Author Topic: th3_f15t - '07 GTI "Project Evie"  (Read 53364 times)

Offline th3_f15t

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Re: th3_f15t - '07 GTI "Project Evie"
« Reply #40 on: 02 January 2015, 14:40 »
When I replaced my CC pipe work, I completely forgot to replace the MAF sensor and air feed! My engine wasn't running right at all and it took a fault scan for me to realise I'd missed replacing the air feed and MAF sensor after 2 days. Really shouldn't be near cars with tools, but there you go, lesson learned...

Also begun the task of replacing my centre console and arm rest for a leather one today. Took several hours yesterday to dismantle things and get the old items out the car;



I've had to remove the driver's seat to get it removed, will have to remove the passenger seat as well. It does make life a lot easier though, and my efforts were rewarded;


Then today I began fitted the new alcantara trimmed centre console;


Now fitting the arm rest and trying to figure out how to fit the air vent in the arm rest, it's not easy at all... Stay tuned for finished pictures soon, hopefully with a better quality camera than my phone.

Moving over to Flickr, sorry for the broken picture links!

Offline th3_f15t

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Re: th3_f15t - '07 GTI "Project Evie"
« Reply #41 on: 16 January 2015, 22:02 »
Looking back through this whole project log and it’s clear that the first half has been a performance focused project but then it became all cosmetic. July was the last performance modification that was done to the car in the form of Bilstien B14 coilovers from AMD Tuning. Since then it was all interior focused really, as I wanted to make the driving experience inside as good as it was underneath. I don’t regret such a change in priorities but lately I’ve lost a lot of motivation for cosmetic modifications as they are a lot of work (sourcing, planning and in some cases, fitting) and although pretty, do very little to change the feel of the car when driving.

That all changed today…

My day started well, woke up on time, got ready and left for the drive from London to AKS Tuning in Bedford with a pit stop for fuel at Tesco. £1.10 a litre for premium and less than £50 to fill up from just below a quarter. Then onto the M1 which was clear enough that I could cruise at 70 the whole way there, also didn’t get lost. Booked it to start at 9am and I arrived exactly on time. A good omen, or too much luck used up too early? Well…

A good omen. Had a quick chat with Alex (who is as nice as people say) and he laid out everything for me to look at and take pictures for this log;



So if you don’t know already, I put my name down for the SuperPro group buy to take advantage of a good discount on the full front and rear upgrade kit for my Golf. Also asked to have H&R anti-roll bars fitted as it seemed sensible while the whole suspension system was pulled apart. Plus the quoted price was the same price AMD Tuning where asking for just the SuperPro kit on its own! How can I refuse that kind of bargain?

Watching Alex work is hypnotic, found myself just staring and watching in wonder, but pulled myself together long enough to get some “in progress” shots for you all to enjoy.

Anti-lift kit;

Anti-roll bar;

Torque mount insert;

The rear assembly taken apart;


The ball joints put up a protest and several of the bolts sheared off which was expected but strangely, I didn’t think of asking to have the SuperPro versions added to my shopping list so some stock ones are on for now but may upgrade on my next visit to AKS. At 6:45pm (just shy of 10 hours later) I paid up and got the keys back.

I’m not going to talk about the kit just now (bizarrely) as I was really tired and hungry after spending most of the afternoon playing GT5 while waiting plus it was the end of rush hour so going to get a few hundred miles on the various bits before forming an opinion on the upgrades. Annoyingly, I asked if I could drop my suspension down another 10mm ahead of my first track day in March but when we had a look at the Bilstiens it was quickly apparent they are already wound down fully (their max of 50mm) so there’s no more left in them in terms of drop. I’m happy with the way the car sits but wanted that little bit more for the track but never mind.

Been a long time since I’ve been able to write an essay about performance modifications but feels good to sit here and chat for a while. Here’s some pictures to feast upon now, please enjoy and as usual, feedback is more than welcome!





Moving over to Flickr, sorry for the broken picture links!

Offline th3_f15t

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Re: th3_f15t - '07 GTI "Project Evie"
« Reply #42 on: 18 March 2015, 18:54 »
So in keeping with monthly updates, I've chucked together a few photos and some text. First little change up was returning to a stock grill:


Also added some R32 rear lights:


And now running some Team Dynamic Pro Race 1.2's in an 18 inch matt black flavour:


Also signed up to a group buy for a BCS turbo back exhaust sytem which will be with me end of April all being well. Oh, and decided to get some new brakes:


Car insurance is due next month and the exhaust isn't cheap (despit being a good deal!) so slower progress over the coming months.
« Last Edit: 28 June 2015, 18:52 by th3_f15t »

Moving over to Flickr, sorry for the broken picture links!

