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Meet Airial! My 2011 MK6 Jetta TDI Build Thread


SinlessVillainy

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What's up everyone? I'm Zeb! I've been on here for awhile, but haven't been too active lately. I've been a little busy with my latest ride. A little background, my history has always been with mini-trucks/trucks. My last vehicle I wanted to do something different and decided that I wanted to build something lifted. I went with a 2010 Tacoma PreRunner AccessCab for my canvas. This was what I had when I joined Adam's Forums. It was still a work in progress, but here is how it looked when I got rid of it:

 

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Mods: Painted door handles, painted mirrors, custom handmade grill with Punisher emblem, matching lower grill, painted lower front bumper and rear bumper, custom skidplate painted to match truck with Punisher emblem that lights up at night, custom retrofit projectors and 6000k HIDs, bed cover, bed extender, alarm, sound system, 18" KMC Skitch wheels with 285/70 Nitto Terra Grappler rubber.

 

I really liked this truck! Then in April, my little brother totaled his car and was looking to purchase a VW Jetta SportWagen. He asked me to help so I spent a Saturday in a VW dealership. Me spending time in a dealership is never a good thing. Especially a VW dealership. I have always liked VW's and their culture and scene. Throughout the years I had almost bought a Jetta TDI on multiple occasions. While waiting on financing and paperwork for my brother, I spent a lot of time looking at the new MK6 Jetta. Then I began crunching numbers in my head. The Taco got horrible gas mileage which was expected. I figured it up and my payment would be way cheaper and it would save me about $200-300 a month on gas. The next week Boardwalk VW told me they just got in a 2011 Candy White 6-speed TDI with black interior which was exactly what I was looking for. I bought it the day they got it off the truck. I believe there is a thread on here with my first detail of it just days after I got it.

 

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So now I thought to myself, "I'm just going to do wheels and a mild drop on springs." The first thing I did was tint the windows, because **** Texas summers! And I also painted the front and rear emblems and debadged the rest of the trunk.

 

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Then I spent a few months looking for wheels. I still haven't found the wheels that I want for this car. But Stratmosphere was having a clearance sale on their Flashpoint wheels and the 19"s were only $89/each. I liked the way they looked, so I snagged a set to run until I come across the right wheel. They're 19x8.5 ET40 so they fit really nice without spacers. I wrapped them in Falken FK452 215/35 for just enough stretch to avoid rubbing. Not at stock height obviously, but for my future plans of lowering.

 

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There weren't any coil overs available for a long time for the MK6 Jetta. It has a different rear suspension than the MK5 Jetta and MK6 Golf/GTI. In fact, even springs were tough to come by. H&R sport springs were backordered everywhere. But there was word that B&G were releasing some springs "soon" and ST was going to release coils at the end of summer. So I sat back and chilled at stock height for awhile. I had the urge to bag the car, but I fought it. I performed a few minor mods over the summer.

 

LED DRL replacement bulbs:

 

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Weaponized the car:

 

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Did a little light towing, no big deal:

 

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There were still no suspension options, so I went to the lake:

 

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At the end of summer, B&G had released their springs and ST announced it would be releasing the coil overs soon. I wasn't impressed with the drop on the springs that everyone was getting, so ST's it would be! In preparation for the drop, I installed a Panzer skid plate from DieselGeek.com. The week after I installed this, I was coming home from the airport at night and rounded a corner to see an old wooden fence post in the road. I couldn't avoid it and hit it HARD. It was big enough that it lifted the car when I hit it. I pulled over and checked for damage. Nothing. The next day I checked the skid plate and it just had a few scratches. This has been my best investment.

 

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FINALLY!!! The coil overs came in!

 

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And work began!

 

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The drop really changed the overall look of the car and I was happy...

 

Pics the day after I installed the coils:

 

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I was really hoping they would settle a little more after a few hundred miles. The fronts got a little lower, but the rear need to come down more. So back under the car I went. I took out the perch/adjuster for the rear and that made a huge difference. This is how she currently sits:

 

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I ended up making my mirror classy as ****! Thanks, PSU!

 

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The coils don't go near low enough and they ride like ****. Well, they ride OK when it's just me in the car, but when I get any additional passengers, the rear feels like the suspension is made out of Michael J. Fox. Sorry coils, but you gotta go!

