2012 SE Intro thread with pics!

[C Jayhawker]

I had to wait until I made a couple mods before I could be a photo whore. So far I have done window tints, 18" Advanti wheels in "Hyper Dark", and shaved (mostly) the back. I finally got a chance to take some pictures and upload them.
So Hello, Forum!









And a pic of my old car, just for kicks!

[veedub64]

- Any other mods you plan on doing?

[C Jayhawker]

I am going to add a subwoofer with custom enclosure in the trunk so that it doesn't take up any space by getting rid of the foam inserts by the spare and moving it over. Something so that my alternative music sounds better, not so I can "bump" ha. I'll probably replace the component speakers with some Alpine Type-S ones I have in storage (used to work at Best Buy, got a lot of electronics piled up ha).
I also plan to have the plastic pieces around my fog lights painted pepper gray to match the car.
After that I just need a roof rack for my snowboarding trips and I'll be happy (for a while) haha.
There is always something more to do, right?! (coil overs would be great to have eventually).

[nbpackar]

Is that the stock tail light pattern? Maybe I've just never seen it before.

[C Jayhawker]

Is that the stock tail light pattern? Maybe I've just never seen it before.

Yep, stock lights. I like them

[C Jayhawker]

Forgot to add pictures of my subwoofer modification. I added a Rockford Fosgate R2SD2 shallow-mount 10" sub and a Kicker ZX400.1 amplifier. Custom built box, and fabricated a new top panel so the sound can escape and I didn't have to cut up the nice factory piece. It sounds great, and is just enough power that my alternative music sounds balanced. Best part is I lost almost no storage space. I plan to fabricate a new top panel with some nice hardwood and make a cover for the sub with plexiglass when I get some time.

[C Jayhawker]

I painted the calipers to match my dark grey exterior. That bright silver from the factory was too much. I like how they turned out...

[DT EXP]

digging those wheels sir

[Project337]

Looking nice!!

I just got a 2012 SE w/ Sun & Nav this past saturday. I love it so far, much different than the GTI though. Ill post some pictures when I take some over the next couple days.



Project.

[C Jayhawker]

digging those wheels sir

Thanks They are Advanti's "15th Anniversary" in what they call hyper dark. In the sun they seem almost as bright as the factory, but at night the dark comes out and they look gunmetal.

Looking nice!!

I just got a 2012 SE w/ Sun & Nav this past saturday. I love it so far, much different than the GTI though. Ill post some pictures when I take some over the next couple days.



Project.

Very cool, I look forward to seeing yours!

[C Jayhawker]

Don't try this at home! I had the pro's do this job, and even they had issues with it due to the raised "duck bill" lip that is on the outside curve. They actually had to use a couple pieces and overlap them, or the lip would have caused issues. The job turned out great though, and I'm very happy with the results.


One with the lights on. Seems to come through very well.

[DT EXP]

Turned out nice! also good to know I wasn't the only one to have issues with the "re-cut"

[C Jayhawker]

Turned out nice! also good to know I wasn't the only one to have issues with the "re-cut"

Ha nope, they had a very tough time with it. I had two guys working on it and it still took them nearly 2 hours. I bet they were wishing they charged a graduated rate for tougher installs, because I only paid $80 to have it done

[C Jayhawker]

I decided to paint over the chrome on the front grill. I really like how it turned out. I was not about to remove my entire front bumper (as would probably be the proper way to do it) because I always have issues getting everything re-aligned and snapped into place. So i used painters tape to cover everything but the chrome parts, and covered everything around it as well. I went with a flat black, and I think it turned out really nicely. I sanded the chrome, then used a paint and primer in-one spray paint.

[2themax11]

Lookin' great! Love the wheels! Keep up the great work!

[tonytalksalot]

What are the measurements of the trunk? Speaker box looks good!

[C Jayhawker]

What are the measurements of the trunk? Speaker box looks good!

I can't recall the measurements of the trunk, but the OUTSIDE dimensions of the enclosed sub box that I built are 13"x22"x6". That was as big as I could go with the allotted space. At 13" wide, I have to wedge it in next to the tire. If you go any taller than 6", the top panel will not lay down properly. I followed the "measure 6 times, build 1 box" principle

[C Jayhawker]

Mother f*cking deer are over populated. 2 ran in front of my Tig, and I could only dodge one. Very upsetting, and I have no idea how long it will take to fix yet.

That's me next to it, coming home from a friend's wedding. A deer that weighed about 100 pounds did all that...

[DT EXP]

oh WOW .. sorry to hear but atleast you're ok!

[fenny]

That sucks. At least you're ok!

Deer steaks?

[D-Caf]

Damn, sorry, that sucks. Yeah, dear can do a number on your car. Hit a small doe once (maybe 50 lbs) at about 25 mph. Knocked the dear down, but it got back up and ran away (hopefully it survived and learned not to cross i95, even in stop and go traffic..).

My truck at the time had a massive dent in the hood, grill destroyed, and chrome bumper dented rather nicely. Those dear are tough.

Glad you're ok, and hope they get it fixed back up quick for you!

