I am a small car enthusiast who enjoys maximizing the utility and communications capabilities of my car instead of having separate vehicles for each need. With my current car, a 2017 VW GTI, my efforts transformed a "hot hatch" into a commuter, travel car, ham radio station, audio sound stage, workhorse, and weekend joy-rider. My videos feature my endeavors toward achieving, expanding, or maintaining this goal. You, too, can "do more with less." Feel free to visit my other sites by using the links in my banner, including my Amazon storefront where I feature some of the equipment that's in my car.
Feel free to contact me by visiting stealthgti.com/about-me/ or ke4wmf.com/about-me/, depending on your interest.
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Hi thank you for the video, very helpful, do you know where is the location of the fuse for this blower
Thanks for writing. One fuse diagram that I have indicates that the blower is fed by F14, which is located behind the door that's below the headlight switch. However, that *could* change between model years. Do an image search for the fuse diagram and for the location of F14 to see where it is. The fuses are not in a nice, straight line. Good Luck!
Great way to make light and fun of the comments with the insights of course.
I appreciate that! Thanks for visiting!
I really wish we could get tow packages on cars again. I dont need to tow a train, just 3000 lbs or so. No reason, with the size of modern cars, we cant get tow packages to do that.
If you're in the US, visit etrailer.com to see if they offer a hitch for your car. It may not support 3000 lbs if your car can accept only a Class 1 hitch, but you may be surprised by what's available. Good Luck!
If you need a new turbo ANYWAY (my '15 GTI Autobahn which I purchased not 7 months ago as a one-owner 53K mile car apparently does, at 54K) and are looking at similar expense anyway it's very hard to resist. The car is currently running a Unitronic Stage 2 tune w catted DP (previous owner installed at approx 40K) which I have to assume contributed to this absurdly early turbo failure, or not, as it seems getting a lousy factory turbo can just happen to unlucky Mk7 owners now and then. Unitronic has an IS38 upgrade Stage 2+ tune and as the car came with their accessport connector and switching it to my name is a one-time $150 cost for all their tunes, so that'd be the cost-effective way to deal with tuning. Don't wrench myself but know a local VW/Audi tech who will do the install for me, whatever turbo I go with, as a side gig, so will be much less than the $4500 my local rip-off German Specialty shop quoted me (to replace and install another OEM IS20.) The car's used as a light daily (work at home) which means grinding, horrific Atlanta traffic and streets and freeways, but weekends to be let loose in the mountains and eventually, track. It's a manual 6 as well, making the city grind that much more not fun, and the loss of low end does concern me. Maybe a hybrid creation? Bit more $ upfront but seems like a lot of the upsides of both. Oh, and emissions were a real drag initially w the Stage 2 and DP (even catted) took a lot of $$ noodling by said Specialty shop to get it to pass, wonder if bigger turbo adds to that headache as well. TY for your info-packed and candid vid, it's very helpful, and I've got a big decision to make! Cheers!
Thanks for sharing your experience! Take Care!
Mk7 gti 7 years only 70 k miles repair expensive and maintenance but love the car keeping it
The best cars are a little more expensive to maintain, I think! The European luxury brands come to mind. I'm sure they're fantastic machines, but too rich for my blood! VW is a great middle ground. Thanks for visiting!
In my state in Australia you just pay $31 for an auxiliary plate and put it on the carrier
That's an excellent solution. There's even money to be made by the state. But it's too sensible for the US! ;-) Thanks for visiting!
@@StealthGTI Aud $31 Is about 20 USD so it's really pretty cheap end I don't think there making much money As there normally purchased by elderly people who use them in there mobility scooter carriers so the price is pretty low
OK, I’m so overwhelmed at this point. I’m just gonna subscribe to your channel. Who do you talk to with all the stuff and what I just don’t understand I love technology but what in the world would I do with all this stuff right now I’ve got three GRMS radios. I’ve got one of those T8 HT’s which is supposedly 10 W HAM And GMS radio . the only problem is as far as licensing goes all I have is my Private pace license with instrument rating and my UAS certificate, but I don’t have anything as far as radio licenses. That’s probably a problem for transmitting. OK I’m gonna let you finish the video thanks a lot.
