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Sportwagen Upgrade

1446 Views 23 Replies 10 Participants Last post by  Dieseldog12, 
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My 2017 Sportwagen 4motion
Only thing i’ve done so far is apr stage 1 93 tune and added the audi 18” wheels. I’m looking to upgrade to an is20 eventually since there’s no warranty anymore, are there any upgrades i should add other than downpipe that will make a difference in power or reliability?
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EthanCobra said:
View attachment 289916
My 2017 Sportwagen 4motion
Only thing i’ve done so far is apr stage 1 93 tune and added the audi 18” wheels. I’m looking to upgrade to an is20 eventually since there’s no warranty anymore, are there any upgrades i should add other than downpipe that will make a difference in power or reliability?
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Suspension and brake suggestions are welcome too, i’m not looking to kill the ride comfort
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Welcome to Vortex!
Enjoy your new wheels.

Every used car gets Mandatory Fluid Freshening.
Brake Suggestion? Teflon hoses, commonly called stainless. Firmer pedal, shorter stops.

fat biker
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MidwestMTB
EthanCobra said:
Suspension and brake suggestions are welcome too, i’m not looking to kill the ride comfort
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Welcome! Bilstein struts B6 with R springs or B8 (with lowering springs such as H&R or Eibach) are an awesome upgrade for suspension. Just search in the forum and you will see what I mean. RSB is another popular and simple modification on these cars. Alltrack front caliper carriers and 312mm rotors are a super cheap and easy upgrade for your brakes. Otherwise GTI/R front brake set ups are popular OEM+ options too. Honestly just dig through the threads and you will learn a LOT. Many of your questions have been asked and answered at some point in time.
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MidwestMTB said:
Welcome! Bilstein struts B6 with R springs or B8 (with lowering springs such as H&R or Eibach) are an awesome upgrade for suspension. Just search in the forum and you will see what I mean. RSB is another popular and simple modification on these cars. Alltrack front caliper carriers and 312mm rotors are a super cheap and easy upgrade for your brakes. Otherwise GTI/R front brake set ups are popular OEM+ options too. Honestly just dig through the threads and you will learn a LOT. Many of your questions have been asked and answered at some point in time.
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I’ve been interested in lowering but i’m pretty sure i won’t be able to with the new wheels, the wheels are 245/40/18, would that rub at all? it’s already very close it looks like. And i’ve been reading a lot of threads all day trying to figure out some stuff to do figured making a specific post would help out!
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Those are tires not wheels and yes 245 is pushing it.
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ikbrown
The aftermarket wheels thread could help you to determine if you can lower it. There are plenty who have lowered on 245s, at least one that I know that is on 255s but thats really at the edge of fitment. Depends on your offset. Do you know the offset/size of the Audi wheels?

I'm lowered w/ 235/45/17 tires on 17x8.5 wheels w/ a +42 offset. Probably could have gotten away with +35 and still would've worked.

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Golf SportWagen/Alltrack aftermarket or other model...

I'm trying to find a set of wheels, tires, and springs for my wife's GSW I'd love to see what other VWvortex members are running to help me figure out what is a good offset and width is for this car that is as wide and flush as possible without rubbing or compromising the ride. I don't know if...
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Yeah, for reference, I run 255/40-17 on 17x9 ET41 wheels. I think you should be fine on clearance as long as you're not running a 50+mm offset. The awd wagons shouldn't have the fuel filler issue that fwd cars have.
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ikbrown said:
The aftermarket wheels thread could help you to determine if you can lower it. There are plenty who have lowered on 245s, at least one that I know that is on 255s but thats really at the edge of fitment. Depends on your offset. Do you know the offset/size of the Audi wheels?

I'm lowered w/ 235/45/17 tires on 17x8.5 wheels w/ a +42 offset. Probably could have gotten away with +35 and still would've worked.

www.vwvortex.com

Golf SportWagen/Alltrack aftermarket or other model...

I'm trying to find a set of wheels, tires, and springs for my wife's GSW I'd love to see what other VWvortex members are running to help me figure out what is a good offset and width is for this car that is as wide and flush as possible without rubbing or compromising the ride. I don't know if...
www.vwvortex.com www.vwvortex.com
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They are 18x8.5 +29 offset
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EthanCobra said:
They are 18x8.5 +29 offset
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You should be fine on the inside, may have a little poke though. Have you done the fender screw mod? You can google it, it's a five minute job you don't need to lift the car either.
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bentin said:
You should be fine on the inside, may have a little poke though. Have you done the fender screw mod? You can google it, it's a five minute job you don't need to lift the car either.
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I have only tuned it and service the fluids and then got new wheels and tires because my tires were shot and 2 of the wheels were warped when i got it.
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This is one example

This is what WillTheyFit.com lists comparing stock GTI sizing of 225/40-18 you'd have 1.33" greater poke.

EXISTING
NEW

Diameter
637.2mm
653.2mm

Circumference
2001.8mm
2052.1mm

Poke
45.3mm
79mm

Inset
145.3mm
137mm
Speedo error
0%
-2.45%
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bentin said:
This is one example

This is what WillTheyFit.com lists comparing stock GTI sizing of 225/40-18 you'd have 1.33" greater poke.

EXISTING
NEW

Diameter
637.2mm
653.2mm

Circumference
2001.8mm
2052.1mm

Poke
45.3mm
79mm

Inset
145.3mm
137mm
Speedo error
0%
-2.45%
Click to expand...
this is the current fitment
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Looks reasonable, I think you can lower it without rub, but it's likely going to be close. Getting as much camber as you can will help too.
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wish sportwagens were made earlier + i would have bought one, 6 spd manual + AWD of course!!
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vandadwagon
I just lowered my 2015 GSW on 17x9 ET42 with 245/40R17. I was worried they’d rub but haven’t had an issue in about a month of various spirited daily rips. Went with Eibach pro kit springs on stock shocks. Looks like you have similar poke to what I had, though I did wish I was at 8.5” wide instead.
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vandadwagon
As for your power mod question, IS20 and a down pipe will bring enough torque to start thinking about a stronger clutch.
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vandadwagon said:
As for your power mod question, IS20 and a down pipe will bring enough torque to start thinking about a stronger clutch.
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I have the 6 speed DSG and i’ve seen APR makes a tune up for it, would it be worth it? and how much did that end up lowering the car?
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The big question i’m at now outside of suspension is i know the is20 is “reliable” in terms of turbo upgrades but i’m curious with the is38 if it’s to much for the 1.8. i mean obviously a lot of people switch it but this is my daily driver and i don’t want to make it a 50k engine with a turbo upgrade. Is there anything to do in terms of i guess “bulletproofing” the engine other than not laying into the throttle or is it even needed. ive seen people say the 1.8 and 2.0 are barely different at all but don’t say what the differences are
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vandadwagon
EthanCobra said:
how much did that end up lowering the car?
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I didn’t measure from the ground but it went from a 4 finger gap to 2. They call it 1.2” drop I believe.

The ride is softer than I expected, I was worried it’d be rock solid for a daily but I really love it. I think 19s with 30 series rubber would be another story however. I also added the Eibach rear sway bar at the same time so I’m sure that’s a factor in ride quality and agility compared to the stock setup.

The fender screw mod and a light fender roll were also done up front.
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