Engine oil change

Oil + oil filter change. Full synthetic Wolf Vitaltech 5W-40 (VW 502 00) engine oil has been used.For more details, visit this page.

Odometer: 74,000 km.

Intake manifold Runner Flapper Delete + valves cleaning

So what is intake manifold Runner Flapper Delete (RFD™) kit means?

The runner flaps are individual plates, much like a throttle body flap. They are located within the intake manifold runners. Unfortunately even when fully opened, the flaps still represent an airflow restriction. For additional technical information please follow this link.

This is how RFD kit looks like:

RFD: intake manifold  runner flaps stubs.

Taking an advantage of already dismounted intake manifold (the access to intake valves was open) - intake valves were cleaned.

The carbon deposit accumulation on intake valves is a well known problem of all direct injection engines. So if you have one and your car millage is 80,000 km or more - it worth to clean them. It's quite dirty procedure, but you have no choice. Otherwise, these deposits will lead to reduced engine performance, bad fuel economy and other troubles. :-(

BG Gasoline Direct Injection Cleaner.

Before cleaning.

After cleaning.

After valves cleaning you may see that the valve's bodies are started to shine.

Intake manifold (before RFD install).

With RFD kit in place.

The throttle body is also cleaned.

Throttle body before cleaning: no serious dirt is detected.

Important note:
You can't simply install RFD kit and go.
In addition to hardware installation it requires proper ECU software recalibrations that's supported by APR and some others tuning companies. Currently, I'm running APR Stage II+FP+RFD V3.4 software and it's performs flawlessly.

Odometer: 72,600 km.

Engine oil change

Oil + oil filter change. Full synthetic Wolf Vitaltech 5W-40 (VW 502 00) engine oil has been used.
For the details click here.

Odometer: 67,500 km.

Performance clutch

At the same time, while changing the gearbox's differential I decided to replace the stock clutch reinforced one that holds more torque amount.

I chose the South Bend Stage 2 Endurance clutch kit with the single mass (8.6 kg) steel flywheel.
Manufacturer guarantees that it will hold up to 610 NM of torque, that is actually ~15% more than I need. Good to have some durability reserve. :-)

The new clutch kit

 Gearbox was extracted and the access to the clutch opened.

The stock clutch in place

Stock clutch + flywheel removed & inspected

The stock clutch used by SEAT in Leon Cupra MK2 is exactly the same clutch as used in Audi S3 8P or Golf R VI. The new one that I ordered from ECS tuning was for Golf R (SEAT isn't officially distributed in the USA, therefore doesn't appears in theirs cars listing), but thanks to VW and its compatibility: I may order many of spare parts for my car from there. :-)

You may see that this is only some reasonable amount of wear on it. So my conclusion that the stock clutch is good enough if you not going into aggressive accelerations from 0 km/h.

Meanwhile, when original flywheel was removed, some little problem was detected: the small oil leakage under the crankshaft gasket:

Crankshaft gasket "sweat"

This is the well known problem of 2.0 TFSI EA113 (also for 2.0 TSI EA 888 gen 2) and many others engines. So if you replacing a clutch, it worth to check this gasket too and replace it if needed.
You really don't want to remove again gearbox and clutch afterwards - only for gasket replacement. :-)

First of all, it's very important to perform clutch "bedding in" as it required for normal clutch operation. I did it according to the manufacturer instructions during the first 1200 km.

So how this clutch feels when it on car?
Well, I love how it works. :-) The pedal feel is near the stock: it's only a little bit harder for press, but not much. The clutch engagement is quite smooth.

Regarding transmissions noises:
I heard many complaints from people that starting to hear transmission noises (this is almost always an issue when using a single mass flywheel), but surprisingly for me, there was almost no noises at all, even if air conditioner is in action and them almost not-audible. They are not spoiling the overall car's comfort, thanks to well-designed clutch disc and relatively heavy flywheel.

But after all, if you specially listen for them, you will hear them. :-) Transmission noises are exists in very small amount on idle or when accelerating. This fact should be taken into account when upgrading you stock dual-mass flywheel to the single mass flywheel.

The main reason for making a such upgrade - is to avoid the dual-mass flywheel internal elements weariness (springs, gears, e.t.c.), which usually leads to different noises and then to its replacement after ~90,000 kilometers (the distance is varies for different vehicles).  Single mass flywheel has very simple build with no internal elements at all, so it simple doesn't has this problem by design.

Odometer: 67,300 km.

Wavetrack LSD

It's not a secret that powerful FWD cars are always struggling to effectively put their power onto the road. And this is almost impossible with open differential, that always puts the power where "easy to put it", i.e. onto the wheel, that in the slippery surface or in the air. It will never put the power onto the wheel that under greater load than other in the same axle.

