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45K views 523 replies 26 participants last post by  VelovetAndy 
#1 ·
Morning all,

Black 3 door 2006 R32 arrives this afternoon. Complete with its 54000 miles on the clock and more history than, oh, HenryViii. Arrived at a DSG R32 via 15 years of Alfasuds, 10 years of Lancia Integrales and 5 years of Peugeot 205's . Over that time I have rebuilt form bare shells at least one of each of the above, all with major and significant modifications . I will try to keep this R32 as God and Volkswagen intended , except for perhaps brakes and suspension . We will see. Oh, why DSG and not manual, especially as I have never had an automatic since I started driving in 1972. DSG because I fell off my bike in January (Velodrome tumble) , broke my shoulder but managed to sever a few nerves whilst I was at it , so my right arm is not quite the arm it used to be. Back on a turbo trainer that is nailed to the garage floor but not yet on a road bike, so an Auto seems like the way to go. If I can master the technology I will post a picture of my new toy when it arrives .

Andy
 
#434 ·
Well.While day at Donningtom Park. And I got home with the car still in one piece . The brakes took some stick but performed flawlessly. They really do work extremely well . Engine was also as sweet as a nut , though I did see oil temps go as high as 126 deg C , so perhaps I need an oil cooler . At the track there was some serious race machinery, though being a track day the track etiquette was excellent . I am a novice and slow by their standards but did not feel intimidated . Only one photo and that is of the car in the pits at the start of the day . Think my son ( who was with me in his MX5 ) took a few videos but I have not got them yet to post . The big problem with the R32 is that it is very heavy, so although it has lots of grip it does want to understeer. Much stiffer springs up front would make a difference but would be unbearable on the road . Hey ho . Automotive parking light Car Land vehicle Tire Vehicle
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#438 ·
I had a 21 row mocal oil cooler on my gti. It really lowered the temps on hots days but it took an age for the oil to warm up during the winter. I think you can get different thermostats that allow the oil to flow through the cooler at different temps. Maybe I should have investigated that.

Another plus for the cooler is that it increases the total oil volume held by half a litre, which itself helps to cool the temp.
 
#440 · (Edited)
Hi Andy, I have a question about the front alloy knuckle upgrade because my mechanic cannot find suitable tie rod ends that fit my Audi TT knuckles and work with the Mk5 R32 steering.
The hub part numbers are LF Hub 8j0407253d and RF Hub 8j0407254d.
What part number or tie rod ends did you use and get to work with the hubs?
Any advice to give my mechanic to make them work would be greatly appreciated.
 
#441 ·
Ah. That’s because you won’t. If you use the Audi TT track rod ends, you need the TT arms, but they won’t fit your rack properly without your mechanic pulling the rack out, removing the rack from the housing and machining 10mm off each end of the rack . Not a great plan. Next option is to get a gen 3 rack from any MK2 TT or mk6 Golf as the TT arms will now fit . Last option is to use the o.e Golf arms and track rod ends , knock out the steel inserts that are in the TT hubs and machine up some new ones that fit the TT hub and have the smaller diameter taper to suit the o.e track rod ends . You can find these inserts ready made by VW as they very thoughtfully put them into the Passat B6 front alloy hubs. Car modifications, you just can’t beat them for causing serious and sustained pain I used a gen3 rack because I had too: the Verkline subframe will not accept the gen2 rack so I got a used TT rack and solved the problem. However, I did also try the other routes described above as experiments . Both worked , particularly the inserts plan which is probably the easiest . Just give a machine shop one insert from the TT hub and one mk5 golf track rod end and ask him/ her to make two insets whose outer dimensions are the same as the inserts but whose inner dimensions suit the rod end which you have just thrust into his/ her hand . 20 minutes on a lathe .
 
