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Long term reliability question

aj_law

aj_law

Go Kart Champion
zrickety said:
I have 153k miles and no carbon cleaning yet! Run over 3000rpm for 30 min to burn off carbon, Audi has a patent for it. I would recommend 5k oil changes, and I'm in a hot climate running 10w-40 mobil 1. Original water pump, original timing chain.
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bigtim3727 said:
That’s good to read; I do the same thing, and because I’m reaching 100k, I thought I would definitely need a carbon cleaning soon. I almost pulled the manifold off this summer and did the cleaning, because I didn’t want to be stuck doing it in the winter. This gives me more evidence that the 3k rpm for 30 mins is effective when it comes to keeping the valves clean
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Just to add a little perspective, I've had to have carbon cleaning done twice on my vehicle; both about 65K apart or so.

She's my daily and I do mostly highway driving. Hard, close to redline pulls most days. I live in the 3K to 4K range. A lot of days I'm in that range for most of my commute. I don't even use 6th gear a lot of times...unless traffic is light and I'm moving along at 80-85+.

Point being, the Italian tuneup is no guarantee you won't get build up. I've used an analogy a few times on this site that I think is pretty accurate. Carbon in these cars is like earwax in people; some produce little to none, some produce a shitton and have to have it professionally cleaned.

Also, FWIW, have done 5K oil changes since new.
 
zrickety

zrickety

The Fixer
aj_law said:
Just to add a little perspective, I've had to have carbon cleaning done twice on my vehicle; both about 65K apart or so.
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I'm curious, were you having any misfires or other driveability issues? What prompted the carbon cleaning?
 
A

AM407

Autocross Champion
I just did my carbon cleaning at 145,000 km and it was nasty. Definitely won’t leave it that long next time. Didn’t really have any driveability issues, except for a barely noticeable stumble/hesitation at around 3,000 rpm and very light throttle. Only reason I cleaned it was because the intake manifold had to come off and be replaced.

I’ve owned the car since new, and always made a point of driving it hard. Full throttle runs to redline every chance I get, and lots of highway cruising at 120 km/h plus (3,000 rpm and above.) Lots if times I’d cruise in 5th for an hour, just to get the revs up way above 3,000.

I also never put any fuel in it except Shell V-Power (okay, maybe a few tanks of Esso premium over the years.)

Given all that, I really thought (hoped?) the valves wouldn’t be that bad when I opened it up, but nope, they were nasty. And thick, black goo all over the ports.
 
PhthaloType

PhthaloType

Go Kart Champion
bigtim3727

bigtim3727

New member
aj_law said:
Just to add a little perspective, I've had to have carbon cleaning done twice on my vehicle; both about 65K apart or so.

She's my daily and I do mostly highway driving. Hard, close to redline pulls most days. I live in the 3K to 4K range. A lot of days I'm in that range for most of my commute. I don't even use 6th gear a lot of times...unless traffic is light and I'm moving along at 80-85+.

Point being, the Italian tuneup is no guarantee you won't get build up. I've used an analogy a few times on this site that I think is pretty accurate. Carbon in these cars is like earwax in people; some produce little to none, some produce a shitton and have to have it professionally cleaned.

Also, FWIW, have done 5K oil changes since new.
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ahhh, and here I'm thinking that I'm in the clear.:(

I guess it's one of those things that you just should do once you reach a certain amount of miles, rather than waiting till you get a CEL....I saw a pic of carbon build up on here a few months ago, and out of all the pictures of dirty valves i've seen, that was by far the worst. I thought I even saved it on my computer, but i can't find it.. I'm like "how'd the thing even run?!".:help:

I like the earwax analogy, makes sense.
 
bigtim3727

bigtim3727

New member
PhthaloType said:
VW definitely underrated that engine. APR tested the stock Mk6 on 93 octane, and it was 195 at the wheels, 221 at the crank.


https://www.goapr.com/products/ecu_upgrade_20tsi_trans.html
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yea def; the ea888 2.0TSI is really a fantastic little 4cyl. The refinement was something that stood out to me at first as well.

I've had my 12' GLI for ~3.5 years, and I love the damn thing as much as I did when I first bought it. it still makes me giggle when i stomp on it in 2nd/3rd gear.

