First GTI (MK7 6MT) as Daily Driver

[fsalinasarroyo]

First GTI as Daily Driver

Hoping to use this thread as a journal maintenance, mods, and overall experience in my first GTI and first MT car!

Current Summer Setup:

Current Winter Setup:

Summary:

• Mods
  • TBD
• Cosmetics
  • Rally Armor Mud Flaps
• Functional Add-ons
  • Weather Tech Floor Liners
  • Torklift Central "EcoHitch" Trailer Hitch

Future Plans:

• New summer wheels and tires

 

[fsalinasarroyo]

Purchase and Winter Wheels (November & December 2020)

Purchase:

Have been wanting a GTI since my college days as I drove an'03 MK4 Jetta "2.slow". That car taught me a lot about car maintenance and overall repairs. Had done a ton of research and narrowed down to an MK7 GTI specifically '17 or newer. A few features that were a must were LED headlights, 6 speed manual transmission, and upgraded Fender Audio.

Found the car for me and made the 3.5hr drive to purchase it. Everything look good other than than one wheel having some really bad curb rash that was obviously hidden in the photos the dealership uploaded. I negotiated to have the wheel refinished and was refinished a few months later.

Finally signed paperwork and was the proud owner of a Certified Pre-Owned 2017 GTI SE(6MT) in Night Blue Metallic with 20,615 miles!

I was a bit skeptical on driving it home as I had not driven stick shift in a few years and to be honest I was not that great at it in my teenage years. Luckily there was no issues on the way home. The real test was driving in the city as I was not used to all the start stopping that a city requires as well as hill. There were a few stalls here and there but overall got the hang of it pretty quick. Like riding a bike they say, you never forget!

Winter Wheels:
Through my research I knew I wanted a winter wheel/tire setup. Found a set on market place from a R owner who decided he didn't want to drive his R in the cold and snowy Wisconsin winters. Scored a deal! $500 got me a winter wheel / tire combo. Wheels are 17'x7.5 Sport Edition A16s in Matte Titanium wrapped in 215/55R17 Bridgestone Blizzaks. I had the stock wheels swapped over to winter wheels by a local dealer that only charged $30 for seasonal swaps as I lived in a high rise apartment and were not allowed to do mechanical work in our apartment garage.

Wheels were swapped to winter a few weeks into December at 21,096 miles.

WeatherTech:
Immediately after purchase I purchased some weathertech floor liners and swapped out the Monster Mats with them. Love the fit of them and saves the carpet from all the snow and slush that the Midwest brings.

 

[fsalinasarroyo]

First Oil Change and Swap Back to Stock Wheels (April 2021 @ 25,076 mi)

Nothing special, this was done at dealership. The plan was to complete the first few maintenance items at the dealership as I still did not have the space or tools to work on the car at the time. Have decided to follow 5K oil change intervals. While some may think it's a waste of money, felt like it's just piece of mind. This will become affordable as DIY and after learning of FCP Euro's lifetime warranty (includes oil!).

 

[fsalinasarroyo]

Rally Armor Mud Flaps & Trailer Hitch (May 2021 25K mi)

Rally Armor Mud Flaps:
Install was pretty simple and think it elevates the car a bit more. Especially with the 17' wheels and meatier tiers in the winter.

TorkLift Central Trailer Hitch:
Picked up mountain biking during covid and tried a roof rack mount to transport my bike but it was very difficult to get it in place and always felt the bike would tip over and shatter my sun roof. Decided on the stealth EcoHitch for the GTI by Torklift Central after seeing this thread from StealthGTI. He has many great articles and videos and his 100,000mile review of the GTI is what convinced me to pursue the GTI as I was originally looking for a 1.4T Golf to save some $$$.

 

[fsalinasarroyo]

Second Oil Change and Misc. Items (9/27/21 @ 30,779 mi)

Second oil change performed at dealership. Rear license plate light bulb was out and they did not have a replacement on hand. Apparently there are various models for the bulb and some models you replace the whole housing but mine can replace just the bulb for a few $ by twisting it out of the housing (non-led models). Part number is 1K8-943-021.

 

[fsalinasarroyo]

First Road Trip and Tail of the Dragon (October 2021)

Took a trip to the Smoky Mountains and enjoyed every minute of driving on tail of the dragon. Mountains took a lot of clutch work especially getting to some of the most popular hikes destinationView attachment 3864242.jpgView attachment 3864241.jpg

 

[fsalinasarroyo]

Winter Wheel Swap (11/23/21 @ 33,671 mi)

So last winter I noticed some vibration with the winter wheels that went away when I swapped to stock wheels (summer). After much research I concluded the vibration was caused by 2 things.

1. Did not use hub centric rings (red hub centric rings installed below)
   
2. Used OEM lug bolts vs ones meant for aftermarket wheels

I purchased hub centric rings that go from 73.1 to 57.1 from ECS. These go on the inside of my winter wheels and help center the wheels on the hub during installation. It should be noted once installed properly they don't provide any support.

