Time to customise? Recommended mods, external, internal, performance

[chris1h]

Hi people

Below is a list of mods I have conducted since I purchased my Gti few months ago,

Current mods

• Seat GTI inserts ebay
• Door sill vinyl protector ebay (carbon fibre look)
• Metal pressed number plate with ABT tuning housing
• Upgraded front halogens bulbs to osram cool blue intense
• German Eurobadge on rear boot lid (other side from gti badge)

I have tried to change the the DRL halogen but carnt for the life of me get my hand in and have heard off other forums that there is no bulb that is even manufactured for it? I have toyed with the idea of blacked out windows but it already has tinted glass as standard so how dark do I go..( car is black ) I also want to add wind deflectors to the front windows but many posts on here have put me off doing it.. (car is 3 door) When I get the time I would like to change the foot well lights to a LED apart from that. I dont want to make the car look cheap and tacky. Simply wanting to put my own stamp on it and not spoil it...

Had my GTI few month and thinking about performance mods but it still has 3 Month manufacturers warranty and 6 month top up of VW approved dealer (main dealer). Originally I didn't want to touch anything as void warranty etc.. but the more videos I seen on youtube and the net makes me want to. Something taking my fancy at the moment is the miltek exhaust system. Personally I don't want anything to sound like a "chavy" saxo, corsa with a big exhaust. The examples I have heard sound good up to now. As you may have gathered I have no idea about performance mods. A air intake to make it sound a bit better? I really don't know. Performance wise I am going to get killed on insurance I would think but air intake or exhaust may not be as bad..

Any help and info would be great.Thanks everyone..

[hef]

If you're confident there's no issues with the car then yeah, why not go ahead and get some mods done...

Breathing mods are a good first step like you're thinking.

Open cone filters will give a 'whooshing' noise and occasional chatter when letting off the throttle under load.
Enclosed filters like carbonio won't be at noisy but will still give you minor power gains and better throttle response. There's always a debate about heatsoak with open cone filters, one with a heatshield would be beneficial if you go down that route.

If you don't want something ridiculously loud then have a look at BCS powervalve systems, quiet off boost, loud on boost when the silencer is bypassed with a vacuum controlled valve. Otherwise, something with a middle and back box would be ideal to keep noise down, but still give you a nice exhaust tone.

From what I've heard & read Milltek are OK, quality not fantastic, better out there for the money...but saying that I've just bought a milltek race cat-back system for mine as it came up for a good price 2nd hand with edition35 tips...hah

Might be worth giving a call to your insurance company before you do anything...

[chris1h]

If you're confident there's no issues with the car then yeah, why not go ahead and get some mods done...

Breathing mods are a good first step like you're thinking.

Open cone filters will give a 'whooshing' noise and occasional chatter when letting off the throttle under load.
Enclosed filters like carbonio won't be at noisy but will still give you minor power gains and better throttle response. There's always a debate about heatsoak with open cone filters, one with a heatshield would be beneficial if you go down that route.

If you don't want something ridiculously loud then have a look at BCS powervalve systems, quiet off boost, loud on boost when the silencer is bypassed with a vacuum controlled valve. Otherwise, something with a middle and back box would be ideal to keep noise down, but still give you a nice exhaust tone.

From what I've heard & read Milltek are OK, quality not fantastic, better out there for the money...but saying that I've just bought a milltek race cat-back system for mine as it came up for a good price 2nd hand with edition35 tips...hah

Might be worth giving a call to your insurance company before you do anything...

Thanks for the advice mate! appreciate it. This is my first car with a turbo so just starting to learn about the mods now.. its a minefield! will look into what you said. yerh think I will give the insurance company a ring.

[chris1h]

If you're confident there's no issues with the car then yeah, why not go ahead and get some mods done...

Breathing mods are a good first step like you're thinking.

Open cone filters will give a 'whooshing' noise and occasional chatter when letting off the throttle under load.
Enclosed filters like carbonio won't be at noisy but will still give you minor power gains and better throttle response. There's always a debate about heatsoak with open cone filters, one with a heatshield would be beneficial if you go down that route.

