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Building Otto

Daks

Autocross Champion
Location
Toronto
Car(s)
GTI PP
So just a small update to the build plan. Had to be honest with myself and also draw a line somewhere since longevity / reliability is still fairly important to me. I want this car to last at least 6 years.

I think I'm going to stick to stock fueling. No fuel pump / fuel pump internals and no E since it's so sparse around here. I will put that money towards a different DP and I think that will be the catted 4" Trackslag.

I'm also going to go HPA OEM+ is38.

If I max out fueling before I max out the turbo I'll revisit adding an HPA fuel pump. Don't think I'll have to worry about that though.

A new clutch will have to be factored in at some point. I'll go ACT if they are available whenever mine starts to fail.
Why did you decide to go with the HPA unit and who will be tuning it?
 

Ezekiel81923

Autocross Champion
Location
Royersford, PA
Car(s)
2019 Volkswagen GTI
Why did you decide to go with the HPA unit and who will be tuning it?


To be honest I'm still very undecided, but I read good reviews and the price is nice so that's the flavor of the week.

I may still opt for the standard Vortex, we'll see. I'm hoping to stick with the stock fueling system and tune for 93 and end up in the low 4xx horsepower range and I think either could do it.

I'll have EQT tune the car either way.
 

jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
Location
Phoenix
Car(s)
2018 SE DSG
To be honest I'm still very undecided, but I read good reviews and the price is nice so that's the flavor of the week.

I may still opt for the standard Vortex, we'll see. I'm hoping to stick with the stock fueling system and tune for 93 and end up in the low 4xx horsepower range and I think either could do it.

I'll have EQT tune the car either way.
I doubt the HPA turbo will get to low 400's HP without ethanol and an aggressive tune. The Vortex will easily.
 

Ezekiel81923

Autocross Champion
Location
Royersford, PA
Car(s)
2019 Volkswagen GTI
I doubt the HPA turbo will get to low 400's HP without ethanol and an aggressive tune. The Vortex will easily.

Yea I did some more reading up on it and I may just be going Standard Vortex. May or may not do the HPFP, if I can get close to 400 (arbitrary number) I'll be happy. Power left on the table or otherwise.



In other news, the Eurosport Front Upper Stress Bar arrived today and was installed about an hour later.

Real easy, just pop loose the cowl, sneak it under and bolt it down. It only gets secured using 4 strut mount bolts total, 2 on each side, but it comes with 6 so I replaced all 6 in the spirit of keeping them all the same size (the bolts that come with the bar are 12mm hex heads rather than the stock 13mm).

This bar had a very noticeable effect. Steering feels stiffer and turn in is much snappier. The combo of sharper turn in from this brace and the feeling of the RSB whipping the rear end around towards the apex of a turn is quite a beautiful match. I'm at the mercy of the stock all-seasons for another few weeks until the RS-R's go on but I can't wait. Handling is much more crisp and direct and the combination really reduced body roll, even at stock height on the stock suspension.

I'll get the Stern rear subframe brace installed this weekend, which should help even further, and then she gets some B8's and H&R Sport's in the next month. It'll be a whole new ride.



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jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
Location
Phoenix
Car(s)
2018 SE DSG
Yea I did some more reading up on it and I may just be going Standard Vortex. May or may not do the HPFP, if I can get close to 400 (arbitrary number) I'll be happy. Power left on the table or otherwise.



In other news, the Eurosport Front Upper Stress Bar arrived today and was installed about an hour later.

Real easy, just pop loose the cowl, sneak it under and bolt it down. It only gets secured using 4 strut mount bolts total, 2 on each side, but it comes with 6 so I replaced all 6 in the spirit of keeping them all the same size (the bolts that come with the bar are 12mm hex heads rather than the stock 13mm).

This bar had a very noticeable effect. Steering feels stiffer and turn in is much snappier. The combo of sharper turn in from this brace and the feeling of the RSB whipping the rear end around towards the apex of a turn is quite a beautiful match. I'm at the mercy of the stock all-seasons for another few weeks until the RS-R's go on but I can't wait. Handling is much more crisp and direct and the combination really reduced body roll, even at stock height on the stock suspension.

I'll get the Stern rear subframe brace installed this weekend, which should help even further, and then she gets some B8's and H&R Sport's in the next month. It'll be a whole new ride.



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You're going to like the Stern rear subframe brace. It stiffens the rear and is the perfect complement to the strut tower brace.
 

Ezekiel81923

Autocross Champion
Location
Royersford, PA
Car(s)
2019 Volkswagen GTI
While I struggle with the Stern brace, my spacers/adapters and lug bolts for the new wheels arrived.

