Polo's humble build

[H20pologoalie]

Got my Eurocode goodies from the group buy in. Since I don't have the needed tools to do any of the work and I don't trust myself not to screw somethings up I wanted to get them installed with a good indie shop. Called up NGP in Aberdeen, MD. Well the dude on the phone quoted me something like $734ish dollars for install on the Alu Kreuz, front and rear sways (no end links, bars only) and alignment. Am I missing something. He said 2 hours for the Alu Kreuz, 2 hours for front sway b/c they have to drop the sub-frame, and 1 hours for the rear sway, then time for a new alignment. Are those times right? I'm no mechanic but the eurocode install guide seemed pretty straight forward and made no mention of dropping subframes. Looked more like 1 hour per sway and 30 min for Alu kreuz, not even sure of a new alignment is needed or just a good idea.

[adam123]

Got my Eurocode goodies from the group buy in. Since I don't have the needed tools to do any of the work and I don't trust myself not to screw somethings up I wanted to get them installed with a good indie shop. Called up NGP in Aberdeen, MD. Well the dude on the phone quoted me something like $734ish dollars for install on the Alu Kreuz, front and rear sways (no end links, bars only) and alignment. Am I missing something. He said 2 hours for the Alu Kreuz, 2 hours for front sway b/c they have to drop the sub-frame, and 1 hours for the rear sway, then time for a new alignment. Are those times right? I'm no mechanic but the eurocode install guide seemed pretty straight forward and made no mention of dropping subframes. Looked more like 1 hour per sway and 30 min for Alu kreuz, not even sure of a new alignment is needed or just a good idea.

my friend did my ak and my sways for me in an hour , alignment one hour

[H20pologoalie]

my friend did my ak and my sways for me in an hour , alignment one hour

Why the alignment? I know it's about an hour, but still. they don't have to touch anything during those installations to alter the alignment? Unless you did other things at the same time.

[adam123]

Why the alignment? I know it's about an hour, but still. they don't have to touch anything during those installations to alter the alignment? Unless you did other things at the same time.

Alignment was done by a shop after my coils were installed. Unrelated to the sways and ak's just wanted to give you an idea on the labor cost.

[beta]

This maybe a bit out of your way but I've recently had s2dynamics in Rockville installed my H7R coilovers and they did a great job at a very reasonable price, I would give Patrick a call 301-881-1283.

[H20pologoalie]

Thanks Beta, that's not out of the way at all. Live just across the bridge from Annapolis, so most places I have to go are about an hour away anyhow. I'll see what they say for a time quote. 7 hours seemed excessive.

[danphines]

Gorgeous car, looks even more spectacular in person. Keep up the good work!

[yagie]

Hey were you at the euro geeks meet in Kent island two weeks ago? Saw an s5 that I believe was yours there and looks great in person, subtle and tasteful for sure.

[H20pologoalie]

Yeah that was me. It was a bit dirty that day, but I live 3 minutes away from the Narrows. I like it to be a little understated though. Alot of the guys on the scene do really crazy things to their cars. Especially when you get the VW involved. Fun to check out but it just doesn't work well with my cars design imo. That and I've been trying to focus on the unscene upgrades (suspension, engine, etc). Now that those are done for the most part, it's time to start saving for the other things. Still want some non-res dp from AWE but prices jumped on me the past couple months so did other stuff instead, which I've been meaning to post pictures for.

[xuandatou]

Love this style~

Low Key~

[H20pologoalie]

Love this style~

Low Key~

Thanks. Low key is good I guess, let the natural design speak for itself, plus I'm not that creative.

[H20pologoalie]

So lets see. what has happened since my last updates to this. Well a couple things. Mostly good, one BAD! for which I'm still pissed at the Maryland State Police for. So that story is hilarious actually. Was on my home from work about 2 months ago on a friday. It's a good 1.5 hour commute for me so I usually take the 5 just on Fridays cause it's a half day (dentists schedule). Leaving my way out of Salisbury, MD and have to go through some shadier parts of town, but that's just where the main road takes you. Cop pulls out behind me. I'm not worried cause I'm not speeding or anything at all, but me being me I kept my eye on him. Well he pulls me and simply says, "You know your tint is illegals!". I grunt a "nuh uh", while thinking, 'of course it is ass clown, but I bet you didn't think there'd be a white guy with a suit on in it!' Give's some run around, doesn't even check my tint but gives me a work order. So I had to pull my 20% and put on MD legal 35%. It's not bad, but it looked so Bruce Wayne before that I tear up sometimes.

Anyhow, grabs some goodies from Eurocode and Mops hooked me up with some Adams stuff. Off we go.

Did a little jog up to Brooklyn for a wedding. Sad I couldn't hook up (literaly) with Bk, I hear he's sexy.


Out with the old. Which I must say, every OEM part I pull off this thing is hideous looking! At least the outside is gorgeous!


