the PRJCT .:R chronicles (iMod.:R BUILD UP)

[iMod.:R]

Hey all-
In an effort to become a permanent fixture here instead of just lurking around, I thought I'd share the details of my new build which will be an official VW Vortex project.

I've spent quite a bit of time around VAG over the past 6 years and had two decently involved project builds. I started with my ABT kitted, 2006 Audi A3 that was running at APR Stage 2 power levels:



Then for a very brief 6 months I had a 2008 Porsche Cayman which had no mods worth discussing here:



After the Porsche I got the 2009 TTS and I really kind of went ape ship with it:



The car was hitting 407 crank on the dyno as a Stage 3 car and the list of mods is a bit too long to bother getting into here. The fun part of that build was that I created a webisode series that outlined the mods and why I chose to use certain bits in my build. I wanted to throw a different spin on the whole "build thread" deal and that is when I came up with the video documentation idea. Long story shortened, the guys at Vortex Media gave it a home and it ran for 14 webisodes, called Project TTS/SF.



Recently, some things shifted in my household and I wanted to go back to a more reasonable monthly payment on a car, in order to get some priorities straight. Coming from a car like the TTS meant the new car would have some BIG shoes to fill. What else out there is an awd whip, pushing over 250hp, turbo'd, highly tunable and still retains a classically German quality interior?



This is the answer. Some would debate this statement, but to me this is the ultimate Golf. I have HUGE respect for what the MK1-to-MK5 owners have been able to do as far as power and style with Golfs and GTIs through the years. Particularly the MK4 R32 folks.. This thing though is a mix of everything great about Audi and Volkswagen ingredient, by ingredient blended to perfection. Two-door or four-door as an option in America for the first time? I think VW knew how sick this car is and I for one am very thankful that we got the chance to buy these in the US in our choice of form factor instead of only "1 flavor".



For any of you that ever checked out the TTS series, you'll know that I only work with companies that I personally feel are the best out there for their particular offerings. I put forward one guys perspective about tuning and am still learning like all of us here. I'm not a guru. I'm not in the industry. I'm not being paid by anyone to share my opinions about the mods I do to the car. My hope is that I maybe educate a few people through my research and create some good quality film content for my friends at Vortex to share with you all. We are calling this 6-part series "PRJCT .:R" and if all goes according to plan the first installment will be live on VW Vortex sometime in April 2012.



Finally, my plans for this car. I met a pretty cool cat on VW Vortex about a month ago, called TEFF. Many of you know his build entitled "Golf R from Romania" which is one of the more intense power builds I've ever seen. He's been helping me via email to formulate a plan to safely make some big horsepower numbers. As far as style, I am definitely keeping my eye on what all you on the East Coast and obviously Florida are doing. I hope to grab a bit of inspiration from both of those spots, and overseas in the style I throw at this car during the build.



I'm pretty hyped about this new adventure and look forward to meeting a bunch of you out here on the West Coast and back East where my extended family is from near the NY/Jersey border.

JASON

[RedRocket32]

Hre's you must.

[rabbit07]

congrats on your new R. look forward to seeing what plans you have for it.

[iMod.:R]

Hre's you must.

HRE's I will, LOL! I am actually typing this from their conference room where we are checking offset and determining fitment right now, here in San Diego. I'm seriously drooling like an idiot in their showroom over all the wheel pron.

congrats on your new R. look forward to seeing what plans you have for it.

Thanks man. It seems like it's going to be a fun build, so I'm glad to be starting all over again.

[RedRocket32]

HRE's I will, LOL! I am actually typing this from their conference room where we are checking offset and determining fitment right now, here in San Diego. I'm seriously drooling like an idiot in their showroom over all the wheel pron.



Thanks man. It seems like it's going to be a fun build, so I'm glad to be starting all over again.

I know
I saw their post on the book a few minutes ago and said to myself
"No how an' tha hell did this slip by me"

[JLCVDUB]

[GhostRing]

Nice! I remember your videos with the TTS; top shelf ole' boy!

[Alive By time]

In. It was Nice meeting and shooting with you and Ryan last night. Hopefully you got some rest. He should give be some edits byvthe end of the say. I Can't wait to see your R transform!

[fernandub]

pants just tightened up!

[devious duck]

Meisterschaft Exhaust in the works possibly? I really loved that exhaust on the Project TTS, super clean welds and quality.

[Angina]

sweet

[Dutchmastr9]

This car should be a monster when done. Look forward to seeing it come together

[iMod.:R]

Nice! I remember your videos with the TTS; top shelf ole' boy!

Thanks a million, man. I plan to keep it in that same vein, but step up the production quality and the format is changing a bit as well. This car photographs/films quite well!

In. It was Nice meeting and shooting with you and Ryan last night. Hopefully you got some rest. He should give be some edits byvthe end of the say. I Can't wait to see your R transform!

Salt n' Peppa steez!

pants just tightened up!

From dung or bone-bone? Either way, I'll take it as a compliment

Meisterschaft Exhaust in the works possibly? I really loved that exhaust on the Project TTS, super clean welds and quality.

Agreed. I definitely approached them because the Meisterschaft set up was mean sounding when the valve was open. Good for letting off steam on mountain roads, for sure!

sweet

Thanks.

This car should be a monster when done. Look forward to seeing it come together

Ditto, I have a feeling you're gonna do some pretty crafty stuff with yours as well.

