Anyone using the Powerflex hybrid dogbone puck?

[Diggs24]

Torque the bolt to spec.

 

[anotero]

Torque the bolt to spec.

Just pushed it in with a jack a tiny bit. Should be good to go.

 

[anotero]

Torque the bolt to spec.

Did you torque the puck bolt all the way to 96 ft-lb?

 

[Diggs24]

75 + 1/4 turn

 

[anotero]

75 + 1/4 turn

What's the reason for that? The service manual says to go to 130 Nm, which is about 96 ft-lb, plus a quarter turn. The reason I ask is because I've seen different thoughts on this.

 

[Diggs24]

95 then.

 

[IanCH]

I did 96+1/4 with a new bolt. Thats a hard torque to reach but you can do it.

 

[anotero]

I did 96+1/4 with a new bolt. Thats a hard torque to reach but you can do it.

I have a two meter long metal pipe i put over my torque wrench/breaker bar for situations like this.

 

[White18]

general consensus is if you’re going hybrid it’s not needed. You can reuse stock pendulum arm. There is a guy on here who nodded his hybrid to allow for roc-euro bar

After talking with GTI Jake, I had installed BFI Stage 1 motor mount and BFI Stage 1 trans mount insert. I have used them with a PowerFlex hybrid lower puck with a Roc-Euro bar and with a OEM pendulum arm. With the OE bar vibration was very low but still there a little in Drive and reverse with the AC on. It was even less with the R-E bar but in the back of my mind I could not forget the story about the transmission case damage reported. I just installed an ECS Tuning pendulum arm. This combination of BFI mounts, PF Hybrid and ECS pendulum arm is beyond amazing. There is no vibration in drive. In reverse it is barely perceivable if at all. AC-on or AC-off makes zero difference. This is with a brand new PF Hybrid and ECS pendulum arm. Once I get a few miles on this set-up, I fully expect to have a totally OEM-like NVH. I have had the BFI mounts for a couple months now and they have settled in beautifully, just like Jake assured me. The motor and trans feel very planted. Throttle feel is great and there is none of the rocking motion that plagues the stock set-up.

Fitting the ECS pendulum arm required a couple very simple mods to the hybrid and its metal insert sleeve. The PF Hybrid's metal insert is very slightly too wide to fit between the side bars of the ECS pendulum arm. A couple passes on opposite sides of the insert with a file produced small flats that let the insert slip into place. These same ECS dogbone side bars also have a cross-brace running between them that the OEM pendulum arm does not. I had to trim a small piece off the end of each of the 2 poly ribs that sit inside the pendulum arm's channel because they hit the pendulum arm's cross-brace and prevented the pendulum arm from sliding all the way in. Both mods were very minor and have no effect on the function of either hybrid mount or the pendulum arm.

I used the 3 new bolts supplied by ECS and torqued to OE specs including the full 90* follow-up angle. After tightening the 3 bolts, I torqued the pendulum arm cross-bolt to 65 ft-lb per ECS's instructions.

I was expecting some NVH but was in shock when there was none. I was willing to compromise some NVH to not use the R-E bar. With the BFI mounts and PF hybrid I was and could have remained quite satisfied with the low NVH I had. However, I already had an ECS pendulum arm I bought a couple months ago and never used so I decided to try it. So glad I did. I feel like I have had to give up nothing NVH-wise to get much better motor/transmission control. Nothing except money, that is. LOL.

I started a new thread to make this easier to search and find and added photos of the modifications of the Hybrid puck to fit the ECS Pendulum mount. Click here.

 

[Dog Dad Wagon]

After talking with GTI Jake, I had installed BFI Stage 1 motor mount and BFI Stage 1 trans mount insert. I have used them with a PowerFlex hybrid lower puck with a Roc-Euro bar and with a OEM dogbone. With the OE bar vibration was very low but still there a little in Drive and reverse with the AC on. It was even less with the R-E bar but in the back of my mind I could not forget the story about the transmission case damage reported. I just installed an ESC dogbone. This combination of BFI mounts, PF Hybrid and ESC dogbone is beyond amazing. There is no vibration in drive. In reverse it is barely perceivable if at all. AC-on or AC-off makes zero difference. This is with a brand new PF Hybrid and ESC dogbone. Once I get a few miles on this set-up, I fully expect to have a totally OEM-like NVH. I have had the BFI mounts for a couple months now and they have settled in beautifully, just like Jake assured me. The motor and trans feel very planted. Throttle feel is great and there is none of the rocking motion that plagues the stock set-up.