I check the under the hood probably 4 times a week, not just to check the oil/engine bay/etc, but mostly just to admire the engine, and marvel at the fact that a motor of that size could produce that much power. I also love looking at the new CTS CAI i just installed, and how cool the R8 coil packs look with the cover taken off. LOL I'm a lil eccentric, but I sure I'm probably not the only one: that does that. laugh:
 
aj_law

aj_law

Go Kart Champion
zrickety said:
I'm curious, were you having any misfires or other driveability issues? What prompted the carbon cleaning?
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Yes, misfires and codes. Tiniest bit of hesitation, especially when cold. To be fair though, my butt dyno is sensitive as shit. I could feel it coming with the way it felt on cold starts and cold idling.

At 150k+ and still not had to do it, I'm pretty sure you're the exception, not the rule, sir.

bigtim3727 said:
ahhh, and here I'm thinking that I'm in the clear.:(

I guess it's one of those things that you just should do once you reach a certain amount of miles, rather than waiting till you get a CEL....I saw a pic of carbon build up on here a few months ago, and out of all the pictures of dirty valves i've seen, that was by far the worst. I thought I even saved it on my computer, but i can't find it.. I'm like "how'd the thing even run?!".:help:

I like the earwax analogy, makes sense.
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I dug up an old thread where I posted pictures from the first time I had them cleaned. Not 100% sure, but don't think I ever posted pics the second time. Was pretty similar, maybe slightly less caked.

Click here for carbon cleaning nightmare.
 
Blakcard

Blakcard

Autocross Newbie
how does it hold up? I'm the second owner.. got MY11 in Feb '13 at 32KM. APR stage 1 done at 35KM..had the TOB/Clutch done around 66KM under warranty and I'm on my 3rd intake manifold. Doubt the previous owner had it done give the low clicks.

I daily it around 190km 90% highway driven. Had the revised tensioner put in 1.5 yrs ago just past 120KM.

Now at 260KM I had scheduled to take it to Mario at K&H VW Tuning in Scarborough for timing chain/guides/new tensioner off several recommendations from a couple sites and from @Nodnarb (what up brah!). Wasn't sure I was going to do the intake cleaning at the same time or wait til spring when i could feel it a bit more.. .well this morning turned the key and got a early Christmas prezzie. Low coolant warning followed by flashing temp light... could it be.. .my water pump has finally shit the bed? I'll find out.

Mario (who drives a wicked sounding A4 btw) is going to do a pressure test and I'll know for sure...

All said and done? After 5.5 years of owning I've had no major issues and it's been a blast to drive!! I think after almost 7 years on the road and 260KM i would call it pretty fricken reliable to be honest.
 
SnailPower

SnailPower

Autocross Newbie
bigtim3727 said:
Yea, I felt the same way when I first got the car, but after reading through the forums, I couldn't help myself. It's very fun stock, and I remember being SHOCKED at how powerful it felt when I took it on a test drive.

I'm thinking "hmm, this thing will probably have some pep, but 200HP/207lb/tq aint that much"..rolled on the throttle hard in 2nd gear during the test drive, and said "holy shit, this thing has power!"

Going to stage 1+ was an eye opener though. Got a speeding ticket within the 1st week of having it:D

Maintenance is key. These engines love the proper spec synthetic oil, with the black mann filter, and keeping it at the proper levels.. The 10K interval is a little high; I like changing it around ~7500k.........

If you have the DSG, the fluid is easy to change, and they say to change it every 40k, which sounds a little ridiculous--and probably is--but better safe than sorry. I've changed the expensive syrup twice already at 97K.......

I just changed the front and rear brakes..nothing special, just OEM Bosch pads.....the rear calipers are the annoying twist down style, which you need either the cube, or the proper tool that makes it much easier lol.......
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lol, you guys make me laugh thinking the stock GTI has power. The thing is as slow as a Prius or MAYBE can edge one out off the line. It's really bad but if you never came from fast cars, you probably wouldn't know. This car is definitely one of the slowest cars (if not THE slowest) I've driven when it comes to performance cars. It just feels heavy and slow.

Tuning does help, but I feel you aren't in serious performance car numbers until you K04 it. Everything else is just to help the car keep up with the average.
 
C

Crusader10143

Passed Driver's Ed
SnailPower said:
lol, you guys make me laugh thinking the stock GTI has power. The thing is as slow as a Prius or MAYBE can edge one out off the line. It's really bad but if you never came from fast cars, you probably wouldn't know. This car is definitely one of the slowest cars (if not THE slowest) I've driven when it comes to performance cars. It just feels heavy and slow.

