Larry Chen: The Greatest VW, But With Audi Genes: Tommy F Yeah’s RS3-Swapped MK7 Golf Video

Larry Chen Video Transcript

Foreign We can’t get rid of you totally different car completely different different as they come still all-wheel drive still all-wheel drive yeah 2.5 liters so it’s close it’s close so um where are we right now we’re in the the best track in the United States Lime Rock Park third oldest third oldest historic super

Historic and we’re at uh grid life which is pretty interesting because this is the first time grid life has ever come to this track the first time anyone’s ever drifted it is a lot of Firsts today and was it the first time you took this out it was the first time a

Five-cylinder swap Golf R has ever been on Lime Rock well this is definitely the first time I’ve ever seen a five-cylinder swapped Golf R yeah this is a weird one well so I’m I’m glad that I came to this event because this is your home track

You grew up oh yeah you’re like you’re like the JDM mayor oh yeah I’m the lime rock gatekeeper yeah and uh because the last time we featured your car you came all the way to the West Coast too yeah ours day yeah but that was oh wait the

R33 is not even here anymore it’s all the way up there it’s in The Concourse it’s right in front underneath the flags got it all right so let’s talk about this thing this thing you’ve done everything you can to make this as stock as possible that was that was the idea

So the story’s weird Colette Davis everyone knows Colette she has a ttrs and we were there drifting and she’s like I was like I need a car I want to go to Daytona for something like here take mine and it’s this this snot green TTR is a blue interior and she’s like

Launch it you know she’s giving me the whole thing so I took it out and I was like this thing is pretty cool had like a tune and I was launching it it was awesome and I was like but I hate the ttrs and I really like the RS3 because

It’s like a big sedan so I said in the video I was like if they just would put this in a golf I would get one and then the Alex from Innovative Motorsports reach out and he’s like that’s what we do and they’re a really

Local shop and I was like where are you like we’re 35 minutes from you so I bought a Golf R bought the R3 and we got to work and it was like two weeks wait a minute you actually bought I bought a crashed R3 from Copart with 12 000 miles

On it for 30 grand okay so I I kind of have a personal story with RS3 I I honestly think that’s my favorite Audi really that that is it’s so understated in that it just looks like a pedestrian car but it’s so fast so I actually went 185 miles per

Hour in an RS3 on the Autobahn wow uh and yeah it’s probably one of the fastest quickest cars I’ve ever driven and that was tuned by APR I can’t imagine it losing so much weight and becoming this thing so so the idea here was like it’s a golf I mean it’s a Golf

R it’s not like a golf base but it’s a Golf R and I was like let’s put as much as we can Alex is like I don’t know what works let’s see the craziest part I thought and it’s dumb but the rear seats those are our three rear seats bottom

And top how is it that possible that it fits it’s Audi just did some weird but so does that mean are you saying that you uncovered something that maybe this is like dude seats front seats bolt right in manual instead of the power steering wheel shift knob wait this is

That’s the RS3 wheel from the crash car and it fits like and it goes yeah it deserves and everything well it it just unbolts right here so the paddles are there everything’s there so this has what about the shifter shift knob it’s just a shift knob so this has a an RS3

Engine transmission brakes Knuckles drive shaft diff gas tank front rear seats steering wheel shift knob and wheels and in the wheel you know it’s funny because for somebody who doesn’t really know much about Volkswagen Audi like me for example I was just walking around

And I was like this is such a crazy swap but why is it that you left the wheel stock and then you’re like they’re RS3 wheels that they had a 19-inch Armstrong it it like looks stock two-piece rotors so we actually had to use the knuckle

They’re the same knuckle ish they have a little bit higher offset knuckle my wheel but knuckle so to fit the brakes and to fit the wheel we need the knuckle and this car at 53 000 miles and now it’s been converted to a 12 000 mile R3 like all

The running gear everything’s 12 000 miles it’s like a brand new car jeez so it’s got the muffler from an R3 um but the exhaust between the turbo and the muffler has been changed so I get started if you want to hear it it’s got a pretty gnarly cold start I I

Want to hear it all right so so then the transmission what about the seven speed seven speed Audi transmission it’s a bigger the bigger unit this car came six-speed stock driveshaft diff the diff’s a little bigger so it must be just like Christmas oh yeah turn everything on all right

Check it out you ready yeah hold on the only that doesn’t work is the active cruise control sensor in the front active crew still works but the sensor doesn’t communicate with the Audi stuff everything not a single light on the dash you just want to be weird to be

Weird sometimes some well you got to experience a bunch of stuff right you don’t know what you like until you figure out what you hate and this is you know I had to see it and this was it this is cool it’s great best daily I’ve ever owned I love that this

