Indium Gray Metallic Money Pit Mk7.5R

[scrllock]

Hey all,

Wanted to try and keep better track of what I'm doing to this as I get deeper into it. Got into the golf after building a hybrid turbo 335i, and overall this is just a better platform and community. I think these are very capable cars and I'm keen to see how far they can be pushed.

To start, current mods:

Power
IE v2 CAI
CTS TIP
APR TIP
034 TMD
IE TIP
034 hose + aem dryflow filter
APR Pex Intake
VWR R600 intake
EQT Vortex XL + PTP blanket
Garrett Powermax GT2260s w/ cerakoted turbine housing
IS38 ball bearing conversion by Turbo Concepts
Littco L380
Unitronic throttle/outlet piping
ECS intercooler
Do88 Intercooler
Do88 Radiator
CSF aux rad + dsg cooler
CTS high flow downpipe
Trackslag 4" high flow downpipe w/ cerakote
GESI 400cpsi cat
AWE switchpath exhaust v2 + vibrant 17950
Leyo catback
4/5 bar PUT/MAP sensors
A2B 925cc MPI + flex sensor
Bosch direct injectors
PPT Brushless LPFP
RS3 LPFP
UM flex tune
8 bit performance flex tune (RIP)
Russell Road & Racing ecu/tcu tune
NGK R7437-9
Denso IHK24
Denso IKH01-27
RS3 NGK plugs
APR sparkplugs
Denso IKH01-24
ECS catch can + Spulen V2 PCV plate
APR can + plate
Bar-tek oil cooler v2
Fluidampr crank pulley

Drivetrain/Suspension
BFI stage 2 motor/trans mounts
BFI stage 1 dogbone insert
ECS dogbone arm + powerflex hybrid insert
Unitronic dogbone mount (race)
Eurocode front/rear strut bar
Superpro 26/24mm front/rear swaybars
Superpro/whiteline adjustable endlinks
Whiteline WA302L/R front LCAs + powerflex black rear bushings
8Y RS3 front LCAs
Audi aluminum front subframe
CTS subframe collars
DSC Sport controller
Eibach Pro-kit springs (linear)
Ohlins Road & Track (7k/8k swift springs)
Clubsport S Knuckles
Vorshlag camber/caster plates
Whiteline adjustable balljoints
Superpro RTABs
034 adjustable toe arms
SPC rear camber arms
Superpro rear wishbone/knuckle bushings
TB Performance rear chassis brace
Mountune52 rear chassis brace
Quaife QDF33R front diff
Wavetrac rear diff by powerzone/haldex-lsd.
Powerflex black diff bushings

Wheels/Tires
235/40/18 Potenza Sport + 18x9 Neuspeed RSE11R
235/40/18 DWS06+ + 18x8.5 Neuspeed RSE10s
245/40/18 v730 + 18x9 Apex SM-10
motorsport hardware studs

Brakes
8J TTRS 4-pot front brakes w/ RB vented pistons
Girodisc 370x32mm front rotors
RS3 brake ducts
VBT billet steel adapters
Racingbrake front + rear rotors
Mk6R front brembo blanks, centric high carbon rears
DS2500 pads
Carbotech XP10/XP8 pads
TCOFF street pads
RBF600
RF650
Neuspeed/Hel lines

Interior
Stern Performance Clubsport Rear Delete Net/carpet/bar
Autopower Race Roll Bar
Sparco Evo XL
Planted brackets
Schroth Profi XLT 6-points
H3r extinguisher
Zestek OEM racing hub + KMP 330mm wheel
Schroth Quickfit Pro

Exterior
Raceseng Tow Hooks (bit flashy for me but a tow driver took my hook cover off and it's never stayed on since).
Aerofabb V2 Street Splitter
Mk7.5 GTI TCR Rear Spoiler

Won't do some full write up on the path this car has taken, but I bought it in Jan '20 with about 6k on the odo. Went through a pretty quick progression from stage 1 cobb to stage 2 FBO with an EQT tune to a vortex. By October the car was on a road trip out to Denver and things worked out where the fastest (and by no means the cheapest) way to get it into the canyons was a UM tune at Bluewater. Had it re-tuned for 93/low alt back in Chicago, HPA HPFP took a dump in the process so I picked up an MPI kit and went back to the UM dealer for a flex tune.

