Graphite Blue GTI Build Thread

[mk1_dave]

Hello Everyone, been on this forum a while but never posted anything so thought it was about time.

Have owned a few diesel mk5/6s and finally settled on the GTI as my new daily. Don't have much plans at the minute other than checking everything over and replacing some worn out parts before the salty scottish winter arrives.

Spec when I bought the car:
3 Door
Manual
Heated Seats
Sunroof
Highline
MFSW

Current Spec

Interior:
Heated Seats
Sunroof
Highline Clocks
MFSW
RCD330 - with rear USB/steering wheel controls
Flip Badge Reversing Camera
Under Seat Storage Drawers
Door Puddle Lights

Exterior:
Genuine BBS CH028 Wheels
Genuine R32/Edition 30 Rear Lights
Edition 30 Rear Bumper
Genuine Shark Fin Aerial
Genuine Xenon Headlights

Suspension/Brakes:
BC Racing BR Coilovers with Coilover Socks
Hardrace Adjustable Front Anti Roll Bar
S3 Aluminium Front Hubs
S3 Aluminium Front Wishbones
Powerflex Anti Lift Kit
Superpro Polybush Wishbones/Steering Rack
BC Racing Drop Links
S3 Lower Ball Joints
Refurbished Gen2 Steering Rack
VW Golf MK7 GTi Performance Pack Brake Calipers
Ferodo DS2500 Brake Pads
Pagid Discs
Motul RBF660 Brake Fluid
HEL Braided Brake Lines
Vibra Technics Subframe Mount
Subframe Deadset Kit
R32 Rear Brake Calipers
EBC Yellowstuff Pads
Pagid Discs

Performance:
Trackslag 3" Non Resonated Cat Back Exhaust
Direnza Cold Air Intake
Powerflex Engine/Gearbox Mount Inserts
Runnerflap Delete
R8 Coilpacks
More coming soon 


Don't have any pictures of when I bought it but here's a few after using a headlight restoration kit to bring the headlights back to life and giving the full car a machine polish:

[jacksosi]

Nice colour, bodywork looks great. and would love a sunroof in ours.

Get some black trim restorer on the rear bumper , and some tyre slick and it will look even better

[mk1_dave]

Nice colour, bodywork looks great. and would love a sunroof in ours.

Get some black trim restorer on the rear bumper , and some tyre slick and it will look even better

I was suprsied finding this one reasonably cheap with the bodywork in such good condition. Underside is pretty rust free aswell which is a bonus.

Definitely my favourite colour on a mk5 and this being my second one in graphite blue I really wanted one with a sunroof.

Ended up getting rid of the towbar and changing the bumper.. 

 

[mk1_dave]

After picking up the car it had a few issues and things that needed sorting out such as a misfire, rough idle, eml, blowing exhaust and some worn engine mounts so got to work on sorting all that out.

Replaced the following parts in an effort to fix some of the fault codes the car had when I picked it up:

Geabox and Engine mounts
Powerflex void inserts
Powerflex dogbone insert
PCV
DV
Boost pipe seals
Dipstick pipe and o-ring
Inlet manifold gasket
Throttle body gasket
Valve cover gasket
R8 coil packs
Spark plugs
New cold air intake
Thermostat
MAF

Here's a picture mid way through cleaning the carbon build up on the valves



Sent the injectors off to R-Tech as I thought that could be the source of the misfire and after seeing the amount of carbon they deserved a clean. Injectors came back the next day with new baskets, seals and flowing much better. Such a fast easy service using R-Tech, would definitely recommend for anyone that needs their injectors serviced.

With the engine in bits thought it was the best time to take the sump off and check the pickup pipe and have a look to see if there was anything untowards floating around in the oil as I didn't get much information of any services carried out recently.






The pickup pipe had 1 or 2 small pieces of what felt like plastic which was mostly likely from the brittle gaskets on the valve cover, swapped this out for a new pipe and seal from VW and sealed the sump back up after giving it a good clean.

After changing all of the parts the car runs great now and no EML after around 2-3 thousand miles. 

I opted for the Direnza intake as it was the cheapest one I could get at the time to replace the old one that had holes and the mount snapped off, might look at upgrading this one at some point if it turns out to be poor quality.

Current picture of what the engine bay looks like now

[mk1_dave]

First interior mod I done was fitting the optional extra under seat storage trays, been looking for a little more space to keep things in the cabin so opted for these.

Here's the parts list if anyone's interested - the brackets are optional as I heard from a few people you that they work fine without them but I got them anyway as they weren't too expensive.

The drawers and frames were over £200 new from VW, I ended up finding a set from a breaker on eBay but they aren't easy to come by.

Drawers
Part Number:
- 1K0 882 602J (Right)
- 1K0 882 601J (Left)

Glide frame
Part Number:
- 1K0 882 599B 9B9 (Left)
- 1K0 882 600B 9B9 (Right)

Fixings (per side)

4x Screws = N 906 986 06
1x Screw = N 909 998 01
1x Bracket = 1K0 881 548A (right) & 1K0 881 547A (left)
2x Pop Rivets 4x8 = N 900 978 02

Really simple install, here's a link to the guide I used:
https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=54422.0

Few pictures of them when I was fitting them and after insall:

[mk1_dave]

Fitted a new exhaust as the old original one had a few holes and was past its best, after looking for a while I decided to get a cat back system from TrackSlag as their reviews were really good.

