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Stage 2 Modification Recommendations

EricsVdub

Go Kart Champion
Location
Chicago 'burbs
Car(s)
2019 GTI SE Exp pkg

virpacalis

Go Kart Newbie
Location
near Philly
Car(s)
'17 R DSG
I'd give extra weight and consideration to GTI Jake's info, for I prefer opinions based on excellent experience over those based on weak or nonexistent experience. Feel free to have a different opinion.
 

GTI_Owner

Go Kart Champion
Location
USA
Car(s)
2016 GTI
Let me guess, you've got a bunch of 034 parts?
No.

"I’d recommend skipping everything 034 (overpriced eBay quality junk)" - GTI Jake

Jake/Baun Performance is a product vendor. Maybe not an "official" forum vendor but still a vendor. Referring to another vendor as selling "eBay quality junk" is in poor taste.

Regardless he routinely comes up short in backing up his statements with facts, which is why I pointed out the statements made are opinion.
 

jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
Location
Phoenix
Car(s)
2018 SE DSG
No.

"I’d recommend skipping everything 034 (overpriced eBay quality junk)" - GTI Jake

Jake/Baun Performance is a product vendor. Maybe not an "official" forum vendor but still a vendor. Referring to another vendor as selling "eBay quality junk" is in poor taste.

Regardless he routinely comes up short in backing up his statements with facts, which is why I pointed out the statements made are opinion.
I think calling it eBay quality junk is pretty accurate. You can get some good stuff on there but lots of junk also. As far as Jake goes he has an excellent reputation in the forum and with his customers. Sure it's his opinion but it's backed up by experience.
 

Dog Dad Wagon

Autocross Champion
Location
Go Birds
Car(s)
16 Touareg TDI
No.

"I’d recommend skipping everything 034 (overpriced eBay quality junk)" - GTI Jake

Jake/Baun Performance is a product vendor. Maybe not an "official" forum vendor but still a vendor. Referring to another vendor as selling "eBay quality junk" is in poor taste.

Regardless he routinely comes up short in backing up his statements with facts, which is why I pointed out the statements made are opinion.

it is ebay quality junk, nearly everyone who gets their stuff comes to this conclusion eventually. I used to think they were great, until I had repeated bad experiences with their products.
 

jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
Location
Phoenix
Car(s)
2018 SE DSG
it is ebay quality junk, nearly everyone who gets their stuff comes to this conclusion eventually. I used to think they were great, until I had repeated bad experiences with their products.
To be fair it's not eBay's junk. It's the sellers on eBay.
 

EricsVdub

Go Kart Champion
Location
Chicago 'burbs
Car(s)
2019 GTI SE Exp pkg
Jake/Baun Performance is a product vendor. Maybe not an "official" forum vendor but still a vendor. Referring to another vendor as selling "eBay quality junk" is in poor taste.

Regardless he routinely comes up short in backing up his statements with facts, which is why I pointed out the statements made are opinion. - git_fan
Would this not also be an opinion? To which you are certainly entitled, as I believe Jake is as well. Isn't that what we're all doing here?
 

Dog Dad Wagon

Autocross Champion
Location
Go Birds
Car(s)
16 Touareg TDI
No.

"I’d recommend skipping everything 034 (overpriced eBay quality junk)" - GTI Jake

Jake/Baun Performance is a product vendor. Maybe not an "official" forum vendor but still a vendor. Referring to another vendor as selling "eBay quality junk" is in poor taste.

Regardless he routinely comes up short in backing up his statements with facts, which is why I pointed out the statements made are opinion.

you sound like someone who doesn't have respect for the "opinions" of experts lol. He's not just a product vendor, he's one of the best product vendors for this platform. And he's a one-man shop, compared to big name's like AWE that produce work like his (honestly his shit is better).

In the 10 years ive been perusing car forums, ive learned the aftermarket modding community heavily revolves around the knowledge and expertise of a select few individuals who know more than nearly everyone else. everyone else's feedback on products tends to corroborate the opinions of those select few. I am literally just describing an observation 10 years in the making. this is a fact of how these communities work.

