Tommo's MKIV .:R32

[2times]

your new toys look pretty good dude!
how was the short ****fer install? did it take long?
and with the intake, is there a hole underneath the cowling? where does it get its air from?

[Tommo_]

Looking good mate!

Thanks mate

I'd like to hear your thoughts on the gruppe air intake. And is it a straight bolt on kit? Where did you source it from? I'm liking what's been done so far, keep it up!!

good stuff mate! some nice mods you have going on here..how do you find the intake? in leaning more towards this one.

It's a pretty decent intake. Very well made, tad overpriced IMO, but it looks so good! Makes a nice throaty noise. Not sure about noticeable power increases, but it definately helps as there is little restriction.

Yes the kit is straight bolt on and pretty simple to install.

I sourced mine from Jay at xposed, but wasn't the smoothest transaction and was very hard to get in contact with him.

your new toys look pretty good dude!
how was the short ****fer install? did it take long?
and with the intake, is there a hole underneath the cowling? where does it get its air from?

Thanks

Short shifter install was relatively easy. But I do possess a sound mechanical knowledge

The bottom of the intake is open, the air comes from behind the passenger headlight but could be better directed for some cooler air from the grill below the headlight.

[2times]

Thanks

Short shifter install was relatively easy. But I do possess a sound mechanical knowledge

The bottom of the intake is open, the air comes from behind the passenger headlight but could be better directed for some cooler air from the grill below the headlight.

yeah cool, DIY it is haha. how does the box feel now? is it harder to shift?

so is it still using the stock snorkel then? thats where all the stock intake stuff is right?
check out what this guy did to get air from his grill, looks pretty cool Bill's Web Space:2004 Volkswagen R32
i apologise for the pre-web2.0 link

[Tommo_]

yeah cool, DIY it is haha. how does the box feel now? is it harder to shift?

so is it still using the stock snorkel then? thats where all the stock intake stuff is right?
check out what this guy did to get air from his grill, looks pretty cool Bill's Web Space:2004 Volkswagen R32
i apologise for the pre-web2.0 link

Box feels good now. The gear changes are much more notchier. Feels much more solid.

I took the stock snorkel out. Its just getting the air from around the headlight and from where the snorkel was. Yep where all the stock intake stuff is. Ill have to show you next time I see ya!

[Tommo_]

As promised I've got some pics of the resprayed front bumper and the freshly cut out and painted front grills!
After I got my car back from the panel beaters my alternator light was on..yay!!! Anyway I replaced the alternator with a new genuine VW one. Ouch that hurt my wallet...and they wanted the old one back or they were going to charge me another $230!! but on the upside, I fitted it myself so saved on labour That was an interesting job. Had to move the front end of the car to the 'service position' to do this, as there is no room to work on anything in that engine bay! Safe to say, I've worked on some cars with much worse space constraints, so this wasn't too much of a problem.

I also had all the coils replaced by VW under the warranty recall and got them to change the spark plugs at the same time.

That's about it for now. Here's some photos.

[JedR32]

Car looks so good mate! Very jealous of this R32

[2times]

Box feels good now. The gear changes are much more notchier. Feels much more solid.

I took the stock snorkel out. Its just getting the air from around the headlight and from where the snorkel was. Yep where all the stock intake stuff is. Ill have to show you next time I see ya!

i really like the look of the deisel geek shifter, youve pretty much sold me on it haha. id like to see, and hear, this intake.
i see in your pics you had your front bumper shaved. did you have it done locally? was it expensive where you went? ive decided shaving the dumb numberplate holder is a must, looks so neat with it gone!

[robbie]

That looks very nice I must say, but may I recommend you double side tape the number plate to the bumper. I have spare heavy duty velcro strips if you would like to borrow some Tom.

Must perform even better now with new coil packs, spark plugs and alternator. She's on the way to perfection!

[JedR32]

Yeah, I also think taping to bumper is better. Just because we're coming into summer and you want as much air getting to the radiator as possible But as far as I can tell, no one has ever had overheating issues due to having a number plate over the front grill. I just like to be cautious haha

[Tommo_]

Long overdue update...

Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve posted an update! I have done a few things since the last update, so I’ll list them here.

I decided that a spare wheel might come in handy, considering that all you get from the factory is an air compressor and tyre goo - which I know for a fact does not work well. Last thing I, or anyone for that matter, would want is to have to get the car towed for a flat tyre!

