Golf R Observations and Questions

[REXman]

Just want to add, having an extra MDI is alright - for free and all, but it only costs $250 odd bucks (relative to the $60-odd-K you coughed up for the car - its almost like cheering over free car matts).

Now the free Sat Nav.. thats a ****en steal and a half. I would have lost it over that, or some 19s or something

[masev]

For people out there who have changed wheels etc, does anyone want to get rid of their OEM 19" Dunlops?

I need to replace one and it seems that you can't farken get them. Have tried a number of sources and the answer back was Dunlop has either discontinued them entirely or are not currently producing them (and no ETA).

Hey Dave

I had to replace one of mine in January and ended up sourcing one from Blair's Tyres and Wheels: Peakhurst, Cabramatta, Narellan, Corrimal, Warilla | Cheapest Tyre | Wheels and Tyres Sydney | Tyre Centre | Tyre and Wheel Packages | Mag Wheels and Tyres | Alloy Wheel Repairs | Car Tyres | Wheels | Car Mechanic | Tyre Pri They're based in Sydney and offered a very reasonable price of $360 balanced and fitted, compared to Jax/Bob Jane who quoted a ridiculous $650+. They had the tyre in the next day, so give them a go....I'm sure they could send it to Melbourne...

[Fab_R]

Anyone else noticed that the exhausts open up after a couple thou k's?
Initially, only one flap was open at idle/startup (didn't check it after hard driving), but now i've broken it in a bit, both flaps/exhausts are open all the time.

Makes the exhaust sound much deeper (which others have also reported) but makes me question what the flapper mod was all about though?

The R only has one flap housed on the right hand side exhaust outlet.

[Glennb]

The R only has one flap housed on the right hand side exhaust outlet.

ok, so the flap was closed initially on the one side, but now seems to be permanently open. Is this normal? (sounds good! but way different from when i first got it).

[DDTW]

Yeah - as long as the offsets suitable then you'll be alright. In racing you also aren't typically using as much steering angle as you'd do so on the road...

Hey Corey, what is the offset for the 19" Talladegas?

[DDTW]

ok, so the flap was closed initially on the one side, but now seems to be permanently open. Is this normal? (sounds good! but way different from when i first got it).

Flap will close when you turn off ignition. Check right tail pipe. You'll need a torch light to see this clearly.

[masev]

ok, so the flap was closed initially on the one side, but now seems to be permanently open. Is this normal? (sounds good! but way different from when i first got it).

I think that's just part of the the "break-in" period. Within the last 500km, mine has really started to sound a lot meaner The valve definitely stays open longer than when I first got her....or does it???

[REXman]

Not sure if this is what you guys might be experiencing, but the exhaust on any car will start to sound a lot meaner as the KM's go up.

The more you drive it, the more stuff that builds up inside, therefore changing resonating frequency (getting deeper) as exhaust gets more "solid".

Hence, Homer is trapped in the 3rd dimension.

[REXman]

Any R owners know how to turn on the little lamp below the Xenons?

On the GTI, the parking lights activate them but on the R the LEDs light up instead.

Also, having them in white looks pretty darn cool:
Google Translate

So has anyone worked out how we can activate these? very cool and no other car I can think of has this level of light kink!

Would love to get them working - if we actually have the light running in there in Aus versions!

[stephen8512]

how do i get the MDI to work with my iPhone? the cable when i put it in my iphone doesnt work

[REXman]

You need bluetooth for phone functions.

If its for music, just plug it in, and the MDI button should become press-able.

Down the bottom of the iphone screen whilst in music player, there should be the little music speaker symbol, press that and pic the other option if you cant hear the music.

that works sometimes if mine has buckled.

[Corey_R]

As REXman has stated, all exhausts change their tonal characteristics as the metal beds in. The flap has nothing to do with making your car sound deeper. When you go WOT and your car all of a sudden gets much louder, THAT is what the flap does.

If your flap was open from the moment you turned on your car, you would know it. It would idle much louder - we're not talking about needing a Sound Pressure Level metre here to measure 60dB vs 62dB. We're talking, your neighbors coming across the street to go, man, what did you do to your car, it didn't sound like that before, type louder.

(I've got the Stage 2+ which replaces the downpipe and cat, but not the "cat back". When it's turned on from cold, the flap opens and it's very loud. It remains loud for about 55 seconds until the car lowers its idle revs to "normal" levels of about 800 and the flap closes.)

how do i get the MDI to work with my iPhone? the cable when i put it in my iphone doesnt work

I assume you weren't talking about making calls with your iPhone via the MDI in which case bluetooth is not needed. You do need to ensure you have the iPhone MDI cable plugged in though and not the USB MDI cable. You can't simply plug your white iPhone to USB cable into the black USB to MDI cable.

Hey Corey, what is the offset for the 19" Talladegas?

I don't know to be honest. Offsets for Golf's are typically around the 48 to 50 - but the width of the wheel also effects this. I don't recall a link to any reliable source which states what the standard offsets are for the Talladegas.

[DreamensioN]

Hey guys - a couple more random questions as I eagerly anticipate the arrival of my R.

1. Are the full/high beams also Xenon? Or are they halogen?

2. Those of you without the Dynaudio upgrade - how do you find the sound? Is it pretty good for what you get, or is it a bit lacking? I'm no audiophile and I don't want any earth shattering sound, but just something that sounds pretty good at normal volume levels. I opted not to get the Dynaudio upgrade because I figured if I really needed to, I could put in aftermarket speakers + amp. But I am past that stage in my life...so I'll be happy for just nice quality sound with a warm round bass from standard speakers.

[Glennb]

As REXman has stated, all exhausts change their tonal characteristics as the metal beds in. The flap has nothing to do with making your car sound deeper. When you go WOT and your car all of a sudden gets much louder, THAT is what the flap does.

If your flap was open from the moment you turned on your car, you would know it. It would idle much louder - we're not talking about needing a Sound Pressure Level metre here to measure 60dB vs 62dB. We're talking, your neighbors coming across the street to go, man, what did you do to your car, it didn't sound like that before, type louder.

Corey, this is what is happening on mine. A cold start used to have the flap closed (confirmed by putting hand near each exhaust to feel the air moving and i posted many pages ago about only having one dirty exhaust for the first 1k kms), but now it has it open from a cold startup (and yes you can definetly hear difference).

After my morning commute (in D, no hooning), it was still open when i got to the office. Now that i think about it, it must close again at some point as it's not always that loud.

[DDTW]

Hey guys - a couple more random questions as I eagerly anticipate the arrival of my R.

1. Are the full/high beams also Xenon? Or are they halogen?

2. Those of you without the Dynaudio upgrade - how do you find the sound? Is it pretty good for what you get, or is it a bit lacking? I'm no audiophile and I don't want any earth shattering sound, but just something that sounds pretty good at normal volume levels. I opted not to get the Dynaudio upgrade because I figured if I really needed to, I could put in aftermarket speakers + amp. But I am past that stage in my life...so I'll be happy for just nice quality sound with a warm round bass from standard speakers.

They are Bi-Xenons, so you get Xenons for high beam.

Stock speakers sound good when playing thru SD Card or CD. Crap for radio =(