42DD 5mm and 10mm spacers (front and rear) which are hubcentric and wheel centric (57.1cb to 66.56cb). Was attracted to having a single piece rather than rings and spacers and with these there is a lip on both spacers (most 5mm spacers don't have a lip).

Lug bolts are from Otis Inc LA, they are 30mm and 40mm (front and rear) and tuner style, so the head is a smaller diameter and you use an adapter to drive them in so your tools get no where close to the wheels themselves. I wanted black but had to go with zinc, it seems to be impossible to find black tuner bolts in the sizes I wanted.

Will probably be another week or two before I mount the wheels. Still have some shitty weather on the horizon.



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Ezekiel81923

Autocross Champion
Location
Royersford, PA
Car(s)
2019 Volkswagen GTI
So, it was not as easy as it should've been but the Stern Rear Subframe Brace is on.

I at first tried to install this on jackstands. Fitment just felt off to me. The rear "point" of the brace seemed to come up pretty short of the subframe and the forward end of the brace seemed really close to the RSB. Pulled it out and adjusted a few times, messed around with tightening down some bolts to see what happened and it didn't want to stay aligned. I got concerned maybe I got the wrong piece and bagged the operation for the time being.

Went back out tonight and put the car on ramps this time (because why not) and predictably it didn't really align anything any differently this time but I ran the bolts on either end where it meets the sway bar bracket mounting area all the way through this time and got them pretty tight. Previously I was tightening it down at the subframe first but it pulled the corners out of alignment. So with those locked in I popped the two rear most bolts through the subframe and through the brace and just cranked it home. These bolts did pull the brace tight to the subframe.

I wasn't sure on torque specs but the MK5 version is 40ft/lbs for the 13mm bolts in the rear and 60ft/lbs for the 17mm bolts on the two ends. I was able to get my torque wrench on the rear two bolts and those are tightened down properly. At the sway bar ends we had to go with "as tight as I could" because I couldn't get my 1/2" drive torque wrench on either end of those bolts. Clearance with the RSB looked the same as I remembered but I figured Stern knew what they were doing, popped my muffler back into place and dropped the car.

Took it for a drive and the rear is little firmer than it was before. It feels more solid. I hit some bumps and potholes on purpose and didn't get the bounciness or jostling I had before. Did some aggressive runs through some windy roads and the car goes exactly where you point it. I can't tell you if that's the H&R RSB or the brace or both but it's very direct when combined with the EuroSport Front Upper Stress Bar. The car feels great. And no unfortunate clunks, creaks, or other noises that would indicate a problem under there.

I took a picture of the clearance between the brace and my RSB (H&R 26mm) for reference in case anyone else gets nervous and needs some reassurance. This appears to be an OK amount of clearance.


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Ezekiel81923

Autocross Champion
Location
Royersford, PA
Car(s)
2019 Volkswagen GTI
H&R Sport springs arrived on Saturday.

Purchased B8's this morning.

Also purchased the Aerofabb front splitter this morning so the plan is to get the splitter and Baun FMIC mounted at the same time before lowering the car. Then I think we'll be good on suspension upgrades unless I decide to throw an X Brace in the back.

Might give my wallet a month to recover, which will give me time to get the state emissions inspection out of the way for the year, and then it is on to the real power upgrades.
 

Ezekiel81923

Autocross Champion
Location
Royersford, PA
Car(s)
2019 Volkswagen GTI
Alright, so we finally got the Baun Performance FMIC installed and along with it we did the Aerofabb V2 front splitter.

Removing the front bumper was exactly as described elsewhere for the MK7.5. The grille was very firmly in place but my brother had trim removal tools and that actually made it easier to wrap around the grille from the side by the headlight and get some grip pulling straight out and it did eventually pop. Then the bumper unclips on top and on the sides and away it goes.

Starting with the FMIC - no real problems once we ultimately decided the right way to measure it and marked some holes. Moved the horns, zip tied the air sensor off somewhere, cut the bracket off the air pump and used my new grinder to smooth out where the air temp sensor used to mount and we were on our way. I was very glad my neighbor has a drill press because I was having a whale of a time getting through the brackets Vibrant includes with the intercooler but his press made quick work of them. We must've dropped an 1/8" off somewhere because one hole was just barely off. We massaged the hole in the crash bar with a drill bit and got it to slip in. Piping fit as it should and the hoses and clamps are nice and tight. Started the car and gave it some revs, no air leaks, and I hooned it pretty good later and nothing popped so we should be all good here.

The Aerofabb splitter is a bit of a chore but it's very secure so in the end it's all worth it. Like Jake's IC kit the Aerofabb splitter is a very nice piece. We did have an issue with the locking nuts on two bolts, they would not tighten down all the way and when trying to back them off we ended up having to snap two bolts (probably didn't have to but that's what happened). We got some replacemnt hardware and it was on.

