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I decided to ditch Eurodyne for Cobb. I had run Eurodyne stage 1, 1.5, 2, and then Maestro stage 2 over the last 15k miles. The car was quick, but the drivability wasn't perfect. I felt like there was more there, but the one person I wanted to tune my car retired from freelance tuning, leaving me searching for a tuner that I felt I could trust - and I was coming up empty.
Enter EQT. Cobb is running a 10% off deal at the moment, bringing the price of the AccessPort down to $607. But, EQT had a better deal where I could get the Accessport for the normal price ($675) and their OTS map for free (normally $150 by itself) during their boost weather sale. So I jumped on it.
I flashed back to stock and then flashed the EQT file using the AP this evening, and took the car on a quick ~10 mile drive to check things out and make sure it was settling in properly. I didn't go WOT at any point, and I don't think I hit peak boost, but I could immediately tell that low speed driving (parking lot speeds) was much improved and the car had a ton more torque in the mid-range. I opted to have burbles in Race mode enabled, which adds a nice, almost bubbly behaviour to the exhaust on throttle lift off (it is not the same as pops and bangs, that shit's dumb).
And to those thinking it was dumb to switch tuning platforms, yeah - but I should've went with Cobb in the first place. Unfortunately for me, when I went with ED, they and UM were the only tuners with MPI support available. Had I known Cobb was actually going to add that functionality, I would've gone with them from the beginning. Thankfully, I really shouldn't lose a whole lot when I sell the car. I had about $700 tied into ED, and I can sell the cable for $150-175. If/when I sell the AP, I can probably get ~$500 for that, so I'm still coming out ahead compared to going with an APR tune and not being able to sell it at all.
Now I just hope Cobb brings proper flexfuel support to the platform 🤞
Oh and power numbers are unknown since I haven't dyno'd the car. If I had to guess, the car was probably making arond 350/380 at the wheels on Eurodyne. EQT says 390/430 at the wheels with similar mods and their tune. I'm not sure if that was a strict 93 octane tune though. I went with 91 for a slight safety net, so it'll run a bit more rich and not advance timing as much, netting slightly lower power. But as I said above, there is a noticeable difference in torque and how it builds power between the two tunes.
Last edited by civicdrivr; Nov 21, 2019 at 10:55 PM.
Yee buddy! Is the tune finalized? Or is there more logging to be done?
This is a basic OTS map. I don't want to push the IS38 too hard since the shaft has a known weak spot that can fracture. The tune is set to 26psi. 28 is usually where things start to go wrong with the turbo.
When I e-tune, it will be with a hybrid turbo (most likely the Vortex XL).
Cobb is the way to go! The AP is awesome. Next step, look at getting a custom tune on the AP. I bought my AP through Mountune and had Randy Robles send me custom tunes. It's well worth it. I've used the Cobb OTS tunes before and I can feel a huge difference in driveability, throttle & shifting response, etc. Nothing like custom. What does a reputable company charge for a custom tune on the AP for the Golf R?
Cobb is the way to go! The AP is awesome. Next step, look at getting a custom tune on the AP. I bought my AP through Mountune and had Randy Robles send me custom tunes. It's well worth it. I've used the Cobb OTS tunes before and I can feel a huge difference in driveability, throttle & shifting response, etc. Nothing like custom. What does a reputable company charge for a custom tune on the AP for the Golf R?
Originally Posted by TylerT
+1 - Having been in a few OTS tune Stage 3 S4s ... nothing better than custom w/ some corn thrown in there.
So the tune I have isn't a canned Cobb tune, it's an OTS tune from Equilibrium Tuning (the same guy that tuned @Predatorbird s GTI). The canned Cobb maps aren't as refined in comparison, nor do they make as much power - from what I've read.
A custom etune through EQT runs $450, if he's not running any sales. With the modifications I currently have, I wouldn't gain much with an etune. However, if I address the fuel system and run corn, then an etune would make sense, as that can pick up ~50whp with an e50 mix. But for the way my car sits right now, it's not worth, and I haven't seen any signs that I need to get a custom tune just yet.
Last edited by civicdrivr; Nov 22, 2019 at 03:27 PM.
I need to get the car on the dyno. I was making a left turn into traffic yesterday and got on the throttle a bit like I've done in the past, and the back end kicked out. Caught me by surprise. Almost poo'd myself.
Also, the girlfriend thinks the burbles in Race mode is childish.
My 5.7 has S&B cai, Doug Thorley long tube headers, full dual 3" exhaust with Magnaflow mufflers & with a generic BullyDog tune ran 402/412. These guys are talking about 50+ gains over that.
We'll see, I got the kit Friday and sent them my ECU info and logs.
Not a whole lot has changed of late, but I did finally get around to upgrading the subwoofer last month for something a bit stronger. The upgrade is completely plug and play and easily reversible. It uses a 12" Rockford Fosgate R2 thin sub housed in a 30x24x4 box and uses a factory connector. All in, it was about $230. I'm very impressed with the sound quality and added bass. Now I see why everyone on the forums swears by this upgrade:
The best part about it is it still fits under the cargo floor (not pictured...).
And with the beautiful weather we've been seeing this weekend, I finally washed the car for the first time since...October? Maybe September? It was FILTHY. But the ceramic coating, which is about 22 months old at this point, is still performing well. The car cleaned up very easily and quickly and still looks great. I couldn't not take a pic this morning on the rare day where I actually go into the office. I wish the sun was out a bit more though.
