Officially ruined my warranty! Rawtek & Malone on a CPO VW

Well, Rawtek had that pretty kickass spring sale a little bit ago, and I jumped on the ECO Kit: https://www.rawtekinc.com/collectio...tdi-2015-dpf-egr-adblue-delete-exhaust-eco-ki

Went with the Stage 1 Malone tune, as I don't want to smoke too much when romping it, and I'd prefer to keep my clutch in one piece (while I can).

All I can say so far is: Awesome. I've got a little bit of diesel whistle at low RPMs that's noticeable with windows down/from outside, and inside & windows up it sounds like an improved version of stock. The eco kit i got utilizes the stock muffler (the rest of it straight piped) and that does a wonderful job of keeping the noise out of hoonigan territory.

The power comes on sooner, it hits harder, and it goes well past when the stock setup lost its breath. I've only driven like 30 minutes total with it, so I can't comment on the MPG upgrade, but I expect that to be noticeable, too.

Gotta say, having "grown up" only driving and modifying gassers, the fact that I have a fully "deleted" diesel car is super weird - and I love it. Here's to hoping my state doesn't reenact emissions checks in the near-future!

warranties are for window lickers and namby pambies!

Enjoy the ride

Welcome to the Dark Side.

how much was it total with the tune?

bmwM5power said:

how much was it total with the tune?

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I had it installed at a shop (I don't have access to a lift, and can't afford the time needed to DIY on a garage floor), so with parts + labor, it came to a thank-god-i-still-have-a-job amount of just over 2.5K

me next! I went to go throw my warranty away last month but when I put it up on the lift and had a look I found some warranty work I should get covered first..

Ive had $2k in parts and tune sitting in a box since my birthday in april just driving me bonkers.. I'm heading out to use my buddy's lift for this job in about 20mins.. YAY!

On the Q7?

What'd you have covered?

Rear Main and Upper Oil pan leak, they re-sealed the timing chain cover and fixed a small leak on that, then they found the EGR was leaking coolant too and tossed in a new water pump when they fixed that.. new oil, new ps fluid, new coolant, and an alignment.. $0 paid, i got everything I could had wanted outa the warranty, no point in holding onto it.

Tuned it saturday, pretty much everything thats common issues been resolved on this motor except the HPFP, and now that I can remove the EGR valve I have plans for addressing that issue soon.

Lovin the tune, torque for days and throttle response is instant.. cant wait to hookup my camper and go for a road trip without hitting the EGT limiter on the passes, if only the parks would open up.. at least for dispersed camping.

740GLE said:

warranties are for window lickers and namby pambies!

Enjoy the ride

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That's hilarious!

nayr said:

Rear Main and Upper Oil pan leak, they re-sealed the timing chain cover and fixed a small leak on that, then they found the EGR was leaking coolant too and tossed in a new water pump when they fixed that.. new oil, new ps fluid, new coolant, and an alignment.. $0 paid, i got everything I could had wanted outa the warranty, no point in holding onto it.

Tuned it saturday, pretty much everything thats common issues been resolved on this motor except the HPFP, and now that I can remove the EGR valve I have plans for addressing that issue soon.

Lovin the tune, torque for days and throttle response is instant.. cant wait to hookup my camper and go for a road trip without hitting the EGT limiter on the passes, if only the parks would open up.. at least for dispersed camping.

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Dang, that's an awesome checklist done before you took the leap! In hindsight, I should have probably taken a reeeaaal good look at it before I deleted, but all I keep thinking about is one of my previous cars - waited until the last year I owned it to tune, and it made it so much better, and still never had problems.

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Koloss said:

Well, Rawtek had that pretty kickass spring sale a little bit ago, and I jumped on the ECO Kit: https://www.rawtekinc.com/collectio...tdi-2015-dpf-egr-adblue-delete-exhaust-eco-ki

Went with the Stage 1 Malone tune, as I don't want to smoke too much when romping it,

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Had you gone with a Stage 2 and went easy on the pedal would it smoke more than your current setup?

I get zero smoke until I romp on it

whizznbyu said:

Had you gone with a Stage 2 and went easy on the pedal would it smoke more than your current setup?

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And if you drove like you always did before the delete, is your fuel efficiency better?

My last two tanks were both 54mpg with my bigger turbo on the highway (two work trips to Harrisburg, PA). My worst tank has been 45mpg with pretty much nothing but datalogs for tune updates. These cars can be amazingly efficient with the right foot

The CR engines can be really amazing for fuel economy once they are "modified" correctly.

My 2010 sedan, DSG and all, could hit 57 MPG tanks if driven reasonably, but 52 was the standard for me the short time I had it. If it had a third pedal I would still have it.

You're a better man than I. The best tank I got from my '11 6MT Golf missing a few components was 48 mpg.

turbobrick240 said:

You're a better man than I. The best tank I got from my '11 6MT Golf missing a few components was 48 mpg.

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Oddly enough, this is one situation where the DSG actually seems to help top end MPGs, due to the gearing. Mine was also rolling on 15" steelies from a base Rabbit wrapped in Michelins, that certainly helped too.

And it was a "baseline" tune, meaning just the deleted stuff, no power adders, although it seemed to me to be a little peppier off the line than stock. Never a hint of smoke, despite a straight pipe all the way from the turbo to the back end of the car. Even its start-up puff was barely visible.

