The Humble Commuter - 2013 Scirocco R

[Josh84]

HI everyone

I hail from Australia and I've been an avid reader of this forum and I post quite a bit on other car forums too. Just thought I'd share my latest ride. Just bought a VW Scirocco R a couple of months ago.

The car is undergoing a Stage 1 APR tune in terms of performance and APR turbo-back exhaust. I've kept the exterior mods simple as I am going for an elegant and understated look (Although I am considering a full body vinyl wrap at some stage).

Here are some pics of both my VW and my other car, a Mazda 3 Sports. (I am not the a photographer by any stretch of the imagination so I do apologise)















Comments/suggestions always welcome.

Cheers

Josh

[Josh84]

Thanks for the kind comments everyone.

Yup the Scirocco comes only in its R varient here in Australia and it is expansive compared to other cars in its class, like the Megane RS etc..

But I am enjoying the ride quality, even more after lowering it.

[Josh84]

Cheers guys.

I test drove both the golf r and scirocco r and found the golf r a little too planted and less agile with the AWD. I can see the benefits of the AWD but I wanted something lighter and less cautious. I hope that makes sense?

The Mazda was my first car and it drives very differently to the VW. It has significant less power but a lot was done in terms of body work/exterior with most parts shipped from Japan. Each of these cars have their strengths but I guess the scirocco is more exhilarating to drive in sport mode.

Here are a couple of pics of the mazda

[Josh84]

Thanks for the response. I have to agree. The tints and de-badging was done specifically for local magazine photoshoot. I've always preferred a more simplistic approach to visual modifications.

A few recent pics of the scirocco.





Testing the limited slip differential on off road terrain. It performed quite decently to my surprise.

[Josh84]

Cheers for the feedback guys.

Tinkertaylor, those wheels are VMR's . I am looking at some ADV1 wheels for my next set.

I will post pictures of the badged Mazda. Need to rummage through my computer for a recent pic. lol

[Josh84]

Haha...yes that was me waiting for my wife.

I did see a red Fiat Abarth pass by, was that you?

......

In other news...my first attempt at using a wide angle lens. The car goes in for vinyl wrapping tomorrow (some bits)

[Josh84]

Thanks! Haha good point. I lived in London for 10 years and found parking to be a challenge. Or maybe I. Just can't park ...lol

[Josh84]

Cheers everyone for the feedback. Much appreciated.

Hope to post more pics after the vinyl wrapping is done. Not going for a full body wrap but something subtle.

[Josh84]

So had the roof and spoiler wrapped in Hexis French vinyl. Thoughts? It is growing on me..





....and did some minor touch up on this photo I posted earlier.

[Josh84]

Haha I wish. That was taken at a local Australian beach on a warm summers day.

[Josh84]

First night shot after work. Lighting conditions were dismal not very happy at all with how this turned out but its my first attempt at something like this with this wide angle lens at night.

[Josh84]

Tried my hand at detailing. Used Meguiars for the first time and I am pleased with the results.



Also really enjoying the APR tune at the moment. Decent torque levels from low to mid-range

[Josh84]

[Josh84]

Thanks very much guys. Still learning the ropes of photography.

Enjoying the car at the moment after the tune. Some nice performance gains.

Went for a modest drop with this car to retain form and function.

[Josh84]

christofmccracke said:

That's the nicest scirocco I have seen good sound of the r models engine. My next door neighbour has a golf r and it sounds amazing

Thanks mate. The r engine does sound sharp with a nice burble on idle. Since purchasing the car, I've fitted an APR Cold Air Intake which has made the turbo sound more distinct.

[Josh84]

Thought this picture featured the wheels well...

[Josh84]

Thanks mate. Just a Nikon D5100 Dslr with a wide angle Sigma lens


....

Full APR exhaust system ordered and to be installed soon

[Josh84]

Update:

Drove for the first time with the APR exhaust (and Stage 2 tune) and it sounds ABSOLUTELY brilliant and it feels like a 'new' car altogether. Torque is just right now. There is an elegant growl to the exhaust when opened up but on idle it sounds pretty much normal. There is zero drone so I am happy about that.

Kept my intake and with the HPFP, power distribution is very precise. The car feels a lot quicker now but I've yet to really open it up (thanks to our Melbourne traffic). I have not tested it on the dyno but I am expecting a decent HP rise from stock. I intend to get the APR intercooler but might do that in the near future.

Might also take it on a 0-100kph run to see what the times are like. Anything around mid 5's would be great for me. Fingers crossed!

[Josh84]

Thank you sir! A video will follow once I receive the GoPro camera I ordered. Really enjoying the car at the moment and it just had its first service with 14000km on the clock.

[Josh84]

Few minor updates:

(1) Finally got round to installing the p3 gauge - www.p3cars.com



(2) Carbon Fibre Side Mirrors



(3) A few goodies arriving from Germany next week! Most things take ages to land in Australia. lol



(4) Random Pic