Boosting on a Budget- 19birel's MK7.5 Build

[MonkeyMD]

Yep. Coming back home from track, had my cruise control set to 100. That just seems like 65 at this point. 120 feels like 80

 

[DerHase]

Sorry to hear you can't make it to VIR!

You'll be at Fastivus right?

 

[19birel]

Sorry to hear you can't make it to VIR!

You'll be at Fastivus right?

I honestly haven't planned that far ahead yet, but that was an event I was interested in attending since Summit Point isn't too much of a hike. It'll probably just depend on whether I can get the day off work (last day of the month is tricky to get off working in car sales)

 

[19birel]

Installed an 034 Dogbone insert the other day, eliminated a lot of drivetrain lash with minimal NVH increase. 10/10 recommend!
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[19birel]

Took her for her first (and probably last) dealership visit under my care. HMI performance monitor update went smoothly, they wouldn't warranty the grab handle though because the car is flagged in their system as totaled They said they can still honor powertrain warranty and emissions which is cool, but moot as I'm soon to be TD1.


JB4 is off the car as well, likely to never return- was pretty happy with it for what it was but it was an unnecessary step considering my plans for the car


Installed a set of RS7 plugs gapped to .024


You also might have noticed that I'm back on the Pretorias, that's because I ceramic coated the Apexes. The brake dust was plastered on them after last event so I'm hoping this makes cleanup easier.


I have absolutely no clue how that chip got there on the spoke but it drives me buts haha


Inspected the brakes and did a fluid flush as well whilst I was putting the Prets back on. Going to rotate the tyres when I reinstall as well since the fronts are already down to 6/32. Car is pretty much ready to roll, just gotta finalize my onboard camera setup so I actually have usable footage of the event and we should be good.​

 

[19birel]

This weekend at the track was a blast! Learned a lot and met some great people!




Pitted with @reverendsean was great meeting you!


Started off fighting greasy tyres, I thought I had checked the pressures the night before and didn't get a chance to check in the morning because they had us busy all morning. Checked my pressures on lunch break and...40psi Dropped them to 32 all around and the fronts were rolling over just a little too much, so I jumped up to 33 in the front and 32 in the rear and it felt pretty good. Keep in mind these are a more street focused 240TW tyre so they don't have the sidewall stiffness to support lower pressures. I gotta measure the tread but I think there's one day left in them depending on how I treat them on the street, then onto some proper 200TW rubber.

Naturally I had some brake fade with the EBCs, but learned some braking techniques that helped me mitigate it to an extent whilst braking deeper.

The track itself was a blast, lots of elevation change and some off camber corners, rotating the car using off throttle oversteer was key and made it quite fun. I got to do two ride alongs, one in a fully track prepped S2000 with my instructor which was rowdy and one with another instructor in Sean's GTI. Sean's car is pretty wicked and left me thinking two things, one Stage 2 is darn fast on track, why tf do I think a Vortex makes sense? (cue the I told you sos from the back) And I need better brakes, his StopTech ST60s sent me through the windshield they were so good.

As far as brakes go I think my pads are probably close to done (still have to inspect) and my rotors are definitely done so it's prime time for an upgrade. I'm thinking the Macan 4-piston brembo setup could be a good budget option (can't quite swallow the pill on a set of ST60s haha), and I can probably get a deal on them through work. I know better pads and tyres will definitely help with my stock PP calipers, but eventually I'll need more so might as well upgrade sooner than later.

Here is my fastest lap of the day (or so I think, my dragy shit the bed mid-day so I used the car's on board stop-watch to time this lol) At the end of the day there was a solo 1hr open session which this is from. Got in a good few traffic free laps which was nice.

 

[DerHase]

Man I really want to make it up to that track some point soon-ish (next year at this point).

For brakes just get GOOD pads for the stock calipers. Honestly I think the Macan upgrade is a waste. The stock PP pads are considerably thicker and almost the same overall size wise.

I have 5 days on my front DS3.12s and the worst one is down to 13.5mm (new they're a tad under 19mm). Friction material is 7mm remaining, meaning backing plate is ~6.5mm. Macan pads start life at 15.6mm for reference. I could see running them if you didn't have the PP brakes standard, but it's a lateral move not worth it IMO in your case.

It's a shame you can't make VIR this weekend, I'd let you drive my car for a session to see the difference good pads make.

 

[19birel]

Man I really want to make it up to that track some point soon-ish (next year at this point).

For brakes just get GOOD pads for the stock calipers. Honestly I think the Macan upgrade is a waste. The stock PP pads are considerably thicker and almost the same overall size wise.

I have 5 days on my front DS3.12s and the worst one is down to 13.5mm (new they're a tad under 19mm). Friction material is 7mm remaining, meaning backing plate is ~6.5mm. Macan pads start life at 15.6mm for reference. I could see running them if you didn't have the PP brakes standard, but it's a lateral move not worth it IMO in your case.

It's a shame you can't make VIR this weekend, I'd let you drive my car for a session to see the difference good pads make.

It's a great track and a really nice facility all together, definitely recommend it! Auto interests does a great event too, I ended up getting 6 sessions on track which was nice.

You're probably right on that one, unless I say screw it and buy 6-pistons I'll just get some Ferodos for the stock PP calipers for now.

And yeah after this weekend I'm even more bummed about missing out on VIR, but next month there's an event at Nelson Ledges I might be able to make so softens the blow a little.

 

[19birel]

Also forgot to point out, ZERO OIL CONSUMPTION! Was VIR a fluke? Was my 1am oil change before VIR a qt light? idk, but for now I'm not going to get a catch can unless this issues rears its head again.

 

[19birel]

So the GTI finally has a "proper" flash tune! Today I finally banged out a base file via opensource for the car. I have it switchpatched as well so I have map switching which is rad too. It was always a childhood dream of mine to tune a car, whilst I still have many revisions to work through the car feels good, especially since I victimized a modded SN95 Mustang GT 30mins after flashing it haha.

Calc hp is 252 @24psi according to Simostools and it's heat soaking like a MF so It's time to pickup an intercooler. Unlikely to be able to have one installed in time for Nelsons Ledges (assuming I go) so I'll just make a lower boost map to be safe. Even for street use, given how hot it has been, I don't really want to add more boost until I have an intercooler.

As far as brakes go, I think I'm going to try EBC Bluestuff pads up front and stick with the yellows in the rear (bluestuff rears only available for cars with electronic parking brake from what I've seen). Why not go with a set of Ferodos that are a known to be fantastic with these cars on track? I've read some good reviews on the EBCs and they're a decent bit cheaper so I figure it's worth giving them a go. Going to switch to Endless fluid as well. BBK is still likely to happen down the road but for now this is the plan.

Random pic from the other day
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EDIT: Nelsons is next weekend lmao not even time to prep but going to try and find a replacement event for June if possible, time permitting.

 

[Diggs24]

Get that IC stat.

 

[19birel]

Get that IC stat.

Yeah she needs it, CTS is out of stock so probably going to do either ECS or Uni

 

[Diggs24]

mishimoto

 

[MonkeyMD]

I concur

 

[19birel]

mishimoto

Yeah I'm really not trying to drop $1k for an intercooler haha
Edit: apparently I don't have to spend that if I get it somewhere other than ECS without the charge pipes lol