Golf R Observations and Questions

[weewilly]

Eeek!

Yeah - the car spot at work I've been parking in for 10 years has a concrete column about 20cm in from the "left side wall" and about 15cm IN FRONT of the "concrete wheel stop", lol. But worse still, the concrete wheel stop is so tall that the Golf R's exhausts don't clear it. Thus, the RVC comes in very handy for me as I can confidently park within a few cm's of that concrete column and wheel stop daily.

Prior to the RVC, I could always avoid the column using the left mirror (though the RVC makes it easier to due the "parking guide lines"), and I could only "guestimate" how far I was from the wheel stop using my spacial skills.

OK OK! enough already, if the truth be known, the R I demo'd had a camera and i thought at the time how great it would be to include in my option list. happy now... I made a mistake, so freakin shoot me. 'walks off kickin' the loose dirt, hands in pockets...'

[mhelin]

Newbie

Hi,
newbie to this site just read all the posts over the last week lots of information
As for the RVC it is great i have a golf V GTI without it and a TSI 118 with it and every time i hop in GTI i wish it had the camera very worthwhile extra.
I also have been down the upgrade path in the past with a Skyline GTR and recommend intercooler and dump pipe as people have said in the posts it is not about the top end KW. You should concentrate on the Torque Curve.
The APR website says the dumppipe brings the peak boost 800rpm earlier so for everyone complaining the dump pipe with stage II tune is a must, even is top KW was the same. Luckily you get an extra 12kw on top
From my previous car i know i dont want to take it to far this far as it is an endless spiral and you end up with a car that is not as enjoyable to drive in you daily work commute. I ended up with twin plate clutch etc... as i would just chew through brass button clutches very quickly.
Twin plate clutch fine and well but if you like trying to select a song looking at your phone and then notice the light is green you would like stall it 80% of the time.
It took like your full concentration to take of smoothly like a normal car. If you concentration is of a little it would be jumpy or stall.
There for i have decided to maybe go for stage II tune with the intercooler and dum pipe. Leave the rest stock to look original.
As for the wheels i am ordering the 19" wheels to get the black cluster but i will be buying after market forged wheels and downgrading to 18".
I went through all this with the GTR and 17" has the best ride. Even the track cars in japan would handle better and faster around the track with 17" over 18" and cars over 550 got slower as well as they have to much lag.
The only need for the 19's are for visual looks or to fit bigger breaks.
Going for a set of forged wheels can save you 4.5kg per wheel.
Reducing unsprung weight is very beneficial and they say that every 1kg saved of rotational weight is like saving 4kg of the car. That means 18kg x 4kg = 72kg
This is very noticable in the handling and the acceleration seems quicker as well.

Michael

[Ideo]

I'm too tight to pay for an RVC. That's my excuse anyway.

[dave_r]

dude, you gotta b on VW's books, there is no other explanation.

Haha i love a good **** stir.

Long wait time...check
R is better than GTI but not a frog...check
Crap turning circle...check
RVC is for blind freddy...check

So whats the next topic?

[REXman]

I just thought ild give my opinion on this as i have also done a stage 2+ on my R. My R is manual though.
I’ve done the APR dump, (same setup as Corey_R) HPFP and carbonio intake, no front mount intercooler... yet!

From stage 1 to stage 2+ i wouldn’t say the difference is night and day, far from it actually. Stock to stage 1 is a significant jump in power and feel of the car. Stage 1 to stage 2+ isn’t about power but more about feel of the car which has been mentioned many times before. The car is a bit more responsive lower in the rev range. The power comes on a bit earlier which makes the car rev smoother when booting it from the standstill or if you have it in too low of a gear. It almost makes the car feel slower as the car slightly loses the kick from the turbo as now the power comes on sooner and smoother. This probably isn’t as noticeable in the DSG when compared to the manual. But in saying that i don’t have a FMIC, so maybe there might be still some improvements to be had.

With the manual R's they don’t have the constant 'DSG burble' sound between gear changes or that violent braaap sound that you now get with the dump. With the dump pipe i occasionally get that violent braaap sound which I can sometimes pull from 2nd to 3rd gear.. Extremely loud and it always turns heads. Not sure if this is a good head turner or a bad one, but it definitely turns heads!
And like Corey_R said, when you put your foot down the car has a loud deepish growl, and letting off the gas makes the exhaust start crackling and popping, which i like. What i don’t really like is how the exhaust flaps operate. Would have been nice if you could change when the flaps open as i find that on 1st and 2nd gear they open up a bit too early so it sounds like your stomping on the gas when you’re not, but then in 3rd gear you could have your foot planted at 3K to 4K and the car sounds almost like stock. Correct me if I’m wrong but I’m pretty sure the exhaust flaps open at a set rpm per gear and has nothing to do with throttle position which would have been so much better.

