- When it comes to cars that get classified
as what we know tuner cars.
Typically we think of anything
from Japan with four cylinders or a turbo charger.
However, we tend to forget
that there are quite a few European
and even domestic cars that can fall
into this tuner car category as well.
The Volkswagen GTI is one of those cars.
A front-wheel drive, manual, turbo, four cylinder hatchback
that has captured the hearts
of many enthusiasts around the world.
And whether it's for the angry pops and bangs of the exhaust
or just the overall look and feel of the car.
The Volkswagen GTI
has become one of the most popular cars
that we see people looking for
aftermarket parts for like wheels, tires and suspension
over fitmentindustries.com.
And since you know,
it lands near the top of the list for some of the most
popular year make model vehicle out there.
We thought that we would give some insight
into some modifications that you need to do
to your Mk7 Volkswagen GTI.
(bright music)
Of course, before we go ahead
and dive into all the fun stuff
and talk about cool parts and wheels and things to go with.
We should first go over a little overview
of what exactly the Mk7 GTI is.
Stuff you should know before diving in and modifying them.
Weird quirks that they may have or anything that is just
an absolute must do when you get one of these cars.
First things first,
the Mk7 GTI saw it is debut in the United States in 2015.
It's a much deserved restyling to match a current styling
of vehicles of the time
and help get rid of a lot of like the bubbliness
that the fifth and sixth generations had.
Powered by the two liter turbocharged TSI engine
and paired with either an automatic DSG
or manual transmission
providing roughly 217 horsepower to the front wheels.
This is also considered the third generation
of the TSI engine.
Labeled as the third gen TSI EA888 engine,
some differences of this generation of the engine
are a thinner block
and then previous generations making a little bit lighter
of an engine.
And it also has a little bit more horsepower
and a little more few efficient things.
So a couple upgrades like the water-cooled exhaust manifold.
As far are trouble points to watch out forward.
This platform in particular, it seems like, you know
typical German car fashion,
the water pumps definitely something to keep an eye out for.
Carbon buildup due to a direct injection
and the possibility of injection failure are also things
you know, to kind of just keep an eye out for
if you're looking at picking up a GTI
or if you just did pick up a GTI.
Outside of the engine itself, other common known issues
that the Mk7 GTI are like with the sunroof.
They tend to leak a little bit.
The easy thing to do here is just make sure to
clean the sunroof drain every now and then
and it should prevent, you know, that from happening.
Other than that, you know, these are some really
fun cars to start messing around with.
So with all that general information under our belt.
It's time to get talking about what modifications you can do
to your Mk7 GTI to make it not only fun to drive
but look just as good.
What we're gonna do is kind of break this down
into a few different categories.
First being of course,
wheels, tires, and suspension.
What are people running on these cars?
What looks good?
And of course,
what sizes should you go with to get some good fit.
Next, we'll move into more performance side of things.
Talk about some of the best bolt-on modifications
for these cars or any other performance mods
that are worth it or are actually
just needed to get the job done.
And then, it goes out any other modifications
that we would recommend doing, you know,
make the driving experience a little more enjoyable.
A new set of wheels can drastically change
the overall look of your car.
And it is one of the best modifications that you can
pretty much do to any vehicle out there.
For the Mk7 GTI, you're going to be looking at options
with a bolt pattern of 5 x 1/12.
Now, it's not an extremely difficult to find bolt pattern
but definitely not the most common one out there.
(techno music)
(car revving)
As far as what type of aftermarket wheels
will you suggest for this car?
We have a few options that are a solid go-to
when it comes to the Mk7 GTI.
The first choice being, the Konig Ampliform.
Now, Konig does a really good job at hitting all markets
of vehicles with their aftermarket wheels.
From JDM, KDM, Euro, domestic, you name it.
The Ampliform is one of those wheels that does look good
on a lot of different body styles
and it has the right sizes for these cars.
Konig does a really good job
not only with the design of their wheels
but also the performance as well.
Using a flow forming technology to essentially
forge a barrel of their wheels
keeps the Ampliform lightweight and strong.
Another huge name, of course,
in the aftermarket wheel game,
especially when it comes to Euro cars,
is of course, Rotiform.
Now probably the most popular wheel from Rotiform
and especially for this car is the Rotiform RSC.
Looks absolutely amazing on pretty much anything
that you can put it on.
