stephen8512
Ready to race!
first post edited
6
stephen8512's MK6 Golf R
- Thread starter stephen8512
- Start date
stephen8512
Ready to race!
Okay so I just spent the last 2 hours refitting my interior trim. The one which gave me real grief was the centre a/c vent (it also gave me the most grief when pulling it apart too). It was an absolute bitch to put that one piece back together and I think from the 2 hours, 1.9 hours was dedicated to that and trying to make the bastard fit back in!
Anyway, it's in now along with the rest of the trim. And I must say, it looks good!!
Very happy with the results.
I basically got my inspiration from the Scirocco R interior.
as you can see, the centre is a little different to our Golf R's. The Scirocco R already comes with a gloss piece that surrounds the headunit AND the climate control and there is a sutble gloss black border around the a/c vents. With ours, the headunit surround is one piece (as per my pictures above) and just doing that in gloss black will make it look odd and out of place, hence, I pulled it all apart and did the whole thing.
Gotta say, I like it!
Interior Black parts installed
Anyway, it's in now along with the rest of the trim. And I must say, it looks good!!
Very happy with the results. I basically got my inspiration from the Scirocco R interior.
as you can see, the centre is a little different to our Golf R's. The Scirocco R already comes with a gloss piece that surrounds the headunit AND the climate control and there is a sutble gloss black border around the a/c vents. With ours, the headunit surround is one piece (as per my pictures above) and just doing that in gloss black will make it look odd and out of place, hence, I pulled it all apart and did the whole thing.
Gotta say, I like it!
Interior Black parts installed
stephen8512
Ready to race!
GIAC STAGE 1 Reflash locked and loaded!
So went to down to meet Arthur @ Exoticars to get my GIAC flash done. Woke up early to get there as early as I could but man, from my place to Parra, it took 45 minutes!! That's how long it usually takes me to get to the city on a good day! Traffic was absolutely hectic and the rain didnt help much either. Anyway, I digress.
I got to Exoticars and met up with Paolo and Arthur who were waiting for me. Chatted with Paolo for a bit. Haven't seen him since the last time we met at Norwest so it was good to catch up with OG. Then, Arthur went about loading the GIAC Stage 1 flash on my car. about 30-40 minutes later and even a VAGCOM scan to check for error and fault codes (which there were none as arthur didn't mention anything?), we took the R for a spin. Arthur got in the driver seat, I rode shotgun and Paolo hopped in the back.
Now mind you, the roads were wet as it was alternating from drizzle to pouring down with rain so it was pretty wet. However, Arthur tested the car to make sure everything was okay and three words popped into my mind : OH HELL YEAH! I have to say, THIS is how the Golf R SHOULD have been like from factory. There is so much more pull! Even in normal D mode, it was bonkers. S mode and manual mode were even better. Felt like it anyway. I have no doubt that on dry roads it would be even more fun!
Comparing my old APR tune on the Jetta to the GIAC tune I have on the Golf R, I can now say that yes, the APR has more low down and mid range, whereas the GIAC has more midrange and uptop power delivery. The APR feels more urgent than the GIAC but it's really not fair to compare my 2 cars as one is a K03 turbo and the golf R has the K04 and the K03 comes on boost quite early on anyway. Regardless, the GIAC to me feels like it pulls harder and faster when boost comes on tap, especially in the midrange. Although I couldn't redline, I can safely say that it would pull right throughout the rev range.
Stage 1 tune is always debateable in that no one can say one is better than the other. I'm not here to say GIAC is better or APR is shit or Bluefin is awesome or REVO is the bees knees. In actuality, any Stage 1 tune will feel the same roughly. I still remember I had a huge smile on my face after I got my Turbo Jetta flashed with APR software I couldn't have been happier. It's the same deal with the GIAC flash on my Golf R. I'm very happy with it. Whichever option you go for, it's bound to leave you smiling. I'll stick to my theory of APR having more low down and mid range power, compared to the GIAC which has more midrange and up top power, as many others have said the same thing. K03 GIAC vs K03 APR I have no doubt this would be the case, based on my experience as others too. Whichever Stage 1 Flash you go with, it just depends on what you want out of the car really...
