Slurms

The upgraded exhaust from the comp pack helps with that a bit but to really hear the exhaust it helps being able to remove the roof

Yeah that's the reason, technically it's a "Competition Pack" car, it was an option on the standard car but in reality it's been impossible to order anything else for quite some time. I think it's because calling it the "optional pack which fixes the knife edge handling and ride problems we baked into the original car" isn't the catchiest name.

Thanks all, I’ve had a few M3s in the past and the Competition pack really sorts out some of the interesting handling traits of the recent models. That and thanks to WFH there is no more commuting which means I don’t need to worry about fuel economy. I’ll keep an eye on the MK8 see if they ever do that 400hp version. till then take it easy.

Well sadly the time has come to move onto something else, i've had my MK7.5 R from new and it's been great over the last three years. Never missed a beat and the only work that needed doing was some new caliper seals after I got the brakes a touch too warm on a track day (just as it got red flagged so I couldn't cool them down). Original purchase price was around 38k and I sold it for 21k to WBAC. I might have got more in a private sale but it was way less hassle. RJ17 VVM was the reg if a new owner pops up on here. Just taken delivery of my M4 Competition Convertible in time to get the roof down for some late summer sun (I hope). The Interior quality is way better than the Golf but I'm going to miss the fully digital dash. It's been a blast, they're great cars. Enjoy.

I've just fitted some EBC bluestuff, working fine on road - yet to try on track,

Yup, running the RS3 ducts as well. Has anyone tried the Tarox discs, i've heard (no science involved just rumours) that they're a higher carbon content disc which should help with the heat.

So i'm looking for a good high temperature tolerant disk for my R. The clubsport S ones, while they haven't cracked have developed hot spots at the drill hole sites so they give quite a bit of unpleasant vibration through the pedal under braking. I'm still running stock rather than a BBK for warranty reasons and I just want something that'll handle a track day or two without failing.

Just to chip into this, I didn't rate the PS4 on track, went off way to quickly and gave a load of understeer. I've driven Cup 2s on track and was very impressed by them.

I'm running Motul RBF660 which is a step up again from their already excellent RBF600

I just found that they had great grip on turn in for the first couple of laps and then they just went away and the understeer piled on. You could correct that a little with the power and get the car to bring the nose round but after another couple of laps even that didn't work anymore. If I decided i'm going to do another couple of TD's this year, I'm going to look at the dunlops, Cup2s and 595s with a second set of wheels I think.

Yeah they would be on a second set, not for road use.

I've got a friend who's done a couple of really wet track days in his MX-5 on Cup2's and had no problems. I drove his car at Spa and they were epic. So given the chance i'd get some on the golf. This is a really good vid comparison between all three tyres. the MPS4 MPS4S and MPSC2

The answer is pretty simple, i'm running on 18's and you can't get the MPS4S in an 18" wheel size otherwise i'd have gone for those. So i'm now considering a second set of alloys with MPSC2 or a similar track tyre on it. The RS3 ducts bolt straight on with no problems - on my MK7.5, I've heard it may not be quite as straight forward on the MK7 but can't confirm that.

Have you track'ed the EBC bluestuff? I can't seem to find much information about their track performance online. Would be great to get some feedback on them.

Thats my current thinking, the discs should be fine the car's stock and i've seen tuned cars running the clubsport s discs with no problems. As you suggest I suspect the pads aren't up to it. Though maybe the calipers as well. I've heard good things about the 595s i'm going to look into some options because I won't track the PS4 again just pointless.

So this is more of an after action report. Ran on Saturday at Bedford with the ducts fitted to my MK7.5, they do make a pretty significant difference fronts lasted much better than the last time I ran them at the same track. Still not powerful enough brakes though for track work, I suspect an upgraded BBK might be in my future. Similarly the PS4 just doesn't cope well with the higher temps of track work, I was kinda hopeful it would be closer to the PS4S than it is. I had great grip for a couple of laps and then they just started to understeer unless I cooled them off. Some pressure changes might have helped but I don't think it would have made a massive difference. So I suspect a second set of wheels and some MPS Cup 2 might also be required. For reference thats the Clubsport S discs and pads on the front, stock rears, with Motul 660 brake fluid.

Thanks, It's a PCP deal so I think i'll just wait,

So, it's looking likely that i'm going to be exceeding the mileage on my agreement for the R. Partly because I love it and that means i'm driving it more, partly because i'm doing more work mileage than I expected. Whats the view, is it better to talk to VW now and change the estimated rate on the finance deal or just pay any excess mileage at the end? I'm about 15 months into a 4 year deal and I think i'll probably do 15k a year not the 13k I estimated Thoughts?

So i'm in this dilemma right now, my R7.5 has done 19,000 in about 15 months (need to chat to VW finance about that) and it's still on the original set of Bridgestones S001 but they're now just about on the wear blocks so it's time to replace them. I'm thinking PS4 is the best bet as while the bridgestones have worn well (19k motorway + 1 trackday) they don't give much feel.

I had exactly this dilemma, Spec i settled on is in my sig and i'm very happy with it. No leather or Prets. IMHO VW leather isn't worth £1700 and the standard seats are nice, while the prets are great to look at something had to give. While the Pro-Nav doesn't give you a huge amount over the standard nav the bigger screen is great and having the nav on the dash and main display in different resolutions at the same time is a nice feature.

Thanks, It was a good day. Those Clios are so quick through the corners.

Thanks, I'm starting to suspect that the pads might have had it. I'll give it another couple of days but they're noisy under braking and I'd have expected that to have cleared up by now.

Yes, thats the direction I was thinking of going in. My issue is that with the car still under warranty for the next couple of years I don't want to mod it too much and give VW a reason to give me a hard time. The CSS setup because it's offered on the car avoids that possibility.

Great on the road. No complaints at all and improved bite over the stock pads even from cold without the noise you get from some of the aftermarket pads.

So having just done this upgrade and then tried them out on track I thought i'd leave a review for others who might be thinking about doing the same. Disclaimer - I'm not the worlds finest racing driver and if you are your results may differ. Up first the answer to a common question - if you buy the Clubsport S front pads and discs they are a straight swap for the pads and discs on the R from the factory, there are no issues with installation and they don't cause any problems with the front alloys (18's). I put just over 500 miles on them before using them on track and got them properly hot on a couple of occasions before so they weren't completely green when I hit the track. I ran the car at Bedford on the GT circuit last weekend, which has a couple of very hard (120 mph+) braking zones and I was running 7 lap sessions so about 20 - 25 minutes on track at at time. Short summary is that they did ok, not brilliant but ok. From my perspective the biggest issue was pedal feel, on track before I've been used to big brembo setups and they never faded all day long, the setup on the R doesn't give that level of confidence. It kept working, my fastest laps were at the end of the day with the brakes in their most used state so overall performance wasn't bad but they just don't inspire you to push harder. They do get hot but as long as you give it a full cooling down lap then I didn't find it to be a problem, the only time they got smokey was once when I didn't cool them down coming off track. So for occasional track use, maybe, I've had it suggested that braided brake lines and some improved fluid might help retain pedal feel but I've yet to try it. But if you're putting some thought into doing more than a couple of track days during the year then i'd definitely look at an improved aftermarket setup instead. I know once the warranty lapses on mine that's what I'll be doing.