The Baconator's latest victim

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Yeah, good call, forgot about those.

[OllieVR6 0]

There's more Jap than German there...nothing wrong with that although I do find the Jap interiors lacking quality somewhat.

 

My two best mates both have 350Z's, very affordable these days perhaps worth a look?

 

From your list I'd go for a DC5 if I wanted Jap but if I wanted German I'd probably be looking at something from VAG only because I'd want something with 4 wheel drive.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

The DC5 has a very decent interior. Sat in one a long time ago and it immediately felt comfortable and right. Proper Recaros ;)

 

I don't like 350Zs I'm afraid, but cheers for the suggestion!

 

I don't like modern VAGs in general either. Dull to drive, lifeless steering, unreliable, over-priced and Audis have a serious image problem right now.

 

Only MK5 R32s interest me from the VAG stable (and B7 RS4s, if I can live being an 'Audi driver'), and that's mainly for the Haldex as you say, and that engine, mmmm, the engine :D

 

The DC5 is the only thing Corrado like in the list, which is probably why it's in my top 5 of definite maybes.

[Jim 1]

Sod all that modern stuff...

 

http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/ford/mustang/1965-ford-mustang-coupe-289-v8-automatic/992244

 

Free road tax too.. help offset the diabolical fuel economy a bit ;)

[Jim Bowen 1]

I always think an Audi S2 will make a good corrado replacement, shame they getting just as old now.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Sod all that modern stuff...

 

http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/ford/mustang/1965-ford-mustang-coupe-289-v8-automatic/992244

 

Free road tax too.. help offset the diabolical fuel economy a bit ;)

 

That's proper Mad Max that! Simple motoring doesn't come any more basic than that too, so good call!

 

I always think an Audi S2 will make a good corrado replacement, shame they getting just as old now.

 

Even more of a money pit than a Corrado unfortunately, but again, good shout! Old school reliability and capable of big power!

[GrahamU 5]

I had an Audi coupe before my first G60. The rado was like a go-kart compared to the big, heavy wollowy Audi

[KipVR 1]

You couldn't ask for a better looked after M5 than Pete's one! Should hold its value too...

[Kevin Bacon 5]

After selling the Corrado last septemberish, I've been tooling around in a Rover 25 and an Alfa 147 (ex family cars) whilst slowly researching a Rado replacement. It was nice having cars I didn't care about and could leave anywhere and not tinker with, but I would steer anyone away from Alfas. Complete money pits. Even the dull ones! £450 for a cambelt change, £180 spark plugs, 28 mpg average (150hp 2.0!!), mega thirst for 10W/60 and so on...

 

I test drove and researched several cars, including an E34 M5 which blew it's head gasket and rear brake lines on the test run, which was slightly amusing :)

 

Anyway, when it came down to it, VWs are in my blood, so that's what I've stuck with.

 

So here it is, a 2004 MK4 R32 with 52K on the clock. I went for a silver one as the blue and black ones are a bit too blingy for me. I like subtle Standard toys are: Auto wipers, auto dim mirror, xenons & climatronic. This car has the following options: sunroof, full heated leather and cruise control.

 

I've never really been interested in MK4s in the past but R32s have a real character and is quite a good looking car imo :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was completely standard when I got it but I got it remapped at Stealth last weekend. Unfortunately their rollers were broken on the day, so no power run :( It feels about 260ish on my butt dyno though.

 

Mods to do:-

 

Very rare 3 panel seat bases. I believe they are US spec and weren't available in Europe. I stumbled on them on the R32OC and snapped them up. Reason being, I hate the way the 2 panel bases sag, like this....

 

 

They are otherwise hard wearing seats and are extremely comfortable, but these will fix the sagging :) The wires are for the heating. Even the bolsters are heated.

 

 

Another mod is a common one. A cooling fan resistor pack. The fans on these cars are 2 speed. Climatronic turns the low speed on when the AC is on to keep the condenser cool (aka A/C radiator) but the resistors built into the fans burn out, so no fans! £400 fix from VW, or a this £45 fix :) Not even the newer VWs are free of fan problems!

 

 

Maintenance work so far has just been the replacement of the driver's side door lock module, which is another common fault that causes the C/L, fuel pump priming, puddle lights and interior lights to do odd things.

