jazd's Mini Build Thread

[jazd]

Thought I'd start a mini build thread to document what has been done on my car.. I've posted about most my mods but they are scattered all over the place.

One of my first mods was a Superchips Bluefin hand held ECU re-flashing unit. The tune bumped up the power and torque quite a bit and I was quite happy with it. It has outlived its purpose now and is no longer needed. Superchips has bumped up the reset price to $500 now so I'm thinking I might just see if I can put my new map on it (see below) instead of the Superchips tune.
More info here.

Wheels were up next, bought a set of Zolders but couldn't be bothered repairing and repainting them so I sold them on and bought some 18" Breyton GTS-AVs in black coupled with 235 Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Spec rubber. They were insanely grippy! Now replaced with 225 Conti ExtremeContact DW as the 235s rubbed when I had people in the back and the Dunlops also wore out a bit too quick.
235:

225:


I installed a Pioneer 7" touchscreen head unit, a Alpine 5 channel amp, 3 way Hertz speakers in the front doors and a 11" sub in the boot. Full steering wheel controls.
More info and pics here



Got some Valeo OEM LED tail lights


Installed Bi-Xenon headlights

More info and pics here

Installed a Kufatec E-MFA unit to display some info on the dash LCD.

More info here

Replaced the G450 sensor

More info here

Fitted Adams rotors and Hawk HPS pads


Fitted GTI lower front lip


Got a ELM327 Bluetooth adapter to use with Torque for Android


I've also been playing with doing my own remaps, bought a few ECU tuning tools. Took my ECU out and did a full read of the code. OBD port cables only read the data area from the ECU.


More info to follow.

Removed my DPF and flashed Pendle Performance remap on

More info and pics here

Next up:

• APR Intake, should help reduce smoke
• EGR blocking plate or EGR delete pipe
• Remove pancake muffler

[benough]

You are officially badass.

[DkN]

Which APR intake are you getting? If you mean the Carbonio, don't bother... I'm currently trying to find out if there is an ITG Maxogen with the right size to replace the filter in the Carbonio, which in the case of TDI intakes uses what I'm fairly certain is the infamous K&N oiled MAF eater.

Very interesting that you're trying to modify the ECU map yourself.. keep up the good work

[benough]

What's wrong with a straight through type like a modshak or a BMC CDA?

[DkN]

I'm not entirely certain on what type of filters those use, but AFAIK Modshack uses K&N cone filter and BMC CDA uses their own but similar type of cone filter. The traditional straight-through cone filters are discussed in some detail over on tdiclub forums here:

"Cold-air intakes" and "high-flow air filter" FAQ - TDIClub Forums

I'm looking to ITG Maxogen because it uses a foam type cone filter. Had I researched before I bought the Carbonio I probably would have left the stock airbox alone, but now that it's already off and all and the money is spent, the best option would be to stick to a filter that doesnt eat the MAF / sand the engine. With a tune a better intake setup WILL make some difference, but bang for buck-wise it's not a very good investment.

[ForceFed]

Or you could go for what I bought, aFe Stage 2 Pro Dry S. Nice bit of kit.

[DkN]

Yes I did hear some good things about those, but in between all the filter searching I got a little frustrated at US companies that do not have anything listed for the mkv 2.0 TDI.. I think afe does custom filter sizes though so that's definitely another good option.

The stage 2 kit they have is listed for GTI though - how do you have it set up?

edit: nvm just visited your build thread and saw the kit that retains most of the original airbox.

[jazd]

in the case of TDI intakes uses what I'm fairly certain is the infamous K&N oiled MAF eater.

Might see how much a MAF costs.

Very interesting that you're trying to modify the ECU map yourself.. keep up the good work

You are officially badass.

Thanks. Badass? Haha not quite that level yet.

Had I researched before I bought the Carbonio I probably would have left the stock airbox alone, but now that it's already off and all and the money is spent, the best option would be to stick to a filter that doesnt eat the MAF / sand the engine.

I'll buy the Carbonio off you?

Or you could go for what I bought, aFe Stage 2 Pro Dry S. Nice bit of kit.

I'm with DkN, don't like that it uses the most of the original intake. I want to get rid of all the twists and turns and have a straight ram air intake.

Edit.. After reading that thread on tdiclub I might do some logging with VCDS and tape up part of the intake behind the grill and see if the MAF airflow is any less. This should tell me if the stock airbox is on its limit or still has reserve.

Edit2. Graph on APR website shows a gain of 18g/s above 3800rpm. It indicates that the stock airbox is limited at 122g/s.

[DkN]

I think the consensus is, without a proper tune an aftermarket air intake gives zero gains or in some cases actually flow less air. WITH a proper tune however, there is definitely an improvement, but the question is how much. It's generally agreed that to take full advantage of a good intake upgrade you'd need to have supporting mods such as bigger turbo, intercooler etc. Having said that, the intake will make more noise and help a little with turbo spool, and for some that plus the visual aspects is enough to justify the cost.

