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Author Topic: Alex's Shadow Blue GTI  (Read 41371 times)

Offline pandaman

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Alex's Shadow Blue GTI
« on: December 24, 2017, 04:12:40 pm »
After being a lurker for a quite some time I thought it was time to make a post about my 2005 GTI.



I purchased it in March 2016, one owner, 61k and a full service history with all maintenance done at a VW dealer.
The guy gave me a couple hundred off as I asked about the cambelt being done and he wasn’t sure. I later read through the history and found it had already been done! So, it seems he would take it to the dealer not ask questions, pay whatever they asked and they kept it in tip top condition. He could afford it, he lived in some nice flat by the Thames. When I went to pick it up, parked next to it was his brand-new shadow blue MK7 GTI.

Factory Specs:
Metallic Shadow Blue
Manual
Full Leather heated seats with electric lumber support
Dual zone climate control
Sat nav
6 disc CD changer in leather armrest
Rear cupholders
Electric windows all round
Auto dimming rear view mirror
Auto Lights
Auto wipers




Current changes/mods:
18” BBS CH-R’s on Pirelli P Zeros
H&R 30mm Lowering springs
Forge 6 speed quickshifter
New front grills incl. ‘performance’ fog light grills
Android 5.1 touch screen stereo
Alpine 12” Sub + Pioneer amp
MK6 Rear Badge mod
GTI seat inserts

Planned changes/mods:
Colour code the rear valence, side skirts and front splitter
Replace Cam follower
Diverter Valve Revision D
PCV Revision R
R8 Ignition Coil Packs
Forge Twintake
S3 Intercooler
revo Performance 3 Piece Engine Mounts
Milltek 3" sports cat Downpipe
Revo/APR Stage 2 ECU remap
Dream on:
Uprated Clutch
Uprated HPFP
K04 turbo
S3 injectors

Only photo I have of it Stock


First things I did were:
1 Monza refurbished
Repaint flaking calipers
Some minor Body work > scuffed mirrors, NSF door dent, OSF door molding

First mod, a MK6 Rear badge to replace the whiteworm riddled rear badge. I thought about a whole new MK6 handle but it was quite expensive and it turns out the newer versions didn’t have the soft dampened release like the MK5, so I found a mod online. You get a MK6 chrome badge off ebay, remove the mk5 badge, fill in a small hole with body filler, sand it and paint it and the badge doesn’t quite fit… whipped out the Dremel and I made it fit. Stick it on with some 3M double sided stuff and it turned out better than I expected. And I think it looks better than the original.




Next, I replaced the very dated satnav radio with a risky purchase.

An eBay, Chinese Andorid 5.1, OEM Fit, 8” touch screen radio.  The build quality was surprisingly very good and it fitted absolutely perfectly and felt very OEM.
Features include Bluetooth with built in microphone, Wi-Fi, GPS, Micro SD slot for music etc., DAB if you buy and extra box and the ability to use any android app. I use poweramp for my music and google maps/navigation for satnav with my phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot.





One huge problem, occasionally, a few months apart, the radio randomly resets itself to factory settings on startup and I have to reinstall all the apps and all my settings are lost. This only takes half an hour to do but it is hugely irritating.

I also removed the 6disc CD changer from the arm rest and replaced it with a cubby hole, much more useful.



Also, I got some GTI inserts for the seats



I was never a huge fan of the Monza alloys. I was looking at fake Chinese BBS alloys on the bay, I then read up on how terrible they are but was set on the style, bit the bullet, and got a set of real satin black 18” BBS CH-R’s. 18x8.5x112 ET 47.




 I fitted them with Pirelli P Zeros at 225/40/18, just a slight bit of stretch. looks great.



The chrome ring protector is a brilliant idea and saved one of my wheels once, but I wanted all black. I thought about replacing them with a new set that I would paint black, but at 60 quid each, I chose to risk it and just removed them.
Having these wheels and being stock height looked a bit goofy like someone wearing ankle swingers. I looked into coilovers but went with Lowering springs. H&R 30mm drop. Took a while to settle but now looks pretty damn good.