That's roughly where the car's been since December, I was fighting overboost issues ever since picking it up from the last UM tune. Took it into my usual shop, and it happened to be a week where the car didn't feel like acting up. Decided to just replace the whole actuator setup with a housing upgrade and while we're in there and getting re-tuned, do the Trackslag pipe. Just waiting on a shop appointment.

 

[scrllock]

Unfortunately after testing out my summer setup on the new stud conversion the other night, I blew a couple spark plugs out.


#4 looking pretty gruesome. Got it towed back home, threw my old 1-step colder RS7 plugs in and no misfiring, stumbling or hesitation.
I'm assuming blowby is at least partly responsible, there's definitely some oil in my inlet. Installing a spulen pcv plate and ecs catch can tomorrow as well as some new Denso IHK27s to replace the NGK R7437-9s that are backordered everywhere.

Also started seeing really rough starts with a fuel delivery code and occasional CEL. Logging lpfp requested vs. actual makes it seem like that's way off but the people I've spoken to say that's either a) normal or b) UM's cold start is jank. Under throttle or while cruising, low/high pressure seems totally fine and it's not leaning out, so not super worried yet. Will address with the UM dealer once I'm down there.

Definitely in one of those "everything is breaking" phases but hoping to get the power sorted again so I can finish up the brake and suspension work and get it on track before summer.

 

[PowerDemon]

Awesome build! That is one sweet fueling setup... How do you like the flex tune?

You got a borescope so you can look at the #4 piston? That spark plug is very concerning

Also more pics!!

 

[scrllock]

Parked by an inferior german 4door at a good photo spot the other day:



The flex tune is great, I wish cobb or ecutek would get their act together on it 'cause the UM experience kinda sucks between visiting dealers and having to log with vcds/obd11. Would feel way better if I was doing full logging every time I did a pull just in case, something MHD on the BMW did quite well. Still have my Ecutek dongle in hopes they roll out anti-lag and flex. I'm way too used to the convenience of not having to deal with testing the pumps (which vary a TON here, though I probably have 4-5 e85 stations within 5 mins of my house) to give it up. The only other options atm are syvecs or motec but .

Probably going to get a compression/leakdown test done soon. I have a quote on a built motor but waiting to see how long my daily will be at the dealer for (warrantied) motor work of its own. Not a great time of year to throw the car into the shop for several months.

Bonus pic, my stern rear seat delete kit finally showed up last week, ordered on NYE. Pretty nice clubsport replica and the rear seats weigh about 63 lbs. Ignore the dog fur, getting a pro interior detail soon now that it's thoroughly unsafe for dog transport.

 

[scrllock]

Waffled about whether to go for a verkline subframe, but an A3 popped up at the salvage yard a few miles away so I snagged an aluminum frame for 150 bucks. Cleaned it up and carved the lower puck out for a powerflex hybrid bushing on the way. Getting the dogbone bolt out was NOT easy, but nothing pb blaster, wd40 and an impact couldn't solve.



Only decision left on the front is whether to stick with the BFI arms I have ready to go or spring for some Superpro LCAs. I don't know if the CSS knuckles will be enough camber to fit the meaty 255s that will be going on the Apex SM-10s I have preordered, but I guess I can worry about camber at the strut mount later and avoid another subframe drop.


Speaking of unsprung weight, enjoy this beauty of some RB 2pc rotors. 17.5(!) lbs. Procrastinating on those since the brakes gotta come off for the knuckles and I want to do all of the alignment-related work in one shot.

 

[El_bigote_AJ]

Good score! I was just surfing eBay for them and best I could find with shipping was more than double

 

[scrllock]

Got my spulen pcv plate and ecs can (mostly) installed. Hoping I never have to deal with that wretched inlet fitting again now that the 10AN adapter is on.
Haven't settled on hose routing yet, and I broke the clip on coil #3 badly enough that I decided to waste some money on RS3 coilpacks so I'm gonna wait for those to show up before I button it up.




Also got some Superpro bushings pressed into a fresh set of trailing arms. I had a shop do it after my buddy and I bent an atm horribly on his press and they didn't do a perfect job either. Really don't want to pay $400+ for some pre-pressed arms and deal with sphericals so might just send it on these. Gotta double check I have all my bolts but can finally get the rear arms in.

update: 4/18

Finished up the catch can setup and got some racecar red coils installed. I'm sure it's 100% placebo but the idle feels smoother. Did a few 50-75% throttle pulls to make sure nothing is obviously screwed up, no leaks yet.
Checked out my friend's Radium kit on his Evora and I gotta say, as exciting as a catch can be, those are really nice. Might see how close they are to fitting the ECS bracket or get something fabbed up.