Fitting the ESC Dogbone required a couple very simple mods to the hybrid and its metal insert sleeve. The PF Hybrid's metal insert is very slightly too wide to fit between the side bars of the ESC dogbone. A couple passes on opposite sides of the insert with a file produced small flats that let the insert slip into place. These same ESC dogbone side bars also have a cross-brace running between them that the OEM dogbone does not. I had to trim a small piece off the end of each of the 2 poly ribs that sit inside the dogbone's channel because they hit the dogbone's cross-brace and prevented the dogbone from sliding all the way in. Both mods were very minor and have no effect on the function of either hybrid mount or the dogbone.

I used the 3 new bolts supplied by ESC and torqued to OE specs including the full 90* follow-up angle. After tightening the 3 bolts, I torqued the dogbones cross-bolt to 65 ft-lb per ESC's instructions.

I was expecting some NVH but was in shock when there was none. I was willing to compromise some NVH to not use the R-E bar. With the BFI mounts and PF hybrid I was and could have remained quite satisfied with the low NVH I had. However, I already had an ESC dogbone I bought a couple months ago and never used so I decided to try it. So glad I did. I feel like I have had to give up nothing NVH-wise to get much better motor/transmission control. Nothing except money, that is. LOL.

this is awesome man! Very good feedback. And just to verify - not only do you experience little to no NVH, your drivetrain still feels planted and solid?

 

[anotero]

After talking with GTI Jake, I had installed BFI Stage 1 motor mount and BFI Stage 1 trans mount insert. I have used them with a PowerFlex hybrid lower puck with a Roc-Euro bar and with a OEM dogbone. With the OE bar vibration was very low but still there a little in Drive and reverse with the AC on. It was even less with the R-E bar but in the back of my mind I could not forget the story about the transmission case damage reported. I just installed an ESC dogbone. This combination of BFI mounts, PF Hybrid and ESC dogbone is beyond amazing. There is no vibration in drive. In reverse it is barely perceivable if at all. AC-on or AC-off makes zero difference. This is with a brand new PF Hybrid and ESC dogbone. Once I get a few miles on this set-up, I fully expect to have a totally OEM-like NVH. I have had the BFI mounts for a couple months now and they have settled in beautifully, just like Jake assured me. The motor and trans feel very planted. Throttle feel is great and there is none of the rocking motion that plagues the stock set-up.

Fitting the ESC Dogbone required a couple very simple mods to the hybrid and its metal insert sleeve. The PF Hybrid's metal insert is very slightly too wide to fit between the side bars of the ESC dogbone. A couple passes on opposite sides of the insert with a file produced small flats that let the insert slip into place. These same ESC dogbone side bars also have a cross-brace running between them that the OEM dogbone does not. I had to trim a small piece off the end of each of the 2 poly ribs that sit inside the dogbone's channel because they hit the dogbone's cross-brace and prevented the dogbone from sliding all the way in. Both mods were very minor and have no effect on the function of either hybrid mount or the dogbone.

I used the 3 new bolts supplied by ESC and torqued to OE specs including the full 90* follow-up angle. After tightening the 3 bolts, I torqued the dogbones cross-bolt to 65 ft-lb per ESC's instructions.

I was expecting some NVH but was in shock when there was none. I was willing to compromise some NVH to not use the R-E bar. With the BFI mounts and PF hybrid I was and could have remained quite satisfied with the low NVH I had. However, I already had an ESC dogbone I bought a couple months ago and never used so I decided to try it. So glad I did. I feel like I have had to give up nothing NVH-wise to get much better motor/transmission control. Nothing except money, that is. LOL.

