[HBird]

Hi everybody,

Figured I'd make a build journal for my GTI I picked up 2 weeks ago. It took a while to find the spec I wanted (Mk7.5, plaid seats, DSG, SE trim), but luckily this one popped up nearby. I'm pretty familiar with the MQB platform, albeit on the AWD side, so I have a good idea as far as how I want it to turn out. It'll be a pretty mild build for the most part with some OEM+ goodies and go fast parts. The main goal is to have a fun and streetable DD that has OEM looks. Looking forward to knowing everyone here, and thanks for looking! eace:

Model
2018 GTI SE
Tornado Red
Titan Black w/ Clark Plaid Cloth
DSG
Rearview Mirror w/ Homelink, Self Dimming w/ Compass
Monster Mats
First Aid Kit


Engine
034 Motorsport X34 Open Top Intake
034 Motorsport Turbo Muffler Delete
034 Motorsport Turbo Inlet Elbow
034 Motorsport Downpipe
034 Motorsport Stage 2 93 Octane Tune
APR Intercooler
APR Silicone Boost Hoses
AWE Track Cat Back Exhaust w/ Silver Tips
JB4
OEM R8 Coolant Tank Cap


Exterior
BBS CH-R 19x8.5 ET47
Michelin PS4S 245/35/19
CQuartz UK 3.0 Ceramic Coating
Ceramic Front Windshield Tint (80%)
OEM VW Base Carrier Bars
OEM Euro Folding Mirrors with DAP
OEM Euro Driver Side Aspherical Mirror w/ DAP
OEM VW Gloss Black Mirror Caps
OEM VW GTI License Plate Frame
OEM Mk7.5 Euro LED Taillights
DAP Euro Taillight Harness
Loiacono Engineering Gloss Black Lip Spoiler




Interior
S2T Performance Shift Paddles
OEM Audi 12V Power Outlet Cover
OEM Euro Mk7 GTI Clubsport DSG Shifter
OEM Euro Mk7 GTI Headrests
OEM Warning Triangle



Some pics from the week I got it

 

[v-1]

Nice ride!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[christophe15]

hey there and welcome, yeah was hard to find SE with Titan and DSG for me too, thank goodness my dealership was able to trade for mine .

Did you do the homelink, dimming mirror mod yourself? Was it complicated? This is on my short list things to do as well.

 

[milesbeyond]

Awesome shots! Congrats!

 

[HBird]

Nice ride!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you! I have about 800 miles on it now and I'm loving it! More so than my R and S3 I had before

hey there and welcome, yeah was hard to find SE with Titan and DSG for me too, thank goodness my dealership was able to trade for mine .

Did you do the homelink, dimming mirror mod yourself? Was it complicated? This is on my short list things to do as well.

It's the best combo IMO! As far as the dimming mirror is concerned, it was an option that was already installed (listed on the Monroney). That was another factor I was looking for when I was looking around.

Awesome shots! Congrats!

Thank you! I'll probably be inundating this thread with pics and trying new techniques out :laugh:

 

[colliece0809]

You Think That Combo Was Hard

I searched for a Great Falls Green, Titan Plain, with a Manual, my dealer said it would be more likely to find Big Foot hunting for King Solomon's lost gold mine. After 6 weeks he found it and traded the dealer one of their inventory and it has been mine for 8 months. I love my Tartan Plaid seats, now that is colder than a polar bears balls, they are not so cold to freeze your rear end in the morning, and the heated seats go from 0 to burn your buns in a flash.

Red was my fallback color, but so happy I waited for Gracie, my green speed machine. But I have to admit the red and plaid is classic and looks awesome.

 

[HBird]

I searched for a Great Falls Green, Titan Plain, with a Manual, my dealer said it would be more likely to find Big Foot hunting for King Solomon's lost gold mine. After 6 weeks he found it and traded the dealer one of their inventory and it has been mine for 8 months. I love my Tartan Plaid seats, now that is colder than a polar bears balls, they are not so cold to freeze your rear end in the morning, and the heated seats go from 0 to burn your buns in a flash.

Red was my fallback color, but so happy I waited for Gracie, my green speed machine. But I have to admit the red and plaid is classic and looks awesome.

I'd believe it! I wanted White Silver originally, and searching Autotrader and Cars.com was a nightmare because White Silver showed up under "White". I had to look at each individual car because of the dealer potato pics and then cloth/leather. Luckily 2 months into my search there was one nearby (closest alternate was 500 miles away), however they didn't want to sell it and my red one showed up the same time as well. And I definitely agree on the seats! Cloth seats are so much better than the leather I've had in the past. Hopefully the plaid seats help with the Texas heat in the summer :laugh:



I guess a little update. Not sure if these are classified as "mods", but it's something for now. . Got a GTI license plate frame and swapped over an A3/S3 12V outlet dummy cover. Also, more pics. ic:

 

[jaystone]

hey there and welcome, yeah was hard to find SE with Titan and DSG for me too, thank goodness my dealership was able to trade for mine .

