Golf R Observations and Questions

[G-rig]

All of the intercoolers differ a bit, I remember Guy saying there was some cost cutting on the R so isn't exactly the same as S3.. People doing big mods would most likely replace it anyway.

[Corey_R]

Hey triode12, I've heard as well that the Pirelli's IC was larger than the GTI too.

But it is 100% true about the Golf GTI and R having the same intercooler. Here are some pictures. I hope Guy_H has no issue with me borrowing his photos!
This is from the "build photos" of Guy's Stage III S3 a few years back:

You can see the APR Intercooler on the left, the S3's in the middle, and the GTI's on the right.

And this is from the build photos of Guy's Stage III R.

You can see the APR Intercooler next to the R's intercooler. You can clearly see that the R's thickness and end caps are identical to the GTI.

[dave_r]

You can see the APR Intercooler on the right, the S3's in the middle, and the GTI's on the right.

APR on the left you mean? And to me, that S3 item looks a "touch" wider than the GTI on the left? Might be the angle of the photo?

[Corey_R]

APR on the left you mean? And to me, that S3 item looks a "touch" wider than the GTI on the left? Might be the angle of the photo?

*doh*

Thanks, fixed that up.

Yep - the S3 intercooler is definitely wider than the Golf R/GTI intercooler.
This is why some people used to upgrade their GTI's to the S3 intercooler as a cheap alternative to the aftermarket products.

But back to the original point of all this. Whilst I've heard good things about the Forge twin-cooler, since the Golf R's IC is not the same or as capable as the S3 IC, to me it makes more sense to address that deficiency first before adding 2nd intercoolers.

[FastGolfR]

Ok I will get a blue one. It is a great colour and different from all those white ones being ordered.

[triode12]

By the looks of things, the R/ MK6 GTI may now have the Pirelli IC as well (confirmation is needed on this). The difference in thickness between the Pirelli and S3 IC is 1cm. And conclusions made was that the increase in performance was neglible and that it was money better spent on the APR IC instead. So as a cheap alternative to upgrading to the APR IC (with all the cost and trouble involved in removing the original), the Forge twincooler was recommended. Hence, why I mentioned it over the upgrade to the S3 IC.

*doh*

Thanks, fixed that up.

Yep - the S3 intercooler is definitely wider than the Golf R/GTI intercooler.
This is why some people used to upgrade their GTI's to the S3 intercooler as a cheap alternative to the aftermarket products.

But back to the original point of all this. Whilst I've heard good things about the Forge twin-cooler, since the Golf R's IC is not the same or as capable as the S3 IC, to me it makes more sense to address that deficiency first before adding 2nd intercoolers.

[xrayshaggy]

So has anyone removed the ugly front number plate holder from their R yet? If so, how far apart are the screw holes? After a recent decision to move states I will now be forced to have non European plates that won't fill the holder and am thinking about removing it again. Would prefer to do this at delivery if possible before the application of paint protection film.

[FastGolfR]

Probably only 3 options:

1: sell it and buy a Prius (and don't replace it with a GT3 - that's for sure!)
2: park it away from the house
3: sound proof your garage / daughters room

tough one, I'm sure there will be plenty of forum members that will surely help you dispose of it!

Perhaps she could move!!

[G-rig]

So has anyone removed the ugly front number plate holder from their R yet? If so, how far apart are the screw holes? After a recent decision to move states I will now be forced to have non European plates that won't fill the holder and am thinking about removing it again. Would prefer to do this at delivery if possible before the application of paint protection film.

If anyone has taken their number plate holder and doesn't want it I'll grab it/buy it.
Cheers,

[Corey_R]

So has anyone removed the ugly front number plate holder from their R yet? If so, how far apart are the screw holes? After a recent decision to move states I will now be forced to have non European plates that won't fill the holder and am thinking about removing it again. Would prefer to do this at delivery if possible before the application of paint protection film.

If anyone has taken their number plate holder and doesn't want it I'll grab it/buy it.
Cheers,

Yep, plenty of people have removed their number plate holder. On the GTI, a trick was to just use the screw hole plugs to plug up the holes left by the plate holder and not covered by the number plate. But the GTI and R's plate holder is different and with the R you would have 4 holes visible. So I think that this it he more elegant solution!

AdamD's Lakin Plate Holder Install

Of course, AdamD's car is a GTI too, but Lakin Plates can make the same bracket but for the R (it probably has 4 screws, but they're black anyway).

For reference of what the R's plate holder looks like, check out the Blue R in my post, immediately below AdamD's