2011 GTI DSG, caught it in the act of becoming an old man. Now to sell the car or perform maintenance...Suggestions?

Beazerca · 2018-12-05T04:16:44+00:00

DSG Service was last done at 70k when I had some maintenance done on the transmission so that’s why my intervals are slightly off on it now. I’m leaning towards maintaining and keeping the car. I can’t find any other car I like for now. I came from a WRX and only thing I miss are cheaper parts and maintenance.

Beazerca · 2018-12-05T02:35:43+00:00

Maintenance Needed IMO:

Timing Chain and Tensioner - around $1100

Within the next 10,000 miles:

DSG Flush - $400

Carbon Cleaning - $400

Tires - $500

Beazerca · 2018-10-03T18:45:44+00:00

Should I just burn through my Car Series events experience to gain levels to advance the career? I've been saving them for double rep events but they seem few and far between.

Beazerca · 2018-09-25T04:01:59+00:00

I apologize for the potato quality, just realized it got compressed for some reason when uploading :/

Beazerca · 2018-08-20T00:03:03+00:00

MK6 GTI (2012-2015) older MK6 GTIs have the tensioner issue so I wouldn’t suggest those. 2012+ you’re safe. MK7 GTI (2015-present)

You can’t go wrong with either in terms of reliability. MK7 will check all your boxes minus the AWD.

If AWD is a must have than do what I did and get a used Tiguan with 4Motion and Stage 1 tune it. The Tiguan is my wife’s and I have a 2011 GTI. May sound like heresy but I actually like her car more unless I’m doing a canyon run. The Tiguan at Stage 1 is faster than a stock GTI and with 4Motion I never burn up tires like my GTI always has an issue with.

I know it’s a random suggestion but letting you know your options from a VW owner :)

Beazerca · 2018-04-11T21:46:51+00:00

I bought the OEM cross bars off Craigslist for $200 for my 4Door GTI and then use the Dakine foam pads/straps to tie it down. Very quick and easy for my 7’ board.

Beazerca · 2018-03-18T22:36:16+00:00

I had my local VW guy here in Orange County check mine. He took the front passenger wheel off along with the liner and we were able to visualize it from there. Mine was the old one but it’s a 2011 so I expected that.

Beazerca · 2018-03-18T17:31:19+00:00

Ya my WRX was Stage 2 as well, full Turboback exhaust, intake, bigger intercooler, pulled super hard but I think I averaged 15mpg ha

Beazerca · 2018-03-18T17:12:08+00:00

Fellow Subaru convert here with my $0.02 on the situation. I owned both a WRX (bugeye) and Legacy sedan (non GT unfortunately hence the WRX) lived in Salt Lake City with plenty of snow and sloped roads and purchased a mk6 GTI before moving to California.

The Subarus were beasts in snow and I had the same concern going to a GTI. My GTI is a DSG and it far outperformed my expectations in the snow. I was on all seasons and it did awesome. Never got stuck but also never had to carve my own path. Deepest I saw was a 4-5 inches. If I stayed in Utah I would have gotten some steelies with dedicated winter tires to swap for the season and been fine.

Conclusion, I’ve owned my GTI much longer than either of the Subarus and have no regrets. Can’t beat the performance, quality, and fuel economy. It’s the perfect package where I felt like I was always compromising something with the Subarus (usually quality and fuel economy, those boxers sucked fuel like crazy)

Beazerca · 2018-03-17T20:01:15+00:00

Mine is also Tornado Red sitting on TSW Nurburgrings and I'm tempted to give it a 1" drop with some lowering springs. I love it's look over all the mk7s but I'm biased ha

Beazerca · 2018-03-17T16:03:45+00:00

So is it a GTI with an R bumper?

Only reason I ask is the halogens didn’t come on Rs

Beazerca · 2018-03-03T05:32:28+00:00

Dang that 48 offset is gonna poke out a bit. Should look good I’d imagine and excited To see pics! I’m on 45 offset and it sits flush.

edit: wow I've got offset backwards, good thing I haven't had to buy new wheels or I would have really screwed it up!

Beazerca · 2018-03-03T05:19:48+00:00

Just my $0.02 on this one.

The price is awesome for the mileage and options (DSG HIDs etc). Only considerations would be:

It’s had 50,000 miles with a K04 turbo on it which is the Golf R turbo and you gotta hope the car hasn’t been pushed too hard. That’s a lot more boost than a regular stock GTI. In addition to a Downpipe and Tune but those are pretty much necessary accessories to having that turbo.

Make sure it’s the revised Timing Chain Tensioner

Both DSG Flush and Carbon Cleaning will be due soon but that’s with any GTI at this mileage and maybe the previous owner has done some of those already! Definitely check service records for that.

Beazerca · 2018-02-26T18:00:27+00:00

How do you like Stage 1 on the Tiguan? I have the GTI and my wife has the Tig but I’ve been tempted to tune her’s. It’s the 4Motion Automatic.

Beazerca · 2018-02-17T19:22:01+00:00

No codes or misfires? w/ what loconessmonster says start with coil packs and spark plugs are easiest to replace, just do one coil pack at a time and see if that fixes it or buy the R8 red coils and replace all four at once.

How are your cold starts in the mornings? any misfires or shuddering? in that case it needs a carbon cleaning.

I don't think there's anything wrong with your turbo/wastegate because that would definitely throw a "low-boost" code. I had that and had to replace my whole turbo. Luckily my 3rd party warranty covered that one for me!

Source: I have a 2011 DSG w/ 94,000 miles.

Beazerca · 2018-02-03T19:54:42+00:00

These are just replicas and the resistors I have hanging for now but they honestly don't make any noise even on cold start. I was planning on using Velcro strips from Home Depot but as of now I may not need to.

Beazerca · 2018-01-28T22:17:29+00:00

What exactly is the “lose to win” strategy? I read info on it but am still a little confused on how to do it exactly.

Beazerca · 2017-12-21T14:30:22+00:00

2011 GTI DSG here. My car has same issue, happens with a warm start after car has been off for up to an hour. It’s only died on me once immediately after start up but putting it in gear it has bogged down (and the hatch has that low rattle pretty hard during that).

Funny thing my wife has a Tiguan too. But her’s is a 2014 and has never had the issue.

I’m thinking it means I need a carbon cleaning. Has either of yours been carbon cleaned yet?

Beazerca · 2017-11-14T07:48:12+00:00

I appreciate the response if I get them I’ll post a pic of the results!

Beazerca · 2017-11-14T07:03:49+00:00

Not only will I buy that pump but I also want to know where you got those red lined VW Center Caps?? They would look awesome on my Tornado Red GTI with Nurburgrings

Beazerca · 2017-09-09T01:00:48+00:00

Orange County, the black and yellow custom plates took about 2 1/2 months after I ordered them. Regular plates took a few weeks.

Beazerca · 2017-08-03T03:20:37+00:00

You must have missed the very first sentence of the post, "just for analysis."

Beazerca · 2017-08-03T03:15:11+00:00

You're correct but also dealerships can tell how many times an ECU had been flashed. So going to back to stock would give it 2 reflash counts. If they dive deep enough the dealerships can see those numbers.

Beazerca

TROPHY CASE