ironicbadger
Ready to race!
- Location
- Raleigh NC
- Car(s)
- 19 MK7.5 R EQT Stg1
Inspired by @DerHase I wanted to get a journal thread going. This is my 6th Golf and my 4th MK7!
Over the years I've owned a 1999 MK4 1.6 Petrol (in the UK), a 2011 TDi 2.0 dieselgate, a 2015 MK7 GTi from new (in the UK). Then I sold that, emigrated to the US and bought a 2016 GTi which was stage2 APR tuned (Carmax sold it that way!) and got a shock as to how much VW USA limit features vs Euro models. I finally achieved nirvana and purchased a brand new 2019 Golf R before covid but I had to sell it for various reasons.
Last year an opportunity presented itself to acquire another one and with the MK8 interior being what it is, I elected to buy the exact same car over again. A 2019 Golf R in Lapiz Blue - this one came from Tampa and had 5700 miles on the clock when I took ownership in May 2022. I flew down from Raleigh to Tampa to pick it up and came home via the Tail of the Dragon, Blue Ridge Parkway and the North Georgia mountains and was reunited with an old friend.
My goal for ownership is to keep the miles relatively lowish but still drive and enjoy the car on the weekends. I'm lucky enough to WFH so no daily commute and have other vehicles I can use for daily chores. I also want to learn about how to do the maintenance and any upgrades myself. My plans are modest and mostly focused around an OEM+ type mindset looking at improving handling and mildly increasing power, rather than stance type stuff. A reliable HDPE weapon, you might say.
First year
In the first year I've mostly stuck to those goals. I ended up getting an offer from a buddy I couldn't refuse on an accessport so I flashed an EQT stage 1 93 off the shelf tune at around 7500 miles in October. Typical cliche line "this is how it should have come from the factory" applies. I swapped the spark plugs to one step colder plugs as per the EQT recommendations. Fighting the ignition coil clips was a "fun" learning experience but I got it done.
I'm a bit of a nerd with detailing and elected to do PPF on the front bumper, headlights and B pillars with a ceramic coat on the rest of the car. Absolutely love washing this thing, it cleans up so easily with CC and some snow foam.
I've fastidiously kept up with my oil changes at about 4000 mile intervals (thanks FCP) and learned how to do them myself.
I installed a radar detector with a blendmount and mirror tap. In the process I broke all the plastic clips on the trim and had to go to VW to get that repaired. Oops. Living in the Tampa sun probably did the car no favors there plus, I'm not the most patient with plastic clips in VW interiors!
I went for a Thinkware U1000 dashcam and ran the rear camera wires along the headliner (behind the airbags in the A pillar). I designed and 3d printed a rear camera bracket which needs no adhesive. In the process of running the cables through the hatch lid I broke a clip on the cable boots and now it leaks when I wash the car or it rains really hard - luckily the car lives indoors.
The interior of the car is a little quiet and I really miss the plaid seats from the GTi so I replaced the shift boot and shift knob with a Euroverse Designs GTE blue plaid boot and a BFI golf ball shifter as a nod to the cars heritage.
The final cosmetic change I made were Euro tails with dynamic sweep and killallwipers rear wiper delete. I had some significant back and forth on the harness with @ZERO815 but in the end he got me sorted out and even though I never get to see them myself, I get a warm fuzzy feeling knowing I have amber indicators which in my opinion are the only safe option. I always thought rear wiper deletes were dumb but living in NC, it's a total non issue and I love the look (and ease of cleaning!).
To cap off the end of the first year of ownership I got to take my R and my mk4 R32 (golf #7) to Wookies in April. These cars are just bits of metal and stuff to some, but to me they are so much more than that. I have some HDPEs coming up in the R throughout 2023 (just did my first at VIR with TSCC) and want to learn about the limits of this car and myself - I've never once come close to the limit of this car on the street imho. It just isn't safe to do so!
Over the years I've owned a 1999 MK4 1.6 Petrol (in the UK), a 2011 TDi 2.0 dieselgate, a 2015 MK7 GTi from new (in the UK). Then I sold that, emigrated to the US and bought a 2016 GTi which was stage2 APR tuned (Carmax sold it that way!) and got a shock as to how much VW USA limit features vs Euro models. I finally achieved nirvana and purchased a brand new 2019 Golf R before covid but I had to sell it for various reasons.
Last year an opportunity presented itself to acquire another one and with the MK8 interior being what it is, I elected to buy the exact same car over again. A 2019 Golf R in Lapiz Blue - this one came from Tampa and had 5700 miles on the clock when I took ownership in May 2022. I flew down from Raleigh to Tampa to pick it up and came home via the Tail of the Dragon, Blue Ridge Parkway and the North Georgia mountains and was reunited with an old friend.
My goal for ownership is to keep the miles relatively lowish but still drive and enjoy the car on the weekends. I'm lucky enough to WFH so no daily commute and have other vehicles I can use for daily chores. I also want to learn about how to do the maintenance and any upgrades myself. My plans are modest and mostly focused around an OEM+ type mindset looking at improving handling and mildly increasing power, rather than stance type stuff. A reliable HDPE weapon, you might say.
First year
In the first year I've mostly stuck to those goals. I ended up getting an offer from a buddy I couldn't refuse on an accessport so I flashed an EQT stage 1 93 off the shelf tune at around 7500 miles in October. Typical cliche line "this is how it should have come from the factory" applies. I swapped the spark plugs to one step colder plugs as per the EQT recommendations. Fighting the ignition coil clips was a "fun" learning experience but I got it done.
I'm a bit of a nerd with detailing and elected to do PPF on the front bumper, headlights and B pillars with a ceramic coat on the rest of the car. Absolutely love washing this thing, it cleans up so easily with CC and some snow foam.
I've fastidiously kept up with my oil changes at about 4000 mile intervals (thanks FCP) and learned how to do them myself.
I installed a radar detector with a blendmount and mirror tap. In the process I broke all the plastic clips on the trim and had to go to VW to get that repaired. Oops. Living in the Tampa sun probably did the car no favors there plus, I'm not the most patient with plastic clips in VW interiors!
I went for a Thinkware U1000 dashcam and ran the rear camera wires along the headliner (behind the airbags in the A pillar). I designed and 3d printed a rear camera bracket which needs no adhesive. In the process of running the cables through the hatch lid I broke a clip on the cable boots and now it leaks when I wash the car or it rains really hard - luckily the car lives indoors.
The interior of the car is a little quiet and I really miss the plaid seats from the GTi so I replaced the shift boot and shift knob with a Euroverse Designs GTE blue plaid boot and a BFI golf ball shifter as a nod to the cars heritage.
The final cosmetic change I made were Euro tails with dynamic sweep and killallwipers rear wiper delete. I had some significant back and forth on the harness with @ZERO815 but in the end he got me sorted out and even though I never get to see them myself, I get a warm fuzzy feeling knowing I have amber indicators which in my opinion are the only safe option. I always thought rear wiper deletes were dumb but living in NC, it's a total non issue and I love the look (and ease of cleaning!).
To cap off the end of the first year of ownership I got to take my R and my mk4 R32 (golf #7) to Wookies in April. These cars are just bits of metal and stuff to some, but to me they are so much more than that. I have some HDPEs coming up in the R throughout 2023 (just did my first at VIR with TSCC) and want to learn about the limits of this car and myself - I've never once come close to the limit of this car on the street imho. It just isn't safe to do so!
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