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I've always wanted to do one of these threads. Though I'm not sure I'll be doing it "right".
Anyways, the story goes I "inherited" my wife's old 2005 GTI 1.8T after I bought her a new 2015 Golf Sportwagen TDI SEL. My commute as of this writing is roughly 25 miles one way, so the decent mileage is appreciated especially coming from a 2013 Audi S4 (that I traded in to get us the Sportwagen.)
"But Groundskeeper!" you say. "If mileage is important, why aren't YOU driving the TDI?" Because she likes the shiny new car better and because #marriageAmIrite, that's why.
Anyways, always looking to find the positive in everything I decided I was gonna take this opportunity to play around with the car. Make some "reasonable improvements" to it as it is now my daily.
The hardest part about this is that since it is my daily I can't have it down for too long. So I have to factor that in when deciding on modifications. My soft deadlines for acquiring parts and doing the work are usually long/holiday weekends or days when we can borrow a third car.
Along with this I'd been keeping a spreadsheet that's helped me keep track of the best prices that I could find when price shopping around for items that I'd been wanting to get - everywhere from the usual vendors, Amazon, eBay, craigslist to the classified forums. At the same time I keep slowly stashing away cash here and there to be able to afford the parts as well as the tools necessary to install them.
So here it is at the start.
Year: 2005
Model: GTI
Engine: AWP 1.8T 20v
Transmission: 02J 5-speed manual
Color: UniBlack
Wheels: 17" Ariettas (I'm not sure if they're 7" or 7.5" wide. I'm think the former but I've seen others say the latter)
My MAIN goal is to get it to ride better. Meaning suspension and driveability improvements are top priority. I probably won't do any crazy engine modifications. At most MAYBE a K04-001 if my KO3S goes. Otherwise, this thing is supposed to just be a daily driver that's fun. Notice how I put the "daily driver" BEFORE the "fun".
Stay Tuned.
Anyways, the story goes I "inherited" my wife's old 2005 GTI 1.8T after I bought her a new 2015 Golf Sportwagen TDI SEL. My commute as of this writing is roughly 25 miles one way, so the decent mileage is appreciated especially coming from a 2013 Audi S4 (that I traded in to get us the Sportwagen.)
"But Groundskeeper!" you say. "If mileage is important, why aren't YOU driving the TDI?" Because she likes the shiny new car better and because #marriageAmIrite, that's why.
Anyways, always looking to find the positive in everything I decided I was gonna take this opportunity to play around with the car. Make some "reasonable improvements" to it as it is now my daily.
The hardest part about this is that since it is my daily I can't have it down for too long. So I have to factor that in when deciding on modifications. My soft deadlines for acquiring parts and doing the work are usually long/holiday weekends or days when we can borrow a third car.
Along with this I'd been keeping a spreadsheet that's helped me keep track of the best prices that I could find when price shopping around for items that I'd been wanting to get - everywhere from the usual vendors, Amazon, eBay, craigslist to the classified forums. At the same time I keep slowly stashing away cash here and there to be able to afford the parts as well as the tools necessary to install them.
So here it is at the start.
Year: 2005
Model: GTI
Engine: AWP 1.8T 20v
Transmission: 02J 5-speed manual
Color: UniBlack
Wheels: 17" Ariettas (I'm not sure if they're 7" or 7.5" wide. I'm think the former but I've seen others say the latter)
My MAIN goal is to get it to ride better. Meaning suspension and driveability improvements are top priority. I probably won't do any crazy engine modifications. At most MAYBE a K04-001 if my KO3S goes. Otherwise, this thing is supposed to just be a daily driver that's fun. Notice how I put the "daily driver" BEFORE the "fun".

Stay Tuned.