In with the new


Yes that is a Adams box next to a very bare wine rack and a mini fridge full of Makgeoli and Soju


About to do some serious business this weekend!


Need to upgrade the garage. But first I need to become a homeowner!

[Mops@Nemesis]

Nice! That oem brace is really shitty huh. The state po po got me for tint one time. I only had to peel and take and show him. Re-tinted the same the following week for lulz. What is that to the far right in pic of detail supplies? Good ruck with the detail. Let me know if you have questions. One quick tip...if you have issues with removal of anything, a couple sprays of detail will work. Btw, you dont need much detail spray. I hit the entire car at once after a wash. Say 3-4 sprays on hood, one on fender, two on doors, two on quarters, etc.

[H20pologoalie]

That off to the right is some rock band stuff and my vintage pinball machine, half bar is opposite of all this in my cave right off the garage. Just need a big green egg on the patio and I'm in business.

[Mops@Nemesis]

Green egg

[H20pologoalie]

Ran into this dude today. He was sort of a dick but I always thought the T-rex would make for a fun little toy. And I have no idea what was going on with the cap in the scoop air inlet.

[Studham]

Love the build...

What are your thoughts on the Eurocode AK?

[beta]

Did Patrick take care of you for that Ak install?

[H20pologoalie]

Did Patrick take care of you for that Ak install?

Yeah Pat was great. Put both the Ak and sways on in about 1.5 hours. Really enjoy the Ak so far. Can feel the diff in the steering feel/response. Tightens up the steering, feels a bit firmer now, which is nice.

[Teakbrown]

Looks great , love the photoshot pics!!

[H20pologoalie]

So for you guys that put on your downpipes yourselves. How long did you soak the fasteners in penetrating oil. I sprayed and left for 30 mins and the 3 bolts will not budge. AWE says to soak for several hours. I hoping that this makes a big difference?

Had everything all set. Up on stands and the connectors to the rear of the car loosened. Then the ones that attach the the exhaust manifold completely screwed me over, special AWE tool and all. Any advice would be appreciated. I'd hate to give up and call a shop for something so seemingly simple.


~ 4 hours later... Just resprayed the bolts with penetrating oil and going to let sit overnight, hopefully this does it.

[H20pologoalie]

So after an exhaustive two days adventure I am still no closer to getting these downpipes on. Which really sucks. Cause after yesterdays effort I did a full respray and let the bolts sit in penetrating oil all night. So in total 28 hours of "soaking". Woke up and got back to work bright and early.

So far things are going nicely. Up on stands and no the real work can start, all over.


Then once again after getting the clamp from the stock DP to the rest of my AWE tuning exhaust (already installed) loosened. I get to work on those 6 bastards.

Then my first disaster strikes. Sort of a disaster since this is still not really an issue with a little grinding from a drummel and prying later on. Needless to say the bolt sheared off in the nut, but I got the nut off.




So I soldier on and actually loosen a couple more nuts (2) one on each side. Then the other disaster strikes which halted my progress for the day, and possibly my DIY adventure (unless I go get a crowfoot attachment 12mm and 14 mm I think it what a A5OC write up says).

BOOM!!!


So tightened back up the other nuts at this point and set her back on her feet. Called it a day. Suggestions and pointers welcomed.

[Vanguardx]

Man that sucks.

Out of curiosity whats your MPG on the computer? hwy/city?

[H20pologoalie]

Man that sucks.

Out of curiosity whats your MPG on the computer? hwy/city?

I'm usually doing hwy miles. but end up getting somehwere between 360-400 miles per tank. When I'm going around locally, short drives, it's 325 per tank. I never really keep the MPG meter on, just the estimated mileage left on the tank if that helps.

[Vanguardx]

Thats like 21 MPG assuming you fill up with 1.5 gallons left on almost 0 miles to empty.

Not bad. My friends gets a solid 12 MPG lol.

[H20pologoalie]

Made some nice progress on the Downpipes today. There have been a few hiccups along the way, but first off, big thanks to Will at AWE. I had an unfortunate failed dp removal tool and they are all over replacement, even tossing in a shirt or something. That's awesome customer service right there as all I was doing was letting them know what happened in case it was a bad batch or something, who knows, they are looking into it.

I only get about 30 minutes a day working on this during the week, so hopefully it will be done by weeks end. Anyways, here go some pics of progress being made.

This is the crazy driver side dp, my nemesis. 1 bolt to go, facing up towards the cabin.



Finally out!!! Actually didn't use the crows foot with the ratchet for this, kept slipping, so I went with a regular hex hand wrench and basically did a pull up on the damn thing to get it loose (after 2 days of soaking in penetrating oil). Ridiculous.


More ugly ass OEM stuff. And the bane of my current existence.


So this is the drivers side stock pipe that I sheared off the bolt, cause you know, I'm so big and sezzy.


Drivers pipe up, half way at least.



