Building Otto

[Ezekiel81923]

Hello!

Long story long....

New to the GTI platform and new to VW's (and German's) in general. Not new to the hot hatch scene. Thought I'd start one of these to keep my thoughts in order, keep me honest, and open up my thought process and build plans to other thoughts and critiques. I picture a mild to moderate build compared to what a lot of people do but who knows, life is crazy. This is more for me I guess, but feel free to play along.

I didn't drive anything special growing up. First car was a '97 Ford Taurus that I put a loud exhaust on and drove the shit out of. Drove a Sebring convertible in college which was good for picking up girls but that's about it. Was heavy into the car audio thing back then, and I don't mean throwing 15's in the trunk and cranking the gain knob to 11, my shit sounded good and I got into custom fabrication a little bit later on.

For the last 9 years I drove a Mazdaspeed3. Loved that thing but it was time to move on. It was super reliable but very finicky when it came to modding and tuning. Did some mild power mods but was more focused on drivetrain mods and the driving experience. After 175k miles and a lot of self inflicted harm I figured it was not worth it to keep up with and managed to unload it and make decent coin. Did not think I would end up in a GTI afterwards but after I tried and ruled out several other options first, here we are! And I hope to finally do this one right.

Brought home a 2019 GTI S last week. 8k miles. I believe it was an executive lease for 10 months before I picked it up. Buddy is a finance manager at a dealer and he hooked it up. From a bells and whistles perspective it's not much different from my 2011 speed. I DO like that the GTI has a MAP sensor and not a MAF sensor. The Speed needed a tune if you looked at it funny but you can open up the airways on a GTI and it'll adapt on it's own. With that said, I will still get it tuned eventually. Big fan of the Cobb AP and a pro-tune, so much better than a canned tune or chip tune, which most every other option for the platform is. The guy that tuned my Speed oh so many years ago is still around and tunes VW's so I'll go back to him in due time.

When it comes to cars and modding, I suffer from a level of OCD that generally results in days or weeks of exhaustive research followed by analysis paralysis followed by a rapid succession of impulse buys to relieve the stress of not knowing what to do. My girlfriend is a HUGE fan of that last part. So far we're in phase 2, but my thoughts are as follows (in no particular order)...

Engine/Drivetrain:
Raceseng Slammer knob - Red -- Installed 9/10/20
Boomba short shift kit -- Installed 9/10/20
ECS Tuning Bleeder Block -- Installed 4/2/2023
PowerFlex Race Lower Engine Mount Hybrid Bushing -- Installed 1/30/21
Integrated Engineering Open CAI -- Installed 1/20/21
Integrated Engineering TIP -- Installed 1/20/21
Cobb AP -- Installed 7/8/21
EQT Tune -- Installed 7/8/21 (Stage 2 93)
NGK RS7 Pugs (91006) Gapped to .024" -- Installed 7/8/21
Baun Performance FMIC -- Installed 3/21/21
Trackslag 4" Catted Downpipe -- Installed 6/5/21
AWE Track Exhaust -- Installed 4/18/21
Ringer Racing Stage 4 Self Adjusting Clutch Kit -- Installed 3/9/23
Sachs DMF -- Installed 3/9/23
Sachs TOB -- Installed 3/9/23
iABED Rear Main Seal -- Not Installed
EQT Standard Vortex -- Purchased 3/20/2023
Discharge Pipe and TMD -- Purchased 3/20/2023
5Bar MAP / 4Bar PUT Sensors -- Purchased 3/20/2023
SC Skunkwerks RS3 LPFP
SC Skunkwerks Grounding Kit -- Purchased 4/18/2023
034Motorsports HPFP -- Purchased 3/20/2023
Fluidampr -- Installed 3/9/23
EQT Custom Tune -- Purchased 3/20/2023

Wheels/Tires/Suspension
H&R 26mm Rear Sway Bar -- Installed 2/27/21
Moog Rear Endlinks -- Installed 2/27/21
Stern Rear Subframe Brace -- Installed 3/10/2021
Eurosport Upper Front Stress Bar -- Installed 3/3/2021
Bilstein B8 Shocks/Struts -- Installed 4/8/2021
H&R Sport springs -- Installed 4/8/2021
Konig Rennforms 18x8 +45 -- Installed 4/9/2021
Federal 595 RS-R's 235/40/18 -- Installed 4/9/2021
42DD 57.1-66.56 Conversion Wheel Spacers (5mm front, 10mm rear) -- Installed 4/9/2021
Otis Inc LA 30mm and 40mm Tuner Lug Bolts (Zinc) -- Installed 4/9/2021


Interior
Car came with LED interior lighting which was pretty much all I did with the interior of the Speed over 9 years. I miss having a boost gauge so I may get a dash mounted or vent mounted boost gauge at some point. But the AP could also serve as a boost gauge too. Otherwise I tend to keep the interior relatively unmolested.

