Between 265 & 485 SQ/FT Nick's Two-Car Detached Vdub Garage

[nicholam77]

In other news... I just bought a tune for the GTI!

I wrestled with this long and hard, and I hope I didn't make a mistake

I'll follow up with some details later but I don't have it in hand yet or anything.

 

[nicholam77]

GTI Tune

As (those who are interested) probably know from previous posts, I've been looking at a Stage 1 ECU tune for awhile, and the main thing holding me back has been the probable need for a clutch upgrade. I had kind of talked myself into going for it anyways, and despite the overwhelming amount of tuning options on the Mk7 platform, had narrowed it down to Unitronic, APR, or EQT via Cobb Accessport.

My original thought was Unitronic, because I had heard they were a more "conservative" tune. I think what people mean by this is it relies more on timing than boost, and the power allegedly falls off towards the upper end or feels underwhelming somehow. This can be seen in the dyno graph below. But looking at the provided dyno's and claimed gains from other companies, it seems to me like the torque is right up there with them, at least peak torque. I posted about Unitronic on the Mk7 forums, and was heavily encouraged not to do it. I was a bit surprised by that, but I think everyone is in love with Cobb/EQT these days.

Looking at the Unitronic dyno graph, the big punch of torque is right at 2500, which I don't really want, since that is clutch-roasting territory.



So that had me reconsidering.

EQT/Cobb is attractive because the Accessport can be resold. So if it didn't work out for me, I could get most of my money back. But outside of that, EQT is kind of a big gun tune and would probably send my clutch to an early death sooner than later.

So that left me looking at APR, who have a "low torque" Stage 1 file that basically caps the wheel torque around 300 ft-lbs. And it was by far cheaper than the other options.



Despite being a huge company, people seem to still like APR, and because of their size and R&D capabilities I guess I trust it to be more of a set-it-and-forget-it experience. However... no flash at home. You have to pay an APR dealer to flash. And pay them again to flash back to stock, or change to a different octane, or change files. Not to mention if I have a problem with the car there is no at-home utility to record logs, etc. And I don't *think* I'll ever go down this path, but they have no Stage 2 option.

---

So that's where my head was at a few nights ago, until I saw Integrated Engineering was running a 15% off sale.

With the 15% off, the price is amazing. Check.
Flash at home with their proprietary PowerLink cable. Check.
They seem to be well-reviewed from strangers on the internet. Check.
They give you high and low torque files, and every octane for each, and you can switch as much as you want, at home, for free. Check.
The PowerLink cable can do data logging. Check.
They specifically say you don't need to upgrade clutch running their low-torque file. Check. (I know that's not for sure, but seem to be the most confident stance on it from a company I've seen).
I emailed IE some questions, and despite being a smaller company and presumably busy with the sale, I received an email back within a few hours answering all my questions in detail. Good customer service, so far. Check.

So after a few days of reading and deliberating, that's what I went with! Kind of out of left field, but I'm excited for it.



I'm really hoping I can get a few years out of my existing clutch with the low-torque file. Even if I slip and decide to scrap it, I can still sell the PowerLink cable, and am not out as much money as I would be with Unitronic or APR.

Currently a Windows Laptop is needed to flash, so I'm going to have to borrow my parents'. BUT... and this is great future-proofing, they have a mobile app option coming where you can flash from your phone! Or switch files or change options etc. And also monitor live parameters and view gauges. So once it releases that will replicated some of the functionality of the Cobb Accessport. And not only that but despite it being unreleased, the current PowerLink cables have bluetooth built in, so it will be compatible, and wireless.



The cable shipped this morning. So hopefully the weather continues to warm and I can get it flashed in the next couple of weeks and give a review!

 

[ebarker9]

The cable shipped this morning. So hopefully the weather continues to warm and I can get it flashed in the next couple of weeks and give a review!

Definitely interested to hear how this goes. I wasn't aware of this company but sounds like it could be a really good solution.

 

[nicholam77]

Definitely interested to hear how this goes. I wasn't aware of this company but sounds like it could be a really good solution.

Me too, haha! I mean I knew of Integrated Engineering, but never having tuned I'm curious to see how it goes. IE makes a bunch of parts for VW/Audi, everything from intakes to forged internals. And they've been doing software for awhile, but not as long as APR for example.

From where I stand (with no experience other than reading online), most of the Stage 1 tunes seem to be about the same. You can agonize over the tuner-provided dynos, but who really knows how accurate they are. Obviously everyone is trying to make their product look the best. So I went for price and convenience and additional features like the optional low torque profile and octane switching.

I got ragged on on the GolfMk7 forums for going this route, pretty much everyone insisted that Cobb w/EQT ProTune (custom tune) is the only acceptable solution. But that's car forums for you. I'm sure half of them are kids, don't mind troubleshooting and logging and continually pushing the limits, drag race their cars, etc. I guess I'm different, but I don't feel the need to dump thousands and thousands into a 7 year old car to make over 400 lb-ft through a FWD platform.

The proof will be in the **** dyno when I get it flashed, but I'm expecting it to do what I want, which is give it a noticeable bump without completely sacrificing reliability or putting me in the poor house.

 

[fourmotioneer]

Congrats! I’ll echo that sentiment of “who really knows how accurate they are”. Moreover, when it comes to durability, the tuners don’t have any budget and obviously can’t test for that like an automaker. Just have to take a risk based on forum chatter I guess.

When I was at a big 3 working in engine durability, we added like 5% more torque with software and subsequently were increasing wrist pin diameter, changing head gasket material/design, and reengineering piston rings. This was to meet automaker durability requirements, which are simultaneously exhaustive and somehow unsuccessful at preventing many recalls. So when tuners turn up boost and are like “the engine is overbuilt”, sometimes that’s true (like in the case of GTI using Golf R components part for part?) but often it’s like sure, if you’re lucky, but expect slightly lower durability.

Anyway, spent all last week shuttling my family around Idaho in my brother’s (clean!) APR stage 3 MK5 that he’s owned since new. That South Bend clutch and single mass flywheel are something else. Got to the airport lot and nearly slammed my left foot through the floor when I got in the Alltrack and depressed the clutch pedal.

