Discussion
G’day PistonHeads!
I’m Chris, originally from the UK, but residing over in sunny Melbourne. Now, I have to admit, I’ve been a long time lurker on here, but won’t share for how long! I’ve always enjoyed reading these threads, and now feel it’s time to finally contribute, albeit with a very small car history. Apologies in advance for the verbose post!
At 17, I longed for a 106 Rallye, but it was slightly out of reach with insurance, so I settled for a phase 2 106 XS. Didn’t look as good, but with the 1.6 8V, it went well for a first car. Sadly, no pictures of my car, but it looked exactly the same as this (excuse the terrible google search photo)
Sadly, it ended up written off after bumping into the back of a Golf at a junction (which was mostly undamaged). Shortly after this, I finished studying and relocated to London, where the plans to buy something for weekends never eventuated.
The GFC hit, along with redundancy, so it made perfect sense to throw on a backpack and travel some of the world. Long story short, 8 years later I finally settle here, and decide it’s time to get another car. Many hours were spent trawling CarSales (similar to Autotrader) for a hot-hatch. I eventually ended up with a late 2015 Golf R Wolfsburg edition.
VW released a limited number of these here in hatch and wagon format, which meant over standard they came with Black Pretoria’s, Radar Cruise, Keyless go/entry, CarPlay etc…
Pic from when it was delivered.
With a friend running a business here tuning VW’s/Audi’s, I ended up going in for a dyno tune, which then sort of spiralled. A proper detail and ceramic coating came next, followed by a string of modifications/changes, including:
Rear ARB
Racingline springs
Turbo inlet pipe
Turbo muffler delete
Re-circ valve
IE intercooler
IE intake
Powervalve turbo back exhaust
Dogbone mount
S2T paddles
Custom TC and ECU software
P3 Gauge
Michelin PS4S’s
Tarox 2-piece rotors up front, rears, braided lines and pads.
Post modifications, the car went, handled and stopped pretty well. I mainly used it at weekends, where it took me out on some decent drives with friends, along with a great instructor day at Phillip Island - what a track!
Whilst I was enjoying the car and its all-round capability, the noise of the exhaust when pressing on started to become a little too much (boost actuated), which initially led me to thinking about removing the exhaust. Whilst I pondered that, the idea of having something a little more special in the garage was niggling away, so I continued to spend an unhealthy amount of time on CarSales (again). Pre-requisites now being something manual, rear wheel drive and naturally aspirated, which led me to something I lusted after in my late teens… the E46 M3!
They’re quite thin on the ground over here, especially in manual guise, which was something essential as despite the DSG being very capable in the Golf, I miss the involvement of a manual. Poking around on the usual sites for a while, eventually a car came up in Melbourne that I decided to go and look at… and then subsequently bought.
The car I ended up with was bought off a fellow brit, an enthusiast nonetheless who had a couple of cars including this, which was rarely driven.
It’s a 2002 UK delivered car, with black cube trim, black leather, and completely unmolested. It was imported to Tasmania in 2007 with circa 60,000 (miles) on the clock (deciphering it’s last MOT and date of import approval), and then to Melbourne in 2015 with 78k. I picked it up just before Christmas, with 92k. It’s got a FSH, a stack of receipts (and MOT’s), 2 keys and importantly, it’s nice and straight!
Before taking the plunge, I’d sensibly had a pre-inspection check done by a specialist, just so I knew what I was getting myself into. Fortunately, no red flags, just imminent changing of tired consumables, some preventative maintenance and then tidying up to do cosmetically (front end is quite stone-chipped, and the paint is flat and swirled).
First up was bringing the rubber into the right era, replacing it’s aged M3 Specific continentals, for some PS4S’s. Then, it was time for a proper drive. Despite the very heavy zero tolerance for having fun on the roads here, if you venture out in to the countryside, there’s a few sublime roads (Reefton Spur and Kinglake to Toolangi to name a couple) where you can enjoy a car!
Impressions coming from the Golf? Completely different of course. I mean, I’m no Chris Harris, but on a decent road, I was left with a proper smile and a good impression made. The Golf covered ground exceptionally well, but this was much more involving; loved the balance through the corners, and of course, the noise!
It’s going in for an Inspection 2 imminently, along with a new steering coupler, engine mounts and some HEL braided brake lines (current lines looking tired). Then it’ll likely be RTAB’s and rear shock mounts and some decent alignment. Once I’m happy mechanically, it’ll be going in for some front-end paint tidying and a full paint correction, refurbed wheels, and new badges etc to bring it up to the standard I’m happy with.
