torga's Daily Build - black, 6mt, two-door shenanigans

[CowTownRacer]

100% on point. I currently have the torque solution mounts in my car and I'm now in the market for some BFI mounts. The difference between the two mounts was just incredible. Now I just need to decide if I'm going stage 1 or stage 2.

 

[brat_burner]

Today, I met up with @CowTownRacer and we spent a few hours changing out my engine mounts with the BFI stage 1 set. While in there, I wanted to refresh the seals on my upper timing cover as it's been sweating for a while. We ended up having to run down to the dealer to buy a new cover as the old one's gasket groove was broken...
View attachment 196794

Since I had to get it at the dealer, and the new gasket would not seal at all (it would just start to tuck into the cover at the breach), I got shafted at the dealership -- $230 after a 10% discount.

As for the mounts, I was replacing them as an investigation since I've had a very strange body vibration on decel between 2,500-3,000 RPM that was completely unrelated to transmission, wheels/tires, suspension, axles -- it was coming from the engine.
While taking the old mounts out, we noticed that the bolt keeping tension on the poly/metal/poly sandwich (engine side) was completely loose, it had released all clamping force and was backed off by at least a thread or two. I'm surprised I was only feeling a specific, occasional shake.

We buttoned everything back together and got in for a spin around the block -- we both immediately noticed how much smoother the engine felt. No teeth-chattering, less NVH than before. On my drive back home, I noticed that not only has engine operation smoothed out, everything also feels tighter -- my throttle inputs feel more direct now. I can hardly tell the engine is on while at a light now. I'm incredibly impressed with these mounts and I'm pretty pleased I went with this set!

That sucks, weren't you considering the metal timing cover? Maybe I linked the right gasket at least lol. Good news on the mounts

 

[torga]

That sucks, weren't you considering the metal timing cover? Maybe I linked the right gasket at least lol. Good news on the mounts

I was considering it, but after some research I ultimately I don't think aluminum would've brought that much to the table, especially from potentially dubious origins. The company that makes it isn't super well established (not a name like Hengst, Bosch, Elring, LuK, Sachs, etc.). There are also a ton of no names that pop up on eBay and Alibaba. I mostly feel that the aluminum cover was made because of a first-pass "metal is better than plastic" assumption. Which, is usually true.

I researched the material that the OEM cover is made out of -- it's a special polymer known as PA66 GF35, which is a heat-stabilized polyamide 6.6 polymer, mixed with 35% glass fiber infill. This results in a plastic whose thermal characteristics (primarily, CTE) rival that of a typical cast aluminum alloy (which is what the aluminum cover is certainly made from). Its glass transition temperature (when a plastic's strength starts to degrade, but not quite melting temp) is quite high, higher than anyone should ever see inside a normal engine bay. Its long-term operational temp is also quite high, higher than an engine bay should be. And this plastic has a very high resistance to oils. All in all, I feel no qualms keeping the OEM plastic -- engineers usually know what they're doing.

 

[torga]

Got myself a lil project through the generosity of others. Gotta somehow find an airbag now.

 

[uglybastard]

Got myself a lil project through the generosity of others. Gotta somehow find an airbag now.

View attachment 200597

I'm sure you can find one on ebay

 

[torga]

I'm sure you can find one on ebay

I got time on my side, so I'm hoping for a local part out so I can grab one for real low cheap.
Problem is, most Mk7 partouts are due to crashes; they're just too new. I have seen a few due to engines blowing up though, so there's hope.

There's a Mk7 airbag on eBay right now for $195 with the harness, but I'm just... skeptical.

 

[uglybastard]

I got time on my side, so I'm hoping for a local part out so I can grab one for real low cheap.
Problem is, most Mk7 partouts are due to crashes; they're just too new. I have seen a few due to engines blowing up though, so there's hope.

There's a Mk7 airbag on eBay right now for $195 with the harness, but I'm just... skeptical.

Just go to VW. Not worth it.

 

[torga]

Just go to VW. Not worth it.

From a little bit of research, it looks like the airbag unit itself is identical between Mk7 Golf and Mk7 GTI, it's just the plastic aesthetic cover that's different. My local dealer has the Golf air bag for $215, while the GTI air bag is $750.... what in the fuck is that price difference about? Makes zero sense.
So if I can somehow source just the plastic cover, I could buy a base Golf air bag and swap em out.

Edit: here's the link.

 

[uglybastard]

From a little bit of research, it looks like the airbag unit itself is identical between Mk7 Golf and Mk7 GTI, it's just the plastic aesthetic cover that's different. My local dealer has the Golf air bag for $215, while the GTI air bag is $750.... what in the fuck is that price difference about? Makes zero sense.
So if I can somehow source just the plastic cover, I could buy a base Golf air bag and swap em out.