Good call on the stock clutch. A clutch on a MK7 is an easy job, but with kids spending the day in the garage under a VW wouldn’t be my favorite way to spend a Saturday either.

I sort of waffle on this myself. Stock GTI is fine to me, but the Alltrack is mild. We will probably buy a minivan this year, so GTI will be on the chopping block. At that point, I can see IS20 plus Golf R clutch in the Alltrack as a way to liven up the Alltrack.

I need to make a new garage thread so I can post my thoughts to my own thread lol…

 

[nicholam77]

Congrats! I’ll echo that sentiment of “who really knows how accurate they are”. Moreover, when it comes to durability, the tuners don’t have any budget and obviously can’t test for that like an automaker. Just have to take a risk based on forum chatter I guess.

Yeah, I'm not too worried about squeezing out every last HP they advertise. As far as durability, aside from the clutch as a weak point, that has been my main hold back as well. I appreciate your perspective and I 100% believe running the extra boost is harder on the engine. However, like you said, a few things make me feel more comfortable.

First, the Golf R and Audi S3 do have the same engine, albeit with some upgraded internals. I don't know exactly what parts were changed, but there are some differences. The stock Golf R produces 296 bhp compared to the GTI's 220 bhp. Interestingly the torque is not that much more, 280 ft-lbs instead of 258 ft-lbs. And obviously the R and S3 use the larger IS38 turbo. Even knowing VW upgraded some components of the engine for these more powerful variants, I still think it's a good sign that these more powerful variants exist from the factory as I'm sure the vast majority of parts are shared. Also, it makes sense that VW capped the power on the GTI so as not to compete with the R or the Audi. The power on all models as slowly creeped up for the EA888 Gen 3 (I guess the new Mk8 is Gen 4 now, but that got a boost in HP as well). VW has also notoriously underrated the GTI on paper, as many have taken stock cars to dynos and found they produce more power than advertised.

Second, as you know VW has been using a variation of their 2.0 TSI engine for quite some time in many vehicles, and people have been tuning it for forever. The gains keep increasing each generation, but it's a quite popular thing to do, and if blowing up your engine was common, I don't think as many people would do it.

Third, and I think most important for me personally, is I think I can mitigate risk by how I drive. Someone who frequently tracks their full bolt-on Stage 2 is going to see a lot more stress than me doing the occasional 3-5sec pull.

So other than heavy, how was the South Bend to drive? Was it noisy like everyone says? Better driving experience?

A couple of you guys have said a clutch job on the Mk7 is easy, but I'm still scared to do it myself. I haven't done any big automotive projects like that, I'd need some tools and would be nervous to screw it up. Like you said the kids and time commitment are a factor for sure. If it wasn't my daily I'd be more willing to consider it. So *hopefully* I can ride out the stock clutch for awhile. Even if I got a couple years I'd be pretty happy with that. If it slips immediately I'm gonna be sad

I actually agree with you that the stock GTI is "fine". In fact if I had the DSG I think it would feel a lot faster around town. I guess I'm just looking for the occasional thrill, and never having tuned I've always wanted to see what it's like.

For all the hate minivans get, damn it would be nice with kids. Is your GTI a manual? Totally get needing to make room... I guess they are not super old yet but I can totally see the Mk7 becoming coveted in the future with VW's plans for EV's etc.

FYI as far as I know the GTI and Golf R clutch is the exact same. Not sure how price compares but if I were you I'd look at the Sachs SRE Performance, it's basically OEM+, keeps the DMFW, and can hold 400 lb-ft. Assuming it fits the Alltrack. Speaking of which, now that wagons are dead you might want to hang onto that one, too! Looks like APR's Stage 3 (IS20) for the 1.8T would haul ***! I'm sure you've seen @dubber builds but he has (or had?) a pretty slick looking Sportwagen.

Didn't mean to write a book myself, but feel free to post your thoughts here anytime, I'm not precious about this thread by any means. But yes, you should make a new one, too.

 

[Trapps]

...This was to meet automaker durability requirements, which are simultaneously exhaustive and somehow unsuccessful...

The voice of an automotive veteran speaking the truth! One would think, given the focus and resources poured into the industry by OEM and Tier 1 quality players, that every vehicle turned out would last forever. Huh.

Minivans have their place. Mrs. Trapps drove a Mazda MPV when the kids were infants/toddlers, and having both big doors open wide was such a massive convenience that I never bashed minivans again. Slinging child car-seats is no fun through regular doors.

@nicholam77 you are more than capable of changing the clutch yourself, and without much stress. Your methodical approach and attention to detail are the primary tools. You might need a few other tools, but hey, it is Garage Journal - plenty of advice here on how to spend your money.

For you (and any other VW fans) I saw this not long ago.



'M' plates are common in metro Detroit and can be affixed to all manner of vehicles. From bone stock to damn near concept. Often camouflaged but not always. I've no idea if that Golf is anything special, but it looked good. It may have been owned by Ford, GM or whatever Chrysler is going by these days, as they all acquire competitors cars for analysis.

 

[Xti04]

When I was big in the subaru game , I used accessport for tuning, at the time I had a gen 3 A/P which was nice because you could see all your chosen parameters on the screen. It also gave me ability to log and tune myself and I had about 7 different tunes on it. Cobbs software is nice and worked well, and lots of tuners were available to do e tunes and help dial in your car if you couldnt do a dyno tune. My forester xt was embarrassing camaros and mustangs all over town, and poor z cars never stood a chance. Conservative driving will extend that clutch life, but every now and then you gotta open her up and enjoy that power. Glad you went with a solution that lets you change tunes and install yourself.

 

[nicholam77]

@nicholam77 you are more than capable of changing the clutch yourself, and without much stress. Your methodical approach and attention to detail are the primary tools. You might need a few other tools, but hey, it is Garage Journal - plenty of advice here on how to spend your money.

I appreciate your vote of confidence

I'll have to weigh my options if/when the time comes. One of the reasons I really wanted a flash-at-home tool with the ability to go back to the stock map... if the clutch starts slipping hopefully that would buy me some time to figure out what I want to do, source parts, etc.

