Archive for the ‘Project Golf’ category

New Suspension Parts

March 24th, 2010

Today I recieved my suspension parts from ECS Tuning.

I placed a fairly large order with them a few days ago after I found out from the dealership that the front suspension was sagging a bit.

I ordered a Stage 2 Refresh kit as well as H&R’s OE Sport Springs for my 2000 Golf.

The springs are going to lower the front of the car by about an inch, and the rear by half an inch. It’s a subtle change, but I like it.

I should be posting more about the project later once I tear into it and start the process, for now though, I have posted a picture of said parts.

New Suspension Parts

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Posted in Automotive, Cars, Project Golf, Volkswagen

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Pioneer AVIC-F900BT Installation

June 22nd, 2009

Late last year, while I was visiting my friend Chris down in Pensacola, we stopped into a Best Buy and found a sat-nav system for the Golf. After doing some price comparison, shopping around, and conversing with friends, I found and ordered an expandable satellite navigation system.

I ordered the Pioneer AVIC-F900BT Satellite Navigation system, as well as the Sirius radio module, and was able to pick up the iPod connector at a local electronics store. After pulling everything together, and doing some test fits, my dad and I were able to install, secure, and hard-wire the unit into the 2000 Volkswagen Golf. » Read more: Pioneer AVIC-F900BT Installation

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Posted in Apple, Automotive, Cars, Friends, Mobile, Project Golf, Projects, Technology, Volkswagen, iPhone

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Rollin’ on New(er) Rims

March 10th, 2009

This past January, my good friend, Chris, drove out from San Diego (yes, drove out…).

He did this for two reasons: 1) He wanted to do a cross-country trip, and 2) He was bringing me a set of 17-inch VW OEM Santa Monica alloy wheels he got at a steal of a price!

He originally bought them off Craigslist (or eBay, don’t remember) for his 2001 Subaru Outback, then realized they wouldn’t fit his car, so he called me up and asked me if they would fit my Golf. He sent me a couple of pictures and I told him that they would, so he decided to drive out to Atlanta from San Diego to bring them to me and spend some time with his family here.

Well, I finally had the funds to wrap the rims in rubber. Chris and I talked about tires for a while when he was here, and after he got back to San Diego, and I finally settled on a set of General Tire Exclaim UHPs.

I got them mounted and installed the today, so I figured I’d post a couple of pictures.

On to the next… project! Rollin’ on New(er) Rims icon mrgreen

Rollin’ on New(er) Rims IMG 0504 300x225Rollin’ on New(er) Rims IMG 0503 300x225

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Posted in Automotive, Cars, Life, Project Golf, Projects, Volkswagen

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Dressing Up The Golf (Part 1)

March 10th, 2009

Over the past few months, I’ve been thinking about the interior of my 2000 Golf and how I want to bring it up-to-date, and dress it up, like how Volkswagen did with the Mk4 20th Anniversary GTIs, R32s, and Jetta GLIs. These three models shipped with updated trim around the car to set it off, and bring the sporty style full circle.

The updated trim consists of subtlety placed brushed aluminum bits through out the car: radio cage, pop-out cup holders, door pulls, door handles, and front ashtray. So, I started looking around the Internet for deals on some of the parts as I plan to piece together the trim for my 4-door Golf.

A few days ago, I found a guy on VWVortex that had the radio cage I was looking for, the only draw back was that he didn’t have the trim piece for the pop-out cup holders. So on the contrary, he was selling it for a reasonable price. I contacted him and got my PayPal account lined up, and ordered them. » Read more: Dressing Up The Golf (Part 1)

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Posted in Automotive, Cars, Life, Project Golf, Projects, Volkswagen

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New Air Intake

February 15th, 2009

I’ve been thinking about some modifications to the engine I’ve been wanting to make. Now, some times my mind goes on a mild rampage and I dream of these interesting mods that would really bring this 2.0L 8-valve “AEG” econo-motor to life, but I figure I’ll start with some simple mods first, before digging into the heavier projects (like removing the engine, and installing a turbo – New Air Intake icon mrgreen )

I did some poking around the VWVortex website asking about some simple intake modifications and found that ABD’s “Big Bore” was a favorite among 2.0 owners (and 1.8T owners as well).

