dchoi's 2017 NBM GTI SE

Hi all, I like to keep journals for my own records, but hopefully this will become a good way to connect with some other forum members as well.

My previous cars:
2001 MKIV GTI
2010 370z
2015 RC350 F Sport
2016 STI
2012 M3
2017 Tacoma
2017 STI
2017 GTI

Kind of funny that I started off with a GTI and ended up with another one, but I’m looking to put my days of swapping cars behind me and ride this one out til it dies. I wasn’t really looking to get out of the STI the day I went to the dealer. I actually went in looking for a Golf R, but there’s no dealerships within 50 miles of where I live that has one in stock, since they’re clearing inventory for the 2018’s. I saw a row of GTI’s, and saw that they were marking them down a good amount. Test drove one, and ended up working numbers. Got this 2017 Night Blue Metallic SE for $6k off sticker.

I’m pretty disappointed that the dealership had drilled license plate holes in the bumper, so I’ll be looking for some sort of solution to that. Most likely going to DIY some bumper plugs painted body color.
As for other plans for the car, I have a set of 18x8.5 +45 RSE10’s in hyper black sitting in my garage, as well as a set of 235/40/18 Bridgestone S04’s. I’m forcing myself to take it slow with the modding so I don’t end up getting bored.

Current Parts List:
AWE touring catback
CTS Turbo catted downpipe
Unitronic Stage 2 ECU
S2T paddle shifters
Bilstein PSS Coilovers
Titan 7 T-S5 Satin Titanium 18x8.5 +44
Bridgestone S04 235/40/18
15% tint

Future Mods (No set timeframe):
Euro LED tails
Some sort of closed intake (cheapest decent one I can find used)
Unitronic Intercooler
BFI leather DSG shift knob
Neuspeed rear sway bar
Tar-Ox BBK

Anyways, I’ll keep this thread as up to date as possible, and I’m excited to see where this goes!

I ended up getting a set of Bilstein PSS (B14) coilovers, which were installed yesterday at Metric Autosport in Huntington Beach. Also finally threw on my RSE10's and S04's which had been sitting in the garage for almost a month.













I had initially planned on getting the PSS10's, but I had Ohlins on my M3 and AST's on my STI, and I messed with the adjustment probably once on each car. I didn't see the PSS10's as worth double the price for my needs.

Initial impressions are that the PSS are def stiffer than stock, but actually seem to ride better than stock on smooth/normal roads. You don't really feel the "stiffness" until you hit a decent sized bump. And even at that point, I wouldn't say it's anything particularly jarring. Of all the cars I've owned that had coilovers (370z, both STI's and the M3), I'd say that this setup is the second most comfortable, after my M3 with Ohlins. So nothing to complain about on my end especially given the cost. I will need to do the fender screw mod at some point, as my front tires rub ever so slightly on bigger dips.

I've taken a few loopy on ramps aggressively, and a few sweepers, and I still want more grip out of this car, as well as a bit more power. I'll probably end up addressing the power issue by going stage 2 in a month or two. Ordered an AWE touring catback during their black friday sale. Should take anywhere from 3-6 weeks til I get it, and I'll be pairing it with a CTS turbo catted DP.

Small update. Ordered a pair of S2T paddles to replace the crappy plastic stock ones. Hopefully I'll get them before the year ends. Still waiting on a tracking number for my exhaust though...3 weeks, 2 days and counting.

Looking good man! Yeah the fender screw mod really helps out a lot. I used to rub with my spacers on dips, not anymore though.

Derushi said:

Looking good man! Yeah the fender screw mod really helps out a lot. I used to rub with my spacers on dips, not anymore though.

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thanks! I've been constantly checking the front tires, and I don't see the tires getting chewed up or anything, so I feel like the rubbing is very minimal. Hopefully taking off the fender screws solves the issue. I really like the height I'm at now and I don't want to have to raise the car...

Small update:

My AWE touring catback came in last week. As did my S2T B3 paddle shifters I got off the group buy. Planning to install these with a friend this weekend. I doubt the exhaust will make too much of a difference, but I will get a downpipe in the coming months so hopefully that will get me the exhaust tone I want.

I also ordered some Cquartz to try and apply by myself. I've done a decent amount of detailing on my previous cars, but I've always done wax/sealant. Interested to see how cquartz holds up. Autogeek had a 25% off sale so I figured why not.

Pics to come this weekend!

Few updates from the long weekend.

1. AWE Touring exhaust installed. Install itself was super easy, until I got to the tips. The inner diameter of the tips were too big for the pipe, and the clamp did not crimp the tips enough for it to hold. I ended up having to go to a muffler shop to get the tips welded on. It's a shame because the exhaust itself is very nice, but this is the dumbest thing I've ever encountered on an exhaust install. I tightened the tips a LOT and it still wouldn't hold. For comparison, my Akrapovic exhaust on my m3 had quad clamp on tips and they were all super easy to fit and adjust. Overall, I'm happy with the end product. Deeper sound than stock, but maybe like 10-15% louder.

