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Kzoo's GoRf...It happened.

18K views 135 replies 25 participants last post by  thegave 
#1 · (Edited)
Hello all! After a decade I've made my way to the Mk6R forum. I've seldom left the MkV R32 forum.:laugh:

A quick run down, I bought an R32. I loved it. I won some awards with it. But it was always broken.


So I traded it in for a TDI Cup Car. I loved it, but VW lied about emissions so they bought it back.

Kzoo's TDi Cup Edition


I missed having an R32, so I bought another one. After spending $9k+ in a year and a half to completely sort it out... I sold it, because I'm an idiot.

The chronicles of # 4113

I thought that an S3 was the natural progression so I bought one. Never loved it. It just kinda sat in my garage for 2 1/2 years...

Kzoo's Sepang Blue S3

I traded it in for a Golf R.



Unfortunately I forgot to get a side by side of the S3 and the R before I left the dealership.:(



Now, before anyone gets bored and stalks my previous comments from years gone by, YES; I said I'd never own one. Yes, I was (and still am) VERY critical of the car coming out with a higher price point than the previous R32 and having LESS standard options. However, I feel that time has been good to the design of this model year. Personally, I thought (and still think) the Mk6R is the best looking R model thus far. Yeah, better than the 7.5 juuuust barely though. I looked for a two door for about 1 1/2 years. I just couldn't find a blue one that hadn't been modded and/or beaten to death. So I opened up my search to a four door w/ Nav. It still took another 4 months for one to pop up in the condition that I thought was acceptable.

I found this one while trolling cargurus and saw that it was priced low enough that I couldn't just skip past it (because of 4 doors). After doing as much research as I could, on this particular car, I started negotiating. The dealership gave me a "fair" deal on my S3 and what I felt was a deal I couldn't pass up on the R. Luckily, my wife was on "Team 'R'". So we made the 4 hour trek to Indianapolis to get the deal done.

When I got to see the car, I was almost speechless. It was somehow even better than the pictures. I was able to see that it had a clear bra that wasn't mentioned, and came with everything. Everything! All 3 keys, 2 sets of mats, the window sticker, all books, the first aid kit and the rear mat w/blocks. It was completely stock with the exception of the euro tail lights. Which was a HUGE plus for me. There isn't a dent or ding anywhere on the car. Clearly the previous owner loved this car. After seeing the car and having had the deal pre negotiated I couldn't sign the paperwork quick enough! Then off we went, 4 more hours back home.

Fast forward to getting the car home. I backed it in and then just stared at it. My wife came into the garage to see what I was still doing out there. She looked at the rear end and laughably said "Dat booty doe"! Then said, "This feels right. Now it feels like our house, with a VW in the garage." Side Note: We bought a new house in December.

That's my story. Now the subtle mods begin.
 
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#56 ·
So I’ll post this here for future reference when folks search for this topic [emoji51][emoji1303]

The part numbers you’ll need to do the MK7 update for the climatronic display. The coding you’ll need to ensure you set in the HVAC is also on the lower sticker. The reset procedure is also included.

 
#57 · (Edited)
I was finally able to swap out the original climate controls with the Mk7 ones. I've been waiting on the faceplate to arrive from Latvia. I did all kinds of research by reading every thread I could find. I even reached out to a couple guys that had successfully done the swap.

What I've found: Depending on the climatronic unit you choose, there may be coding involved OR it may be plug and play (after holding a series of buttons) I chose to go with a unit that doesn't have the Auto Recirculate. So my install simply required holding the series of buttons that are in the picture above.

The new controls look great!


Mk7 Climatronic controls- $32.99
Faceplate- $29.52
Both were found on eBay

I had planned on doing a thorough DIY for the install but after doing it, I decided that there really was no need because it's so straight forward. I just followed the instructions on the sticker in the picture in post #56 (thanks flieger) and used the thread that I referenced in post #52 to answer any other questions. The hardest part, for me, was finding the faceplate. Which is why I had to get one from Latvia.
 