Couple more gratuitous pics
I’ll aim to keep my progress updated here as I chip away, but in the interim, I’ll be enjoying the car at weekends!
Thanks for reading if you got this far.
I’m Chris, originally from the UK, but residing over in sunny Melbourne. Now, I have to admit, I’ve been a long time lurker on here, but won’t share for how long! I’ve always enjoyed reading these threads, and now feel it’s time to finally contribute, albeit with a very small car history. Apologies in advance for the verbose post!
At 17, I longed for a 106 Rallye, but it was slightly out of reach with insurance, so I settled for a phase 2 106 XS. Didn’t look as good, but with the 1.6 8V, it went well for a first car. Sadly, no pictures of my car, but it looked exactly the same as this (excuse the terrible google search photo)
Sadly, it ended up written off after bumping into the back of a Golf at a junction (which was mostly undamaged). Shortly after this, I finished studying and relocated to London, where the plans to buy something for weekends never eventuated.
The GFC hit, along with redundancy, so it made perfect sense to throw on a backpack and travel some of the world. Long story short, 8 years later I finally settle here, and decide it’s time to get another car. Many hours were spent trawling CarSales (similar to Autotrader) for a hot-hatch. I eventually ended up with a late 2015 Golf R Wolfsburg edition.
VW released a limited number of these here in hatch and wagon format, which meant over standard they came with Black Pretoria’s, Radar Cruise, Keyless go/entry, CarPlay etc…
Pic from when it was delivered.
With a friend running a business here tuning VW’s/Audi’s, I ended up going in for a dyno tune, which then sort of spiralled. A proper detail and ceramic coating came next, followed by a string of modifications/changes, including:
Rear ARB
Racingline springs
Turbo inlet pipe
Turbo muffler delete
Re-circ valve
IE intercooler
IE intake
Powervalve turbo back exhaust
Dogbone mount
S2T paddles
Custom TC and ECU software
P3 Gauge
Michelin PS4S’s
Tarox 2-piece rotors up front, rears, braided lines and pads.
Post modifications, the car went, handled and stopped pretty well. I mainly used it at weekends, where it took me out on some decent drives with friends, along with a great instructor day at Phillip Island - what a track!
Whilst I was enjoying the car and its all-round capability, the noise of the exhaust when pressing on started to become a little too much (boost actuated), which initially led me to thinking about removing the exhaust. Whilst I pondered that, the idea of having something a little more special in the garage was niggling away, so I continued to spend an unhealthy amount of time on CarSales (again). Pre-requisites now being something manual, rear wheel drive and naturally aspirated, which led me to something I lusted after in my late teens… the E46 M3!
They’re quite thin on the ground over here, especially in manual guise, which was something essential as despite the DSG being very capable in the Golf, I miss the involvement of a manual. Poking around on the usual sites for a while, eventually a car came up in Melbourne that I decided to go and look at… and then subsequently bought.
The car I ended up with was bought off a fellow brit, an enthusiast nonetheless who had a couple of cars including this, which was rarely driven.
It’s a 2002 UK delivered car, with black cube trim, black leather, and completely unmolested. It was imported to Tasmania in 2007 with circa 60,000 (miles) on the clock (deciphering it’s last MOT and date of import approval), and then to Melbourne in 2015 with 78k. I picked it up just before Christmas, with 92k. It’s got a FSH, a stack of receipts (and MOT’s), 2 keys and importantly, it’s nice and straight!
Before taking the plunge, I’d sensibly had a pre-inspection check done by a specialist, just so I knew what I was getting myself into. Fortunately, no red flags, just imminent changing of tired consumables, some preventative maintenance and then tidying up to do cosmetically (front end is quite stone-chipped, and the paint is flat and swirled).
First up was bringing the rubber into the right era, replacing it’s aged M3 Specific continentals, for some PS4S’s. Then, it was time for a proper drive. Despite the very heavy zero tolerance for having fun on the roads here, if you venture out in to the countryside, there’s a few sublime roads (Reefton Spur and Kinglake to Toolangi to name a couple) where you can enjoy a car!
Impressions coming from the Golf? Completely different of course. I mean, I’m no Chris Harris, but on a decent road, I was left with a proper smile and a good impression made. The Golf covered ground exceptionally well, but this was much more involving; loved the balance through the corners, and of course, the noise!