The problem arose when we went to re-install the bumper. The middle 3 rows of bolts on the splitter are too high to fit under the intercooloer. They do hit, and the 1/4" of extra thread would basically all have to come off to get it to fit. So we flipped the 6 bolts in the middle around so the locking nut and extra thread stick out the bottom of the splitter and the flat bolt head is inside and that resolved the clearance issue. My only concern is when I lower the car if I'm going to be scraping and catching these bolts on anything when I drive / park / what have you. But she's on. With the bumper on you can't see the bolts though, so that's a win. There is a picture of how much they stick out the bottom.

When we were tying up the last of the loose ends we realized the driver side of the belly pan, towards the front, hit's the hot side piping of the new intercooler. We get every T25 back in except for the most forward screw closest to the wheel and the belly pan is bent down a bit and resting on the pipe. Not sure if that was us not mounting the piping right or if I should cut a small square into the belly pan to allow the pipe to poke through it (I forgot to get a picture of this but could later). For now, it's staying. It doesn't rattle or bounce around, just not perfect.

So all in all, the splitter looks great, as does the intercooler. Really changes the look of the front end. I'm not tuned yet but I did some 3rd, 4th and 5th gear pulls once we were done and she rips. My AP is not married to the car yet so I can't monitor right this second but everything sounds good, the car feels strong, I don't hear or feel any leaks, none of the couplers blew, no CEL and no faults and have all my lights so I'm going to assume we nailed it. All in, with lunch and a trip to the hardware store in the middle it was about 5.5hrs from wheels up to wheels down. All in a days work.

Neighbor and brother pictured. They wanted to get dirty too.


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Ezekiel81923

Autocross Champion
Location
Royersford, PA
Car(s)
2019 Volkswagen GTI
I was able to snap a pretty clear photo with the car on the ground of where the belly pan does not fit back perfect.

As you can see, not a huge deal, but it does come up a bit short of it's final resting place. Short enough that we didn't bother to try and run the last T25 in. Again this might be how we aligned everything, I don't know. I'm not going to worry about it. It's really not worth pulling everything back apart to get 1/4" more clearance and I still recommend Jake's kit fully. Just sharing my experience.



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PowerDemon

Autocross Champion
Location
Richmond, VA
Car(s)
Golf GTI, Camaro ZL1
Nice update! The build is coming along nicely.

If you want to fix the IC pipe you have to take everything back apart, loosen the hot side, have someone hold it where it needs to be, and then retighten. I know it sounds like that would create a situation where something is in a bind, but I had the exact same problem and that was the fix. I’ve got almost 15,000 miles on it installed like that with no issues... (knock on wood) Hope this helps!
 

Ezekiel81923

Autocross Champion
Location
Royersford, PA
Car(s)
2019 Volkswagen GTI
Nice update! The build is coming along nicely.

If you want to fix the IC pipe you have to take everything back apart, loosen the hot side, have someone hold it where it needs to be, and then retighten. I know it sounds like that would create a situation where something is in a bind, but I had the exact same problem and that was the fix. I’ve got almost 15,000 miles on it installed like that with no issues... (knock on wood) Hope this helps!

Thanks! The build is moving along quicker than I anticipated but it feels great to have had relatively few missteps so far.

And I was afraid that was the answer haha. I'd sooner just cut a 4" x 4" section of the belly pan out just to be sure no plastic melts from contacting the piping and leave it. I'm going to be dailying this car again once they call me back into the office and I don't know if that would present other issues or not but that's where I'm at.

But...if a time comes where I have to re-work those front splitter bolts because they keep getting caught on roadways or sidewalks then we'll tackle both in one shot.
 

Ezekiel81923

Autocross Champion
Location
Royersford, PA
Car(s)
2019 Volkswagen GTI
Plan for tomorrow was to tackle the suspension but none of the replacement hardware, mounts or bearings I ordered showed up. Ordered from VW Parts Vortex Tuesday AM and it still has not shipped. Their 45 minutes from me so I certainly thought everything would be here by now.

So I guess the car and I get a break this weekend
 

Ezekiel81923

Autocross Champion
Location
Royersford, PA
Car(s)
2019 Volkswagen GTI
Made an appointment to have the suspension work down on 4/8. Naturally VW Parts Vortex finally shipped the parts I've been waiting on the day after. I'm elbows deep in my brothers Jeep project and fixing my girlfriends car and my desire to have it done superseded my desire to be cheap. Wheels go on as soon as I get it back.

Also purchased the Strafe diffuser and spats.
 
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