2. Full paint correction, detail, and Cquartz.

I did this over the course of 2 days. The steps and products used are as follows:

1. Rinse off the car
2. Decontaminate with Carpro Iron-X
3. Wash using 2 bucket method and some dish soap to strip off existing wax
4. Clay with Nanoskin Autoglide sponge and clay luber
5. Rinse
6. Dry with clean waffle weave towels
7. Polish using Meguiars M105 polish (took out most of the small scratches)
8. Clean/Prep using Carpro Eraser to get all of the polish residue off the car
9. Apply Cquartz to entire car, let sit for 1 hour to cure in between coats
10. Apply Reload 1 hour after the final coat of Cquartz. Let cure for 24 hrs, and bake in sun if possible.

I'm pretty happy with the results. I think I could've spent a little more time with the paint correction, but it's good enough for me to be satisfied with it for the time being.



3. New year's day canyon run with some friends. A buddy of mine just picked up his NBM GTI 6mt last Friday, so we went out and did a hard break in through the canyons. I definitely need some stickier tires as I broke these S04's loose around a few hairpins. A big brake kit might be in order as well. Super fun day, and was able to stop for some pie as well.

Very nice car and cool build so far. Keep it up!

Looks Good Man, good colour choice

Rafiki76 said:

Very nice car and cool build so far. Keep it up!

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Thank you!

Steven31327 said:

Looks Good Man, good colour choice

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Thanks! I really wanted carbon steel gray, but NBM is much more unique around here.

dchoi said:

Thank you!



Thanks! I really wanted carbon steel gray, but NBM is much more unique around here.

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When I was originally looking I also wanted carbon grey but then I saw the blue and was like yes, I hadn't seen a GTI in that colour before by me, turns heads and had a few comments from people saying they didnt know the colour existed lol

I had nothing planned for the day, so I drove up to Orange County to get a CTS downpipe installed. Brian at Metric was super accommodating as usual, and knocked out the install in just over an hour. He was able to fix a slight clunking of my exhaust against one of the braces as well.

I did not get a tune today as I'm still deciding between Unitronic and GIAC, but leaning towards doing the Uni stage 2 plus the DSG tune as well. That will probably go on next month as I don't have time til then to get back up there. I'll just be running with the CEL on until then, but the car already feels much faster.

I was running errands so I wasn't able to get many photos of the install...but here's the end of it.

One of my best friends also lives in Irvine so he was able to come with me to hang out.

On the hunt for some new wheels. While I really like how the RSe10's look on the car, I feel like they are too common, and I want to get something a little more unique. I've had Volks on all my previous cars, but the Mk7 offsets are pretty weak, so the only Volk wheel even in consideration is a set of G25's. Also looking into some BBS RI-A's and potentially a set of Titan7's.

I'm also getting a lot of squeaking from the driver's side suspension. Can't really pinpoint if it's the front or the rear. When I had the suspension installed, it was fine, but the squeaking started once I jacked up the car myself to install the exhaust. Not sure if one something came loose or was disturbed at that time, but I'll have to get under there again to see what the deal is.

Just ordered a set of Titan 7 T-S5's. Will be picking them up Saturday. Probably won't go on the car for another week or so after that, because I'll be applying a couple coats of Cquartz. I hate washing wheels. Re-using my current Bridgestone S-04 til they die, and then it'll be most likely the RE71r.

Few updates from the past weekend.

1. Finally installed the S2T B3 paddle shifters. I didn't have pliers that were narrow enough to pull the pins out, so my friend lent me his. I'd say overall I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. I would like more of a mechanical "click", but that's nitpicking at this point.



2. Picked up my new wheels. Applying a couple of coats of cquartz before they go on next weekend. Super excited to see these on. I think the satin titanium will look really good against the night blue. Please excuse the mess. Just moved into our new condo and we are still cleaning up.



3. Stopped by Metric Autosport for my Unitronic stage 2 tune. Their new dyno was up and running so I was able to throw it on for a few runs. On stock tune with a turboback, the car made 223hp 283tq at the wheels. After loading the Unitronic tune, the car made 273whp/314wtq. This run was done with the hood closed. We ran the car again right afterwards, and the numbers dipped slightly. We can attribute this to heat soak, so I will be getting a Uitronic intercooler sooner rather than later. Along with intake and turbo inlet pipe, I'm hoping to get as close to 300/340 as possible. Overall, I'm extremely stoked with the tune. It pulls very hard and I'm spinning tire through 1st and 2nd gear. Can't wait to take this out to the canyons soon.