Danger's OEM+ R36

[danger17]

Icelandic grey MY10.5 model.

Factory fitted options:
- RNS510 (removed)
- Bluetooth (removed)
- MDI kit (redundant)
- Reverse camera

Modifications:
- Supersprint sport cat back exhaust
- 19x9 ET33 Omanyt from European Tiguan R-Line
- Discover Media retrofit
- B7 RLine Flat Steering Wheel
- OSIR O-Shift-GT replacement DSG paddle shifters
- Dynaudio retrofit
- Aliexpress smoked sequential mirror turn signals and puddle lights
- Lakin front number plate bracket
- Supernova LEDs (interior, parkers, reverse)
- B7 Climatronics upgrade
- Skyline rear light mod

Future modifications:
- Merlin garage door remote mod

[danger17]

The backstory:

There's no 2 ways about it. I'm an R36 fan... This is my 3rd one!

I bought my first in 2011. A MY09 Biscay Blue wagon. It was brilliant. I loved everything about it. But the time came to sell when we bought our house and we needed to free up some $$$ and become a 2-car family. It was a heartbreaking day, but the fall was softened by the enthusiasm of the new owner - Kamold.



We replaced our family car with an MY09 XT Forester. It was ok. It did everything asked of it without protest. But it was no R36. It felt too high - cornering made me reminisce about the times I rode on an elephant in Thailand or took the winding coastal road from Cairns to Port Douglas in a Hyundai Getz. It was quick enough, but felt strangled under the stock exhaust, and the interior felt cheap. I was not in love, so my wife suggested that we spend a bit of money on the exhaust and suspension (for me), a new head unit (for her) and a reverse camera (because it was really awkward to reverse). I didn’t like the idea of spending any money on it. And then one fateful day in the IKEA carpark... Bang! I backed into a bollard! That was it - it was dead to me. It went up on Carsales as soon as it was fixed and I started my search..

I then bought my 2nd R36. A MY10.5 Reflex Silver Wagon. It was full of options and had a low 79,000kms. Options included:
-Auto tailgate
-Dynaudio
-RNS510
-Sunroof
-Lane assist
-MDI kit
-Bluetooth





It was great. But it was hard owning a silver one. It was just so.. bland! And when it started approaching 100,000kms, I starting to convince myself that paying a few bucks to get into a better colour with lower kms would be a good idea. One of my hobbies is playing ‘what if’ on Carsales, and before I could blink (slowly) I had a buyer lined up.

At the time, there were quite a few low km examples for sale, so I went to see them all. Most weren’t looked after and felt a lot older than the odometer read. But one rainy Friday night, I went to Rozelle to see an Icelandic grey one with 71,000 km.



The good:
-Excellent mechanical condition
-Low kms (71,000)

The bad:
-No auto tailgate
-Front bumper was scratched (now repaired)
-Front grille had slight damage (replaced)
-Some minor dents on the front guard and drivers door (fixed)
-Only one key (now have another one)
-Vegemite on the roof lining (cleaned)

As you can see, there were more bad points than good, but the 2 good points were huge in my mind. And none of the bad couldn’t be dealt with. So I did a deal with the owner and took her home.

I have now owned the car since May 2017 and am only just getting around to writing this up. It is our family car, and my wife drives it 90% of the time for work and ferrying our 2 kids around.

I don't really have any set in stone plans for the car, other than to keep it for a long time and take really good care of it. I definitely don't want to go overboard with the modifications, so will be keeping things very close to standard with OEM+ modifications.

Couldn’t be happier with this car!

Will there be a 4th one?
Probably! I'd really like to have a blue one again - you just can't beat that colour.

[danger17]

Modifications:

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December 2017:
Supersprint sport cat back exhaust:
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This modification was on the top of my to-do list since becoming an R36 owner, but the brand new price has always been prohibitive for me. I'd had an eBay alert set up for years, but the alert never went off. Then I saw one on a silver R36 wagon that was for sale in Canberra. I messaged the seller offering to buy it separately, but he replied concisely with 'no'.

Weeks passed and I got another message from the seller saying that the cars eventual buyer had wanted the car with the standard exhaust and offered it to me. While going back and forth on price an ad was added to the for sale section on here, so I quickly jumped on it before you guys beat me to it.

I drove down to Canberra, where the seller kindly offered to help me fit it. Very nice guy!

