Have spent many hours on this forum and enjoyed reading everyone else’s story so why not share mine to document the process. As basic as it is, the build is focusing on being a fun daily driver.
My name's Brandon, I'm from Southern Ontario and work in HR. I was never interested in cars until my best friend recommended a GTI to me when I was asking for advice on what cars to consider. He invited me to a VW/Audi community on facebook and I got bit by the bug pretty quickly after learning how much potential these cars have with just a tune. My idea for the GTI was to keep it modest and to space out the timeline for mods so I would get the most enjoyment from each change individually. I’ve never modified a car before my GTI and this was my first VW, so after a bit of research on the platform I planned for some basic bolt ons, a few cosmetic changes, and eventually tuning the car when the warranty finished.
2018 VW GTI Autobahn trim in White Silver Metallic
Autobahn trim is a bit of a weird for the 2018 year in Canada, I have just about every optional feature (fender, sunroof, dual climate, leather, DAP, LP, PP, etc.) except DCC. The thing I find interesting about my spec is that it is a 2018 facelift model but I still have the DQ250 6 speed DSG transmission. For me, stage 1 and a clubsport muffler has plenty of power for a daily and an ideal noise level. I'm not interested in pops and bangs but it's got good volume (over 2200rpm) when you put your foot down, and the dsg farts are pretty loud between shifts over 5k rpm which is plenty noise for me. The colour is amazing, I never wanted a white car but this white silver metallic was my top choice as soon as I saw it. I still look back at the car walking into work every day because it looks slightly different almost every time, could be silver, could be white, could have a blue tint to it.
Mod List (Updated March 2022)
Performance (Engine/Exhaust)
May 2019. Don't remember much but the car was purchased with around 11,000km, one previous owner, and from a private dealership that sold only mercedes and bmw's.
August 2019. Left it pretty much stock that first year besides grabbing a set of 3d spyder mats. I also hated the silver badges so I changed those to red front and back.
July 2020. After a full year of driving in a fishbowl I decided to get the windows tinted. Went with Llumar's Pinnacle ceramic tint at 20%. Have to park outside so I wanted to do what I could to help keep the car cool and maybe even protect the leather a bit. It's been 2 years and haven't had any trouble with a darker tint in Ontario.
Decided to deal with the first couple problems I had with the GTI, mainly the sunroof creaking on uneven ground, especially driveways. Found a lot of people had this issue and someone in the Club Wolfsburg facebook group posted someone else's very detailed diagram on how to fix the problem so shout out to whoever made that.
August 2020. Mod bug was biting hard so for my very first engine mods I decided to dip my toes in with a few basic one's that wouldn't dramatically change the car. Picked up the Racingline R600 intake with an upgraded cotton filter, an MST Performance inlet kit, and a CTS resonator delete. Intake setup is great, sounds good too. I figured the added sound would tie me over and the extra airflow would have a small benefit when I do eventually get a tune. Everyone says you can't notice a difference with a resonator delete but coming from someone who drove their GTI stock for over a year and had never done any exhaust mods, I noticed a slight difference. Cold starts were noticeably louder and shifting at high rpm in 2nd and 3rd produced a tiny dsg fart.
September 2020. A couple more badgeskin tints to add to the black out theme. Tinted the white strip in the tail light, 3rd brake light, and bumper reflector
December 2020. First warranty item came up, gas door actuator was locking up in the freezing temperatures and was pretty annoying to deal with so had that replaced.
May 2021. Upgraded from the hose to a foam cannon/power washer setup. Also did Badgeskins amber delete for the headlights as well as the black front emblem.
July 2021. Picked up a cheap used Maxton spoiler and a set of Fast FC04 wheels with almost new Michelin x-ice xi3's just to change things up and because I needed winter tires for the upcoming season. Ended up selling the wheels because I didn't like the fitment and I still wanted Pretoria's, they were my dream wheel when I first got my GTI despite how common they are now. Worked out well though, got almost new winter's for $250.
August 2021. Bought a black badge off of etsy, seemed to be the only place I could find a good quality replacement that was just gloss black. Don't mind the dirty muffler tips, by this point I had placed an order for a Clubsport S muffler two months prior and figured it could show up anytime.
My name's Brandon, I'm from Southern Ontario and work in HR. I was never interested in cars until my best friend recommended a GTI to me when I was asking for advice on what cars to consider. He invited me to a VW/Audi community on facebook and I got bit by the bug pretty quickly after learning how much potential these cars have with just a tune. My idea for the GTI was to keep it modest and to space out the timeline for mods so I would get the most enjoyment from each change individually. I’ve never modified a car before my GTI and this was my first VW, so after a bit of research on the platform I planned for some basic bolt ons, a few cosmetic changes, and eventually tuning the car when the warranty finished.