I've no idea if that Golf is anything special, but it looked good.

I mean, it's a new Mk8 Golf R, so it's kind of special! I haven't seen an R yet in the wild. Seen a handful of Mk8 GTI's, though. Aesthetically the Mk8 is a bit dividing for me. I think the rear looks pretty good, but don't love the front and headlights. Don't care for the new interior as much, can't stand the idea of capacitive touch controls for everything. Don't care for the new badging. I will admit the ones I've seen in person look better than in photos.

That being said, it is an R, and the new ones push 315 hp stock. Not too shabby. In today's insane market I've seen them listed for $15k+ over MSRP, like $60k out the door. Just wild.

When I was big in the subaru game , I used accessport for tuning, at the time I had a gen 3 A/P which was nice because you could see all your chosen parameters on the screen. It also gave me ability to log and tune myself and I had about 7 different tunes on it. Cobbs software is nice and worked well, and lots of tuners were available to do e tunes and help dial in your car if you couldnt do a dyno tune. My forester xt was embarrassing camaros and mustangs all over town, and poor z cars never stood a chance. Conservative driving will extend that clutch life, but every now and then you gotta open her up and enjoy that power. Glad you went with a solution that lets you change tunes and install yourself.

Cobb is fairly new to VW. Like in the past 3-4 years. They have their own OTS maps, but I've consistently heard they are not very good, like not very smooth or refined. I think even though Cobb is a big name, being new to the platform they just have so much other competition from established VW tuners.

On the other hand the Accessport itself seems to be the darling of the Mk7 tuning world right now, with most people getting custom Protunes from 3rd party tuners like EQT, SneekyTuned, Stratified, etc. Or at least OTS maps that use the Accessport, for all the reasons you listed. For that reason a lot of the bigger VW names that offer traditional OTS flash tunes like APR, Unitronic, etc are less in favor.

I actually would have done the Cobb Accessport w/EQT OTS map route, but the Integrated Engineering was about $300 cheaper and will hopefully save my clutch for awhile. EQT doesn't have a low torque option... they are kind of trying to squeeze every last drop out of the car.

Being able to flash at home was pretty much a requirement for me. APR offers a similar low torque option, but I emailed a shop that's an APR dealer asking about price to flash, as well as inquired about shock/strut install and clutch install... and got radio silence. That's the type of **** I don't want to deal with. If I need to go back to stock for some reason, I want to be able to do that at home, immediately.

Awesome that you had a tuned Forester, haha. I have a weird relationship with Subaru because I do a lot of work for them (advertising), so I feel like I know their cars pretty well, but I've never driven one.

---

Looks like it should get here tomorrow.



Was hoping to flash on Saturday, but somehow we have another snowstorm on the horizon.





Also, it's been cold! Only 23° this morning! I read that the last time we haven't had a single day above 50° in the month of March was 23 years ago.

 

[Xti04]

I worked for VW and Audi in my younger years and had a nice 1.8t A4 for awhile before I sold it back to the previous owner I got it from. With the B5 A4 I was working on atthe time, I remember pulling ECM s and having to overnight them to APR and wait for it to come back tuned. Had to toggle between maps with the turn signal stalk if I remember correctly. I ran a Cobb OTS map when I initially started my build and as the build grew beyond what I had ever imagined I found a tuner in FL that did my e tune. He was spot on and car ran great with no cold or hot start issues. Good luck with the car!

 

[fourmotioneer]

I’ll agree with Trapps and add that in comparison to the work you do on the 3D printer, with cabinets and any woodworking projects, the clutch is so simple. It’s just that transmissions are heavy. Couldn’t be a simpler interface though!

That APR IS20 power curve is tempting! Hadn’t seen that option and I really like it. To repeat the old adage, once my warranty is up on the Alltrack…especially if I’m selling this GTI. Could be a sloppy Golf R stand-in

My GTI is a manual but I recall you saying the DCG ratios are better!

Thread has begun

 

[jbrentd]

Thanks for that write-up on the different tunes. Once I get some maintenance items out of the way on my allroad, I might do a stage 1 tune. The IE setup sounds pretty good. I was surprised to read that some of them don't have switching capabilities. I had an APR tune on my 2001 A4 and I could switch between 3 or 4 tunes just with the buttons on my windshield wiper stalk. Seems like they took a step back...do the dealers get paid each time you have them switch tunes?

 

[nicholam77]

I worked for VW and Audi in my younger years and had a nice 1.8t A4 for awhile before I sold it back to the previous owner I got it from. With the B5 A4 I was working on atthe time, I remember pulling ECM s and having to overnight them to APR and wait for it to come back tuned. Had to toggle between maps with the turn signal stalk if I remember correctly. I ran a Cobb OTS map when I initially started my build and as the build grew beyond what I had ever imagined I found a tuner in FL that did my e tune. He was spot on and car ran great with no cold or hot start issues. Good luck with the car!

Cool! Yeah, fortunately no pulling the ECM anymore. I think APR killed the map-switching for the Mk7.

I’ll agree with Trapps and add that in comparison to the work you do on the 3D printer, with cabinets and any woodworking projects, the clutch is so simple. It’s just that transmissions are heavy. Couldn’t be a simpler interface though!

I'll consider doing it when the time comes

That APR IS20 power curve is tempting! Hadn’t seen that option and I really like it. To repeat the old adage, once my warranty is up on the Alltrack…especially if I’m selling this GTI. Could be a sloppy Golf R stand-in

My GTI is a manual but I recall you saying the DCG ratios are better!

Thread has begun

Yeah... would be a sleeper wagon for sure. To me the DSG ratios look better on paper, but I've never driven one so take it with a grain of salt. In the end I'm still happy to have the manual.

Got a link to your new thread?

Thanks for that write-up on the different tunes. Once I get some maintenance items out of the way on my allroad, I might do a stage 1 tune. The IE setup sounds pretty good. I was surprised to read that some of them don't have switching capabilities. I had an APR tune on my 2001 A4 and I could switch between 3 or 4 tunes just with the buttons on my windshield wiper stalk. Seems like they took a step back...do the dealers get paid each time you have them switch tunes?

