My new Vdub, suggestions please

[Ltdnismorace]

I purchased this car and I am picking it up thursday, but I'm new to the volkswagen community and wanted feedback/suggestions. Some of the stuff on this car will be quickly coming off, too rice for me, but some will stay. It's a 96 GL with a 2.0 and 5 speed. First the description of stuff I got.

Performance Mods

Neuspeed Cross drilled rotors
EBC Green Stuff Brake Pads
New Rear Brake Shoes
Sport Springs (Lowered 2 Inches)
Sachs Clutch
Short Shifter
Neuspeed P-Chip ECU Upgrade
Nology Hot Wires Spark Plug Wires
Bosch Platinum 4 Spark Plugs
Ractive Chrome Headers
Ractive High Flow Air Intake
Fully Custom Stainless Steel Cat-Back Exhaust System with Borla Muffler
Euro Sport Underdrive Pulley Kit


Exterior Mods
Flix Artic 17’ Anthracite Rims
Khumo ASX All-Season High Performance Tires
Pilot Fog Lights
Street Glow Xenon Headlight and Fog Light Bulbs
GLX style tail lights
Blackened Hella Turn Signals and Side Markers
Kameli Front Air Ducts
Window Tint (Virginia State Legal)
Black Trunk Emblem
Custom Painted Engine Intake with Custom Street Glow Orange Loom (LOOM IS EXTREMELY GAY AND COMING OFF ASAP)


Interior Mods


Pioneer CD Player
Racing Pedals (SWITCHING BUT DON"T KNOW FOR WHAT OR WHERE TO GET IT, SUGGESTIONS PLEASE)
Ractive Shift Knob and Boot with Matching Brake Handle (SWITCHING BUT DON"T KNOW FOR WHAT OR WHERE TO GET IT, SUGGESTIONS PLEASE)
Interior Orange Street Glow Neon Lights (Custom Wired) (COMING OFF)
Orange Dash Lights (COMING OFF)
Custom Floor Mats (COMING OFF)




Now the Pictures.

[Ltdnismorace]

So basically I need to know good VW sites that sell stuff as I haven't been able to find much of anything and ebay sells too much knockoff shit to be trustworthy. I don't really know what the "good" VW brand aftermarket stuff is either, but I imagine the Ractive shit will come off pretty soon too.

[Jecht]

YAY! Another Mk3 Jetta 2.0! I am no longer alone! WOOHOO!

Okay. Haha.
It doesn't look too bad. I'd just stick with your plans to remove the loom and interior bits, but I would leave the engine mods alone. For the shift knob and boot, you can get a Mk4 shift knob & boot to replace the Mk3 one. The Mk4 knob and boot look much better. As for the pedals, you should be able to get Audi TT styled pedals (the brushed metal look ones) that fit perfectly for around $90. I would paint the air ducts, repaint the side trim (it looks kinda funny in the pics), get a Euro VR6 front lip (like $100, can be found on just about any VW enthusiast site), and get a badgeless front grill. If you need to know something about the car, ask me. I have official VW shop manuals, a Bentley repair manual, and several other repair guides for the Mk3s.

[Ltdnismorace]

thanks. Yeah as far as engine mods go, I'm leaving it alone cause it's my bone stock DD mobile. I was wondering about the trim myself, I'll get back with you on how it looks when I get home thursday.

[GermanMuscle]

lower the front more

vwvortex.com can help you with everything vw related

[4dmin]

just supercharge it and be done 1500$

[thegreatfnr]

First thing it looks like ya need to take care of is that reverse rake. Man it looks like you got a bunch of dead hookers in your trunk. Car does look very nice though Im not hatin.

Lee

[Ltdnismorace]

yeah, it looked to me like the suspension need a little revamping as well considering the ad just says sport springs 2 inch drop and no brand, probably some shitty stuff with a poor ride. I found a tokico strut and coil combo for around 400 bucks, is the tokico stuff for these ok for a DD. Take into account this will never be a high performance car, I have the 240 for that.

[thegreatfnr]

yeah, it looked to me like the suspension need a little revamping as well considering the ad just says sport springs 2 inch drop and no brand, probably some shitty stuff with a poor ride. I found a tokico strut and coil combo for around 400 bucks, is the tokico stuff for these ok for a DD. Take into account this will never be a high performance car, I have the 240 for that.

I dont know much about the tokico suspension peices but I do have some springs I had on my car that I just took off that I would give ya for free if you wanted to try them out. They had been chopped a lil but had my front end pretty low on my a2 but dont know how well a mk3 would do with them. Seeing you got a 2.0 i couldnt see it being that much more heavy in the front but i dunno.

