Blog

Short blog posts, journal entries, and random thoughts. Topics include a mix of personal and the world at large.

Old man enthusiast

In my early 20s of car enthusiasm, the prime thing to do to a car is to lower it. The wheel gaps from the factory always seem to be a tad high. Of course then the first modification item I bought for my purely pedestrian Toyota Corolla was a set of lowering springs.

In my now late 30s of car enthusiasm, I have no desire to do the same to my current Golf GTI. Yes, the wheel gaps are rather enormous on it too. But with experience comes wisdom, and what starts at lowering springs can quickly spiral into many unintended consequences.

So let’s say the car is lowered. Job done, right? Well now the wheels look kind of sunken into the body. You can remedy this by either putting on wheel spacers to punch out the wheels a bit, or go the full route and buy an entirely new set of wheels with a lower offset specification. That’s money you didn’t intend on spending, but soon as you put on lowering springs, you’re already in quick sand.

Lower offset wheels creates a new problem: rock chips. The wheels sticking further out means less of the existing fender work can protect the debris being constantly flung. The car’s lower rear quarter panel gets pummeled. You can either live with stone chips, or put paint protection film onto the quarters. Ah yes, more money to spend.

A lowered car naturally means the bottom of the bumper is closer to the ground. Poorly graded driveways are now the worst enemies. Leaving a gas station onto the road is an exercise of angular contortion to avoid scraping the front. Meanwhile, that normal person in a stilted SUV simply drive straight without a care.

These days I want my cars to work without any fuss. Driving should not be stressful! Limiting NVH - noise, vibration, and harshness - matters greatly to me, as if I’m a boomer retired grandfather. The GTI rides relatively superbly from the factory, with an excellently insulated cabin space. The last thing I want to do is to begin ruining that by installing shorter springs and stiffer suspension components, purely for looks.

Don't forget your dip stick!

It’s been awhile since I’ve owned a car that I actually have to check the oil levels on periodically. Turbocharged engines - like the one in my Golf GTI - can develop an oil consumption habit. That’s just the nature of forcing in more than base atmospheric pressure into the combustion chamber. So it’s important to keep track so that the engine isn’t starved of oil. You kind of don’t want to wait for the low oil level warning light to come on.

Unless of course you have a late model BMW. My previous BMW M2 has a turbocharged engine, but no physical dip stick. The method to measure the oil level is through the infotainment menu, which nobody does, and I certainly didn’t. How would you know your BMW turbo engine is in good health vis a vis motor oil? The low level light never comes on in between changes. And thankfully on my M2 it never did over the five years of ownership.

The Golf has a physical dipstick, so I’ve been checking oil levels at every refueling stop. But there’s a problem. In order to get an accurate reading, the ground has to be level. Unfortunately, there is no standard that mandates gas stations to be graded flat. Depending on which way the floor is slanted, the reading could falsely swing optimistic or pessimistic. If you’re a psychopath like me, then you’re seeking out gas stations with as level a spot as possible.

Normal people don’t do this. Heck, normal drivers hardly check the oil. The warning light is the call to action. Modern engines have absurdly long oil change intervals, too. The BMW M2 calls for every 10,000 miles, or one year. Actual mechanics would advise around 5,000 mile intervals for turbocharged engines. Perhaps it’s a testament to how excellent engine and oil technology have become that we don’t hear much about adverse oil consumption and subsequent failed motors (outside of Hyundai’s GDI).

Unfortunately, the EA888 engine in the GTI can be bit of an oil drinker, so I’m going to keep tabs on it like a hawk. I can remember doing the same with a Subaru WRX STI, carrying a quart jug of motor oil at the ready. That’s car life.

Monk mode running

So you’re all psyched up to go on this run. You’re in the car and heading to the running spot. But then you realize you forgot your earphones. What? Running without any tunes - are you crazy? So what do you do? Of course make that u-turn towards home to get the AirPods.

Unless you’re a psychopath like me. For me it’s more important to not waste time detouring home. Just how mentally soft am I if I can’t even go on a 40 minute run without any musical assistance. Lifting weights, I can understand. Sometimes those personal bests are easier to hit with something inspirational in the ear to provide that extra little mental pump. Running, however, it’s one feet in front of the other. Look at it as a bit of digital detox.

I’m slightly sad that I am unable to work on the Golf GTI this weekend. The problem? Parts that are in shipping haven’t yet arrived. The second worst thing for a DIY car enthusiast to see is parts taking a long time to ship. The first worst thing is the part is no longer available. Some enthusiasts dream of a big garage full of variety. I dream of a humble garage, housed with enough spare parts to build a whole other car. Never have to wait for delivery!

One important thing for the DIY wrench head is to have another car at the ready. (Or, like me, don’t have a vehicular commute.) (Two cars - in this economy? Right to privilege jail, right away.) That way you are not under the can-be-severe time restriction of a weekend. Snapping a brake caliper bolt for which a replacement won’t arrive until next week isn’t disastrous at all because you don’t need to use the car you’re working on come Monday.

