# VR6 Daily driver anyone??



## rmkonrad (Feb 16, 2006)

Anyone here drive a VR6 Turbo Daily??


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## [email protected] (Mar 16, 2004)

*Re: VR6 Daily driver anyone?? (rmkonrad)*

I do. Its not bad when everything is working properly. There is always something that needs to be fixed though.


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## MKII16v (Oct 23, 1999)

*Re: VR6 Daily driver anyone?? (rmkonrad)*

I did including a 1200 mile trek from Colorado to Washington and I will keep driving it when I have my new setup together.


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## mrbikle (Jul 2, 2005)

i daily mine....only thing that sucks is 19 MPG


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## J Dubya (Oct 26, 2001)

*Re: (mrbikle)*

Drove my VR6T GTi for almost two years. Broke 2nd gear twice because I would throw in some track days too. No other problems though.


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## Jefnes3 (Aug 17, 2001)

*Re: VR6 Daily driver anyone?? (rmkonrad)*

Everydy. Through the winter this year. (Connecticut)
'98 Gti-VR6t
8.5:1 spacer
City mileage is not so good: ~20mpg average.
On road trips I can get ~26mpg.
gas is past $3.00/gal, I need to get my ABA up and running for daily use to save some coin on fuel.
-Jeff


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## Death Trap (Feb 14, 2006)

*Re: VR6 Daily driver anyone?? (Jefnes3)*

I drive mine about 5 days a week and store it in the winter just to preserve the car. Not bad at all to daily


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## Soupuh (Apr 29, 2005)

100% daily... I think i need to get off the throttle a little bit though, because I don't think I see more than 15 around town.


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## rmkonrad (Feb 16, 2006)

*Re: (Soupuh)*

hey soupuh u have some sick power coming out of that thing.. im probably gonna get the Kinetic set-up i heard its pretty reliable. Is it that good?


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## IwannaGTI (Jul 12, 2001)

*Re: (rmkonrad)*

daily here @ 9 psi. have the stage 2 stuff to move to 15 psi tho. no problems yet!
drove it from CT to philly, then philly to umass and back in 2 weekends. daily commute is only about 2 miles.


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## MKII16v (Oct 23, 1999)

*Re: (IwannaGTI)*

I should note that on my Colorado to Washington drive my average MPG for the trip was 30 mpg. This was with a lot of part throttle boosting since the turbo that comes with the HPA kit is so small. I also had an extra 400 lbs of cargo.


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## dreadlocks (May 24, 2006)

mine is a daily driver and road trip warrior.. other than city gas mileage and sometimes a sore left leg if I get stuck in traffic its fine


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## AmiT-VR6 (Jan 8, 2004)

*Re: VR6 Daily driver anyone?? (rmkonrad)*

I drive mine for 3 years.daily 10 psi. and 15 psi for fun








with built up engine cr:9.1.0


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## 4mo1 (Feb 5, 2007)

*Re: VR6 Daily driver anyone?? (AmiT-VR6)*

$3 a gallon is expensive?









Here in the UK its 90 pence per litre - that works out to $7.99 a gallon








I still pay it though


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## McNeil (Jan 18, 2006)

*Re: VR6 Daily driver anyone?? (4mo1)*

I would invest in a bike or a moped if I were you.


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## VR6GT35TURBO (Feb 7, 2006)

*Re: VR6 Daily driver anyone?? (rmkonrad)*

Finished it in December, winter beater blew a head gasket, put all my money into the VRT so this is how I roll everyday...


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## EuroVeeDub (Nov 16, 2001)

*Re: (mrbikle)*


_Quote, originally posted by *mrbikle* »_i daily mine....only thing that sucks is 19 MPG

For some reason this really cracked me up... even with a turbo, the VR still gets 19MPG








Suck on that soccer moms


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## dreadlocks (May 24, 2006)

awesome! I want a trailer hitch.. and a trailer loaded w/dirt bikes.


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## brilliantyellowg60 (Aug 30, 2001)

*Re: (dreadlocks)*

i daily mine in the summer and average 15mpg around town, but get 25mpg on all highway


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## herbehop (May 4, 2004)

*Re: VR6 Daily driver anyone?? (rmkonrad)*

I drive mine ~60 miles daily. Solid build, solid tune --> no issues
my commute... ( innovative gauge acting up







)


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## phatvw (Aug 29, 2001)

*Re: (rmkonrad)*


_Quote, originally posted by *rmkonrad* »_hey soupuh u have some sick power coming out of that thing.. im probably gonna get the Kinetic set-up i heard its pretty reliable. Is it that good?