Is your daily this is my daily yeah I put all my kids in it yeah me because a lot of people probably don’t know you are a Volkswagen Audi guy a little I’m a European cargo I had an f80 I don’t have any like brand uh loyalty if you make a

Cool car I’m into it you know like I don’t know about a Ford but maybe like you know whatever but I’ll always like the way these cars looked and it’s like a nice like it’s like a nice Civic like it’s quieter you know it like there’s no

Wind noise just a it’s a nicer car for sure than most Japanese cars of that level you know you’re getting Dustin Civic Type R which is five years or three years newer two years newer and like the climbing control looks like an old Panasonic radio like it’s just trash it feels like

Trashy essentially what you’ve created is a golf RS then golf RS they call it the rsr so that’s okay the rsr yeah the golf rsr yeah um but because this never existed in any way it should perform no they have like the sportback RS3 and you

In Europe and stuff it’s like the wagon version but no this the the all your people from Europe and German they’ll say this is old news but this is the third in the United States okay let’s let’s take a look at the motor itself so what did you guys have

To do it’s bolted right in it even has a stalker I I that was my touch I was like I need the stock air box I didn’t even want we used to not have the the tube but when we got the bigger Inlet because it’s Rob’s a bunch

Of power we had to do the tube I’ll eventually powder coat that like like the wrinkle black and you’ll kind of not see it yeah but I had to have the stock air box and we took it off and we tested on the dyno it didn’t hurt at all so

Then what did it Dino at um it’s tough with dinos though the dyno was on it did 460. I’ll tell you a better metric it ran an 11-5 at 118 and did a 3.10 to 60 on a draggy so God and this is stock it has a front mount

Intercooler and a catless downpipe that’s it and a tune obviously it’s been tuned you’ve had hundreds if not a thousand Laps on this track oh yeah I’ve had a couple I’d say probably a hundred okay would be well maybe a little bit more I don’t know because I are just

Being here yeah you’ve probably done I probably did 20 20 or 30. I guess you lose track like today alone I did 16 or you know 20. let’s just say a thousand yeah sure sure well it’s just over us just overestimate um what was it like to drive this on the

Track it was different it’s not made for that I could feel it immediately it’s like the RS3 you it just got a lot of front end-ness to It Whatever It Is the all-wheel drive system isn’t like the GTR overdriver or the pleasure Evol drive it’s it’s like this

Helper you know what I mean it’s more front bias it’s super frogs even if they tune it it’s super fun but you just feel like you’re driving a front-wheel drive car that doesn’t light tires up because if this didn’t have the rear it would just spin you know it would just spin

But it was a little softer and a little I don’t know more skaty than than most cars and it’s got KW club sports I like the one of the best coilovers I think I could have put on it rides really nice but it’s a little soft that’s some daily man

It’s cool I mean here I thought you would drive like a like a gts4 or something like a Skyline or something you know like I do have like a I have a baby or something you know I feel like you would have driven something like oh yeah to like go to the drive-through

Right-hand drive like this AC AC everything everything works everything works beautifully it’s super fun and it’s like like the other day I’ll just tell you a story I rolled up I rolled up this light and this kid rolled up in an S4 some young

Kid he must have been 19 and I could see him like he’s with like some young girl and I’m just sitting there in drive so I’ll actually go to the passenger seat I’ll show you this is better he’s like sweet RS3 Wheels bro right right so so

When the car all right so I start the car yeah and that’s loud yeah when I just to put it in driver mode here so right now it’s in Drive okay right now it’s in sport whoa so when I take it out of sport this is what it sounds like

Oh my God so that’s super tingy that’s draw yeah it’s the that drive and that sport That’s a big difference yeah so so I’m sitting there in in drive and this kid rolls up and he’s like I see him like lurching a little and the light turns green I slept a little bit and then but I hit it and he got a good jump on me

And I just went by him and you know he was thinking the whole time like what just happened you know like what was that sound because uh the valves open at 4 000 no matter what you do so it sounds quiet until it goes cool well thanks for

Showing us for sure are you gonna drive this tomorrow on track at all no I’ll just probably I don’t know maybe I’ll let you drive it well we’re done you don’t have to here you have to twist my arm you know I think yeah you drive it

Yeah I’m down yeah and Skip to tomorrow the next day foreign It’s crazier because you have nothing to hold on to right all right here we are in Tommy’s Golf rsr rsr and this is um this is we’re actually at your shop this is uh the day after midlife Lime Rock and I’m actually able to drive this so legitimately the Audi RS3 is still

One of my favorite all-time European cars like I just I’ve never even driven in one except for this I just that’s some Flex all right let’s do this which by the way so Lewis is hanging out back here hi Lewis he he basically says that’s his like

