so the new set will be used for summer and in late September I will change back to Winter and the AS tires. Even before I received my GTI I liked the VMR V710 Bright Silver. Then they came out with the V710 FF but only in 19".
Over the last year I also fell in live with the Pretoria wheel, but the forged wheel is very expensive. It is sold as an aftermarket copy for much less but is likely not a great tire and is for looks only.
At the end of February I was ready to order a set of V710. Had the cost and was ready to order come the first of the week. I had the price set for RE11 tires from a nearby Firestone dealer. Then over the weekend, while trying to decide if I go 18" or 19" I came across the "OZ Leggera HLT" wheel. It looks much like the Pretoria with thin spokes but when looked at from the side the spokes have depth and strength. They only come in one color but I like it. I had found the wheel. No just which size? Two things impacted the decision. The recent pot hole damage steered me from a larger wheel. There is also a cost jump between 18 and 19 for both wheels and tires. Affording is not the issue, but I could not justify spending that much on a second set of wheels/tires for my GTI. So on March 1st I had a chat with Tirerack and by the end of it had ordered the wheels and RE11's.
I could get the RE11's cheaper thru Firestone but the cost and time to go have mounted made Tirerack's offer hard to pass up. I placed the order on March 1st and received the set on April 6th. The wheels were delayed a few times. Last week I unboxed them, waxed the wheels and trimmed the flash "whiskers". This weekend I installed and took a few pictures.

Rims - 18" X 8" - OZ Leggera HLT
Tires - RE11 Bridgestone. 235/40R18
Overall a 5lb reduction per wheel location. See scale pictures.

They are tough!
I will add some driving comments later when time.

I might have picture rotation issues. Thought I had this solved but set them up for desk top viewing.
Might be off on a phone.
Sorry!



The RE-11 is a summer tire but the lugs remind me of what snow tires used to be like
when I was young and lived in Wisconsin.


The angle might affect this shot and make the new wheel look larger.
I am standing down by the new wheel in this shot.
I need to measure the outer edge diameter as the new wheel looks larger in all pictures but both are 18's.


Wow! 225 to 235 looks like a much bigger jump.
This is on a gravel driveway so not perfectly flat but still a big change.
I can not imagine 245.
I just need to take the 19" off my wife's Tucson in the background.
They look like the VW OE wheels.


The PP brakes look so good behind these wheels.
You can now see all of them.



Half way! Jacked up in the rear to start the back.


OE Wheel and Tire - Bridgestone RE97A - This is the new tire from pot hole damage - little wear.
From Forum Info OE wheel by itself is 25lbs.
Total Weight Below.


New OZ wheels and Bridgestone RE11 (RE-11 tire alone is 2 pounds heavier than the RE97A - 10mm wider wheel)
So imagine how light the wheels are! OZ Leggera HLT wheels - 18.6lbs - 18" X 8"
Total Weight Below.


Bridgestone RE-11 High Performance Summer Tire - 235/40R18

Reserve!

I like. Thought about black bolts? The steel sorta sticks out like a sore thumb.

Sandman GTI said:

Went to town this morning on way to Walmart for wife.
Missed my turn, so came around back thru another stores parking lot.
On the way back in this other lot I noticed and older F150 coming my way with a very wobbly front wheel. It was not bent as the movement was too much.
I could not get the persons attention when I passed him so as in my favorite Korean GTI commercial (posted in my thread), I shifted to sport manual and made it back around the lot and was now behind the truck in question. At the stop sign he was clear so entered a main road and stopped at the red light at our largest intersection in town. I was behind and know it is not safe to get out of the car at a red light and especially this one. But, the direction he was headed leads out of town and to a 55mph zone. Very soon his wheel was coming off, so I shifted to Park, set parking brake and got out. He knew I was coming and rolled the window down. I told him about the wheel but he spoke little English and I spoke little Spanish. He was a gentleman in his late 50s early 60's and even with the language issue he understood my gestures and asked if it was on driver side. I said no the other side. I said, very bad, pull over and drive slow. He left and drove slow and pulled in at Lowes. I had to go thru the light now and turned back thru the back side of Lowes. I wanted to make sure he knew what to check so pulled up next to him. I understood his English "Very Bad"! When I rolled my window down and he started to tell me in Spanish what I think was about someone doing work on his wheel as he pointed in that direction. I looked down and noticed 2 studs with no nuts and the other 3 were very loose as I could see threads behind each as the nuts now did not touch the wheel. I asked if he needed help. He thanked me and said OK.
My wife thinks I will get in trouble one day following people when I see a safety issue but most people will not help. As I followed him thru the parking lot slowly, 3 people walking noticed the wheel as he drove by but did not signal or yell at him. It is good to help as in this case his wheel was going to come off.