ODBEleven NextGen Pro Tweaks
Straight Ahead Brake Stabilization - Deactivated
Rough Road Optimization - Deactivated
Reduce Brake Assistance
Firmer Progressive Pedal
Hill-Start Assistant - Easy
XDS - Weak
Urban Joke Variation 1
Windows Up/Down with Fob
Unlocked All Multimedia Menu's While Driving
Gauge Sweep
Door Chime Deactivated
Seatbelt Chime Deactivated
DRLs and Fog Lights as Coming/Leaving Home
Factory Alarm
Soundaktor Off
Offroad Display

...probably a couple of others that I already forgot about

Exterior
20% window tint -- Installed 8/18/20
Aerofabb Front Splitter -- Installed 3/21/21
RennWagen Spoiler Extension -- Installed 2/27/21
Aerofabb Side Splitters -- Purchased 3/30/2023
Kill All Wipers Rear Wiper Delete -- Installed 3/10/23
Seibon Carbon Fiber Hood


I thought I was going to start with wheels and suspension but after a reputable tuning shop quoted me such a huge number I think I put that on the back burner for now. Was kind of a turn off and I'm not looking forward to doing it myself. Have also considered just getting a nice spring/strut combo and a flush kit but I like the idea of wider, lighter wheels.

There's logic and/or a reason for everything I listed but I'll spare the details in this post since this is getting really long. More than happy to discuss anything and everything below!

Stay tuned for regular, albeit probably not very frequent, updates from here!

 

[Ezekiel81923]

Oh - I did modify the car already...

Clutch pedal spring is gone and the soundaktor is unplugged.

Soundaktor was easy enough to unplug but I could not get in there to tape the wire harness to anything. It's gonna just have to live like that.

 

[bfury5]

+1 for the Motegi MR146 in 17x8.5, if you end up going that route

 

[Ezekiel81923]

+1 for the Motegi MR146 in 17x8.5, if you end up going that route

Still my first choice, especially when factoring in the cost savings over Rennforms.

Been trying to peruse classifieds for different options as well but there doesn't seem to be a convenient, central location for the world to sell their wheels. At least not one that I have found.

 

[bfury5]

Still my first choice, especially when factoring in the cost savings over Rennforms.

Been trying to peruse classifieds for different options as well but there doesn't seem to be a convenient, central location for the world to sell their wheels. At least not one that I have found.

For the price / weight, nothing is really close right now. And the benefit of running 17s over 18s for tire cost is pretty huge (at least in my case, tires I run are $70 cheaper in 17 compared to 18).

I always look for used wheels but unless they're local, it's usually cost prohibitive to ship them.

 

[Ezekiel81923]

For the price / weight, nothing is really close right now. And the benefit of running 17s over 18s for tire cost is pretty huge (at least in my case, tires I run are $70 cheaper in 17 compared to 18).

I always look for used wheels but unless they're local, it's usually cost prohibitive to ship them.

Tire Rack has a deal on Cooper Zeon RS3-S tires right now - whole package mounted and balanced would come out to $991 picked up.

Too big of a tire? Reviews seem good but not great.

 

[bfury5]

Tire Rack has a deal on Cooper Zeon RS3-S tires right now - whole package mounted and balanced would come out to $991 picked up.

Too big of a tire? Reviews seem good but not great.

Can't say I've heard of that tire. It probably falls into the lower-tier category of summer tires, good for what they are but the "you get what you pay for". You asked too big of a tire? Was there a size you had in mine for the 17x8.5 rim?

 

[Ezekiel81923]

I was just looking at the different options. There seem to be more tires available depending on what size I look at. Was looking at 235/40/17's and 235/45/17's and even 245/40/17's.

I'm set on Motegi's. Need to decide if I buy the MR146 in black or the Traklite 3's in bronze (which could be 3-4 months according to tire rack).

 

[PowerDemon]

Welcome to the forum. I would say skip the ECS bleeder block, save the $150, and just do the delay valve delete instead. At the end of the day they accomplish the same thing, unless you want the bling then go for it.