Its a good kit. Be careful on the track though, especially if you use a turbo blanket. I blew out some gasket on the closed course race track a couple weeks ago @10psi. Not a catastrophic failure or anything, just a nasty exhaust leak -> less boost and very very noisy. Had to order new gaskets and studs from kinetic and will hopefully get things running again this weekend
Its as reliable as any VW: rarely does something break leaving you stranded, but its never 100% either unless you spend a crazy amount of time on maintenance and tuning.
BTW never had any problems on the track running at ~6-7PSI well aside from hitting 270° oil temps after 5 laps. But the R32 oil cooler soon solved the problem











_Modified by phatvw at 12:02 AM 4-11-2007_


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## katc (Sep 18, 2006)

I've daily'd mine for over 4 years and 80k miles. Like everyone says, lots of maintenance work goes into it, but compared to some of my friends cars, I don't feel like I spend that much time under the hood. 
For ref: 8 psi, intercooled, stock compression, sotck clutch (well, I'm on #2 now)


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## TKMTuned12 (Mar 10, 2007)

*Re: (mrbikle)*


_Quote, originally posted by *mrbikle* »_i daily mine....only thing that sucks is 19 MPG


Hehe I think that has to do with it being a VR6, not turbo!


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## rmkonrad (Feb 16, 2006)

*Re: (TKMTuned12)*

How much HP to the Crank would a kinetic stage 1 kit give out.. stock motor magnaflow cat back and no cat.. anyone know?? i know the wheels its liek 240


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## IN-FLT (Mar 22, 2003)

*Re: (rmkonrad)*


_Quote, originally posted by *rmkonrad* »_How much HP to the Crank would a kinetic stage 1 kit give out.. stock motor magnaflow cat back and no cat.. anyone know?? i know the wheels its liek 240 


_Quote, originally posted by * Kinetic Motorsport Website* »_We have dynoed this kit at 242WHP on a stock motor with 94 octane fuel and a 2.5" cat-back exhaust (no cat). With a stock exhaust and 94 octane fuel we have seen 233WHP.
Link to Kinetic's VRT page


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## phatvw (Aug 29, 2001)

*Re: (IN-FLT)*

Get stage 2!!! The 230-240whp on stage-1 is not exactly repeatable. Once everything gets blistering hot, the ECU pulls timing and your power is reduced. The intercooler makes a HUGE difference even if you stay at 5PSI.
If you can't wait for Stage 2, pickup a $500 ebay FMIC+piping kit. You'll need to custom-weld a piece to go from the throttle-body->intercooler and trim the bumper/rad support, but everything else should be plug'n'play.


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## MKippen (Nov 6, 2000)

*Re: (phatvw)*


_Quote, originally posted by *phatvw* »_
Its a good kit. Be careful on the track though, especially if you use a turbo blanket. 

What did you mean by that? did the Turbo Blanket somehow cause seomething to go wrong?


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## VR6OOM (Nov 8, 2002)

*Re: (theflygtiguy)*

I drive about 30 - 40 miles a day...and I have put ~20K miles on the turbo kit...not one single problem. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## The Transplanter (Jan 19, 2003)

*Re: VR6 Daily driver anyone?? (4mo1)*


_Quote, originally posted by *4mo1* »_$3 a gallon is expensive?








Here in the UK its 90 pence per litre - that works out to $7.99 a gallon








I still pay it though









Im in the UK and drive mine daily







I thought its was just my VRT that drank fuel like a 70's muscle car on steriods


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## IN-FLT (Mar 22, 2003)

*Re: VR6 Daily driver anyone?? (The Transplanter)*

^^^^^ hottttttttt







^^^^^


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## phatvw (Aug 29, 2001)

*Re: (theflygtiguy)*


_Quote, originally posted by *theflygtiguy* »_
What did you mean by that? did the Turbo Blanket somehow cause something to go wrong?

The turbo blanket cooked and turned into a brittle pile of crap. It literally crumbled and turned into dust in front of my eyes as I removed it. Whats worse is that on the track at 10PSI I think I overheated the turbo manifold and now I gotta pull it to replace the gaskets. Very annoying exhaust leak.
I would NOT run any sort of turbo blanket on the exhaust components. Ceramic coating maybe, but none of the wrap nonsense.


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## dreadlocks (May 24, 2006)

*Re: VR6 Daily driver anyone?? (The Transplanter)*


_Quote, originally posted by *The Transplanter* »_
Im in the UK and drive mine daily







I thought its was just my VRT that drank fuel like a 70's muscle car on steriods

















That is sick, I think I am in love.... let us see how you managed to squeeze all that under the hood!


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## Soupuh (Apr 29, 2005)

I've had my turbo glowing many, many times and my blanket wasn't that bad... after like 25 minutes of near continous 15 psi pulls on some backroads, you could see light through the blanket, and the downpipe itself was also giving off some light... i jsut let it cool off for a good 15 more minutes after driving "soft" for awhile and I haven't had that problem. 
Either way I feel bad about that dan...

btw my oil temps (at the filter housing) never go above 240, even when I beat it like it owes me, which is everytime it's warm....