#58 ·
Yes, upgrades like this are some of the easiest there are. It can literally be done in minutes.

The really funny thing that I found is that it is cheaper to get the faceplate from Latvia than it is from China. The Chinese suppliers, like on aliexpress, charge twice what the seller from Latvia does. I do have an extra new faceplate. If someone needs one, PM me.
 
#59 ·
Yesterday I got some more stuff from a friend that's slowly taking stuff off of his R32. He sold me the hazard triangle and the holder, I already had the first aid kit. It took all of a minute to install it.



It's not the first aid kit that it's meant to hold, but it's the one that came with the car so...
 
#61 ·
Part number for the strap/holder


Part number for the warning triangle/holder. These come in two different sizes, this is the larger one that fits in this holder.
 
#64 ·
If your car is a US market car, then it did not. The strap, hazard triangle and blue (or orange) first aid kit were for the European market. So these are oem+ 'add ons' for us.
 
#65 · (Edited)
Christmas was good to me this year. My wife, that hates when I buy car parts, bought me the APR Short Shifter System and the Solid Shifter Cable Bracket.


I'm not super handy so it took a bit of doing due to my own inexperience with such a task. Once all of this was installed I promptly took the car for a test drive. It now shifts fantastically! The shifts are now very crisp and precise. I can't fully explain just how much I love it now!


APR Short Shifter System- $263.95
APR Solid Shift Cable Bracket- $158.95
 
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#69 ·
Christmas was good to me this year. My wife, that hates when I buy car parts, bought me the APR Short Shifter System and the Solid Shifter Cable Bracket.


I'm not super handy so it took a bit of doing due to my own inexperience with such a task. Once all of this was installed I promptly took the car for a test drive. It now shifts fantastically! The shifts are now very crisp and precise. I can't fully explain just how much I love it now!
ahhh no longer letting the clutch out too soon? =) looking good my friend....!

shark -
 
#66 ·
It is awesome isn't it? I only have the shifter not the bracket yet but such an upgrade. Coupled mine with a weighted BFI knob too. I am using all the weights APR included in the kit, did you use them all or did you go the other way and start with just one or two?
 
#67 ·
It is!

I haven't liked the way that this shifted since I bought it. It seemed rubbery. That's all gone now though. The shifts are so crisp and direct now. I love it! I went ahead and put on all three weights. I'm not sure how much the solid shifter bracket adds since I installed them at the same time. If I'm honest, it's probably not even needed for average driving. But my wife bought it for me so I installed it. I couldn't be happier with these mods.
 
#68 ·
ESC Defeat !

Leaving this here for someone to find so they don't have to read through numerous threads to find the simple solution.

Click here Golf R ESC DIY
And do what it says... that's it.
 
#71 · (Edited)
The Euro Cup Holder

I've wanted to do this mod to all of my past VW's. But every time I've looked into it, it just looked like too much of a pain in the ass. Well, I finally decided to buy one and give it a try. sigh I was right, what a pain in the ass. I'm happy I've done it or should I say, happy that it's done. In my opinion, the end did not justify the means. I now understand why people always leave it in when "returning to stock". It's just not worth the trouble to take it back out. Taking it apart was the easy part. Putting it back together and getting things to line back up with little to no gaps...not so much.

We all know how it looks, but this is my thread so here are my pics.




Euro Cup Holder w/Bottle opener- $98.88

Future:
Planning on upgrading the HPFP with one from APR in the not so distant future so I can got Stage 1+. That'll be as far as I take engine mods though. Aside from that, I've got a Wish List on ECS to work my way through. Unfortunately, most of that list is on back order with no ETA. So those may not happen.
 
#75 · (Edited)
I got the itch, so I bought some goodies from APR and ECS.


