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JoeTR6
JoeTR6 Dork
7/1/19 8:00 a.m.

Nice ride.  Congrats.

If a dealer in NoVa would have let me test drive one of these, I'd probably own it now.  Now that I'm in Colorado and on a limited income, I'll probably keep the FiST.  It will be interesting to see how your R handles Colorado winters.  Should be fun.

docwyte
docwyte UltraDork
7/1/19 8:26 a.m.

In reply to JoeTR6 :

I plan on getting a set of dedicated wheels/snow tires.  I'm sure it'll do fine, I've run plenty of older Audi quattros here and they've been great.

Anthony, I've never had an issue with foam filters, run them in my cars and motos.  No way to put a paper filter in this intake, the foam filter not only has a vacuum port on it, it also seals up the back side of the airbox and leads directly into the air inlet turbo pipe.

xflowgolf
xflowgolf SuperDork
7/1/19 9:13 a.m.

nice choice on the proper 6MT.  These are stellar daily drivers.  

AnthonyGS
AnthonyGS HalfDork
7/1/19 9:01 p.m.

In reply to docwyte :

Foam filters I’ve seen need to be oiled.  Oil kills hot wire MAF sensors that most cars use now.  Is the R a MAP sensor engine?  They are rate these days.

I’ve also experienced poorer filtration from many oil bath filters of all types.

 

docwyte
docwyte UltraDork
7/2/19 8:07 a.m.

In reply to AnthonyGS :

Oil kills MAF's if the filter is dripping in oil.  Otherwise they're fine, I've run them for loads of miles without an issue.

docwyte
docwyte UltraDork
7/3/19 8:07 a.m.

So there's a lot of customization available in setting one of these up, if you have the right tool.  I've had VAG-COM for probably 13 years, since my B5 Audis.  I'd heard my old cable wouldn't work on my R, but then it seemed like people on the vortex said it would.

So I updated the software/firmware, printed out the coding I wanted to do and went for it last night.  Yup, wouldn't work.  It'd connect and read the module but wouldn't give me access to the "adaptation" function so I could change things.  Doh!

Not happy as my current cable doesn't link to VIN's, so its an unlimited use cable.  VCDS has changed their business model now and it links to VIN's, to get an unlimited one like what I have, even with them giving me a trade in allowance on my old cable would cost me close to $500.  Umph.

There is another option, a company called OBD eleven makes a wireless dongle but for now it only works on Andriod and of course I have an iPhone.  Supposedly they're coming out with an iOS version next month.  I may have an old Andriod tablet in my basement, I'll have to see...

sobe_death
sobe_death Dork
7/3/19 8:19 a.m.

Maybe you could pick up a cheap Amazon Fire tablet off Craigslist and run OBDeleven from that! I know there are about a million of them on Denver CL since Amazon gives them away like candy twice a year.

That gray is a seriously cool looking color in person, and the R will definitely crush in winter conditions here.  

docwyte
docwyte UltraDork
7/3/19 8:33 a.m.

In reply to sobe_death :

I've actually got a Kindle Fire although I thought they couldn't access all the stuff as it's a Kindle and restricted rather than an andriod tablet?  If it'll work I'll be in business!

docwyte
docwyte UltraDork
7/8/19 3:11 p.m.

First road trip completed.  Went to Steamboat for the 4th, traffic out of Denver on the 3rd sucked!  Had a great time there, have just about 675 miles on the car now.  Engine has loosened up some and the clutch has more bite.  Both make me happy because the motor was super tight and didn't feel like it was making much power. 

Got the roof rack on with the bike trays, been awhile since I've dealt with removing front wheels and roof racks, as I've had a hitch rack for the past 4 years.  Gotta say, I don't like it! 

Plan is to add a hitch to the car, this one here:  https://torkliftcentral.com/2015-2017-volkswagen-golf-r-ecohitch

So I can use my Kuat hitch rack for the bikes.  It's far more secure, easier to deal with and lets me carry up to 4 bikes.  I'll use the roof rack just for skis in the winter time.

sobe_death
sobe_death Dork
7/9/19 1:57 p.m.

