2009 Tornado Red MKV R32

2009 Tornado Red MKV R32

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irfan1712

Original Poster:

1,243 posts

153 months

Thursday 17th April 2014
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Hello all!

After almost a week of owning the car i thought id start a little build thread.

Im not new to golfs, my first one was a 1.4mk4 which i had on my 17th. i adored the car and spent a hidious amount of money on it. it looked like this before i sold it last summer at 22 after graduating to go travelling:



it was a sad day! 9 months later after 3 odd months of looking,ive finally bought the car i lusted for, a mk5 R32!

This particular car was origianlly bought by Mandy Smith ( ex girlfriend to Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones) which is a cool little fact haha. The car itself is in the much sort after Tornado Red, had 58k miles with full dealer SH and stamps, and even had a remainder of the warranty left. the car was a real credit to the previous owner and i knew it 'was the one' soon as i drove it. Options include immaculate, crinkle free Heated Vienna leather and the RNS510 Sat Nav, with factory fitted bluetooth module (with a touch keypad just above the sunvisor). Although it had the inevitable stone chips, there was no nasty dings scrapes or dents, and the wheels where immaculate..it was clearly babied.

i havent stopped driving it since i picked it up last week. The car is beautiful both in and out, and to drive...fantastic. i cant get over how refined and silky smooth it is plodding about, but as soon as you plant it the exhaust noise coupled with all that torque so early down the rev range is just fantastic and something i really cant see me gettigng bored of any time soon!


i gave the car an enhancement detail on the weekend t get some protection on it..i will get some pics on as the days go by.

mods for the future include:

Flapper mod and eventually a milltek non res
Full Focal / Genesis audio system (standard speakers are garbage, exhaust noise makes up for it!)
decent of coils
wheels of some sort, not reallly thought that far yet.

Right now i just want to enjoy the comfort and originality of the car as it is so the mods can wait!

Thanks.

Irfan












Edited by irfan1712 on Friday 18th April 10:53

irfan1712

Original Poster:

1,243 posts

153 months

Friday 18th April 2014
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fixed my first post.


i see why, i copy and paste the iMG links but together. on PH it looks like i have to leave a gap….my bad.

the TR is really sought after and I'm so glad i waited for one. Not as rare as a mk4, but still rare none the less.

i loved my Rangie wheels! they sat perfect, and confused so many people haha. i ran Porsche 997 Turbo wheels on the car for a couple of years too:


irfan1712

Original Poster:

1,243 posts

153 months

Friday 18th April 2014
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JFReturns said:
Looking good OP. I love the R32, practical, four wheel drive, fast, sounds great. Teensy bit expensive on the rfl and fuel compared to the GTi but worth it IMO.
nail on the head! Tax is a major let down but thats about it. Petrol consumption so far really isn't that bad considering, although its typical for an owner to justify that lol. I'm averaging about 27mpg on a start stop 8 mile journey to work, with a little 'open' driving now and then. That noise is way way way too addictive.

i just had to own one dispute some negative assumptions the mk5 R has gained in certain forums. ''its too big / fat/ heavy/ slow/ id rather buy an m3/scooby etc'' comments started to bore me when i was looking for one.

Most of these people probably haven't owned one. One of the major factors for me to buy one was that a v6 in a hatchback really is a dying breed, and i HAD to own one. so i had to get one now with sensible miles to enjoy!

irfan1712

Original Poster:

1,243 posts

153 months

Friday 18th April 2014
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okie592 said:
Don't slam it what ever you do would be a shame to see a lovely red one ruined!

I say it would look good on rotiform blqs. I know they are well done in the vag world but they do look good
after how low my mk4 was, driving this feels like a rolls royce hence why I'm too scared to put any sort of suspension tweaks on it! Lastnight i ditched the idea of coils but may consider a good quality spring and shock set up just to smaller the wheel/arch gap and maintain some sort of comfort.

BLQ's dont do it for me anymore, because there's so many hideous chinese reps of them on ebay and the like! I wouldn't mind something dished for a change, perhaps a genuine set of bbs lm;s, or something more harder looking like BBS CH's. the car is too subtle to pull off any showy wheels unless its sitting on its ill slop.

irfan1712

Original Poster:

1,243 posts

153 months

Thursday 24th April 2014
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no pictures, but i did the Flapper Mod to my standard exhaust tonight. the car sounds absolutely awesome now..i LOVE it! Will defo stick to this rather than go down the non res milltek and the like route, i think the car is loud enough now but still subtle and near enough silent inside. Will get a video up tomorrow!