No problem. I read about the turn signal stalk map switching with APR, but that is no more for the Mk7. And yes, with APR you have to pay the dealer every time you switch tunes, including just switching to a different octane for example. That, plus them eliminating a Stage 2 (downpipe) option for the Mk7 made a lot of people turn on them in favor for more flexible options. Even though Unitronic has an at home flash tool, you're stuck with an octane there, too.

So far everything I've read about IE is really positive on the Mk7. Just being able to flash at home, switch files whenever, and that they give you torque options and all the octane files when you purchase a stage 1 sold me. They even have a "TrueFLEX" ethanol option with some additional hardware. Maybe not as custom or dialed in to your specific car as a Cobb Protune would be, but for an OTS solution they seem to have just about the most flexibility from the major players.

---

Speak of the devil , as I was writing this my PowerLink cable got delivered. Came in a cute little pouch which was a nice touch.



The actual unit:




I do think these are overpriced (the cable was $150), but it's actually really nicely built, came with USB-C cable, and apparently has a bluetooth module built in for their upcoming app release. The carry case is unnecessary, but again well made and a nice touch!

 

[fourmotioneer]

Looking forward to reading your report on the IE tune!

Updated my signature with a link to the new garage.

 

[nicholam77]

Integrated Engineering Stage 1 Tune Install

Got it flashed today! Wasn't sure it was going to happen because I work up to this:






That's all new snow from overnight. Started out as rain, so the top was somewhat powder but the bottom layers were super wet and heavy.

Spent 3 hours clearing the sidewalks, patio, and driveway, and raking the roof. A couple of SUVs were getting stuck near me and our neighborhood streets hadn't been plowed right away so I was unsure if I'd be able to drive to my parents to borrow their laptop. I planned to do the flash at their house since the IE Flash Wizard software needs Windows and I'm a strictly MacOS household

Got to my folks and hooked up the battery charger.




To make sure the battery doesn't die while the ECU is being written... which would brick the ECU.

Got the PowerLink cable drivers and Flash Wizard software installed on my parents' laptop. Plugged everything in, detected my car VIN and when it came time to pick a tune, instead of the files I was expecting I got this:



It was saying it needed to "update" my ECU in order to do the main tune. No idea what that's about, but I go ahead and do it. IE has a weird "credits" system where they load "credits" to your PowerLink cable, and you pay for the tune with credits. Well, my credits were there, but this pre-update was going to use 1 credit, and I was worried then I wouldn't have enough to flash the actual stage 1.



I went ahead with it anyways. It acted like it was starting to do some stuff, but when it got to the progress bar, it stayed at 0%, and after a few minutes gave me an error message.



Kind of freaking out a little, both that the word "response" was spelled wrong and that my ECU might be screwed. I clicked ok, and instead of doing some recovery process it just took me back to the main screen. So I tried again.

Same error.

So I closed the app, unplugged everything, started from scratch. Now it says my PowerLink cable is not registered to anyone (I did this previously), so I do that again. It still wants me to do the ECU update, but this time it says 0 credits instead of 1 credit. Hmmm.

I try again and same error message. But when it goes back to the main screen now it can no longer detect my ECU / VIN / Transmission and throws me another error:



I won't lie, I was started to get frustrated and worried that my ECU was broken and I shouldn't drive the car.

I unplugged everything again, and this time switched USB ports on the laptop for the PowerLink. Restart the Flash Wizard. Try again.

This time... it works! Maybe it was the USB port? I don't know but watching the progress bar slowly climb was stressful. After about 10min, it finished successfully. Back to the main menu and now it shows me all the tune options for my car:



I chose the 91 Octane Low Torque file. I actually run 93 gas, I don't know why I picked 91. Maybe just to be more conservative to start out. I also thought maybe it would give some headroom to hit targets, reduce chance of knock etc, but I don't know that the difference between 91 and 93 even matters much.

20min of erasing and writing...



So a little bumpy but in the end it worked.

Now on paper I should have 299 hp and 346 lb-ft at the crank.

Funny enough they release their mobile app flash tool in 2 days, so from now on I'll probably use that.

As for the tune itself, I need to drive it more to give a full review but I'll just say a few things for now.

— start up and pulling away at low speeds is identical to stock
— it seems pretty smooth and refined, dare I say smoother than stock with how it revs
— it seems like rev hang has been reduced
— I can feel the extra torque in 1st and 2nd gear at city street speeds, but it's not insane or anything
— It's very drivable. I don't know what I was expecting, but it's easy to stay out of boost and pretty much drive like stock
— once boost is built up, it pulls a lot harder, especially in 2nd and 3rd. I only punched it when above 3k rpms, but I was able to spin the tires in 2nd @ 35-40 mph and in 3rd @ 40-50mph. Traction control came on. I only got to do this a few times because of road conditions and traffic. But 1 or 2 of the throttle punches were like holy $h!t!!!! Like throw you back into your seat. To get to that point, I feel like you need to have the accelerator pressed most of the way and be full boost. Outside of that, it's more of a marginal increase over stock. I guess what I'm saying is it's not like there's so much power the throttle is touchy and overwhelming... you still have to work for it. It's more like it's there if you need it. But holy **** it's quick at speed when you mash the pedal. I can't imagine what the high torque is like.

Overall I think this is exactly what I wanted. Super livable and mild around town, but exciting on the occasional pull. I'm looking forward to driving it more, especially once I get my summers back on and all this white stuff melts.

Thanks for reading

 

[jake28]

@nicholam77 congrats on the decision and progress. Kudos.

 

[nicholam77]

Thanks Jake (@jake28 )!

APR hadn’t been on my radar for the reasons I’ve listed a few times, but after you mentioned yours and reading a few recent reviews where people spoke positively about their tune I was actually all set to go the APR low torque route, until this Integrated Engineering deal popped up. At the end of the day I think they’re pretty similar.

I’m sure the novelty wears off a bit, but after experiencing a low torque file, I can’t imagine what a high torque stage 1 on your R feels like!

---

I haven’t had much more time behind the wheel, but I did give it the beans once or twice on the way to my daughter’s swim lesson. I didn’t say anything beforehand, wondering if she’d react, and on the first pull she giggles and exclaims “dada!! Why are you doing that so fast?!?!”. I laughed and asked her if she likes to go fast. “Ya!”