It’s going in for an Inspection 2 imminently, along with a new steering coupler, engine mounts and some HEL braided brake lines (current lines looking tired). Then it’ll likely be RTAB’s and rear shock mounts and some decent alignment. Once I’m happy mechanically, it’ll be going in for some front-end paint tidying and a full paint correction, refurbed wheels, and new badges etc to bring it up to the standard I’m happy with.
Couple more gratuitous pics
I’ll aim to keep my progress updated here as I chip away, but in the interim, I’ll be enjoying the car at weekends!
Thanks for reading if you got this far.
I had a December 2003 Carbon black manual,
facelift car for 5 years, Loved it !!
Fit a CSL steering rack, it along with decent shocks ( Koni or Bilstein ) and springs, are the Best mods you can make to one of these. The OE Sachs dampers are rubbish !! After just 12,000 miles my new front Sachs units were knackered.
The pre facelift cars suffer from rod bolt failures, BMW recalled a fair few cars, but many didn’t get done.
Check the boot floor for cracking ( above the rear beam mounting on the near side. BMW replaced a fair few boot floors as a “ Good will gesture “ but would never admit that it’s a design fault.
I ran mine on Fuchs Titan super synth oil. Bought it in December 2012 with 149,000 miles and stupidly sold it on 179,000 in June 2012
facelift car for 5 years, Loved it !!
Fit a CSL steering rack, it along with decent shocks ( Koni or Bilstein ) and springs, are the Best mods you can make to one of these. The OE Sachs dampers are rubbish !! After just 12,000 miles my new front Sachs units were knackered.
The pre facelift cars suffer from rod bolt failures, BMW recalled a fair few cars, but many didn’t get done.
Check the boot floor for cracking ( above the rear beam mounting on the near side. BMW replaced a fair few boot floors as a “ Good will gesture “ but would never admit that it’s a design fault.
I ran mine on Fuchs Titan super synth oil. Bought it in December 2012 with 149,000 miles and stupidly sold it on 179,000 in June 2012
Edited by neutral 3 on Tuesday 21st January 23:31
vectracal said:
Hi. Lovely motors, how do you find the golf compares to the m3?
I have an e46 m3 myself and my other half has a mk7 golf R. I love both of them. The golf is a good all rounder but the m3 is just a different animal on track.
Nice combination! Have you taken the R on track too? I have an e46 m3 myself and my other half has a mk7 golf R. I love both of them. The golf is a good all rounder but the m3 is just a different animal on track.
For me, the Golf is a great all-rounder - jump in for a quick visit to the shops, or head out on the freeway and it's perfectly comfortable. Find some decent roads where you can push on, or the track, and it holds it's own. The M3 does this too (haven't been on track with it), but is a much more engaging experience. The engine is far more exciting, and having that box makes it far more enjoyable to drive on the right road. I happen to think it's far more pleasing to look at too.
neutral 3 said:
I had a December 2003 Carbon black manual,
facelift car for 5 years, Loved it !!
Fit a CSL steering rack, it along with decent shocks ( Koni or Bilstein ) and springs, are the Best mods you can make to one of these. The OE Sachs dampers are rubbish !! After just 12,000 miles my new front Sachs units were knackered.
The pre facelift cars suffer from rod bolt failures, BMW recalled a fair few cars, but many didn’t get done.
Check the boot floor for cracking ( above the rear beam mounting on the near side. BMW replaced a fair few boot floors as a “ Good will gesture “ but would never admit that it’s a design fault.
I ran mine on Fuchs Titan super synth oil. Bought it in December 2012 with 149,000 miles and stupidly sold it on 179,000 in June 2012
Cheers Neutral 3. Fortunately, all the necessary work was completed back in the day. The boot floor was also inspected again, with no signs of cracking facelift car for 5 years, Loved it !!
Fit a CSL steering rack, it along with decent shocks ( Koni or Bilstein ) and springs, are the Best mods you can make to one of these. The OE Sachs dampers are rubbish !! After just 12,000 miles my new front Sachs units were knackered.
The pre facelift cars suffer from rod bolt failures, BMW recalled a fair few cars, but many didn’t get done.
Check the boot floor for cracking ( above the rear beam mounting on the near side. BMW replaced a fair few boot floors as a “ Good will gesture “ but would never admit that it’s a design fault.
I ran mine on Fuchs Titan super synth oil. Bought it in December 2012 with 149,000 miles and stupidly sold it on 179,000 in June 2012
Edited by neutral 3 on Tuesday 21st January 23:31
It is however something i'll keep an eye on, and likely have reinforced as a preventative measure once a few other jobs are done. Plans for Bilstein B6's are on the cards too. Steadily chipping away.neutral 3 said:
I had a December 2003 Carbon black manual,
facelift car for 5 years, Loved it !!
