ProfBrown's 2015 GSW TDI Build

[GreenLantern_TDI]

If that is true about the brakes I will for sure be going in to see what they say. It was not noticed on the test drive or even the drive home. It seems to be from a higher speed when you are hardly pressing the brake when you get the pulsing.


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Thats usually first sign of warping. Have them cpo replace those with oem.

 

[ProfBrown]

Alright things to consider then. I had assumed the fuel filter was on the bottom. More reading to do lol.

That does make sense to me, and could cause a problem, but that would have been the dealer doing it not me. Could also have been caused by previous owner getting the breaks too hot. Wasn’t from he as I don’t ride the breaks.


The gym I go to may be closed so I might have found time to stroll over to the dealer lol.


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[ProfBrown]

Received a text from the dealer today with them asking about the car and my happiness regarding it. I raised a few comments, the MDI to 30 pin was one, that one they were unable to assist on as “the technology was not available when your car was released so we can’t get one to you” it’s a bs excuse for “my manager said no he’ll have to buy a $65 MDI to lightning cable to do use his iPhone” (to which I will not). Regardless this was honestly expected, I got the same treatment from VWoA and as many have stated I don’t need one.

I also raised the concern that my car came with the VW mat in the back with the storage blocks should have come with. With this endeavor I was successful. I received a text from the lady who sold me the car that the blocks can be picked up when I go to get my cars phase 2 work done or at my earliest connivence. I will likely go tomorrow before work as I will be semi in the area. When it is in for phase 2 I will have them replace the tail light that gets some condensation in it when cold because why not... I have a warranty why not use it.

Also, filled up for the second time since I brought it home. Averaged 37.8 this last tank, and 36.6 the tank before (hand calculated using Fuelly). I have tracked currently right around 700 miles since I first signed papers. Very pleased with the mileage given the hills I drive. Also have pretty much cut my fuel cost more than in half when compared to my truck. For this many miles I would be on tank three and each tank average cost was about $60 a visit to the pump (that was Costco price!). I assume I could get it higher if I eased up on the cruise control on the freeway, but what can I say, 70-75 suits me lol.


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[740GLE]

I guess the doors aren't either. I noticed water on the inside of the door thresholds after sitting in the rain all night. Never seen that before on my other vehicles. It's as if the water ran in at the window seals and dripped through the doors, exiting at the bottom onto the thresholds.

Inside threshold? Was it above the rubber gasket or under it or on the sill?

I have door sill protectors and its not uncommon to see water sitting on top of it there is no weather sealing there, but it hasn't crossed the rubber gasket to be up on the plastic part.

 

[ProfBrown]

Changed a few things. Blacked out the golf and the TDI badge on the back with some spray vinyl, also added a thin blue/red/green line decal. With where I live I have a special respect for firefighters as they have saved both my old home and my new home on over 5 occasions. Also, support our troops and our cops as both at times can be very thankless jobs. Also swapped out my license plate frames to some lower profile black ones.

I found some wheels I am liking. Doesn’t look like many are running them if any. Just found them scanning tirerack last night. Sparco Podio wheels. Price is much more agreeable than the Neuspeed wheels. I am just trying to find their load rating to make sure it’s not too low. Other than these wheels the Motegi MR118 is a front runner as well.

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[hskrdu]

The MDI to L cable can be had for about $15 on ebay.

What would look great around your license plate is a TDIClub frame! Helps support Fred's, too.

 

[ProfBrown]

Today replaced the factory all weather mats with the weather tech mats. More coverage for sure. Seem thinner and less mailable than the tdi mats. Think anyone will want to buy factory floor TDI mats?

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[bigb]

Mine came with both the rubber and the carpet mats, I really like the rubber ones. I have Weathertech in my truck but the rubber TDI mats looked so good to me I decided to use them. After looking at your Weathertechs though I am re-considering. Did you get the cargo mat as well?
edit: Is that an Excursion in the pics? Or just an Explorer

 

[ProfBrown]

No I did not get the weather tech rear cargo mat. I couldn’t justify it. Plus with school in session and my long breaks between classes (I am a commuter) I have taken to laying down the passenger side rear seat and crawling in the back hatch to lay down lol. Won’t be a bad space to take a nap, or when I go camping I suppose I now have a mobile tent!

Yes that is an Excursion! 2002 with the 7.3 diesel! Only a 2wd though. Parents got it new back in 02 and it’s got around 240k on it now. About 190k of that towing a boat weighing about 11-12k loaded, and prior to that Skipjack a 33 foot Terry travel trailer that was about 9k loaded if memory serves. That is far from the coolest thing we have for cars on our property We have a classic vw flat 4 stroked and bored to a 2276 in the back of our dune buggy!