Developed a small rattle from the down pipe yesterday which i believe is the down pipe brackets being loose or even snapped, or it could be the heat shield around the cats being loose..will investigate this weekend.

Ownership is still going sweet and continuing to blossom at the moment!

irfan1712

Original Poster:

1,243 posts

153 months

Thursday 24th April 2014
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Mikeyplum said:
BBS CH's cloud9

My all time favourite wheel, and suit the Mk5 down to the ground:

Nail on the head, that looks fantastic. CHs suit the mk5 brill. Is that your car by any chance Mike?

irfan1712

Original Poster:

1,243 posts

153 months

Sunday 27th April 2014
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Basil Hume said:
It sounds as if - like me - you are coming around to the idea of keeping your R32 standard!

The factory exhaust system is a pleasure to listen to (even with flapper), so there doesn't seem to be much appeal in an expensive upgrade.

The essence of an R32 is that it straddles the gap between a hot hatch and larger-engined exotica. As a result, it draws comparison with all of them. It doesn't stand out in any one area, other than being an exceptionally compelling package. Jack of all trades and all that...

It's a joy to own and use every single time.
Yup your right Basil, out of the box with a few factory extra's it just doesn't need anything. have you done the flapper mod to yours now? i took it for a little 20min drive locally on the motorway yesterday, it does drone a smudge when under load i.e going up a hill or any sort of gradient. But its manageable and still worth doing - i couldnt imagine living with a non res milltek and the like, i think it would drive me nuts after a few weeks.

its returning very good MPG considering what it is and how its driven too, i average 29mpg to work 8miles down the road stop and starting, and booting lol.

irfan1712

Original Poster:

1,243 posts

153 months

Thursday 15th May 2014
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Quiet build thread lately...but took the plunge and ordered some H&R Lowering Springs from Awesome GTi. Cant wait to have them fitted! and get some nice wheels on it. Just didnt want to buy coilovers and spoil the ride too much, been there done that lol.

irfan1712

Original Poster:

1,243 posts

153 months

Wednesday 21st May 2014
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H&R's will be fitted Friday hopefully.

also treated myself to some new wheels... i kew i couldn't resist!


irfan1712

Original Poster:

1,243 posts

153 months

Wednesday 21st May 2014
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JFReturns said:
29mpg is pretty good!
telling me, I'm well happy with that! although blowing the cob webs out does get me very early 20s. I haven driven it hard or long enough to get into the teens which is also a good thing lol

irfan1712

Original Poster:

1,243 posts

153 months

Thursday 29th May 2014
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Well have them fitted today, and just aswel, as it turns out both of my rear springs had snapped! The bottom of the springs had a marginal piece broken off with a bit of rust on them.

The car sits a lot better now, and although I've only driven up and down the road and i need to leave them settle, the ride is spot on.

im a bit worried that i have marginal 'reverse rake' at the moment, at certain angles the front is sitting slightly higher than the rear which annoys me, but I'm hoping they will settle evenly!? or could the rear be sitting lower be something to do with the broken springs..?





irfan1712

Original Poster:

1,243 posts

153 months

Friday 30th May 2014
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aspirated said:
Looking good, I'm sure they'll settle after a few miles, i wouldn't be able to put up with the blue calipers on a red car though! Haha smile


Read your E38 thread on your MK4 recently, looking forward to the updates on this smile
thanks man, i hope they adjust just a touch but this morning looking at my car fro the office which is a flat car par and the car looks a lot better already lol, it must be where i park at home.

