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What's up everyone? I'm Zeb and this is my build thread for my MK6 Jetta TDI. A little background, my history has always been with mini-trucks. My last vehicle I wanted to do something different and decided that I wanted to build something lifted. I went with a 2010 Tacoma PreRunner AccessCab for my canvas. It was still a work in progress, but here is how it looked when I got rid of it:
Mods: Painted door handles, painted mirrors, custom handmade grill with Punisher emblem, matching lower grill, painted lower front bumper and rear bumper, custom skidplate painted to match truck with Punisher emblem that lights up at night, custom retrofit projectors and 6000k HIDs, bed cover, bed extender, alarm, sound system, 18" KMC Skitch wheels with 285/70 Nitto Terra Grappler rubber.
I really liked this truck! Then in April, my little brother totaled his car and was looking to purchase a VW Jetta SportWagen. He asked me to help so I spent a Saturday in a VW dealership. Me spending time in a dealership is never a good thing. Especially a VW dealership. I have always liked VW's and their culture and scene. Throughout the years I had almost bought a Jetta TDI on multiple occasions. While waiting on financing and paperwork for my brother, I spent a lot of time looking at the new MK6 Jetta. Then I began crunching numbers in my head. The Taco got horrible gas mileage which was expected. I figured it up and my payment would be way cheaper and it would save me about $200-300 a month on gas. The next week Boardwalk VW told me they just got in a 2011 Candy White 6-speed TDI with black interior which was exactly what I was looking for. I bought it the day they got it off the truck.
So now I thought to myself, "I'm just going to do wheels and a mild drop on springs." The first thing I did was tint the windows, because fuck Texas summers! And I also painted the front and rear emblems and debadged the rest of the trunk.
Then I spent a few months looking for wheels. I still haven't found the wheels that I want for this car. But Stratmosphere was having a clearance sale on their Flashpoint wheels and the 19"s were only $89/each. I liked the way they looked, so I snagged a set to run until I come across the right wheel. They're 19x8.5 ET40 so they fit really nice without spacers. I wrapped them in Falken FK452 215/35 for just enough stretch to avoid rubbing. Not at stock height obviously, but for my future plans of lowering.
There weren't any coil overs available for a long time for the MK6 Jetta. It has a different rear suspension than the MK5 Jetta and MK6 Golf/GTI. In fact, even springs were tough to come by. H&R sport springs were backordered everywhere. But there was word that B&G were releasing some springs "soon" and ST was going to release coils at the end of summer. So I sat back and chilled at stock height for awhile. I had the urge to bag the car, but I fought it. I performed a few minor mods over the summer.
LED DRL replacement bulbs:
Weaponized the car:
Did a little light towing, no big deal:
There were still no suspension options, so I went to the lake:
At the end of summer, B&G had released their springs and ST announced it would be releasing the coil overs soon. I wasn't impressed with the drop on the springs that everyone was getting, so ST's it would be! In preparation for the drop, I installed a Panzer skid plate from DieselGeek.com. The week after I installed this, I was coming home from the airport at night and rounded a corner to see an old wooden fence post in the road. I couldn't avoid it and hit it HARD. It was big enough that it lifted the car when I hit it. I pulled over and checked for damage. Nothing. The next day I checked the skid plate and it just had a few scratches. This has been my best investment.
FINALLY!!! The coil overs came in!
And work began!
The drop really changed the overall look of the car and I was happy...
Pics the day after I installed the coils:
I was really hoping they would settle a little more after a few hundred miles. The fronts got a little lower, but the rear need to come down more. So back under the car I went. I took out the perch/adjuster for the rear and that made a huge difference. This is how she currently sits:
I ended up making my mirror classy as fuck! Thanks, PSU!
The coils don't go near low enough and they ride like shit. Well, they ride OK when it's just me in the car, but when I get any additional passengers, the rear feels like the suspension is made out of Michael J. Fox. Sorry coils, but you gotta go!
I fought the temptation long enough!
The air setup will consist of AirLift XL Slam Series struts up front, Air House 2 bags in the rear, 5 gallon tank, Accuair VU4 manifold, dual Viair 400c compressors and an AVS 7 switch controller. Oh, and a very modest trunk setup. Originally, I had planned on installing everything myself. But after talking with Drew @ Dorbritz Designs and seeing his work, I will be dropping the VW off with him. For those who don't know Drew, he does truly amazing work. I call him the Yoda of air suspension. We have been brainstorming some ideas and I'm really excited to see it when it's completed.