So if you see something wrong, help them out.
I know I would want someone to track me down and help.

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You are a good man Sandman. Cheers

Diggs24 said:

I like. Thought about black bolts? The steel sorta sticks out like a sore thumb.

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I will look into it.
I still want to get wheels locks.
I purchased some but the diameter of the socket key is larger than the OZ bolt hole. The hole opening only allows a socket no larger than 25mm diameter. I told the wheel lock company about this and they said it would work. (Heard that before)
OZ sends an adapter to use for install.
They are sort of like wheel locks as any standard socket or lug wrench can not remove.
In the sun they do not stand out as much.
But now you mentioned it, so it will bug me. Thanks.

Very nice wheels. Good choice going with a 235. The re11 is a nice tire, I almost went with a set. Let us know how they feel.

Sent from my SM-G925W8 using Tapatalk

lower it

Maxton Designs Hatch Spoiler.

I wanted a hatch spoiler for my GTI so went an extensive test and search.
Conducted some wind tunnel testing with other VW cars.
Talked to NASCAR Teams and finally decided on the best type for me.


I ordered the black gloss version of the Maxton Hatch spoiler from BFI. There was a longer wait time for gloss as they do not carry it in stock like the matt finish. Why did I get gloss? I do not like gloss black on the outside of a car but the GTI has the hatch winglets, antenna, sunroof and B pillars. So to install matt black did not seem like it would fit so I added another gloss black piece.
I like that the spoiler is not big.
I like that it is not CF, as my CF mirror covers are having issues after only 1 year.

The ends look a little out of place, but If I wrap the roof with gloss black, the spoiler will fit in better.

View attachment 9145

Shaved!

Slowly I am becoming a VW GTI owner.
After 1 year with my GTI I shaved the front quarter panel badges off.
Why? There are 6 places on the car that catch my wash mitt.
The front GTI badge needs special care. The rear GTI badge is better, but still needs an easy hand. The leading edge of the front quarter panels over the lights can only be washed in one direction and the pointed end of the front panel badges catches my mitt every time.
Not anymore. This weekend I shaved and cleaned then off. Looks very nice. Takes some time and Opps to remove what is left. Maybe 20min total.
Hint - buy quality dental floss. I had cheap and had to work slowly as it is not durable.

Now I have to lower the car.
I have even thought how it would be nice to have a roof top cargo carrier. What is wrong with me?

Sandman GTI said:

Hint - buy quality dental floss. I had cheap and had to work slowly as it is not durable.

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Monofilament (fishing) line is great for this. Y'now, if you ever put them back on and want to take them off again..or something..

Tone said:

Monofilament (fishing) line is great for this. Y'now, if you ever put them back on and want to take them off again..or something..

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I thought about that but did not have a low weight line. I did not want to go to thick and risk the fishing line rubbing the paint. But, you are good on the suggestion. Dental floss works, just have to go slow. Also wear gloves with both fishing line and dental floss.
Thanks!

Nice spoiler you've get there. The glossy black is indeed one of the best match on the white and with the other small glossed parts you listed.

I would have keep the sides emblem though, but I don't have any to wash on mine so...^^

Thibault China said:

Nice spoiler you've get there. The glossy black is indeed one of the best match on the white and with the other small glossed parts you listed.

I would have keep the sides emblem though, but I don't have any to wash on mine so...^^

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The other reason I removed was the fact with the PP package you have a GTI logo on the front brakes also. So with a total of 6 GTI badges, I thought too many.
Not wanting to look like a Shelby Mustang.