Rrrr you not entertained?

In reply to collinskl1 :

Problem is the tire isn't made anymore.  It's a Michelin Pilot Super Sport, which has been superseded by the Pilot 4S.  I'm not sure if I can get away with just 1 of those, probably should do two.

What's the break over for when a tire is too used tread depth wise vs new tread depth to mess up the Haldex diff?

In reply to clutchsmoke :

Tire Rack will shave a tire for me?

Great news!  Thanks to clutchsmoke I called Tire Rack and it turns out they will shave a tire for me.  Not only that, they still have the Michelin Pilot Super Sport in stock in my size, woot!  Called the VW dealer and a 2/32" tread depth difference is ok for the Haldex system.

So I'll keep my appointment with Discount Tire today and if my current tires are within that 2/32" I'll just buy one tire from them and run it brand new.  If the tread depth difference is more than that, I'll buy the tire from Tire Rack and have them shave it to match my other ones and have that installed.

So the tires were basically at 7/32", so barely outside VW's 2/32" range difference.  Discount Tire can't shave tires, so I ended up buying a tire from Tire Rack and having it shaved to 7/32".  That'll give me three tires at 7/32" and one at ~6/32", so the Haldex will be happy.

Probably going to cost me around $250, but it's a whole lot better than a new set of tires at ~$1000.

Did a few things to the car.  One of the Facebook groups I'm on for the car has a very well regarded tuner on it.  He posted that using a boost tap that sandwiches and spaces out the stock MAP sensor isn't good as it throws the readings of the MAP sensor off, making the car think IAT's are higher than they really are and thus running more rich.

Oops, I'm running one of those.  A quick order to ECS Tuning netted me one of their boost tap manifolds, which installed easily in under ten minutes and gives me three vacuum ports to use.  Right now I'm just using the one for the boost gauge but I have two spares if I need them in the future.

Today the car turned just over 10k miles.  Time for an oil change, which according to VW, is the first oil change it should've gotten.  It'll be the third one for this car, I did one at ~750 miles, another one at 5000 and now this one.

OEM Filter and ~6 quarts of oil is needed.  According the manual I should use a VW 502 spec oil, which M1 0w40 is.

Used my handy dandy oil extractor, which pulled out ~6 quarts.

I love this thing.  Hook it up to the air compressor and it does all the work.  Since the oil filter housing is up top in the engine compartment, no need to get underneath the car at all.

New filter and oil in, used my VAG-COM to reset the oil service light and it's done!

You gas guys are lucky your oil filter isn't tucked up underneath like the TDIs are. Jealous of the being able to use the extractor

In reply to Georges1991 :

It's awesome, especially since the Cayenne Diesel is the same way.  So two out of three cars I can do oil changes on with this extractor.  Makes it an easy, clean 15 minute (if that) job.  The extractor pulls out almost all the oil too, given that some will always be in the turbo lines etc, I really don't care if 100mL gets left in the pan.

The 996 Turbo, even tho it has the oil filter up top in the engine bay I can't use the extractor on.  There's no dip stick tube for me to snake the extractor down, plus there's the dry sump tank and two turbo reservoirs I have to empty, along with the "oil pan".

In reply to docwyte :

Which extractor is that, and did you try any others before it?  I JUST realized as I bought my new dipstick for the Touareg that there isn't a drain plug underneath...

In reply to sobe_death :

There's a drain plug down there.  I've used it before on the Cayenne before I had the extractor.  This one I got from ECS Tuning and is the BavAuto one.  I like it because it holds 10qts and can be pumped up manaully or with an air compressor.  A lot of them only hold 6-7 quarts and the Cayenne's capacity is more than that...

Well last week I went after the 911.  Today it was the R's turn. 

Start out with the foam cannon/wash

Then clay bar.  I was surprised at how much dirt the clay bar pulled off.  Yes, this is my DD but it's only a bit over 1 year old.

Then I rinsed it off again with the pressure washer and pulled it into my garage, where I dried it thoroughly with a humongous micro fiber towel.  After that I went at it with the DA and compound, which did a great job of removing some light scratches in the clear coat that were on the roof and hood.

Then hit with the polish on the DA.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to pull out the scratches on the clear bra on the hood, so those are just going to have to stay.  Bummer!

