2281 replies to this topic

[Rich R32]

Hi folks, after some positive comments from a few respected members on here (you know who you are :hello:) I have decided to start my own blog. I have requested a member of the admin team to move some of my threads which should take place gradually and very soon. Thanks for looking, I hope you enjoy the read? :tee:

[Wömble]

Rich, would be good if you could go through getting your turbo, maybe explain more in depth the mods you mention in your garage, would be a great read !

[Rich R32]

Rich, would be good if you could go through getting your turbo, maybe explain more in depth the mods you mention in your garage, would be a great read !

Sounds like a LOT of homework....lol I will see what I can do?

[dazr32]

Nice one rich, listen on a side note if you ever want to sell your car I might consider it although it is a bit rough round the edges, :dong:lol nice car nice read. Looking forward to it mate

[wrk_in_progress]

Look forward to reading it sir.

Love reading blogs on here and DW as it makes me wanna continue with the R. A few times I've thought about waving goodbye to the .:R but then, fir example, I read pommes blog and it made me think na. I'm sure yours will be the same Rich. It's good to read that you started out like us mere mortals :five:

[Rich R32]

Right folks, here goes...

Having previously owned various performance cars in the past, just to name a few which were all modded to some degree - Fiesta RS Turbo 175 bhp (Early Happy Memories ), Escort RS Cosworth 350 bhp (Good times ), VW Golf MK4 8v GTi (Bad Times :hmpf:) I decided I needed something more substantial so the search was on....

So not wanting to stray away from the VW reliability and superb German engineering and go back to Ford :eek: I decided to stay with a MK4 Golf but with more power and potential tuning capabilities....So the .:R32 made perfect sense.

In feb 2006, during a visit to my local VW dealership whilst my GTi was in for a service. I had noticed by pure chance a clean and tidy Diamond Black MK4 .:R32 which was for sale on the forecourt. She had 18k miles on the clock, 2 previous owners, winter pack, FVWSH, HPi clear etc etc.

Not wanting to miss an opportunity I immediately booked a test drive which obviously went well. I can remember the first time I started her up and that lovely burble coming from the 3.2 V6 lump <-- that was it SOLD!

Here are some earlier pics....









So after a few cosmetic mods in the 1st year, it was time to search for more power! Having spent numerous months + hours on the internet doing research on forced induction either SC or Turbo? I finally went for the turbo route as it suited my needs and imo had more scope to upgrade.

In the end it came down to 2 tuning companies EIP + HPA/HGP which both appeared to be building some serious cars.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTPsuG50nFM]YouTube - R32 Race HPA vs EIP[/ame]

Then, after further research and reading about all the problems ie blown engines and software mapping issues on VW Vortex re: EIP etc I decided it was best to steer well clear lol. Ask pomme - I'm sure he will tell ya...lol Glad it is all sorted now matey with the great assistance of Ronald @ VR6 Specialist :top:

Finally, it narrowed down to HGP (in Germany) http://www.hgp-turbo.de/. A brief history - Martin Graf Co founder/director of HGP is a highly respected top scientific engineer who worked for VW in research + development for many years before he left. He decided to set up on his own due to the previous occupational hazard - company restraints + politics etc (so am told). Whatever the reasons may be, he is still commissioned by VW in R+D along with Porsche TechArt, MTM and others. So those who have looked into this kit already, can hopefully appreciate why it is so expensive? Or maybe not? Martin Graf's emphasis has always been respectable power, efficiency and most important of all reliability. All of his turbo kits are TUV approved and comes with one custom final map which is incorporated into the normal running of the factory ECU. Furthermore, if VW had allowed Martin's turbo design to be produced we would have definitely got a charged .:R32 from factory - which would have been his design. :top:

Anyway, enough already....here are some pics after the install by Vagtech http://www.vagtech.co.uk/ (HGP/HPA UK Installer) around Oct 2007.