Arthur @ Exoticars was very accommodating. Very nice guy, chatted about Pierre's S3, Sammy's crazy GTI and a few other stuff. He's just an all round nice guy and seems to be quite customer focused. Pierre has mentioned many times that he (Arthur) would often times go above and beyond and although I haven't met him before or have spoken to him until today, I believe that he will and believe Pierre. Paolo, Pierre, Sammy, and a few others all go to Arthur and I haven't heard a single negative about him so he must be doing something right! Lol!!
Anyway, the GIAC Stage 1 is now on the car and this will keep me happy for a while I think. Next time I visit Arthur, it will be for the GIAC Extreme tune with everything, TBE, HPFP, fuel rail, intake and the tune. But that won't be for a while yet. Knowing that I have 160kw as a stock baseline on the mainline dyno, It'd be interesting to see what it'll make now with the GIAC on there. Probably close to 180kw... Either way, I'm a happy customer.
So went to down to meet Arthur @ Exoticars to get my GIAC flash done. Woke up early to get there as early as I could but man, from my place to Parra, it took 45 minutes!! That's how long it usually takes me to get to the city on a good day! Traffic was absolutely hectic and the rain didnt help much either. Anyway, I digress.
I got to Exoticars and met up with Paolo and Arthur who were waiting for me. Chatted with Paolo for a bit. Haven't seen him since the last time we met at Norwest so it was good to catch up with OG. Then, Arthur went about loading the GIAC Stage 1 flash on my car. about 30-40 minutes later and even a VAGCOM scan to check for error and fault codes (which there were none as arthur didn't mention anything?), we took the R for a spin. Arthur got in the driver seat, I rode shotgun and Paolo hopped in the back.
Now mind you, the roads were wet as it was alternating from drizzle to pouring down with rain so it was pretty wet. However, Arthur tested the car to make sure everything was okay and three words popped into my mind : OH HELL YEAH! I have to say, THIS is how the Golf R SHOULD have been like from factory. There is so much more pull! Even in normal D mode, it was bonkers. S mode and manual mode were even better. Felt like it anyway. I have no doubt that on dry roads it would be even more fun!
Comparing my old APR tune on the Jetta to the GIAC tune I have on the Golf R, I can now say that yes, the APR has more low down and mid range, whereas the GIAC has more midrange and uptop power delivery. The APR feels more urgent than the GIAC but it's really not fair to compare my 2 cars as one is a K03 turbo and the golf R has the K04 and the K03 comes on boost quite early on anyway. Regardless, the GIAC to me feels like it pulls harder and faster when boost comes on tap, especially in the midrange. Although I couldn't redline, I can safely say that it would pull right throughout the rev range.
Stage 1 tune is always debateable in that no one can say one is better than the other. I'm not here to say GIAC is better or APR is shit or Bluefin is awesome or REVO is the bees knees. In actuality, any Stage 1 tune will feel the same roughly. I still remember I had a huge smile on my face after I got my Turbo Jetta flashed with APR software I couldn't have been happier. It's the same deal with the GIAC flash on my Golf R. I'm very happy with it. Whichever option you go for, it's bound to leave you smiling. I'll stick to my theory of APR having more low down and mid range power, compared to the GIAC which has more midrange and up top power, as many others have said the same thing. K03 GIAC vs K03 APR I have no doubt this would be the case, based on my experience as others too. Whichever Stage 1 Flash you go with, it just depends on what you want out of the car really...
Arthur @ Exoticars was very accommodating. Very nice guy, chatted about Pierre's S3, Sammy's crazy GTI and a few other stuff. He's just an all round nice guy and seems to be quite customer focused. Pierre has mentioned many times that he (Arthur) would often times go above and beyond and although I haven't met him before or have spoken to him until today, I believe that he will and believe Pierre. Paolo, Pierre, Sammy, and a few others all go to Arthur and I haven't heard a single negative about him so he must be doing something right! Lol!!