2018 VW GTI Autobahn trim in White Silver Metallic
Autobahn trim is a bit of a weird for the 2018 year in Canada, I have just about every optional feature (fender, sunroof, dual climate, leather, DAP, LP, PP, etc.) except DCC. The thing I find interesting about my spec is that it is a 2018 facelift model but I still have the DQ250 6 speed DSG transmission. For me, stage 1 and a clubsport muffler has plenty of power for a daily and an ideal noise level. I'm not interested in pops and bangs but it's got good volume (over 2200rpm) when you put your foot down, and the dsg farts are pretty loud between shifts over 5k rpm which is plenty noise for me. The colour is amazing, I never wanted a white car but this white silver metallic was my top choice as soon as I saw it. I still look back at the car walking into work every day because it looks slightly different almost every time, could be silver, could be white, could have a blue tint to it.
Mod List (Updated March 2022)
Performance (Engine/Exhaust)
- IE Stage 1 ECU – 91 oct high torque (305bhp/385tq)
- IE DSG Tune (DQ250)
- Racingline R600 Intake (swapped foam filter for cotton)
- MST Performance inlet kit
- Clubsport S Muffler (adjusted tips for 7.5 valence, was cheaper than buying TCR muffler)
- CTS Resonator delete pipe
- Eibach pro kit – 1.2” drop (more like 1.5)
- ECS flush kit – 15mm and 20mm spacers
- Summer: 18” OEM Pretorias (black) on 225/40/18 Conti ECS
- Winter: 18” OEM Miltons on 225/40/18 Michelin x-ice xi3
- OBDeleven – adaptations include: soudaktor off, increased throttle pedal response, increased engine responsiveness (audi), front DRL and rear side markers disabled, auto lock enabled, remote windows up/down, mirror dip on reverse, 3rd brake light with unlock/lock, dotted virtual cockpit, Fan level display on auto.
- Thinkware Q800 Pro – Hardwired, 1440p front 1080p rear dash cam
- Llumar Pinnacle Ceramic Tint – 20%
- 3d Spyder Mats
- Maxton Design spoiler extension
- Maxton Design rear valence diffuser
- Amazon aluminum paddles (red)
- Etsy trunk emblem – gloss black
- Dynamic turn signals – smoked
- Badgeskins – front emblem, front/rear/side badges, 3rd brake light tint, rear reflector tint, rear tail tint, front amber delete, volume knob, passenger air bag, steering wheel logos
- Mud Flaps (minimal ones)
- Rain guards
- Side mirror cover – gloss black (will make me look like a real 2019 rabbit lol)
- Rear sway bar
- Change exhaust tips (not a fan of chrome, change to silver/black)
- Struts
- Dogbone mount
- DSG shift knob (raceseng)
- Steering wheel wrap
- DEauto LED floor lights
- Ceramic coat/paint correction
May 2019. Don't remember much but the car was purchased with around 11,000km, one previous owner, and from a private dealership that sold only mercedes and bmw's.
August 2019. Left it pretty much stock that first year besides grabbing a set of 3d spyder mats. I also hated the silver badges so I changed those to red front and back.
July 2020. After a full year of driving in a fishbowl I decided to get the windows tinted. Went with Llumar's Pinnacle ceramic tint at 20%. Have to park outside so I wanted to do what I could to help keep the car cool and maybe even protect the leather a bit. It's been 2 years and haven't had any trouble with a darker tint in Ontario.
Decided to deal with the first couple problems I had with the GTI, mainly the sunroof creaking on uneven ground, especially driveways. Found a lot of people had this issue and someone in the Club Wolfsburg facebook group posted someone else's very detailed diagram on how to fix the problem so shout out to whoever made that.
August 2020. Mod bug was biting hard so for my very first engine mods I decided to dip my toes in with a few basic one's that wouldn't dramatically change the car. Picked up the Racingline R600 intake with an upgraded cotton filter, an MST Performance inlet kit, and a CTS resonator delete. Intake setup is great, sounds good too. I figured the added sound would tie me over and the extra airflow would have a small benefit when I do eventually get a tune. Everyone says you can't notice a difference with a resonator delete but coming from someone who drove their GTI stock for over a year and had never done any exhaust mods, I noticed a slight difference. Cold starts were noticeably louder and shifting at high rpm in 2nd and 3rd produced a tiny dsg fart.
September 2020. A couple more badgeskin tints to add to the black out theme. Tinted the white strip in the tail light, 3rd brake light, and bumper reflector
December 2020. First warranty item came up, gas door actuator was locking up in the freezing temperatures and was pretty annoying to deal with so had that replaced.
May 2021. Upgraded from the hose to a foam cannon/power washer setup. Also did Badgeskins amber delete for the headlights as well as the black front emblem.
July 2021. Picked up a cheap used Maxton spoiler and a set of Fast FC04 wheels with almost new Michelin x-ice xi3's just to change things up and because I needed winter tires for the upcoming season. Ended up selling the wheels because I didn't like the fitment and I still wanted Pretoria's, they were my dream wheel when I first got my GTI despite how common they are now. Worked out well though, got almost new winter's for $250.
August 2021. Bought a black badge off of etsy, seemed to be the only place I could find a good quality replacement that was just gloss black. Don't mind the dirty muffler tips, by this point I had placed an order for a Clubsport S muffler two months prior and figured it could show up anytime.
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