Unless you’re a psychopath like me who loathes open loops. Yes, I don’t need to drive to work, but that unfinished job is going to haunt my sleep until it is done.

Not down with NLA

One of the worst things DIY car enthusiasts hate to see is the word “NLA”. Short for no longer available, it signifies the part you’re looking for is out of production. And that could be a big problem.

YouTube channel Top Dead Center’s latest project car is a C6 generation Audi RS6 Avant. As per usual, the guys bought just about the roughest version they could find, so they can fix it up and show us the process. It’s the sort of nerdy car repair/restoration content that I love.

One fault of that particular RS6 is the perished shock absorbers. Sounds normal, right? Suspension parts are regular wear items that need replacing every so often. However, the C6 RS6 features a trick hydraulically linked damper system. There is no aftermarket/third-party replacements available. You’re forced to buy the full-fat original part from Audi.

Except Audi no longer makes that part! It’s the dreaded NLA. For a car that’s not all that old - only 16 years - it’s morbidly amazing that owners are kind of SOL moving forwards. The existing set of shocks on the car, plus whatever is left stocked in warehouses around the world, is it. Past a certain point, owners will simply have to live with a worn out suspension.

Or, use stop-gap aftermarket dampers made for an Audi S6. Which is what Top Dead Center did.

I have similar concerns when it comes to keeping my MK7 Golf GTI fit for the long term. Anything mechanical and oily I’m not too worried about. Volkswagen Group has produced millions of MQB platform vehicles. A replacement, let’s say, control arm can always be found.

What I am worried about is body and interior pieces. Some stuff is already NLA - for a model that was last sold in 2021! Spilled something unsavory in the trunk area and you need to replace the spare tire well carpet? Well you can’t, at least not directly from Volkswagen. You’ll have to scour the junk yards and eBay.

Granted, interior stuff are far less likely to need replacement compared to mechanicals. So I can see why original manufacturers cease producing parts relatively quickly after end of production run. But if you’re the type of enthusiast that likes to purchase used cars and restore them up a bit, NLA parts can potentially stop the fun completely.

Proud of my people

One of my favorite genre of YouTube videos is car restoration. Channels like M539 Restorations and AutoAlex Cars, where the hosts buy used cars with many problems, then fix them up to be reliably running machines. And sometimes they throw in some tasteful modifications, too. It’s kind of like what I am doing why my Golf GTI that was purchased used. Suffice it to say, there were plenty wrong with it that needed fixing.

A term that's come up rather often in these car restoration videos is “Chinesium”. This references car parts purchased for cheap from China. Perhaps there’s some sort of defending-the-motherland in me; I’m taking the terms Chinesium rather negatively. Yes, there’s plenty cheap quality stuff from China, but in the year of our lord 2026, I hope the stereotype of disposable Chinese junk can be cast into the history books.

Think of the Apple iPhone. Arguably the most important consumer device this century. Where is it made? China. The iPhone certainly does not have a reputation for junk, now does it? Contrarily, it’s one of the most beautifully made products on the planet. Open one up and the inside is just as immaculate as the outside. All of it is put together by the hands of my people. At least until Chinese labor is no longer cost competitive compared to Southeast Asia, and Apple moves product out of the Middle Kingdom entirely.

In reality it simply boils down to supply and demand. There’s whole exhaust systems from China for $150 with questionable quality because customers are buying. Ask China to produce something nice, and the country can deliver with the best of them. The aforementioned iPhone is one example. Another is the slew of lithium battery powered products from the likes of Fanttik and Wolfbox. My Fanttik Slim V8 APEX portable vacuum gets used all the time.

Car parts from China isn’t an automatic negative. Plenty of well-respected brands contract out production there. The TDD magnetic paddles I installed on the GTI is fantastic, and bought on AliExpress. It’s all about having standards. When you ask for quality from China, you can and will get it.

Don't live this way

Ever since I bought a used 2019 Golf GTI back in October 2025, I've been having a grand ole time spending weekends fixing it up. Performed some much needed maintenance and general cleaning. Bought quite a few replacement parts to get the Golf up to my personal standards of correctness.

But my compulsive obsessiveness is indeed a double-edged sword. I’ve come to completely understand the enthusiasts who keep cars stored in climate-controlled bunkers, never to be driven. Because that is the only way to preserve perfection. Anytime a car is driven or gets worked on, it opens up opportunity for blemishes to get introduced. And that is chaos to our psyche.

Yesterday I had to loosen up the front seat of the GTI to add back in a storage drawer. (Long story short, Volkswagen did quite a few cost-cutting to later model years of the MK7 Golf. Because the company had to pay a historically massive fine for dieselgate.) The rear outside bolt came out terribly, with quite a few rings of mangled thread. I cleaned the bolt up best I could, and thankfully it threaded back in - not completely smoothly - and tightened to the correct specification.

Job done, right? Not if you’re an obsessive psychopath like me. All I could concentrate on afterwards was the offending bolt, and the potentially cross-threaded hole. I should buy a replacement bolt! But what if I take it out a second time, I won’t be able to thread the new bolt back in? Oh man, does that mean I can’t ever take the driver seat out in this Golf again? Is it really safe, even though the problem bolt torqued properly?