Then some repairs were made, the battery died and the drivers lock would not lock remotely, I got a new lock fitted and I replaced the battery.

Back to looking like new, I was fed up with blacking up the front grills only for them too look faded shortly after. So, I replaced all the front grills with ones I found on eBay, all fitted perfectly and I got fog light grills with the extra air flow/holes. The black unfaded plastic makes a big difference.



I then got myself a Forge Quick Shifter, pretty simple install and makes changing gears tighter. It felt very heavy at first but you get used to it.



Definitely not good for performance or fuel economy, I purchased a 12” Alpine subwoofer and a Pioneer Mono Bass Amp. They are pretty heavy but I’m very pleased with the sound they produce. I was looking into getting a stealth enclosure to put the sub to the side in the boot, but for now I’ve got a boring carpeted MDF box



Next, more repairs! I had a very annoying, erratic squeaky brake. Eventually I took it to my local VAG garage and had to replace the entire NSR caliper and both rear pads. It had been rubbing continuously, the wheel wouldn’t spin freely on the ramp and the pads had ‘crumbled’. A pretty expensive squeak. It seems to have permanently changed the colour of my discs too.



Being more expensive than I had anticipated, I thought I’d have a go at fixing the next problem myself.

Whenever the AC was on and I stopped, parked and got out, the fan sounded like a jet taking off. A quick google and look on here suggested one of the fans had seized. Turned out the smaller fan was not working at all. So, I took the fan shroud out, without taking the entire front end off, opened the fan with a Dremel, cleaned the brushes and put the whole lot back together. Problem solved for free or a couple hours of my time.

Soon I will get a few smaller mods like a foot rest and some genuine parts i.e. the interior door handles and switches to replace the worn and tatty ones.

This is my first time modifying any car I’ve owned, except putting new plastic hubcaps on my 02 polo lol.
I think I will be fitting all the future parts and mods myself as my confidence grows (and to save money!)
I will keep this post updated as I continue to improve my beloved GTI!

Also, Merry Christmas!

Offline mk1mad

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Re: Alex's Shadow Blue GTI
« Reply #1 on: December 24, 2017, 10:00:56 pm »
Looks a really nice example, nice to see another shadow blue, it  took me a while to find one in the right spec.

Looks good on the bbs any more photo's as I am trying to decide if 8.5  will fit ok with out rubbing.
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Offline MIJ_JAGGER

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Re: Alex's Shadow Blue GTI
« Reply #2 on: January 04, 2018, 08:39:24 pm »
Do you have the part number for the armrest cubby insert please mate?

Offline pandaman

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Re: Alex's Shadow Blue GTI
« Reply #3 on: January 06, 2018, 03:47:02 pm »
Looks a really nice example, nice to see another shadow blue, it  took me a while to find one in the right spec.

Looks good on the bbs any more photo's as I am trying to decide if 8.5  will fit ok with out rubbing.

I've had zero problems with rubbing, that's on 30mm H&R springs and i haven't done the screw mod so 8.5 is fine as long as you have the right offset and tyres.

Do you have the part number for the armrest cubby insert please mate?

Its just a generic single din cubby i got off ebay and i just cut up an old mouse mat as padding for the bottom of it.

Offline pandaman

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Re: Alex's Shadow Blue GTI
« Reply #4 on: January 06, 2018, 04:23:22 pm »
I finally got round to replacing the diverter valve today with a revision D, it was a precautionary purchase but looking at the old one it looks like it was necessary!

Offline Raj2212

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Re: Alex's Shadow Blue GTI
« Reply #5 on: January 24, 2018, 06:42:27 pm »
Great build thread  :happy2:  I'm also new to mods, great low mileage find though, shadow blue's the best colour in my opinion.  :happy2:

Offline pandaman

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Re: Alex's Shadow Blue GTI
« Reply #6 on: May 06, 2018, 08:38:14 pm »
Fitted new discs and pads, EBC Ultimax and Redstuff.