Fitting was simple just had to take a small amount off the end of the downpipe, and replace the old exhaust clamp.













There is lots of adjustability with this exhaust which is great as you can position the tips to your own preference, which is also handy if you end up getting a different bumper which I did after fitting the exhaust.

Its quiet on idle but can be quite loud when accelerating and I still have the original cat installed. Very good build quality and comes with an extra mount that ties into the rear subframe. No rattles, leaks or odd noises after a few thousand miles of driving.

[mk1_dave]

Been a while since my last update, have still been chipping away at the GTI.

Recently installed a fresh set of R32 rear calipers and carriers along side some new pagid discs and EBC yellowstuff pads. Caliper and carrier install was straight forward enough and they bled up great. Thought it was the ideal time to replace the hand brake cables as noticed that one was stretched. Getting the old cables out the aluminum pipes was abit of a pain but managed to pull the cables and cut them which meant I could drill out the plastic part of the cable that was stuck in the pipe. Have done around 1500 miles on the new calipers and can't complain..

Next on the list for the brakes is a set of braided lines and some fresh front calipers as they have seen better days too.

[mk1_dave]

Got rid of the towbar and fitted an aftermarket edition 30 lower diffuser as I couldn't find any genuine bumpers close to me. Fitment isn't the best as expected but will do until I find a genuine bumper. Some pictures from the odd sunny days in Scotland

[mk1_dave]

Picked up a set of genuine xenon headlights that were in good condition. Lenses had a few small scratches on them so decided to sand them back to a smooth surface then clear coat them, turned out really good after a few hours spent on them.

Decided it was time to get rid of the old suspension as it was looking past its best and one of the rear springs had snapped. Went for a set of BC Racing coilovers as I have them on my other cars and have been great fun.

Few pictures of the BC's after installing them and the only picture I could find of the headlights fitted to the car!

[mk1_dave]

Over the last few months I had been gathering parts to give the front of the car a major overhaul which included all new bushes, bearings, brakes and suspension components. I also had a rattle coming from the front of the car that sounded like it was coming from the steering rack, due to this it was the perfect time to install a refurbished rack while everything was off the car. I also stripped both front wheel arches and the underside of the floor back to bare metal to make sure there was no rust and also keep it nice and fresh as I daily the car in the salty Scottish winters. I used buzzweld zinc primer, buzzweld stripe coat and finally tintable Upol Raptor.

List of new parts installed:
Powerflex anti lift kit
S3 lower wishbones with superpro bushes
S3 Alloy hubs with new FAG bearings
S3 Lower ball joints
New track rod ends
CVP Subframe deadset kit
Refurbished Gen 2 steering rack
Powerflex steering rack bushes
Whiteline adjustable anti roll bar
Vibra Technics subframe bush
New dogbone mount
MK7 GTi Performance Pack brake calipers
Pagid discs
Ferodo ds2500 pads
HEL braided brake lines
Motul RBF660 fluid
BC Racing drop links
OEM brake disc guards
All new bolts and screws including c clips, arch grommets

Also managed to pick up a set of genuine BBS CH028's in good condition. Was going to get them refurbished as I don't really think the gloss black goes with the graphite blue but this will be a job for nearer the summer.

After installing all of the above the car handles so much better and the stopping power is incredible. The noise/vibration is definitely noticeable after installing the vibra technic bush but isn't horrendous.

Have been driving the car for the last few weeks and is filthy again, will get some pictures of the progress once I get a chance to wash it.

Enjoy some pictures of the rebuild process 

[Mekaniko]

Thank you for sharing all the new stuff. 4 years ago I replaced my lower wishbones for the OEM ones and I should had gone for the S3 ones.

All this parts fitted together at the same time you should feel it as a completely different/better car.

[mk1_dave]

Another update..

Have never liked the look of the original pole style aerial so picked up an original mk5 shark fin, sanded it and painted to match the lc5f paint. Came out pretty good and colour match is good.

I also bought a flip badge reversing camera as I knew I would have some of the trim off to fit the aerial. The reversing camera is really good quality and was pretty easy to install. You have to take off the boot trim, rear door card, some parts of the dashboard and of course the radio. I took the rear bench out at the same time so I could clean under them and would give me better access to get the door card out. The wiring was easy once you get the wires through the rubber grommet in the boot. I taped the wire to a cable tie then once I got a small section in I used some spray grease to help as the grommet doesn't have much space for the extra wires.

The badge looks much cleaner and has a drain hole that lets the water and dirt get out of the badge recess also comes with a rubber pipe to allow you to direct the water to the drain hole in the boot, if vw done this from the factory I doubt there would be as many rusty boot lids!

Decided to delete the rear wiper when I had everything off as I never use it. Ended up blocking off the screen wash pipe but I'm planning on buying one of the wiper stalks that came on the cars that don't have a rear wiper then this will solve the issue of accidentally hitting the screen wash.

Next on the list is new speakers, an amp and a new front bumper if I can find one in Scotland for a decent price.

Still not a fan of gloss black wheels but here's a couple of updated pictures of how the car sits at the minute.