VW Golf R32 (MkV) – Entry 014

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

Nothing specific to report, just a general update on the last few weeks now that I’ve hit the 7,000 milestone.

The car remains as fabulous as ever! Even now, I still haven’t fully come to terms with the fact that it’s mine. It’s been such a pleasure to own that I wonder if I’ll ever again achieve the same purchase satisfaction. Maybe it’s because the leap from a 1.4 Pug 206 was so great but certainly a big part is due to the car simply being awesome. I love that I can remain relaxed in heavy traffic, feel fresh after long journeys and grin from ear to ear when blasting along my favourite country roads at warp factor seven. The R32 certainly has many talents!

My phantom issue with third gear hasn’t gone away. Despite proving it’s all in my head, I know it would benefit from more brutality between 2-5k rpm. This was kind of confirmed to me a couple of weeks ago when I had some fun with a Scooby. In first and second gears there was no difference (R32 launched off the line better) but once we were into third he closed up on me quite swiftly. I’m sure a good remap and a few other choice modifications would rectify this.

On the subject of “fun”, I had an interesting drive home from work the other night. A new Audi S3 came roaring up behind after clocking me at a junction. Once the cars in front had finally finished their overtakes (dual carriage way) we were in the clear. I went up to a fast but safe speed with him following (not sure if he could have gone faster) but when I pulled over to slow down for the single lane 30mph zone he kept his foot planted and cut in ahead of me at over a tonne. He must have entered the 30 zone at 70+mph. A complete idiot, it was very dangerous as there were multiple side roads. Minutes later a Focus ST pulled out behind me. I spotted him put his window down so guessing he wanted to hear that v6 grow, I obliged with a few 2nd gear accelerations. To cap it off, a Mk1 1.8 TT decided to join the party. I was a little disappointed with the TT, I could reel him fairly comfortably on both occasions he booted it. Quite an eventful ten minutes!

My modding has been put on hold temporarily. I’ve been really boring and sensible and put £3,600 in an ISA so money is tight again. I need a few months to recover. The one mod I have got (Haldex) is still good and I have had no problems with it. I’ve also given race mode a bit more of a work out. Understeer is gone! It’s spooky and scary and it frightens me more than waking up next to Ann Whitticomb! I’m sure a trip to a race track will provide the perfect opportunity to discover what happens on/over the limit.

When I do have the money, my next mod will probably be handling related again. The most likely candidate is a set of front and rear anti-roll bars by H&R or Neuspeed. My brother keeps on at me to get a Milltek exhaust but I’m trying to resist the temptation to do bhp/lbs mods for the time being.

My wheel saga continues. I’m still on the lookout but it’s a bloody nightmare! The choice of wheels available in 19”, 22lbs or less, 5×112 and under £2k is limited. O.Z Ultraleggera’s, BBS RS-GT’s and a few others are all on the radar but nothing definite as yet.

Stay Tuned!