Anyway, the GIAC Stage 1 is now on the car and this will keep me happy for a while I think. Next time I visit Arthur, it will be for the GIAC Extreme tune with everything, TBE, HPFP, fuel rail, intake and the tune. But that won't be for a while yet. Knowing that I have 160kw as a stock baseline on the mainline dyno, It'd be interesting to see what it'll make now with the GIAC on there. Probably close to 180kw... Either way, I'm a happy customer.
stephen8512
Ready to race!
for those that requested the pics of the OSIR step GT CF door sills
excuse the shitty iphone pics. It was raining today, pouring actually.
excuse the shitty iphone pics. It was raining today, pouring actually.
Chrop
Ready to race!
Beautiful work on your R mate! Looks really good! Keep up the really good work
But one thing i recomend you to do, is to recode your player for the premium look. That layout you got there dosnt look good at all.
Here is a picture of the premium.
But one thing i recomend you to do, is to recode your player for the premium look. That layout you got there dosnt look good at all.
Here is a picture of the premium.
racingfreak
Passed Driver's Ed
Great looking car man, do you maybe have a part no for those headlight guards? We got the MkV ones in SA and hope I can also get these for the Mk6
stephen8512
Ready to race!
i dont get it
stephen8512
Ready to race!
Alright so its been 4 days or so since I installed the Sprint Booster. All I can say is, I'm loving it!
So to recap what it says on the actual Sprintbooster manual :
As per the Sprint Booster instructions :
RED = Sprint Booster is now programmed for maximum acceleration
GREEN = Sprint Booster is not programmed for medium acceleration, that is recommended for soft driving (the acceleration is significantly improved compared to factory performance)
NO LIGHT = Sprint Booster is OFF
"If you wish, you may adjust the sprint booster the way you want using the switch and then remove it. The sprint booster will save and operate the last settings"
I decided to keep the button hooked up to the sprint booster so I can change from "OFF", "GREEN" and "RED" as I also wanted to test it.
TUESDAY 3/5/2011 - RED
After I installed the Sprintbooster the previous day, I decided to drive it all day with it on RED. The urgency in the acceleration is immediately noticeable. The acceleration felt more instant and "on" if that makes sense? There wasn't that usual drive-by-wire "lag". Even in normal D mode, pushing the pedal down just a tiny bit made the car respond almost instantaneously and it felt alive. In Manual and Sport mode, the car felt aggressive and it was like it wanted to rev as it just felt so urgent. The surge in power from standstill to acceleration was immense. RED mode is what the good people at sprintbooster recommend for race applications and I can see why!
WEDNESDAY 4/5/2011 - GREEN
Okay so the following day, I turned the car on, pressed the button on the sprintbooster to change it from RED to GREEN. After I pulled out from the garage, warmed the car up and onto the main road, I gave the throttle a small nudge, equivalent to yesterday with the mode in RED. It still had that urgency but it was tamer than when it was on RED mode. Yeah you can feel the urgency in acceleration but it didnt have the initial "bite" like it did on red mode. It felt somewhat submissive in a way? The response was probably as quick as the red mode, but it seemed to hold back a little more than when compared to red mode.
THURSDAY 5/5/2011 - NO LIGHT
Finally, today I turned the sprintbooster off before setting off. This returns everything back to factory and my word, does it make a hell of a difference! It was completely docile! I gave it the small nudge again, but immediately the DBW took a little longer to engage and then it was on its way. Lag central. Mind you, I have the GIAC flash on here so by no means is it a slouch, but the FEEL of the acceleration was certainly like night and day compared to when it was on either GREEN or RED. I wouldn't go as far to say that it felt lacklustre, but after experiencing green and red, it just felt slowER and not as engaging.
FRIDAY 6/5/2011 - RED
Today I turned the sprintbooster back on RED and I'm loving it! Acceleration feels immediate once again and I get a sense that the R is now somewhat ANGRY when u stamp on the pedal! Haha!