Offline th3_f15t

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Re: th3_f15t - '07 GTI "Project Evie"
« Reply #43 on: 07 April 2015, 16:51 »
So, it’s only taken since January of this year to sort it out, but I finally have my arm rest fully installed! The hold-up came from no access to the sides of the arm rest with the seats in, plus I needed to re-remove the centre console to fit the air duct pipework for the rear vents. So after (scarily) just under an hour later it looked like this:


One of the main access problems was this one screw:


But my perfectionist side is now happy as its all bolted back in and there are no spare screws! Every single one is accounted for and where it should be:



Really, I’d of liked to hoover the hell out of my interior while the car is in the state above, but due to personal circumstances massively changing in the last week, the location for this work is far from an ideal location. Still, it’s another job done and dusted, last job of the interior is to fit my front JBL speakers and possibly wire them up to the rear amplifier, although this is unlikely unless I can cleverly do it without removing the whole interior again. Seriously, it’s no joke that to wire up an amplifier in the rear you pretty much remove all the interior, just check my previous posts!

So what’s next for Evie then? Well, chances are that there won’t be an awful lot this month now as I need to focus on my mk4 V5 for a bit to get her running again and then sold on for a bit of profit to fund some bigger plans for Evie (not saying anything yet…). I’ve got my full turbo back exhaust on order and it’s due delivery at the end of April so once that arrives and I’ve sourced a cheap HPFP and maybe an full cold air intake (CAI) I’ll fit everything up (apart from the exhaust) and remap to finally be at stage 2+. After than it’ll most certainly be the new Porsche 4-piston front brakes with 330mm discs, and hopefully if I sell my other brake kit to claim money back, a set of re-coloured rear R32 310mm brakes too for some serious stopping power. Overall goal is to have the chassis capable of around 400bhp for future development. Oh wait, you’re not supposed to know that’s a figure I have in my head…

For now, it’s just a case of waiting for a wash (both me and Evie!) and a final money shot for the evening. Peace, ya’ll!

Moving over to Flickr, sorry for the broken picture links!

Offline th3_f15t

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Re: th3_f15t - '07 GTI "Project Evie"
« Reply #44 on: 13 April 2015, 21:13 »
So, time for an actual update in keeping with the monthly progress. This month it's all about being a hypocrite! I've always voiced an opinion that a full CAI on a K03 turbo engine as overkill and kills torque lower down the rev range... Well I decided that I needed one anyway regardless as retail therapy is always a winner, right?

So, just to guage how big the cone filter is on the RamAir intake, I put it next to a 1 litre water bottle. Oh my, what a big cone filter you have grandma:


So got outside and began removing the engine cover and old set-up. Here's a tip people, get yourself a set of hose clip pliers as they will save you both time and skin on your hands. Seriously, this one tool was worth the £30 I paid for a whole set of various pliers:



Seriously, took longer to get the rubber air feed from the air box to the turbo off than the hose clip. Those pliers made it all of a 10 second job and I'm not even joking! So, all stripped off in about 15 minutes:


I needed to "borrow" some of the engine rubber mounts to fit the RamAir heat shielding:


Quite an easy kit to fit, but a single piece of pipe work like the Revo kit would of been even simpler but at £155, I'm not complaining in the slightest! All finished about 20 minutes before sundown:



I'll write up in another post what I think of it, I'd also like to get back onto the AmD Tuning rolling road to see just what a difference it makes over my original set-up. The reason I need to use AmD is although their figures a generous to say the least, because my original power run was from there it's the only way to make a fair comparison between a panel filter and full CAI. I won't be too interested in total power gain, more about how it's affected the power curve and where the peak power/torque now are.

Future plans for the next month? Well, as some of you may be aware I'm working on a mk4 Golf V5 so once I've got that finished up and running, I'll make some serious progress with Evie. Yes, I've gone back to naming my car as now she's the only girl in my life... SO if all goes well with the mk4 I'll be confident enough to fit my 330mm Porsche front brakes, S3 intercooler and if I can source one, a HPFP all ahead of getting a full turbo back exhaust fitted. Basically, if you haven't guessed, stage 2+ is officially happening! Target is 275bhp but I'd love to start aiming for 300bhp+ (a hint to future plans as well all know the K03 limit lies around 285bhp). For now, peace...

Moving over to Flickr, sorry for the broken picture links!

Offline th3_f15t

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Re: th3_f15t - '07 GTI "Project Evie"
« Reply #45 on: 05 May 2015, 22:05 »
So lately, things have been a bit up and down for me, struggling with things in my life but as ever, the Golf has helped me through. May of been a bit crazy with buying things, so got to sort that all out (hence the current large amount of things for sale on the forum!) and then get back on track. I do have a master plan for the GTI but it's gone way off course right now. Still, getting it into a magazine though, so here's some shots that'll be used (hopefully) to get this back into the main light. My mk4 Golf V5 has stolen a lot of attention lately...