With the sound of the exhaust I’m going to have to disagree slightly with Corey_R as the sound of the exhaust sounds a little like it has a hole in it or like there is a lot of air flowing through it. It’s hard to explain. (This is during idle and on normal driving not under WOT) It’s a different story though when you stomp on it but I’m not 100% sure if i like the sound though. I’ve been driving with the windows open and radio off for a week now listening but I’m still not sure. But it has got me listening to my car … a lot, so I guess it can’t be that bad! haha

Induction sound with the carbonio intake i found to be more of what you can hear from stock, but just louder. No fluttering sounds or anything like you get with a POD filter. Again i don’t have a FMIC which might make a bit of a difference with the sound. I know it made a huge difference on my last car.

Don’t get me wrong, I like loud and fast cars. I previously owned a 200sx which sounded like a truck. But for the people who think that the R is too loud from the factory and are looking at a stage 2+ then you should seriously consider listening to an R with the work done first. It will either put a smile on your face or make you cringe!
Also if you’re looking for more seat of your pants power from stage 1 then you will be disappointed as it’s not about overall power gain. Again I haven’t got a FMIC but I know this won’t make that much of a difference.

So the question is would i do the dump and pump again? Short answer is yes as I knew what I was buying and what to expect even though i forgot to look into the sound of the exhaust which wouldn’t have made a difference with me either way. The only downside for me is that the stock R does have a nice deep growl sound, now my R doesn’t, but that’s just my opinion.

I’ll just like to mention that the Stage 2+ work was done by Derek at European Autotech. I Went well out of my way to get Derek to do the work as I’ve had some ‘issues’ with my previous mechanics and I’m now glad that I did. Anything major like a FMIC or stage 3 perhaps, the car will be going straight back to Derek.

Nice write up. And it's honest whilst sounding very accurate.

At the end of the day, regardless of what different tuners want to make out of marketing names such as STG 1, STG 2, STG 2+ etc..

The car simply has got an exhaust, air filter and a tune running a bit more boost. You don't even change the turbo let alone engine internals.

Definitely going to feel friskier.. But it's not the full engine rebuild some people are dreaming it is.

But I can say I'm definitely going to get a TBE and a tune for sure! Maybe a CAI when I'm feeling so as well.

[REXman]

Just noticed the talk on the RVC.. It's the second best option after the motor seats. You notice how important it is when you now jump into any non RVC car.

You can never reverse into a car again! How good is that, with your new $65K toy!?!

At night it works a treat.. Very clear even in the dark, looks great and is so damn useful practically it's a win win.. For $500!

Compare that to $1500 sunroof or audio.. If you can stretch.. It should be on your list.

Actually if you can't stretch, get rid of other options. It's that good.

[Fab_R]

But I can say I'm definitely going to get a TBE and a tune for sure! Maybe a CAI when I'm feeling so as well.

WTF...Are you feeling alright RM?
You will be in the early 4's with that package lol...

[SilvrFoxX]

Haha i love a good **** stir.

Long wait time...check
R is better than GTI but not a frog...check
Crap turning circle...check
RVC is for blind freddy...check

So whats the next topic?

You forgot turbo lag

[shakespeare]

Haha i love a good **** stir.

Long wait time...check
R is better than GTI but not a frog...check
Crap turning circle...check
RVC is for blind freddy...check

So whats the next topic?

There's not much more left to discuss is there...

You forgot turbo lag

Just keep the revs up and you won't notice :p

[weewilly]

Haha i love a good **** stir.

Long wait time...check
R is better than GTI but not a frog...check
Crap turning circle...check
RVC is for blind freddy...check

So whats the next topic?

No back-up lights.... check
RVC is for blind Freddirecas... check
Stage 1 takes care of any lag (and then some) you might be experiencing...

[Ideo]

Well, maybe I just got a dealer order and they hadn't specced it.

Shut up *starts pouting*

[dave_r]

So who owns the white R sitting at Volkspower today getting a set of sways fitted? Hopefully someone here as I'm keen to hear some feedback on the change!

VP's own R is also sitting there with its newly fitted cage for Targa missing every bit of interior bar the DSG shifter and wheel lol. Its a cool and disturbing sight at the same time!

[SilvrFoxX]

VP's own R is also sitting there with its newly fitted cage for Targa missing every bit of interior bar the DSG shifter and wheel lol. Its a cool and disturbing sight at the same time!

You just get all hot and sweaty over nakedness

[Fab_R]

Yeah seen it today too...I have mixed emotions about Deans R...
Looks tuff though..

The cage is an absolute work of art. Fully integrated too!

[SilvrFoxX]

Interesting article about the US first review of the R coming to the US

2012 Volkswagen Golf R First Drive - Motor Trend

the reference to the DSG is interesting in that they speak of 2 different types.. hope we get the good one..