Awesome review.

 

[White18]

this is awesome man! Very good feedback. And just to verify - not only do you experience little to no NVH, your drivetrain still feels planted and solid?

Correct. Very much so.

 

[daconchslop]

After talking with GTI Jake, I had installed BFI Stage 1 motor mount and BFI Stage 1 trans mount insert. I have used them with a PowerFlex hybrid lower puck with a Roc-Euro bar and with a OEM dogbone. With the OE bar vibration was very low but still there a little in Drive and reverse with the AC on. It was even less with the R-E bar but in the back of my mind I could not forget the story about the transmission case damage reported. I just installed an ESC dogbone. This combination of BFI mounts, PF Hybrid and ESC dogbone is beyond amazing. There is no vibration in drive. In reverse it is barely perceivable if at all. AC-on or AC-off makes zero difference. This is with a brand new PF Hybrid and ESC dogbone. Once I get a few miles on this set-up, I fully expect to have a totally OEM-like NVH. I have had the BFI mounts for a couple months now and they have settled in beautifully, just like Jake assured me. The motor and trans feel very planted. Throttle feel is great and there is none of the rocking motion that plagues the stock set-up.

Fitting the ESC Dogbone required a couple very simple mods to the hybrid and its metal insert sleeve. The PF Hybrid's metal insert is very slightly too wide to fit between the side bars of the ESC dogbone. A couple passes on opposite sides of the insert with a file produced small flats that let the insert slip into place. These same ESC dogbone side bars also have a cross-brace running between them that the OEM dogbone does not. I had to trim a small piece off the end of each of the 2 poly ribs that sit inside the dogbone's channel because they hit the dogbone's cross-brace and prevented the dogbone from sliding all the way in. Both mods were very minor and have no effect on the function of either hybrid mount or the dogbone.

I used the 3 new bolts supplied by ESC and torqued to OE specs including the full 90* follow-up angle. After tightening the 3 bolts, I torqued the dogbones cross-bolt to 65 ft-lb per ESC's instructions.

I was expecting some NVH but was in shock when there was none. I was willing to compromise some NVH to not use the R-E bar. With the BFI mounts and PF hybrid I was and could have remained quite satisfied with the low NVH I had. However, I already had an ESC dogbone I bought a couple months ago and never used so I decided to try it. So glad I did. I feel like I have had to give up nothing NVH-wise to get much better motor/transmission control. Nothing except money, that is. LOL.

Nice write up. I left the R-E bar off too. Sounds like a solid arm really does help out with NVH when combined with solid mounts and a Powerflex Hybrid. Also, it’s ECS...ESC is traction control

 

[White18]

Nice write up. I left the R-E bar off too. Sounds like a solid arm really does help out with NVH when combined with solid mounts and a Powerflex Hybrid. Also, it’s ECS...ESC is traction control

LOL. so many acronyms to remember. Thanks. You are correct. ECS Tuning. I edited my post to correct.

The Roc-Euro bar with the PF Hybrid is better (for NVH) than the OEM dogbone with the Powerflex Hybrid. It is better with stock motor/trans mounts or with the BFI versions. I was just uncomfortable with the rigidness of the R-E bar and went back to the OE dogbone even though there was slightly more NVH with it. The BFI mounts added only slightly more vibration (barely noticeable) but were so worth it given how solid everything feels.

Adding the ECS Tuning dogbone was like having my cake and eating it, too. Everything is very solid. NVH is like stock. Win-win! I could have easily lived with the PF hybrid, BFI mounts and OE dogbone as NVH was only slightly more than OEM with my DSG GTI and even then it was only at idle in gear or when in reverse. However, with the addition of the ECS Tuning dogbone there was no need to compromise.

 

[jimlloyd40]

LOL. so many acronyms to remember. Thanks. You are correct. ECS Tuning. I edited my post to correct.

You're not kidding. When I got my GTI and joined the forum I was lost with all the acronyms since I it was my first VW. Some are universal but the GTI specific ones had me lost for a while.