Hopefully making an appointment for a tuning session for the XL and trackslag now that WITW is over. Should have the last pieces of the suspension/drivetrain puzzle tomorrow, too. So close to having the car dialed in for the season (do your suspension and brakes before you double the power!).

 

[scrllock]

ECS dogbone arm arrived, so I mocked it up with the Powerflex hybrid puck, filed the bolt sleeve and trimmed the bushing for the arm. Not too bad, though I can see how people could have a ton of vibrations if the sleeve isn't clocked just right. Thanks to @White18 for the nice write-up on this, though I had to file the thin part of the sleeve for mine.




Kinda procrastinating on the whole job to get that subframe in, still fighting the really rough starts and waiting on my downpipe coating before I take the car down to have UM do some revisions and see what they think. Added about 11.5 gal of shell 93 to bring the E level even further down, tried to start it after I got home and it took several tries to get it going and it threw a CEL again. I'm wondering if the re-fill triggers some reset of STFTs; it seems to be dumping a ton of fuel in to finally get it going, I saw a huge spike on the STFT and heard a big backfire from what I assume was a bunch of fuel getting dumped into the exhaust. Drive/logs fine after that, though with the CEL. I can clear it of course, but I think that just resets trims again.


Also waiting on PPT to send some AN-6 line with his check valve setup, plus he's got some new venturi/top hat stuff cooking I'd like to try. Don't want to go all out on throwing parts at it and get a PM5 just yet, but since it only seems to have issues on start-up, I'm assuming it's the lack of check valve or the tune.

 

[scrllock]

Still waiting on parts/appointments. Had a couple weird steering wheel/ACC issues pop up recently, seemed to be cured after putting my battery on a tender for a bit. Figured I'd go ahead and get a nice Antigravity to replace it, these OE EFB units seem to have problems galore. H5-24-RS, smallest that fit the stock setup without a mount.



Thought I had an H5 already, guess I need to get a smaller blanket. Not too exciting, but weight loss is weight loss.

 

[scrllock]

Finally got my trackslag back from ceramic coating. Looks fantastic! Got an appointment booked in a couple weeks to get the XL and whatnot installed at last.
Went to start it up yesterday and the idle is super rough though. Drives fine under throttle, but does not sound good in park/reverse. Thinking maybe the IHK27s I got have fouled out already? Can't find some of my plug tools so I gotta wait to pull them and check. Worried that maybe it's injectors instead--I assume the UM tune is pretty much DI-only at idle?

 

[TheContender09]

Get the super pro control arms. I have the whiteline control arms and they work amazingly. You can really feel the difference. That’s just my opinion though. Nice build btw I’m subscribed!

 

[scrllock]

Get the super pro control arms. I have the whiteline control arms and they work amazingly. You can really feel the difference. That’s just my opinion though. Nice build btw I’m subscribed!

Been thinking about it. Don't think I need that much camber but they are on sale today

 

[TheContender09]

Well they add more caster than camber so you should be okay.

 

[the]

View attachment 215441

Finally got my trackslag back from ceramic coating. Looks fantastic! Got an appointment booked in a couple weeks to get the XL and whatnot installed at last.
Went to start it up yesterday and the idle is super rough though. Drives fine under throttle, but does not sound good in park/reverse. Thinking maybe the IHK27s I got have fouled out already? Can't find some of my plug tools so I gotta wait to pull them and check. Worried that maybe it's injectors instead--I assume the UM tune is pretty much DI-only at idle?

sounds like my SMF

 

[Rare Ara S3]

View attachment 215441

Finally got my trackslag back from ceramic coating. Looks fantastic! Got an appointment booked in a couple weeks to get the XL and whatnot installed at last.
Went to start it up yesterday and the idle is super rough though. Drives fine under throttle, but does not sound good in park/reverse. Thinking maybe the IHK27s I got have fouled out already? Can't find some of my plug tools so I gotta wait to pull them and check. Worried that maybe it's injectors instead--I assume the UM tune is pretty much DI-only at idle?

codes or faults?