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For the past few months, the company HPFP Upgrade has been working on creating a cam follower that is more durable than the oem piece. Testing is now practically complete. I’m guessing that they are in production right now with a probable February release. HPFP Upgrade is a relatively new (to me) company that focuses on the fueling system for various direction injection cars.

There’s been a good deal of anticipation regarding this product. Any product that can help with the FSI’s follower problem is welcome. The company states that it has achieved an increase in durability through the use of hard chroming. By creating a surface with less friction, there is less wear between the follower and cam. Testing supposedly confirms their claims. In addition to the new surface material, the oil flow holes were relocated to the sides. Information is limited right now as the company has yet to officially release the product.

Early Production Photos - Note the revised oiling hole locations

Of course, the product is untested by the mass public and details such as warranty have yet to be hashed out. There are still unanswered questions. How will the relocation of the oil holes affect things and how durable will the follower and hard chrome finish really be in real life application? HPFP Upgrade asserts that the the new finish is much tougher than the OEM DLC coated follower and slicker as well. They also say that the relocation of the oiling holes also has nothing but positive effects, although their reasoning is yet to be seen. The company seems to have done its homework, field testing a few units with favorable results. So far better than another company that just made the follower thicker and omitted the DLC coating…*cough*kmd*cough*. The design is superficially similar to followers used by Mazda.

I’m following this product quite closely and will probably try it out when it does finally get released.

Here’s a thread on the MKV forum with a few details but it unfortunately turns into a flame war in a page or so. Upgraded FSI Cam Follower

If you do end up getting this in a month or two, let everyone know what you think of it in the comments.

I finally got around to uploading the warranty extension letters that Volkswagen sent out regarding the pcv and the intake manifold motor. These letters were (or are still) being sent out to owners to inform them that the warranty on these parts has been extended to 120,000 miles or 10 years. If you have replaced any of the affected parts from you own pocket, Volkswagen will reimburse you for the costs, provided you have all the receipts still.For more information on the pcv valve, check out my previous post:PCV Valve & Breather TubePCV and Intake Manifold Warranty Extension

PCV and Intake Manifold Motor Warranty Extension

Happy New Year everybody! 2012 is here and it’s going to be a good one!

Just a few quick updates for this post…

First things first, sorry for the extreme lack of updates, the MKV front is getting a little older and a little quieter. That’s alright though, the MKV generation of cars has been holding up pretty well. The FSI follower problem has been troublesome for a lucky few and there are various small sensor/peripheral problems (thrust sensor, low pressure fuel pump, pcv and diverter valves etc.)  that owners have had to deal with but overall, the cars have been robust. Maintenance just needs to be kept up to date. I recently rolled past 108,000 miles and the car runs great.

Still coming for the month of January:

The recently mentioned aftermarket cam follower is still awaiting final finishing but the company states that it should be released as soon as this month. This follower is supposed to provide 3x the life of the OEM follower by using a different surface treatment (hard chroming). If the product lives up to its promises, FSI owners can rest just a little bit easier about their cam follower issues.

The Koni Yellow Dampers are holding up well and I think I finally got the rebound settings perfect for the stock springs. When you have adjustable dampers, it’s almost impossible to just pick a setting and not fiddle with them. They tempt you at every corner. I’ll do a write up with the settings soon.

The original wipers on this car are actually very good and lasted about five years in the mild California climate. My previous car ran through them at a rate of one set per year. They might not fair as well in an area that sees actual winter. Here’s an interesting fact about the wipers in case you haven’t heard of it; when you remove the key from the ignition, the (front) wipers will move a little to flip the wiper blade position and prevent them from deforming. This helps the wipers last a little longer.

Sorry, I can’t find the actual part numbers for the front wiper blades, so if anyone has them, I’d appreciate them! The rear blade can be found under part number 6Q6955425A.

* You may also be able to find cheaper deals on Amazon.com. Just navigate over to the automotive department and use the “Part Finder” link near the top left. I have tried the Valeo brand rear wiper and it looks and performs like OEM. They might have the front wiper set for a few dollars cheaper than ECS.

06F129101P Front Detail

I recently received a letter from Volkswagen of America stating that the warranty for the pcv valve and intake manifold motor has been extended to 10 years/120,000 miles. You will also be eligible for reimbursement if you paid for repairs on any of these parts. Signs of pcv failure may include loss of boost pressure, poor idling and sometimes oil being pushed out of the oil cap. Intake manifold failure usually results in poor cold starting and sluggish low end performance. Either case can also cause the check engine light to come on.

PCV Valve

Here a Golfmkv.com link to common 2.0T FSI issues.

I’ll upload the document as soon as I can scan it in. Here we go.

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-Thank you Steve Jobs, you will be missed.

I have now settled on 1/2 turn of adjustment on both front and rear dampers. They are just about perfectly dialed in for the type of roads that I see in L.A. I’ll save the discussion about rebound adjustment for an upcoming post.