Calkulin
Ready to race!
- Location
- Central FL
Haven't seen anyone mention the Audi MQB cabrio metal skid plate here, not sure if it would work on other MQBs tho
5Q7825236B\E
5Q7825236B\E
7
How to retro-fit skid trays, aerodynamic under trays, & stone guards to a MK7 Golf
- Thread starter golfdave
- Start date
VAG Parts Bin
Drag Racing Champion
- Location
- Mt. Lebanon, PA
- Car(s)
- 97 GTI & 17 R
I installed mine today (finally!). I never, ever, want to have to mount the front brackets again in my life.
I had a hell of a time getting a socket up in the tiny gaps, so I ended up taking a ratcheting-end wrench and mating it with a screwdriver and I was then able to easily get the bracket bolts to tighten.
It's not pretty but it worked wonders for me.
BIG Thanks to Tooly for posting that these were available on Ebay back in March for $77shipped!
I had a hell of a time getting a socket up in the tiny gaps, so I ended up taking a ratcheting-end wrench and mating it with a screwdriver and I was then able to easily get the bracket bolts to tighten.
It's not pretty but it worked wonders for me.
BIG Thanks to Tooly for posting that these were available on Ebay back in March for $77shipped!
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golfdave
Autocross Champion
- Location
- Scotland (U.K.)
- Car(s)
- Mk7 Golf GT Estate
I do state in the write up "& with great dexterity"...….
other than that is a bumper off job...
golfdave
Autocross Champion
- Location
- Scotland (U.K.)
- Car(s)
- Mk7 Golf GT Estate
Haven't seen anyone mention the Audi MQB cabrio metal skid plate here, not sure if it would work on other MQBs tho
5Q7825236B\E
I wondered when someone would find it....
I didn't mention it (only found out about it this year)….because its metal (alu I think) it will make more noise when stones hit it compared to our GRP version..
One important note is for those who have retro fitted the Audi Alu suframe (or have a CS/CSS) ....
The Alu subframe is an open web design...the steel on (ours) is virtually flat full facing the road.....so built in aero tray....This Audi one extends the full length of the subframe to totally cover & provide full aero to the open web Audi alu subframe...
So might be a better cover if you retrofit the Audi subframe....
Also note they skimped on costs by having plastic moulded air ducts just riveted to the main tray instead of a fully pressed sheet....I hope they used stainless steel rivets???...
I just completed the bulk of this project (minus the rear wishbone stone guards).
Some notes :
The whole process took about 4 hours. I ordered all the parts from E-ACCA for a huge discount from VW dealership prices.
I drove up on Rhino Ramps and installed the factory jack pad kit. That was straight forward and easy, and after watching DAP's video, I probably completed it in less time than he did it in. I was nervous that the rubber would be difficult to push into the car, but it wasn't bad at all.
I was excited to use said new jack pads to jack up my car for this project, except I found that when you jack up the car using any jack pad, there is no way you have clearance to push a jack stand under a pinch weld because your jack is in the way! In the end it went like this : jack up front right side, put a jack stand under rear right pinch weld. Jack up front left side, put a jack stand under rear left pinch weld. Jack up whole front end from the subframe / dogbone insert location, and put jack stands under the front left and right pinch welds.
<rant> I'm a little underwhelmed with the jack pad kit only because of placement/location. I miss my old BMW M3, where the factory jack interfaced with a hole in the side valence of the car and was completely out of the way of the jack pads under the car. </rant>
I have the Harbor Freight low profile 2 ton steel floor jack, if anyone is interested, which looks identical to their newer 3 ton low profile floor jack, except that the handle on mine has a T at the top and a open/close knob for the valve at the end of the handle. I also have 4 Larin 6 Ton jack stands. I like these because they are so big, and can really lift the car off the ground to get some space to work under there. They start at a minimum of 15" and lift to almost 24". I also like that they use a captive lock pin, and not a ratchet mechanism. I worked under my car at 15".
INSTALLATION :
For the skid plate / under engine cover - I did remove the forward lower most screw in the wheel well arch liner on both sides. This allowed me to push some plastic of the wheel arch liner out of the way. I obviously must have small / dexterous arms and hands because I didn't think it was that bad a job. The first side (drivers) I put together in less than 60 seconds. I was able to push the bolt through the hole in the crash frame, then line up the bracket to install and twist the screw in fairly easily. What was everyone complaining about?
The passenger side took me more than 10 minutes! Why? I finally discovered that my forearm was pushing the bracket I was trying to install to a funny angle. Although the screw was lined up with the hole in the bracket, if it isn't headed in straight it just will not thread in.
I used the 12 point "triple square" bolts that are recommended, not standard hex head bolts. I bought a cheap set of triple square sockets off Amazon in anticipation for this project, as well as some stubby flex head ratchets from Harbor Freight. There is an advantage to the triple square : a ratchet will have limited swing range in tight quarters. A six-sided hex head means you might have to move the handle quite a bit to mate the bolt head with the socket. The triple square allows interfacing the socket with the bolt at many more possible angles without having to move the handle as much.