CONCLUSION
Being the rev-happy heavy footed guy I am, I left my sprintbooster setting on RED and with the GIAC stage 1 tune on my R, personally it feels like a match made in heaven. Needless to say, I'm loving the R more and more. Overtaking is now so easy (not like it was hard before). Usually, I'd mash the pedal or whack it in manual mode and shift down a gear or 2 to overtake. With the sprintbooster now on, overtaking is so simple as acceleration is immediate to get the job done quickly. Also, with the sprintbooster in RED mode, first gear seems to fly through and the the rest of the acceleration is a lot quicker as well.
The sprintbooster is definitely an impressive bit of kit considering how small it is. You think "theres no way something like this can bring about such a change" but it does. Easy as 1-2-3 for the install and you don't need any special tools. Shouldn't take you more than 10 minutes at most to attach it to your accelerator pedal. Is it a necessity? No, definitely not a necessity as all the device is doing is reducing the amount of pedal travel that is required to do what you're now doing with less pedal travel and the DBW throttle "lag" i mentioned isn't so bad that it's something to cry over IMO. This does, however gets rid of that little DBW lag and gives the firm impression that the acceleration is more direct and immediate (which it is, on both GREEN and RED modes) since 1/2 throttle basically feels like full throttle. There is INSTANT acceleration whenever you want it. For a forced induction car such as the GTI and the R, it would no doubt have benefits and with a Stage 1 flash, it is even more pronounced. However, I feel like that the better application for this would be for those with N/A's such as VR6/R32/R36. As Jose (Jig) mentioned with his review on his wife's R36, he felt a 30% crisper response on GREEN and a 60% crisper response when it was on the full blooded RED mode. Please also note that the sprintbooster DOES NOT INCREASE the actual power output of the vehicle, won't reduce your 0-100km times and it solely focuses on faster acceleration using the signals on the pedal.
Overall, personally I'm pretty happy with it. Like I said, i don't feel like its a necessity but a "nice-to-have". As for where I got it from, I got it from a forum member, so please dont PM me asking me where to get it from. Do a google search and I'm sure it'll come up with something.
So to recap what it says on the actual Sprintbooster manual :
As per the Sprint Booster instructions :
RED = Sprint Booster is now programmed for maximum acceleration
GREEN = Sprint Booster is not programmed for medium acceleration, that is recommended for soft driving (the acceleration is significantly improved compared to factory performance)
NO LIGHT = Sprint Booster is OFF
"If you wish, you may adjust the sprint booster the way you want using the switch and then remove it. The sprint booster will save and operate the last settings"
I decided to keep the button hooked up to the sprint booster so I can change from "OFF", "GREEN" and "RED" as I also wanted to test it.
TUESDAY 3/5/2011 - RED
After I installed the Sprintbooster the previous day, I decided to drive it all day with it on RED. The urgency in the acceleration is immediately noticeable. The acceleration felt more instant and "on" if that makes sense? There wasn't that usual drive-by-wire "lag". Even in normal D mode, pushing the pedal down just a tiny bit made the car respond almost instantaneously and it felt alive. In Manual and Sport mode, the car felt aggressive and it was like it wanted to rev as it just felt so urgent. The surge in power from standstill to acceleration was immense. RED mode is what the good people at sprintbooster recommend for race applications and I can see why!
WEDNESDAY 4/5/2011 - GREEN
Okay so the following day, I turned the car on, pressed the button on the sprintbooster to change it from RED to GREEN. After I pulled out from the garage, warmed the car up and onto the main road, I gave the throttle a small nudge, equivalent to yesterday with the mode in RED. It still had that urgency but it was tamer than when it was on RED mode. Yeah you can feel the urgency in acceleration but it didnt have the initial "bite" like it did on red mode. It felt somewhat submissive in a way? The response was probably as quick as the red mode, but it seemed to hold back a little more than when compared to red mode.
