Golf R Observations and Questions

[Prodigy]

Seems like the ventureshield is quite a good investment. They cost about $1k right?

I definitely recommend it and prices vary depending on what you get covered.

Lots of discussion regarding it here if you are interested:

http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/f112/worth-getting-paint-protection-film-e-g-ventureshield-43678.html

[Corey_R]

Yeah - the B Pillars are only made from plastic. If they were glass or metal, they'd be less scratch prone... but then it'd substantially change the way they needed to construct them.

Ventureshield is working well on my B Pillars too
The B Pillars are also small enough, that they should be able to be done using the scrap off cuts from you getting the front of your car done

[dave_r]

I'm buying a set now

And the sig grows again!

Interior stitching should have been blue too IMHO!

Argh that would have been terrible!

Washed the car yesterday, didn't notice any issues with the B pillars or not enough to stand out anyway. I think I'm going to pay someone to clean the wheels as they seem to take as long as the rest of the car. Damn awesome look spokes.

[Corey_R]

Interior stitching should have been blue too IMHO!

AArgh that would have been terrible!

Yeah - blue stitching would have polarising views! I mentioned to my sales guy whilst doing the test drive of the R that it would've been interesting to see blue stitching - he told me that he has had potential GTI customers who have refused to purchase the GTI unless they could get the red stitching changed to grey etc

Seriously! hehe

[weewilly]

Dave-R, Fab anyone really... thoughts on this please:
Intercooler, Fuel Pump and Tune as first stage upgrade... any input would be greatly appreciated.

[Corey_R]

That'll give you the "Stage 1+" mapping. Essentially the same peak figures as Stage 1, but with added midrange from the HPFP. The intercooler will assist in "keeping the performance" on warmer days or if you're doing multiple 0 to 100 runs etc.

That'll be a good upgrade.
There is a LOT of labour involved in that upgrade however (due to the intercooler). They basically pull off the front of the car (bumper, grill, headlights, cross beams etc). When the front of the car is off, it's then very easy to "move" the engine, which makes it easier to get the downpipe in. So have a talk to whoever your installer is, it may be better if you're cash strapped to do Intercooler, downpipe, and tune at the same time, which is Stage II, and then do HPFP and Intake together at another point to take it to Stage II+.

[dave_r]

Dave-R, Fab anyone really... thoughts on this please:
Intercooler, Fuel Pump and Tune as first stage upgrade... any input would be greatly appreciated.

After driving Fab's beast, my to-do list says fuel pump, front pipe and required ecu tune. Up north the FMIC would probably be a good idea too and something I may add later. I'll skip the cold air and cat back items to keep it a bit quieter and stay under the radar

[Corey_R]

Yeah - don't underestimate what the downpipe does! In addition to the downpipe it also includes the "motorsports" or "high-flow" catalytic converter. dave_r and some people also refer to the downpipe as the "front pipe". The downpipe is what gives you the bulk of the power increase in an aftermarket exhaust. In combination with the Stage II software it greatly increases the "width" of the "powerband", and allows the turbo to spool up much earlier and faster. It also greatly changes the sound of the engine, giving you much more induction and turbo noise (yes, just from the upgraded downpipe!). I had it done on my Stage II MKV GTI before having the intake upgraded, and several of my friends thoroughly inspected my engine bay as they couldn't believe that the intake and turbo hadn't changed, or that noise insulation from the firewall hadn't been removed.

I'm very "volume sensitive", so I should clarify that it doesn't make the car heaps louder - it's more that it creates a lot more "character" and range of sounds in the engine. When you "play with the throttle" you'll get a greater range of induction and turbo noises. It's great!


In the case of the APR downpipe for the R, it is "divorced" which means that there is a separate pipe from the wastegate which connects further along the downpipe, closer to the cat. This is to reduce turbulence etc. It also includes the "upgrade" to the Stage II software.
Milltek appears to just use the more common "Bellmouth" downpipe. Because they don't make ECU software, at least some of the ECU manufacturers will charge you additional for the Stage II software over their Stage I software.

(And before there is lots of complaints like there has been in the past on this topic...)
Yes, I know, it's just software, and it shouldn't cost more, but it does! If you think about it, 90% of customers would only by the Stage I. Stage II would take just as much time and investment to create, yet you've got a lot less customers purchasing it, and so you don't get the same "economies of scale". Just accept it and move on!


