Hi from Melbourne

[CWR]

Hi all, previously was an R36 owner for around 3 years, also own a heavily modified evo. I'm a moderator and state/national event organiser on EvoOz forums. With a view to consolidate to one car while I get into real estate, I recently sold the R36 and on Oct 25th picked up a low km MY12 Golf R. It's candy white, leather, DSG, electronic seat control, bluetooth, MDI, 19" black tallys.

So far, love the car. I discovered the car had an APR Stage 1 tune already, but I can't leave anything alone and and so far have fitted a THS Revo Edition FMIC, Milltek resonated 3" TBE w/AEV and got a stage 2 tune done at RTR. It made 206.6kw/378nm on RTR's dyno in 19*C ambient temps (still running stock intake) and feels great to drive. Chucked some R8 coils in and have a TTS engine cover here to go on once I finalise the intake.

I am experimenting with intakes at the moment, picked up a used carbonio which I think added a touch of power/torque and is slightly more audible. Looks nice too. As a project, I managed to source a cheap TSI carbonio (the ones they use for APR Stage 3) and a used VWR intake (not from the US, pre fuel trims issue) and will be ideally using these together. Fitted the VWR alone today and it's loud! Not like the evo but still enough to turn heads during spool which I am not sure I am down for. Guess I'll see.

I detailed it, installed the Focal front split IFVW kit, installed the S2T paddles, sourced a missing mini mudflap and bought the carbon steel bottle opened/centre console divider (prev owner must have decided to keep the original). That's it so far!

See you round.

[AdamD]

Welcome mate - the R sounds great! 206kw with a 3" TBE and stock intake is a strong result! What mods have you done to the Evo?

Post up some pics of your R and the Evo when you get a chance!

[CWR]

Thanks mate, yeah I was pretty happy with the power and torque it made. I opted to not fit a HPFP right away as it leaves something on the table for me to do down the track. It feels stronger with the intake after driving around the block, if I keep it on would be interesting to see what difference it makes. Really enjoy the golf for it's mixture of comfort, style and performance, they're a great daily.

I've done way too much to the evo to list here - basically everything except a built bottom end. Turbo, intake, cooler piping, FMIC, 3" TBE, fuel system, coilovers, braking, bracing, 5 speed RS box conversion, centre diff competition ECU, built transfer case, 9RS mech rear LSD w/AYC delete and a little bit of aesthetics - self tuned making 275kw/425nm on 98 @ 24-25psi, dual mapped for E85 too. I could link you to the carsales ad if you want to see details but didn't initially as I didn't want to look like I'm trawling for a sale.

[robbie]

Welcome to the forum Tim. The bug has bitten you already

Low km MKVI R, it sounds like a great purchase & can't go wrong. Anyone here would be happy to answer questions you may ask.

[CWR]

Well I never intended to leave the car stock, I dedicated a small budget to mods then I'll be happy with it while I focus on other bigger things. Only other parts on my wish list are some VWR springs, a front brake kit and a Haldex competition controller.

Almost got the intake project finished today. There's a few things that need to be done to make it perfect, I'll finish it off this week.

[robbie]

How would you compare the R36 to the Golf R Tim? I'd be very interested to hear your honest thoughts. Engine bay looks good mate. Look forward to seeing more updates as the build progresses

[CWR]

That's a hard comparison, they're quite different cars in many ways. The main difference is the R36 is not a sports or performance car in my opinion. It's not slow, but it doesn't excite in any way. They're a comfortable, well appointed, sure-footed daily driver car with enough power and torque to get up and moving quickly.

The R on the other hand has a greater sense of urgency, the suspension is firmer and the steering sharper and more precise, the smaller engine and turbo give it a completely different 'feel' when accelerating either gently or hard, the need for boost to build reinforces this. I love turbo motors and this characteristic, the lack of linearity and ability to control power and torque at any RPM by throttle % adds another dimension to the way power can be brought on as opposed to the rev dependent power/tq of an NA engine. In the R you can be in 3rd gear at 4000rpm and still be in vacuum, or you can be at 25 psi boost, or anywhere in between.

Bone stock R's feel a bit flat to me (I'm coming from a 275wkw Evo mind you) but even a Stage 1 tune using all stock hardware wakes them up and when you drive one, it makes you smile. I thought 'this car is cool' within about 10 seconds of driving one. I think that's one of the biggest points of difference. The R36 never made me smile, I just felt I was driving a capable, stable, safe but not slow car. The R has a character of fun and excitement about it while still having that sense of 4 door practicality.

You can't carry as much cargo with the R as the R36, but I don't need to. This could be factor though if you have a large family or depending what you will use the car for. I'm glad I had the R36, they're fantastic cars, but I'm glad I have the R now too as it suits me better.