Fit a CSL steering rack, it along with decent shocks ( Koni or Bilstein ) and springs, are the Best mods you can make to one of these. The OE Sachs dampers are rubbish !! After just 12,000 miles my new front Sachs units were knackered.
The pre facelift cars suffer from rod bolt failures, BMW recalled a fair few cars, but many didn’t get done.
Check the boot floor for cracking ( above the rear beam mounting on the near side. BMW replaced a fair few boot floors as a “ Good will gesture “ but would never admit that it’s a design fault.
I ran mine on Fuchs Titan super synth oil. Bought it in December 2012 with 149,000 miles and stupidly sold it on 179,000 in June 2012
Cheers Neutral 3. Fortunately, all the necessary work was completed back in the day. The boot floor was also inspected again, with no signs of cracking facelift car for 5 years, Loved it !!
Fit a CSL steering rack, it along with decent shocks ( Koni or Bilstein ) and springs, are the Best mods you can make to one of these. The OE Sachs dampers are rubbish !! After just 12,000 miles my new front Sachs units were knackered.
The pre facelift cars suffer from rod bolt failures, BMW recalled a fair few cars, but many didn’t get done.
Check the boot floor for cracking ( above the rear beam mounting on the near side. BMW replaced a fair few boot floors as a “ Good will gesture “ but would never admit that it’s a design fault.
I ran mine on Fuchs Titan super synth oil. Bought it in December 2012 with 149,000 miles and stupidly sold it on 179,000 in June 2012
Edited by neutral 3 on Tuesday 21st January 23:31
It is however something i'll keep an eye on, and likely have reinforced as a preventative measure once a few other jobs are done. Plans for Bilstein B6's are on the cards too. Steadily chipping away.Only a minor update, minus some pictures.
It went in for an Inspection 2 last week, along with new engine mounts, braided lines, new steering coupler and some rear pads (sadly, the ones replaced not too long ago weren't correct, which resulted in low speed squealing - fortunately all remedied now).
Could be placebo, but it feels like it pulls a little stronger now. I'm also noticing the infamous clunking at the rear that seems common upon reading about these. A New oem rear diff cover and front diff bush are on their way over from ECS, which might help, along with some updated led rear plate lights - just to freshen the rear end up a bit.
Once the parts are here, it'll be back to my independent specialist for fitting, and then organising Bilstein B6's all-round. RTAB's and rear shock mounts.
It went in for an Inspection 2 last week, along with new engine mounts, braided lines, new steering coupler and some rear pads (sadly, the ones replaced not too long ago weren't correct, which resulted in low speed squealing - fortunately all remedied now).
Could be placebo, but it feels like it pulls a little stronger now. I'm also noticing the infamous clunking at the rear that seems common upon reading about these. A New oem rear diff cover and front diff bush are on their way over from ECS, which might help, along with some updated led rear plate lights - just to freshen the rear end up a bit.
Once the parts are here, it'll be back to my independent specialist for fitting, and then organising Bilstein B6's all-round. RTAB's and rear shock mounts.
Edited by Skipatron on Sunday 8th March 11:53
Skipatron said:
Only a minor update, minus some pictures.
It went in for an Inspection 2 last week, along with new engine mounts, braided lines and some rear pads (sadly, the ones replaced not too long ago weren't correct, which resulted in low speed squealing - fortunately all remedied now).
Could be placebo, but it feels like it pulls a little stronger now. I'm also noticing the infamous clunking at the rear that seems common upon reading about these. A New oem rear diff cover and front diff bush are on their way over from ECS, which might help, along with some updated led rear plate lights - just to freshen the rear end up a bit.
Once the parts are here, it'll be back to my independent specialist for fitting, and then organising Bilstein B6's all-round. RTAB's and rear shock mounts.
The rear diff bolts were revised so one (maybe more) is longer but if you google you should find some info on it. It apparently is to help with the clunking. From what I gather, OEM bushes are the best way to go on diff bushing to stop more NVH which come from poly's. It went in for an Inspection 2 last week, along with new engine mounts, braided lines and some rear pads (sadly, the ones replaced not too long ago weren't correct, which resulted in low speed squealing - fortunately all remedied now).