I like my Firestones a lot, but if I could do it again I would save and get the Michelin PS4S because it is the better tire. That being said the Firestones are a great tire for a great price. Can't wait to see it start to come together.

 

[Ezekiel81923]

Welcome to the forum. I would say skip the ECS bleeder block, save the $150, and just do the delay valve delete instead. At the end of the day they accomplish the same thing, unless you want the bling then go for it.

Yea I think I came to the same conclusion, if there's nothing wrong why fix it.

I think I'm also going to nix the TMD. I thought that was on the inlet side for some reason, making it part of a complete intake, but it's on the outlet side and I don't plan on replacing any charge pipes or anything like that so I'm going to leave well enough alone. Seems fairly unanimous that it does not accomplish much anyway.

 

[bfury5]

One thing I didn't see mentioned on the suspension list is a rear sway bar. Even before you decide on springs/dampers or coils, a rear swaybar will really liven up the handling and keep the car cornering flatter. Probably about a 2 hour install if you do it yourself and for ~$250-300 in parts, I'd consider it a nice gateway mod into suspension.

 

[tpellegr]

I was just looking at the different options. There seem to be more tires available depending on what size I look at. Was looking at 235/40/17's and 235/45/17's and even 245/40/17's.

I'm set on Motegi's. Need to decide if I buy the MR146 in black or the Traklite 3's in bronze (which could be 3-4 months according to tire rack).

Welcome to the family!

I think you are on the right track with tire sizes. It is my understanding that 245/40/17s or 235/45/17s will both fit without rub (you may need to remove the fender screw - search fender screw mod).

One other thing to keep in mind when considering wheels is whether they require hub-centric rings (may not matter to you, but thought I'd bring it up - center bore is 57.1mm), and whether they can clear a BBK without spacers if you intend to go that route down the road.

Agree with @bfury5 that a RSB makes a world of difference on these cars in countering understeer. In terms of handling improvements, I would prioritize a good set of summer tires, then RSB, then dampers/coilover setup. Springs won't make much of positive difference on handling (likely will do more harm than good), but they do a good job of eliminating wheel gap if that's your main priority.

 

[Ezekiel81923]

Been doing more and more research on the rear motor mounts and the more it sounds like that uber solid Racingline may not be a great idea.

For one, I don't know if I really want to drop the sub-frame to get the upper bushing out. And two, I've read one or two horror stories from people who have ran with solid arms. There seems to be a reason why most companies use some kind of bearing on theirs. I may just go billet insert and APR arm, or something to that effect.

One thing I didn't see mentioned on the suspension list is a rear sway bar. Even before you decide on springs/dampers or coils, a rear swaybar will really liven up the handling and keep the car cornering flatter. Probably about a 2 hour install if you do it yourself and for ~$250-300 in parts, I'd consider it a nice gateway mod into suspension.

Not that I am on a strict budget persay, but I nixed the bleeder block and the TMD so that adds up to a RSB. I understood their benefits but was unaware how advantageous they were on this particular platform. So might as well.

Welcome to the family!

I think you are on the right track with tire sizes. It is my understanding that 245/40/17s or 235/45/17s will fit without rub (you may need to remove the fender screw - search fender screw mod).

Agree with @bfury5 that a RSB makes a world of difference on these cars in countering understeer. In terms of handling improvements, I would prioritize a good set of summer tires, then RSB, then dampers/coilover setup. Springs won't make much of positive difference on handling (likely will do more harm than good), but they do a good job of eliminating wheel gap if that's your main priority.

Thanks!

The more I think about it, the more I think I might wait until very early spring to do coilovers. Gets me past the winter months, lets me save for it a little bit, and I'll get some extra mileage out of the stock suspension, which functions perfectly fine right now.

Can do a RSB and some performance goodies in the meantime. I like getting tuned in the Spring or Fall so we can move that earlier in the timeline. Not too hot and not too cold. In my head that seems ideal for a custom tune for year round driving, but that could also just be one of my many idiosyncrasies.

 

[Ezekiel81923]

Added a 25mm ST Rear Swaybar and some new rear endlinks to the list. I should be able to start getting some of this ordered in pretty soon.

Intake, TIP, short shifter, shift knob, and sway bar and end links will be the first round I think.

After reading up on sway bars and looking into ST I may be leaning towards their coilovers over the BC's as well. We shall see

 

[Ezekiel81923]

Tint is done. More expensive than I remember tint being but nevertheeless...

On to the next project.