Recent content by koalb

A little heartbroken to discover some rust in both of the rear wheel wells when I was washing the car this weekend. I know this is not a unique issue based on searching the internet. Wondering what the best thing to do at this point. Would like to prevent it from getting any worse. What's the...

Thinking about having my stock Austin rims refinished vs. buying a new set. It sounds like you can save a few bucks that way. Anyone have experience with Twin Cities Wheel Repair or the similar places.

Damn modern treadwear technology! LOL Maybe if I thrash them around a bit more... But I'm excited to see... someday... how much better tires improve the driving dynamics. Can't say it's terrible even now. But I'm ignorant. I've got nothing to compare it with.

I've got a set of proper snows. Too cheapskate to toss away the OE Pirelli's with so much tread left on them.

That's totally normal for me. I'm usually between 215 - 230 in the warmer months. 205 - 215 in the colder months. Remember, this engine has a huge oil capacity for its displacement. Assuming that's in part to help dissipate heat.

Maybe I'm way off base, but 42 seems like pretty over-inflated to me. Doesn't the door sticker say 36? 38? (I'm not looking at it right now) and that's the cold temp reading. Getting the pressure right is the first thing I'd sort out.

Was poking around Tire Rack last night. See that Goodyear has a new UHP All-Season – the Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate? Will be curious to see how it scores in their customer rankings once they have enough data. And – does it prompt Michelin to re-work the A/S 3? I've always assumed that tires is...

Curious what owners in the upper Great Lakes region are running for Spring, Summer, Fall? I'd LOVE to replace the OEM tires with some high performance summer tires, but feeling like I need to stick with all season uhp for those dreaded transition months of March, April – Nov and Dec. Any advice?

Let me start off by saying that I've been searching the existing threads on this forum, and will continue to do so. So I've got 18" Austins on my GTI. Don't have strong feelings about them either way, but I have noticed them to be a little "delicate," or easily scratched in my opinion. I'm not...

I love the cockpit as-is on my 2016. Technology integration is nice. Carplay isn't perfect. But I'm an analog guy. I don't suspect I'm alone, especially when you consider 6MT is a popular configuration for GTI owners in the US. What does VW market research know that I don't?

So I haven't had to do anything to the engine, namely thermostat and water pump. Does that mean I might be lucky, or just living on borrowed time?

Ok, thanks for sharing all. To me, this kind of crowdsourced data is about as good of a take as you're going to get in terms of reliability, etc. In many ways, this thread may just be an informal version of the Consumer Reports reliability surveys. Anyone surprised by the poll results?

I should add that I'm intending to keep mine 100% stock for the foreseeable future. I'll let the next guy make all the mods he wants to.

I've got a 2016 with only 26k miles. I'm intending to drive it for a while, but I'm curious to hear how reliable your ride has been for you over the long term? Back in the day, I drove a Honda Civic for 150k, and other than wiper blades, tires, and one battery, I honestly don't recall ever...

I find print coverage to be too slow these days. By the time it gets printed in a magazine, it's been thoroughly addressed via YouTube, Twitter and the gear heads I follow on Instagram. Also – Top Gear – back in the day – opened my eyes to the fact that while there's certainly a place for the...