Could be placebo, but it feels like it pulls a little stronger now. I'm also noticing the infamous clunking at the rear that seems common upon reading about these. A New oem rear diff cover and front diff bush are on their way over from ECS, which might help, along with some updated led rear plate lights - just to freshen the rear end up a bit.
Once the parts are here, it'll be back to my independent specialist for fitting, and then organising Bilstein B6's all-round. RTAB's and rear shock mounts.
I've got B6's on my 330 and some on my M3 (yet to drive as it's in bits) but would be tempted to try some KW's as on my friends car they felt great, so definitely worth looking at them.
Without getting into the whole scare concept which comes with anally retentive M3 owners, rod bearings are a job worth looking at around the 100k mark as well as the vanos in addition to the other jobs mentioned on here (boot floor/RACP)
New diff cover, front bush and affiliated parts/oils arrived promptly from ECS, with the car dropped off for fitting, and a handbrake adjustment.
Car feels even better now! The clunking is way less noticeable; changing gears feels more precise in a way. Just home from a trip down the coast for a night; really really starting to fall for the car now i've driven it a little more. I love how effortless it is to cruise along, but hustling along a decent road it comes into its own. And there's the noise, it makes me when pressing on.
It looks very respectable when clean from a distance.
Car feels even better now! The clunking is way less noticeable; changing gears feels more precise in a way. Just home from a trip down the coast for a night; really really starting to fall for the car now i've driven it a little more. I love how effortless it is to cruise along, but hustling along a decent road it comes into its own. And there's the noise, it makes me
when pressing on. It looks very respectable when clean from a distance.
With the recent crisis steadily taking hold of outdoor activities, a few friends and I thought we'd isolate ourselves, albeit in our cars, and enjoy some quiet roads early on a Sunday morning before lockdown began.
Had a drive of the F80 up towards Lake Mountain - quite different to the old girl, as you'd imagine.
I then had a Monday booked off, as I was supposed to be at a stag do, but sadly that was cancelled amidst the crisis, so I tackled a job I'd been wanting to do for a while - taking the front seats out and giving the carpets a proper vacuum.
Surprisingly, there wasn't much to be found hidden away, bar a couple of coins (English currency included), and the usual rubbish.
Took the mats out, and got everything nice and clean.
I gave the seats a once over with Zaino Z9 leather cleaner, followed by Z10, however, I'm not quite happy here - I couldn't quite eliminate the shine. Something I'll look at sorting in the future with a restoration kit.
And back in the car.
During the clean, a friend mentioned Pears soap and it's ability to do a cracking job at cleaning leather, especially steering wheels. That's been today's job!
Before shots:
Post Pears:
I'd never noticed the blue and red stitching before. Needless to say, it lived up to the expectations.
The car will probably see even less usage for the foreseeable. In the interim, I'll continue to accumulate some parts and tackle those jobs that are do-able.
Had a drive of the F80 up towards Lake Mountain - quite different to the old girl, as you'd imagine.
I then had a Monday booked off, as I was supposed to be at a stag do, but sadly that was cancelled amidst the crisis, so I tackled a job I'd been wanting to do for a while - taking the front seats out and giving the carpets a proper vacuum.
Surprisingly, there wasn't much to be found hidden away, bar a couple of coins (English currency included), and the usual rubbish.
Took the mats out, and got everything nice and clean.
I gave the seats a once over with Zaino Z9 leather cleaner, followed by Z10, however, I'm not quite happy here - I couldn't quite eliminate the shine. Something I'll look at sorting in the future with a restoration kit.
And back in the car.
During the clean, a friend mentioned Pears soap and it's ability to do a cracking job at cleaning leather, especially steering wheels. That's been today's job!
Before shots:
Post Pears:
I'd never noticed the blue and red stitching before. Needless to say, it lived up to the expectations.
The car will probably see even less usage for the foreseeable. In the interim, I'll continue to accumulate some parts and tackle those jobs that are do-able.
Thanks for the tip regarding Pears, having done a search it seems to have been recommended on here many times over the years, will definitely give it a go!
My partner and I spent around ten months living in Melbourne recently. Living in London now, but miss the small city feeling of Melbourne, along with the weather. Have you ventured into the outback yet? If we ever ended up over there again, it'd be a car like this and a kitted out Land Cruiser in the garage.
My partner and I spent around ten months living in Melbourne recently. Living in London now, but miss the small city feeling of Melbourne, along with the weather. Have you ventured into the outback yet? If we ever ended up over there again, it'd be a car like this and a kitted out Land Cruiser in the garage.
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