The tools I had made the job fairly straight forward, especially the stubby ratchets with flex heads. Once I got the passenger support bracket it place. If you don't have them, I'd recommend them for this job.
The front of the exhaust tunnel - super easy. 5 minutes total. No confusion, just had to figure out which side was forward and which holes I needed to use.
The rear exhaust tunnel - I had to remove a speed washer that was fitted to one of the rear two locations (the out board side of the car), which wouldn't twist off. I had to go in with needle nose pliers and rip it out. Then placement of the plastic panel was fine. I used new speed washers at the rear attachment points, but the plastic nuts would probably be better. I did notice one area where there was some flex in the panel, and it would touch against something else at maximum flex, even with the speed washers pushed up as tight as they would go. I didn't want to ever hear the panel fluttering against anything and making noise, so I wanted to remedy the flex. I pushed out some of the aluminum heat shield around the gas tank so that it was in contact with the plastic panel. It supported the panel enough that the panel no longer flexed, and the only thing that changed was the gap between the heat shield and the gas tank.
The rear subframe panel. I have a GTI, and I bought the small panel. Fitting the bracket was easy and intuitive. I did end up marking a small amount of plastic on a loose test fitting that I wanted to trim/cut for better fitment. I marked the area with silver paint pen, and used a cut off wheel from a dremel tool. I shaved off maybe two strips that were 1/2" by 2 inches long. It was an extra 5 minutes of work, but the panel now fits much better around the strap area for the gas tank. I would say it is more 'flush' with less potential for air to flow over the panel, and now only flow under the panel.
I've kept gas mileage logs for the first 30K miles on the car. I have a pretty standard drive /commute, and should know within a tank or 3 if my gas mileage is improving. As for road noise, I'll let everyone know what I think in a couple days.
Some notes :
The whole process took about 4 hours. I ordered all the parts from E-ACCA for a huge discount from VW dealership prices.
I drove up on Rhino Ramps and installed the factory jack pad kit. That was straight forward and easy, and after watching DAP's video, I probably completed it in less time than he did it in. I was nervous that the rubber would be difficult to push into the car, but it wasn't bad at all.
I was excited to use said new jack pads to jack up my car for this project, except I found that when you jack up the car using any jack pad, there is no way you have clearance to push a jack stand under a pinch weld because your jack is in the way! In the end it went like this : jack up front right side, put a jack stand under rear right pinch weld. Jack up front left side, put a jack stand under rear left pinch weld. Jack up whole front end from the subframe / dogbone insert location, and put jack stands under the front left and right pinch welds.
<rant> I'm a little underwhelmed with the jack pad kit only because of placement/location. I miss my old BMW M3, where the factory jack interfaced with a hole in the side valence of the car and was completely out of the way of the jack pads under the car. </rant>
I have the Harbor Freight low profile 2 ton steel floor jack, if anyone is interested, which looks identical to their newer 3 ton low profile floor jack, except that the handle on mine has a T at the top and a open/close knob for the valve at the end of the handle. I also have 4 Larin 6 Ton jack stands. I like these because they are so big, and can really lift the car off the ground to get some space to work under there. They start at a minimum of 15" and lift to almost 24". I also like that they use a captive lock pin, and not a ratchet mechanism. I worked under my car at 15".
INSTALLATION :
For the skid plate / under engine cover - I did remove the forward lower most screw in the wheel well arch liner on both sides. This allowed me to push some plastic of the wheel arch liner out of the way. I obviously must have small / dexterous arms and hands because I didn't think it was that bad a job. The first side (drivers) I put together in less than 60 seconds. I was able to push the bolt through the hole in the crash frame, then line up the bracket to install and twist the screw in fairly easily. What was everyone complaining about?
The passenger side took me more than 10 minutes! Why? I finally discovered that my forearm was pushing the bracket I was trying to install to a funny angle. Although the screw was lined up with the hole in the bracket, if it isn't headed in straight it just will not thread in.
I used the 12 point "triple square" bolts that are recommended, not standard hex head bolts. I bought a cheap set of triple square sockets off Amazon in anticipation for this project, as well as some stubby flex head ratchets from Harbor Freight. There is an advantage to the triple square : a ratchet will have limited swing range in tight quarters. A six-sided hex head means you might have to move the handle quite a bit to mate the bolt head with the socket. The triple square allows interfacing the socket with the bolt at many more possible angles without having to move the handle as much.
The tools I had made the job fairly straight forward, especially the stubby ratchets with flex heads. Once I got the passenger support bracket it place. If you don't have them, I'd recommend them for this job.
The front of the exhaust tunnel - super easy. 5 minutes total. No confusion, just had to figure out which side was forward and which holes I needed to use.