But when I took off the driver’s side front wheel, there was a butt load of grease all over the wheel. Closer inspection showed that the CV boot had split and it was throwing grease all over the rim and wheel arch.

It was an advisory on the MOT a couple months back, I checked the paperwork, said it was the other side. I looked at the near side and it was fine, I’m thinking they got their sides muddled up on the MOT.
So, yet another problem, but the brakes are great.
« Last Edit: May 06, 2018, 09:41:25 pm by pandaman »

Offline f00glee

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Re: Alex's Shadow Blue GTI
« Reply #7 on: May 08, 2018, 11:18:48 am »
Looking good! I'd be very interested in knowing your thoughts on the discs & pads as time goes on. When mine need doing I'm considering the same.

Are you on OE calipers?
Whats the performance like compared to OE discs/pads?
Any horrible noises or quality issues?
Why did you go for ultimax discs over e.g the blade discs? - I was considering the blade variants myself for no reason other than the slot shape but am unsure on pros/cons of each disc type.

Cheers  :happy2:
Current:
Mk6 R, Tornado Red, 5-door, '13.
Previous:
Mk5 GTI, Tornado Red, 3-door, '06, R-tech Stage "1+"

Offline pandaman

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Re: Alex's Shadow Blue GTI
« Reply #8 on: May 08, 2018, 11:14:17 pm »
Looking good! I'd be very interested in knowing your thoughts on the discs & pads as time goes on. When mine need doing I'm considering the same.

Are you on OE calipers?
Whats the performance like compared to OE discs/pads?
Any horrible noises or quality issues?
Why did you go for ultimax discs over e.g the blade discs? - I was considering the blade variants myself for no reason other than the slot shape but am unsure on pros/cons of each disc type.

Cheers  :happy2:

Yeah i'm on OE calipers, i don't think a big brake kit would fit with my wheels unfortunately.
Because the CV boot split I haven't been out that much but I did do a bit of harder braking to bed them in a bit. You can definitely tell a difference.
Just driving normally, they seemed no worse than OEM but like I said I haven't been out that much.
There was some graunching sound to begin with but that soon stopped, I guess it was just the 'brake in coating' they put on the pads and the black coating they put on the discs. apart from that no noticeable noise difference.
Quality wise they were better than i expected, just a few very small scratches on the hub part, so under the wheel and not a problem. The pads were well packaged with no faults or damage.
Why did I go with Ultimax? I know that grooves in general expel the gasses and help cool, other than that, i just like the look of them.

I will Update in a week or two when the CV boots fixed and I've properly had a go with them. 

Offline f00glee

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Re: Alex's Shadow Blue GTI
« Reply #9 on: May 09, 2018, 11:30:10 am »
Good stuff, I appreciate the mini review!
Current:
Mk6 R, Tornado Red, 5-door, '13.
Previous:
Mk5 GTI, Tornado Red, 3-door, '06, R-tech Stage "1+"

Offline Sessions

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Re: Alex's Shadow Blue GTI
« Reply #10 on: May 18, 2018, 10:54:53 pm »
Love the colour. :happy2:

Offline pandaman

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Re: Alex's Shadow Blue GTI
« Reply #11 on: July 16, 2018, 05:54:37 pm »
With some help from you guys, I purchased the correct parts to update the PCV. Whilst at it, I gave the engine its probably first clean.

Before


After


Nice and clean for the Forge Twintake i plan to add soon!

Offline jakemower94

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Re: Alex's Shadow Blue GTI
« Reply #12 on: July 17, 2018, 02:39:42 pm »
Just come across your thread, I appear to have taken a similar route to yourself! Keep the updates coming, good inspiration!

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Offline Raj2212

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Re: Alex's Shadow Blue GTI
« Reply #13 on: July 21, 2018, 02:24:47 pm »
Good choice on the ch-r’s. Best looking wheels


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Offline pandaman

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Re: Alex's Shadow Blue GTI
« Reply #14 on: July 24, 2018, 07:51:53 pm »
Just installed a Forge Twintake, loving it so far. First performance mod so I'm not sure what to go for next. Suggestions?