The LSD (Limited-slip differential) will do exactly the opposite: it will put the power, where its needed, i.e. onto the wheel that has better traction in specific moment. This is exactly what we need on the slippery road or at high speed cornering.

Wavetrack LSD has been chosen for this purpose.

Complete LSD conversion kit

Some pictures from install:

 02Q 6-x speed gearbox prepared

Open differential (at the bottom) vs Wavetrack LSD

Now the cornering became the different story: under acceleration the car is simply sticks the desired trajectory while cornering. Indeed, this allows to achieve very impressive cornering speeds and made the car's behavior more safer and predictable on the slippery road.

It's maintenance free and will perform a lifetime of service without any touch. Also, it offers improved no-load performance when compared to other helical gear differentials on the market.
You may read more details here at the product web page.

Of course, transmission oil has been replaced again. The same oil has been used as in previous replace (Valvoline SYN POWER 75W-90) as it is compatible with LSD differential. But this time it has been filled without any oil additives, that lowers friction within the gearbox. This is according to directions from LSD manufacturer (Wavetrack).


Odometer: 67,300 km.

Transmission oil change

The oil in the 02Q 6-x speed manual that inside my Leon has been changed.
I decided to use Valvoline SYN POWER 75W-90 oil that meet API GL-5 standard.

Valvoline SYN POWER 75W-90 bottle

This oil also sutable for the limited slip differentials as mention on the package.
Advanced Xenum VX GEAR oil additive for the manual transmissions has been added too.

Xenum VX GEAR transmission oil additive

The instruction from Xenum said, that this additive should be used only for manual transmissions and not suitable for the automatic transmissions due to the fact that it decreases the friction between the surfaces - and this is not always desirable effect for this transmission type.

Shall you read instructions before using any oil or additive.

Odometer: 65,000 km. 

Engine air filter cleaning

I adapted the BMC cotton air filter for the VWR air intake system 4 months before.
After ~8 thousands kilometers I decided to inspect and clean the air filter.

The filter is slightly soiled

Cleaned and oiled

This cotton filter must be carefully cleaned and oiled with the appropriate low viscosity oil. I used a special cleaning kit from K&N. 

Here you may see the cleaning instructions.

After the cleaning the filter has been returned into it's box and mounted back on car.

VWR air filter box

Odometer: 64,500 km. 

Oil catch system service

In the relatively cold weather (under 10 Celsius) there rate of vapor formation in the oil catch system increases. So there is a need to service it more often then in summer.

The previous service was performed month and a half before.

The oil vapor

You can see that the main component of this vapor is the water. There almost no engine oil signs.

Odometer: 64,500 km.

Crankshaft dumper upgrade

This damper reduces crankshaft torsional vibration, which is the end-to-end twisting/rebound motion, that is naturally generated during each power stroke.

A harmonic balancer inside this damper contributes to greater valve train and timing efficiency, and reduces wear of critical engine components such as main bearings, oil pump and the crankshaft itself.

Fluidampr crankshaft damper

For more information you may visit an official site.

Odometer: 63,200 km.

Turbo outlet pipe upgrade

The reason to install the aftermarket TOP (Turbo Outlet Pipe) is to remove the factory pipe with the muffler that designed to reduce the engine bay acoustics.

The aftermarket muffler delete tube screws into place, forming a full, uninterrupted path for airflow.

Aftermarked muffler VS Stock

SPULEN 2.0T FSI Turbo Outlet Pipe Kit

The throttle pipe was already changed before.

Odometer: 63,200 km.

Adjustable sway bar endlinks

In order to make further proper suspension adjustments for the desired car's road behavior I replaced the sway bars endlinks with the adjustable ones.

They allows to reveal all the stiffer sway bars potential and not lead to the undesired sway bar pre-load condition that may occur when attempting to adjust sway bar hardness with the stock endlinks.

I chose the Spulen front end-links and Whiteline for the rear.

Spulen front end-links

Whiteline rear end-links

Of course, the setup must be adjusted properly, according to the sway bar position at the normal vehicle load conditions.

For more information on the sway bar and endlinks - see the following links:
1. Swaybar/Endlink FAQ2. Setting Adjustable End Links For Ride Height

Odometer: 61,500 km.

Oil catch system service

From time to time there is a need in emptying the oil catch system tank, when the condensate level is reaches max level.

The service itself is pretty easy. All that is needed, is to empty the tank by unscrewing the drain bolt at it's bottom

This smells not good. :-)

The tank returned into it's place

Odometer: 61,000 km.

