2 things I hate about having software on my Golf 6R!

By Clinton HulleyGolf 6R Project Car
Hate software on Golf 6R
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There are 2 things I hate about having software on my Golf 6R! I have my Golf 6R now for approximately 4 years now. Two of the 4 years I have been running REVO stage 2 software. I have used REVO software on my Golf 5 GTI in the past as well and I was very happy with it. So why am I unhappy with the software on my Golf 6R you may ask.

It is not the software I am unhappy with but the car with the software. It is mainly my own fault that I am unhappy with the setup I have. To give you a bit of background if you have not read my previous post. I have a 76mm Turbo Back Scorpion exhaust installed on my Golf 6R. When you remove the catalytic converters out of your exhaust system your ECU will through an error code and give you an engine light on the dash.

The best way to bypass the engine light is to get an ECU tune upgrade which blocks the error for the missing catalytic converter. I went to a REVO dealer I knew and asked for the software. Because I have the exhaust on the car the tuner went ahead and uploaded the stage 2 software. This way you can get a bit more of the gains from the exhaust.

So where is the issue running stage 2 software on the car? My issue is I don’t have a cold air intake on the car and it is required for stage 2 software.


So why is it an issue running stage 2 software without a Cold Air intake?

The issue is not with not running a cold air intake by itself. The issue is with the MAF sensor, or more specifically the MAF sensor position. The standard MAF sensor housing in the Golf 6R and Golf 5 GTI is oval with the MAF sensor place in such a position that the reading part of the sensor is in the middle of the housing. The standard housing also has a mesh before the sensor so that there is no turbulent air. This means the airflow anywhere around the sensor is at the same speed.

On an aftermarket intake, there is no mesh before the sensor and the sensor is placed that the reading section is more to the side of the tube because the tube is round.

OEM vs Aftermarket sensor position

So what is the difference? At the center of the MAF housing, the airspeed is the highest, the closer you get to the side of the housing the slower the airflow. This is what the mesh usually helps to fix on the OEM housing. The MAF reading will be different between the OEM and the aftermarket MAF housing setups. When you run aftermarket stage 2 and up software, the mapping was done with a sensor position of an aftermarket intake. This means if you run a standard MAF sensor housing the MAF reading will be wrong.


So what will happen because the MAF reading is wrong?

As your ECU uses the MAF sensor reading as a load input to see what fuel and timing to run it uses the wrong values. On fueling the ECU will pick up it is to rich or to lean via the Lambda sensors and it will automatically adjust accordingly. If the value is too far out of range it will give you an engine error light. The issue is with ignition timing. The engine can’t predict if the timing is to slow or to fast. It can only monitor the knock sensor for knock and reduce the timing to suit.

You will either get that the engine is underpowered because of the timing that is reduced, or you sit with an engine that you will hear an audible knock when the engine is not supposed to be knocking. The ECU will try to protect the engine but the audible knock will just be there.

So how do you fix this issue?

There are 2 things you can do to fix this issue, the one is going to stage 1 software or just get yourself a proper Cold Air intake.

REVO Intake kit

So what is the second issue I hate?

This issue is related to DSG cars only. When running aftermarket ECU software you must run the upgraded DSG tune as well? The reason why, if you run upgraded ECU software and not upgraded DSG software the engine and gearbox are out of balance. The gearbox works but it does not shift when it is supposed to. It is almost if it shifts to early and before you know it you are in 6th gear. Having the knocking issue as discussed above this does mess you around a bit as the revs will be to low for the gear you are in. This will promote even more knock.

Having driven the car for a long time like this it really started to annoy me. I was driving the car in manual mode most of the time especially when I had people with me in the car.


So what is the fix for the DSG issues?

There isn’t much you can do, get upgraded DSG software, or go back to standard ECU Software.

REVO SOFTWARE 2

So what did I do?

As I don’t have funding for an intake or DSG software tune I decided to set the REVO software to standard.

So yesterday I did the move and plugged in my laptop. I set the DSG software to standard and took the car for a drive. I could feel there was a big chunk of the power and torque gone. On the upside, the knock was also gone and the Gearbox was shifting properly in drive mode. This is the best thing I have done in a while. Maybe one day I will be able to make use of the stage 2 software again.

Conclusion

If you have Golf 5 GTI or Golf 6R don’t put stage 2 software on the car if you are not going to get a cold air intake. If your car has a DSG gearbox stay away from engine tunes if you are not going to do the DSG tune upgrade as well. The gear shifting in drive mode will drive you insane.


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