books or websites

[GoS64]

Hey Guys,

I have been really enjoying my new R as well as reading the forums here. I find that I am so new to this stuff that I need an education. Can anyone recommend some good books or online sites that can educate me on these upgrades y'all talk about? There are lots of letters flying around that I have no ida what they are! Also, any basic books or sites about engine design or racing that would give me a better knowledge. I'll need this as I start to think about the mods I want to do to my R. Thanks!

[GASMAN664]

I'm not too aware of any books on the specific topic per se. I'm sure there's some general ones about engines, turbos, suspensions etc.

I think a good start would be just reading this forum and others like it, for an extended period of time (a year or more), going to some VW specific shows in your area, getting to know some people in the scene and asking good questions. For example, you can read all you want about how bada$$ a particular suspension is, but until you at least ride in a car with it installed, you'll never find out just what "stiff" "harsh" and "unforgiving" really mean.

There are some incredibly well written, thought out posts/threads on this forum alone just search the particular topic, you will stumble on them eventually. For instance, search user name TechEd and you will find out more than you ever thought possible about suspension stuff for the GolfR. Also Tyrol Mike's "enthusiast thread" is a decent attempt at distilling a lot of the tuning info into semi-scientific tests...so those two may be decent places to start.

There are some relatively decent magazine out there (Performance VW, Eurotuner, European Car) that run some form of "how to" features from time to time.

In any case, take your time, ask a lot of ?s, don't rush into cheap mods, and enjoy the car.

[John@Roc-Euro]

Gasman hits a bunch- on the same front, I think the best way to quantify most of this is by experience. So many descriptions we use are subjective.

Blasphemous sounding, but here is an example:

I have spent a lot of time in MkVI GTIs.. So when I was at the dealer picking up the car, my saleswoman was like, "OMG are you excited? Lets go for a drive!" And I was like, um, sure I guess.
We get in and go for a spin. She knows me and the car, so I don't think she's entirely trying to get me too pumped. But she's like "Wow thats pretty quick." All I could think was, hmmm, gti with no traction issues... but not quick. Why? Because for the comparison, I'm spoiled- a GTI reference to me is an already-tuned GTI... So a stock R feels 'meh' by comparison to say, a stage 2+ GTI...

Its perspective- and trying to quantify by numbers alone doesn't always help, because there are variables.

See if you can find someone in your area who maybe already has modifications done? I don't know of many people who -wouldn't- show you a drive.

So in a sense, take steps to self educate. Read a ton of the forum. Pay attention to how some people rave over a product, and some don't. Sometimes the ugly product is more effective. Sometimes the pretty product is worth the cash. Sometimes, its about what makes -you- happier.

Posting in an existing thread about a subject will get more responses than starting a new thread some days too.

There, I've almost written a book for you to read although it lacks quality subject matter.

I am happy to discuss software, hardware, and visceral upgrades as quantitatively and neutrally as possible. Via email, the forum, or phone. Sometimes it's definitely easier to just chat.

Supposing, however, that you've already got this thread rolling, how can we help?

[Gingaskunk]

I bought a new MKVI GTI in 2010, knowing NOTHING about ony of the stuff that gets discussed on the forums. Since then I have moved to my R and moved most of my GTI knowledge across too.

You really do pick it up fast just by reading what's out here and asking questions. I have a pretty thick skin so I don't mind posting the occasional stupid question. You will get posters who make fun of you or tell you that you shouldn't be wasting space and should aready know that, but for every one of those there are usually 2 who actually want to help and will answer your question.

Do you have any questions right now? You have our attention, perhaps just put together a list of questions you have to begin with and we can knock them out here and now. That would at least give you a starting point.

Also, keep an eye on your notifications in the top right, people will sometimes respond only to you through the PM system.

[ToeBall]

Your best source is going to be this and a few other forums. For engine stuff, Mk5 forums, for the rest Mk6 ones. As far as general reading, depends on what you're looking to do with the car.

Books I've read that I can recommend without hesitation are pretty specific to a topic and not specific to a vehicle.

Top of that list is Maximum Boost by Corky Bell. It's solid on covering general turbo system design and implementation. It's definitely affected my choices of parts used in my build to date.

[MersR]

I got my R in June. I'm a total noob to VW and to modding in general. What I found really helpful was going to local meets. I ended up going to a group called NOVADUBS and met some amazing people. A lot of which I got to know really quickly and answered all my questions no matter how dumb they were. Those conversations ended up with them telling me to look at something online, most of the time they pointed me to a thread on vortex.

Another thing that helped me out a lot is the build thread that is a sticky. Go through some of them and don't just get hooked on the pictures. There are a lot of info in those build threads with some really good discussions on why a person decided on a certain part or tune. If you don't know what a part is/does, then its a really quick search on here or google or even the brand's website.

Like others said, theres a ton of information on this site. So I guess to sum up, try to find a local VW meet and read some build threads. Good luck!