VW Golf R32 (MkV) – Entry 006

David Conway    Personal, VW Golf R32 (MkV)     official r32 entry, vw golf r32

Following on from my last entry, I’ve decided on my first modification! I’ve never modified a car before but I like the idea of owning something “non-standard” and if I don’t start now I may never do it.

I shall be swapping the 18×7.5 stock alloys (Omanyt) with 225/40/R18 Dunlop SP Sport Maxx for a set of 19×8 CMS C8’s with 225/35/R19 Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric. It is important for me to retain performance and avoid rubbing. To achieve this I need to keep the same rolling radius (combined height of tyre and alloy). After speaking with many knowledgeable people on R32OC.com and after reading various articles, it seems 225/35 is the best option. The C8′s weigh the same as the Omanyt’s (12kg) despite the increase in size which was also important to me.

At the moment I’m still undecided whether to sell the stock wheels/tyres or keep them for resale. Either way, the new wheels should be fitted in February. I’m currently investigating suspension options, but I’m undecided at the moment.

Here are a few pictures of the alloys I’ll be purchasing.

Here’s a picture of my car (currently stock)

Here’s a picture of how I see it changing (alloys, drop, grill).

And if I’m feeling really brave…

Thanks for reading.

VW Golf R32 (MkV) – Entry 005

David Conway    Personal, VW Golf R32 (MkV)     official r32 entry, vw golf r32

Well, I’ve done over a thousand miles (1119 to be precise) and guess what? I’m still lovin’ it!

My driving style is pretty much unaffected by run-in now. I’ve gone above 6,000 rpm on quite a few occasions in 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 6th (joke) but not for a prolonged amount of time. I can tell the engine has loosened up, the difference is only subtle but it certainly feels more responsive, especially in 1st and 2nd. At 4.5k in 3rd the engine note has an audible change and there is an additional surge of power. It’s not nearly as pronounced as when a turbo spools up but it is noticeable. Below this, 3rd does feel a tad lethargic but it’s still rapid by most people’s standards (including my own). I’m hoping the more I use it, the better it will get but if not it’s by no means an issue.

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I’ve recently been out with my younger brother and we timed several in-gear accelerations with a stop watch (see table below). The accuracy of this data is far from being 100% correct due to human reaction but we did do each one several times to try and get it as close as possible. We’ll run the same test again at 5,000 and 10,000 miles to see if there’s any difference.

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The handling never ceases to amaze me. I keep finding myself going round a corner in “passive” mode and then looking at the speedo and finding out I’m going 10mph faster than I thought. It’s so deceptive, the same speeds in my Pug 206 would have seen me struggling to keep it on the road. I think this is the single biggest difference between the two cars.

If I plant my foot before the apex of a slow, sharp corner it will under-steer on occasion due to the weight up front. I’ve felt the power shift to the rear a few times but I haven’t taken the required amount of brave pills to keep my foot to the floor and let the car do its thing. I’ve been easing off mid corner if I feel the front grip beginning to drop (which isn’t very often and I have to be going very quickly).

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Although the CD player has MP3 written on it, I wasn’t sure it would play a data disk (750MB’s worth of mp3 files) but to my delight it does! The display and functions change when you select a data CD, as shown in the photos below. It’s very cool.

Normal CD display;

After you select an MP3 CD:

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I have one slight gripe which is that when you move the seats to let people into the rear, they don’t go back to their previous setting. I don’t really care about my passengers (apart from keeping them safe) so it’s not a problem for me (driver’s door is for the driver only) but a couple of front seat passengers have mentioned it. That’s the only thing I can fault on the entire car at the moment. Here’s my fave pic so far:

In summary, the car is utter rubbish! Er.. no, that’s wrong, the car is utterly fantastic!!! I’ll be talking modifications soon, stay tuned

VW Golf R32 (MkV) – Entry 004

David Conway    Personal, VW Golf R32 (MkV)     official r32 entry, vw golf r32

I’ve done over 400 miles now and can already feel the engine loosening up slightly, especially in 2nd gear. I’ve still not taken her to 5000 rpm and rarely go above 4k but not long to go now. I had a slightly more spirited drive yesterday evening, testing her abilities but still well under where I anticipate the limit to be. The grip is supernatural and inspires so much confidence.

The xenon headlights turn night into day, I’ve already had three people flash me thinking I’m on main beam (which incidentally is ridiculously bright). Also gave it a quick blast of throttle in a few tunnels with the windows down… My brother, best mate and I just looked at each other and laughed out loud, it sounds awesome!!!

Here’s a few pics from yesterday, I’m off for another long drive now