So what's next for the GTI? Well, I have my S3 intercooler and a HPFP to fit as well as waiting for my Powervalve full turbo back exhaust to arrive. Next month I plan to get the GTI into the workshop and use the V5 for a month or two while I go over everything engine-wise to finish up and get her ready for a stage 2+ map. Going back to AmD Tuning as I really rate their stage 1 map and customer service and they're local enough to me (despite since moving away from the area). I know R-Tech's reputation but I'm going back to my own plans from a year ago which has AmD Tuning stage 2 featured heavily in it, for reasons I won't share right now.

Interior wise, save up and sort it! I half-arsed it and it p***'s me off that it's not finished the way I want to so I'm going to save up, strip it all out and start again. Literally. Again, the V5 will come into service while I get seats re-done in stages. Had toyed with some custom Cobra Misano seat, if someone offers me the right month for my R32 buckets then it may be a go ahead... Oh, and did someone say cage? :happy2:

Brakes and suspension, well, got my 4 piston Porsche 330mm front brakes sat waiting to go on, and may also get round to re-painting my R32 rears now I can use a shot blaster myself. Get all the brakes upgraded one last time and then it's exactly the way I want it chassis wise. Suspension really need for nothing, maybe some 3-way adjustable coilovers at a later stage if I feel the need.

Bodywork plans are simple enough. Fit the ED30 spitter I've had laying in my collection of bits for nearly a year now, USA smooth grill and general tidy up if my re-spraying skills prove good enough. Going to practise on the V5 first and get my eye in, then tackle it myself to save a ton of cash.

So that's my plans, lets see how things pan out over the rest of the year.

Moving over to Flickr, sorry for the broken picture links!

Offline th3_f15t

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Re: th3_f15t - '07 GTI "Project Evie"
« Reply #46 on: 28 June 2015, 18:50 »
So as many people are now aware, the GTI is up for sale. But it needed a good clean before I could seriously advertise it for sale, so today I spent a good 3 hours giving it some well needed love. The results are quite good considering I was only giving it a "quick" detailing:



Obligatory water beading shot:


So why have I decided to sell my pride and joy? Simply, this:




Decided it was too much to tackle the GTI and my mk4 V5 at the same time but I didn't want to part ways with the V5 (strangely) and I wanted something that would rival the GTI in terms of power but be kind of where I wanted the GTI to go after enough time. It wasn't really a difficult choice going for a mk6 Golf R, considering I wanted 4motion and 400bhp from the GTI, but the problem would always be I wouldn't of had DSG, and this is where the Golf R won the argument. It's essentially where I wanted the GTI to be minus the 400bhp, but for now I'll be happy to drive the Golf R as she is until the mk4 V5 is finished.

It'll be a very sad day seeing my GTI drive away, but these things must be. I've owned it for nearly 3 years and loved every minute, the highlight was this month featuring in Volkswagen Driver magazine ahead of GTI International, feels pretty amazing to achieve something I set out to do when I started modifying the car. I may take it to GTI International for one last blast before tucking it up safely and waiting for the right seller. Although I may take the Golf R up to give it it's initiation into it's new world. Haven't decided yet...

Moving over to Flickr, sorry for the broken picture links!

Offline th3_f15t

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Re: th3_f15t - '07 GTI "Project Evie"
« Reply #47 on: 05 September 2015, 16:46 »
I took the car to Car Audio Security to have them fit the new stereo correctly and properly as I was fed up of trying myself. The guys there are really, genuinely passionate and caring about their work, the workshop guys are so welcoming and happy to share knowledge and keep you informed of what they're doing. And I was asked to come back and show them my Golf R, just because they want to see it! Needless to say, I shall now be upgrading the ICE in the Golf R through them as I'm totally blown away with their service.

Speaking of ICE, here it is finished off:


And now the sad bit...

This is the end of the line for the GTI in my ownership. I met up with a new owner today who wants to swap my GTI for his 2003 Golf R32, we took some test drives and spent some chatting and agreed to go ahead with the swap. So by the end of the month I shall part ways with the GTI, possibly forever. It's really mixed emotions for me, as I've invested not just money into the build, but so much time and passion that it's genuinely like a break up with a partner for me. I don't care if people think I'm sad for being emotionally attached to my GTI, but it's helped me through some of the roughest times in my life in recent years and it was the achievement of my dreams to have owned one.

I just hope the new owner loves her as much as I have and still do. Maybe they'll even take it in new directions or go where I was going to go with it. Only time will tell. But for now, I think it's only right to say thank you to all of those who have followed this build and left nice comments or sent kind words over messages. It's through the support of most of the people in the VW world that I've made it through the recent years.

But... This is far from good bye from me!

Moving over to Flickr, sorry for the broken picture links!

Offline quicksilver6945

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Re: th3_f15t - '07 GTI "Project Evie"
« Reply #48 on: 15 May 2017, 00:27 »
very nice job....
GOLF GTI 5 DSG/AWD/F1/GTX3071R/OETTINGER 580PS/64TQ till this day