FYI, Cyl2 has always been more grumpy in my car. Others have reported similarly. Whitish coloring on the strap is typical for ethanol cars. Large metal flakes on one plug means you should look into it. Having a boroscope on hand is never a bad idea. They are pretty cheap. Peak into the cylinders and see if anything is amiss.
These are the oem plugs I pulled from the 3.6 in the Passat last weekend, they have 32k on them, and I can say from a drivability and idle standpoint on this N.A motor there is ZERO difference from replacing them. The whole change every 5 k as safe measure is a bit excessive esp on a ots car. (unless you running brisks )
Probably not when it comes to detonation. What you're seeing on the plugs is little bits of aluminum from the pistons. They're both the same heat range and detonation has more to do with air/fuel ratio and compression ratio than your plug. Again, Diggs is probably the better one to answer that question.
Cyl 2 is likely a little lean. You might want to clean or replace that injector. It could also be similar to the STI, where cyl 4 next to the turbo and ran extra hot. This caused detonation in that cylinder. When ringlands failed, it was always cyl 4. Maybe there's just an inherent heat source that make cyl 2 run hotter in these? The only cure for that is less aggressive tune.
Don't do the Helix!
The GT has the 6 speaker system, and I added it to our R-line back in the day (same setup) and it didn't do much of anything. I tried every program too.
Now the Helix with the Passat (SE w/Tech) 8 Speaker system....the Helix sounded AMAZING with that system. Best "stereo" I ever had in a car. The only downside was that I had to leave the tool/jack kit laying in the trunk though, lol.
But again, don't waste your time/money on the Helix with your GT though.
Yeah, I saw a post of yours on vortex noting that the 6speaker setup didn’t do well with it.
I want to keep the spare, so I may just install my current CW 12” spare tire sub that I have it the GTI now, since I can now build a custom setup in that ones hatch since I don’t care if dump the spare in that one since I don’t DD it anymore.
In lieu of coilovers I was also looking into just running Bilstein B8s and springs for the simplification and cost… what springs have you seen that will get me like 3/4” lower than the current GT springs? It seems slim pickings for the vr6 b7s with springs. I seen people running non vr kits and while it looks good I question the front to back balance when doing that. My mk6 gli has sportlines - that go low and weren’t harsh at all. But I couldnt find a sportline set when I googled it.
FYI, Cyl2 has always been more grumpy in my car. Others have reported similarly. Whitish coloring on the strap is typical for ethanol cars. Large metal flakes on one plug means you should look into it. Having a boroscope on hand is never a bad idea. They are pretty cheap. Peak into the cylinders and see if anything is amiss.
Got the clutch packs out last night. There's some heat induced wear on a couple of the steel discs, but the friction discs look fine. I was expecting excessive wear of the friction material. Next step is finding a good micrometer to measure the individual disc and stack thickness, but I have been unable to find a minimum thickness measurement; only new thickness measurements.
The fluid that came out of the transmission looked great so the last possible wear item is the DSG oil pump. If it's not the clutches or pump I guess its time for a new Golf R DQ250!
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