Out with the old:




In with the new:












It really is a special modification. Something I'd recommend to anyone with an R36. It's subtle the majority of the time, but when you put your foot down you hear the engine purrrr.

There is really nothing wrong with the standard exhaust. In my opinion it just hides the beautiful engine sound. With the stock exhaust, you could only appreciate the engine noise when you really put your foot down.

Does it drone? For the most part, the answer is no. But if you're on the freeway sitting at approximately 100-110kms, it does. But it's nothing that the volume knob on the stereo doesn't fix.

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December 2018:
MK6 Flat Steering Wheel
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The standard R36 steering wheel has a FANTASTIC feel to it. It's so chunky and feels great. But it's a MKV steering wheel and is starting to date. Mine in particular felt really bad. It was badly faded at the top and had a large scratch on the airbag.

Out with the old:




And in with the new:


The new B7 RLine flat steering wheel really updates the interior. You also get a couple of extra buttons, so I can now answer and hang up calls from the steering wheel and skip audio tracks.

A huge thanks to kamold for fitting this for me!

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December 2018:
OSIR O-Shift-GT replacement DSG paddle shifters
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When I was looking for my first Golf (MK6 GTI) I test drove a modified black one. I didn't end up buying it, but was very impressed with the OSIR shift paddles. I learnt they were a replacement for the original shifters - not just stick on. I loved the feel, but never felt confident fitting them.

When I bought my B7 RLine Flat Steering Wheel, I decided that there was very little that could go wrong while the wheel was off the car. If there was a problem during the install, there would still be a problem free steering wheel to revert to.



Factory DSG paddle removed and compared to the OSIR:


Back view:






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January 2019:
Discovery Media retrofit
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When I bought this car, it had an RNS510 and a Kufatec Fiscon bluetooth module. The RNS is fine, but very dated. The navigation is so slow and using the maps in your phone is so much better over bluetooth, right? Wrong if you have a Kufatec module.

So I went about replacing it with the RCD330+. I actually put one in my MK6R too. They're great bang for buck. For a few hundred bucks, you'll get CarPlay/Android Auto and a modern unit with OEM looks. I did notice a drop in sound quality, but it was fine.

But, I talk to kamold a lot. And I look on eBay a lot... So when I saw a Discovery Media unit pop up for sale, I sought his guidance and went ahead with the purchase. He also helped me source the additional required parts (RVC, cabling, module).

He installed it for me earlier this week. The install took about 20 minutes.

[kamold]

There is no doubt that you are a committed enthusiast
I hope I've done my part by becoming one too and thoroughly enjoying your original R36.

[Passat R36]

Great journey!
R36 Wagon lover here too!

Drool on your Super Sprint,lol

Where will you get your 19 Omanyt? 9 inch with 33 offset will likely to rub rear outer, especially when you go over speed hump too fast or under load. Mine 19x9 +41 with 235/35 tyre will rub rear if I drive over speed hump too quickly.

If your old wheel airbag does not have the scratch, Alcantara wrap is a good choice, matching the seats

Looking forward more mods on yours!

[Passat R36]

Oh, under my Alcantara wrapping is your first Biscay Blue steering wheel, all your first R36 are in good hands,lol

[Scratchyratface]

Some really nice mods on your R36, the new steering wheel makes such a difference as the rest of the interior looks in good condition.

[danger17]

Discover Media retrofit begins thanks to 'the R36 Godfather', kamold:





Have a read of his comprehensive Discover Media retrofit thread.

[3C4M Guy]

What a nice story. Thanks for taking us on a journey through 3 different R36s and for giving us updates on all your mods. I think maybe one day you might end up getting your 4th R36 and it will be Biscay Blue!

I once researched a bunch of different wheel options and found this image of 19" Omanyts for a Phaeton. Thought you might like to see it. They certainly seem to fill the front guards.

[danger17]

Discovery Media install is done!





The RCD330+ was great for the price point, but the Discovery media unit is so much better. The sound quality is back and not having a USB cable coming from the dash feels much cleaner.

Next steps:
1. Route the USB port into the centre console
2. Install and calibrate the RVC
3. Install the Dynaudio system

All of the credit on this goes to our resident R36 encyclopedia - kamold. Have a read of his comprehensive Discover Media retrofit thread. I hope you appreciate the hard work that he's put into figuring it all out. I certainly appreciate him helping with advice on sourcing one, patching it and installing it (and the next steps listed above).

I highly recommend this retrofit!