Daily Driver / occasional Track Day GTI ‘19 S

[SouthFL_Mk7.5]

Sounds like a great journey with the car so far. Your son is a lucky kid to get the GTI for a first car. I'm jealous that he's that interested and involved. I had to force both my kids to take driver's ed. Neither of them were excited about getting their license and being able to drive. I was so excited for them that I bought a 2014 Sonic RS (auto trans) with 12k miles before my daughter even got her permit! (Fun car, but not too fun) My son will get his license next month pandemic permitting, but he's still not very interesting in cars or driving. At least we share an interest in computers and sports...

Sonic RS Turbo is a neat little car.
There’s other things I do that I wish my son would take more of an interest in- but it’s a balance. Can’t push too hard on anything/ there will be pushback.

 

[EricsVdub]

Thanks, it's a fun car with not enough power to get in too much trouble for teenagers. I'm familiar with the pushback from teenagers too, payback for my teenage years no doubt! Honestly, mine are much better than I was though. (Must call mom to apologize again)

 

[jdmwol2ks]

Following this! Just bought my 2020 S Dsg in pure white as well and looking to do the same. Minor mods to improve performance at the track while maintaining warranty to DD everyday! Just curious about your experience with the Falken RT615k i saw in another thread...do they really go that quick?

Also did you do any programming for the car to disable some of the driving nannies?

 

[SouthFL_Mk7.5]

Following this! Just bought my 2020 S Dsg in pure white as well and looking to do the same. Minor mods to improve performance at the track while maintaining warranty to DD everyday! Just curious about your experience with the Falken RT615k i saw in another thread...do they really go that quick?

Also did you do any programming for the car to disable some of the driving nannies?

Yes! The RT615K although performing very well, did wear MUCH faster than I anticipated! I’m going to use them again at Homestead I a few weeks- will see what’s left of them after that event.

Haven’t disabled anything via programming. Only thing I do before lapping is holding traction control off for several seconds to engage the less intrusive mode.

 

[jdmwol2ks]

Curious, were you going really hard at the track? like setting PBs or was it more like leisurely fun? I'm highly considering them as they're on sale on tire rack, but I want to DD on them as well. Wondering if I should save a couple of bucks with the falkens or go RS4 or something...Don't really want to entertain swapping wheels out at the moment.

 

[SouthFL_Mk7.5]

Curious, were you going really hard at the track? like setting PBs or was it more like leisurely fun? I'm highly considering them as they're on sale on tire rack, but I want to DD on them as well. Wondering if I should save a couple of bucks with the falkens or go RS4 or something...Don't really want to entertain swapping wheels out at the moment.

Last outing when I was trying out the RT615K I was absolutely pushing the card as hard as I could! Perhaps I’m not working with their optimal psi range.

 

[SouthFL_Mk7.5]

Picked up this beater ‘03 1.8T Passat Wagon today. If turns out anything near reliable will begin modding! Should make a nice companion to the GTI!

 

[SouthFL_Mk7.5]

Finally cleaned the GTI.
VWR Springs and Dampers have settled nicely.

 

[SouthFL_Mk7.5]

Couple more pics of the VW duo.

 

[SouthFL_Mk7.5]

Wheels and tires for the Wagon!

 

[SouthFL_Mk7.5]

I like the way the GTI turned out. Just the right amount of mods to make it engaging. It’s not too fast- just quick enough, handles great without sacrificing ride quality, brakes great, sounds enough to hear the downshifts with the exhaust. Going to be a great first car for my kid! I’m

Full list of mods to date;

Intake Tract;
034 Front Air Dam
APR Open Intake
034 Intake Hose
033 Turbo Inlet Pipe

Power Mod;
JB4 Map 2 day to day. Map 1 for track day.

Exhaust;
Factory Downpipe
3” Custom Catback Exhaust using one Borla ProXS muffler.

Suspension;
Superpro Front Endlinks
Superpro 22mm RSB & Endlinks
Superpro Front Lower Control Arms
Tyrolsport Front Deadset Kit subframe
VWRacing Cup Kit (matched Springs and Dampers)
Alignment -1.2F , -2R , 0 Toe

Brakes;
TRW hi temp fluid
Porterfield R4S Street/Track pads daily
Porterfield R4 front Pads track day
ECS 2pc Rotors Front

Appearance;
Aerofabb rear wing insert (to be installed)

Wheels;
Sparco Assetto Gara 17x7.5 ET48

Tires;
Fallen RT615K 225/45 17

Interior;
Leyo Billet DSG shift knob

 

[SouthFL_Mk7.5]

Lowered the B5.5 on some H&R wagon springs and Bilstein B4 dampers. Also installed a custom Magnaflow catback. Loving the wagon life.

 

[SouthFL_Mk7.5]

Got the kid investigating squeaking noise from rear strut mount.

 

[SouthFL_Mk7.5]

Lol! Torqued the rear strut mount bolts and the squeaking was still there.... It was just the rear seat latch! A little grease and done.

 

[SouthFL_Mk7.5]

The kid is daily driving the GTI now and has taken a liking to Autocrossing.