Tuning does help, but I feel you aren't in serious performance car numbers until you K04 it. Everything else is just to help the car keep up with the average.
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I think for the motor and weight of the car it does have a decent amount of power. I took my 2012 to the 1/4 mile track bone stock except for a cai and got put up against a new 5.0. We were neck and neck half way down the track and my clutch started to slip real bad and he pulled on me. These cars run low 15's stock so i'd say that's a pretty good run for being a stock motor.
 
zrickety

zrickety

The Fixer
I think stage 1 is pretty quick, most average cars slowwww. K04 may be why I haven't needed carbon cleaning, or it's my driving style and early oil changes. Hard to say.

I would not call these 'performance cars,' it's a hot hatch which is just a fast economy car. We mod them INTO performance cars, sure. But I was chasing Corvettes and Mustangs on the track only because of mods.
 
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SnailPower

SnailPower

Autocross Newbie
zrickety said:
I think stage 1 is pretty quick, most average cars slowwww. K04 may be why I haven't needed carbon cleaning, or it's my driving style and early oil changes. Hard to say.

I would not call these 'performance cars,' it's a hot hatch which is just a fast economy car. We mod them INTO performance cars, sure. But I was chasing Corvettes and Mustangs on the track only because of mods.
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Stage 1 gives you a sudden hard push that makes you think it's fast, but it really isn't all that much. It also falls flat very quickly following that quick burst of powa.

I agree though, they are mostly econ cars when you strip them down to the basics. If you want a serious performance car, you buy one that was designed to do just that, either perform on a track/drag strip, etc.

The best thing about the GTI that most can't deny is that it is a well rounded all around balanced vehicle. It can do a lot of things good but nothing great.
 
MrFancypants

MrFancypants

Autocross Champion
bigtim3727 said:
I have the same theory, but it could be more subjective than objective in the real world. I just think VW don’t like to sit unused for any extended time period, and when they are driven, it’s important for the engine to be hot enough, for long enough period of time; short trips aren’t good either I don’t think
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Short trips aren’t good for most cars, but they do seem to be particularly bad for these. I wonder what effect short trips have on the valve deposits. I’ve been told that the main reason short trips are bad in general is that you need it to be hot long enough to burn off any lingering condensation within the engine, I’d love to know if this has any impact on carbon deposits.

zrickety said:
I'm curious, were you having any misfires or other driveability issues? What prompted the carbon cleaning?
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In my case at 90k miles I had no power loss, no efficiency loss, no misfires; car drove fine. Do note that my car gets run to redline any time there’s open road in front of me, so it gets plenty of revs. After the cleaning all I could tell was that it ran smoother, but it had no more power or efficiency.

That yours has gone for so long is pretty amazing.
 
bigtim3727

bigtim3727

New member
SnailPower said:
lol, you guys make me laugh thinking the stock GTI has power. The thing is as slow as a Prius or MAYBE can edge one out off the line. It's really bad but if you never came from fast cars, you probably wouldn't know. This car is definitely one of the slowest cars (if not THE slowest) I've driven when it comes to performance cars. It just feels heavy and slow.

Tuning does help, but I feel you aren't in serious performance car numbers until you K04 it. Everything else is just to help the car keep up with the average.
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SnailPower said:
lol, you guys make me laugh thinking the stock GTI has power. The thing is as slow as a Prius or MAYBE can edge one out off the line. It's really bad but if you never came from fast cars, you probably wouldn't know. This car is definitely one of the slowest cars (if not THE slowest) I've driven when it comes to performance cars. It just feels heavy and slow.

Tuning does help, but I feel you aren't in serious performance car numbers until you K04 it. Everything else is just to help the car keep up with the average.
Click to expand...

It's by no means world beater, and def not "fast", but does a very good job at giving you the illusion of power.

Compared to RWD/sports orientated cars, it's slow as hell, but in he real world, it has enough power for most people
 
B

brettmag

Passed Driver's Ed
I have also owned my 2013 GTI since new and it now has 87,000 km. It’s bone stock. I feel like it will need carbon cleaning and a new clutch soon. Should I spend the $3k or so on that maintenance or trade it in? Not having at payments sure if nice.
 
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