APR- Dog bone mount- $263.95
APR- Universal boost gauge- $126.95
APR- Modular boost tap- $56.72
APR- Valve stem caps- $7.99
ECS- Vent pod gauge mount- $62.86
ECS- VW Yeti tumbler- $38.45
 
#76 · (Edited)
While doing the simple and straightforward install of the dog bone mount a couple days ago I somehow managed to cross thread the bolt that goes into the subframe bushing. So much so that I can't get it back out. It is completely rounded off. The original bolt was pretty hard to get out which struck me a odd. I've taken these bolts out of both of my R32s and once I broke them loose, they just spun out with my fingers. This one...not so much. So I honestly didn't think too much about it when it didn't go back in all that easy either. That is, right up until it stopped moving. It was only then that I realized that I'd completely fxcked up the easiest job on the car. Then, while trying to get it back out, I completely rounded the head. So now I have to limp it to a shop on Thursday so they can fix my fxck up. I had to contact APR to get a new bolt which cost me another $40. I wonder just how deep I'm gonna get into this $257 mod.

GOSH, I can't wait so see just how bad I'm gonna screw up the install of the vent gauge! HOORAY!
 
#78 ·
Nope, I'm the second owner. My best guess is that the original part had been removed and reinstalled at some point. They possibly cross threaded it then. When I removed it and attempted to install new hardware the new bolt must have followed the cross thread and really bit into it this time. Again, that's just my best guess though. I have no other idea as to how this could have happened. But, it doesn't really matter as I'm 'here' now.
 
#84 ·
I took the car to my local APR shop (it's an hour away). They gave me two options. 1) Try to tighten the bolt the rest of the way and just accept that the mount is now a permanent part of the car. However most likely while trying to tighten the bolt, it could snap which would lead to... Option 2) drill the bolt out, drop the subframe, replace the subframe bushings and then reinstall everything. I had fully accepted option 1 would just lead to option 2 so I said just give option 1 a try. Option 1 actually worked though. So now, if the dogbone has to come out I have no choice but to move on to option 2.

They did ask how I managed to cross thread the bolt. I told them what had happened and they also thought that it had been previously cross threaded. So that's where I'm at with all of that.
 
#80 ·
I got the courage to attempt the install of the APR boost gauge. I couldn't figure out what to do with the bags of seemingly random parts that APR sent me. I'd like so say a big thanks to flieger for taking time out of his day to facetime me and help me make sense out of all of it! Once I had all of the pertinent information the install was actually pretty easy.


The back light is brighter than the dash lights. I'm a stickler for details. I don't like that!


Typically the only visual mods that I install are strictly OEM+. That being said, this is pretty far out of my comfort zone. I honestly don't know if I'm gonna keep it. I'll give it a while once it gets warmer and I can get some more drive time. Perhaps I'll warm up to it. If not, it'll be available in the marketplace.
 
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#81 ·
Isn't there a way to wire it in so it changes illumination with the adjustment for the dash?

It looks pretty solid but I'm not a fan of the vent mount designs. Firstly the loss of air flow which is helpful to dry your left hand, and secondly it looks out of place. I have the P3 which still causes issue #1 but as it's flush it doesn't annoy me as much on issue #2. Steering column pod would be much better I would say and several cars come with or used to come with those factory so wouldn't be wrong in the OEM+ look. The blue needle is an important touch there as that certainly fits in with the dash and gives it a more OEM+ look (despite the big APR logo lol).
 
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#82 ·
For the simpler/more discrete looking gauge I like newsouth, ran one in my mark4 vrt and they match up with oem look pretty well. The thing with the apr one is the obvious/out of place apr logo. newsouth has it more discrete/less in your face, hook it up to the dimmer as @Thumper3 suggested, you can also get the silver trim ring to match the oem dash: Mk6 Golf R Boost Gauge – NewSouth Performance
 
#83 · (Edited)
The thing with the apr one is the obvious/out of place apr logo. newsouth has it more discrete/less in your face, hook it up to the dimmer as @Thumper3 suggested, you can also get the silver trim ring to match the oem dash
Under further investigation, it is dimmable. However, it is always brighter than the lights in the instrument cluster. Unfortunately the ring on this gauge is not removable so replacing it with a silver one is a no go.