The rear exhaust tunnel - I had to remove a speed washer that was fitted to one of the rear two locations (the out board side of the car), which wouldn't twist off. I had to go in with needle nose pliers and rip it out. Then placement of the plastic panel was fine. I used new speed washers at the rear attachment points, but the plastic nuts would probably be better. I did notice one area where there was some flex in the panel, and it would touch against something else at maximum flex, even with the speed washers pushed up as tight as they would go. I didn't want to ever hear the panel fluttering against anything and making noise, so I wanted to remedy the flex. I pushed out some of the aluminum heat shield around the gas tank so that it was in contact with the plastic panel. It supported the panel enough that the panel no longer flexed, and the only thing that changed was the gap between the heat shield and the gas tank.
The rear subframe panel. I have a GTI, and I bought the small panel. Fitting the bracket was easy and intuitive. I did end up marking a small amount of plastic on a loose test fitting that I wanted to trim/cut for better fitment. I marked the area with silver paint pen, and used a cut off wheel from a dremel tool. I shaved off maybe two strips that were 1/2" by 2 inches long. It was an extra 5 minutes of work, but the panel now fits much better around the strap area for the gas tank. I would say it is more 'flush' with less potential for air to flow over the panel, and now only flow under the panel.
I've kept gas mileage logs for the first 30K miles on the car. I have a pretty standard drive /commute, and should know within a tank or 3 if my gas mileage is improving. As for road noise, I'll let everyone know what I think in a couple days.
southpawboston
Drag Racing Champion
- Location
- Somerville, MA
Thanks for the review! Curious to know your impressions on the sound reduction. I have all the parts in a saved e-acca cart, ready to take the plunge once I hear an additional opinion on the noise reduction. Our cars are pretty quiet to start with!
Did you go with the thin engine tray or the thicker skid tray?
Did you go with the long or short front exhaust tunnel cover?
And lastly did you go with the Golf Mk5 or Passat rear axle cover?
golfdave
Autocross Champion
- Location
- Scotland (U.K.)
- Car(s)
- Mk7 Golf GT Estate
Glad you everything fitted all ok.....& glad that my initial thoughts on the short rear axle panel were correct......
To fit front brackets is the skid tray (thick GRP)…….also it sounds like he fitted the long front exhaust tunnel tray (as per my pictures)
& the short rear axle tray with only one bracket is the MK5 Golf one & NOT the Passat one...
I went with the thicker GRP skid tray, not the aero tray. I got it on eBay a few months back.
I went with the long front exhaust tunnel cover. My part number ended with C, not K, although it had a sticker that ended with K.
I used the MK5 rear axle cover. (Though it doesn’t really cover the rear axle.) If you use it too, it’s pretty intuitive what needs to be cut for better fit. It isn’t much, but it helps.
VAG Parts Bin
Drag Racing Champion
- Location
- Mt. Lebanon, PA
- Car(s)
- 97 GTI & 17 R
Curious if anyone has fit the exhaust tunnel front cover on a Gol R yet? If so, which cover did you use? 5G0825229C or 5G0825229H? I know it was mentioned on page 1 but I don't think I've seen one posted on an R here - only on 2WD Golfs.
Thx
Thx
Faceman
Autocross Newbie
- Location
- Long Island
- Car(s)
- '17 GSW 4Mo
Looks like the short one is more of a drop in. ECS now has a full length one I've been meaning to order.
Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
golfdave
Autocross Champion
- Location
- Scotland (U.K.)
- Car(s)
- Mk7 Golf GT Estate
VW does two..the one I fitted which I fitted & the very short strip...
The long one requires the cross brace to fit too.....all AWD golfs have the brace for the cardan shaft in this place...so no points to fit the cover...
However in my guide I do list the part for the 2wd bracket as I recon it would be possible to remove the bolts & fit the bracket onto the cardan bracket & bolt through the whole lot...might need bolts 2mm longer...
VAG Parts Bin
Drag Racing Champion
- Location
- Mt. Lebanon, PA
- Car(s)
- 97 GTI & 17 R
Does anyone have a pic of the long 229C and short 230H tunnel shields side by side? I ask as I ordered 230H and it looks just like the pics online of 229C. In fact, it has BOTH part numbers stamped on it!
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VAG Parts Bin
Drag Racing Champion
- Location
- Mt. Lebanon, PA
- Car(s)
- 97 GTI & 17 R
So it looks like 5Q0825229C has the heat shield installed on it (note the nur mit warmabschirmungsblech text) and 5Q0825230H is without it. That is the difference between the two and not the size. Mine has the heat shield, so they actually sent me the wrong part. Since it has both part numbers on it, I can see them making the mistake and it wouldn't have mattered anyhow.
Also, on page 1, "ECS Tuning" is referred to as "ESC" which is incorrect.
Now the question is: Does anyone have pics of 5Q0825230J installed (as this appears to actually be the short tunnel cover)?
Thx
Also, on page 1, "ECS Tuning" is referred to as "ESC" which is incorrect.
Now the question is: Does anyone have pics of 5Q0825230J installed (as this appears to actually be the short tunnel cover)?
Thx
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