I thought I'd resurrect this thread of mine considering I'm now back in love with the GTI.
The misfires are now a thing of the past.
I've sorted the crappy RCD300. I've now got an RCD510 DAB (thanks @Pashka) and an MDI kit (thanks @Pudding) with an old ipod in the glove box. And the stone-age phone kit has gone.
I recently got a Ramair intake fitted (thanks @rashg60 and @RetroRaz) and I bloody love it! It's the normal bore one rather than oversize, and put simply, it works. There's definitely more power at higher revs. The thing I love about it though (and I think the reason why I'm now back in love with the car) is the noise. It's pure oldskool turbo spool, chatter, dump noise. It makes driving it hard much more of an occasion.
It's not perfect though - there are a couple of downsides. Firstly, if you're rolling around at low speed with no music on (ie mature/sensible mode) the intake is still rather audible. It's a bit like having Darth Vader in the glove box. Even with tiny throttle inputs, and slow release of the throttle, it's there to be heard, huffing and puffing away. However, crack open the driver's window or stick on some tunes at even a low volume, and you don't hear it. No issue.
Next problem is the dreaded 'goose honk' that some k03 cars get with an intake. It's definitely there, not massively, but it's there. I'd read loads on this before I even considered fitting an intake, so what I understand so far is that the noise is inherent in the k03 setup because of the DV position, and an aftermarket intake can amplify the honk, whereas the standard intake is unquestionably designed to mute the honk. [Good name for a band, that]
Anyway. I spoke to @Dan_FR about this, as he's had some success in adjusting the sections of pipework that make up his intake to eliminate the honk. So I did the same, but to no avail. At this point I've got a few options:
Go k04 (definitely cures it)
Relocate DV (90% confident it cures it)
Try a GFB DV+ in the normal k03 position (the jury's out)
I think I'll try option 2 first. Then I'll probably upgrade to a DV+ sometime soon; they're getting lots of good feedback from people worth listening to.
The honk isn't really bugging me as much as it might without the Powervalve screaming behind me (more on that in a bit) but it's still not perfect so it's still getting sorted.
If anyone has the parts for, or can offer any further advice on the DV relocation, give me a shout.
Back to the good bits then. As I mentioned, the seat-of-the-pants-ometer has detected maybe an extra 10 or so extra BHP over the top end of the revs. It definitely pulls harder up there. And I haven't detected the slightest loss of low down torque. Not one bit. Very happy with the power gains considering it's still on the map that was done with the OE cover on.
The best bit though... Between gears, at full chat, I get a BIG dump noise from it. More than I was expecting. I noticed after getting the Loba fitted a while ago that the exhaust now pops if I change up at about 5200RPM. Coupled with the big 'tishh' from the intake, it's simply glorious! Sounds so much different to how it did at a milder state of tune. It really gives me a buzz to drive now. Love it!
In other developments, it's going in next week to have a set of Vogtland coilovers fitted and a general check up of suspension bits. I won't be going silly-low. I've always wanted it to sit 15-20mm lower than it does on the H&R springs, so this will sort that. My dampers are tired too, so coilies made sense. Vogtland use KW dampers, so it'll be interesting to see how these feel.
There are a few cosmetic bits I'm going to sort before summer (gloss black grilles etc) and then it's decision time: S3 IC and tweak to 2+, or..... a change of turbo.
Time will tell
I suppose this is my build thread now, of sorts. I'll probably move it to the right section at some point!
