How it all Began ..
It all begins with an idea.
It all starts with a dream. You see a car and fall in love with it, or maybe you get so familiar with an engine that you want to push its limits to the extreme. We’ve all been through that phase, or some of us still are. You buy your first car, and then—boom—the tuning bug bites.
Some people are lucky, getting a first car with a decent engine that shows potential. But most of us aren’t that fortunate, so we end up calling shops, asking them to "tune" 2.slow engines, maybe throw in some pops and bangs. I consider myself one of the lucky ones. My first car in the US was a 2008 GTI Autobahn Edition—candy white, two-door, and DSG. It was love at first sight. I thought it was the best car in the world. The super-responsive 2.0 FSI engine, with its low-end torque and dual-clutch transmission, truly made the car feel alive.
Soon enough, I upgraded to Stage 2: Eurodyne software, Neuspeed intake, Autotech HPFP, and an eBay catless downpipe. The car was everything I hoped for—and then some. I joined the local VW Chicago clubs and met a bunch of people with MK5s, learning and swapping parts and experiences . Being the curious person I am, I spent a lot of time online, searching for more parts and ways to keep developing my car. Unfortunately, in the U.S., there wasn’t much available. Or at least, not much that was recent. It was 2014, and I felt like I was a bit late to the game, with the MK6 already out and sporting the “superior” EA888 engine.
Vf Engineering used to offer a kit, but it was discontinued. APR and JDL had kits on the market, but each came with its own limitations. APR’s kit, while nice, was expensive and had limited upgrade options. It came with a GT2871 turbo, which could make decent power, but after that, you were stuck with a T25 manifold that couldn’t flow much more. JDL’s kit was solid, but it was discontinued too. That’s when I realized that not many people were interested in developing this platform further.
I kept seeing all these 2.0 FSI setups from Greece running 9-second quarter-miles with AWD conversions, but there was zero information available online—no blogs, no forums, nothing. I emailed a couple of known tuning companies out there, but I had no luck. It was 2014, and I had a Stage 2 GTI, but I had no idea how to build it further or where to go next.
Then, one day while scouring the web, I stumbled upon a post for a Big Turbo GTI part-out from Greece. I messaged the seller immediately about a top-mount turbo manifold he was selling (I believe it was the first of its kind) and a KMS FA23 secondary injector fuel controller. The seller was super responsive and helpful, and we ended up becoming really good friends. After a year of dead ends, this was my gateway to FSI heaven.
Before I knew it, I was pulling my engine out and sending it to the machine shop to install CP Pistons, Manley rods, and Supertech valve springs. The build was finally underway.
But then i went down a rabbit hole … more is better or at least that’s what i thought and what most people think .
To be continued ….
