The 'Chimera' - Progression of my 1.8T by SKVeeDubR

04/01/2019 - New Winter Shoes, no April Fools

Some exciting times ahead for this little Golf, but for now some teaser pics of my new winter shoes!


Haven't even fitted them yet, won't until next winter but man I can't wait!

I was VERY impressed with the attention to detail when I had my local VW dealer mount these for me. I only had one request - that I be the FIRST person to scratch them. They obliged and returned to me wheels with ZERO scratches or imperfections! Now let's see how long that lasts haha!





Not only did they take good care of my wheels, but they also aligned the centercaps in the correct position for each wheel!! This is a detail often overlooked by many, but speaks volumes!

They also used black wheel weights! So impressed as I was fully prepared to paint the weights myself so they would not stick out like a sore thumb against the gloss black wheels. Bravo!





Brought them home and promptly swapped in Clubsport centercaps because, well, Clubsport!





Next to their big brothers, my 19" summer Prets

Coming Spring 2019 - PROJECT VARIANT

I never even thought about aligning the wheel caps with the spokes a certain way... thanks for putting this in my head after I just popped mine in my new rims last night!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

MEM GTI said:

I never even thought about aligning the wheel caps with the spokes a certain way... thanks for putting this in my head after I just popped mine in my new rims last night!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

Haha yes, by convention the emblem/centercap should be perfectly upright when the valve stem is at 6’oclock. You will notice this now everytime you see official car ads and photos. It will also drive you crazy when you see centercaps installed incorrectly, at least it drives my OCD a tad crazy ?

04/14/2019 - Can't believe I took this long..

Bäsemödel said:

Won’t rest until tails!

(Spoiler looks dope)

Click to expand...

This post’s for you, but I recommend you don’t rest too long haha!



So.. Can't believe I took THIS long to finally install some LED tails. Truth be told this is not the first set, nor the second, nor the third set I've owned, but this IS the FIRST I've actually installed - haha finally! Truth be told, LED tails have been on my list from Day 1 aaannnnnnnnnnd here we are, about three years in.



about to do a thing..




Hand's down the best harnesses in the business by JBale. For those that don't know, JBale is the man first responsible for figuring out wiring AND coding for the MK7 AND MK7.5 Facelift tails, and not only that, but designing beautiful, OEM quality harnesses worthy of VW themselves - I can't say enough good things. Since I had previously coded the 'Urban Joke' on my stock tails, I simply reverted back to stock coding prior to coding for these new tails.




Be sure to check your seals, this was received from factory this way - things like this if gone unnoticed can result in leaks and sad faces





PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
So like many here, you may have issues with a broken clip on this boot between the hatch and the body - ultimately can lead to water ingress and a wet headliner(amongst further damage down the road).
I noticed mine on the one side has been compromised (no wet headliner yet), I am assuming from the PDR I had done after a hailstorm - I had even explicitly asked them NOT to touch these rubber boots due to the fragility of the retaining tabs.
So today I reinforced the broken tab using a rectangular piece of plastic and some JB Weld. I realigned the broken tab, then JB Plastic welded the rectangular piece behind. I let it cure for several hours, then reinstalled and it’s holding firm. Now if you are missing the push tab completely you can modify this approach by creating a new tab. Hope this helps someone!





Install going smoothly, along with some good help and small fingers





Finishing up the routing of the new harness

Sweet. Can’t wait to see completed pics and vids. This is on my list as well. I have to say. A little scared of the coding.

MysticBlueX3 said:

Sweet. Can’t wait to see completed pics and vids. This is on my list as well. I have to say. A little scared of the coding.

Click to expand...

Yeah I got busy while updating this last post so didn’t get to post finished results on the previous page.

FWIW the only thing to try be cautious of is not breaking clips - especially the ones I highlighted in the above post, as well as accidentally pinning your wires wrong. Coding once you get comfortable is the easy part. I recommend before you button everything back up in the hatch area you should ensure your lights all function as intended. I’ve seen ppl pin wrong places in the harness then get stumped thinking it’s a coding issue.

