Our 250kW ‘Stage 2’ MK7 Golf R

In today’s Under The Hood blog post we’ll be talking about the tuning journey in our 2016 MK7 Golf R. With the vehicle finally reaching the end of factory warranty, it was time to go ‘full send’ with a Stage 2 flash tune, coupled with a full suite of supporting hardware.

The Hardware:

Intake: 034Motorsport X34 Carbon
Exhaust: REMUS Turboback Exhaust – Resonated
Diverter Valve: GFB DVX
Turbo Inlet: 034Motorsport
Muffler Delete: 034Motorsport
Turbo Outlet Pipe: Forge Motorsport
Intercooler: CTS Turbo

Fuel:
98 RON Mixed with E85 – Target 15% Ethanol
Monitoring: Fuel-It! MK7 Ethanol Sensor Kit

Up until now we have been running the Burger Motorsports JB4, with a custom Map6 tune offering outstanding results @ 234.3kW at the wheels, and approximately 460Nm of torque. This was now well and truely beyond the limits of the factory clutch, so we treaded lightly. It was a matter of time before the clutch began to slip, right on queue with the end of our warranty.

We decided to go all out, upgrading the clutch with a SACHS Performance Clutch Kit “Street”, rated to 550+Nm and a visit to Underground Performance in Melbourne for our tuning needs. We had daily drivability in mind as the main goal.

After an AutoInstruct service of oils and Haldex, we were down at UGP, flashing the ECU with an initial tune. With some work on the dyno and adjustments made, we hit the magical 250kW number in a very smooth and consistent manner, with ~500Nm of torque coming on very early in the range. A great outcome for the OEM IS38 turbo, virtually pushing it to the limit.

We’d love to go ‘Stage 3’ with this build, but we feel this is better left for the DSG gearboxes. Perhaps we’ll leave that destined for the next build…

Special thanks to the team at Underground Performance for their amazing work as always.