I do think the tune is a nice general bump for around-the-town driving, but it’s a little hard to use the more extreme power on city streets. 1st is clearly boost-limited. 2nd gear can spin my winter tires, but to get to that throw-you-back-in-your-seat feeling you’ll be approaching 50mph+, which is a bit naughty for city streets. Part of that is the tall 2nd gear and me not wanting to go wide open throttle under 3k rpms. I typically never go more than 5-10 over the limit, but this extra power on tap is definitely seductive. Haven’t been on the highway again yet, but I think those 2nd and 3rd gear pulls where I can wind it out for more than 2 seconds at speed, are going to be the most exhilarating part of the tune.

Again I’ll say I’m impressed with how smooth it is. It feels very stock-like, maybe even better, just with power available when you mash the pedal. Love it!

Now I just need to get my suspension sorted and it will be a whole new car.

 

[nicholam77]

Quick 3D Print

As part of my smart home revamp, I had installed a Lutron motion-sensing wall switch in my laundry room. It's actually not "smart", in that it doesn't tie into Hubitat or have any network radios. Just a built-in occupancy sensor that automatically turns the lights on and off. I have it set to time out after 1min of no detection.

It works great, but the thing that's been bothering me is the light switch is positioned by the door, which is often open:



You can't see it in the pic but it's where the arrow is pointing.

The problem is it sets off the sensor and turns the laundry lights on if you walk by the room, which happens frequently as the laundry room is right at the bottom of the basement staircase. Yes, it turns itself off after 1min, so not a big deal from a power usage perspective, but it just bugs me.

So I made a little "shield" to block its field of view in Fusion 360. I'm not very proficient in Fusion 360 at all, but this only took me 10min to design.


Printed just fine.



And what do you know, for once a print actually fits on the first try!



This is the view from outside the laundry room:



It blocks the sensor just enough to stop passers by from triggering in, but fires up pretty quickly if you step into the room.

It's not the prettiest thing, but neither is my laundry room / basement. And it does work!

 

[Xti04]

I used motion sensors for the bathroom in my wifes hair salon. I tied the lights and the fan to it so both turn on love the convenience of those sensors and finding a 2 pack in the clearance section at home depot for the price of 1 switch was an added bonus!

 

[Bakafish]

The Panasonic sensor switches I use throughout the house have little built in adjustable shields on both sides of the sensor that you can adjust with your fingernail that allow you to carefully tune the activation zone. The ones in the stairwells are 3-way interlocked and light sensitive, so they only come on when needed and activate before going up or down the stairs. The light sensitivity and duration are both independently adjustable.

The more sophisticated units I use in the bathrooms have an automatic dimmer setting for after midnight (adjustable) so you don't blind yourself on the middle of the night calls of nature, and they control the ventilation fan with a seperate timer. Coupled with the led floor and bowl lighting on the toilet itself, and the automatic lid/heated seat and delayed auto flush (so it flushes once you've left the room to not disturb others) it's all pretty convenient. I have to admit I often experience a little confusion when travelling and everything is manual and my wife gets irked that I forget to flush the toilet myself (like a Neanderthal.)

As far as the 3D printed shield, it seems to be effective, but a more elegant solution may be a piece of white vinyl tape carefully trimmed to cover the edge of that curved sensor

 

[nicholam77]

I used motion sensors for the bathroom in my wifes hair salon. I tied the lights and the fan to it so both turn on love the convenience of those sensors and finding a 2 pack in the clearance section at home depot for the price of 1 switch was an added bonus!

They work well, and I like that they don't tie into the smart system.

The Panasonic sensor switches I use throughout the house have little built in adjustable shields on both sides of the sensor that you can adjust with your fingernail that allow you to carefully tune the activation zone. The ones in the stairwells are 3-way interlocked and light sensitive, so they only come on when needed and activate before going up or down the stairs. The light sensitivity and duration are both independently adjustable.

Wow, that is a really cool product. I can't remember if the Lutron one's have light sensitivity adjustment, I think they might. But the 'zone shades' sound really neat.

The more sophisticated units I use in the bathrooms have an automatic dimmer setting for after midnight (adjustable) so you don't blind yourself on the middle of the night calls of nature, and they control the ventilation fan with a seperate timer. Coupled with the led floor and bowl lighting on the toilet itself, and the automatic lid/heated seat and delayed auto flush (so it flushes once you've left the room to not disturb others) it's all pretty convenient. I have to admit I often experience a little confusion when travelling and everything is manual and my wife gets irked that I forget to flush the toilet myself (like a Neanderthal.)

I've never seen anything like an automatic dimmer setting on a "dumb" switch, or "smart" switch for that matter, in the US. Maybe they exist on some high end product I just haven't come across. But that is an awesome feature, and low-level night lighting is super nice. I've achieved a similar thing with motion sensors, but it's less reliable than the type of product you're talking about.

Of course you have an auto-flushing toilet with light up bowl in Japan!

As far as the 3D printed shield, it seems to be effective, but a more elegant solution may be a piece of white vinyl tape carefully trimmed to cover the edge of that curved sensor

It does work perfectly, but the tape idea is great. Dang it, @Bakafish ! My brain just doesn't arrive at those simple solutions sometimes.

 

[nicholam77]

Kitchen Counters

It's been a busy few weeks. I'm going to do a few posts and divide it up, but I'll start with our kitchen counter install. I think I mentioned a few posts back that this was a behind-the-scenes project in the works.

We have a decent amount of counter space for the relatively small floor plan of our house, and the current counters were granite. So nothing wrong with them really, other than as we've updated paint and trim and flooring and appliances, it was the last thing that felt a bit out of place. This is what they looked like:




To get ready I got the range pulled out and the gas shut off.



But my main task was to handle the plumbing. We are replacing the sink and faucet. Late last Wednesday evening I disconnected everything from the sink / disposal / dishwasher drain.




And of course cleaned everything off the counters. Trying to have less stuff out once the new ones are in. Less clutter.



The counters were installed the next day.



Everything went smooth and as a bonus the installers where identical twins!

