Should i tune my stock mk6 R?

[nadimus]

I recently bought the MK6 R with 70K miles on it and still on stock.
I noticed that when i downshift, there's a 2s delay till the gear is selected. almost like driving an old automatic car.

so i asked my local tuner, and he said this is a software issue and can be fixed by tuning my car. Here's what he recommended:
1. REVO stage 2+
2. HPFP
3. Cold Air Intake
4. DV+
5. Down Pipe
6. Water Methanol Kit

He's asking for $2800 for those.
i've read a few threads saying you can tune without CAI and HPFP. you just need a DP and DV+ and maybe a water methanol kit.

can anyone help out?

 

[butthead123]

there's a 2s delay till the gear is selected

This doesn't sound right and I feel that your downshifting problem should get looked into more and addressed first before you drop a penny into any of the above modifications.

 

[tulip]

As @butthead123 stated, it shouldn't be taking 2 full seconds to downshift.

As far as mods go, do some research on the forum and figure out a solid plan on what you want to do... Not all of those mods are required if you are simply looking for quicker shifts.

You would really benefit from sitting down with a pen and paper and budgeting out what you want to spend on the car before you get sucked into the rabbit hole lol...

 

[drval85]

This is for a DSG? Pretty sure you don’t need ANY of that. Can't you just get a TCU tune? All that other stuff is to increase engine performance.

 

[tulip]

This is for a DSG? Pretty sure you don’t need ANY of that. Can't you just get a TCU tune? All that other stuff is to increase engine performance.

^^^ This ^^^

The Mk6 R is already a really good car.. If I were in your position a stage 1 tune ecu and tcu tune is a really good bang for your buck. Again it's your car... mod it however you wish

 

[ROH ECHT]

I would say (for a really good power bump and for the sake of some level of civility); consider staying away from the hpfp upgrade. A stage up in tuning for an HPFP will give the most bump in power, but it will also shorten the cam follower (CF) lifespan more than with just a stage 1 tune. And, a friend who did a tune and then decided to do the hpfp and re-tune...wasn't all that impressed with the difference between stage 1 in comparison to the addition of the hpfp and tune. This, however, was a shelf tune by a well known tuner (giac). You might see more of a difference from a custom United Motorsport, or other good custom, tune. I would say just try a DP (down-pipe) and stage 1 tune__keep a good air filter in it__try it for some time and see if it blows out its DV often, before upgrading from the OE DV to a GFB. Because some have no trouble running the OE DV with it tuned. The stage 1 tune and DP may help with its shifting.

Now if you are seeking all you can get from it, so to be the quickest MK6 R on the road, well you need to do all suggested and then some. And still, one day...another might be capable of pulling away from you. And then you set out to find more power and so on and so on. I'm saying; find what you are satisfied with and stick to it.

 

[Hipperking]

I recently bought the MK6 R with 70K miles on it and still on stock.
I noticed that when i downshift, there's a 2s delay till the gear is selected. almost like driving an old automatic car.

so i asked my local tuner, and he said this is a software issue and can be fixed by tuning my car. Here's what he recommended:
1. REVO stage 2+
2. HPFP
3. Cold Air Intake
4. DV+
5. Down Pipe
6. Water Methanol Kit

He's asking for $2800 for those.
i've read a few threads saying you can tune without CAI and HPFP. you just need a DP and DV+ and maybe a water methanol kit.

can anyone help out?

Just a recommendation but I wouldn't go with unitronic for a tune, I have there stage 1+ on my 6R and it feels the same as stock other then boost spools earlier, and thats it. Im Planning on going ie, revo or eurozone for my stage 2

 

[GIACUser]

I recently bought the MK6 R with 70K miles on it and still on stock.
I noticed that when i downshift, there's a 2s delay till the gear is selected. almost like driving an old automatic car.

so i asked my local tuner, and he said this is a software issue and can be fixed by tuning my car. Here's what he recommended:
1. REVO stage 2+
2. HPFP
3. Cold Air Intake
4. DV+
5. Down Pipe
6. Water Methanol Kit

He's asking for $2800 for those.
i've read a few threads saying you can tune without CAI and HPFP. you just need a DP and DV+ and maybe a water methanol kit.

can anyone help out?

Best bang for the buck is just put a Stage 1 tune on the car. It adds a nice increase in power. Since you are DSG I would also add a TCU tune as it allows you to select gears manually when you want to and let it shift auto when you are in traffic. The TCU tune should decrease amount of time between shifts.

I would also suggest you have the DSG serviced right away.

The above will get you nice hp and a more well behaved trans to enjoy the increase. This should take you to 300+ hp and make your tranny a lot more fun.

You can go further in mods but this is where I am with my R and it is plenty to have fun with. Stage 2+ will indeed take it up a big notch in power but then you are talking about a lot of money if you want to get the most out of it.

Intercooler - 800-1000
hpfp - 600-1000
tune - 500
3in DP - 500
Intake - 350
K04 discharge and charge pipe - 450

Water Meth optional - 500
DV+ - would not buy one - piston OEM type works fine way beyond stock R turbo power

 

[GolfR333]

I agree that the tune is the best bang for the buck. I think u will enjoy the extra power that it provides. I think u should look into what tune to do and make sure the tune is not gonna cause u any smog issues where u live. Where I live here in Ca I like the Apr tune. I also recommend the Neuspeed p flow intake.