But yeah... I'd personally get the downpipe before the HPFP and intercooler.
The HPFP will add even more midrange to the torque curve. The intercooler will give you more consistency.
I also agree with dave_r in relation to the cold air intake and cat back. The CAI will add lots more noise without giving you too much extra power. The downpipe will add more induction noise anyway. The catback as the worsted on the cost/performance scale, and should really only be added if you want to change the exhaust sound/look of the car.

I'll personally probably get the CAI anyway - but I'm investigating what changes need to be made to use the new "pod" style Carbonio (for the MK6 GTI motor) instead of the old "panel" style carbonio (for the MKV GTI / MK6 R). I figure if you're going to spend that much on a CAI, you may as well have a pod style which should give you more performance than just the panel does.

[weewilly]

thank you guys, comments are helpful as always. Corey, I know you're busy. Intercooler would assist in day to day driving? Don't think I'll be doing a lot of track time so the way you are talking Corey, IC maybe not needed for my needs? Not really concerned about noise, just performance in the mid range. I am concerned about piston burn, once again, I don't drive the car hard, just want the power when needed.

[team_v]

thank you guys, comments are helpful as always. Corey, I know you're busy. Intercooler would assist in day to day driving? Don't think I'll be doing a lot of track time so the way you are talking Corey, IC maybe not needed for my needs? Not really concerned about noise, just performance in the mid range. I am concerned about piston burn, once again, I don't drive the car hard, just want the power when needed.

If that is all you are after then stage 1 should do the trick, if you want more then do the downpipe and intake.
The intercooler will reduce heatsoak on hot/humid days but will not provide more "power" rather, it will reduce the loss of power.
The HPFP is probably not needed for regular driving.

[Corey_R]

I've got 1500km on my car now, so last week I got in contact with Derek at European Autotech in Mona Vale (Sydney metro area) to get him to price up some things for me. Guy_H and APR Australia/Oceania are in Brisbane though... that should really say enough

From what I know both Guy_H's home and the APR workshop are ok, but it's going to take a little while to get things back into BAU.
If things aren't going to take too long to get organised, then I'll be going straight to Stage II+ with the Intercooler, CAI (Pod style), downipe, fuel pump and ECU. If things are going to take a while for APR to get back into BAU then I'll probably get the Stage I to keep me going. But I'll let you know what I think about the Intercooler for every day use then.

My thoughts from having the Stage II MKV GTI (which has the same stock IC as the R) is that on hot days it was very obvious that you were losing some power. Also, if even on a cool day, if you had a road with lots of traffic lights in an 80 zone, by the 5th set of lights you may start to feel the drop off. So I think that it'll be worthwhile, but it certainly won't be the price/performance value of the ECU or downpipe.

[dave_r]

dave_r and some people also refer to the downpipe as the "front pipe".
<snip>
The HPFP will add even more midrange to the torque curve.
<snip>
I also agree with dave_r in relation to the cold air intake and cat back. The CAI will add lots more noise without giving you too much extra power. The downpipe will add more induction noise anyway. The catback as the worsted on the cost/performance scale, and should really only be added if you want to change the exhaust sound/look of the car.

Hmm see how this goes...
I just do it for simplicity. The APR setup has 2 bits in my view. The catback section and the dump/front pipe.
Fab's feedback on the HPFP and my understanding of it says its it is a good addition (slightly pricey) but a noticable improvement. Any decent addition you can make earlier in the rev range is money well spent IMO
And yeh, CAI/Catback may bring some power but they change the sound characteristics a lot. Fab's car sounds mean but it might not be everyones cup of tea. The stock car is loud enough for me so I'll keep it as close as possible.

I'll probably get the Stage I to keep me going.

I'll probably do that so its a gradual thing unless Volkspower makes an offer I can't refuse on the 3 bits I want as a package

[weewilly]

yes, james @ hardings. and again thank you

[REXman]

Tints are done! They look great. I thought i was not going to bother getting tints, but this summer in Sydney.. the air con has to work too hard just to stay cool!

All this STG 1 talk is getting me a bit frisky..

So I get the DP from someone.. Then I can go to APR, and just ask for the STG 2 straight up?

I probably am not going to do the exhaust for a while.. (I have always been someone who either does turbo back or doesnt bother). But apparently the DP alone is alright?

Bit of a sound change is fine but I done want the car screaming as I bought the GOLF for a more sleeper vehicle after years of REX and SKyline AURA!!

And man I hope the fuel pump is good!! Its $1700!! Call me crazy, but the GTR fuel pump costs $1000 bucks and that can flow like 1000HP.. and they are rock reliable.

Next question: What is the HPFP for the R capable of flowing?

[Ideo]

I should stop reading this. No arrival date and I'm already planning mods.

Damn you all.