VW Golf R32 (MkV) – Entry 027

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

Hopefully I haven’t forgotten how to write entries given how long it’s been… My blue beast is now showing 30k miles on the clock. Gosh time flies when you’re having fun! It might be over two years since purchasing the best thing I’ve ever owned but the novelty hasn’t diminished. Just the other day I had an entire beer garden craning their necks to see what was coming round the corner. It might have had something to do with me nailing it in second gear between two sandstone walls though. The recent bout of sunshine has resulted in a lot of window down, music off action. Love it!

In general motoring news; I have my first mechanical issue (all be it a seemingly small one). Basically, I can sometimes hear a chirping noise coming from the engine bay when I’m waiting at traffic lights or moving slowly. It’s a fairly high pitched short squeal that comes every four or five seconds. It’s not very loud and doesn’t happen all the time. Due to my gigantic lack of mechanical knowledge, I have no idea what‘s causing it. Something else of note is that whilst I love my coilovers, I do need to be a little more cautious when approaching harsh speed bumps or sharp inclines such as a steep driveway. I’ve lightly brushed the front end a couple of times. Nothing damaging though. And finally; I had to replace my front left tyre a few weeks ago as it was badly worn on the inside. I knew something was amiss as the front wasn’t turning in with its usual vice like grip. This is a tad frustrating as the right side still has around two thousand miles remaining and I’d rather not fork out £230 when I shouldn’t have too.

I’ve come to a conclusion about applying forced induction to my car. I’m not going to do it. I believe the turbo route is too expensive for the price of the original car and I’m not convinced the power delivery suits the nature of an R32 (possibly with the exception of HPA/HGP). Also, the company I’d earmarked as a potential supercharged option have been less than forthcoming with information. Besides, my car is already great and I’ve set myself the goal of placing an order for a Nissan GTR prior to 2012. With this in mind, my next mod might well be a custom remap tailored to my Milltek exhaust and Evoms intake. This would likely be my final engine tweak.

My brother is also a car nut and I’m pleased to report he’s popped his modding cherry by fitting some rather sexy alloys and performance tyres to his Fiesta Zetec S. They’ve improved both the looks and handling considerably. Next step is lowering. Here is a before and after:

So now I’m almost up to date, it’s time to comment on my most recent mod. Namely a shiny new set of custom VW centre caps for my BBS CH’s because I wanted them to feel like they were a manufacturer option. I spent considerable time searching online for a suitable product but the sticker / vinyl options didn’t really grab me. Thankfully, a fellow R32OC member called Paul got in touch saying he might be able to help. After discussing what I was after, Paul went away and created some test pieces, sending me pictures a few weeks later. I was blown away! We agreed to meet up for a test fitting but unfortunately; I picked up a slow puncture a mile away from home and had to abort the journey. Despite this, Paul carried on driving, adding an extra 100 miles to his round trip! He literally went the extra mile(s) and this wouldn’t be the only time. At a later date he drove to a VW dealership on a Saturday morning to pick up a can of Deep Blue Pearl paint I’d ordered for the area between the VW letters of the logo. This is typical of Paul. He’s a thoroughly decent guy and a complete perfectionist. I am absolutely delighted with the product, it has exceeded my expectations which is hard to do. The fit and finish is exceptional. Paul has since set up a side business called Custom Billet Co (custombilletco.com) so if you’re interested in high quality centre caps, I recommend getting in touch with him. It’s more expensive than the products you’ll find on places like eBay but the quality is far, far superior. Here are some pics:

Thanks for reading.
Dave

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