Poyta's GT

**poyta** · 17-06-2011, 11:11 AM

In my opinion one of the best bang for your bucks is the APR Engine Mount Insert. It's inserted into the existing engine mount, which greatly reduces driveline shock and drivetrain slack, resulting in improved power transfer. I managed to buy one for about $90.

Installation is simple - You just jack the car up, remove the engine cover that covers the engine mount, remove the bolt that holds the current mount and then with lots of lubrication push the insert into the existing mount and replace the bolt.

I was a bit apprehensive about it at first since I heard it increases drivetrain vibration, especially in a diesel.
I can report that there's definitely more vibration in the car but only when she's cold in the morning - start up really shakes the car into life ( it was very concerning at first ) and then the car keys go into this harmonic vibration from the vibrations. Take off when cold is very touchy- no longer very absorbed or fluid like - more like a racing clutch has been installed. This is all goes away after the engine warms up within about 5 minutes though and then its very similar to before. If the car goes into DPF regen mode or the compressor kicks in for aircon you can feel the change in revs more ( kind of bangs ) but apart from that it not too bad. I can happily report that after a few weeks it settles down a lot and is much less noticeable ( maybe its just me getting used to it though ) .

The traction is the biggest surprise now - not only is the axle tramp completely gone but it seems to grip a lot better. Whereas before it would spin like crazy and axle tramp all the way through first gear and the again spin in 2nd and sometimes chirp in 3rd I now spin off the line smooth and slamming it into 2nd only brings a small chirp. Too bad I never took any proper 0-100 times before and after because I swear she'd be so much quicker just because its easier to launch. Fantastic cheap modification that everyone should buy!!! Highly recommended. Hell its always removable so if you don't like it you can take it out.

**poyta** · 22-06-2011, 11:07 AM

Got my APR Carbon Fibre Cold Air intake system finally delivered. Bloody expensive piece of kit at around $600 delivered from APR Australia but a lot cheaper if you manage to get it imported from overseas like I did. I managed to get mine for just a bit over $300. APR Australia have some kind of agreement with most overseas stores that they are not allowed to sell to Australia so we aussies need to go through the Australian distributor but after a bit of a search and some talks with some overseas stores I managed to find one store owner who didn't care and we made the deal.

The kit comes with everything and the really clear installation instructions .Its so easy to install that I'm not going to bother writing up an installation guide. Here's some before and after photos.

Now...my opinion.

Anyone looking to buy one of these for the so called increase in induction noise may be a bit disappointed. Sure there is a slight increase in noise but only slight. I was hoping it would be much more noticeable and was comparing it to when one of my friends got an open air-filter pod installed on his Nissan Skyline. That thing after getting the pod sounded like Varth Vader suffering from an asthma attack! Even with his loud booming exhaust you could hear it whereas with this APR unit it sounds more like someone sitting next to you sucking from a straw. With the windows up its almost non existent.
Power gains or any faster spooling aren't really noticeable - perhaps there is some improvement but this would more likely be shown on a dyno rather than actually felt as I suspect the gains are very small - I suspect anyone who says they can actually feel a different are suffering from a placebo effect.
Not sure what the heat insulation properties will be like because the airbox is made from a very thin sheet of carbon fibre. In fact if you look through air inlet its almost transparent!
The big bonus ( as this would be the main reason I got one ) is that it frees up heaps of room in the engine bay ( As you can see in the photo above ) so for someone like me who in the future wants to add something like a Provent its a perfect solution. Another bonus is that it looks f$%king fantastic and the fact that its a washable filter is great - no more need to buy those rather expensive replacement filters from VW.
If I had spent the $600 that Australian distributors want for one of these I think I'd be a little disappointed but having imported it for about half that amount I'm quite happy with my purchase.

