Echo
New member
- Location
- Columbus, OH
Hold up on the exhaust. The factory exhaust sounds a lot better once you have a downpipe on, see how you feel.
Oh this is a great idea. I actually like how it sounds but it's waaay too quiet when WOT/over 4k rpms. I know it's a balancing act but if it can be quiet and refined under 3k and screams like a banshee over that, I'll be one happy camper. That's the big reason I was really considering the valved exhaust. I may not achieve that with just a DP but I am curious what that setup sounds like.
Get dedicated summer and winter tires, all-seasons are silly on a stage 2 car.
I really struggle with this mostly due to storage space for the wheels, that's really the biggest hang-up. If I ever got a 2 car garage I'd be doing this no problem.
Cheap sleeper, buy in this order.
-1: do airbox mod (remove snowgrate,) also replace with k&n drop in Free/55$
[...]
Fast, Reliable, and cheap, pick 2 because you can never have all 3
I don't want a sleeper, just something that I can drive and feel refined and quiet when cruising/staying below 3k rpm's. It's totally fine if it looks fast/aggressive (in fact I want it to). Once I want to let loose, I'm happy to let everyone know it.
I actually did not know about the snowgrate in the intake. Certainly something to consider
I pick fast and reliable. I'm in no hurry to do all these upgrades and I have a good monthly budget for it. I know the best way is just to buy a faster car, but then it wouldn't be mine.
-BFI mounts. Start with just stage 1 dog bone mount for less Nvh, and of course disable the soundeckor. I’ve had my BFI stage 2 mounts over 70k miles issue free
-jb4 is great if you’re concerned with warranty, but there’s so many great tuning options out there ranging from set it and forget it OTS tunes like APR and Unitronic to pro tunes via Mastero or Cobb.
-Downpipe. There’s no inspections in Ohio, so if you do a real tune (not jb4) cel won’t be an issue. If you do decide to try jb4 most have good luck with the Vibrant adjustable J spacer to defeat CEL
-clutch. DKM MS twin disk (aka stage 3). Plenty of headroom for additional mods, great feel, and I’ve been running mine for 30,000+ miles issue free
Oh yes I forgot to mention I have an OBDEleven and have made changes like window control from key fob and of course disabling the Soundaktor. I've done that long ago and I'm glad to be rid of it. The only thing I want coming from my speakers is some rockin' music
For some reason I've never been interested in piggybacks like the JB4. I'm not concerned with resale value but I am most certainly still under warranty. That's a big reason why I've put the tuning off until late in the upgrade path.
Appreciate the clutch recommendation, that's something I know I need to do more research on but I like the idea of getting one that's on the overengineered side.
Ill touch on these things:
DWS is not a performance tire. Get a true summer tire if you want good traction
Sigma 6 Short Shifter - i like the oem euro short shifter especially for only $55
Clutch Assist Spring Removal - i prefer it on
ECS Clutch Bleeder Valve - waste of money, skip. Do the clutch delay valve removal.
Stainless steel clutch and brake lines - waste of money, skip
Rear sway bar - must upgrade. i have the eibach 25mm hollow and its great. Does not reduce all the body roll but much better than stock.
Yeah as mentioned above the wheel/tire situation is really tricky for me. Don't have much more room to store another set of wheels/tires unless I turn them into end tables or something. If I end up spinning tires in 3rd gear or something then I'll just have to eat that bullet
I've heard a lot of good things about the Sigma 6 shifter but the euro shifter being OEM is a huge draw. I'm really hoping I can get to a MK7 meetup where someone would let me wiggle their stick around in park (...giggity)
Have you done anything else to your car to help induce/reduce over/understeer? Or do you think the rear sway bar puts the GTI in a good balanced spot? My goal here is to have it pretty well balanced, but if it had to be biased, have it biased towards oversteer.
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