Lol, yeah, you need to be a little mental heading out of Denver on a holiday weekend. I waited until the 5th and there were like 20 people on the road!

 

You should also notice a significant fuel economy improvement with the bikes out back. The CRV gained 4+mpg highway when I got my tray rack installed! 

docwyte
docwyte UltraDork
7/9/19 4:10 p.m.

In reply to sobe_death :

Yeah, I expected bad traffic but not as bad as it was! 

Ordered the hitch and got the 2" receiver as that's the size of my kuat hitch rack.  Then saw a pic of a Golf R with a 2" hitch on it and it looks really goofy, way too big.  Ugh.  Do I exchange the hitch for a 1.25" one and then have to run an adapter for the kuat bike rack, or just deal with the larger receiver...

10001110101
10001110101 New Reader
7/9/19 8:48 p.m.
docwyte said:

So there's a lot of customization available in setting one of these up, if you have the right tool.  I've had VAG-COM for probably 13 years, since my B5 Audis.  I'd heard my old cable wouldn't work on my R, but then it seemed like people on the vortex said it would.

So I updated the software/firmware, printed out the coding I wanted to do and went for it last night.  Yup, wouldn't work.  It'd connect and read the module but wouldn't give me access to the "adaptation" function so I could change things.  Doh!

Not happy as my current cable doesn't link to VIN's, so its an unlimited use cable.  VCDS has changed their business model now and it links to VIN's, to get an unlimited one like what I have, even with them giving me a trade in allowance on my old cable would cost me close to $500.  Umph.

There is another option, a company called OBD eleven makes a wireless dongle but for now it only works on Andriod and of course I have an iPhone.  Supposedly they're coming out with an iOS version next month.  I may have an old Andriod tablet in my basement, I'll have to see...

OBDEleven has saved my bacon more times than I care to admit. Even if you buy a cheap pay as you go phone you'll still come out way cheaper than VCDS. Navigation can be a bit kludgy, but I've coded a lot of things into our B6 Passat wagon and my Golf diesel.

pinchvalve
pinchvalve GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
7/10/19 8:09 a.m.

Here's all the things wrong with the VW Golf R: 

  • It doesn't dispense cold beer

That's the whole list.  Great car, enjoy! 

docwyte
docwyte UltraDork
7/10/19 8:11 a.m.

In reply to 10001110101 :

I did find that old android tablet in my basement and it seems to be working fine, albeit slowly since its ancient.  So I got some amazon gift cards for my bday and will buy OBD Eleven Pro on there and should be all set. 

sobe_death
sobe_death Dork
7/11/19 8:00 a.m.
docwyte said:

In reply to sobe_death :

Yeah, I expected bad traffic but not as bad as it was! 

Ordered the hitch and got the 2" receiver as that's the size of my kuat hitch rack.  Then saw a pic of a Golf R with a 2" hitch on it and it looks really goofy, way too big.  Ugh.  Do I exchange the hitch for a 1.25" one and then have to run an adapter for the kuat bike rack, or just deal with the larger receiver...

Huh, I didn't look at your link in detail before, but you would think that a hidden receiver would actually be... hidden somehow.  You might be able to trade racks around here if you do decide to go smaller as most people seem to want to upgrade to the 2" trays.

docwyte
docwyte UltraDork
7/11/19 8:04 a.m.

In reply to sobe_death :

The Stealth hitch is totally hidden but they don't make one for the R.  There's talk that the regular GTi one will actually fit but nobody has bought it and tried yet.

Yeah, the 2" bike racks are more popular because all the SUV's etc have a 2" hitch.  That's why the one I have now is a 2" hitch, I bought it for my old SUV.  The hitch rack shows up today, I'm thinking I'm probably just going to run it.It may look a little goofy but I don't want to run an adapter or swap racks as our Cayenne has a 2" receiver on it and I want to be able to run the rack on both vehicles.

OjaiM5
OjaiM5 New Reader
7/11/19 8:11 a.m.