My radios operate on a variety of bands. So, although I have four microphones, they pack the capability of having many more since I can switch between bands. My primary band is ~146 MHz, aka "2-meters." That's the one that I use every day to talk with local hams. The others are for when I want to talk outside of my region or to contest and experiment. It's overkill, for sure, but it's all part of the fun. Check out my "KE4WMF" play list for more videos specific to ham radio. I have a rather long "FAQ" video there, too. Take Care!
When you show that full shot of the car with the antennas on top, my mouth dropped open hello from Phoenix, Arizona I own a GRMS radio that I’ve never even turned on that account for anything? I really want a 50 W mobile even though I don’t know what I would do with it.
HAHA! Yes, my car can be quite overwhelming. In my experience, GMRS is more of a tool for specific gatherings instead of a preferred medium for reaching out to strangers. Ham radio is the place to be if your interest is in seeing who you can reach. I'll address your other comment in a separate post. Thanks for visiting!
With the capacitance hat how tall of a radiator did you use to mount that antenna to your screw driver antenna?
My radiator is 38 inches tall, which is two inches taller than the Scorpion caphat radiator. I think 36" may be better and yields a little bit of "buffer" when tuning 17m. I have since removed the W8UZZ caphat and gone back to Scorpion. The smaller caphat is easier to pack when traveling. I will still tinker with other ideas, though. Videos in the works... Thanks for visiting!
Ordered the pan but the gasket is unavailable thru Amazon. Saw it on another site & in description it says PAPER. So i wanted to know is your gasket made frm Rubber or Paper?
Some sites say that it's made from "fiber." Mine was fairly rigid; so, I suspect that it's a reinforced paper of sorts. It's still holding well. Thanks for visiting!
@@StealthGTIthanx for the help
Good informative video. Really thought out. P.S. you look like Matt Damon, so it’s sorta like Jason Bourne is giving me a heads up on the pros and cons of putting a cargo carrier on the roof of my vehicle, so that’s cool lol.
Too funny! Will Hunting could probably calculate how many bodies can fit in the box for Jason Bourne! ;-) Thanks for visiting!
Does the one for the rear hatch fold somehow for storage/transportation? It's huge.
It does not fold. Thanks for visiting!
Unitronic Stage 2 tune on my mk5. I replaced all coils and sparks and it's still misfiring. A week before that I bought ecs tuning fuel injectors because the fourth one was stuck open so I went ahead and replaced all four of them but they were on the cheaper side. 340 dollars compared to the 1000 dollar oem ones. I have a cylinder 4 and 2 misfire under heavy load and up hills. Do you think it would be from the none oem fuel injectors??
I cannot be sure. The earlier cars are known for bad coil packs, but you also have a mix of aftermarket parts. Even at IS38 tuning, I'm still using factory coils, injectors, and OEM R7 spark plugs. IF you're confident in your plugs, coils, and injectors, then check your compression and leakdown. Good Luck!
@@StealthGTI Compression is even on all cylinders so the engine is healthy thankfully. Leak down test it is appreciate it.
I love my VW’s have an 08 r32 and a 15 MK7 GTI. Never had an issue and I have done all the maintenance
Thanks for your report. Thanks for visiting!
They are very reliable ... if you dont drive them
Haha! Good one! Thanks for visiting!
Hi. Thanks for the trailer review. I couldn't help but notice that in all of the trailer photos, none of them had license plate mounted on the back. It begs the question if the trailer is street legal. Is it?
Oh, nm, on the first question. I did see the plate mounted in a couple of shots, probably just the numbers were fuzzed out.
Thanks for writing, Rick! And, yes, I see your follow-up reply. I do blur my license plates in online content. Most utility trailers have their license plates mounted beneath their driver's side tail light since there's a clear lens that glows beneath it. Unfortunately, my plate kept getting beat up since the tiny trailer runs the plate so close to the ground. Here in Virginia, we have the option to mount a motorcycle plate instead. So, I opted to flip my license plate bracket and put the plate above the light. I added a separate light to make everything legal. Thanks for visiting!
Excellent information thank you
Thanks for visiting!
What maintenance should u do when u get higher mileage like 60-80k mark
I just keep doing the maintenance as scheduled. I'm passed 223,000 miles now. Thanks for visiting!
@@StealthGTI could u send me the list of maintenace intevrald
great video...thanks. Can you keep this on the roof rack and drive with it without it being fully loaded. I am going to pick someone at the airport. I want to have it installed but it will be empty on my ride to airport. Do you think that would be an issues?
