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Black Forest Industries Presents: Project Schwarz - MK7 1.8T TSI

black forest ind

Drag Race Newbie
Location
Cary, North Carolina
Car(s)
All of them
C L E A N C A T C H

So to protect this little guy we have recently added one of own Clean Catch EK Oil Separators.



Why do I need a catch can?

With the direct injection motors, the valves have a tendency to develop carbon buildup on the back. This prevents the valves from closing all the way when they are supposed to be which leads to undesired running conditions, and hard starts. A catch can will help to prevent those deposits by collection oil vapor which then turns to liquid which can be easily emptied through various methods.

How many miles does it take to start seeing build up?

Well, glad you asked. We recently came across a post by The Humble Mechanic who is a factory trained VW tech. He had a 1.8T TSI in his bay with only 11k miles This is how the valves looked:





You can view the discussion regarding this post here: https://instagram.com/p/3O1WfnMkwE/?taken-by=humblemechanic

Here's a look at the kit:









We would have taken a few more install photos but there really isn't much to installing one. They come mostly assembled and you just need to bolt the cant bracket to your engine mount (works with both factory and our engine mounts).

IMPORTANT NOTE: Our Clean Catch retains the factory oil separator in all applications rather than replacing it, which means you have TWO levels of defense, rather than just relying solely on the can. Many people see ancillary machined pieces and mistake them for being better. This is not the case! Our kits are specifically designed to work in conjunction with what the original engineers developed, only our kit improves upon it.



Here's a look at the can installed in the MK7:

















The last one is a little preview of what we're up to next...
 

PGT

Ready to race!
Location
NoVA
One wonders why oil separators aren't factory installed if they're critical. Maybe it would reduce $$ earned in the service dept?
 

PGT

Ready to race!
Location
NoVA
psssh. just pipe it into the exhaust with a solenoid and activation button in the center console. #007smokecloud
 

Resolute Blue

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
San Antonio, TX
Such car porn on display! You might be well advised to label this as NSFW! ;)

Great stuff!
 

carterruss

Ready to race!
Location
Boston North
One wonders why oil separators aren't factory installed if they're critical. Maybe it would reduce $$ earned in the service dept?

Universality (is that even a word?). Some people live in colder climates which would also lead to tougher maintenance than someone that lives in warmer climates. I have a fear of it freeze (thus haven't ordered one...yet).

Would be interesting to put a fluid level sensor in one to eliminate having to check and see nothing in it.
 

black forest ind

Drag Race Newbie
Location
Cary, North Carolina
Car(s)
All of them
So we finally got around to making this thing a little faster. We ultimately will be installing APR Software, however they are still currently calibrating for the box code that our Golf is equipped with and to date there is nothing available. In the meantime we decided to install a JB1 from Burger Motorsports.

As many of you are aware this is a plug and play "piggy back" that increases horsepower an advertised 35hp and 45 ft lbs. Installation is very simple, and in the case of our Golf 1 of the 4 sensors is not used so that leaves 3 connections you need to make in the engine bay, none of which (in our case) are difficult to reach. The lower connection (not pictured) is on the charge pipe and that can be accessed from the ground with the belly pan removed. All in all maybe a 15-20 min install.

The car is immediately noticeably faster, spiking at just over 20psi and tapering off in the high teens. This is consistent with the claimed 4.75 psi increase as before the car would spike around 15 and hold low teens. Power delivery is fairly smooth, although my experience with software , APR specifically has been even smoother. We plan to get some more info, hopefully dyno information as well as video.

Also, another feature of the JB1, you can purchase an optional cable which will allow you to change settings to correspond to hardware upgrades. ie Stage 2 / Downpipe.
















Below are the 2 connectors on top of the motor that are easily accessible. The lower connection (not pictured) is on the charge pipe and that can be accessed from the ground with the belly pan removed.







Temporarily tucked the JB1 away in our custom MK6 battery box:

 

black forest ind

Drag Race Newbie
Location
Cary, North Carolina
Car(s)
All of them
Alright so we finally got around to doing a little bit more on the car. We have been pretty slammed, so finding time to get the car in has been difficult. Recently we started offering Soumatrix speaker upgrades for Volkswagens. These German made speakers are a direct replacement for your factory speakers, but feature much better construction, beefier magnet and integrated tweeter. The quality of construction on these immediately evident when you hold them in your hand, and they are clearly far superior to stock ones.

So far we have only had the time to install the fronts, which was very very easy. The only thing you'll need is a crappy at best drill, for drilling out the rivets, and a rivet gun. Plastic interior tools and a screwdriver are also needed but obviously more common. Beyond that just some patience and a little strength to pry the door cards loose is all it takes.


*Now we will note that Soumatrix recommends disconnecting the factory tweeters for optimum sound, however to my ear it's perfectly fine at the moment with the settings how I have them. To disconnect the factory tweeters you need to remove the A pillar, which is a little more involved but not terribly difficult.


Here's a comparison of the stock vs the Soumatrix speakers



Here's a look at what's in the XTASE kit.



















The trickiest part is the 'cam' screw that requires a 90* turn at the bottom of the door card. This does not unscrew, just the 90* turn to release.





















Initial impressions are immediately noticeable with a much fuller midrange and more bass. Basically I can go well beyond 'half' volume and not experience nearly any distortion, whereas before several tracks would 'bottom out' specifically with midrange kick. To me the treble was not overbearing even with the factory tweeters connected but they may have to do with my settings. We may go to the trouble to disconnect them in the future but at the moment I am satisfied. The front two speakers are probably going to be the most noticeable but when we get another opportunity we will be installing the rears to get the full effect, but already it's very noticeable... I will report back as soon as we get all 4 installed. (rear of the two door is a little involved supposedly).
 

black forest ind

Drag Race Newbie
Location
Cary, North Carolina
Car(s)
All of them
We are now regularly stocking Go Fast Bits parts, including their DV+ , and since we had one laying around we decided to take the opportunity to fit one of those as well as an APR Turbo Muffler delete while we were in there.





Turbo Muffler Delete

































It was next to impossible to get any photos of the turbo muffler delete process, as access is very difficult. Here's a look at the two pieces side by side to show an idea of the differences.





So overall, this is not a huge night and day difference in performance or sound, but with the two combined off boost you can hear the diverted air much more audibly, but on boost the turbo is only noticeably louder. While boost is building it seems to be slightly smoother, and boost holds better at peak without bleeding off as quickly if at all, whereas before that was something that was a slight issue with the stock parts installed.

Overall driveability is much improved and durability has definitely increased. So depending on what you're after and what you're expecting this may be a great option for you.

You can see the GFB DV+ for MQB 1.8T & 2.0T

and the Turbo Muffler Delete on our website
 
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