Isn't there a way to wire it in so it changes illumination with the adjustment for the dash?

It looks pretty solid but I'm not a fan of the vent mount designs. Firstly the loss of air flow which is helpful to dry your left hand, and secondly it looks out of place... The blue needle is an important touch there as that certainly fits in with the dash and gives it a more OEM+ look (despite the big APR logo lol).
I prefer the vent mount to the column mount. This gauge still allows me use the vent so that's not an issue for me. As for the needle, that was a must for me so it goes with the rest of the dash. The APR logo doesn't bother me...well, the light for the gauge is right behind the logo so it's the brightest part of the gauge. I don't really like that. Perhaps that's being nit picky though.
 
#85 ·
Since I've gotten the car I've wanted a proper intake. But, as you know, that simply isn't an option while retaining the factory engine cover. I hate the way this engine looks with out a cover on it. So I tracked down a Carbonio intake (which is fine) and just accepted that that was the best I was gonna be able to do while maintaining a mostly factory look. Fast forward to a couple days ago, I'm trolling through the forum and happened upon a picture of a member's car with a full APR intake installed. I've spoken to APR about this intake and they assured me that it doesn't fit the Mk6R and they aren't planning on making one that does... So I asked this member some questions which led me to other threads and other discoveries.
Translation- I have to mod my car so I can mod my car. UGH!
So now I have to order parts and HOPEFULLY not **** stuff up while trying to make this happen.

Parts on order:
APR PEX Intake System - Front Airbox- $199.95
APR PEX Intake System - Rear Turbo Inlet Pipe- $99.99
Mk6 GTI MAF sensor housing- 06J 906 461 B- used on ebay- $20.00

TTS Engine Cover- 06F 103 925 J- $175.00
Front Bolt- 06e 103 164 (x1)- $12.00
Rear Bolts- 03L 103 163 (x2)- $7.00

I'm gonna have to modify the engine cover to get rid of the 4 rings and replace them with either a VW or R logo. I've seen pics of both and they both look good, so I'm unsure which way I'm gonna go with it. Stay tuned!

P.S.
Any tips to make ANY of this easier (preferably with pictures) are more than welcome!!
 
#86 ·
Since I've gotten the car I've wanted a proper intake. But, as you know, that simply isn't an option while retaining the factory engine cover. I hate the way this engine looks with out a cover on it. So I tracked down a Carbonio intake (which is fine) and just accepted that that was the best I was gonna be able to do while maintaining a mostly factory look. Fast forward to a couple days ago, I'm trolling through the forum and happened upon a picture of a member's car with a full APR intake installed. I've spoken to APR about this intake and they assured me that it doesn't fit the Mk6R and they aren't planning on making one that does... So I asked this member some questions which led me to other threads and other discoveries.
Translation- I have to mod my car so I can mod my car. UGH!
So now I have to order parts and HOPEFULLY not **** stuff up while trying to make this happen.

Parts on order:
APR PEX Intake System - Front Airbox- $199.95
APR PEX Intake System - Rear Turbo Inlet Pipe- $99.99
Mk6 GTI MAF sensor housing- 06J 906 461 B- used on ebay- $20.00

TTS Engine Cover- 06F 103 925 J- $175.00
Front Bolt- 06e 103 164 (x1)- $12.00
Rear Bolts- 03L 103 163 (x2)- $7.00

I'm gonna have to modify the engine cover to get rid of the 4 rings and replace them with either a VW or R logo. I've seen pics of both and they both look good, so I'm unsure which way I'm gonna go with it. Stay tuned!