Lee

[Jecht]

If you want a good coilover setup for cheap, look up Patec Holeshot Series 4 Coilovers. You should be able to get them for around $700.

[Allstar3.8T]

+1 for the supercharger, or save for a 12v VR6 swap and turbo kit!

[thegreatfnr]

If you want a good coilover setup for cheap, look up Patec Holeshot Series 4 Coilovers. You should be able to get them for around $700.

Yea those are what i have on my car adn they ride alot better than my old setup plus i can go alot lower if i wanted to.

Lee

[Jecht]

Yea those are what i have on my car adn they ride alot better than my old setup plus i can go alot lower if i wanted to.

Lee

They go seriously low. I've got a picture somewhere with them ALL the way down, its only like 3/4 inch off the ground. Definitely not something I would set it at on a daily basis though.

[Ltdnismorace]

thanks for the comments and suggestions guys, I'm going to see if I can find those Patecs real quick.

[iScott]

Looks great, man.

If you were looking for good VW parts sites, a few of my favorites are:
- ecstuning.com
- parts4vws.com
- 1stvwparts.com

Many happy miles to ya!

[Ltdnismorace]

thanks, I found those Patec holeshots for 699 at Dynamic Motorsports, I think I'll order them today, only thing is it doesn't look they have a pillow top mount, does that cause camber issues on these?

[Ltdnismorace]

oh, looks like my year was split when it comes to some parts some go to 96.5 and some go from 96.5 to 98. Anyone know just by looking at it which I have?

[thegreatfnr]

thanks, I found those Patec holeshots for 699 at Dynamic Motorsports, I think I'll order them today, only thing is it doesn't look they have a pillow top mount, does that cause camber issues on these?

Yea I have been driving on mine for about a week now and when i went to get my allignment done the guy said my camber was outta wack. Plus if you look at the wheel gap the top of the driverside front is closer to the fender than the passenger side causing a small rub. It is low though.

In not gonna really worry about it after I get my swap done though

Magious how did you get them to go all thet way down with out sitting on the inside of your fender. My shit still had an inch to go lower but couldnt cause my wheels and tires wouldnt let go any lower

Lee

[GermanMuscle]

i think the difference is if its has coilpacks or not

[Ltdnismorace]

coilpacks, explain

[thegreatfnr]

coilpacks, explain

coilpacks are for ignition man, I think he was talking about the helper springs mabye. If you go to my thread about my donor car i posted pics of the Patecs I just got in and installed.

Lee

[Kyle]

my suggestions are just remove the neons and ractive pedals, but I am sure you were alread going to do that. So I would just paint the side moldings and while you are at it maybe get another body mod like kamei grill or something since they will already have the paint mixed.

Looks good, always good to have another vw around.

[Ltdnismorace]

coilpacks are for ignition man, I think he was talking about the helper springs mabye. If you go to my thread about my donor car i posted pics of the Patecs I just got in and installed.

Lee

that is kinda what I was thinking with coilpacks but I thought maybe he was talking about something in the suspension since WE were already discussing that. I found those Patecs, but they may be a little overkill for my purposes, althought you look to be really nice quality. They actually have a more of a touring set that I may actually end up getting.

[thegreatfnr]

I found those Patecs, but they may be a little overkill for my purposes, althought you look to be really nice quality. They actually have a more of a touring set that I may actually end up getting.

Yea I always thought coilovers in general were pretty overkill but for the price of these its hard to beat. Alot of places charge 1000+ for them. The Patecs are said to be the best of the cheap coilovers.

Hey I think kyle had a good idea with going with some other body mods mabye a nice classy spoiler like the ones that came stock on them not a big wing or anything.

Lee

[Ltdnismorace]

I am actually not a huge fan of the color it is now so it may get painted this summer, I'm thinking either a nice silver or black, but for now I doubt I'll do anything body wise because of that idea. I am not really that big of a fan of the wheels and I have a set of 18s that I may try to squeeze on after I get rid of the droopy ass end.

[Total_Blender]

If whoever did your wiring did your suspension... you probably have cut stock springs. Or even worse... those E-bay coilover sleeves that fit over the stock strut :puke: :laugh:.

Both Patec and Weitec make cup kits (lowering struts/springs in a kit) for ~$500. Spend a little more and you can get the Bilstein struts that have a lifetime warranty, or the H&R cupkit that has a lifetime warranty as well.

$700 will get you a threaded body coilover kit from Patec or Weitec. Bilstein, H&R and Koni have the best stuff (warranty, etc), their coilover kits start at $1000 and go up from there, depending on what features you want.

As for wheels, I wouldn't do 18's on a MkIII, I'd go with 15's or 16's. I like the look of meaty tires, and the low=profile stuff isn't the best for ride quality/handling.