Part numbers as follows for anyone who might want to do the same.

- Steel jack ‘AD-1J0011031F’ $250

- Tool kit foam insert ‘AD-8L3012109F’ $60

- Plastic bolt ‘AD-8L0803899D’ $30

- Space saver tyre from an Audi TT, or a V6 bora which I bought on eBay from a wrecker, complete with a good tyre, for about $200

Thats all you need, and it all fits nicely into the spare wheel well. The wheel brace and all the rest of the tools already in the car are transferrable to the new foam insert. It was a little bit of an expensive exercise but worth it for peace of mind.







I’ve had my Cupra R lip sitting around for awhile now, and after being told by my panel beater friend that it would be ‘too difficult to fit’, I decided to have a go at it myself.

Turns out it was actually quite easy to fit. All it took was to drill a few holes in the lip mounting tabs, lining them up with the factory holes on the front bumper bar and putting a bolt through them! A small amount of manipulation was required to make the lip conform to the tighter curve of the R32 bumper bar. Then I just trimmed the ends that protruded into the wheel arches and done! Looks great and makes the front of the car look much more aggressive. Very happy with it. Does tend to scrape a lot.















Another small change I made to the front of the car, that I think looks fantastic, was to apply some tint to the headlight lenses. I opted for some Lamin-X 6% tint, which I applied myself. Fairly straight forward job, just required a little patience.
Subtle appearance, but not too dark. Personally, I don't find that this reduces the light output noticeably.











Went on a bit of a spending spree on ECS tuning website. Got a few little bits and pieces.

- ECS 50mm anodised black aluminium antennae
- KVW100 window up/down flash module (controls the windows via key key remote buttons)
- VW Komfort blinker retrofit
- Rear wiper delete plug
- Blue ignition cover coil set and ducting
- Audi R8 LED trunk light retrofit
- Porsche 911 oil and coolant cap

[Tommo_]

Decided to freshen up the rear lighting, so I fitted some licence plate LED bulbs and also some reversing light LED bulbs. The reverse lights are great in the dark, lights up behind the car really well!

I originally bought some bold sport LED replacement licence plate lights, but found these were much too bright for my liking. Instead I opted for some replacement festoon type globes that just fit into the original bulb holders and only have 3 LEDs each globe vs bold sports like 20-30 LEDs.











Gave the car a bit of an interior detail, including removal of driver and passenger seat and the centre console! Gave the seats a much needed clean, which included a Duragloss 441 shampoo and 221 leather conditioner. The seats come up like new, and the car has that new car leather smell to it. Some might say I'm crazy for removing the seats, but was well worth it, was able to get much more access to the seat and it really wasn't that difficult to remove them.









One of the bigger updates of recent! I ordered some 3SDM wheels through one of the only importers in Australia. Originally i was told it would take 3-4 weeks to have them in my hot little hands…this turned into nearly 6 FRUSTRATING months…

So finally…

3SDM ‘0.01’
5X100 18X8.5 ET35 Front
5X100 18X9.5 ET35 Rear















As you can see 9.5 on the rear is a TIGHT fit and they actually just foul on the rear upper spring seat…so I bought some 5mm spacers. They now clear…JUST, but now I've got to worry about the poke. Fun times ahead trying to get these to fit.

After much deliberation on tyre choice and size, I settled on some Kumho KU39’s, 225/40R18 fronts and 235/40R18 rears. Very small stretch on the front and a mild stretch on the rear. This may have to change though, as the car definitely needs to be lowered to complete the look, and due to the width of the wheels, I may need more stretch on the tyres.

On that note, I have placed my order for some KW V2 coil overs, which should be here soon! Probably going to have to get some adjustable rear lower control arms to go with this.

[HansAutoParts]

Very nice upgrades. Not over the top at all. It shows how much life there is left in the MKIV chassis.

[Lucas_R]

Nice updates - the car looks very tidy overall. Cant believe how good the seats look - most R32 Mk4 seats look like they are ready for the dump these days. LED numberplate lights really modernize the car too - look really clean.

[HennessyVR6]

I looked at purchasing an R32 (Mk IV) before I picked up my V6 4Motion Sport as my wife got to me about 4 doors being a must, atleast she was fine with me still getting the manual. I would love to one day get the new Golf R when its a few years old and mod that.

[robbie]

Excellent work as usual.