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Daily Driver / occasional Track Day GTI ‘19 S

SouthFL_Mk7.5

Autocross Champion
Location
South Florida
Car(s)
2019 GTI S
*Edit: Mod list on page 2! *

.......
Over the years I’ve ruined several nice cars by making them too extreme in one way or another.

I’ve taken these experiences and used this GTI to find a perfect balance between daily comfort and utilization while making it just responsive enough for the occasional track day (about once a quarter is the expected track schedule).

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This car is currently borrowed- in the sense that I’ve been having fun with what will be my son’s first car.

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He plans to lower it.

First mods on the car when we acquired it Fall of 2019 were Superpro; LCA’s, Fixed Camber Strut tops, Front endlinks and a Tyrolsport front Deadset kit. Along with a performance alignment, the above mentioned setup took us to -2 deg Camber up front.

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Next up was a custom, mandrel bent stainless steel exhaust using a Borla Pro XS muffler... Keeping the factory down pipe it’s just enough sound for around town!

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After these mods we were ready to hit Sebring! My first time back on a road course in about a decade!! I jumped into the deep end and tried running with the run group I left off at ten years ago.. a mistake in retrospect, but was humbling! Immediately hired a pro to coach me and get me back up and running again to where I was years ago!
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Next came a JB4 Install and some basic bolt ons like an 034 front air collector, Autotech air box lid, 034 Intake pipe and TIP. Throttle response improved.

Next came my first AutoX outing... a huge eye opener in that I could safely push the car to Its limits and see what needed improvement (besides me)!

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After that AutoX a rear sway bar was what I needed! I went with the relatively thin 22mm Superpro and it gave me just the rotational response I was looking for!
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Next up was a Homestead track day..but before revisiting the road course, I wanted to address the brakes a bit since the Porterfield R4S street/track pads I used at Sebring were barely up to task. I ordered some 2pc rotors and paired them with race spec Porterfield R4 up front.

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SouthFL_Mk7.5

Autocross Champion
Location
South Florida
Car(s)
2019 GTI S
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That day at Homestead I was really pleased with the performance of the rotor/pad combo and was able to stay out as long as I wanted. Was also very pleased with how the 22mm RSB balanced out the dynamic of the car!

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Next up was a visit one again to the Alignment specialist. We went ahead with -2 Front, -2 Rear (was at -1.4 rear prior to) and zero toe. Car felt more neutral!

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Fast forward a pandemic lockdown and reopening and our most recent outing was Homestead once again.

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This last outing I really pushed that GTI!! Kept up with some heavy hitters through the more technical portions of the track.

The car as it is strikes the perfect balance between daily driver and track weekend warrior.
Best of all, it gives my son and I something in common- tough to do when you need to bridge that 30year generation gap!

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SouthFL_Mk7.5

Autocross Champion
Location
South Florida
Car(s)
2019 GTI S
Sub'd

Been thinking about hitting the track in my GLI. I for sure know I'm going to need a RSB. What tires are you running?

I’ve used 220tw Pirelli PZero for a couple track days and 200tw Falken RT615K for the most recent track day. The PZero give me about 90% of the performance of the RT615K but wear much more evenly from my experience.
 

SouthFL_Mk7.5

Autocross Champion
Location
South Florida
Car(s)
2019 GTI S
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We installed a billet dsg shift knob. I use mostly the paddles, but for shifting with the lever (my son does), it sits a tad higher than factory, closer to the steering wheel. Neat small mod.
 

SouthFL_Mk7.5

Autocross Champion
Location
South Florida
Car(s)
2019 GTI S
looks great! I never understood why people like aftermarket shift knobs that sit lower..
Perhaps for a faster throw in pursuit of shaving off milliseconds on a traditional manual transmission. For road course, the shifter closer to the steering wheel means more time with two hands on the wheel!
 

SouthFL_Mk7.5

Autocross Champion
Location
South Florida
Car(s)
2019 GTI S
How do you like the VWR kit so far? I was looking into them a while back. Looking good, btw!
Been riding around on it for a few days. Initially, I had a clash at the front swaybar endlink that was making clunks and groans when turning the wheel at lower parking lot speeds. Luckily, all it needed was for the front endlinks to be adjusted in length (I’m using Superpro adjustables) and the conflict was resolved.

Now, as for the kit, it has lowered the car just enough without going too low. Ride is better than stock- it’s less jittery and more composed. Dive/squat is gone. Lateral loads, the car is flatter. Overall, couldn’t be happier.
 

Jshinz24

Go Kart Champion
Location
WV
Car(s)
2019 SE MT
Been riding around on it for a few days. Initially, I had a clash at the front swaybar endlink that was making clunks and groans when turning the wheel at lower parking lot speeds. Luckily, all it needed was for the front endlinks to be adjusted in length (I’m using Superpro adjustables) and the conflict was resolved.

Now, as for the kit, it has lowered the car just enough without going too low. Ride is better than stock- it’s less jittery and more composed. Dive/squat is gone. Lateral loads, the car is flatter. Overall, couldn’t be happier.
Sounds exactly like what I am looking for!
 

SouthFL_Mk7.5

Autocross Champion
Location
South Florida
Car(s)
2019 GTI S
Sounds exactly like what I am looking for!

Same here. What absolutely surprised me though is the overall driving improvement in terms of comfort- which I was not expecting!

I was hoping for improvement in dynamics and handling (delivered), but comfort too to boot! This means the spring/damper is matched well.
 

EricsVdub

Go Kart Champion
Location
Chicago 'burbs
Car(s)
2019 GTI SE Exp pkg
Sounds like a great journey with the car so far. Your son is a lucky kid to get the GTI for a first car. I'm jealous that he's that interested and involved. I had to force both my kids to take driver's ed. Neither of them were excited about getting their license and being able to drive. I was so excited for them that I bought a 2014 Sonic RS (auto trans) with 12k miles before my daughter even got her permit! (Fun car, but not too fun) My son will get his license next month pandemic permitting, but he's still not very interesting in cars or driving. At least we share an interest in computers and sports...
 
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