**poyta** · 22-06-2011, 11:19 AM

After doing the APR Inlet upgrade you can then remove the MAF grid from the Mass Air Flow Meter. This grid is quite restrictive to the airflow ( 22% apparently ) so you can expect some gains by removing it. The grid is there to smooth out the turbulent airflow over the MAF sensor after the 90 degree bend out of the stock airbox so if you have a stock airbox I would not recommend this. Since my airbox is now a straight through design there is no turbulent air so its safe. Here's a quick run down on how to remove the grid.

Remove the airflow meter from the car. It looks like this -

To remove the grid you need to first unscrew the plug up the top - unfortunately the screw heads are a weird star pattern so I didn't have the right tool and just used some plyers and a very strong grip to unscrew them. Once this is out you need to break off the four tabs that I've indicated in the photo above. They are actually melted/glued into the MAF surrounding.

Turn the unit around - here's the back

The three little arms I've indicated are part of the outer rear ring that slides into the MAF and hold that smaller cylinder in the middle. There appears to be some way you can remove the arms and outer ring from the small cylinder but I spent a while trying to figure it out and couldn't - ended up just using tin snips and cutting the three little arms.

After that the grid and the central tube slides right out and then the outer ring with the cut tabs slides out the other side leaving you with this

Then it just a matter of putting the plug back in, screwing it on and re-install evey thing again.

After installation I found that its brought a little bit more induction noise and maybe a little bit more power. I've also noticed fuel consumption has improved noticeably. I've been in some pretty heavy traffic these last few days where I would normally average high 6's/100kms sometimes even dipping into the 7's ( oh the horror ! ) but lately been hovering in the low sixes. Also, I've noticed the car seems to accelerate a bit easier down low in the rev range, whereas before there was this slight sluggishness before the turbo kicked in, its now just a bit more responsive.

**Greg Roles** · 22-06-2011, 11:21 AM

Nice work yet again. Please tell me you pulled the now redundant MAF grid.

EDIT: Ahhh, you were posting the specifics as I was typing my smart remarks. Guess I'm the goose!

**poyta** · 22-06-2011, 12:33 PM

Originally Posted by Greg Roles

Nice work yet again. Please tell me you pulled the now redundant MAF grid.

Yes Greg of course. As per your previous recommendation. See my post above.

**Frankenstrat** · 22-06-2011, 01:43 PM

Great thread Poyta. I like the set of rims you have, and spray painting the brake calipers red makes your car look classy.

**poyta** · 22-06-2011, 01:51 PM

In an attempt to try and "brighten" up the engine bay I've decided to paint the head cover a wrinkle finish red to try and mimic the Audi RS head covers. This can be easily achieved using a fantastic product called VHT Red Wrinkle Finish paint. Available from most auto stores for about $15 a can.

You need to remove the head cover off the engine to do this ( luckily it has a rubber gasket that can be re-used ) and thoroughly clean it with something like Prepsol or Wax & Grease remover.

I used a plastic primer before applying the paint as its a plastic head cover. Then you spray 3 very heavy coats. It needs to be very heavy otherwise it won't wrinkle. Don't be alarmed if it doesn't wrinkle straight away because it only starts to wrinkle about an hour after application. Take note that it takes a good 24 hours before its dry enough to handle.

Once its dry you just bolt in back onto the engine. Although it may appear dry the paint is still soft so be careful putting it back. The paint needs to be heated up to properly cure so only after a nice drive will the paint properly set hard. You'll find that the gaps between the wrinkles will expand a bit after curing too. Now all I need is a nice Audi RS8 oil cap to finish it off.

**poyta** · 22-06-2011, 01:58 PM

Now I know some people may cringe but I decided to get some eyebrows for the car. I'm not usually a fan of these but I found a set on ebay that were very subtle, dirt cheap and most importantly you could attach them using existing screws and locations on the car rather than sticking them on with doublesided tape so if I didn't like them or got sick of them I could easily remove them.

They arrived at my door already painted for just under $30

As you can see, they bolt on rather than being stuck on.

Overall the effect is very subtle and I quite like it.