Then I hit it with the ceramic coat.  All in all, probably 6 hours of work.  I'm detailed out for a bit I think.  The results are awesome tho, the darker grey on the R shows reflections better than the light silver of the 911.

When I switch over to the winter wheels I'll ceramic coat the summer Neuspeed wheels.

In other news I washed the car for the first time since ceramic coating it.  Holy Schnikes!  Seriously, just wow... 

I've never seen water just bead and fall off a car like that before.  Far, far exceeds any wax I've ever put on a car.  Made washing it super, duper easy.

Looks great!

What brand ceramic coat did you use? And was it a difficult job. 

In reply to Slippery (Forum Supporter) :

I used Adams Polishes stuff for the entire process, including the ceramic coating.  Putting the ceramic coating on is really easy, easier than wax.  The hard part is you can't really see it, so that makes it really hard to tell if you've gotten full coverage and then if you've removed it all. 

Super cold and crappy yesterday, nice today, supposed to snow tomorrow.  Sigh.  Time for WINTER MODE!  Pulled the Neuspeed wheels with Pilot Super Sports off and replaced them with, um, Neuspeed wheels with Hakkapellita's. 

Facebook marketplace yielded me these Neuspeed RSe07's for a good price and I was able to sell my Audi wheels for a little over half what I paid the next day. Score!

I tested the utility of the hatchback, happy to say that 8 18" wheels with tires mounted fit inside no sweat.  I could've put another wheel/tire in the hatch and there wasn't anything in the front passenger seat.  I love hatchbacks!

Here's the car with them mounted, I think it looks mean!  I've got a set of "wolfsburg" center caps coming, I was hoping they'd show up today but they're still sitting at the USPS depot in Cali.

In other news I took the car into the dealer for its first warranty service, the passenger front grab handle spontaneously broke.  They took care of it and didn't say a word about my intake, intercooler or downpipe.  Score!

In other news, EQT Tuning is doing their "boost weather" sale November 1st and I think I'm going to buy the Cobb Accessport and the stage 2 91 octane and E30 tunes.  The E30 tune is supposed to put down ~420awhp!  I picked up this Fuel It bluetooth ethanol sensor, will install it tomorrow...

Took a little time today to install the Fuel It setup. 

First pull the fuse for the fuel pump, it's in the engine bay fuse box, right here.  Then start the car and let it run till ti dies to relieve the fuel pressure in the line.

Now pop the fuel hose off the hpfp, make sure you have a rag stuffed down there, the line will still have some fuel in it.

Now you have to pop the other side off, which is a little harder.  I bought a fuel line disconnect tool but I couldn't use it, the space was too limited.  Instead I used a right angle pick for the strut housing side and a torx driver for the other side.  Push the fitting down, push in with the tools and then lift up.  Success!

I popped off the other fuel line to give myself more room to work

See the black plastic bits?  You depress those after pushing the line down towards the ground

Ok, let's put the new lines in!  First the fitting side, just line up the fittings and push down until you hear it click

Place the line on the hpfp and then attach the module, making sure the quick disconnects click and are secure

Wiring time!  The ground is super simple, just goes to the battery hold down bolt

Fuel It suggest jamming the power wire into the fuel pump fuse.  That's incredibly janky and I can't believe they think that's ok.  I used an add a fuse instead.  Much cleaner!

Looks like I need to fill up with a little more E next time, I want to be no lower than E30 once I tune the car...

It always amazes me how much power can be found hidden in tunes on cars these days. Especially boosted cars. It's crazy. 

In reply to JeremyJ :

Between the intercooler, downpipe and the ethanol tune it adds almost 200hp to the motor.  These are dramatically under tuned from the factory.  Another local friend of mine did the same setup on his R and it was an animal. 

So I've been driving with the APR downpipe mated to the stock cat back with the center resonator deleted and the exhaust valves open for awhile.  Decided that was too loud so the past week drove around with the exhaust valves closed, which didn't make as much of a difference as I'd like.

 I thought about adding in a Vibrant resonator but there's no good place to do that without cutting up the APR downpipe, which I don't want to do.  So today I put the stock center resonator back in.

Now it's really quiet, even with the exhaust valves open.  I'll drive it some like this and see what I think, I suppose I'd rather it be too quiet than too loud.  May go full sleeper mode and put the factory airbox back in too.