[C Jayhawker]

Thanks for the support! Luckily no injuries since my parents and gf were all with me. The deer was killed on impact for the record. I tossed it off the road so others wouldn't hit it. My Tig looks pretty bad, but I think it's 90% cosmetic. **** part is that when you hit a deer, the deer never has insurance! Looks like I'm out of pocket $1000 deductible thanks to mother nature. Ouch...

[eurostiehl]

Geico only provides coverage for lizards lol
sorry about the ride

[C Jayhawker]

Forgot I took these (pre accident). Walked out of the gym and found a "hers" version parked next to my "his" ha. Thought it was a fun side-by-side comparison of a customized 2012 and a rather basic 2011.





And in other news... My Tig is back! Good as new
If you live in the KC area I highly recommend Pirrello Collision- they were pretty quick, extremely courteous, and did an amazing job. I'm going to cover my front grill with carbon fiber vinyl from RVinyl.com soon. The black paint that I had before was already chipping.

[supermanphan]

Welcome back! She's looking real good.

[D-Caf]

Looks good glad they got it back together for you.

[geevis]

Nice dude, looking good.

I used vinyl on the chrome strips of my grill as well.. It's kind of a big PITA to do, but I think mine came out pretty well.. Post some pics once completed.

I like the tinted tails btw. Are they sprayed or film?

[C Jayhawker]

I took a different route to cover the front chrome grill which I do not like. This time I got black carbon fiber vinyl from Rvyinl and took on the meticulous task of getting it on there. I really like the look!
Half way there (2 hours later)...


And the finished look. I like it more than the black paint I did the first time around.

[geevis]

I took a different route to cover the front chrome grill which I do not like. This time I got black carbon fiber vinyl from Rvyinl and took on the meticulous task of getting it on there. I really like the look!
Half way there (2 hours later)...


And the finished look. I like it more than the black paint I did the first time around.

Nice dude, that looks sick!!

I wish there was a way to remove the grill and pop out those chrome slots, bc it would've taken so much less time to lay the vinyl on them that way.. I think it took me about 2-3 hours as well.. It get's really difficult right on the end of each slot bc there isn't really any space to tuck it in.

[C Jayhawker]

Nice dude, that looks sick!!

I wish there was a way to remove the grill and pop out those chrome slots, bc it would've taken so much less time to lay the vinyl on them that way.. I think it took me about 2-3 hours as well.. It get's really difficult right on the end of each slot bc there isn't really any space to tuck it in.

You aren't kidding! I used a miniature flathead screwdriver that is for tiny watch screws or something to tuck the corners in around the edges. Also it helped to heat the vinyl up with a blowdryer so it became more pliable.
Thanks for the compliment

[geevis]

You aren't kidding! I used a miniature flathead screwdriver that is for tiny watch screws or something to tuck the corners in around the edges. Also it helped to heat the vinyl up with a blowdryer so it became more pliable.
Thanks for the compliment

That's a good idea with the mini-screwdriver. I'll keep that in mind whenever I need to redo some of them.

One of the trickier parts of doing this project to me was the fact that the chrome slots move a little bit (push in) when applying and cutting the vinyl, so I have some tiny slivers of chrome that poke through when looking at it from above in certain angles..

Other then that though, it's a major improvement over the stock look.. I couldn't stand looking at the chrome anymore, especially with the front VW plasti-dipped and everything else blacked out.

[C Jayhawker]

So since I can't leave my car alone for more than a week, I found something else to do ha.
I was very happy with the Rvinyl I got for my grill, so I made another order from them. I got the headlight protection which is a clear 12mil thick vinyl. Not much to show with a picture seeing as its clear. Install went well, just took a lot more heating since the protection vinyl is so thick.

I also got chrome vinyl from Rvinyl to outline the fog lights with. This is my project tonight so I'll put up pics when I finish.

Question: Can anyone provide feedback on the vinyl clear bras they offer? I want to protect from rock chips, but dont want it to look odd or leave the paint uneven looking...

[b.schulz]

So since I can't leave my car alone for more than a week, I found something else to do ha.
I was very happy with the Rvinyl I got for my grill, so I made another order from them. I got the headlight protection which is a clear 12mil thick vinyl. Not much to show with a picture seeing as its clear. Install went well, just took a lot more heating since the protection vinyl is so thick.

I also got chrome vinyl from Rvinyl to outline the fog lights with. This is my project tonight so I'll put up pics when I finish.

Question: Can anyone provide feedback on the vinyl clear bras they offer? I want to protect from rock chips, but dont want it to look odd or leave the paint uneven looking...

sorry to bump an old thread but i was doing some digging and i def. want to do this to Mrs Tigglesworth...any updates?

I def. want to do the grill with the RVinyl ....but i'm also curious about the protection stuff.

Also what tools / sizes, etc did you guys buy when you bought from RVinyl?

[C Jayhawker]

So apparently it is possible to get stuck with 4motion, but only if you foolishly (as I did) the try to drive over the 2+ feet left in front of your driveway by the snow plows. On the upside, it handled like an absolute champ in 12" of snow. The trick is to turn off the ESR because with it on it stops the wheels from spinning, which kills your momentum. In a foot of snow, the wheels are going to to spin, and you need to keep momentum or it is possible to get stuck. I'm very pleased with the snow performance though!

[VeeDubDude66]

you've done some great work on this one!

looks good even stuck in the snow