MuscleToMouse94
Drag Racing Champion
- Location
- Long Island, NY
- Car(s)
- MK7 GTI
Welcome to The Thread:
Greetings everyone, welcome to my build thread for “Greta”! I’ve had my GTI for a few years now and I decided it was time to start one to mark down it’s modifications and other events over the years.
List of Current Modifications:
Performance Mods: Ingen SP Series Short Ram CAI, Borla 3” stainless steel cat-back system, Baun Performance FMIC Kit
Cosmetic Mods: Helix Projector headlights w/ red strip, 19” VW Pretoria style rims, front and rear red GTI emblems, ”Kill All The Wipers” rear wiper flush kit, painted “smoked“ OEM tail lights, BFI Heavy Weight Shift Knob (DSG Auto version, Rosso Centaurus Leather, Black Anodized Metal)
On Deck: Stage One Cobb Tune
The Beginning of The Build (Prior to the creation of the thread):
This was the first car. 2012 V6 Mustang was purchased in 2012 with 29,000 miles. I later added 19” ”brembo style” rims, BBK intake, 93 octane SCT tune and Trident motorsports custom axle back exhaust. Side note about the exhaust: as biased as it may seem, it was easily the best sounding exhaust on a V6 Mustang I’ve ever heard. Half the price of it’s competitors and (in my non-professional welder opinion) the quality of the welds were excellent. In addition, side emblems, painted/ smoked tail lights, red mirror covers hood struts and an OEM tail from a GT (repainted) were also added.
I decided I needed something more practical and got this thing. 2017 MK7 GTI, brand new off the lot for 26K. The journey hasn’t been too crazy but I will say that at first, I wasn’t a fan of the car. I had driven one or two previously but as time went on, I got very bored with it after I bought it. It didn’t feel as entertaining as the mustang did with regards to pickup/ driving. I also wasn’t a particular fan of how some things looked on the car. For example, the OEM Austin Style black rims were a major pain in the ass to clean and I didn’t find the headlights very attractive.
So off to the drawing board I went and decided the headlights were the first to be swapped out. Did some research and found Helix Projector headlights (LEDs) with the red strip to match the grille. I had a friend with a body shop install them, they look and work great!
Next was the power/ response dilemma. With the stock intake, the car felt as if it was trying to breathe through a vacuum cleaner bag. I started doing research for intakes and decided I wanted an Injen CAI. However, right before I hit the purchase button I found out that a friend of a friend was getting rid of his Injen intake for his GLI. I asked how much, he said no funds required. So that saved me around $300. Works very well, makes a huge difference when you hit the gas. With the OEM intake you couldn’t hear the turbo spool, after installation you could hear it spool on every accel/ decel. On top of that, the engine was now getting more consistent air flow which felt like a miracle compared to the OEM intake.
Next was the rims. This task I considered to be ”trial and error”. I tried 10/15MM spacers to make the OEM Austin Style rims flush with the car (which worked) but the rims were not easy to clean/ avoid watermarks, so it was time to find a new set.
I did some research and eventually found the set I wanted. 19” Pretoria aluminum finish rims were the choice, mainly becuase they look great and I have a wheel/ tire protection package on the car that is good for OEM rims (Pretoria’s still considered factory). Trying to find a set under $1,500 wasn’t easy (nearly scammed on one set I found on this forum) but I eventually found a set being sold up in MA. The guy was selling two brand new plus two used rims w/ continentals for $800 which seemed too good to be true (brand new set of these rims cost around $3,600). I accepted the offer and later found out why they were priced so low. The seller had a MK7 R model and had another two sets of rims for it (daily rims and track set). He didn’t like these for daily driving as potholes became an issue so he just wanted them to go to a good home.
Next up, front/ back silver badges were set to be swapped with red ones. I swapped the front badge but had a local shop professionally align the rear badge (car was getting swirl removal at the time so they said they’d do it).
The next project was to tackle the sound and power (again) issues which led to the search for an exhaust system. I wanted to follow a similar path with the first car (inexpensive, great quality and sound) but as I reviewed the choices, it seemed difficult to find an inexpensive option. I eventually decided to bite the bullet on a Borla 3” stainless steel cat-back system (pictured above). To this day, I have no regrets for that purchase. I got what I expected from the sound, not obnoxious but more aggressive (especially after shifting). Great cold start as well!