Did you do the homelink, dimming mirror mod yourself? Was it complicated? This is on my short list things to do as well.

I did the homelink mirror myself. Wasn't too bad. DAP has a video on YouTube that shows what's involved. Good luck!

 

[AZMK3GTI]

Wow those pics came out great. Never thought a stock GTI could look so nice.

Looking forward to the build!

 

[nicholam77]

Congrats on the new ride! Great pics - will follow along. Interesting to hear you like it more than a Golf R and S3.

:beer:

 

[HBird]

Wow those pics came out great. Never thought a stock GTI could look so nice.

Looking forward to the build!

Thank you! Probably some of the few pics I'll grab of it while stock :laugh:

Congrats on the new ride! Great pics - will follow along. Interesting to hear you like it more than a Golf R and S3.

:beer:

Thank you! It mostly comes down to the weight aspect of it. Th GTI is just such a more nimble and tossable car than the R & S3 were. I've been really impressed with the diff the GTIs come with and have no complaints when driving on highway clovers and what not. Obviously straight line speed (from a dig) is where the GTI lacks and can't compete. When I drove today and floored it at a light when coming back from lunch (after it rained this morning) seeing the traction light go crazy was a very weird experience lol :laugh:


I've already hit 1K miles so far and I've noticed a few cost cutting things that are kind of bewildering (no lights at night on upper console lights, all plastic glove box with no felt, no rear door locks, etc.). Not sure if I want to start going after them or not and retrofitting stuff yet though. Hopefully after the holidays/new year the mods will roll in. :beer:

 

[HBird]

Santa came a little late, but it looks like he stopped by 034 on his way here. :biggrinsanta:

I picked up a 034 P34 Intake along with their Turbo Muffler Delete. I opted for the P34 vs the X34 mostly because they do the same thing and paying extra $$$ for carbon under the hood was pointless this time around. Hopefully they'll get installed this week or the next. Also placed an order for a set of OEM Euro GTI Rear Headerests as well.

 

[jaystone]

What P/N's were the euro headrests? Are they just low profile left and right's like the lower middle? Looking good so far!:biggrinsanta:

 

[HBird]

What P/N's were the euro headrests? Are they just low profile left and right's like the lower middle? Looking good so far!:biggrinsanta:

The P/N should be 5G0885901ACBDL. And yes, the difference is that they're low profile similar to the middle, but still different. I actually used a set of Euro Mk7 GTI headrests on my S3 (leather w/ red stitching) since the the S3 ones were twice as much. Luckily I was able to find these (cloth ones) from a salvage parts website based out of the Netherlands and got them for cheap.

 

[Jimminez]

#NoBBSNoCare





As you know that can be fixed.

 

[sebasEuRo]

Glad I've found this thread, I saw you post in a different section and I was drooling over the Tornado Red pics... I really want to trade my GLI now for a Tornado Red GTI! :laugh::heart:

 

[GriffMcCord]

Following

Following your build; I just picked up a 2018 GTI S on December 31st.
Curious if you have any fitment issues with the 034 intake. When I go to URO tuning's website, it says the 034 will NOT fit the Mk 7.5 (Facelift). Maybe you'll prove them wrong?

 

[AZMK3GTI]

Wait do you have plaid front seats, and leather back seats?

 

[HBird]

#NoBBSNoCare





As you know that can be fixed.

Shouldn't you be sticking to Audizine

Glad I've found this thread, I saw you post in a different section and I was drooling over the Tornado Red pics... I really want to trade my GLI now for a Tornado Red GTI! :laugh::heart:

haha thank you! It's never too late to make the switch

Following your build; I just picked up a 2018 GTI S on December 31st.
Curious if you have any fitment issues with the 034 intake. When I go to URO tuning's website, it says the 034 will NOT fit the Mk 7.5 (Facelift). Maybe you'll prove them wrong?

Congrats on your GTI! :beer:

There shouldn't be any differences whatsoever in intake fitment's between Mk7 and Mk7.5 as they're identical under the hood. The only things that changed are the exterior bits, the radios, and some interior cost cutting measures. I've been lazy though and haven't installed it yet :facepalm:.

Wait do you have plaid front seats, and leather back seats?

Nope, I have all plaid. On my S3 I had before this I used Euro Mk7 GTI leather headrests for the OEM+ look because the S3 ones were $400+/ea vs the GTI ones which were cheaper.

 

[Jimminez]

I’m all over the interweb.