 

What I like about it is I can go into a dealer and they know what a MK4 Golf is and parts are readily available and sensibly priced. I wish that were true of the Corrado!

 

Having had the pleasure of driving Pat McCrotch's MK5 R32 DSG, the MK4 is a noticable step down in quality, but to me it drives better and you don't notice the engine weight as much as you do in the MK5 or a Rado VR6. Mainly because it's so firmly sprung and damped. MUCH stiffer than either car! There's a few rattles and squeaks I need to tackle but that'll be easy with my experience of doing the same to the Corrado and missing clips and interior panels/parts are readily available!

 

It's nowhere near as fast as the Corrado was (in it's R32 form) but it can certainly corner faster and flatter though. It's a decieving car in as much as it makes a lot of fruity noises, but you look at the speedo and think "Is that all??!" It was the other way round in the Corrado! The speedo climbed round nearly as fast as the tacho :)

 

Still, knowing me, it probably won't be long before a turbo finds it's way under the bonnet! But for now, it's fast enough as a daily hack.

 

If you like Corrados and want to move up to something a bit more modern and has great handling out of the box, you can do a lot worse than a MK4 R!

 

As ever, my tinkering will be fully documented ;)

[BILLCOR 1]

Very nice Kev, I loved my Mk4 R, it was a brand new 5dr, only got rid as it was the wifes daily and all I ever heard was how much fuel cost.....pah

[Sean_Jaymo 0]

Great cars, I had a GT Tdi many moons ago. Great around car but had a habit of eating rear axle bushes and break light switches oddly!

 

A Classic car for the future for sure that looks still quite fresh for its age! I'm sure you've read all of the horror stories of timing chains?

[clumpy1 11]

Very nice Kev couldn't resist the lure of the 32 can't fault you the sound is awesome :salute:

[lewvw 10]

Stunning, that's where i'm headed too eventually. How fast are we talking in comparison to a standard VR Corrado? I'm pretty happy with the performance but I don't really want any less. Also any common haldex issues?

[Jim 1]

Super choice and destined for future classic status surely... I honestly don't remember the last time I saw one of these on the road! :) Very nice indeed mate.

[MarkFoster 0]

Jesus Kev, is that tyre dressing I can see?!?! - That won't last, lol.

 

Good to see you back in the game mate; presumably you got through that house move finally..?

 

M.

[coullstar 0]

I have to admit I didnt like these when they were realtively new but Ive grown to like them now. Im even contemplating one as a daily.....I have to keep my oil company customers in buisness!!!!

[Goldie 2]

I'm a big fan of these. Some nice extras on there as well.

[alex303 0]

Very nice new ride there Kev (same colour & options list as mine), you'll love it in the bad weather (very sure footed) ... Haldex is great!

[Portent 0]

Good choice. I really love these and definitely miss my old mk4 4motion. It was so much beret built than my mk6. I can see myself in a mk4 r32 at some point.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Cheers guys :)

 

Yeah the chains. Common stretching issue on MK4s and early MK5s but rest assured, that job is already planned for the near future ;)

I can keep an eye on the stretch with VCDS in measuring blocks 208 and 209 though. Actual snapping is very rare though and like anything else, preventative maintenance is key. I knew about the chains before I bought it and having done them on an R32 before, it's a simple job. It's a lot more work on a MK4/5 though. Full front end off, subframe down etc etc. 1.5 - 2 days labour for a professional.

 

Yeah I don't see MK4 Rs on the road either. See plenty of MK5s though! I also think the MK4 will eventually become a classic like the Corrado. The last of the big engined hatchbacks from VW. Prices have pretty much floored on MK4s now. High milers start at around £5K and go up to £8K for low mileage minters.

 

Versus a Corrado VR6. It's been so long since I drove a standard one, I honestly can't say! Plenty of VR6 owners say they can keep up with one and I'd say that's a fair assesment. Only 50 more hp to lug around an extra 300kg levels the playing field! What I would say though is, if an R gets the jump on a VR6 with it's mega bottom end torque, I think the VR6 would struggle to catch it again if both throttles were pinned. Remap an R to 260-270 and extend the rev limit to 7000, then I think the R would have the advantage but you'd need a massively long stretch of clear road to see it because the MK4 isn't as streamlined as the Corrado.