Multi spoke design that fits perfectly
with the style of GTI and even has the ability
to run the Rotiform AeroDisc.
Which is that turbo fan like cover
that mounts to the center cap the wheel
and opens up like a whole new world of customization
in the form of wraps or paint of the Aerodisc itself.
Speaking of the right sizes.
Let's talk about that for just a second.
What size wheels are people running on their Mk7s?
Well, typically we see people go with something like
an 18 or 19 inch wheel
with a size of width of anywhere between
8 1/2 to 9 inches.
Is typically where you're going to find yourself.
As far as offset,
these cars actually do run a pretty high offset.
Something from like a plus 45
and dropping down to about a plus 35
is a range that you wanna stick to
without having to really mess with rolling
or pulling any fenders.
Something like 18 by 8 1/2 plus 45,
usually what we see a lot of people go with with their Mk7.
Now, if you get a new set of wheels, typically
you're gonna need a new set of tires to go with it.
And we don't recommend
going with something like Falken ZE960.
All season Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 Plus
or if you want some more performance,
the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S.
Depending on what you're looking to get out of your Mk7.
Now, if it's more of a daily?
I'd recommend something like the Falken or the Conti.
If you're looking for something a little more
spirited driving?
Maybe go snag a set of Michelin Pilot Sports.
But it's really up to you.
But those are some
three solid higher choices to keep in mind.
Finally, suspension, always a good idea to lower your car.
Get rid of some wheel gap, bring that center or gravity
down to the earth.
And of course, dial in that fit.
And if you're looking to go to coilover up?
BC Racing can never really go wrong.
And of course, Air Lift performance 3P,
by far one of the most like best options
for Air Lift suspension out there.
Or air suspension cause it comes with everything you need,
super easy to install and it's really straightforward.
The GTI has been a perfect formula
of to beat a great tuner car.
Four cylinders, got a turbo charger
and a great amount of aftermarket support.
Bolt-on modifications are the way to go when it comes
to these types of cars.
Simple bolt-ons and tunes can unleash a good amount
of horsepower surprisingly.
There's what we like to call
a trifecta of modifications that you can do
to get the most bang for your buck.
And that includes an intake and exhaust
and some sort of tune.
Companies like APR and MEPerformance
make some great options for an aftermarket intake
that can feed the turbo and your engine
a little bit more air.
Turbo cars also love aftermarket exhaust,
especially downpipes.
It's one of the biggest restrictors on those kinds of cars.
Brands like APR and MAPerformance again,
make some great options for exhaust parts
as well as CTS seem to be some of the top brands
that Mk7 owners like to go with.
COBB of course had to have a go at this platform as well
and is one of the most trusted off-the-shelf tunes
when it comes to the turbocharged cars of today.
Now the only real issue here
and kind of one of the downside
to these cars is the stock clutch is pretty much garbage
for anything overstock horsepower.
It's gonna start slipping like crazy.
Basically you're looking at adding any sort of horsepower
to your Mk7 GTI.
You can almost always expect
that you're gonna need to upgrade your clutch.
Which can get a little bit pricey.
So I would definitely budget that
into your modification list.
As far as other modifications that you can do
to make your GTI your own.
You can never go wrong with some sort of lip kit.
Kind of get some aggressive arrow
going on if that's kind of your jam
or just something nice and subtle.
And as far as the interior goes,
interiors really not too shabby though,
they look pretty good.
A lot of people tend to switch out the seats,
you know, go with like a Corbeau or something like that.
Kind of tie everything in nice and neat.
And then of course like an after market shift knob
or something, just to get the feel just the way they want.
But other than that, you know, not really a whole lot
of other modifications to really do to these things
unless you go, you know, like crazy wide body
or you go like a one off body kit or something like that.
A lot of people do tend with a little bit more
of aggressive wing for the rear hatch to kind of,
you know, if they don't have a stock one
or if the stock one's just not enough for them.
But overall they look really damn good from the factory
and they're already kind of decently quick
and they take modifications really well.
So if you're looking for
some new wheel, tires or suspension for your Mk7 GTI
or maybe some MAPerformance parts?
Don't forget to hit up FITMENTINDUSTRIES.COM
or MAPerformance
and go check out what they offer as well.
Thank you guys so much for watching.
I'm Gels from fitmentindustries.
We'll see you later.
Peace.