Edit: here's the link.

Sounds like you have a business opportunity there.

 

[Thumper]

I caution against it. The cover is part of the airbag system, IE the bag deploys through it. It is sold as a complete unit for a reason. Disassembling a factory airbag is a complete negatory, you just do not do it.

Bending clips and re-assembling opens up the possibility that the cover will not break open properly and not stay in place in deployment. For the system to work the outer plastic must stay secure under the full force of the airbag deployment while the weaker tensile center plastic rips open. If the outer plastic does not hold before the center section rips (releasing the pressure on the outer plastic section that is secured to the unit) the whole trim piece will just be pushed off the unit.

Now instead of a soft-ish airbag to ride down you're going to get a hard plastic trim piece propelled at your face at 100+ MPH.

This is why you do not glue covers back together after a deployment, it changes the tensile break point of the inner section which then exerts more force on the retaining section. It's the same principle in reverse, instead of strengthening the inner cover so it doesn't break, you are weakening the outer retention so it breaks before the inner can. The end result is the same, face and plastic meet at breakneck speed.

It is insane that the plastic cover they use adds $500 to the price, but is $500 worth ending up looking like the guy from the movie Mask, or dead?

My 2c as an I-Car certified estimator in SRS and ADAS systems with 18 years experience in collision repair.

 

[torga]

I caution against it. The cover is part of the airbag system, IE the bag deploys through it. It is sold as a complete unit for a reason. Disassembling a factory airbag is a complete negatory, you just do not do it.

Bending clips and re-assembling opens up the possibility that the cover will not break open properly and not stay in place in deployment. For the system to work the outer plastic must stay secure under the full force of the airbag deployment while the weaker tensile center plastic rips open. If the outer plastic does not hold before the center section rips (releasing the pressure on the outer plastic section that is secured to the unit) the whole trim piece will just be pushed off the unit.

Now instead of a soft-ish airbag to ride down you're going to get a hard plastic trim piece propelled at your face at 100+ MPH.

This is why you do not glue covers back together after a deployment, it changes the tensile break point of the inner section which then exerts more force on the retaining section. It's the same principle in reverse, instead of strengthening the inner cover so it doesn't break, you are weakening the outer retention so it breaks before the inner can. The end result is the same, face and plastic meet at breakneck speed.

It is insane that the plastic cover they use adds $500 to the price, but is $500 worth ending up looking like the guy from the movie Mask, or dead?

My 2c as an I-Car certified estimator in SRS and ADAS systems with 18 years experience in collision repair.

I also just don't see any reason to not trust an un-deployed airbag from a local part out, if the part out is due to a mechanical failure. Or honestly, even one from eBay with clear OEM part numbers and flawless seller history.

Thanks for your input and I value it -- you've successfully turned me off from my cover replacement idea. But it's easy to recommend only OEM brand new, from-the-dealer parts when it's someone else's insurance that's paying for it.

 

[uglybastard]

I removed my tiguan wheel and airbag to install a GTI wheel with paddles, and an airbag, this past spring. I did some reading and the airbags need storing horizontally with the emblem upwards. Something about the gas cannister.

If you go to get one from a local partout and you see it stored any other way, calmly walk away and don't look back. You don't want the thing deploying when you're installing.

 

[torga]

I can see the argument for not storing upside down with all the weight compressing the horn spring a bit, but they aren't perfectly emblem side up when installed in a car and they're designed to reliably work in this orientation.
I would think that as long as its storing orientation is not applying any force inward towards the airbag, then everything is ok.

 

[Thumper]

Thanks for your input and I value it -- you've successfully turned me off from my cover replacement idea. But it's easy to recommend only OEM brand new, from-the-dealer parts when it's someone else's insurance that's paying for it.

Happy to share my knowledge and expirences to help the community, but just to be clear, I do not advocate for things that I wouldn't do. If I had to pay out of my own pocket for a repair with an SRS deployment, I would do everything as required by VW and the industry with all new OEM or not at all. And it's not ME saying you only use brand new OEM SRS parts, it's the manufactures, engineers, and independent repair organizations that review, test, and test, and test some more. Insurance companies will save $20 to get an aftermarket headlight, but they will NOT specify used SRS to save hundreds, says something.

If you go to get one from a local partout and you see it stored any other way, calmly walk away and don't look back. You don't want the thing deploying when you're installing.

Of course, you never see the rack in the back where they store them haphazardly before they place them nice and neat out on the shelf for the customer........or the way the yard puller treats it getting it off and then the bumpy ride back to the warehouse in the golfcart.........

 

[uglybastard]

love the formatting on the first post. looks good on a non-mobile screen.