My Tornado Red GTI Build

Love the wrap! That's on my list as well!

Bäsemödel said:

Love the wrap! That's on my list as well!

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I just took it off. The creases drove me absolutely crazy and I hated the feeling of having a car that felt blemished. It reminded me of the corners I cut with my mods when I was in High School and that wasn't a feeling I wanted with this new car.

That was solely because I couldn't get the installation perfect though. If you are a more capable vinyl installer than I am, it's amazing! I loved the contrast of the black every day I had it.

My tires were wearing faster than I expected so I bit the bullet on a set of VMR V710s and DG springs. Will post pictures as they get installed!

I recently installed the VMR v710s, the wheels I had on my BMW 325ci. I'm surprised I ended up choosing the exact same wheel and color for my red GTI but I definitely see why. I love the concavity of the spokes and how the color contrasts with the Tornado Red. The wheels were wrapped with 235/40/18 Hankook Ventus V12 Evos; I initially wanted to go 255/35/18 but decided to save $100 since I was buying tires, wheels, and springs all at once. The next time around I'll definitely get that done. Side note: The center caps were loose when I initially put them in but fit perfectly after I wrapped the tabs with electrical tape.

The drop is thanks to the DG springs. The rear install is fairly straight forward, aligning the three bolts on each side for the re-install was more time consuming than expected but overall was painless. The fronts were just as hard as everyone says. I tried one day without the strut spreader tool and gave up after an hour. The next time, I got the strut out of the knuckle in less than 10 minutes which blew my mind. Removing the top strut nut and reinstalling the strut into the knuckle were still very difficult but somehow I got it done. To reiterate what everyone has said, DEFINITELY GET THE STRUT SPREADER!

The DG springs aren't as aggressive as I wanted. I wanted to eliminate the wheel gap but I decided to go with the DG springs since my EZ Lip really eliminates a lot of my front bumper clearance. Even before I was lowered I was having to drive very cautiously around driveways and I knew it would only be harder with the drop. Overall it's enough of a drop to clean up the wheel gap and I don't scrape TOO often.







There's a two finger gap for the rears and about 2.75 fingers on the front.

I got a chance to go out to Thunderhill Raceway a few weeks ago. It was my first time on the track with FWD but the GTI performed admirably... until the CEL came on. Turns out it was a fuel code relating to the JB4. On the fuel system there is some sensitivity on requesting too much rail pressure by the JB4. I reduced fuel open loop to 50 when I got home and the CEL hasn't come on since but we'll see if this is a long term solution.

I haven't posted in almost a year, so here's an update on how the car is doing. There have been quite a few visual changes.
Starting from the front, I've installed Ed's Golf R headlights complemented by a blacked out front grill which was done with gloss black vinyl. The headlight install was fairly painless and I love how the headlights really make the car look more upscale. With these two additions, the front of the car looks a lot more sleek.

Moving to the side, I had a shop install Clubsport-style black side stripes. I tried installing these myself with pre-cut vinyl but getting the vinyl to fit the curves of the door was horrible. It turns out that this type of work is much easier with knifeless tape, which is what I used on the piece on the side of the front bumper.

As others have noted on the forums, My pinalloy paddle shifters have started to discolor into a bronze color on the parts of the shifters that are most exposed to the sun. Initially I thought it was just the way it reflected against the sun but it's clearly a distinct bronze now. Currently looking for other cheap paddle shifters that are pretty flush, most of the stick on ones I've seen are pretty thick which interferes with operation of the window wipers and turn signals.

If anyone has suggestions for paddle shifters under $75, let me know!

I also have a TR car and have been wanting to do a set of the euro LED tails in the GTI style with the sides "smoked". I believe this is the cherry red version. However, since our cars are red, i dont feel like it pops as much as compared to other colors... any plans on doing euro tails?

Bäsemödel said:

I also have a TR car and have been wanting to do a set of the euro LED tails in the GTI style with the sides "smoked". I believe this is the cherry red version. However, since our cars are red, i dont feel like it pops as much as compared to other colors... any plans on doing euro tails?

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I'm assuming the cherry red LED tails are the same color as the original taillights? If so, then I do agree that it doesn't contrast well with the TR. IF that's the color you end up getting, then maybe consider a very light shade of tail light tint?

Are your taillights smoked?

Enjoying the California sunset, car looks great and ready for thunderhill next month. Depending on how the next few events go I might be convinced to get a RSB.




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ryohei47 said:

Enjoying the California sunset, car looks great

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It does look great!

Was that you I saw rolling into 034s Summerfest event?

Jarbear said:

It does look great!



Was that you I saw rolling into 034s Summerfest event?

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Thanks! And yes that was definitely me at 034Summerfest


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A few weeks ago, I went to Thunderhill Raceway which is the local track in Northern California. The first few sessions went well with less brake fade than previous outings, but I ended up wearing my front pads till the backing plate. Probably not my brightest moment, I had planned on swapping the front pads out after the track day but didn't realize that the inside pad always wears faster than the outside.

Because of that, I've installed new Hawk HPS 5.0 front pads and have purchased RS3 deflectors for the next time out. The deflector install should be interesting as I may end up making modifications to it in order for it to fit my non-PP brakes.

I noticed at some point your front license plate moved? Did you take it to a shop to fill the holes or something cheaper?