They paused to let me attach the new faucet before they mounted the sink, which was amazing since it would have been so hard to get my fat fingers up there after the fact.





So yeah, the new counters are quartz, and predictably, white. They have a very subtle flecking if you look closely. 30" single basin sink (we had a double basin before).

The above was as of Friday night. I had been juggling work, and with no water hooked up my wife took the kids to her parents' cabin for the weekend, so I could work on the plumbing Saturday. Alone. Which was a huge help. First time I've been without the family overnight for a long time.

So Saturday morning, the first thing I did of course was to go to a car show with my dad



After that this Craigslist alert popped up:



About an hour away. But I stayed strong and got to the business at hand.

A Home Depot trip and a few hours later, and everything was back up and running. And no leaks!




I really like the sink and faucet. Somehow it's much quieter than the old one, and it even makes the disposal quieter.

That evening I had a last minute idea to go to John Wick 4 by myself at the movie theater. Again... it's been a long time since I've been able to do something like that.

I'll end here for now.

 

[jake28]

Kudos @nicholam77 nice progress and great kitchen update. Remind me, did you do the drawer fronts? They look great.

Side note: an easy and cheap way to update a sink. When I redid my place, the architect was recommending a stainless under mount sink that was something like $900, and looked identical to the $300 versions from AJ Madison. The biggest difference was the steel thickness. Figuring I wasn’t going to wear through a sink, or dent it too badly, I opted to source the less expensive and thinner-gauge model. After installation, I added some ~8”x10” rectangles of left over dynamat sound deadening to each side and they helped thicken up and dampen excess noice.

 

[loganb]

That evening I had a last minute idea to go to John Wick 4 by myself at the movie theater.

Countertops look great!

But more importantly...how was the movie?
I've had 2 full or partial days off since it came out and each time have intended to go see it and both times **** has gotten in the way and it hadn't happened....maybe I can try again this week.

 

[isonic]

Kitchen looks great!

We got the single deep sink with our new place and it looks like the one you just installed. I would never go back to a double sink. The single sink is so much more useful to me, especially with pots and pans.

I am interested in any info you have to share about your experience with the quartz so far. From everything I can tell we have them in our place and they are white as well. However to me they seem to stain from juice and even a metal pan left a rust ring that took a while to get off. I have not found anything that totally cleans them.

 

[nicholam77]

Kudos @nicholam77 nice progress and great kitchen update. Remind me, did you do the drawer fronts? They look great.

Thanks! I did not do the cabinet fronts... they are the existing cabinets from when we bought the house. The doors / drawers are maple, but it's stained a bit orange-y for my taste. Going to leave them be, though, as I like having some wood tones. Can't have white on white on white. If I was starting from scratch they would have a natural-looking finish and likely be flat panel / euro style instead of Shaker.

The biggest difference was the steel thickness. Figuring I wasn’t going to wear through a sink, or dent it too badly, I opted to source the less expensive and thinner-gauge model. After installation, I added some ~8”x10” rectangles of left over dynamat sound deadening to each side and they helped thicken up and dampen excess noice.

Ours was more on the reasonable side, too — $375 and 16 Gauge stainless steel. Funny you mention the dynamat, I've been planning to put that on a new kitchen sink ever since I read about it in @sakurama 's thread like ~6 yrs ago haha. I think it's the combination of this new sink and faucet but not sure it's needed — I'm pretty happy with the noise level as it is!

Countertops look great!

But more importantly...how was the movie?
I've had 2 full or partial days off since it came out and each time have intended to go see it and both times **** has gotten in the way and it hadn't happened....maybe I can try again this week.

Thanks!!

I think the only word that can be used to describe John Wick 4 is... Ridiculous. In a good way. If 3 hours of straight fighting scenes sounds appealing to you, you will like it. Maybe my favorite film in the series. My inner film school snob should struggle to call a film like that "good", I mean let's be honest it is cheesy and over-the-top in every way, but honestly it is good. (Fun fact, I actually know the dude who edited the first two John Wick films, he was a grad student at USC when I was in undergrad and we worked at the campus post-production labs together for a student job). The fight choreography is compelling and next-level, and the cinematography is also very good. Many scenes feel like a dramatic painting. It's a fun ride.

Kitchen looks great!

We got the single deep sink with our new place and it looks like the one you just installed. I would never go back to a double sink. The single sink is so much more useful to me, especially with pots and pans.

I am interested in any info you have to share about your experience with the quartz so far. From everything I can tell we have them in our place and they are white as well. However to me they seem to stain from juice and even a metal pan left a rust ring that took a while to get off. I have not found anything that totally cleans them.

Thank you! 100% agree on the single basin. I've been planning that swap forever haha.

It's only been a week but the quartz is great so far, no issues with staining or anything that I've noticed. Quartz should be pretty durable, scratch and stain resistant, like a granite.

Are you counters pure white? Like a manufactured product? It's maybe possible it could be another material like Corian or something?

 

[bdbecker]

Nice choices... those tops really changed the look of the kitchen!

...If 3 hours of straight fighting scenes sounds appealing to you, you will like it...

Lol... can you imagine someone saying "Well, the first three movies were good, but this one is just too violent."

Glad to hear it didn't disappoint.

 

[nicholam77]

Nice choices... those tops really changed the look of the kitchen!

Thanks! At first I was worried about white counters matching the (essentially) white floors, but I'm getting used to it. Our IKEA dining table is also white, which I'd like to swap out for a wood table, but don't want anything too nice. Because kids.

 

[nicholam77]

GTI Oil Change / Car Stuff

Continuing on to Sunday (wife and kids still out of town), I jumped on an overdue oil change for the Mk7. Ordered a Liquimoly kit from FCP Euro.



Ordered a cabin filter too but that will get done when convenient.

The GTI has a top mount oil filter, but I was delinquent in ordering one of those fancy fluid transfer pumps like @bj383ss and @jbrentd got recently, so I had to get the car on jack stands and drain my oil out of the pan the old fashioned way like a peasant.



Like I said I was a bit overdue (in time, not miles), and seemed like the car had burned up a bit too as it was closer to the low end of the dip stick. With the tune I wanted to take care of it sooner than later.