#442 ·
And the next stage of the horror story .Fibreglass bonnet from ABS motorsport whom my faithful and avid reader will know also supplied my front wings and front bumper. This bonnet has a large duct moulded into it near the leading edge which is designed for the endurance BTTC Mk5 Golfs.Massive aid to cooling , hence the addition. Anyway, I will post a few pictures when I have finished making the grill for the duct and then got it painted ( or wrapped to match the carbon fibre grill? ) The bonnet is really well made, double skinned, properly moulded in bonnet fixing studs and all the under bonnet bracing faithfully reproduced, meaning that the windscreen washers are in the right place and the feed pipe to them also correctly located. The only snag is the bonnet gas strut which is now far too stiff, so new one rated at a lower load on order .
And finally, in the ‘ for sale ‘ section, one black bonnet complete with aero catches will be available soon . Given that mk5 Golf bonnets are £40-£50 on Facebook I do not really expect mine to be overly attractive, and if I am right, I will remove the aerocatches to re use them and bin the bonnet .
 
#448 ·
Right. Next stage. Camber adjustable top mounts . Snag is that the turret tops were not designed for such frivolity and will fight the cutting disc on the angle grinder to the death . And whilst I am at its, planning on two way adjustable coilovers to go underneath instead of my 1 way AST 5300, so these will be up for sale in due course .
 
#450 ·
Righto. They should be coming off in the next couple of weeks so I can photograph and document. They have done about 3000 miles and 4 track days. As you will see, they are in mint condition and will come with VW top mounts at the front and EBC ones at the rear ( which are full coilovers) and Superpro front drop links ( shorter, the o.e ones are too long) Anyway , more to follow.
 
#454 ·
Well, rear end of car now in bits ( well, one corner is anyway ). The Moton 2-ways have been dispatched from Holland so no excuse . Whilst I am at it I am replacing the R32 alloy hubs ( fitted to late cars with steel subframes ) with Audi TT ones . Spot the difference as per photographs below.
And as an advert, the hubs and the AST 5100 will be up for sale pretty soon but I will do the usual and photograph and list on here as well as Facebook marketplace . Bicycle part Bumper Automotive exterior Rim Automotive wheel system
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#456 ·
And another aside which might be of use to others. I have recently borrowed a set of corner scales from a friend . With the car just dropped onto the scales but without me in it, the corner weights are
front left 460kg, front right 437kg, rear left 326kg and rear right 263kg . Bear in mind that my car has no rear seats and none original front seats . That alone has taken about 60 or so Kg about of the car .
Each wheel/tyre weighs in at 18kg and the rear hubs, discs, callipers and associated suspension arm and drive shaft unsupported ends a further 24kg giving 42kg in total. Reckon the fronts will be pretty similar as my front rotors are heavier (360x32 plays 330x28) but rear callipers are heavier than the fronts by 2kg ( electric 4 pots )
Rear dissimilarity is due to 20mm difference in ride height at the back , which will be rectified shortly . However, with the corner scales, I can at least balance up the car on reassembly as ride height alone does not guarantee balanced weight distribution ( and yes I do need to be in it when I do that )
 
#457 ·
Rear end of car now completely dismantled . One failed rose joint on one of the rear drop links. One very rough outer cv joint on the nearside drive shaft .Several failing boots on the numerous rose joints/ spherical bearings on the suspension arms. Tiny oil leak from the offside rear diff output shaft oil seal. Otherwise all I pretty decent shape for two years worth of use and several track days . Because I am a tart some bits are getting the mandatory clean and re paint . Photographs to follow .
 
#459 ·
The odd picture. ( or 4) . All are of the Audi TT hub . Bearing fitted ( removed from my alloy R32 hubs as they are I great shape and low miles ) and bolted into the TT hubs with new bolts ( at £11 per set of 4) . The big lump of aluminium is my 4 pot brake caliper adaptor which , to my relief, dropped the calliper dead centre over the rotor . Given the different hub mounting position, that was not a given so VAG must have subtly moved the calliper mounting lugs appropriately to give the same offset. Steel top hat bushes pressed into place for the rose jointed lower wishbone which is now nothing more than a steel tube with a rose joint at each end . The odd blue bit is a revised bracing bracket which supports the outer end of the ( cantilevered ) 14mm damper bolt and braces it back to the hub. As this bolt now takes both damper and suspension loads, I thought that extra support might be an idea. I suspect that the bolt on its own is more than up to the job . Certainly track Golfs I have seen with full rear coilovers have just relied on the unsupported bolt without any apparent grief. Automotive tire Motor vehicle Vehicle brake Bicycle part Automotive design
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