The first thing I would recommend anybody to do is get on Amazon and get a Bentley manual. Bentley is the name of the publisher, these are the manuals the dealership techs use. The Bentley manuals have much more technical info than the crappy Haynes ones you get at the parts store. The Bentley manuals cost ~$40 and it is the best investment you can make in your car.

As far as the 2.0 goes, these are the things I would consider:

rebuild + boost (plenty of turbo kits for this motor)

16v head + ABF pistons (all motor power)

16v head + boost (even more boosted power)

VR6 swap (no need to explain that one)

[Ltdnismorace]

how would you know if the wiring was done poorly or are you just talking about in the poor taste in putting in bright orange wire loom?

[thegreatfnr]

If whoever did your wiring did your suspension... you probably have cut stock springs. Or even worse... those E-bay coilover sleeves that fit over the stock strut :puke: :laugh:.

Both Patec and Weitec make cup kits (lowering struts/springs in a kit) for ~$500. Spend a little more and you can get the Bilstein struts that have a lifetime warranty, or the H&R cupkit that has a lifetime warranty as well.

$700 will get you a threaded body coilover kit from Patec or Weitec. Bilstein, H&R and Koni have the best stuff (warranty, etc), their coilover kits start at $1000 and go up from there, depending on what features you want.

As for wheels, I wouldn't do 18's on a MkIII, I'd go with 15's or 16's. I like the look of meaty tires, and the low=profile stuff isn't the best for ride quality/handling.

The first thing I would recommend anybody to do is get on Amazon and get a Bentley manual. Bentley is the name of the publisher, these are the manuals the dealership techs use. The Bentley manuals have much more technical info than the crappy Haynes ones you get at the parts store. The Bentley manuals cost ~$40 and it is the best investment you can make in your car.

As far as the 2.0 goes, these are the things I would consider:

rebuild + boost (plenty of turbo kits for this motor)

16v head + ABF pistons (all motor power)

16v head + boost (even more boosted power)

VR6 swap (no need to explain that one)

Yea what he said

Lee

[thegreatfnr]

how would you know if the wiring was done poorly or are you just talking about in the poor taste in putting in bright orange wire loom?

I dont think the wiring looks bad though its cleaner than my engine bay of my 8V

Lee

[Total_Blender]

how would you know if the wiring was done poorly or are you just talking about in the poor taste in putting in bright orange wire loom?

Just the orange loom. It looks like the wiring is all right and they just put loom over it. You also mentioned the DIY wiring for the neons in one of your posts too it gave me the impression that they didn't do a good job w/ wiring them up.

[Ltdnismorace]

Information I got actually says "custom" wiring, you and I can take that as we want I suppose, It didn't really bother me because I'm pulling all the ricey gay lighting out as soon as I pull it in my garage as well as all that loom bullshit. I'll get it over to my shop and up on the lift and check the coils out too. From talking to the guy he didn't do any of the work himself, had some custom shop in his town do it, so who knows.

[Total_Blender]

Looking through your first post again, I see that your engine has those +4 platinum plugs. You might want to replace those with the OEM spec plugs. I know for a MkII 8v they are just Bosch single electrode coppers (supers), but for a MkIII they might be the dual electrode coppers. Go with the OEM spec plugs and you will be happy with it. I wouldn't use platinum at all unless thats what VW says to use.

In the previous post where somebody was talking about coil pack... coilpack is a large coil with a wire going to each cylinder instead of a distributor. IDK if VW used coilpack ignition on the OBD 2 or not, but I do know the OBD-1 has a regular coil and distributor. The difference in engines between years is OBD-1 and OBD-2. The OBD-1 is the most desirable because it has a forged crankshaft, the OBD-2 has a cast crankshaft. The difference is in the engine management systems. OBD-2 enables you to hook the engine up to a code scanner.

You might also consider swapping the cone filter for a stock airbox, the VW airboxes really aren't restrictive, and they keep the motor from sucking up hot air from the engine bay.

[Ltdnismorace]

ok, I have no idea which engine system this has. I won't be modifying for performance what so ever on this particular car though, at least not in the concievable future. I'll just be going for DD and aesthetics. Obviously if the right spark plugs and intake will help matters for the engine operating properly I'll do that, not a big fan of the Ractive stuff anyways.

[Total_Blender]

I'll do that, not a big fan of the Ractive stuff anyways.

I try to stay away from anything "billet" myself. Check out some of the newer cars, there are a lot of nice Emm-Kay 4 shiftknobs, and Audi's usually have nice stuff too. There's stuff all over the classifieds on VWvortex and Ebay

[Ltdnismorace]

yup, been looking already