Good thing I was under the car as I noticed a transmission bolt back way out.  Not sure how that happened, pretty sure I didn't touch it when I went to install the downpipe last Spring...

So after debating a short shifter for months, I finally dropped the hammer and bought the European VW/Audi short shifter.  OEM part, it's from the Euro Spec Audi S3, gives a 20% reduction in fore/aft throws.

I watched a YouTube DIY video, super simple install.  Remove the intake, pop off two clips, remove a cable end and a 13mm nut, installation is the reverse. 

So I did exactly that and the shifter was stuck.  I could free it up but then it would bind again.  For the life of me I couldn't figure it out, nobody on the forums or Book of Face was any help and googling showed nothing.  ARGH!  This car is my sole winter driver, so I don't have time to F with this stuff.

Admitted defeat, called Hagerty for a flat bed tow and off to my friends shop it went.  He was very kind and worked on it right away.  He was confused for a bit as well too, turns out my shift cables have rubber booties on them and the car in the DIY video didn't.  What happened is when I removed that cable end I somehow grabbed that rubber bootie and shifted the position of the cable end but couldn't tell because the bootie covered it up.

So when I went to put the new cable end on, I wasn't getting it on as far as it needed to be and the transmission was in 3rd gear.  Once that was addressed all was well.  Lost some time, a little dignity and a small amount of cash but the car is back up and going.

Ok, so something about the car has been annoying me.  I managed to scratch/damage the leather on the bottom of the steering wheel shortly after buying it.  I always have a knife and carry it in my right front pocket.  In previous cars I know I've lightly scratched the steering wheel with the clip of it getting in and out. 

Somehow I didn't process this until I scratched the heck out of the wheel in the R.  ARGH!  I liked the way the steering wheel in my 996 Turbo came out, so I ordered one from the same company for the R.  After waiting a long time, it finally showed up.

My confidence was a little battered from the "straight forward" short shifter installation debacle yesterday, but get back on the horse and all...

To get at the airbag clips you need the wheel at 90 degrees.  Put the wheel there, then go disconnect the negative battery terminal.

Getting the airbag off is a HUGE PITA!  Unlike my other, older german cars where it's retained by a torx screw on either side, the R's is clipped in place.  So you have to use a small screwdriver to push down on the retaining tab while wiggling on the airbag.  Did I mention you can't see the tab? 

Got it done tho!

Now there's a white tab on the yellow plug. Pull the tab forward and now pull the plug out.  Now on the left hand side, right near the steering wheel buttons there's a black plastic plug.  Really hard to see and harder to depress with your fingers.  I used a right angle pick to depress the tab and pull it off.  Put the airbag someplace safe

Now you have to pull the trim ring/steering wheel buttons off.  It's held in place with a bunch of plastic tabs.  Using my fingers and a plastic trim removal tool I managed to work the trim ring off.  I thought intact but turns out I broke one tab.  Drat!

VW handily gives you an alignment mark on the wheel and the clock spring.  Use a E12 torx to remove the steering wheel bolt.

Take the steering wheel off.  Here's the damage.  I may send this wheel off to get recovered, maybe in alcantara?

Transfer the trim ring/buttons over to the new wheel and put it on.  Torque on the bolt is 30ncm + 90 degrees

Plug the black plug in, then the yellow plug in, make sure you snap the white retaining clip down, then just push the airbag into position.  It'll snap into place. 

Reconnect the battery terminal.  Start the car, you'll be greeted with a cornucopia of warning lights on the dash.  Turn the wheel all the way to the right and left, then take a short drive.  I stopped, then did a key cycle, then reversed and came forward again, that got rid of the last warning light, which was the park assist.

Hit 15,000 miles this Friday.  Drove up to Vail, got the car super dirty and came home today.

quick rinse with the pressure washer and did an oil change. 

Love this car. 

In reply to Slippery (Forum Supporter) :

Thanks!  It's been a solid ride for me so far.  Tons of fun with the additional power.

You'll love the E tune.  SO much better power everywhere. It also runs a lot cleaner, no dirty butt syndrome.

In reply to 84FSP :

It's making ~420 at the wheels, which blows my mind.  That used to be Stage 3 B5 S4 K04 power and I'm making that with the stock turbo on a 2 liter....