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2017 CSG GTI Sport - "Grey Poupon"

carchrism5

Go Kart Champion
Location
CT
Car(s)
GTI
So after owning my car for a few months and doing a few things to it I felt there was enough to start a build thread. The car is a 2017 DSG GTI Sport that I bought at the end of January. I got my first VW in college, had a MKV R32 that I regretted selling. I went through a few other cars, favorite being the BMW 1M and E34 M5, but ended up wanting the practicality of the hatchback, quality of VW community, affordability of the aftermarket and bought the GTI Sport. I looked at the car on a whim, drove past the VW dealer and stopped to see the Golf R but it is just not worth the cost to me, I always liked the GTI but could never do FWD but the salesman insisted on letting me take a real test drive around the backroads to see what the new diff could do and I was beyond impressed. I bought a GTI less than a week later. I will do my best to update the progress as the build continues.

Day One


Current:



Engine:
ECU dyno tuned by eTuners.gr (currently making 335whp,355wtq on 93)
IS38 balanced by Revolution Turbo
Unitronic downpipe
Billy Boat cat back exhaust
034 Motorsports turbo muffler delete (not installed yet)
Denso IKH24 spark plugs
USP carbon fiber tear duct intake
034 Motorsports carbon fiber fuse cover
Baun Performance front mount intercooler

Transmission/Drivetrain:
Custom TCU tune by eTuners.gr
034 Motorsports upper and lower dogbone inserts
034 Motorsports engine and transmission mounts

Suspension/Brakes
OEM TT-RS Brembo 4 Piston BBK refinished in red with custom "Volkswagen" etching and 370mm 2 piece rotors
StopTech Street Performance Pads
Stainless front and rear brake lines
H&R Street Performance Plus coilovers with built in camber plates
ST front and rear sway bars
Whiteline front sway bar end links
SuperPro rear sway bar end links

Wheels:
Konig Rennform 18x9 et45 wheels with Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 235/40/18 (42 Draft Designs 5mm front and 8mm rear spacers)
Konig Ampliform 18x8.5 et43 wheels with Bridgestone Blizzak LM25 225/40/18 (42 Draft Designs 8mm front and 10mm rear spacers)
034 Motorsports stud kit

Exterior:
Euro MK7.5 LED tail lights with dynamic blinkers
Dynamic smoked mirror mounted turn signals
Urotuning carbon fiber mirror caps
Aerofabb rear spoiler extension
Aerofabb front splitter
Power folding mirrors w/ aspherical mirrors
Suntek Carbon 25% window tint

Interior:
UroTuning custom gray and red carbon fiber steering wheel with flat top and bottom
DSG paddle extensions
Premium DeutschCarbon carbon fiber door panel handles, a pillars, center dash, vents and cluster
Safety Restore red seat belts (all factory belts and mechanisms removed, sent out and rebuilt with red)
 
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carchrism5

Go Kart Champion
Location
CT
Car(s)
GTI
Windows were tinted to 25% with Suntek Carbon and I added 18x8 BBS SR Wheels with 235/40/18 Firestone Firehawk Indy 500. The Bilstein PSS10/B16s suspension was also put on.

Additionally I ordered ST Suspensions front and rear sway bars and Whiteline end links. I quickly found out the front sway links were a weak point on a lowered car.


 
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carchrism5

Go Kart Champion
Location
CT
Car(s)
GTI

Bought a foam cannon to use with my pressure washer and did a little clay and waxing. I'm far from a professional but the paint looks decent now.

And go to the track (Lime Rock)

 
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russiankid

Drag Race Newbie
Location
PA
Car looks good, but you got rid of the E34 M5? That is one of the cars I wish to own/restore in the future, plus the sound of an S38 is amazing. I had an E34 525i with a manual swap back in college, loved that boat.
 

carchrism5

Go Kart Champion
Location
CT
Car(s)
GTI
Car looks good, but you got rid of the E34 M5? That is one of the cars I wish to own/restore in the future, plus the sound of an S38 is amazing. I had an E34 525i with a manual swap back in college, loved that boat.

I did sell my E34 M5 earlier this year, after I bought the GTI, I also currently have an E34 525 5spd. Great cars for sure. I had my fun in the M5 but decided it was time to let it go because it started to sit.
 

russiankid

Drag Race Newbie
Location
PA
I did sell my E34 M5 earlier this year, after I bought the GTI, I also currently have an E34 525 5spd. Great cars for sure. I had my fun in the M5 but decided it was time to let it go because it started to sit.

Makes sense, they need to be driven. GTI is more fun since it doesn't weight as much.
 

carchrism5

Go Kart Champion
Location
CT
Car(s)
GTI
Picked up a few new things recently and updated the first post. ST Sway Bars with end links, Billy Boat Exhaust, Unitronic DP and TT-RS brakes.

 
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carchrism5

Go Kart Champion
Location
CT
Car(s)
GTI
UPDATE:
I had the sway bars and end links installed, got ride of the clunks the came up after the coils went on and I took it to the track. Between the sways and the end links the car feels so much more planted. Going into corners the turn in is greatly improved and the way the rear rotates is too, really follows behind the car rather than feeling like it is being dragged. The car is also able to stay flatter through some high speed highway sweeping turns. Overall very pleased and would recommend them.

Also got the much anticipated eTuners tune. I know not too many people are running it on here because people either go for APR/Uni or COBB with a slightly better than OTS tune. But I must say the eTuners tune is AMAZING and I'm not sure why more people aren't running it. It is a true custom tune, the tuner takes a base file then has a custom tune made, they log the the car, analyze the logs and then send an updated file. I was able to get even more power, it is incredibly smooth and knowing the logs were run and analyzed to ensure it wasn't pulling timing or any other problems I feel much better about it. The car is undoubtedly faster, now spinning tires through multiple gears and really transforms the car. The accompanying DSG TCU tune also provides nice, snappy shifts and makes going through the gears even more fun. I will be getting this on a dyno soon to run stock vs Stage 1 and then have my DP installed and Stage 2.

Install of the DP
 
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AR11

Ready to race!
Location
CA
Are you suggesting that the aftermarket links eliminated the clunking noise or was that noise fixed by something else? Just wanted to clarify for my own understanding as it seems that usually aftermarket links CAUSE clunking (spherical bearings, etc).
 

carchrism5

Go Kart Champion
Location
CT
Car(s)
GTI
Are you suggesting that the aftermarket links eliminated the clunking noise or was that noise fixed by something else? Just wanted to clarify for my own understanding as it seems that usually aftermarket links CAUSE clunking (spherical bearings, etc).

The aftermarket links did reduce the clunking noises. After a track session with the car rather low the sounds from the suspension became somewhat annoying. People have mixed experiences with the end links based on how low they are and how they drive.

That being said I specifically did not do spherical bearings because those do increase noise. People find increased noise with those in the rear, like the Neuspeed rear links for example. The SuperPro rears use a polyurethane insert instead. I highly recommend the SuperPro.

Great mods list thus far! I love the wheels and the stance. You chose the right suspension for sure!

Thanks, I absolutely love the suspension, I recently raised the front a little and adjusted it to soften up because I was going on a few weekend trips and with it set to a softer setting it was extremely comfortable, even better than stock.
 

carchrism5

Go Kart Champion
Location
CT
Car(s)
GTI
I also bought another set of wheels. Konig Rennforms in 18x9 that are under 20lbs. Will likely be running these next year.
 
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