THURSDAY 5/5/2011 - NO LIGHT
Finally, today I turned the sprintbooster off before setting off. This returns everything back to factory and my word, does it make a hell of a difference! It was completely docile! I gave it the small nudge again, but immediately the DBW took a little longer to engage and then it was on its way. Lag central. Mind you, I have the GIAC flash on here so by no means is it a slouch, but the FEEL of the acceleration was certainly like night and day compared to when it was on either GREEN or RED. I wouldn't go as far to say that it felt lacklustre, but after experiencing green and red, it just felt slowER and not as engaging.
FRIDAY 6/5/2011 - RED
Today I turned the sprintbooster back on RED and I'm loving it! Acceleration feels immediate once again and I get a sense that the R is now somewhat ANGRY when u stamp on the pedal! Haha!
CONCLUSION
Being the rev-happy heavy footed guy I am, I left my sprintbooster setting on RED and with the GIAC stage 1 tune on my R, personally it feels like a match made in heaven. Needless to say, I'm loving the R more and more. Overtaking is now so easy (not like it was hard before). Usually, I'd mash the pedal or whack it in manual mode and shift down a gear or 2 to overtake. With the sprintbooster now on, overtaking is so simple as acceleration is immediate to get the job done quickly. Also, with the sprintbooster in RED mode, first gear seems to fly through and the the rest of the acceleration is a lot quicker as well.
The sprintbooster is definitely an impressive bit of kit considering how small it is. You think "theres no way something like this can bring about such a change" but it does. Easy as 1-2-3 for the install and you don't need any special tools. Shouldn't take you more than 10 minutes at most to attach it to your accelerator pedal. Is it a necessity? No, definitely not a necessity as all the device is doing is reducing the amount of pedal travel that is required to do what you're now doing with less pedal travel and the DBW throttle "lag" i mentioned isn't so bad that it's something to cry over IMO. This does, however gets rid of that little DBW lag and gives the firm impression that the acceleration is more direct and immediate (which it is, on both GREEN and RED modes) since 1/2 throttle basically feels like full throttle. There is INSTANT acceleration whenever you want it. For a forced induction car such as the GTI and the R, it would no doubt have benefits and with a Stage 1 flash, it is even more pronounced. However, I feel like that the better application for this would be for those with N/A's such as VR6/R32/R36. As Jose (Jig) mentioned with his review on his wife's R36, he felt a 30% crisper response on GREEN and a 60% crisper response when it was on the full blooded RED mode. Please also note that the sprintbooster DOES NOT INCREASE the actual power output of the vehicle, won't reduce your 0-100km times and it solely focuses on faster acceleration using the signals on the pedal.
Overall, personally I'm pretty happy with it. Like I said, i don't feel like its a necessity but a "nice-to-have". As for where I got it from, I got it from a forum member, so please dont PM me asking me where to get it from. Do a google search and I'm sure it'll come up with something.
stephen8512
Ready to race!
First post updated
Carbon Mirror caps installed!
The install wasn't very difficult! Took all in all about 1 hour? Took my time just so that I didn't make any mistakes. However, I decided to replace the OEM mirrors as I had the blue tinted aspherical blindspot mirrors on there. To be honest, those ECS ones were okay but the blindspot mirror on the passenger side was sometimes hard to see as the image skewed and bent inwards. So th OEM's are back on there. The install was a very simple procedure and all I did was follow this video.
Also, here is the pic of my SprintBooster switch location for those that asked.
And finally, the video recorded on my iPhone of the Hatchpop Kit in action.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArVqduzjL4g
Carbon Mirror caps installed!
The install wasn't very difficult! Took all in all about 1 hour? Took my time just so that I didn't make any mistakes. However, I decided to replace the OEM mirrors as I had the blue tinted aspherical blindspot mirrors on there. To be honest, those ECS ones were okay but the blindspot mirror on the passenger side was sometimes hard to see as the image skewed and bent inwards. So th OEM's are back on there. The install was a very simple procedure and all I did was follow this video.
Also, here is the pic of my SprintBooster switch location for those that asked.
And finally, the video recorded on my iPhone of the Hatchpop Kit in action.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArVqduzjL4g
shawn lichtfuss
Ready to race!
Who makes those cf mirror caps? Car is looking good, how are you liking the walk kit?