 

I did consider an S3 as they can be tuned easily and understeer less, but I think the R is much better looking and both the R and the S3 can hit 280hp before things start getting expensive, so the charisma and smoothness of the V6 made it the better choice.

 

Definitely a good car overall and there's so many toys available for it! A bigger rear arb apparently shifts all the understeer (which I haven't experienced yet under normal driving, wet or dry) and a number of Haldex mods can give you an R that oversteers on demand :)

Cayene 6 pots bolt on, as do RS4 (b7) calipers and running 18s as standard, clearance isn't much of an issue. Speaking of 18s, I was surprised to find they are cheaper than 17s!! 225/40/18 is apparently a very common size these days. Happy days :)

 

So today I did the seats...

 

I can see why these cars are 1500kg, the front seats are bloody heavy, but anyway, here's one all stripped down. The seats are fully rebuildable but the leather covers are eye wateringly expensive. Just as well they wear well!

 

Definitely a deja vu experience, having been here before with the Rado a a few times!

 

 

More deja vu. A good example of why people shouldn't sit on the bolster when they climb aboard and get out!

 

 

And the usual fix. Self adhesive felt from John Lewis's habberdashery department :) This stuff has cured many a rattle and fixed many a bolster over the years!

 

 

The end result of all that faff was turning the seats from this....

 

 

...into this. Much neater I'm sure you'll agree. The 3rd partition in the base should reduce any unsightly sagging as the miles pile on.

 

 

That'll do for now! Cheers for the compliments guys :)

 

---------- Post added at 7:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 7:43 PM ----------

 

Also any common haldex issues?

 

There are indeed.

 

2 things to check when buying an R (or any Haldex equipped VAG):-

 

1) That you can establish comms with the Haldex ECU with VAG-COM. If you can't, it's not the end of the world as you can pick up used ECUs (has the pump etc built in as one unit) pretty cheaply and a good excuse to upgrade to a blue controller (more aggressive torque transfer to the rear wheels).

 

2) Drive the car very slowly at full lock in both directions (and reverse) and listen for horrible noises and a rear wheel skipping. If this happens, the haldex is shot. But it could also be a dodgy handbrake switch as lifting the handbrake one notch disengages the Haldex, so it could just be a simple thing. 9 times in 10 though, it's the Haldex.

 

It's not that common to suffer these problems though and so long as the car hasn't been abused and the haldex oil and filter changed every 20K, it'll be fine.

[robrado974 1]

Great car the r , i loved going out in robs one ,sadly he had to sell it , few months later back in a rado though !. Enjoy !

[Craig 0]

Very nice mate. I toyed with selling the VR for one of these as a more modern alternative but opted for the rotrex instead :) I had a drive of a mates 4motion and didn't feel the driving position was as engaging but it was a nice place to be. I've noticed a grey one is now parked in John Lewis everyday as I walk to work and always stare as I walk past, even with a bit of a round rear end it just has that appeal :) I've also been watching a few vids on you tube recently and I do love the 24v exhaust note :)

 

Look forward to the updates

[clumpy1 11]

The noise is amazing along with the rather brisk acceleration

[alex303 0]

Kevin, i'm sure you know this already but i'd say that the 'Blue or Performance' Haldex controller is one of the best & simplest mods you can do to these, just makes the AWD system actually do some 'real' work...difference from the stock one was like night & day for me. Worth every penny IMHO.

 

Good work with the new ride, keep the pics coming.

 

 

Definitely a good car overall and there's so many toys available for it! A bigger rear arb apparently shifts all the understeer (which I haven't experienced yet under normal driving, wet or dry) and a number of Haldex mods can give you an R that oversteers on demand :)

Cayene 6 pots bolt on, as do RS4 (b7) calipers and running 18s as standard, clearance isn't much of an issue. Speaking of 18s, I was surprised to find they are cheaper than 17s!! 225/40/18 is apparently a very common size these days. Happy days :)

[CazzaVR 0]

Very nice. Saw one just like this the other day- I remember thinking it was the first MKIV R I'd seen in absolutely ages. See quite a few MKV's around. Is the exhaust boomy at all? I remember a couple of the reviews at the time complained about it.