HGP 400





So, what happened? Basically after several months, due to some initial installation errors overlooked by a former mechanical engineer (whom shall not be named :dong:) my car had to be transported back down to Vagtech FOC for further inspection cos it didn't run properly?

Then, a couple of month's later....she was back! A lil' upgrade etc better and badder

HGP 460



At this point, I would like to thank Jon and all his staff at Vagtech for his total honesty and integrity for sorting everything out - if it wasn't for him the car would not be what it is now...so a big thanks Jon! :top:

That's all for now folks, there's more to follow :top:

Edited by Rich R32, 01 March 2016 - 01:21 PM.

[Wömble]

Top read Rich, somehow even when your car was totally stock it looks like your car ?... even though it looks like any other stock R32, Whens the next update ? lol

[Rich R32]

Ok Sam steady on young man...lol

[Rich R32]

Forgot to mention, after sorting out the turbo conversion. I soon realised that upgrading the brakes and suspension was not an option but a necessity...lol

ECS Stage5 and ECS Stage1R's





Eibach Pro-Street Sport-S

Edited by Rich R32, 09 July 2009 - 01:04 AM.

[Rich R32]

After owning the .:R for around 2years running stock rims...I got bored and decided it was time for a change.

From these.....



To these.....






IMO, I thought the Ch's really suit the .:R even though they have been done by lots of peeps I found that they were easier to clean on a regular basis than the Aristo's.....

I also took the opportunity to paint the rear calipers to match up the fronts

[James (caxton01)]

Rich

Well with those wheels on I bet that you can get you'r hands between the spokes to give the wheels a great clean .......Yes I bet that once a week the wheels come off to get a good clean around the rim though !

[Rich R32]

Rich

Well with those wheels on I bet that you can get you'r hands between the spokes to give the wheels a great clean .......Yes I bet that once a week the wheels come off to get a good clean around the rim though !

James, your absolutely correct! With the huge gaps it makes life so much easier lol

[Rich R32]

Ok folks, the .:R is now starting to take shape but tbh I wasn't 100% happy with having swirls in the paint work. So after seeing and reading positive things about Jonny's work. I decided to take the plunge and book her in for a pamper session at Chorley Car Audio HQ. It was approx 300 miles round trip from door to door but imo it was well worth it! Plus I learned so much and it also changed how I cleaned and washed my .:R from that day forward. Not to mention, I met some cracking lads and cracker jacks...lol So in case you haven't worked it out yet? I 100% blame Jonny for my OCD cleaning regime :laugh:

Here is the original thread https://www.r32oc.com...t460-turbo.html enjoy....:top:

Edited by Rich R32, 10 July 2009 - 08:42 AM.

[Mattchaps]

Great read Rich, hope you continue to update us "blog style" regularly! I'm just nosey and like to know what's going on!

[Rich R32]

No probs Matt, glad your enjoying the read....as you say being nosey is the only way to find out stuff...lol How's your beast, have you pick her up yet?

[Mattchaps]

Exactly, seeing what other people have done is what gives rise to new ideas.

All being well, I pick her up on Saturday!

[Rich R32]

Exactly, seeing what other people have done is what gives rise to new ideas.

All being well, I pick her up on Saturday!

Ah cool nice one Matt :top:

In case people are reading this for the first time? I'm having to re-trace my steps going back 3yrs+ so my sincere apologies for the 'blog style' past tense format.
Hopefully, I can bring us back to the present date very soon....which is easier said than done...:hmmmm2:

Edited by Rich R32, 09 July 2009 - 02:54 PM.

[Rich R32]

Having scanned through a few VW performance and Golf+ mags looking for new ideas....one in particular caught my attention. Here in the UK, Greg Howell's MK4 all the various exterior mods ie fiat door handles, wheels, smoothed body work, front grille and lupo mirrors etc - which imho took the MK4 design to another level! This gave me the idea of a subtle mod which makes the .:R a little more streamline :vroam:

Here are the pics




Lupo Mirrors electrically operated + heated :top:

[Mattchaps]

I'm sure you've never actually told us that before Rich?! And you've had them on a year now?!