The blue callipers i was a bit iffy on, but its the RRRRR colour! lol. I spent a lof of time on that mk4, loved it to pieces! wont be going that far wth this one as it really needs nothing

irfan1712

Original Poster:

1,243 posts

153 months

Friday 30th May 2014
quotequote all
milu said:
How steep is that hill?
Could be the handbrake pulling the back down a bit.
im thinking it is the hill, because looking at the car this morning in the officecar park which is near flat the car sits a lot flatter and even!

irfan1712

Original Poster:

1,243 posts

153 months

Friday 30th May 2014
quotequote all
Dave Hedgehog said:
it does look a little odd, the front ride height is spot on imo

stunning car in a very very rare colour, do not ruin it with stretched tyres


i miss mine so much frown
yeah its strange but as said this morning looked a lot better when i parked up on a flat carpark at work.

its a very rare car being in TR and the last of the V6 being a March 09, i defo wont be ruining it i promise haha.

the spring replacement i felt was a bit more justified when i found the rears had snapped.

did you have a MK5 too? its only been 2 months ive had the car and thinking about it i still have no idea what would replace it! its a very complete package.

irfan1712

Original Poster:

1,243 posts

153 months

Friday 30th May 2014
quotequote all
Dave Hedgehog said:
i used DSG one as a daily commuter into london, i initially leased it (was 29k spec'd up) but when the time came to get another car i tried the S3 and R golf but found the 4 pot disappointing and soulless, any gains in power where just not worth it imo.

so i rang the lease company up and bought it, and then kept it for another 2 years until i got the wker wagon, i mean audi tongue out

it made me smile every single day i drove it, even after 5 years, on the day i px/d it, i was smiling when i got out of it. i wanted the OH to have it but she wants at least 40mpg frown


my friend recently sold his for a M135i and whilst it is hugely faster in a straight line (and has a brilliant engine) he can not carry anywhere near the speed on the corners he did in the R32, because the R32 is so easy to exploit and very benign on the limit, he wants to sell his M135i (will probably change the suspension and fit a LSD, knowing him)


make sure you get the milltech exhaust if you do not have one.





Edited by Dave Hedgehog on Friday 30th May 09:16
i see! thats love haha. how did you find it with DSG? you can always have a wker barge and another R, do it! lol.

135's are very nice cars, i just find the 1 series in M guise the same as every other M Diesel 1 series...it doesnt stand out enough for me. with a remap they are relentless though.

ive done the flapper mod o my standard exhaust and to be perfectly honest its mroe than enough, i dont think ive got the head for a booming Milltek if it was the non res.. and it all comes back to me trying my very best to keep it as standard as possible! lol.

if a second hand one came up at a good price id probably jump on it because im daft like that.

irfan1712

Original Poster:

1,243 posts

153 months

Tuesday 1st July 2014
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recent pic from Bristol Volksfest a few weekends ago. Nice little show, looking forward to GTI Inters this weekend now!





will also get some pics on of the Bentleys fitted, which swiftly came back off to be sold.

irfan1712

Original Poster:

1,243 posts

153 months

Monday 14th July 2014
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Gave the car a nice paint enhancement before GTI Internationals two weeks ago. i needed up taking the transporter but was still happy with how the car came up, such a cracking colour when its gleaming!








no updates, other than tax is due at the end of the month (gulp) and I'm on the hunt for some 19'' LMs! I'm swaying towards good quality Reps seen as genuines are impossible to find. Gold faces and polished lips smile


irfan1712

Original Poster:

1,243 posts

153 months

Monday 14th July 2014
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Dave Hedgehog said:
So shiny smile

Being able to pay your tax monthly from Oct should make it easier to swallow
Cheers Dave, hows your R32 going mate? well I'm going to take advantage before october and buy 12 months now, as this tax band increases slightly in October to £500 and something!


irfan1712

Original Poster:

1,243 posts

153 months

Monday 14th July 2014
quotequote all
va1o said:
Looking very smart indeed smile

Must be one of the very last MK5s being on an 09 plate
thanks mate! i believe so, this is a March 09 but i believe some were registered as far as April/May 09. Even though production actually ceased at the end of 2008!

irfan1712

Original Poster:

1,243 posts

153 months

Thursday 7th August 2014
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Still love the car! Although one thing that has caught my eyes the last few washes is just how bad the stonechips are on the bonnet.

They were there when i purchased the car which atleast showed it was a genuine, honest car wiht nothing to hide...but me being a bit of a perfectionist thier starting to let the car down up close!

So the plan now is to price up the bonnet to be resprayed. Which is a bit daunting, as i know theres no paint finish like factory and the amount of horror stories ive seen with paint match ups and poor workmanship etc.

Still looking for some LM's aswell!