HPFP cam follower replacement

Usually I replace the 2.0 TFSI engine HPFP(High Pressure Fuel Pump) cam follower each 20 thousand kilometers.
It's a small but important part, that needed to be replaced at the time. If it breакs, this will lead to the serious engine damage and expensive repair costs. See this as a warning.

Following photos of the replaced cam follower (original part number 06D109309C).

Camshaft is OK

This work should be performed by a qualified mechanic using an appropriate tools

Odometer: 59,500 km.

Engine oil change

As in previous oil change, I've used the full synthetic Wolf Vitaltech 5W-40 (VW 502 00) engine oil.
For the details click here.

Odometer: 59,400 km.

VWR air-intake filter conversion

In general, Volkswagen Racing air-intake is a little bit expensive but good solution for the high power output VW 2.0 TFSI engine.

But in my opinion it has some drawbacks. The biggest of them - is the foam rubber air filter itself that is made by ITG. Its cleaning process is very inconvenient comparing with other types of filters that made from cotton gauze (for example from K&N manufacturer).
Also, the cleaning kit for the foam air filter from ITG is more expensive than those that are cotton.
Actually, you may clean the foam filter with gasoline (allowed by manufacturer), but it stinks pretty much.☺

Moreover, if you"ll need to replace the filter with the new one - you will need to buy not only the air filter itself, but also the base of the air filter box. That is because the filter is glued directly to the base of the filter box, when manufactured and it is no way to buy it separately. Of course, this is increases (doubles) replacement cost.

So I decided to get rid from this foam filter and convert VWR air-intake system to use the cotton gauze air-filter.

How it was done?
First of all, I took the air filter box dimensions and started to search for the suitable universal air filter from well-known manufacturers.
Also, I wanted the filter with the maximum possible working surface area. Many cotton air filters has the muffled front side. I don't wanted to use them.

Finally I ordered the cotton gauze air filter from BMC.

BMC FBTW76-140P twin air filter

After the filter was received, the question that arose was: how exactly to perform the conversion?

First thing is to remove the foam ITG filter. This is how it looks after removal:

Foam ITG filter inside the VWR box

The filter was simply glued to its aluminum base.
After advice from the professional welder who helped me a lot with the conversion process, the decision was to build the 3" aluminum adapter pipe, that will connect the new cotton gauze filter to the air filter base.

That is how the adapter looks, welded to the filter base:

3" adapter for VWR air-intake

Then, everything else is pretty simple:
1. Mounting the filter on the adapter, cutting out about 2 cm. of the filters mount length, ensuring that the filter has at least 0.5 cm. free space from the box front.
2. Closing the air-filter box exactly as it was before.
3. Mounting the air-filter box back on car.

Finito. ☺
No visual changes from the outside, but my VWR air-intake now uses the universal cotton gauze filter, that may be easily cleaned using the cleaning kit from any cotton air-filters manufacturer (such as K&N or BMC).


Odometer: 57,000 km.

New tires

This time, the Michelin Pilot Sport CUP 2 was installed.

Michelin PS CUP 2

Tires on car

This tires is suitable for both track and the road use. Exactly what I needed.
They has a fantastical grip in dry and good grip in wet road conditions. In Israel, the strong rains it's a rare case, thus the dry grip was a decisive factor here.

Odometer: 55,400 km

Stainless Steel Clutch Line

The stock clutch line was changed with the braided one from the USP Motorsports.

USP Stainless Steel Clutch Line

Odometer: 54,500 km.

Throttle pipe upgrade

This aftermarket throttle pipe helps to maximize the air flow from the inter-cooler to the throttle body.

SPULEN 2.0T FSI Throttle Pipe

Odometer: 54,500 km.

Powerflex rear suspension bushings

This is the second (and the final) part about the Powerflex bushings install. The previous part may be found here.

This time it's about the rear bushings installation.
I chose the Powerflex road series bushings (and not the Black Series), because my car is used as my daily driving and for the family purposes and not "for the race track only".

All bushings has been ordered according to this Powerflex online catalog.

Ready for install

Some photos, that was taken during the install:

Rear Tie Bar to Chassis Front Bush

Rear Upper Link Inner Bush

OK. Finished with this. What can I say?
The car now is more stiffer on the road. Corners handling is also improved, thus driving pleasure is raised to the next level.
If you a car enthusiast, like to drive and feel the car response, I would highly recommend this change for you.

So at this moment, the bushings change is completely done for the whole car's suspension. Hope that I'll forget about the suspension bushing for the long-long time. ☺

Odometer: 54,000 km

Engine oil change

As in the previous oil change, I've used the full synthetic Wolf Vitaltech 5W40 (VW 502 00) engine oil.

Odometer: 53,500 km.