I'd love to find a front lip, but I don't like most of the ones on the market, and those I do like at either carbon fiber (do not want) or $500 (hell no).
Last edited by civicdrivr; Feb 3, 2020 at 10:34 AM.
Not a whole lot has changed of late, but I did finally get around to upgrading the subwoofer last month for something a bit stronger. The upgrade is completely plug and play and easily reversible. It uses a 12" Rockford Fosgate R2 thin sub housed in a 30x24x4 box and uses a factory connector. All in, it was about $230. I'm very impressed with the sound quality and added bass. Now I see why everyone on the forums swears by this upgrade:
The best part about it is it still fits under the cargo floor (not pictured...).
And with the beautiful weather we've been seeing this weekend, I finally washed the car for the first time since...October? Maybe September? It was FILTHY. But the ceramic coating, which is about 22 months old at this point, is still performing well. The car cleaned up very easily and quickly and still looks great. I couldn't not take a pic this morning on the rare day where I actually go into the office. I wish the sun was out a bit more though.
I'd love to find a front lip, but I don't like most of the ones on the market, and those I do like at either carbon fiber (do not want) or $500 (hell no).
Nice, crazy how small some of the subs have gotten. Coworker has a pretty small Cerwin-Vega that fits under the back seat of his Colorado & has some decent sound for $150.
Not a fan, but I also don't think they make one specific to the facelift R.
Originally Posted by 00TL-P3.2
Nice, crazy how small some of the subs have gotten. Coworker has a pretty small Cerwin-Vega that fits under the back seat of his Colorado & has some decent sound for $150.
Originally Posted by Aman
A subwoofer and all your cargo space intact?
Boy, things have changed lately. Car looks great! How's the new tune now that you've had a few months on it?
It really is crazy how thin subs have gotten, and how little space the boxes need. I probably could've gotten away with the 10" sub to be honest. But sometimes I like feeling like I'm 16 again
The tune is running great! Still smooth, makes plenty of power. If I end up going any further with the performance of the car, I'll get a pro-tune, but I'm actually pretty content with the car as it sits.
Gas mileage is meh though, but that's more a function of me enjoying torque I went down to South Carolina for Christmas and averaged just under 27mpg on the highway at ~80-85mph most of the way. For the drive back, I decided to change the coding on the Haldex controller to lessen clamping force/engagement of the rear diff, and I picked up 3mpg at the same speeds. I was really surprised by that. But now I know - whenever I'm going on a roadtrip, tweak the coding.
Last edited by civicdrivr; Feb 4, 2020 at 11:05 AM.
I'll let you hear it next weekend - it's not bad at all. I've pretty much turned all of the bass down on the mids so they don't sound muddy, and the sub has it's own channel in the radio. It's certainly not audiophile quality but it's damn good for what it is.
You'd be shocked at how good the TL-S ELS system sounds with new caps in the oem amp and a real sub through the sub channel in the radio.
I'm looking forward to farting in your hatch. Hit me with your best shot...maybe some red alert by dj laz. or nemesis the people want bass.
So not much has happened with the R of late, but I'm getting the itch for something new. I just hit 20k miles and the car is fun to drive, but VW manuals really, truly suck and I'd like a little more space (and a bit more power too). I want a wagon. Specifically, I want an RS6 Avant. But I can't bring myself to dump six figures on a German car that doesn't have the engine in the rear. So, here's what's on my shortlist:
2018+ Panamera Sport Turismo
The V8s are still expensive and the V6 is a hard pass. I'm hoping that by the time I'm ready to pull the trigger, the prices for the V8s will drop further
2017+ E63 Wagon
Casey is not a fan of the way they look, but...she may get overruled
A6 Allroad
Expensive for what it is
A4 Allroad
Yeah I know, completely different compared to the first two cars, but it'scheaper and gives me the ability to pick up a fun car on the side
Downside - 4 cylinder. They just sound...bad.
For the most part, the A6 Allroad pretty much nails it. It has a ton of tech, a V6T engine, heated and cooled seats, and gets about the same gas mileage as the R. But, configured the way I'd order it, it's $83k The A4 Allroad is a more "reasonable" $58k, but...four cylinder.
If I were to move away from the idea of a wagon, there's three cars at the top of my list:
RS5 Sportback
Tesla Model 3 Performance
RS3
The RS3 is on the list simply because it's fast as hell. Aside from that, it's a very distant third - it's just a lateral move from the R since it's so small. The idea of a new car is that it can carry a 90lb dog and (eventually) a rear facing car seat. Can't do that in the RS3.
But realistically, out of those three options, the Model 3 is probably the best suited for me. I work from home. I drive maybe 10k miles a year. I have a garage that I can charge it in. I've been thinking about getting solar, and getting the 3 would push me towards it quicker. The only downside, and it's one that's kept me from pulling the trigger before, is range anxiety. The Tesla can travel 299 miles on a charge. I'll need to stop for 30 mins to visit family in SC, or 1 hour when traveling to NY. In the R, it'll make it to SC without a fill up (barely) and I'll need to stop once on the way to NY. But anyway...those are my random thoughts while I sit in the 4 hour planning session with work.
TL;DR - wants a wagon, will most likely get a Model 3
It was FILTHY. But the ceramic coating, which is about 22 months old at this point, is still performing well. The car cleaned up very easily and quickly and still looks great. I couldn't not take a pic this morning on the rare day where I actually go into the office. I wish the sun was out a bit more though.
The A4 Allroad is a more "reasonable" $58k, but...four cylinder.
I vote E63