R36 Arrived and Now l Can Sleep!!!!

[Mr Messy]

Dude that car is baaaaaaaaad!
I love it! It's exactly the sort of car I want in a few years when I start having kids - if the missus can be convinced that there's more to wagons than the cardigan image she has stuck in her head.

VW are doing some cracking cars at the moment eh. Polo and Golf GTI, Pirelli, R32, R36, R50, Rocco... a pretty comprehensive lineup IMHO.

[3Putt]

.:R36 Eater...

I'm gonna sell my 3.2 and go buy one of these just so i can beat up on you guys...

http://www.carsales.com.au/used-cars...d=11E3BCC31CBF

Who cares if its got 140,000km on it!

I wonder if the CD plays MP3's, or if it's got bluetooth?

[tryingavw]

Who cares if its got 140,000km on it!

me. my wifes bmw was costing heaps to keep on the road at 120klm . what year is it?

[3Putt]

Horses for courses mate, and as far as i'm concerned, the more horses the better!

Hence the wet dreams I have about this car. Talk about bang for your buck! I'm talkin about 270kW here! They are as rare as hens' teeth, but they do pop up for private sale from time to time.

Saw one recently for $67K with 60,000km. If my novated lease arrangement allowed vehicles over 5 years old i would have had it in an instant.

[Macka]

Macka,

I told you you'd love it!! What a horrendous 1st weekend though. Great way to test the new tyres though! We drove up to Sunbury and back from Richmond in that rain on Sat..miserable..Note: bum warmers work a treat!

Love the pics, the RS4 wheels look pretty good..at first i was unsure, but they are growing on me. I'll just have to see them for myself in person sometime. The G.O.R. will have to wait till the new year for me..but i can't wait.

Love the pic with the smoke(for want of a better word) out of the tail pipes!!

No worries just PM me or get a thread going if you are keen for an early morning run sometime down the GOR.

[Macka]

Hi Macka,

It seems like you are one step ahead of me dude - i stepped out of a Liberty B4 into a 3.2 4Motion a couple of years ago. Seems like you have me covered on both the before and after fronts there. You are probably younger than me too!

The cars are chalk and cheese, aren't they. German build quality and refinement is hard to beat - although the Japanese are catching up, i'll give them that.

The surprising thing for me is: how much more car you get for $65K every year. From my 2001 B4 to your SpecB to my 3.2 to your R36. They all about the same price. Each one better than the other - you gotta love that!

I am a bit of an audiophile, so i am very envious of the your sound system too mate! Is it the 10 speaker dynaudio? How does it compare to the Macintosh in the Suby? The one criticism of my car is that the stereo is a bit weak - the B4's macintosh with that sweet subby reflecting off the rear window was awesome.

Enjoy the car mate - get away from the keyboard and hit the road!

Yes your right the amount of car you get for $65K or so is amazing. The stereo is just the standard unit but it is the 2009 upgrade. The Macintosh doesn't come close which really surprised me as l thought it was pretty good. This thing is fantastic, l would love to listen to the upgrade version it must be brilliant.

[Lance B]

So, what was the offset and rim width of the Audi 19" rims?

[Macka]

So, what was the offset and rim width of the Audi 19" rims?

They are 19 x 8.5 with an ET of 45. The tyres l put on are 245/35.

[R36 Dreamer]

They are 19 x 8.5 with an ET of 45. The tyres l put on are 245/35.

Can anyone explain to a moron such as me why the VW handbook specifically says that 19 inch rims cannot be put onto the car after it has been built.

It seems very specific in its detail that unless the 19s were factory fitted there is danger of damage to the car?

I would have thought as long as the offsets etc. were as per the specs in the manual it would be ok - but VW says no....

It couldn't just be a grab for $$ as they dont say alternative 18s cant be fitted, only that 19's are a no no.

BTW those Audi RS rims look absolutely awesome (but a bugger to clean!!)

[Macka]

Can anyone explain to a moron such as me why the VW handbook specifically says that 19 inch rims cannot be put onto the car after it has been built.

It seems very specific in its detail that unless the 19s were factory fitted there is danger of damage to the car?

I would have thought as long as the offsets etc. were as per the specs in the manual it would be ok - but VW says no....

It couldn't just be a grab for $$ as they dont say alternative 18s cant be fitted, only that 19's are a no no.

BTW those Audi RS rims look absolutely awesome (but a bugger to clean!!)

I was actually talking to Volkswagen Camberwell when l picked up the car last week and they were telling me how recently they sold a new R36. They couldn't work out why it looked a bit different and eventually realised that VW had accidently put 19" factory rims on it. They are an option in the UK and l think they are for the 2009 model in Australia.

When l told them l was putting 19" rims on all they told me was that it needed to be within 3% of the standard rim/tyre diametre to ensure the ESP and all the other stuff would work as programmed. Therefore whilst l went to a bigger rim l have 245/35 instead of 235/40. When we measured it the difference was less than 2%. Anyway no trouble so far.

And yes after only one week of owning the car l have already identified that the rims take a liitle bit of time when cleaning. However l reckon they look brilliant and most of the comments l get with the car is how good the rims look so it is a small price to pay.

[3Putt]

As with any car, when you upsize the wheel, you have to reduce the tyre wall height to conserve the 'rolling diameter'.

Otherwise the gearing is all out, your speedo and odometer will be incorrect, and you are in a world of hurt.

Don't see why VW cars should be special in this regard. Apart from being a fairly uncommon stud pattern / offset combination, Vdubs are no different to all the other Commodores, Pulsar SSS's, and WRX's out there rollin on 19 and 20" rims and rubber.

[R36 Dreamer]

As with any car, when you upsize the wheel, you have to reduce the tyre wall height to conserve the 'rolling diameter'.

Otherwise the gearing is all out, your speedo and odometer will be incorrect, and you are in a world of hurt.

Don't see why VW cars should be special in this regard. Apart from being a fairly uncommon stud pattern / offset combination, Vdubs are no different to all the other Commodores, Pulsar SSS's, and WRX's out there rollin on 19 and 20" rims and rubber.

I agree in part with your comments, however VW specifically say no aftermarket etc. rims, and that 19's can only be fitted from the factory - no other manufacturers I have dealt with have made this statement - even my VW GTI didnt make that statement.

I thought perhaps there was some adjustments made to the car at the factory so that it could accomodate 19s. Using the Toureg as an example, when the rear spare tyre is fitted to the tailgate (yuk!) it can only be done at the factory as changes are made to the suspension and other components to counter the additional weight (approx 100kg) sitting right at the back of the car.

I thought maybe that VW needed to change suspension components or adjust the electronics to take 19's - but given the allowable variance is only 3% they probably just dont believe (being german) that simple aussie folk would get it right!

Thanks for clearing it up.

Sidenote - I wish VW accidently fitted 19s to my ride when delivered !

[Lance B]

They are 19 x 8.5 with an ET of 45. The tyres l put on are 245/35.

How much were these rims? Where did you get them?

Thanks.

[Macka]

How much were these rims? Where did you get them?

Thanks.

Follow the link. Cost is about $300 per rim.

http://www.magwheel.com.au/Audi%20Wheels.htm

[Lance B]

Follow the link. Cost is about $300 per rim.

http://www.magwheel.com.au/Audi%20Wheels.htm

Thanks for the link.