Yesterday I also ordered my new plates which should be here about the time that it gets bagged.
Wheels and a mild drop?
More to come...
Mods: Painted door handles, painted mirrors, custom handmade grill with Punisher emblem, matching lower grill, painted lower front bumper and rear bumper, custom skidplate painted to match truck with Punisher emblem that lights up at night, custom retrofit projectors and 6000k HIDs, bed cover, bed extender, alarm, sound system, 18" KMC Skitch wheels with 285/70 Nitto Terra Grappler rubber.
I really liked this truck! Then in April, my little brother totaled his car and was looking to purchase a VW Jetta SportWagen. He asked me to help so I spent a Saturday in a VW dealership. Me spending time in a dealership is never a good thing. Especially a VW dealership. I have always liked VW's and their culture and scene. Throughout the years I had almost bought a Jetta TDI on multiple occasions. While waiting on financing and paperwork for my brother, I spent a lot of time looking at the new MK6 Jetta. Then I began crunching numbers in my head. The Taco got horrible gas mileage which was expected. I figured it up and my payment would be way cheaper and it would save me about $200-300 a month on gas. The next week Boardwalk VW told me they just got in a 2011 Candy White 6-speed TDI with black interior which was exactly what I was looking for. I bought it the day they got it off the truck.
So now I thought to myself, "I'm just going to do wheels and a mild drop on springs." The first thing I did was tint the windows, because fuck Texas summers! And I also painted the front and rear emblems and debadged the rest of the trunk.
Then I spent a few months looking for wheels. I still haven't found the wheels that I want for this car. But Stratmosphere was having a clearance sale on their Flashpoint wheels and the 19"s were only $89/each. I liked the way they looked, so I snagged a set to run until I come across the right wheel. They're 19x8.5 ET40 so they fit really nice without spacers. I wrapped them in Falken FK452 215/35 for just enough stretch to avoid rubbing. Not at stock height obviously, but for my future plans of lowering.
There weren't any coil overs available for a long time for the MK6 Jetta. It has a different rear suspension than the MK5 Jetta and MK6 Golf/GTI. In fact, even springs were tough to come by. H&R sport springs were backordered everywhere. But there was word that B&G were releasing some springs "soon" and ST was going to release coils at the end of summer. So I sat back and chilled at stock height for awhile. I had the urge to bag the car, but I fought it. I performed a few minor mods over the summer.
LED DRL replacement bulbs:
Weaponized the car:
Did a little light towing, no big deal:
There were still no suspension options, so I went to the lake:
At the end of summer, B&G had released their springs and ST announced it would be releasing the coil overs soon. I wasn't impressed with the drop on the springs that everyone was getting, so ST's it would be! In preparation for the drop, I installed a Panzer skid plate from DieselGeek.com. The week after I installed this, I was coming home from the airport at night and rounded a corner to see an old wooden fence post in the road. I couldn't avoid it and hit it HARD. It was big enough that it lifted the car when I hit it. I pulled over and checked for damage. Nothing. The next day I checked the skid plate and it just had a few scratches. This has been my best investment.
FINALLY!!! The coil overs came in!
And work began!
The drop really changed the overall look of the car and I was happy...
Pics the day after I installed the coils:
I was really hoping they would settle a little more after a few hundred miles. The fronts got a little lower, but the rear need to come down more. So back under the car I went. I took out the perch/adjuster for the rear and that made a huge difference. This is how she currently sits:
I ended up making my mirror classy as fuck! Thanks, PSU!
The coils don't go near low enough and they ride like shit. Well, they ride OK when it's just me in the car, but when I get any additional passengers, the rear feels like the suspension is made out of Michael J. Fox. Sorry coils, but you gotta go!
I fought the temptation long enough!
The air setup will consist of AirLift XL Slam Series struts up front, Air House 2 bags in the rear, 5 gallon tank, Accuair VU4 manifold, dual Viair 400c compressors and an AVS 7 switch controller. Oh, and a very modest trunk setup. Originally, I had planned on installing everything myself. But after talking with Drew @ Dorbritz Designs and seeing his work, I will be dropping the VW off with him. For those who don't know Drew, he does truly amazing work. I call him the Yoda of air suspension. We have been brainstorming some ideas and I'm really excited to see it when it's completed.
Yesterday I also ordered my new plates which should be here about the time that it gets bagged.
Wheels and a mild drop?
More to come...
Agreed.
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