I also purchased new conical lug nuts to match the lug seat for my aftermarket wheels. I have not added spacers so OEM length still applied. I purchased a set of black ones from ECS with the following specs 14x1.5x28mm. 14x1.5 is the thread and pitch that VW uses, 28mm is the length of the bolt. The length could change if I had spaces and would require longer bolts.

I also took the time to clean and wax my winter wheels. Removed brake dust using a CG product and coated with Collinite 845. Below is the finished product and felt it made winter spray downs so much easier on the wheels. Kept the wheels much cleaner as well.

Below is finished product!

Before

Correcting these two errors completely removed any vibrations I had at highway speeds! Have been very happy with the winter wheels / tire combo and think it will be something I continue doing for future cars.

 

[fsalinasarroyo]

First DIY Oil Change using Oil Extractor (1/9/22 @ 35,082 mi)

Finally have a garage and started purchasing some tools! Got the Daytona Heavy Duty Jack, 4x Torin Aluminum Jack Stands, and the Oil Extractor.

Picked up the oil extractor from ECS on black Friday for a good deal. Originally I had planned to do maintenance at the dealership while I was under warranty but decided to DIY. Many videos show that the oil extractor doesn't leave much oil behind so made me comfortable using it!

Used FCP Euro's Oil Kit which included Liquid Moly Leichtlauf High Tech 5W-40 oil (VW 502/505 approved) and Mann Oil Filter. This was my first time ordering form FCP euro but they put out a lot of great DIY and informational content for VW, Audi, and other Euro cars. They have a lifetime warranty on all their products including oil! Will test this out on the next oil change.

Was impressed with how quick the oil filter worked and ease of use! Think I will do 2 oil extractor changes and then lift the car up for a traditional oil change to swap the drain plug. The oil extractor method is also incredibly useful in Wisconsin winters.

 

[fsalinasarroyo]

New Windshield Wipers (1/12/22 @ 35,119 mi)

Nothing exciting, OEM Bosch ones from FCP Euro.

 

[fsalinasarroyo]

Differential Fluid (1/23/22 @ 35,530 mi)

Had differential fluid (Haldex) changed since I have PP (performance package). Was done by a local Euro shop. Service interval is debated as VW originally had 30K service interval but was later revised to a "lifetime fluid". Figured to be save had it changed and only took 30 minutes for the shop to do it. Will probably continue to do every 30K intervals from here on out. Drain and fill plugs were not replaced but was not worried and shop said fluid was pretty good. I do not drive my car hard as it's my only car and daily driver.

Additional information can be found on this sub but ShopDAP has a nice DIY video with additional info.

 

[fsalinasarroyo]

Seasonal Wheel / Tire Swap (5/5/22 @ 37,610 mi)

Swap was done by dealership as they offer an affordable rate for seasonal swaps and we were plenty busy with a potential home purchase! Additionally I had to go in for a warranty question as there was a small rip on my driver's side seat (leather). Dealership confirmed it would be replaced under warranty and a replacement cover was ordered.

 

[fsalinasarroyo]

First time using VW CPO Warranty - Driver's Seat Leather Replacement (5/18/22 @ 38,077 mi)

Driver's seat had a small tear in the leather. Dealership removed seat, disassembled, and installed new leather cover. Overall very happy with warranty work. Tear was small but saw others say they had it covered under warranty so figured I'd give it a shot.

 

[fsalinasarroyo]

First Oil Change in New House! (8/7/22 @ 41,038 mi)

Purchased first home in May. Have a 2 car garage that my GTI enjoys. Finally have a tool box to store all my tools as well!

Deicded to lift the car up for a traditional oil change to replace the drain plug. Used the oil extractor first to get majority of il out and see how much is actually left in the drain pan. There was a little but not much to be worried according to others. I feel comfortable. Used Liquid Moly Leichtlauf High Tech 5W-40 oil (VW 502/505 approved) and Kengst Oil Filter (Previously Mann but was replaced in the kit)

Also changed engine air filter and cabin air filter (from Mann). All parts from FCP Euro.

Getting it off all four wheels isn't difficult but might consider the Audi Jack Pad Kit or QuickJacks for other projects that require the car to be up in the air.

 

[Treadup]

Welcome and well done on the write up.
Quick jacks is the way to go. I got lucky and got a good deal on a 5000 lb kit from their site.

I love Wisconsin but don’t miss the day after it snows. I went to HS in NW IL. Weather techs are a must in that part of the country! Nice job on cleaning up your winter wheel set.

There’s a lot of info on here regarding how to improve the feel of the 6MT. I have done most everything I can besides an upgraded clutch line and new bushings.

 

[vbrad26]

I tell everyone I can that the Golf line is probably the best daily you can have. Fun, practical and great on fuel. It is really the trifecta, you chose well!
I keep telling myself I'm going to replace it, but I'm going on 7.5 years with it now and really have no desire to get rid of it!