VW Golf R32 (MkV) – Entry 012

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

5000 miles and counting! The engine is now noticeably more responsive and the exhaust note has a greater rasp to it at lower revs. It’s only subtle but I can tell. I’ve temporarily had to return to the stock alloys with 225/40/18 Dunlop Sport Maxx tyres as I’m still searching for the right aftermarket set. This is a shame as it’s now even more obvious how much extra grip the 235/35/19 Michelin PS2’s provided. Understeer is undoubtedly more abundant at the moment and I’m looking forward to getting the new rubber back on. I’m genuinely surprised by this because if anyone had asked me about the grip a couple of months ago I would have said it’s unbelievable. I guess it just goes to show how you “acclimatise” to any particular situation.

Last weekend I drove down south to check out a few alloys. I did find a rather stunning set of Porsche wheels by HRE called P40’s but after finding out they cost £3,600 I’ve decided to give them a miss. Whichever way I look at it, I simply can’t justify that kind of money on alloys for a 25k car, even if it is my pride and joy.

On the way home from the wheel place, I was unfortunately stopped by the police who had me on radar and video doing 91mph on the M5. It was a sunny, dry day with very few cars on the road but really I have no defence for my actions as I was doing 20mph over the limit. They were friendly and commented that I hadn’t committed a “dangerous offence” but I was going too fast. I even joked that if I’d known their Merc was a standard diesel and not an AMG, I would have sped off! They dealt with me at the side of the road with 3 points and a £60 fine. On the ticket it just states that I was travelling above the posted limit so I’m not sure if they did me a “favour” or not. This is the first time I’ve ever had points and I’m a bit annoyed at myself. Oh well, back to the motorway rule I followed in my Pug 206…”never be the fastest car” which was a lot easier to abide by before.

My wheel search is driving me crazy, I’ve gone through hundreds of pictures and I still can’t make my mind up. I am however hopeful that my next entry won’t be far away and it’ll be about a purchase.

Thanks for reading.

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