Low Standards

The term , "low," usually has a negative connotation associated with it.  Low-standards, low self-esteem, low-paying job, none of these evoke a positive influence.  You change "low" to "high", and suddenly everything is good.  Forget all that though.  Let's change that negative outlook on "low" and see why being low is good.

Dallas resident and VDubber, AJ Pena is one of those that follows the school of being low.  No, wait, he doesn't follow, he's the graduate student with a PhD in slammed.  His mk5 GTI has got to be one of the lowest I have ever seen, with a stance that anyone would be jealous over.

AJ, you see, has been a Dubber since the beginning.  He shared a Passat with his dad, and he would go to local meets and shows.  He was blown away by the scene, so when it came time for him to get his own car, it was only natural for him to choose a VW, picking up an 07 GTI.

"My initial plans were sport springs, wheels, and a tune.  That never worked out...it went all downhill from there."

Sounds familiar to many in the modding game.  It all starts somewhere and generally snowballs out of control.  The car started pretty mild with the aforementioned mods and looked incredibly clean back then.  AJ wanted to be low though, lower than he could go on coils.

That's when air ride entered the picture.  Air ride satisfies the control freak in all of us; low when we want to, then raised for the convenience of getting over obstacles that a car with a static drop would have to avoid.  Some say bags are cheating.  Methinks it's jealousy.  No matter how "hardcore" a static drop on coils is, the stance that can be achieved on bags cannot be rivaled.

AJ's GTI sits dumped on a set of Masontech air struts, an increasingly popular setup.  The struts carry Slam Specialties RE-6 bags that are supplied with compressed air from an Air Ride Technologies Ride Pro E2 compressor.  This setup allows AJ's silly-low drop.  The arches house a set of gorgeous CCW Classics sized 18x8.5 up front and 18x9.5 in the rear.  Falken's 512 tires are nicely stretched to the specs of 215/40/18 up front and 225/40/18 in the rear.

The exterior of the car has received some attention in the form of a Jetta front end with some custom paint work by Dorbitz Design (who also helped with the bags).  The interior hosts a minor audio system with a Pioneer Avic D3 head unit, JL Audio 8w7 sub, and a JL Audio 500/1 amp.  A bump in performance is had with a Neuspeed intake, GHL 3" turbo-back exhaust, and APR stage 2 software.  These basic mods actually have quite the effect, waking up the 2.0 FSI turbo motor nicely.

So, what's next for AJ?  "I am hoping I was done, but you never know.  Right now I need new front air struts, and a re-spray due to all the rock chips.  What would I want?  A possible big-turbo and reupholster the interior."  Regardless, AJ's GTI will keep schooling the newcomers to the world of low.  His VW has certainly set the bar high for getting low.