I've got a 2019 Golf R, which is the year VW decided to switch suppliers for direct injectors on their NA 2.0T motors from Bosch to Continental. There have been widespread complaints about premature injector failures, and talking to several shops who rebuild these, they all favor Bosch when possible.
Personally I had at least 2 sets of continentals (06K906036N on the R/S3/TTS) fail. I believe this is a combination of higher crankcase pressure (common with larger turbos and ethanol) and poor tuning. Fuel flow keeps the injectors cool and it's not uncommon to add MPI to a car and have the DI fail shortly thereafter, as some tuners rely heavily on the port injectors, pulling fuel out of the DI system. I also sent my first set out for spray pattern testing and they found that even after cleaning, the pattern was all over the place compared to Bosch. Build quality just seems terrible all around.
Some tuners (EQT) offer a paid service to change your calibration to use the Bosch injectors (GTI or R) as a solution. When my first motor failed, I opted to fit the Bosch R injectors (06L906036AK) via FCPEuro.
This also ended up being a mistake, as the shop that did this did not know to use the proper spacer (which only comes in rebuild kits, not with new injectors):
11 thousand miles later, my second motor developed a bad misfire, and upon inspection, I found scored cylinder walls and decided to tear the motor down for a rebuild. Upon inspection, the only other issue I found was that the Bosch injectors were installed without that spacer, and that they were now sitting 1-2mm deeper into the head than intended. I don't know if it was poor combustion due to a change in spray angle, poor spray pattern from the clogged/burnt injector or what. But there was a ton of carbon on the piston crowns, the head, the injectors, and somehow debris had gotten into the ringlands, causing scoring up past where the rings themselves travel.
(this is a clean bosch injector installed with no spacer)
And this is how a continental looks, or a bosch with a spacer:
I believe that that difference is what caused my second motor to have issues. I sent these injectors out to get cleaned, tested and rebuilt and they said it was one of the most carbonized injector tips they've seen.
This is one of my original continental injectors with 25k on it, next to the much dirtier Bosch with 11k:
So, I figure I'd just make sure I install the spacer in the new motor, but after I started talking to guys who had done this retrofit, most of them aren't using the spacer. A couple who tried ended up with a leak at the o-ring on the rail somehow. Doesn't make any sense to me, as the spacer would just push the injector further into the rail. Me, I've got a new motor to break in, I'm not messing with fuel leaks so I bought new continental injectors and re-sealed them with a slightly taller (2.8mm vs. 2.7mm) teflon seal: https://injector-rehab.com/product/gdi-injector-2-8mm-teflon-combustion-seal/
Not ideal, since I still don't trust the continentals even with a proper MPI split. I'm also looking at this option to machine a second seal, which allegedly combats these issues: https://xtreme-di.com/product/double-seal/
I'm posting this because I'm sure there are other people who've dealt with this and I'm curious what fixed it for them. I know there are some people running the Bosch injectors without a spacer, and I would urge them to fix that ASAP. We've measured a couple DLRA/DKFA heads and found that the injector seat itself is machined differently. I'm tempted to find a CYFB head to have built and ported, just to make sure I can fit the Bosch injectors with no headaches. There are also at least two companies coming out with aftermarket EA888.3 direct injectors in the next year, and I've communicated with both of them about the need to test fit with a 2019+ head.
Personally I had at least 2 sets of continentals (06K906036N on the R/S3/TTS) fail. I believe this is a combination of higher crankcase pressure (common with larger turbos and ethanol) and poor tuning. Fuel flow keeps the injectors cool and it's not uncommon to add MPI to a car and have the DI fail shortly thereafter, as some tuners rely heavily on the port injectors, pulling fuel out of the DI system. I also sent my first set out for spray pattern testing and they found that even after cleaning, the pattern was all over the place compared to Bosch. Build quality just seems terrible all around.
Some tuners (EQT) offer a paid service to change your calibration to use the Bosch injectors (GTI or R) as a solution. When my first motor failed, I opted to fit the Bosch R injectors (06L906036AK) via FCPEuro.
This also ended up being a mistake, as the shop that did this did not know to use the proper spacer (which only comes in rebuild kits, not with new injectors):
11 thousand miles later, my second motor developed a bad misfire, and upon inspection, I found scored cylinder walls and decided to tear the motor down for a rebuild. Upon inspection, the only other issue I found was that the Bosch injectors were installed without that spacer, and that they were now sitting 1-2mm deeper into the head than intended. I don't know if it was poor combustion due to a change in spray angle, poor spray pattern from the clogged/burnt injector or what. But there was a ton of carbon on the piston crowns, the head, the injectors, and somehow debris had gotten into the ringlands, causing scoring up past where the rings themselves travel.
(this is a clean bosch injector installed with no spacer)
And this is how a continental looks, or a bosch with a spacer:
I believe that that difference is what caused my second motor to have issues. I sent these injectors out to get cleaned, tested and rebuilt and they said it was one of the most carbonized injector tips they've seen.
This is one of my original continental injectors with 25k on it, next to the much dirtier Bosch with 11k:
So, I figure I'd just make sure I install the spacer in the new motor, but after I started talking to guys who had done this retrofit, most of them aren't using the spacer. A couple who tried ended up with a leak at the o-ring on the rail somehow. Doesn't make any sense to me, as the spacer would just push the injector further into the rail. Me, I've got a new motor to break in, I'm not messing with fuel leaks so I bought new continental injectors and re-sealed them with a slightly taller (2.8mm vs. 2.7mm) teflon seal: https://injector-rehab.com/product/gdi-injector-2-8mm-teflon-combustion-seal/
Not ideal, since I still don't trust the continentals even with a proper MPI split. I'm also looking at this option to machine a second seal, which allegedly combats these issues: https://xtreme-di.com/product/double-seal/
I'm posting this because I'm sure there are other people who've dealt with this and I'm curious what fixed it for them. I know there are some people running the Bosch injectors without a spacer, and I would urge them to fix that ASAP. We've measured a couple DLRA/DKFA heads and found that the injector seat itself is machined differently. I'm tempted to find a CYFB head to have built and ported, just to make sure I can fit the Bosch injectors with no headaches. There are also at least two companies coming out with aftermarket EA888.3 direct injectors in the next year, and I've communicated with both of them about the need to test fit with a 2019+ head.