Greetings everyone, welcome to my build thread for “Greta”! I’ve had my GTI for a few years now and I decided it was time to start one to mark down it’s modifications and other events over the years.
List of Current Modifications:
Performance Mods: Ingen SP Series Short Ram CAI, Borla 3” stainless steel cat-back system, Baun Performance FMIC Kit
Cosmetic Mods: Helix Projector headlights w/ red strip, 19” VW Pretoria style rims, front and rear red GTI emblems, ”Kill All The Wipers” rear wiper flush kit, painted “smoked“ OEM tail lights, BFI Heavy Weight Shift Knob (DSG Auto version, Rosso Centaurus Leather, Black Anodized Metal)
On Deck: Stage One Cobb Tune
The Beginning of The Build (Prior to the creation of the thread):
This was the first car. 2012 V6 Mustang was purchased in 2012 with 29,000 miles. I later added 19” ”brembo style” rims, BBK intake, 93 octane SCT tune and Trident motorsports custom axle back exhaust. Side note about the exhaust: as biased as it may seem, it was easily the best sounding exhaust on a V6 Mustang I’ve ever heard. Half the price of it’s competitors and (in my non-professional welder opinion) the quality of the welds were excellent. In addition, side emblems, painted/ smoked tail lights, red mirror covers hood struts and an OEM tail from a GT (repainted) were also added.
I decided I needed something more practical and got this thing. 2017 MK7 GTI, brand new off the lot for 26K. The journey hasn’t been too crazy but I will say that at first, I wasn’t a fan of the car. I had driven one or two previously but as time went on, I got very bored with it after I bought it. It didn’t feel as entertaining as the mustang did with regards to pickup/ driving. I also wasn’t a particular fan of how some things looked on the car. For example, the OEM Austin Style black rims were a major pain in the ass to clean and I didn’t find the headlights very attractive.
So off to the drawing board I went and decided the headlights were the first to be swapped out. Did some research and found Helix Projector headlights (LEDs) with the red strip to match the grille. I had a friend with a body shop install them, they look and work great!
Next was the power/ response dilemma. With the stock intake, the car felt as if it was trying to breathe through a vacuum cleaner bag. I started doing research for intakes and decided I wanted an Injen CAI. However, right before I hit the purchase button I found out that a friend of a friend was getting rid of his Injen intake for his GLI. I asked how much, he said no funds required. So that saved me around $300. Works very well, makes a huge difference when you hit the gas. With the OEM intake you couldn’t hear the turbo spool, after installation you could hear it spool on every accel/ decel. On top of that, the engine was now getting more consistent air flow which felt like a miracle compared to the OEM intake.
Next was the rims. This task I considered to be ”trial and error”. I tried 10/15MM spacers to make the OEM Austin Style rims flush with the car (which worked) but the rims were not easy to clean/ avoid watermarks, so it was time to find a new set.
I did some research and eventually found the set I wanted. 19” Pretoria aluminum finish rims were the choice, mainly becuase they look great and I have a wheel/ tire protection package on the car that is good for OEM rims (Pretoria’s still considered factory). Trying to find a set under $1,500 wasn’t easy (nearly scammed on one set I found on this forum) but I eventually found a set being sold up in MA. The guy was selling two brand new plus two used rims w/ continentals for $800 which seemed too good to be true (brand new set of these rims cost around $3,600). I accepted the offer and later found out why they were priced so low. The seller had a MK7 R model and had another two sets of rims for it (daily rims and track set). He didn’t like these for daily driving as potholes became an issue so he just wanted them to go to a good home.
Next up, front/ back silver badges were set to be swapped with red ones. I swapped the front badge but had a local shop professionally align the rear badge (car was getting swirl removal at the time so they said they’d do it).
The next project was to tackle the sound and power (again) issues which led to the search for an exhaust system. I wanted to follow a similar path with the first car (inexpensive, great quality and sound) but as I reviewed the choices, it seemed difficult to find an inexpensive option. I eventually decided to bite the bullet on a Borla 3” stainless steel cat-back system (pictured above). To this day, I have no regrets for that purchase. I got what I expected from the sound, not obnoxious but more aggressive (especially after shifting). Great cold start as well!
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