No issue at all! I've gone weeks with an empty box just so that I'd have the space available for an impulse transport of some object. Thanks for visiting!
My son has a 2014 Jetta. Great car but it eats headlights and marker lights. They would burn out 6-8 months. Not at the same time, one at a time. Switched to all LEDs and they seem to be working fine. At least they made it past a year. Always has.
I've never understood how some cars can run through lights the way they do. I've always had good luck with mine. Not sure why. Thanks for visiting!
Whatever you do don’t buy a European car in general
Agreed if you want to avoid demanding and expensive maintenance and repair. But, if you can stomach the extra attention, the drive of European cars is great! With that said, I may move to a boring import in a few years when I look to something more simple. ;-) Thanks for visiting!
As a European there is nothing fun in a Volkswagen that’s not in a honda or a mazda .. the little engine with huge turbo ma was just a move from European car manufacturers to double the profit of parts and repair instead of sales.. most of french cars are made in africa while most of german cars are made in mexico .. enjoy ur TSI/TFSI with a new oil leak every 2 weeks and carbon build up at 25k miles .. I rather drive a boring camry than a little GTI with big problems 😂
Most people here want huge trucks. I like this set up you have.
Thanks! I have a few other videos in which I describe my car as a "micro utility vehicle," especially now that I'm doing even more utility things with it. I need to create an updated video to share the latest ideas. Thanks for visiting!
These videos still help people 3 years later
Glad to hear it! Thanks for visiting!
Just purchased my first Volkswagen which is 2001 passat seem.reliable to me
Yikes! Very bold to purchase a 23 year old car as your first VW. ANY 20+ year old car can be unreliable simply because there's no way to know how well it's been maintained. Best of luck with your journey.
Thank you
You're welcome! Thanks for visiting!
Great video! Thank you. 73 PA5BAS
Thanks for visiting!
Would this also work if I’m ON the grid too?
The Off-Grid blocks the rooftop antennas; so, ON-Grid is not possible! ;-) Thanks for visiting!
Great information; very helpful! Definitely worth the slightly longer video format.
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for visiting!
You filled too much. You braked to eary. You turned to fast. This is bull-shit from vw. They started with Evap system for environmental norms. Every two years you need to change the evap at 200 euro kost. Changing is not difficult! Vw wants you to do two re-set before they change it on warranty. I will make a video how to change it. Gr R
Thanks for the comment! Everything is well. These days, I just let the pump auto-stop and then move on. My car has 360,000 kms and the original evap cannister. Thanks for visiting!
I am impressed and learned a lot by your meticulous planning of a long trip.
Thanks! I went back for Round 2 a few months later. Thanks for visiting!
*…..BIG DOWNER: BLOCKS XM RADIO Antenna Signal….correct??????!!!!*
No! RF signals can pass through plastic boxes. So, the antennas still work fine so long as I do not have metal cargo in the back of the box. Thanks for visiting!
@@StealthGTI …….Took my Thule box home empty today for first time and had full XM signal but I didn’t try all directions. XM antenna was fully covered from the top by the Thule cargo box. When I go under heavy tree cover or under certain car canopies I lose signal. Thanks stealth GTI
Should twist the chains to reduce the slack instead
Twisting the chains weakens them. I'm sure making them the correct length is a better solution, but twisting is definitely not a great idea. Look it up on your favorite search engine. Thanks for visiting!
most car manuals advise not to polish the instrument cluster because it removes anti glare which will cause it to be highly reflective and disturbing when driving. What about that? I mean if the scracthes are very minor and only visible under certain light, why bother causeing such a big modification to the glass?
I haven't thought about that and haven't noticed additional glare. Regardless, my particular cluster has a plastic cover, not glass. Thanks for visiting!
Glad you know the what a diplexer is, a lot of hams don't no the difference! (they would call it a duplexer)
Thanks! It doesn't help that the manufacturers market and sell them as "duplexers." I'm not sure why they do that unless it's a language issue (most are Japanese units). Thanks for visiting!
@@StealthGTI I think it's hype, makes the part sound very important. But you and I know better.
Geeked out to the max!!
HAHA! Indeed! Thanks for visiting!
I think the spec are 8NM and 45 degrees, so that's 1/8 turn. About to do my pan shortly, just shopping for the gasket now. thanks for the video.
Thanks for the info! I think I was doing that I felt like the thread was at the edge of stripping. I don't recall what spec I use, but I do recheck them from time to time. Thanks for visiting!