Perfect dream car the Evo right there before yeah he has oh really yeah that’s why he has the see the GB sticker yeah you need that when you leave the country so when you go to like France and Germany which we had to do dude that sounds good it won’t let you rap

This is your daily driver The Daily I’m just it’s such a good deal it’s so good it it’s good because this is the quintessential definition of a sleeper this is that you know this is a sleeper Golf R is in general are fast cars they’re fun you know they’re they’re quick I loved

It stock I drove it for like 2 000 mile stock I was kind of banking everything because I didn’t want a new one we banked all this footage the whole build and then we uploaded it in one week the bill the bill only took two weeks

But we uploaded wrong one week after it was all edited and nice and that was really cool to do on YouTube it’s interesting because you um you you do things in a timely manner and also you don’t really draw things out maybe is it because the the audience the audience retention yeah

It’s a little tough right got it if you if you see like I’m gonna build a golf 4 with our street Swap and then it takes like a year yeah it’s cool when you get it done I mean the only person I’ve ever seen drag a build out I’m not saying

They don’t intentionally and at work was robbed right right well anyone else that’s taking that long it’s different it’s like when we’re talking about somebody who’s building the top of the top like some just going where no Builder’s ever gone before it’s you know we’re talking about somebody

Like that that’s doing that versus you doing um making a business out of it it’s not like Rob’s gonna build a bunch of those for customers you know you’re doing things that are obtainable by the normal car enthusiasts and something that can be enjoyed by the normal car enthusiasts

Customers other YouTubers other drivers other builders even you know um the fact that you work with other builders to build your own cars and your own projects well you’re always learning like that yeah people always think I have an ego because I’m very opinionated but there’s no ego like you’re always

Learning right and I learned something from this swap maybe that could be applied to GTRs you know and I don’t want to like shut down right which by the way this is so normal in every way there’s no lights on like this is this is is exactly what you do to your

GTRs but what’s been done too yeah this is that’s exactly what it is we would never know you know um but but it’s cool because you can appreciate this and this is super undercover because it’s not like you daily drive a stage yet which I totally would expect right you

Know I thought about it and I’m like can’t do it this is this is the perfect dinner this is so cool I love it I love it it sounds good too yeah when it when it goes like it screams all right so it’s a stock Muffler it’s

You could have been doubting here though yeah I didn’t push it all the way that’s the difference in the Golf R and this is like the golfer is like more crunchy down low well this isn’t missing it but what is so what is um it’s a it’s a five cylinder that’s why

It has that really distinctive sound they say it’s half of an R8 engine to have a V10 I can see that so the cool thing silent um yeah and then time to go so then one of my favorite things about the RS3 was the launch

Control this has it this has it and it works all you have to do is you pressure on the brake and then push on the gas and let go of the brick right so you stop right in the middle Road hold the brake as hard as you can hold the gas and

It’ll sit at like 3500 just let off the brake and this thing sounds like a sounds like a Lambo when it takes off it’s gnarly it’s like my yeah I do it I’ve done so many launches and they kind of wanted me to test it you know like right when they were doing

Those there’s only two other ones the guys don’t drive them very hard breaking and I was like okay and it just it just won’t do it it just works that’s my favorite part of the RS3 is just daily driver launch yep you know every level it’s not like it’s not like you

Could do that like as much as R35 is amazing and right Porsche Turbo ass all those things like I would probably do it it takes forever to like all right you’re gonna put it in this mode and then you did the three switches for the GTR you’re gonna put in race mode on

This that another this is just like so easy yeah this is just so easy just gas right yeah you have to evidence for mode yeah and you have to turn the contraction control got it which traction control and this part is um how like how mild it is when you’re just like

Just like yeah it’s like you can get this where’s your push just pull it down oh it goes into sport see how it says on it man it is pretty spicy it’s so good really really good family car yeah just pull it down every time okay so

Every time you just oh you just do click it oh got it oh God okay all right sitting here the lodge is pretty cool so it’s got the ship now in the steering wheel the front the rear seats blows everyone’s mind yeah I can’t believe it fits it just

It’s like not even like it had to be made to fit it just goes it’s like a parts spin car but not really right like BMW would make this like the 1M you know like right right right grab some e92 stuff and I’m surprised Audi didn’t or Volkswagen

Didn’t make this but it may have hurt their RS3 sale I don’t really know what the idea behind that was not putting the five cylinder in the Volkswagen because the two cylinder was it or the four cylinder wasn’t everything the two liter was in everything you know all right so

We’ve been talking we were talking about doing the same thing to a Q3 ah because it’s all the same is that mqb chassis so you could technically do a 2q3 and Q3 is a little higher it’s like an SUV okay yeah I think a small SUV but they make

That an rsq3 or you know the sq3 whatever it is in the UK cool well thanks for showing us this Time We need me [Applause]