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[bigb]

Yes that is an Excursion! 2002 with the 7.3 diesel! Only a 2wd though. Parents got it new back in 02 and it’s got around 240k on it now.

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I have a garage kept 2002 7.3 F-350 CC LB SRW 4WD with 177K on the clock, looks and drives like new. I love that truck but the GSW gets 3X the mileage and can actually make U turns and fit in parking spaces. The 350 will now be used for towing and hauling duty only.

 

[ProfBrown]

Would you guys recommend running some of the Liqui Moly diesel purge through when I do the fuel filter change here in about 2800 miles? I saw it on ID parts and I know other diesels are really finiky on their injectors and fuel system. From my understanding after you pull the old filter out, clean out the filter housing, put the new filter in and put the cleaner in before topping the canister off with regular diesel then secure the lid. From my reading this is the best way to get the diesel purge into the fuel system. Recommendations? I know that some gasser cars like injector cleaner every once and a while. And remember this car sat for about 5-7 months before phase 1 was done.


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[740GLE]

Kinda up to you, I've never used diesel purge specifically, but I've always added power service to the fuel filter canister during swap outs. I used to pull the canister and drain it completely then fill all the way with PS. Now I just pull the filter and toss in a new on then top up.

The tank pump will flush the fuel filter canister quite quickly and send most of the additive back to the tank. diesel purge was supposed to be closed loop to run strictly on diesel purge which is difficult with electronic lift pump in the tank.

 

[ProfBrown]

Thank you for your input! I will look into that product as well!


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[ProfBrown]

Okay so seeing as these tires should be good for over another year (even at my weekly driving amount) the wheels will be waiting a while for sure. I have decided though, that the MR118 is likely my go to option, pricing is great, styling will look great, they have one of the strongest load ratings out of the wheels I looked at which will be beneficial with me living down a dirt road I believe, as well as being lighter than a couple of the other options I had looked at coming in at 22 lbs per rim in the 17 inch size.

I am also working on a deal with one of my neighbors about a VCDS so I can properly do the maintenance items as well as a few tweaks I am looking into that seem quite nice (Urban Joke maybe, needle sweep, maybe key fob control of the windows, passenger mirror dip, and the ESC Sport (still unaware if this needs any additional hardware/coding, but I know through VCDS you can get the option to come up in the infotainment system)).

Additionally, with my constant night driving just about every night of the week I am starting to not like these headlights as much. While yes they put out ample light, and the distance is not too shabby, I am color blind and the yellow light makes me lose things in my peripheral and gives me a slight headache. I know there are some options for aftermarket headlights in the stock reflector housing but as with every other reflector housing HIDs are not recommended. I know there is a kit for the H7c HIDs, but after seeing complaints of some greenish tinge to it, I am not even going to gamble with the cost of $150 as green is the main issue I have lol. It seems that Ed's are a favorite among the community? Looking on his site I am really liking the 2018 Golf R style with the dynamic turn signals. I believe them to be very reasonably priced being completely plug and play all the while upgrading to projector style headlights and giving the front end a nice an update and a modern look. From what I can tell, these have a projector hi beam which I find to be something unusual, but after looking at pictures on line with how they shoot light I cannot complain with the results. Also the halogen "flash to pass" hi beam bulb is a nice touch to keep the HIDs living nice and long.

These are the exact ones I am looking at. I would be going with the upgrade to the Morimoto 5500k HID lights. These will not be my first set of HIDs, I have used cheaper alternatives with much success on other vehicles, but coming from the GM world Morimotos were raved about as being great. After emailing Ed he quickly responded and filled me in on a few questions, he is soon to be adding a pre-order function to his site for the headlights which will be rather nice!
https://www.becautoparts.com/collec...eadlights-2018-r-style?variant=12741151457367

 

[740GLE]

lots of people love Eds, well worth the money IMO. Love the mk7.5 R style for the mk7, would be the one's I would get as well.

 

[bizzle]

I might get those when they become available. I'm just never happy with any of the aftermarket lighting choices, but those seem to get a lot of satisfied reviews.

 

[ProfBrown]

I might get those when they become available. I'm just never happy with any of the aftermarket lighting choices, but those seem to get a lot of satisfied reviews.

This is the same reason I never switched headlight assemblies on my previous vehicles as well. Most aftermarket assemblies you see complaints of poor light output or people complaining about the lenses yellowing early or fading on the clear coat. To be honest I thought this was purely an aftermarket issue but even the OEM (some not all) seem to be skimping in quality as my trucks headlights started to fade this last year and it was a 2013! I may look into a protective vinyl or film over the top of these to prolong the life of these as well.


