Thursday, April 21, 2011

RKM Motorsport: R32 Golf-R

RKM Motorsport: R32 Golf-R

Based on: 2003 Volkswagen Golf IV R32
Obtained: Used Car Dealer

Drivetrain: AWD
Horsepower: 397 BHP (@ 6910.7 miles)
Torque:---- 344 ft-lb
Weight:---- 1216 kg

PARTS
GT Auto

Rebuilt Motor

Tuning Shop
Stage 3 Weight Reduction
Lightweight Windows
Chassis Reinforcement
Stage 2 Engine Tuning
Racing ECU
Sports Intake Manifold
Sports Air Filter
Sports Exhaust Manifold
Sports Catalytic Converter
Titanium Racing Exhaust
FC Gearbox
Twin-Plate Clutch
Semi-Racing Flywheel
Carbon Driveshaft
FC LSD
VCD
FC Suspension
Sports Soft tires

SETUP

Body/Chassis
Aerodynamics

Downforce: xx/xx

Transmission
Transmission

1st:-- 2.691
2nd:-- 1.781
3rd:-- 1.286
4th:-- 0.976
5th:-- 0.777
6th:-- 0.650
Final: 4.235
Max Speed: 211

Drivetrain
Differential

Initial: 7/15
Accel:-- 58/60
Braking: 15/15

VCD
Torque Bias: 50/50

Suspension
Suspension

Ride Height: -20/-20
Spring Rate: 10.8/7.0
Extension:-- 3/8
Compression: 7/7
Anti-Roll:-- 1/7
Camber:----- 3.5/3.3
Toe:-------- -0.25/-0.05

Brakes
Brake Balance Controller

Brake Balance: 5/9

Intended Driving Options
Transmission: Manual (MT)
ABS: 1
Everything else: OFF

Tuner Comments:
So... When you hear R32, you expect a Skyline, don't you? Perhaps you should, perhaps not.

Volkswagen did their own “R32” but in this case, R32 doesn't refer to the chassis code, it refers to the displacement of the VR6 stuffed under the hood of this MkIV Golf that just so happens to have AWD.

So... Is it AWD? Yes. Does it have quite a good helping of power? Yes. Is it somewhat on the heavy side? Yes. So it's an R32 then. Just not your cousin in Japan's R32.
I did this one without taking down any notes so it may be a bit shorter than normal. Stock form on this car is like everything else in this tier: not particularly hard to get a handle on, stable, not particularly fast. The 4WD gives it a bit of an advantage if your driving style suits that over the normal FF, which mine does. My brake-turn-mash throttle mechanic works well with this car. You need not be particularly careful with it; give it a thrashing around the course and it stays calm and collected. I ran a 2'21.459" with some UCD miles and an oil change.

As with most lower level cars the parts additions improve the car immediately and significantly. Even just raising the top speed limit would help on a course with a straight this big. Adding the power sees some understeer creep up on exit and the brakes will need tweaking to get back a good balance. The parts tune laps at 2'04.301".

After RJs tune is applied it comes back to more of a stock feel with a more alive feel in the steering. Stock it felt a bit laggy as stock machines do but the tune has given it more sensitivity and better response. It is just as easy to drive as it was but with more speed. I did not make note of any major downfalls here, other than I wish I could bolt on some body mods or wheels to set it apart. If you have this car sitting around, apply this tune. If not, go find one and apply the tune. I highly recommend it. The lap of 2'03.093" felt good and was a lot of fun.

I used to own a MkIV GTI VR6; this feels closer to it than the turbo GTI in spite of the drivetrain difference. I like this car a lot. So much in fact that I may use it as the initial main car in a fanfic I am dreaming up.

Lap Times
Grand Valley Speedway: 2'03.093"


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