If you don't want something ridiculously loud then have a look at BCS powervalve systems, quiet off boost, loud on boost when the silencer is bypassed with a vacuum controlled valve. Otherwise, something with a middle and back box would be ideal to keep noise down, but still give you a nice exhaust tone.

From what I've heard & read Milltek are OK, quality not fantastic, better out there for the money...but saying that I've just bought a milltek race cat-back system for mine as it came up for a good price 2nd hand with edition35 tips...hah

Might be worth giving a call to your insurance company before you do anything...

would something like a  K&N High Flow Panel filter give the woosh sound you was on about?

[RocketRossUK]

Nope....Need an open cone.

[Dipesh2031]

I'd stay away from filters on the mk6 gti, there's been tonnes of research and most if not all apart from a few like APR carbonio will mess up fuel trims and throw off your MAF, it's not worth it for the sound, unless you get carbonio, I think even VWR ones have been proven to be useless along with forge etc etc, check the american forums as they have way more write ups and research than uk forums.

[Dipesh2031]

Personally if you're happy with the handling of the car, and is all mechanically sound
start with
 
painted rear diffusor in gloss black with a (in my opinion the best) Eurojet exhaust, have a look on youtube, and after hours of looking, I think the euro jet exhausts for the mk6 sound amazing.

Then a remap? if you want extra power of course.
 
Lowering? I'm sure you don't want arch gap, leave coilovers alone, unless you have a large budget and can get KW etc, I would personally run VWR springs, 20mm drop, wont change ride from stock, done lots of reading into springs and these are the best from what I've gathered.

Side skirts? R20 ones? Rear LED tails? etc That would be it for external, internal is a whole different story!

[RocketRossUK]

^^^^^ This above info is not great, and not backed up.

Intake do make a big difference, especially when mapped. I have tried nearly all the intakes for the MK6 and the Carbonio was the one that caused the most problems with the MAF and timing. And in regards to the VW Racing one, it was so quite it was pretty pointless if you want noise.

Some of the intakes i have tried showed up to 12BHP more in certain spots in the rev range whilst on the dyno and defo help it breath tons better near the red line.

In regards to springs, I would say VW Racing are way over priced and just the same as H&R or Eibach. (which both give better drops)

And your statement about coilovers is also wrong. Loads of people rate the AP coilovers for the money, been rated as best coilover near the £500 mark.

Then there is the B14 Bilstein set which is very highly rated at £795. No need to spend daft money on KW's if you not tracking it every month.

Right about gloss black diffusser though   

[Dipesh2031]

Alot of people with alot of intakes have lost power on initial acceleration and gained at top end, and many intakes can skew the fuel trim settings just depends on the intake as theres 12, I'm just going off what owners have said about these intakes and what R tech have told me with regards to the mk5 of course, so don't quote me on that. Cheapest way of getting more sound I've been told, drill holes in the factory air box at the bottom by snorkle

I don't agree that H&R and eibach springs are the same, as VWR springs are linear and the eibach and H&R are progressive which actually put more strain on the shock as they are softer on small bumps in the road, also dropping stock shocks over 30mm makes the car ride horrible, I've been there.. never again. VWR Springs £190 H&R around £180 eibach springs £160, how are the VWR springs overpriced?

Coilovers are great, but for the original poster, I was thinking they would rather keep the car standard ish as they didn't provide a need for the extra handling benefits coilovers would provide along with all the insurance that goes with adding coilovers.
I added coilovers and my insurance went up considerably, AP coilovers are great i've driven 2 cars on them, but hitting a small pot hole and other nasties in the road are still felt quite badly over a stock set up. I've never driven bilsteins so cannot say, but the B12 kit on sportlines is too harsh for the road.
VWR springs have a certificate with them that they are approved by VW so depending on the company you would be charged less on insurance over coilovers, while still removing arch gap and having a capable car able to clear the terrible roads.

[wigit]

VWR springs are made by Eibach

VWR springs are not officially approved, 3 or more years ago VWR sold their upgrade through some dealers and the parts were warranted but not by VW UK

Bilstein B16s all day long on the coilovers front, two way adjustable just meant the car could be adjusted in a couple of mins