GOLFMK8
GOLFMK7
GOLFMK6
GOLFMKV

DIY GTI (1.8t Tsi)

Gro Harlem

Ready to race!
Location
Gambrills, MD
Awesome car and mod list! Similar to what I'm doing with my GSW but I'm not as far as you yet :(

How have your wobble bolts been holding out for ya? I'm thinking of getting an aftermarket set of 18's for my GSW with hub-centric rings in 5x114.3 so I can also bolt them onto my 2015 WRX but was worried the wobble bolts would come loose or have issues of some kind. You experienced any problems In the time you've used them?
 

murtaza911

Ready to race!
Location
Ontario Canada
Do you plan to get this turbo balanced before installation? I'd suggest it. Many people have gotten IS38's balanced before installing on their GTI, to find they were a wide margin out of what should be considered "within acceptable range" of variance for a from-the-factory part. It basically seems that the QC on the turbos is the reason they fail, not due to an inherent design flaw. Probably worth the ~$150 to get it balanced, for peace of mind/reliability etc.

Probably not. I wasn't planning on doing IS20 now, so don't have the budget. I'm hoping for the best at this point. I don't really push the car hard very often so I'm hoping it'll be fine.

Awesome car and mod list! Similar to what I'm doing with my GSW but I'm not as far as you yet :(

How have your wobble bolts been holding out for ya? I'm thinking of getting an aftermarket set of 18's for my GSW with hub-centric rings in 5x114.3 so I can also bolt them onto my 2015 WRX but was worried the wobble bolts would come loose or have issues of some kind. You experienced any problems In the time you've used them?

Thanks! no issues with the wobble bolts yet. I've been running them for maybe 10,000 km. Never came loose or anything like that.
But be careful with them, you need to loosen and torque them down by hand. either I, or a shop stripped the bolts and my hub when using an impact gun. I was lucky and able to repair the threads on the hub and just ordered a couple new bolts for the damaged ones. Lesson learned though.


Edit:

Also installed the ebay intake I bought yesterday. The car makes more sucking noises. Glad I only paid 70 bucks or I'd be a bit more regretful :). It was also a real pain to get on because of the boomba BOV spacer. It may or may not end up popping off one of these days :D.
 

murtaza911

Ready to race!
Location
Ontario Canada
Put my factory wheels back on. I sold my 18's. After dipping them, I just started to hate them A LOT. I suppose I could have peeled them back to silver, but I also regret cheapening out on tires. The tires had a lot of road noise and it ruined the driving experience for me.



I'll be picking up the gold Rotiform LSRs instead :D. I hope I don't regret the decision, it's a pretty expensive and unnecessary change.

I also ordered a downpipe from Aliexpress. We'll see how that fits when it gets here. It was cheap, and it's a simple piece of pipe. What could go wrong. :p.
Once the downpipe gets here I'll be installing that and turbo at the same time.
 

Bäsemödel

Go Kart Champion
Location
Lancaster PA
When I put my 15s back on for the winter it feels like a huge letdown... so much so that others comment "hey what happened to your wheels??"
 

murtaza911

Ready to race!
Location
Ontario Canada
The stock wheels are sooooo comfortable though! So soft and squishy, just driving through all the potholes now! ;).

Just ordered my new wheels, not sure when they'll be here. But now to hunt for tires! Anyone have any recommendations? I'm looking for something quiet, not a track tire.

So far my research has led me to the Falken FK-453. It seems to be a perfect balance of performance and comfort. All the reviews say they are really quiet.
 

murtaza911

Ready to race!
Location
Ontario Canada
My Downpipe from ali express came in today. I'll be getting it along with the turbo installed on Monday.



Unfortunately my JB4 is defective and won't connect to data cable, so I'll need to run on map1 until I get it replaced.
 

toledospeed

Go Kart Champion
Location
3rd rock
Awesome, are you doing the install by yourself?
 

murtaza911

Ready to race!
Location
Ontario Canada
No, I'm taking it to a local shop to do. I've done a turbo install on other cars, and I always end up breaking things. Don't have the patience to deal with the down time. I'll just pay someone and be done with it :D
 

toledospeed

Go Kart Champion
Location
3rd rock
No, I'm taking it to a local shop to do. I've done a turbo install on other cars, and I always end up breaking things. Don't have the patience to deal with the down time. I'll just pay someone and be done with it :D

Cool, nice that they will allow you to supply your own used turbo and DP. I was going to have a very reputable shop do mine, but they wanted me to buy all the parts from them new so they could "stand behind the work". If it was just the $500 for labor, I would have gladly let them do it. But they wanted $3000 to install a new turbo, APR DP, o2 spacer, gaskets etc. So, I bit the bone and ended up doing the job for a third of the cost. Good luck with the project, you will like the IS20!
 

murtaza911

Ready to race!
Location
Ontario Canada
Yikes! I know the guy who runs the shop, so no worries there. Hoping it doesn't end up costing me too much. Especially since I know I could have done it my self if I reeeeealy wanted ;).

Oh well.
 

murtaza911

Ready to race!
Location
Ontario Canada
Finally got the turbo and downpipe installed!
It's raining really hard today so I can't really test too much. But it does feel a bit quicker already. I'm only running JB4 map 1 until my replacement JB4 comes in (defective, cant connect with data cable).
But much smoother acceleration, and I can chirp the (stock) tires in 3rd ;).

As for the Aliexpress downpipe. Not a fan of it. It's a bit too noisy, and smelly (catless). Shop said it also hits the heat shield on steering rack, so they had to bend the shield a bit. But with enough engine movement it will still hit and make sound. So not the best fitment I guess.
It's quiet in neutral and below 2500 though, so that's good. Not 100% sure if I'll be keeping it or going back to the stock GTI downpipe.
 

toledospeed

Go Kart Champion
Location
3rd rock
Congrats! Another one down.
 

murtaza911

Ready to race!
Location
Ontario Canada
Thanks! I'm looking for the weather to get better and for the replacement JB4 so I can dial it in more and get the best results :).
 

murtaza911

Ready to race!
Location
Ontario Canada
Got bored decided to wrap my mirror caps. They turned out ok. They curves were really hard to work around. There are a few creases but you can't see them until you get close.





Next I'm going to remove the plastidip on my grill and badges then use vinyl to wrap the chrome strip on the grill glossy black:).
 
Top