After that I did the bi-annual wheel swap dance, and got the summer BBS back on.




Just as I was finishing up the wife and kids got back. My son approves.

A few more items to check off the list before I can just enjoy it for the summer.

— cabin filter
— wash / clay / seal
— suspension overhaul

That last one will be a big project, I think I've narrowed down the shocks / struts I'm going to order, but still researching and preparing to most likely attempt the install myself.



I really need a wash

I also ordered an Aerofabb rear spoiler extension (been thinking about it for awhile, late night revenge purchase after a long day and a few glasses of wine + a sale tipped me over the edge). The installation process is more fidgety and permanent than I'd like, but maybe I can get to it this weekend.

After that it was off to Hilton Head to visit my brother which I'll put in the next post!

 

[bdbecker]

...Our IKEA dining table is also white, which I'd like to swap out for a wood table, but don't want anything too nice. Because kids.

Yeah, learn from my mistake and wait. We bought a neat 1950's MCM table and chair set when our daughter was young and it makes me a little sick with the dents/dings/damage the kids have inflicted on it. The only thing that gives me a little peace about the situation is that its not a particularly rare or valuable set - it wasn't in perfect condition when we bought it, and the previous owners had painted everything but the top black.Still, it looks cool, and I don't want to see it ruined.

 

[jar944]

The counters came out well.

I'm a fan of the single basin sinks myself. So much more room for activities in there.

 

[nicholam77]

Yeah, learn from my mistake and wait. We bought a neat 1950's MCM table and chair set when our daughter was young and it makes me a little sick with the dents/dings/damage the kids have inflicted on it. The only thing that gives me a little peace about the situation is that its not a particularly rare or valuable set - it wasn't in perfect condition when we bought it, and the previous owners had painted everything but the top black.Still, it looks cool, and I don't want to see it ruined.

Bummer, but maybe if it's solid wood you can refinish it some day. And if not, it'll just be part of the "patina" and memories. I used to be really precious about my stuff and it would bother me a lot if it wasn't pristine, but since having kids I've mostly let that go. It's probably no secret that I like designed objects and furniture, and some of that stuff is delicate and collectable, but living with a family and kids it has to work for everybody and there's just no way to avoid the dings and dents of life with kids. My car has them. Our dining table has them. It's how it goes!

The counters came out well.

I'm a fan of the single basin sinks myself. So much more room for activities in there.

Thanks!

 

[nicholam77]

Hilton Head, SC

More of a blog-y post than garage-related, but pretty much right after the plumbing / car service weekend we headed out to South Carolina to visit my brother. He's actually in Chapel Hill, NC, but we met at Hilton Head which is a barrier island off the southern coast of SC.




It was a much needed break in the action and the kids had a riot.

I try to keep my ugly mug out of this thread but here's me and the boy enjoying the beach:



My daughter celebrating a washed up jellyfish she found:



No pics, but we saw some other cool wildlife including a gator swimming in a pond, and some little stingrays on the shore of a wharf restaurant.

They had a lot of fishing boats there and the kids were highly entertained watching a giant forklift fetch boats from storage and drop them in the water.




We also drove to Savannah, GA to visit the historic district. It was definitely pretty, although I think Charleston was a little bit more impressive. One neat thing is there is Spanish Moss growing on the trees everywhere, and there are so many old growth trees in the city. I think these are called "Southern Live Oak":



These were in a large city park in Savannah, it kind of reminded me of the city parks in Paris etc. I wish we had more of that back home. There are many, many playground parks for kids, but not many big green city community spaces.

All in all it was a fun trip and I always enjoy experiencing other places.

That pretty much catches us up to this week!

 

[Matias]

That's a nice trip and good family time. It's good to have both, family time and own time. Glad that you managed to take profit of it with the movies and all. One thing I like to do when the family is away, is to play music loud. My wife can't stand music/noise (I can understand that with working in education), so when the family is away I pump up the volume and bass

Seems your ECU flash was a success after all. I feel for you, those moments when it doesn't go as it should makes one very anxious...

BTW, regarding the struts, I have done them many times, but lately I have contacted my local garage beforehand, and then I remove the struts, take them with the new springs and dampers to the shop and pick them up a little later assembled. I can leave the old parts there as they're usually junk (unless they are working fine, then you can have them as spares).

I have not met anyone yet who likes working with spring compressors, and for me the $70 they took for changing everything over was really well worth the money. Still got to do the main assembly and have the car at home, but left the worst part of the job to mechanics who have the right tools to make the job faster and safer. It's a thing they can do sometimes between jobs or while waiting for something, as they don't have to move or lift any car for that. Just my 2c.

 

[Bob Heine]

I have not met anyone yet who likes working with spring compressors, and for me the $70 they took for changing everything over was really well worth the money.

Matias, reliable auto repair shops are unicorns where I live. The shops that exist rarely do the job right the first time. Last shop I dealt with was supposed to press in new U-joints in a pair of '72 Corvette rear axle half shafts. Arrived at the shop to pick them up the next day and overnight the owner loaded everything in a truck and left town. That $50 job ended up costing me $400.

I had anxiety attacks using threaded rod spring compressors. No way I could afford a professional grade compressor but there was one in my price range that makes working on struts less stressful. It's powered by a foot pumped hydraulic cylinder so your face and hands don't have to be in the line of fire. I bought it in 2017 from Amazon for $99. The one I bought is no longer available but it appears Vevor now sells an identical one for $140. The downside is it takes up space but a set of casters makes it easy to roll out of the way.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08NWNDD9Q/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[bj383ss]

That's a nice trip and good family time. It's good to have both, family time and own time. Glad that you managed to take profit of it with the movies and all. One thing I like to do when the family is away, is to play music loud. My wife can't stand music/noise (I can understand that with working in education), so when the family is away I pump up the volume and bass

Seems your ECU flash was a success after all. I feel for you, those moments when it doesn't go as it should makes one very anxious...

BTW, regarding the struts, I have done them many times, but lately I have contacted my local garage beforehand, and then I remove the struts, take them with the new springs and dampers to the shop and pick them up a little later assembled. I can leave the old parts there as they're usually junk (unless they are working fine, then you can have them as spares).