See, a normal person would recognize the bolt tightens just fine and moved the heck on with life. For whatever reason, my brand of car enthusiasm involves a fervent want to keep things perfect. Flaws are a personal challenge. I greatly do not recommend living this way.

And sadly, I don’t have climate-controlled bunker money. Because I totally would, purely for mental health reasons.

Everything wrong with my GTI

When you buy a used car of a certain age, you expect it to come with some flaws. Cosmetic flaws you can largely live with. Because if they were a deal breaker, you wouldn’t have bought the car. Minor mechanical flaws - again, if the flaws were major, you’d skip the buying, you have to fix rather quickly. Because presumably you want to keep the car for a bit of time, and you have more plans for it than being a static museum piece.

I bought my one-owner 2019 Volkswagen Golf GTI Rabbit Edition, about 56,000 miles, from Carvana back in October of 2025. The nice thing with Carvana is there’s a seven day money back guarantee. No questions asked, so long as you don’t get into an accident with the car. (At which point - it’s yours now!) Should your used car purchase from Carvana proved too flawed to keep, just drive it right back to one of their wondrous vending machine locations.

Obviously the GTI wasn’t too buggered to need returning. However, there were many fixes that needed doing to get the car up to my personal standards. Here’s a comprehensive list of things I’ve done to the Golf to get it to par.

The front sway bar end links were tattered and making a horrible clunking noise with every up/down motion. The pair got replaced with OEM units from FCP Euro.
Engine and cabin air filter were replaced. I cannot trust when they were last done. The parts from FCP Euro were cheap.
On that same vein, all fluids - engine, transmission, differential, brake - and spark plugs were replaced with proper replacements. The folks at ZTF Automotive provided the labor that I paid for.
Windshield wiper blades front and rear replaced. Again, cannot trust when those were last serviced.
During the reconditioning process, Carvana seems to have fit the incorrect front brake pads. They were plenty meaty, but clunked terribly when going over bumps. A fresh set of OEM brake pads went in. No more clunking.
The front windshield moldings on either side were cracked due to sun damage. OEM replacements purchased from FCP Euro and installed.
Equally sun-damaged was the windshield wiper cowl. An application of Solution Finish did the job.
Tires were mismatched front and rear, with the fronts on Bridgestone that were half worn. The back set was seemingly brand new, but unfortunately a no-name Chinese brand. All four were replaced with a fresh set of Vredestein Ultrac Pro tires.
The new tires were wrapped around a brand new factory set of silver Pretoria alloys. The original set on the GTI were expectedly curbed and trashed. One of the wheel even had a visible bend. Not great!
Armed with new wheels and tires, a wheel alignment check was done to protect that investment. Also done at ZTF Automotive.
The Golf has a great greenhouse full of airy glass, excellent for visibility. What it is not excellent for is heat rejection. All windows sans the windshield got 3M tint applied. GraphixLab performed the work.
The hatch area was missing the tonneau cover and the VW CarGo mat that most certainly would have been sold with the Golf when new. Used items of each were purchased on eBay. The tonneau cover is over $700 if I wanted a new one!
Previous owner appears to be an avid hauler of things, which is commendable because I love seeing cars serving their purpose. However, that meant the rear hatch cover on the GTI was in a mangled shaped; some panels didn’t even fit correctly. A used junkyard replacement was bought on eBay.
Still in the hatch area: the drain tube that leads water away from the multi-function VW badge (it doubles as a hatch handle and rear-view camera) was perished. Gone. When it rained, water was getting inside hatch floor. This is apparently a common issue. At least the part is available and cheap.
Speaking of water leaks, my GTI was plagued with the other common defect: rear speaker gasket failure. After a weekend of heavy rain, I noticed the rear driver-side carpet was soaked, and that was a the culprit. A tube of bathroom sealer did the trick, though in the process of removing the door skin, I broke the handle. A junkyard door skin on eBay was surprisingly cheap: $79.
With over 56,000 miles, you expect a good amount of stone chips on the front end and on the lower sides. My favorite touchup paint manufacturer is Dr ColorChip. The Golf’s Pure White is a solid color, non metallic, so the paint match is exceptional.
The steering wheel leather was absolutely slimy and full of scratches. Even after multiple rounds of cleaning with diluted all-purpose-leaner, it was a dreadful sight. For something that I hold the entire time I am driving the car, the $450 spend to buy a fresh OEM replacement from a dealership was worth the expense.
Carvana recondition team did a horrible job cleaning the interior. Of course the previous owner likely never cleaned it at all, but you the selling dealer has got to do a better job than that. It was so filthy that it took two rounds of deep cleaning to get it to my admittedly high cleanliness standards.
The front lower control arms squeaks noticeably when moving slowly on uneven pavement and going over speed bumps. This is apparently a known issue with MK7 GTIs. At least the solution is simple: a blast of silicon grease onto the control arm bushings. Enjoy the silence for six months, then re-do like it is a maintenance item.