From Then to Now
If you keep up with Road Blitz and their features and magazines, this car may look familiar. Chris and I were featured with this same GTI a year ago in the 2024 issue of the annual Road Blitz Auto Mag. Since then, Chris has done so much more than meets the eye. With that, let’s start with what’s under the hood!
What You Can’t See
Since last time, this GTI has gotten much quicker. Starting strong, Chris has thrown in a Garrett 3076R turbo, pushing up to 40 pounds of boost on E85. Feeding that turbo are 1300cc injectors, while an ARM catless downpipe and ARM front-mount intercooler keep things flowing cool and free. For exhaust, a lightweight Cobb titanium cat-back, giving the car a bark to match the bite.
Furthermore, induction is handled through a CTS intake, and fueling is backed by an RS3 brushless fuel pump. To manage all that power, Chris upgraded to a South Bend Stage 2 clutch. And tying it all together is a SIMOS Tools multi-map tuning setup, which allows him to switch maps on the fly.
What You Can See
The GTI has also undergone an exterior makeover. Up front, Chris added an ECS front lip as well as BMP Illuminator headlights and sequential mirror turn signals. On the sides he added ZAERO side skirts. The rear includes an Oettinger spoiler, K2 Industries clear taillights, and a K2 Industries rear diffuser. Now, most importantly, Chris’s GTI suspension setup consists of Raceland bags, with Airlift 3p air management. It is sitting on 18-inch Rays Gram Lights 57CR wheels in black chrome.
What Chris Sees
Last but definitely not least, the inside of Chris’s GTI. My personal favorite part of Chris’s interior is a pair of imported Euro-spec plaid Recaro seats mounted on Sparco seat brackets. On the dash, an AINAVI large-screen head unit replaces the factory infotainment system, which is basically a huge tablet to mainly display engine data, among other things. On top of that, the traditional gauge cluster has been swapped out for a fully customizable virtual cockpit display.