P.S.
Any tips to make ANY of this easier (preferably with pictures) are more than welcome!!
I would recommend following APR's advice. Plenty have tried and failed to make that work properly. These cars are very sensitive to maf readings. Imo it's simply not worth a certain look to lose performance, fuel economy, etc...take a look at the fuel trim thread if you haven't already. Fwiw even Jeff from UM recommends OEM cai for maf data...the only other cai he recommends is CTS. Talking just 6 R here.

There are 2 popular options:

Use the Audi TTS engine cover and run and aftermarket cai...Volant is popular for OEM look, large dry media filter and [mostly] enclosed box that mounts to battery box.

Mod the stock VW engine cover and route an aftermarket cai through the part you mod. (Read: Dremel).

Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk
 
#91 · (Edited)
Thanks for the suggestions guys! I'm not into the whole Carbon Fiber thing, which is why I went with the APR's PEX system instead of the carbon one. As for the Volant, I was interested in that one. It fills the space up nicely and has a very clean look. When reading reviews though, the most common complaint was that there were fitment issues (which may have been addressed by now) and that it is a bit loud. I'm not looking for loud, just... more air. The DIY thread that I'll be following reports no fuel trim issues with this setup. He's had it on for over a year and seems to have no issues to report. For me though, if it doesn't seem to work I'll just send it back and give the Volant a try.

The DIY I'm talking about: My Intake Project.
 
#93 ·
Update:

I got everything, I think (see question below), ordered to properly complete the CAI project. So far I've received all of it with the exception of the APR turbo inlet pipe. Apparently they are having an issue with their supplier... So I'm on hold. While I've been waiting, I have managed to separate the wiring loom so I can relocate the MAF when I can finally finish the project. It was pretty easy, tedious, but easy. I rewrapped all of it in fresh Tesa Tape to keep the OEM look/wire protection.

Question: Does the heat shield on the back of the engine on a GTI fit on the Golf R? I ask because it has a mounting point to support the turbo inlet pipe and my obsessive attention to detail knows no bounds.

Also, yesterday I managed to snag an APR HPFP on the cheap! Do I need it, no. Did I want it so I could bump up to stage 1+....yes. That should be here later this week
 
#94 · (Edited)
Mileage:86,400

Today, I made my way to my local APR dealer and had the Stage 1+ w/HPFP installed. Over the weekend I managed to snag an APR Mobile Dongle locally from a guy that didn't realized it wouldn't work with his car, so it was brand new. Since I was having the car reflashed I figured that they may as well enable APR's EMCS Program Switching. I had them install Stock Mode, Stage 1+ 93 octane (obviously) and Valet Mode. Now I can control all of this through the APR app. The car is now rated to make 337hp & 337ft-lbs.

Still waiting for APR to ship the turbo inlet pipe... If it isn't shipped out by the end of the week I'm just gonna cancel my order and rest on my laurels.

APR HPFP- $300
APR Stage 1+ tune- Free
APR Mobile Dongle- $150
APR EMCS Program- $99.95
 
#95 ·
Was the APR HPFP new? $300? Damn man, you come across anymore let me know. LOL
 
#96 ·
Ha! No, it's used but was fully tested and found to be in perfect working condition. I've tried to buy two others but I was always late to the party. Two weeks ago I just happened to pick up my phone to look at FB and got an update that an item was just listed on a FB group. I reached out to the guy within a minute of him listing it. I didn't loose this one!

Going Stage 1+ wasn't a priority for me since I honestly didn't think that I'd notice a difference. I was wrong. The power is noticeably more linear through the gears now. It doesn't just fall on it's face in the upper revs like it did before. I'm glad I did it!
 
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#97 ·
Unfortunately, APR was unable to get me the inlet pipe in a timely fashion. So I called it quits on this project. I had to return the airbox that APR was actually able to get me and the TTS engine cover w/hardware.
So now I've got an extra $500 that I don't know what to do with...
 
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