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[ProfBrown]

Does anyone have a recommended brand for a front tow hook I would prefer black, but red seems to be a common color? I am more so looking for the more trendy hanging D ring on the post rather than the factory one. Due to the rain we have been getting here in So Cal and the possibility of snow at my house the dirt roads are pretty sketchy... I’m talking some 1-2 foot deep ruts, slushy clay pits, and quite literally small lakes. Thinking if I have a tow hook already in the front bumper it might alleviate some un-needed cursing and possibly other content lmao. I don’t mind the JDM/track car style of leaving it in the bumper which is why I am leaning towards the D ring style.

I also purchased some tire cables today as we just received a weather warning letting us know that there will be cables/chains required on some of the roads I drive and snow possibly down as far as 1500 feet which is a very very rare occurrence in this part of California. Probably a good idea to have cables anyways for further snow trips/travels.


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[ProfBrown]

Well I had to go pick up a tow hook form the dealer. The car didn’t have one in the first place... got it for free of course because who sells a car from a dealer without a tow hook!

Ordered some headlights! Ed now offers preorders so I jumped on the 2018 style Golf R headlights with the 5500k HID kit for the MK7 cars like mine. Interesting to note, his cost includes shipping to the continental 48 and taxes? Not a bad deal for complete plug and play. Says they will ship out soon after Feb. 20th


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[740GLE]

be aware he usually gets them by container shipment but has been known to drop ship directly from china or where ever, and they you may have to declare them, they will cover and duty costs if they do the direct ship just keep in touch with them if thats the case.

 

[ProfBrown]

Thanks, I will keep that in mind.

Since 1/17/19 I have already put about 2200 miles on the car. Still loving it.


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[ProfBrown]

Little update, on the first month of owning the car if did about 2600 miles of driving. Fuel cost was under $240 bucks. With my truck it would have been over $550 so I am winning in that department for sure!!

Also, hit a pot hole last night on my way home from school while trying to merge in the dark and the rain. I didn’t see it in the road. Anyways, I took a second to make sure the car wasn’t vibrating and what not and it felt fine so I kept trucking the last 50 miles to get home. When I got home I got out of the car to find this...

Long story short, went to Americas Tire today and I am getting a new set of 4 tires put on. With the way the rebate works out and them buying back the 3 good tires it makes more sense. Plus this way I don’t have to do tire rotations/balances any more.

Went with Continental Contact Sport A/S tires. 50k warranty and good characteristics of staying quieter, but good grip and life for a reasonable price. Also, these tires are marketed as an all season tire where as the Nexen N500s they were on there I do not believe are.

Out the door at $663 with a rebate in the mail for $70 on the way in about a month. For just two tires it was going to be around $375. To me this just makes more sense, if I just did 2 I would have 2 different kinds of tires, rotation and expected lives would be different as well as grip and quality. Most people I talked to laughed at the Nexen tires as being cheap and not great quality.


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[bigb]

Let us know if there is any noticeable sound reduction with those tires after you have driven on various road surfaces.....I am looking to quiet my ride

 

[ProfBrown]

I am going to do a write-up bigb on the comparisons between the two tires over a few different categories on the forum.

If you are looking for a new tire, to say the least, I would recommend the Continental Contact Sport A/S tires over the Nexen N5000 tires for just about every reason. One comment may be that under say 25, the ride is a tad stiffer but not jarring by any means. I actually like the slightly stiffer feel honestly.

For the quiet factor, they are extremely quiet on clean paved roads, over patched roads I would say they are about average honestly, but no complaint about them whatsoever on the 25-mile drive home from town which included dry, wet, and mud lol.

 

[bizzle]

The usual complaint about the Contis is that they wear too quickly, but other than that I believe they're generally regarded as a good tire.

 

[bigb]

The usual complaint about the Contis is that they wear too quickly, but other than that I believe they're generally regarded as a good tire.

My tire requirements are good handling, quiet and long shelf life. Mileage is of no concern to me with 4 vehicles my tires age out long before they wear out. The only tires I wear out are the ones on my Express 3500 which is driven daily for work.

 

[ProfBrown]

Finishing up the write up as I type this. I make a comment at the mileage life of the Continentals vs the Nexen tires. I’ll link the post to this thread as well.


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[turbobrick240]

The Contis that came on my Golf were pretty middle of the road, imo. They weren't the Sports though. I think they were Extreme contact pro or something like that. Try letting some air out if they ride too stiff for your liking.

 

[ProfBrown]

Here is the link to the post I made about the tire comparison. Yes, its a bit long winded.. maybe I got carried away lol?

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?p=5486177#post5486177

 

[ESmith813]

It's funny how similar our TDI GSW experiences are from buying time to everything else. Last night I hit a pothole and this morning noticed a bubble in my front tire. I'll be in the exact same boat as you. Being in the Northeast though, I'm contemplating getting a new set of wheels and snow tires, or just replacing these all seasons.