I miss that car. It is still happily on the road, though, piling on the miles.

The 15" rims and skinny rubber really make a very significant difference. I can pull down 35 mpg in my 5mt 2.5L with the 15" skinnies aired up to 39 psi. With the 225 17" tires it takes effort to get 30 mpg.

I miss my GTD knockoff too. Unfortunately, I doubt it re-emerged from its imprisonment. Haven't had the heart to look up the VIN.

@turbobrick240 (testing out the new forum tools!) I have Enkei wheels that shaved 5lbs at each corner. They're still 18s, but my main reason for choosing them was the lighter weight.

$2,500.00 is way too much money i think for that Rawtek delete kit. yes i know price iincludes labour. i get what You wanted to acomplish but still
its a lot of $$ for 2 pieces of 404 grade stanless steel of pipe, gaskets, & hardware.

adjat84th said:

@turbobrick240 (testing out the new forum tools!) I have Enkei wheels that shaved 5lbs at each corner. They're still 18s, but my main reason for choosing them was the lighter weight.

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Hey, the quotes work! Yeah the factory rims are boat anchors for sure. I guess they want them to be nearly indestructible. I REALLY felt the difference when I shaved off about the same amount of weight with my aftermarket 17" rims.

johnsTDI said:

$2,500.00 is way too much money i think for that Rawtek delete kit. yes i know price iincludes labour. i get what You wanted to acomplish but still
its a lot of $$ for 2 pieces of 404 grade stanless steel of pipe, gaskets, & hardware.

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As someone who has had the Buzzken and even the Darkside downpipe (for when I had to match it with the 1752 turbo), I much prefer the ease of install that the Rawtek kit has with it's two piece design which makes it far easier to do on jack stands/ramps. I do wish the connection below the flexpipe was a v-band though. They have a nicer setup for routing of the coolant lines as well. It's the most expensive kit, but also the nicest ?‍

well johnsTDI, there is a huge business opportunity for you, then, if you feel you can manufacture and market the stuff cheaper. There are certainly plenty of people that are wanting this, more and more each day.

"The CR engines can be really amazing for fuel economy once they are "modified" correctly. "

What is "modified correctly" mean? Are there subtly variations from one CR engines to another in the Mk7? As in, a different "sweetspot"?

It means deleting the emissions components. Something I've been guilty of myself. But in my old age I've turned over a new leaf, and decided to become a law abiding citizen. Not trying to sound too judgmental. There's an extremely high probability I'd still be driving my deleted Golf if VW hadn't been forced to offer me more than it was worth.

With Stages: Are there subtle tweaks here and there to make performance improvements in a more linear way than in a stepwise fashion? As in a 1.5 instead of a 2.0, or even a 1.75?

I too snagged the 30% off deal they had when covid first hit... I was out of warranty land anyway with 180,000 miles. What an amazing upgrade...whoever was complaining about the cost, the improvement, the tune, and the fact that VW basically paid me to do it is pretty nice as well.

oilhammer said:

The CR engines can be really amazing for fuel economy once they are "modified" correctly.

My 2010 sedan, DSG and all, could hit 57 MPG tanks if driven reasonably, but 52 was the standard for me the short time I had it. If it had a third pedal I would still have it.

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That's crazy, Brian. I did notice on my 2010 JSW that I get 40-45 now if I'm easy on the pedal, with just a Stage 2, the usual deletes and no boost leaks. I struggle to get over 41mpg on my 2013 CPO JSW, unless I'm on cruise control on the open highway for hours at a time. Makes me think I might need to adjust my timing belt again for cam timing (had to adjust it a c-hair already after doing my own TB change last week).

turbobrick240 said:

The 15" rims and skinny rubber really make a very significant difference. I can pull down 35 mpg in my 5mt 2.5L with the 15" skinnies aired up to 39 psi. With the 225 17" tires it takes effort to get 30 mpg.

I miss my GTD knockoff too. Unfortunately, I doubt it re-emerged from its imprisonment. Haven't had the heart to look up the VIN.

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I'm still bummed I couldn't have bought that CP3 off your GTD!

pkhoury said:

I'm still bummed I couldn't have bought that CP3 off your GTD!

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Sorry bud. That was the part I felt worst about leaving on the car. I literally waited until the last day of buybacks to make up my mind. You should have seen the look of disappointment on the salesman's face when my uncle walked into the dealership with me. He thought for sure I was going to be driving away in the new GTI I had been looking at.

turbobrick240 said:

Sorry bud. That was the part I felt worst about leaving on the car. I literally waited until the last day of buybacks to make up my mind. You should have seen the look of disappointment on the salesman's face when my uncle walked into the dealership with me. He thought for sure I was going to be driving away in the new GTI I had been looking at.

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Live and learn, though it's not like dieselgate will happen again. I've taken off the rare CP4.1 at the junkyard before (I've only seen 2 common rail TDIs there, and I ended up pulling the entire motor and transmission from one, to resell later). That said, it's time consuming but otherwise relatively easy removing the CP4.1. I'm just glad I don't have to f*** with timing the CP3 when changing timing belts, though it only really requires an extra cam lock pin.