So, I went to their website and for around $170 (with shipping) I ordered a Big Bore Intake for my Golf. I called up my friend Sam shortly after it arrived, and we got it installed yesterday after driving around for a while trying to find an air filter cone that would fit.

So, here’s the final result. Looks good, engine is breathing a bit better, and it does seem to help deliver a bit more power to the wheels during the first and second gears. Pictures are below, here’s to hoping to get the exhaust sometime soon!

New Air Intake IMG 0472 300x225

EDIT: I have since installed a smaller air filter for the Secondary Air Injection (SAI) and removed Volkswagen’s plastic “2.0” engine cover.

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Posted in Automotive, Cars, Project Golf, Projects, Volkswagen

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Newest Addition to the Golf

November 8th, 2008

The other day, I was surfing around the VWVortex website and I noticed some people on the fourms had front mounted European license plates on their Volkswagen’s and Audi’s.

In fact, I’ve seen afew German cars around town with their own custom plates So I decided that since I want to go towards an “All Euro” theme with moding the body, that I should order one online. I found GermanPlates.com, a German-based company in the custom plate business and shipped to Canada and the USA, I placed an order for a plate that almost mirrored my Georgia-issued tag. » Read more: Newest Addition to the Golf

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Posted in Automotive, Cars, Life, Project Golf, Projects, Volkswagen

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The W8 Dome Light

June 17th, 2008

Earlier this month, I scraped some money together and bought a new part for my car.

(Yes I know this is going to be a lame post, but deal with me here.)

I’ve been eying this part on ECS Tuning (www.ecstuning.com) for quite some time and I finally felt like it was time to upgrade the ol’ dome light in the 2000 Golf.

My mom’s 2006 Jetta has this little feature and I liked it ever since, and I was happy to find that I could install it on my Golf. The new dome lights up the sunroof dial pattern, dome light switches, and has 2 red LED ambient lighting sources to help light up the console at night – much like LED map lights in private planes, or fighter jets.

Now, this is the 2nd part I’ve ordered from ECS Tuning, the fog-lights being the first, so I wasn’t too surprised to discover that their online installation instructions weren’t comprehensive enough to do the job professionally enough, even as a DYI project. Thankfully, I have my trusty 2 ½ inch thick Bentley Publishing Service Manual.

ECS Tuning’s instructions didn’t mention much about removing the A-pillar trim on the drivers side, nor the sun-visor, the ‘OMG-Handle’ on the driver side, or the left-side panel on the dash (with the fuse box) – which I had to remove all in order to wire the car  to power the lighting module’s sunroof dial pattern, dome light switches, and the 2 red ambient LEDs.

The whole installation took about 20 to 25 minutes, but once again I was a bit disappointed with ECS Tuning’s installation instructions, but they do have quite a list of parts (both OEM/Factory and aftermarket) and I’m lucky to have the Factory Service Manual, so I guess it works out some how.

I’ll post pictures of the newly installed W8 Dome Light soonish. 

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Posted in Automotive, Cars, Life, Project Golf, Projects, Volkswagen

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Lightin’ Up the Fog

March 15th, 2008

One of the first things I wanted to do with the Golf I just bought was to install some fog-lights. I kinda got ‘spoiled’ to having fog lights on the 1997 Jetta I used to drive before it met its untimely death.

Volkswagen originally shipped fog-lights as an option. These optional fog-lights were built into the head lights. After pricing replacement headlights and realizing I’d have to spend more money on a switch and wiring loom to hook everything up, I was looking at spending way more than I wanted to, so I started looking for aftermarket fog-light kits. After a while of searching, I found a complete kit that fitted fog-lights into the lower portion of the bumper, and included the wiring loom, instructions, and an European market OEM head light switch. » Read more: Lightin’ Up the Fog

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Posted in Automotive, Cars, Project Golf, Projects, Volkswagen

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