I'll buy the Carbonio off you?

I'm really only looking to get rid of the filter element inside the Carbonio atm, nothing wrong with the box itself and I like how it gets rid of the bends in the stock airbox like you mentioned. I'm not looking to go back to stock since I already took the plunge and spent the money on the intake lol.

I'm not sure how much of that tdiclub thread you have read, but it seems that any increase in the K&N filter's air flow is at the cost of a lot more dirt. Besides that, that filter is a known MAF killer and a damaged MAF will actually make more smoke and restrict your air intake. In fact I'm considering that as a possible atm for the smoke issues I'm having...

BTW I would take any graph without proper logs / charts from APR with a grain of salt.

[jazd]

I'm really only looking to get rid of the filter element inside the Carbonio atm

No worries.

BTW I would take any graph without proper logs / charts from APR with a grain of salt.

Yep I think so. Compare these.. 440kg/hr = 122g/s, 550kg/hr = 153g/s.
If it was 122g/s at 4300 rpm as according to the APR graph that would only be 851mg per stroke which is way too low. Porkies APR?


MAF g/s


MAF mg/stk


You can see it does flatten out a bit at 170g/s. So it does seem like there is some restriction there at high RPM, its easier to see on the mg/stk graph, where the mg/stk drops at high RPM. But I'm thinking this may be because of the volumetric efficiency of the engine at high RPM.. someone with a Carbonio and VCDS care to test my theory? (I'm looking at you DkN)

---------- Post added at 10:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:04 AM ----------

Ordered a Darkside EGR & ASV delete pipe.
Darkside 1.9 8v TDI PD130 / PD150 EGR Delete / Race Pipe (57mm) - Darkside Developments

[DkN]

Believe it or not I actually don't have VCDS lol when I have enough cash I always get tempted to buy other upgrades and when I do need to log the car it's usually tune related so Gavin will either be around or lend me his VCDS..

I do have a WOT run log of both MAF g/s and mg/str, I can tell you that mg/stroke flattens at 1400 from about 1800rpm and starts dropping at about 3300rpm, dipping sharper from 3800rpm. That's about on par to yours.

g/s also follows your curve but peaks a bit higher at 180 at 4000 rpm. It dipped a little before flattening at 180, not sure what that was but as I said this is just one WOT run. I could post up the graph but I've pretty much described all there is to it here, one WOT run is not much data.

[jazd]

Believe it or not I actually don't have VCDS lol when I have enough cash I always get tempted to buy other upgrades and when I do need to log the car it's usually tune related so Gavin will either be around or lend me his VCDS..

Damn haha.

I do have a WOT run log of both MAF g/s and mg/str, I can tell you that mg/stroke flattens at 1400 from about 1800rpm and starts dropping at about 3300rpm, dipping sharper from 3800rpm. That's about on par to yours.

g/s also follows your curve but peaks a bit higher at 180 at 4000 rpm. It dipped a little before flattening at 180, not sure what that was but as I said this is just one WOT run. I could post up the graph but I've pretty much described all there is to it here, one WOT run is not much data.

Yeah right, thats interesting. Thank heaps.

I've managed to turn the two dash lights off (the flashing glow plug light from disconnecting the ASV and the solid "check engine" light from disconnecting the EGR) but they still come up in a fault scan. No limp mode yet, I'll keep testing.

[DkN]

Interesting...

From what you said though I would think you've only turned off the visual warning, so everything that's programmed to happen i.e. limp mode will still happen eventually, just without the dash lights. I've no idea how you read ECU files though, if you figured out the dash light's location when the warning came on maybe you can figure out where the limp mode code is when that triggers too?

It shouldn't be that hard to the knowledgeable though, I've found a few companies overseas that offer EGR delete tuning.. one of them sell their own EGR delete kit similar to the Darkside one packaged with ECU coding to tune it out, too bad they're in Czech Republic of all places lol

[Transporter]

Interesting...

From what you said though I would think you've only turned off the visual warning, so everything that's programmed to happen i.e. limp mode will still happen eventually, just without the dash lights. I've no idea how you read ECU files though, if you figured out the dash light's location when the warning came on maybe you can figure out where the limp mode code is when that triggers too?

It shouldn't be that hard to the knowledgeable though, I've found a few companies overseas that offer EGR delete tuning.. one of them sell their own EGR delete kit similar to the Darkside one packaged with ECU coding to tune it out, too bad they're in Czech Republic of all places lol

If they don't ship to AU, I can help you with that. PM me.

[DkN]

If they don't ship to AU, I can help you with that. PM me.

Thanks for the offer mate but I'm afraid it's not the shipping of the kit that's the problem, it's the EGR delete coding - I don't believe they offer handheld tuning services. I have yet to confirm with Gavin though, maybe Custom Code can do the codes anyway which would be perfect.

I'll keep your offer in mind if I do run into shipping issues