Do you know if this upgrade works for the mk6.5 gli sel with the fender mib2 6.5?
No idea. Contact EuroZone Tuning and ask him. Last I recalled, he's very responsive to e-mail messages. Thanks for visiting!
Just put anti seize on the hub centric😊, Not the hub face, your rims will come off easily every time even in the rust belt.
Thanks for the info!
And change the cap. And the termostat
Thanks!
Check the pipes. Is one pipe in front down
My coolant leak eventually appeared. I had my thermostat, pump, and pump housing replaced at ~115,000 miles. I'm past 220,000 miles now and all is well. Thanks for visiting!
Americans confuse the ability to tolerate neglect with reliability
Well, Toyotas DO tolerate a lot of neglect. ;-) Thanks for visiting!
2013 gti owner, bought used with 44k miles, 118k now. Have only had one issue, a coilover failed, essy fix. One of the most reliable vehicles I have owned, just starts and runs every day. Burns some oil which is to be expected for this engine.
Excellent report! Thanks for sharing!
that the reason why i bought gti 7 clubsport u can go fast when u want it 10 sec its plenty ok for me and its cost same as a casual golf 7 😂
Very nice! American VW enthusiasts know that Europe gets all of the good stuff! ;-) Thanks for visiting.
Also where the heck can I buy the Dongle?
I bought my dongle via online dealership sales. I may have gotten lucky and scored my unit before corporate caught-on and closed-off online sales for that "dealer-only' product. Thanks for visiting.
Volkswagen New Zealand is making it absolutely impossible as they can't seem to compete with the USA and RSA priced quotes. The price here in NZ is unfortunately more than double. I am now left with very little option other than to consider a custom system instead. In New Zealand the VW branch in Christchurch charge US$ 975 for the Helix. :( Sad Any recommendations, I am all ears. Great content as always, thank you.
Thanks for your comment! I' cannot speak to why the unit costs so much in New Zealand. I don't know if there's a higher import tax there or if perhaps the dealers have increased the prices to discourage customers from buying an accessory that their shops don't want to deal with. Depending on your sound goals, you could achieve *some* success by finding the speakers wires for your setup, tapping them for external feeds, and then sending those feeds into a subwoofer amplifier that accepts speaker level inputs. You may even be able to achieve a better sound. Good Luck! -Scott
@@StealthGTI I noticed you mentioned a clip ("Small Jumper") that you lost when you wired the Helix. A clip that is used along with installation in the Right Hand Drive vehicles. How does this installation work and what does the small jumper do? I have RHD - What will happen if I don't install the clip?
@@stephanpieterse6960 - The DSP circuits account for the different distances of each speaker from the driver's ears. If you drive a right-hand car and don't install the jumper, then it *may* sound a tad off... but it'll sound great to your front seat passenger. ;-)
You are like a dad, explaining good stuff. Thank you for the help.
I appreciate that! My daughter says I'm "like a dad," too. But I'm probably more strict with her than with my visitors! ;-) Thanks for visiting!
That’s commitment to ham radio! Love it. My wife would not let me do that.
Thanks! My wife is a keeper for sure! Not only does she not care what I do to my car, she even said that she doesn't care if I decide to erect a tower at the house. "What? Did you just order me to install a station at home?" HAHA! See my KE4WMF playlist for a related video. Thanks for visiting!
I love how you start your tuning at the lower end on your privileges. I always have to be really careful, trying not to go outside my band.
Thanks! When I first upgraded to General in 2007, setting my memory slot to the lower edge of my privileges helped me to remember the lower edge. The upper limit is easier to remember. Over time, it simply became a convenience to jump to the lower edge when I dialed through the memory channels. Thanks for visiting!
@@StealthGTII've now done the same thing. Helps especially when mobile.
how did you mount the fire extinguisher in the back?
Hello! For some reason, the pressure in my 2019 vRS crtdi octavia increases in the cooling system! According to measurements, there is exhaust gas in the cooling water! Water does not boil, but it leaks from the expansion tank! Pressure test shows no holes! No bubbles in the expansion tank! No oil in the water! Egr cooler replaced !Control, thermostat too! But the error is there! Do you have any tips? Thanks
Interesting! Perhaps your expansion tank cap needs replacing? It's designed to bleed off excessive pressure. It may be bleeding too soon. Good Luck!