I have not met anyone yet who likes working with spring compressors, and for me the $70 they took for changing everything over was really well worth the money. Still got to do the main assembly and have the car at home, but left the worst part of the job to mechanics who have the right tools to make the job faster and safer. It's a thing they can do sometimes between jobs or while waiting for something, as they don't have to move or lift any car for that. Just my 2c.

Awesome! I thought I was the only one who turned the music up loud while the family is out. I did it when I was a teenager and I do it now. I have only got to use my new receiver maybe twice in loud mode. I am vacation next week and the wife has several appts. Looks like I need to crank some ZZtop!

Bret

 

[nicholam77]

That's a nice trip and good family time. It's good to have both, family time and own time. Glad that you managed to take profit of it with the movies and all. One thing I like to do when the family is away, is to play music loud. My wife can't stand music/noise (I can understand that with working in education), so when the family is away I pump up the volume and bass

Thanks, yeah it was a good break. I always have music going. I don't crank it so much, but I love having background music.

BTW, regarding the struts, I have done them many times, but lately I have contacted my local garage beforehand, and then I remove the struts, take them with the new springs and dampers to the shop and pick them up a little later assembled. I can leave the old parts there as they're usually junk (unless they are working fine, then you can have them as spares).

I have not met anyone yet who likes working with spring compressors, and for me the $70 they took for changing everything over was really well worth the money. Still got to do the main assembly and have the car at home, but left the worst part of the job to mechanics who have the right tools to make the job faster and safer. It's a thing they can do sometimes between jobs or while waiting for something, as they don't have to move or lift any car for that. Just my 2c.

Hmmm, that is an interesting idea! I live in a metropolitan area and my experience has been VW shops around here that deal with aftermarket parts and installs are not that accommodating. They like you to buy parts through them vs. bring your own, and because they have plenty of business in the area I think they are less willing to do small favors. But... it can't hurt to reach out. I would definitely want a VW specialty shop to make sure they get installed correctly.

I don't love the idea of the spring compressors either, but I think that's still on the table. I would be trying to complete the job in a weekend since I use my car daily during the week. Fortunately I think they only need to get compressed a little to remove them.

My co-worker is doing some struts this weekend with threaded rod spring compressors so maybe I'll see how it goes for him

Matias, reliable auto repair shops are unicorns where I live. The shops that exist rarely do the job right the first time. Last shop I dealt with was supposed to press in new U-joints in a pair of '72 Corvette rear axle half shafts. Arrived at the shop to pick them up the next day and overnight the owner loaded everything in a truck and left town. That $50 job ended up costing me $400.

Kind of my experience, too, Bob. Or the ones I'd trust are on the expensive side.

I had anxiety attacks using threaded rod spring compressors. No way I could afford a professional grade compressor but there was one in my price range that makes working on struts less stressful. It's powered by a foot pumped hydraulic cylinder so your face and hands don't have to be in the line of fire. I bought it in 2017 from Amazon for $99. The one I bought is no longer available but it appears Vevor now sells an identical one for $140. The downside is it takes up space but a set of casters makes it easy to roll out of the way.

Wow, you guys are freaking me out about the spring compressors. I understand the potential danger but are they that tricky to use safely? The ones you posted do look safer, but at that price I'd probably see if a shop can do the swap vs. store extra tools I'll probably never use again.

 

[nicholam77]

This is the size Goo Gone bottle you need when you install the wrong spoiler extension on your car:



The other day I installed the Aerofabb spoiler extension I received for the GTI.

It's a minimalistic piece, but the install requires removing the factory spoiler, electrical connections, rear windshield washer supply line, etc.



The factory spoiler is supported by some gloss black side fins, and they are stuck together with butyl adhesive that needed to be heated and cut with an X-acto knife. Frustrating, because it kept wanting to reattach to itself.

I ended up cutting my finger twice, as well as scratching my car paint when the knife slipped. I think it can be polished out though.



I didn't document everything but basically the spoiler extension gets 3M taped and bolted to the factory spoiler (I had to drill permanent holes).

It all went fine and everything was bolted back up. I stood back to look at the car, and something seemed off. The spoiler extension was squarer on the corners than I thought.



Gives it a bit more of a "duck bill" appearance.

Turns out this is NOT the part I ordered, but an alternate "V2" model. But my email order confirmation, the packing slip, and the stickers on the box all showed it was the "V1" model. The difference is somewhat subtle and unfortunately I didn't catch it until it was on the car.




It doesn't look terrible or anything but I still want the one I ordered, which has a softer curve that follows the factory spoiler shape more:



So I called the place I ordered from, and they confirmed that other boxes in their warehouse were mixed up, too. So they don't have the V1 in stock. They agreed to order me one from Aerofabb, which is in Australia I believe, and do a return even though it was on the car. Which is great. But I got to go through the whole process again in the same day, and try to pry 3M adhesive off. Damn that stuff was strong, probably took me 30min of heating, prying with putty knife, goo gone, over and over.

And now I'm back to square one. Shipping the wrong one back tomorrow, but still haven't received confirmation on the new order. Probably won't have the correct one for 3-4 weeks at best.

A bit frustrating but that's how it goes sometimes!

 

[pat9198]

That's frustrating. Sometimes you're the windshield, and sometimes you're the bug!

 

[bj383ss]

That ***** Nick. At least they are righting their wrong. Good company standing by their product and service.

I don't want to not sound like a safety Sally, but I have never had any problems with the standard spring compressors. I changed the front struts on the Camaro with a set I rented from O'riellys. When I did the front suspension on my truck 2 years ago I bought a set of Amazon. They worked fine. You still have to use your common sense and keep the thing pointed away from anything important.

The standard thought process goes if it starts to feel unsafe assume it is and stop. They only problem I had was on the truck and its because I put the compressor in the wrong part of the coil and couldn't get it out after I put the a-arms together. Wasn't unsafe just had to do that part twice.

Just my experience and opinion though. You see all the time on social media idiots taking struts loose with an impact and not using a spring compressor. Trying to win Darwin awards I guess. SMH!

Bret