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## The Transplanter (Jan 19, 2003)

*Re: VR6 Daily driver anyone?? (dreadlocks)*


_Quote, originally posted by *dreadlocks* »_
That is sick, I think I am in love.... let us see how you managed to squeeze all that under the hood!

Can I just show you pics of my scared knuckles instead















This is the only pic I have, I have since dumped the FMU & BOV and running C2 30# and soon to rework the i/c pipework


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## phatvw (Aug 29, 2001)

*Re: (Soupuh)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Soupuh* »_I've had my turbo glowing many, many times and my blanket wasn't that bad... after like 25 minutes of near continous 15 psi pulls on some backroads, you could see light through the blanket, and the downpipe itself was also giving off some light... i jsut let it cool off for a good 15 more minutes after driving "soft" for awhile and I haven't had that problem. 
Either way I feel bad about that dan...

btw my oil temps (at the filter housing) never go above 240, even when I beat it like it owes me, which is everytime it's warm....


Yeah I think I probably didn't do a proper cool down afterward.
What happened was my buddy crashed out during the last track session of the day and we were all red-flagged back to the paddock with no cool-down lap allowed.
I left the car idling, but probably should have exited the facility and driven around public roads to properly cool down with AIR FLOW. So my fault on this. Still whatever damage I did from not doing a proper cool down was most definitely exacerbated by the blanket. Better to just leave the blanket off I think.
Also I think road course is more demanding on the car and engine than drag racing or doing a session on a back road. I think the oil temps prove that









Still we're talking about romping on the racetrack here. For daily driving and the occasional highway sprint, you wouldn't have any of these problems.


_Modified by phatvw at 4:22 PM 4-11-2007_


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## rmkonrad (Feb 16, 2006)

*Re: (phatvw)*


_Quote, originally posted by *phatvw* »_Get stage 2!!! The 230-240whp on stage-1 is not exactly repeatable. Once everything gets blistering hot, the ECU pulls timing and your power is reduced. The intercooler makes a HUGE difference even if you stay at 5PSI.
If you can't wait for Stage 2, pickup a $500 ebay FMIC+piping kit. You'll need to custom-weld a piece to go from the throttle-body->intercooler and trim the bumper/rad support, but everything else should be plug'n'play.


i will go with stage 1 for now.... im on a budget getting a turbo is way over my head already.. i have just enough for stage one and installation.. but once i get a job again i will get stage 2 upgrade with out a doubt.


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## IwannaGTI (Jul 12, 2001)

*Re: (rmkonrad)*

budget and turbo, not a good idea.....one thing goes, it costs what the turbo kit costs....pre-me was head gasket


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## MKII16v (Oct 23, 1999)

*Re: (phatvw)*


_Quote, originally posted by *phatvw* »_The turbo blanket cooked and turned into a brittle pile of crap. It literally crumbled and turned into dust in front of my eyes as I removed it. Whats worse is that on the track at 10PSI I think I overheated the turbo manifold and now I gotta pull it to replace the gaskets. Very annoying exhaust leak.
I would NOT run any sort of turbo blanket on the exhaust components. Ceramic coating maybe, but none of the wrap nonsense.

I am assuming you are refering to the DEI wrap kit and not a blanket like this:


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## rmkonrad (Feb 16, 2006)

*Re: (IwannaGTI)*


_Quote, originally posted by *IwannaGTI* »_budget and turbo, not a good idea.....one thing goes, it costs what the turbo kit costs....pre-me was head gasket

nah im not on a budget like that.. im just saying at first i can only afford stage 1 since im un-employed. but once i get myself a job it will be all $ into the VR


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## phatvw (Aug 29, 2001)

*Re: (MKII16v)*


_Quote, originally posted by *MKII16v* »_
I am assuming you are refering to the DEI wrap kit and not a blanket like this:


Correct, it was a wrap kit. That blanket looks like it has some sort of coating on it which might survive hi-temps a little better.
The material of the wrap stuff simply could not take the heat.


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## MKII16v (Oct 23, 1999)

*Re: (phatvw)*

Gotcha. I have been nothing but thrilled with blankets of this style. I still think you should give water injection a shot. I am rigging up a portable system that can be easily removed and installed so people can try it out I think you would be impressed and it would really put a dent in your egts.


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## phatvw (Aug 29, 2001)

*Re: (MKII16v)*


_Quote, originally posted by *MKII16v* »_Gotcha. I have been nothing but thrilled with blankets of this style. I still think you should give water injection a shot. I am rigging up a portable system that can be easily removed and installed so people can try it out I think you would be impressed and it would really put a dent in your egts.

Hmm might be a better option than putting in a headgasket spacer.
I'm thinking:
- Stage-2 intercooled 
- water/meth injection
- 36 lb injectors
- 4bar FPR
- oem fuel pump
= ~13PSI
Wonder if Mr [email protected] could do a custom tune for that. Only wildcard is how long the intake manifold would survive


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