 

 

 

I fought the temptation long enough!

 

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The air setup will consist of AirLift XL Slam Series struts up front, Air House 2 bags in the rear, 5 gallon tank, Accuair VU4 manifold, dual Viair 400c compressors and an AVS 7 switch controller. Oh, and a very modest trunk setup. Originally, I had planned on installing everything myself. But after talking with Drew @ Dorbritz Designs and seeing his work, I will be dropping the VW off with him. For those who don't know Drew, he does truly amazing work. I call him the Yoda of air suspension. We have been brainstorming some ideas and I'm really excited to see it when it's completed.

 

I also ordered my new plates which should be here about the time that it gets bagged.

 

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Wheels and a mild drop?

 

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Edited by Chris05GTO
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OK...so I copied the first part of this build thread from a couple of other forums so....it seems like it will be bagged in the future. I didn't feel like going back through and changing it. So....here's the latest update.

 

After meeting Drew at Dorbritz Designs and seeing his work, I knew there was only one place that I could take her to get the bags done. Since this is a daily driver, I also needed to maintain trunk space and the spare tire. Drew did all of the paint work and the installation. He really outdid himself. The front lays the skid plate and the rear is held up by the tires, but could come down a little more. It's been raining, but I went out to get some pics anyways. It obviously won't be showing a flawless Adam's shine with the wet roads and misting rain. Here she is as of today:

 

 

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SWEEEEEET I love me some air ride suspensions! Everytime these come up I miss mini-truckin'

 

Thanks! I've been dragging the skid plate A LOT for grins!

 

SSSSSSooooooooOOOOOOooooo LoooooOOOOOOwwwwww :D

 

Thanks brother! I can only imagine that you and mook must have thought over the months of emails on what the next plans were and how many times they changed. :cheers:

 

BTW - HUGE fan of the 'Ludicrous speed, Missiles, Smoke, and Tacks' buttons in the center console! Nice touch!

 

Thanks! They were all just blanks before which I didn't care for. Then I found this company that makes factory looking decals for the buttons. I had to do it.

 

Volkswagon Button Decal Set - Aesthetic Creations

 

Nice looking ride. A little to low for my liking, but it looks sweet!

 

Thanks! :glasses:

 

Nice! And I thought I was the only one crazy enought to mod a TDI. But you're way beyond me! :jester:

 

I love the tank and the weaponie buttons. :bow:

 

:cheers: Thanks! I think this the first MK6 Jetta TDI on air. I think it's the 6th or 7th MK6 Jetta on air.

 

I feel like I just walked into a biography of you... awesome story man lol

 

:2thumbs:

 

crazy low! more pictures of Tacoma :jester: that thing looked sweet to!

 

:cheers:

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/100573135549299811198/Tacoma?authkey=Gv1sRgCOHlj46N3K-RoQE

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Zeb! I had no idea you were here on the site as well. I always enjoy your posts...you always spin a nice yarn. ;)

 

Anyways, the Jetta looks great. Sorry to see the Taco go, it was one of the best I've seen. Are you done with the Jetta or should we expect more?

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Zeb! I had no idea you were here on the site as well. I always enjoy your posts...you always spin a nice yarn. ;)

 

Anyways, the Jetta looks great. Sorry to see the Taco go, it was one of the best I've seen. Are you done with the Jetta or should we expect more?

 

Oh hey! What's up Randy? Thanks for the compliments! I am far from done with it.

 

Future Plans:

  • New Wheels (When I can make up my mind.)
  • Retrofit projectors into OEM headlights. With 6000k HIDs.
  • Carry the air suspension trunk theme into the engine bay.
  • Paint the roof black.
  • Add subwoofer to the factory head unit. With a fiberglass sub enclosure and amp rack with the same trunk theme.
  • Votex lip kit.
  • Considering changing up the VW emblem color.
  • Shave the trunk emblem.
  • Reupholster the headliner and pillars.
  • Swap a MK5 Jetta rear suspension to bring the rear down more. (This will be further down the line.)
  • e-Level (eventually)
  • Chip. (When more options become available.)
  • Add a few painted pieces on the interior.

Edited by SinlessVillainy
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  • 4 years later...

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