Unless you've been hiding under a rock these past several months or never watch TV you've undoubtedly seen the "unpimp your ride" ad campaign Volkswagen is running. There is a growing group of young people in the United States who are VW Tuners. They seem to be a different crowd than the people that are into import tuning. German engineered cars have a much better reputation for quality than Japanese cars in many people's minds. When these people look for a vehicle to modify they often end up with a Volkswagen GTI. These cars are fairly small and light, and also feature a great selection of aftermarket parts. The more popular your car is the more likely that there is a nice market to support the research and development of performance upgrades. You should remember that just because there's a good selection of parts available now doesn't mean that there always will be. As newer generations of cars are released many companies stop making parts for the older models.
This isn't always the case, but if you see a good selection of performance parts available today don't assume it will be the same in 3 years from now! eBay is flooded with sellers providing everything from sway bars to neon light kits. The quality of these products can vary greatly. If you are considering purchasing some parts for your VW be sure to visit forums and do a search to see what works well for people. Chances are if you're thinking about a part someone else has already tried it on their car and written about it. Be very cautious of 'cheap' parts. You will receive no support, no warrantee, and do you really want to risk damaging your expensive vehicle by installing low quality parts? Another great thing about the VW tuning community is that they support each other. If you have questions or problems you will probably be able to find someone to help you. Many aftermarket parts come with poor or very little to no installation instructions, leaving many people to figure things out themselves. Many automotive forums have DIY sections for many different types of installations and car mods, along with pictures. These instructions are extremely useful and can make an otherwise impossible installation seem easy. Imagine how long it would take for you to figure out which of several wires was the one you needed to tap into for a specific purpose? Chances are someone else already knows the answer! In closing I'd like to say that I think it is great to see these communities of people with common interests helping each other out and giving the Honda tuners a run for their money. Don't forget to drive safe and have fun!