Doc, that looks awesome. I love the look of bikes on the roof. Looks like you have Rockymounts

Nice Yeti too!

docwyte
docwyte UltraDork
7/11/19 8:59 a.m.

In reply to OjaiM5 :

Yup, Rocky Mount trays, have had them forever. I had to adapt them to the VW aero rack bars, they were originally set up for square bars.  Adapting them wasn't as easy as you'd think, had to get my grinder out, etc, etc. 

I love the Yeti!  It's a SB5C "Lunch Ride".  Yeti is based about 25 minutes away from me.

docwyte
docwyte UltraDork
7/12/19 4:21 p.m.

So acquired some parts.  My torklift Ecohitch showed up last night and I hope to install it this Sunday with a friend.  Then my OBD Eleven showed up today, so I plan on doing some coding to the car this afternoon.  I also have around 950 miles on it, so I'm going to do my first oil change.  I'm tempted to change the tranny fluid and service the Haldex as well, I'll have to see how motivated I feel.

Next up, I did a little shopping today.  Local craigslist had an APR downpipe listed for sale for a bit but way over priced.  I'm not sure I want to go down that road, as its something I can't quickly reverse if I need to, plus you need a tune to really get it to work properly, both of which put my warranty in jeopardy.

However, if I can get it for the right price and its local, its worth buying now and tossing in my basement.  So I pinged the guy and we worked out a proper price for it and I grabbed it today.  Mmmm, APR goodness!  Got the J pipe, cat pipe, clamps and O2 extension harness. 

docwyte
docwyte UltraDork
7/13/19 1:33 p.m.

In reply to docwyte :

Did the oil change last night.  Pretty easy once you figure out to use a Phillips screwdriver for the plastic (!!) drain pan plug.  Plastic oil pan too.  Ugh.

Everything else is on the top of the motor.  Thank god there’s a real dipstick!  Make sure you loosen up the oil filter cartridge before you dump the oil out of the pan.  Otherwise the filter cartridge won’t empty out.

Took more oil than I expected, basically 6 quarts.

tried to use obd11, and even tho the box was sealed and brand new, it said the code was already being used.  Wtf?!  So have to return it thru amazon and get another one.  If that one doesn’t work I give up and I’ll just buy the updated cable I need for vcds

Slippery
Slippery GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
7/13/19 1:40 p.m.

Plastic drain bolt!! Gee, do you reuse it or replace? Can you even torque it back on or just snug it up with the screwdriver?

docwyte
docwyte UltraDork
7/13/19 1:47 p.m.

In reply to Slippery :

I reused it but suspect it should be replaced.  It just twists/snaps into place, there’s no way to torque it.

ecs sells a magnetic drain plug to replace it, I’ll order one shortly

chandler
chandler PowerDork
7/13/19 1:59 p.m.
Slippery said:

Plastic drain bolt!! Gee, do you reuse it or replace? Can you even torque it back on or just snug it up with the screwdriver?

The first time I saw a one time use plastic oil pan plug on the Paccar MX13 I couldn’t figure that that was a good idea; however, here we are years later and I’ve never heard of one failing. They use a one way cam, the pan is composite and has two indents that the plug has a negative of, it clicks into place, when you reverse it it clicks back out but the strength of the tang is lessened so it “should” be replaced every oil change.

spandak
spandak Reader
7/13/19 3:18 p.m.

New F150s at least have this plastic drain plug too. It’s weird coming from bolts but it’s impossible to strip the pan. It seems to seal just fine, even after multiple uses. I think it’s a good idea

docwyte
docwyte UltraDork
7/14/19 10:47 a.m.

Installed the Eurosport center resonator delete last night.  No pics but I should have a video coming.

super easy install, especially with the exhaust pipe cutter tool i bought.  Seriously I think it took maybe ten minutes.

totally worth it, I can finally hear the exhaust in the cabin but it’s not droning or overly loud.  Was $125 and fit perfectly.  

Totally reversible too, which is good.  I’ve heard some people put the resonator back in once they install a downpipe because it’s too loud otherwise.

so when I eventually install the apr downpipe I’ll assess how loud it is and go from there.

 

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