And while I was at it. I noticed that my dual clamp exhaust sleeves are nasty, and rusty and just need to be replaced. So I went to ECS Tuning to see what the replacement part would cost. The OEM one was going for $70 something a piece. Screw that. So after verifying that the pipe diameter was indeed 60mm, I ordered the HJS clamp that was $18.06. Much better price and well, it's just a clamp.


The clamps should ship soon, but if I get this thing buttoned up before they get here so be it, I'll toss them on later.

[bknewtype]

nice tanned legs there

[H20pologoalie]

nice tanned legs there

I shaved them just for you. I hope they aren't too orange, it's a spray tan!

God, what a PITA. I have run into issues with many installs but never something like this. I cannot imagine how pissed you were. I assume by now you are over it and just want to wrap things up. Good luck!

That just about says it, yup. It's been an little bumpier than I anticipated. Should be done soon though, now it's just a matter of finding blocks of time to work on it.

[Mops@Nemesis]

God, what a PITA. I have run into issues with many installs but never something like this. I cannot imagine how pissed you were. I assume by now you are over it and just want to wrap things up. Good luck!

[Got No Game]

The DP removal can be a tricky maneuver.

[PoisonTheWell]

Is your black grill OEM? It looks like it is from your delivery photos. That's exactly what I want. Black front grill with license plate frame.

[H20pologoalie]

Is your black grill OEM? It looks like it is from your delivery photos. That's exactly what I want. Black front grill with license plate frame.

Yeah, that comes with the Titanium package. The rings are just dipped.

[HP Hungry S5]

Is your black grill OEM? It looks like it is from your delivery photos. That's exactly what I want. Black front grill with license plate frame.

You can buy mine if you want

But props to you on tackling the DP install Polo. I tried and when the bolts did not move for me after letting them soak like you did I said F this and sold the DPs haha.

[H20pologoalie]

DP install is officially ovah!!! Was a major headache, but what's done is done. Readuy to go hit up H20 International end of this month. Next up on the Mod list is definitely E-codes, it's been a long time coming but I've had to prioritize my modding as of late. Not sure when the the deeezcodes are going on but hopefully sometime w/i the next six months or so. Depending on how long I then have to wait for ECS to get them too me cause I'm not dropping 15 hundy for them.

Also the dudes at AWE, as I've said before definitely stand behind their products and step up in customer service. Then sent me a nice little get well soon package after my tool breakage. Replaced the tool, got a nice shirt, and a lp frame (I'm going to stick with my cf one, but it's a nice gesture for sure).






If any of you guys are going to be at H20 this month, hit me up with a PM and maybe we can hook up, since it doesn't seem yet that Audizine has put forth an official meeting spot. Not sure what that's all about.

[Mops@Nemesis]

Glad you got that sorted out!

[H20pologoalie]

So it's been a little while. I don't have any new hardware upgrades to speak of. However, since my wife and I are moving to San Marcos, TX, I decided that I needed some paint protection for the drive down from MD and the TX sun. I debated between a couple of different routes to go but landed on a full car dip. I'll probably catch hell for it by some, but that's ok. It's just a temporary thing anyway. I would have opted for taping it up but it will be daily-ed for a couple years and without a garage to call home while we house hunt for an unknown time frame... anyways I cataloged the full day adventure. Mostly I'm pretty happy. That hardest part for me was peeling the lines. I ended up with some gnarly edges in a few spots on close inspection, but since you need to peel when the last coat is still wet, it's a tall task to pull off when you are doing the whole job solo. All in all the job took me about 8 hours. 3 taping, and 4 spraying, and 1 cleaning the gun between coats. I used 1 gallon of black rds, 1 gallon gunmettal rds mixed together for my base coat, mainly because I wanted good coverage for peeling later (achieved 5-6 coats). Then I used 2 gallons of clear rds and 1 gallon of glossifier mixed together with 100 grams Sapphire blue pearl and 50 grams Suzuka Blue pearl to get my final color. I laid down about 6 coats of final color and only used 2 of the 3 gallons ( I could have sprayed the last gallon but I had gotten full coverage and it was getting late (so I saved the last gallon to do touch ups later if I need to). So here goes the pics, sorry no close ups for no, I was in a hurry to get home from the borrowed garage space.

In the booth


Taped off








Base coat




Pearls in packages



Mixing it up


On the 5

[Beast]

Awesome prep work!

You should join us on Dipyourcar.com/forums!

[H20pologoalie]

Thanks, I'm a member over there but I should probably post this up in the custom colors or pearls section. Guys are always wanting to know exactly how you got what color.

[Beast]

Thanks, I'm a member over there but I should probably post this up in the custom colors or pearls section. Guys are always wanting to know exactly how you got what color.

Yeah your color turned out amazing. You should enter the dip of the month contest over on the dyc forums. I would def suggest you get a good rubber cloth or the dipwasher, it makes it so much easier to clean a dipped finish.

[GlazierGlaze]

This is a nifty build! Great DIY info!