[Paul]

He has Matt https://www.r32oc.com/51967-post11.html


Looking good Rich...enjoying the read :top:

[Rich R32]

I'm sure you've never actually told us that before Rich?! And you've had them on a year now?!

Tut Tut Matt, fancy falling :sleep: in class! lol

[davefish]

Good read Rich, your car is bloody fast! Just watched the vids on Jonny's thread!

[Rich R32]

Right folks, with most of the exterior mods done and I was 99% happy with the body work apart from a few scratches (from previous) and stone chips which cannot be avoided! :argh: I wanted to move onto the engine bay....so I decided to order a few more shiny bits from here: JCapsOnline.com - Golf IV 04 Luckily, I managed to get hold of the .:R logo strut tops + dipstick cover before they were forced to stop making them!

At this stage I had a few ideas for certain bits which annoyed me....I felt they needed either serious cleaning, polishing or coating? So I borrowed a space in my mate's garage and got to work! :vroam:

Polished boost pipes


Before


After




Removal of Intake

Edited by Rich R32, 14 July 2009 - 12:32 AM.

[Rich R32]

Good read Rich, your car is bloody fast! Just watched the vids on Jonny's thread!

Thanks Dave, am no where near your blog standard/status?! LOL I appreciate your kinds words fella :top:

[pomme]

Mate it looks really really good and keep the blog going its a great read and alwasy really interesting to see what others do and have done to their cars

ps i reckon you should paint the imprint on the intake red (as its the best colour lol proven by the fact the coilpack covers are red and what does R32 stand for, yep thats right RED lol)

[Rich R32]

Nice one rich, listen on a side note if you ever want to sell your car I might consider it although it is a bit rough round the edges, :dong:lol nice car nice read. Looking forward to it mate

Thanks Daz :top:

Look forward to reading it sir.

Love reading blogs on here and DW as it makes me wanna continue with the R. A few times I've thought about waving goodbye to the .:R but then, fir example, I read pommes blog and it made me think na. I'm sure yours will be the same Rich. It's good to read that you started out like us mere mortals :five:

Thanks Simon, my apologies for not replying to you guys earlier but as you can imagine....I'm playing catch up!

[Rich R32]

Mate it looks really really good and keep the blog going its a great read and alwasy really interesting to see what others do and have done to their cars

ps i reckon you should paint the imprint on the intake red (as its the best colour lol proven by the fact the coilpack covers are red and what does R32 stand for, yep thats right RED lol)

Thanks Sir Andrew....I do have plans for the intake as shown in this thread https://www.r32oc.com...bay-pics-3.html but as we all know red is rare but black is still the fastest colour. Hence why they make tyres Black!

Edited by Rich R32, 20 July 2009 - 06:32 AM.

[Phil_T]

Awsome car, didnt believe how good condition it was at the KK meet

[Rich R32]

Awsome car, didnt believe how good condition it was at the KK meet

Thanks Phil, your too kind.... :top:

[Rich R32]

Having sorted out the turbo conversion, brakes, suspension, engine bay, wheels....and the paint work etc. I was quite happy with the .:R overall....but I personally found that once you charge an .:R the gears become very short and you hit the limiter very easily...

I knew and read on various sites/forums that the solution was the lengthened gear set from HPA Motorsports Inc. Drivetrain which was not cheap iirc @ around $1200-$1500 with shipping+tax on top! :eek: As my funds were almost dry, the idea of this mod was slowly slipping away.....

However, all was not lost! Upon further research and speaking to the right people (thanks guys...you know who you are :top:) I managed to source the correct parts much cheaper and have them installed in my gearbox - with further assistance at my mates garage - Yay!

Sorry I don't have any pics but here's an idea of what you get



Here's a video to prove that it does work Hope the link works?

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kiHXq_qMoU"]YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.[/ame]

I'm sure Andy, Pomme and Bam can vouch that it works too...