 

[KollinWithaK]

Just a recommendation but I wouldn't go with unitronic for a tune, I have there stage 1+ on my 6R and it feels the same as stock other then boost spools earlier, and thats it. Im Planning on going ie, revo or eurozone for my stage 2

You may have other issues going on. I've got Unitronic on my car and it definitely made a difference.

 

[kevbass52]

Just a recommendation but I wouldn't go with unitronic for a tune, I have there stage 1+ on my 6R and it feels the same as stock other then boost spools earlier, and thats it. Im Planning on going ie, revo or eurozone for my stage 2

I went with JB4 stage 1 tune on my mk6 R, mainly due to wanting to keep my lifetime powertrain warranty. Modular tune vs flash ecu tune. Very happy with JB4 and while I can’t go up any higher, George is super helpful on creating new maps based on logging data specific for your vehicle. If you wanna go further than stage 1 tho might not be the best route. Like everyone says, figure out what you wanna do and make a plan. Otherwise you’ll be buying everything and anything lol.
And lastly, enjoy the car!

 

[MRRiley]

I'm driving a Carbon 12 R, now with about 55K. Bought it stock with 24K. Started down the path thinking well, a down pipe would be a nice little bump. Discovered the old adage "rust never sleeps" is true. The car came from the NE and most fasteners on the underside were suffering pretty heavy corrosion which required some "aggressive" removal techniques.

Currently a Stage 3, I guess? Running a TTE420 w the APR actuator, 155FPR, VWR intake and catch can, IBED roller cam conversion for the HPFP, a VIS HPFP internals kit, APR external LPFP with controller, Unitronic down pipe w 200cell cat and resonator to the stock R exhaust. Also added an HPA "Race" haldex controller. I tracked down Frank Mabo to put together a Eurodyne based tune for it. Of course the std plugs and coils.

I have not yet done an inter-cooler because most of my driving is street and hwy based and I'm not beating on it that hard, probably do that sometime next spring before it heats up here. It is a kick to drive, pulls like a freight train and makes all sorts of potential challenges with merges, passes, left lane squatters, etc a distant memory. It could be an easy ticket-getter without some discipline. Since I do occasionally lack such, I added a Uniden R7 to keep me in-check. Which I will add, has saved me by early notifications several times so far.

Im still on the stock clutch though I am accumulating the parts to do a clutch masters Stg 3 endurance. Might be a bit of overkill but a mechanic I know is daily driving one on his 400HP TDI with out issues, so that's likely the next big project.

Generally my thinking, after going down the incremental upgrade path before was why do things twice? I knew where I wanted to end up and I think engine wise I'm about 90%. The suspension is plan is still under development.... I'll see if I can dig up a picture or two.

 

[GolfRfrontend]

You’re tuner doesn’t know what he’s talking trying to sell you.

 

[Patrick O]

I have an MK6 Golf R that is currently running Integrated Engineering Stage 2. I agree that you should have the transmission checked before making any mods. With that said, here's my 2 cents. When I first bought my R in 2020 it had about 60K miles on it. I wanted more power so I went with IE stage 1 ECU tune and an IE intake. The power increase was significant and, in hindsight, I wish I had stopped there. About a year ago when the used car market was insane I wanted more power and decided to upgrade to IE stage 2. In addition to the stage 2 ECU tune, I upgraded to a HPFP, Milltek turboback exhaust with larger DP and high-flow cat, upgraded IE intercooler and a Stage 2 Southbend endurance clutch along with some other minor upgrades. The power increase to Stage 2 is significant but, in my view, not worth the costs. The Stage 2 tune created boost leaks that were ultimately sorted out but were frustrating to deal with. The clutch added some significant chatter and the car in general is loader and rougher. So, if I had to do it again, I would have stopped at Stage 1 with the intake and used the money I spent on Stage 2 to upgrade to another car later.

One other thing - If you go with a Stage 1 tune you should not get a downpipe. A downpipe will not provide significant performance improvement without a Stage 2 ECU tune.

 

[supreme_gti]

I have an MK6 Golf R that is currently running Integrated Engineering Stage 2. I agree that you should have the transmission checked before making any mods. With that said, here's my 2 cents. When I first bought my R in 2020 it had about 60K miles on it. I wanted more power so I went with IE stage 1 ECU tune and an IE intake. The power increase was significant and, in hindsight, I wish I had stopped there. About a year ago when the used car market was insane I wanted more power and decided to upgrade to IE stage 2. In addition to the stage 2 ECU tune, I upgraded to a HPFP, Milltek turboback exhaust with larger DP and high-flow cat, upgraded IE intercooler and a Stage 2 Southbend endurance clutch along with some other minor upgrades. The power increase to Stage 2 is significant but, in my view, not worth the costs. The Stage 2 tune created boost leaks that were ultimately sorted out but were frustrating to deal with. The clutch added some significant chatter and the car in general is loader and rougher. So, if I had to do it again, I would have stopped at Stage 1 with the intake and used the money I spent on Stage 2 to upgrade to another car later.

One other thing - If you go with a Stage 1 tune you should not get a downpipe. A downpipe will not provide significant performance improvement without a Stage 2 ECU tune.

same thing happened to me, going stage 2+ created other issues but it made me and my car stronger and I don't regret it at all. Once you mod any car, it will cause issues regardless, weak spots will be spotted but it's worth fixing because it's a build and a build will always remain a build (unless you sell it of course, and that would mean you abandon the build).

And I agree, do not get a DP with stage 1... and if you do get a DP, go stage 2 and make sure it's catless