[Candy Coated R]

[Dutchmastr9]

Ditto, I have a feeling you're gonna do some pretty crafty stuff with yours as well.

oh man too much pressure now haha

[xht20]

Hey Jason

Congratulations for you car and i'm sure you will make the R twice as good as the TTS was.
And those HRE's.....yummy

Regards

Stefan

[MissSueInTheFL]

When are you taking that up to the city so I can take it for a spin?
I bet she'd like to meet her big sister

[iMod.:R]

congrats on your new R. look forward to seeing what plans you have for it.

Thanks it's been a blast to drive so far, even in stock form. I picked up a few "go" parts today and I think we're gonna start the build sometime next week.

Hey Jason

Congratulations for you car and i'm sure you will make the R twice as good as the TTS was.
And those HRE's.....yummy

Yeah TEFF you've been a great help so far with my million and one questions! I picked up some good parts today by AEM.....

When are you taking that up to the city so I can take it for a spin?
I bet she'd like to meet her big sister

MK4 R Black Magic and MK6 R Deep Black Pearl Metallic in one convenient setting eh? I'm down!

[iMod.:R]

Mr. FedEx man dropped off a new item for the build today, bless his heart.

[xht20]

Good job Jason. I've also ordered a set. I'm waiting for it

[EUROBORA8V]

This man deserves a medal!

[devious duck]

Okada Coils, Awesome. I've had these on my mind for a while now.

[provenflipper]

What is going to be the benefit from the upgraded coil packs?

[Peteski]

Mr. FedEx man dropped off a new item for the build today, bless his heart.

Jason,

You mind sharing where you got your set from?


I see Fully Bolted having these for About $665.00 >> http://www.fullybolted.com/catalog/p...fhu=3634353034


Peter

[iMod.:R]

What is going to be the benefit from the upgraded coil packs?

I ran these before on my APR'd Stg3 TTS and the two massive benefits I noticed were cold-starts were cut down from 7 seconds of turn-over to 3 seconds consistently, which is obviously less stress on the ignition system over time. Also since its an amplified spark it accelerates the ignition and combustion process. In real life what that meant to me was that the already seamless APR stage3 system was further refined. Smoother power delivery is a nice added bonus.

Jason, You mind sharing where you got your set from?
Peter

Pete, I got mine from Vivid in AZ, but you can use any of their distributors in the USA:

[OKADA PROJECTS DISTRIBUTORS USA]

BTW, That pricing seems good. Mine were $735-, so I'd dunk that if I was you.

[johnnyR32]

[provenflipper]

I ran these before on my APR'd Stg3 TTS and the two massive benefits I noticed were cold-starts were cut down from 7 seconds of turn-over to 3 seconds consistently, which is obviously less stress on the ignition system over time. Also since its an amplified spark it accelerates the ignition and combustion process. In real life what that meant to me was that the already seamless APR stage3 system was further refined. Smoother power delivery is a nice added bonus.

Thanks for the explanation. Always good to learn new things. I'll be watching this build closely.

[iMod.:R]

The reflectors all over this car would make sense on a friggen' school bus but it seems like a bit of overkill on the .:R. Before anyone says anything, I understand the value in them as a safety measure etc, but I still think they are obnoxious and whats worse, they kill the beautiful lines of the MK6. I resolved the issue by getting the VS Cov.:R Ups (master pack) for the .:R The company that makes them is in my neighborhood and they were pretty inexpensive so I just went with it. They do either smoked or solids for all the plastic lenses on our car.





The Cov.:R Ups master-pack included:

-Rear foglight strips
-Rear valance reflector black-outs
-Front side-marker black-outs
-Front LED DRL strips

Since he's close by I had him install those and smoke out my headlights too, brah! Looks way meaner now. I like how the smoked tints dull down the plastic-y look of the lenses. He makes these packs in all kinds of colors and tints.

Hit up Lyle @ Vinyl Styles for more info. He'll sort out pricing etc and they are all available now.
vinylstyles@gmail.com

Here is a vid of the install on my car. I whipped it together in a half day but it still gives a good idea of how easy it is to install.




.

[codewhore]

Nice. The reflectors on the front bumper make me cringe each time I see them. The ones on the rear valence aren't great but they give me the visceral reaction like the fronts.

[iMod.:R]

Nice. The reflectors on the front bumper make me cringe each time I see them. The ones on the rear valence aren't great but they give me the visceral reaction like the fronts.

True that.

[iMod.:R]

The packages are starting to show up a bit more now. This was todays gem.



... and now the shelves are looking stocked a bit better for the big power build up that starts in 2 weeks.

[R20dubnasty]

Droooollllll, thanks now i have to go change my pants before leaving for work...

[xht20]

Niiiiiiiiceeee

[iMod.:R]

Droooollllll, thanks now i have to go change my pants before leaving for work...

Dude, imagine how hard it is to have to stare at "the stockroom" that my one car garage is becoming and know that I wont be able to reap the rewards for another 5 weeks. Torture I say...

Niiiiiiiiceeee

Thanks TEFF. You do know that most of this is your doing right? Putting ideas in my head!

[iMod.:R]

Another brown box delivered by a man in a brown uniform, driving a brown truck. I am reeeaaaally psyched about this one. I was watching Dieselgeek back when I had the DSG in my TTS and couldn't utilize this bit of kit. Now I can!

Dieselgeek Sigma 6-speed short shifter:



I learned about them here:
[DIESELGEEK WEBSITE]





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