In this case, jake wasn't even steering people in the direction of his work as an alternative, simply stating the FACT that 034 Motorsport's equipment is trash. It's all OEM+ marketing hype for the OEM+ minded VW enthusiasts which we eat up. The product quality/longevity/effectiveness consistently leaves much to be desired.
 

GTI_Owner

Go Kart Champion
Location
USA
Car(s)
2016 GTI
Would this not also be an opinion? To which you are certainly entitled, as I believe Jake is as well. Isn't that what we're all doing here?
With respect to GTI Jake having made statements about products/vendors that he is unable to substantiate, that is a fact. Though describing it as routine is possibly incorrect, I don't follow what he posts here that closely. He does it enough to have caught my attention, like in this thread, and here.

Some facts do make it to these discussions, though to me (indicating opinion) they seem infrequent.
 

GTI_Owner

Go Kart Champion
Location
USA
Car(s)
2016 GTI
you sound like someone who doesn't have respect for the "opinions" of experts lol. He's not just a product vendor, he's one of the best product vendors for this platform. And he's a one-man shop, compared to big name's like AWE that produce work like his (honestly his shit is better).

In the 10 years ive been perusing car forums, ive learned the aftermarket modding community heavily revolves around the knowledge and expertise of a select few individuals who know more than nearly everyone else. everyone else's feedback on products tends to corroborate the opinions of those select few. I am literally just describing an observation 10 years in the making. this is a fact of how these communities work.

In this case, jake wasn't even steering people in the direction of his work as an alternative, simply stating the FACT that 034 Motorsport's equipment is trash. It's all OEM+ marketing hype for the OEM+ minded VW enthusiasts which we eat up. The product quality/longevity/effectiveness consistently leaves much to be desired.
Opinions are ok, when it's clear that they are opinions. I do systems engineering as a profession which relates closely to the process the OP is engaging in. When I seek out contractors to supply products to meet spec'd or capability requirements I don't depend on "expert" opinion of the contractor's reps, they need to demonstrate how their "solution" will meet requirements, normally by way of test results, alternatively they will incur a cost penalty when failing to meet requirements - money back guarantees seem rare in the aftermarket parts/services world.

I don't disagree with your assessment of how these communities work. How these communities work though has come up significantly short when I've sought information to identify product performance with a level of confidence suitable for making a purchase decision.
 

EricsVdub

Go Kart Champion
Location
Chicago 'burbs
Car(s)
2019 GTI SE Exp pkg
With respect to GTI Jake having made statements about products/vendors that he is unable to substantiate, that is a fact. Though describing it as routine is possibly incorrect, I don't follow what he posts here that closely. He does it enough to have caught my attention, like in this thread, and here.

Some facts do make it to these discussions, though to me (indicating opinion) they seem infrequent.
I understand your point, but I didn't take Jake's opinion as fact, just his educated opinion based on my opinion of him from many other posts I've read of his. Jake's opinion about 034 parts was certainly a strong one, and others can obviously disagree, and do since 034 is still in business. We all decide what path we take for ourselves eventually. I just don't believe that because Jake has the skills to develop and produce a few parts for this platform, that it should disqualify him from also being an enthusiast and offering his opinions the same as the rest of us. I don't mean to argue with you at all, as that's what I detest most on these forums. I've read many posts I've disagreed with, as I'm sure many have with posts I've made. I've learned a great deal from this forum by all the information provided, whether fact or opinion. I prefer to read through as much as is available and decide for myself what I agree with or not. (my apologies for the 034 parts joke, I just was just attempting to lighten the mood with humor)
 

krs

Autocross Champion
Location
Las Vegas, NV
Car(s)
MKVIIS R
Forums are purely based on opinion, who really thinks otherwise.

I remember back in the early 2000’s when the opinion was Altezza taillights were the shit for any car, look how wrong they all were. 😂

Sorry, nothing to contribute here. I value reading different opinions towards different things, and value when someone contributes their opinion to my questions. But it’s still up to me to formulate my own opinion based off the info received.

eBay has had the same type of product selling since I first registered in 2004. Some good, plenty of bad.

A few cliche quotes that have been around forever.

“Buy once, cry once.” - spend more for quality first, saves the need for spending money twice or more on cheap quality.

“You can either have it fast, cheap or good, but you can’t have it all.”
 
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