BamaQLD's 'It's getting there' Polo build

[BamaQLD]

Hey fellow dubbers,

I thought it was about time to get my arse on this forum as I have been following for a while. I have owned my Polo for around 10 years now and was very cautious in the beginning towards changing anything as it was my first 'almost' new car. Stuck it out through the warranty period, then when that expired I started to look at what options are out there. I have always had a keen interest in 4cyl's. Grew up tinkering Ford escorts and mate's Gemini's, awesome fun compact RWDs. But now I have enjoyed moving into injected, turbo, FWD.

So over the years on a pretty tight budget I have added bits and pieces. First (of course) was the ECU. Can't remember why but I went with the BSR stage 1, turned out well although I have not experienced APR, CC etc to compare, and also realise there is no stage 2, which sucks. I then added K&N air intake on a Forge TIP, Red coil packs, 3"DP, SAI delete, N249 delete. Also threw a Whiteline rear swaybar on the back and on the cheap removed as much weight as I could think of. As I am fastidious about the sound quality my music I went for a pretty nice stezza as well, which clashes with my weight reduction.Love em or hate em, I imported LED headlights as I reckon it gives the 08 polo a modern look.

Which basically brings me to where I am now... Just moved back home (QLD) after spending 2 years in TAS and forgot how bad the heat soak is up here. FYI... The cool air in TAS is awesome for flogging your car in. So I decided to get a phenolic intake spacer and a FMIC. I know some people say there are better options than the forge one but I have my reasons. Spacer went on sweet, FMIC has had a couple of teething problems. 1. I cant get the front panel to slide on flush anymore and 2. the bottom pipe on the intake of the cooler has blown off a couple of times .

I have the clamps super tight now but thinking of using some sort of paste/cream/sticky sealant ****, as I don't like having the hose clamps super tight?

Anyway, any suggestions/previous experience with these dilemmas will be appreciated. Cheers. Added a few pictures of the progress and the size comparison (for the two people who haven't seen it before).