Remember if installing lights with rear fog and corresponding headlamp switch, that you need to tell the car you’ve installed such a switch in order for it to function properly.


Nice little touch - I love how a' la carte these cars truly are! Coded for rear fog and installed the correct Headlamp switch, and the car doesn't skip a beat








These look SOOOOO gooooood, can't wait to get some real 'glamour' shots for you all!

Do you need a vagcom or can you use obdeleven?

MysticBlueX3 said:

Do you need a vagcom or can you use obdeleven?

Click to expand...

OBD11 is more than sufficient, it’s a pretty amazing little tool for the price!

04/18/2019 - Dyna? Dana who? I said Chynablinks!


Again, like the LED tails, this isn't the first, nor the second, but third pair I've had in my stockpile of parts waiting to go in. The first two pair were official Dynablinks buuuut, I wasn't keen on the dark tint and therefore never got around to installing them. A couple complaints with tinted versions include difficulty seeing them in certain light, and difficulty seeing the mirror indicator square when driving.

Fast forward to a few months ago and I found this 'frosted white' version which I prefer so much more in terms of aesthetics AND visibility.







The fit and finish I would rate a 9 or 9.5/10 - for the money they are damn good! The OEM lights (and these) are secured by two small torx screws, and the company I bought from even included a small screwdriver and trim removal tool to aid install - nice touch!





Fortunately I bought two sets as when I installed the LHD light I discovered there were a couple LED's that weren't illuminating. I ended up swapping my RHD light for the second one as well as I found the first one didn't allow the wire harness to 'click' in properly. The two dynamic mirror lights that are currently in the car fit and function damn near perfectly, the first set must have been a bad batch or from a different run, hopefully the seller will make things right. I guess my R will once again take a back seat to modification while I get things sorted.



I feel these 'frosted white' dynamic mirror lights suit the Pure White perfectly! Might be hard to tell in this pic, but the subtle difference is apparent, at least to me haha!





more to come!!

I like the clear too. Especially on a white car and black mirror caps. Now you just need dynamic headlights to match!

MysticBlueX3 said:

I like the clear too. Especially on a white car and black mirror caps. Now you just need dynamic headlights to match!

Click to expand...

Unfortunately because I have the LP, I cannot use aftermarket dynamic headlamps, and there is no OE offering. While it MAAAAAY be possible to modify the original headlamps, I don't have the desire to take them apart and reinvent the wheel at this juncture haha!

Cheers!

The frosted white do look great on Pure White. My car is red, but with black mirror caps and the smoked signals. Can't see them at all in the daytime, don't even mention the indicator square. I can't see that thing even at night. I'm now wondering if the frosted white will stick out too much on my fully black/red car.

And yes, JBale's harness is the bee's knees, as they say. I should have got the harness for rear fogs. Incidentally I bought a left and right tail with fog, but that was back when the lights were "hard" to get. The fog versions were shipping out quicker and I was impatient. Car looks great!!

Looking good! Still my favorite build to date. Just went through once again and really dug the attention to detail with the 40yrs/CSS stuff.

Makes me want to start adding the CSS details i've been meaning to get around to.

Cuzoe said:

The frosted white do look great on Pure White. My car is red, but with black mirror caps and the smoked signals. Can't see them at all in the daytime, don't even mention the indicator square. I can't see that thing even at night. I'm now wondering if the frosted white will stick out too much on my fully black/red car.

And yes, JBale's harness is the bee's knees, as they say. I should have got the harness for rear fogs. Incidentally I bought a left and right tail with fog, but that was back when the lights were "hard" to get. The fog versions were shipping out quicker and I was impatient. Car looks great!!

Click to expand...

I think you may probably be ok with the frosted white on your car - after spending some time with them I must say I am VERY impressed with the visibility of the indicators even in full daylight! Even the little square indicator is adequate, and I'm pretty critical of these kinda things. Cheers!

sprinks said:

Looking good! Still my favorite build to date. Just went through once again and really dug the attention to detail with the 40yrs/CSS stuff.

Makes me want to start adding the CSS details i've been meaning to get around to.

Click to expand...

Appreciate the kind words! Thanks!