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20
October 2006
I guess it was only a matter of time, but two
of my valve stem caps were stolen.
It’s not the first time, and probably not the last. :o(
At first I thought it was my remaining two .:R-line
caps that were taken, but no, I still have one left. Ugh.
8
October 2006
A mildly mortifying battery update.
28
September 2006
I updated the R’s fuel consumption data. Break out the champagne!
Green-top ECT sensor update.
8
September 2006
Updated the R’s fuel consumption data. Data for previous years can be found in R32 information.
3
September 2006
Nothing too spectacular with this update. I visited the Steven F.
Udvar-Hazy Center and was mightily impressed with how much parking they
had. :o) Even while inside the Center,
I was still able to check
up on my R's welfare.
30
August 2006
It’s always a pleasant surprise when I find
another Golf IV R32 review. This
article is from Automotive Trends and can be found in R32 reviews.
27
August 2006
Updated my personal fuel consumption. Fuel data for previous years can be found
on R32 information.
Waaaay back in November 2004 I purchased a VW mobile phone holder. I guess it was about time I uploaded it
here, eh?
17
August 2006
Yesterday I had to have the R’s battery replaced.
Follow the link to check out my ordeal.
12
August 2006
Updated some general information on the R32:
follow the .:R :o)
10
August 2006
I’ve uploaded the wheel
alignment specifications for the 2004 R32. The permanent link is under R32 maintenance.
6
August 2006
Last weekend I decided to re-wax. I was reminded once again just how easy Glanz Wax is to apply. Follow the link for pictures.
After washing and waxing on Sunday morning, I
went out looking for a location where I could test my rev limiter—the R was
re-flashed a couple weeks ago—without the noise bothering anyone. I decided to take some pictures while I was there.
29
July 2006
Yesterday I stopped by Pro-Imports
to have them check for codes—as a follow up to last week. Good news—the R had a clean bill of health
:o)
Last weekend I had the R re-flashed at EIP Tuning.
I’d noticed that occasionally at cold-starts the
engine would stay at 1200 rpms instead of dropping back to 600-700 rpms
within a half second or so. I also
thought that as I down-shifted into 3rd the throttle was less
responsive when I blipped it in neutral.
I’d had the cold-start update from EIP Tuning last year, but I stopped by to have them take
a look last Saturday.
EIP Tuning told me that the R should actually be staying
at 1200 rpms for about 20 seconds before dropping back down… say what?
So far I’m impressed with how much merely
replacing the engine coolant temperature sensor has
improved performance. It’s still too
early to say for certain, but I think my mileage has also improved by roughly
2-3 mpg… maybe even 4 mpg.
I updated my fuel consumption data for 2006. Data for previous years can be found on R32
information.
This morning someone asked me about my R. He wanted to know if it was a Rabbit
(fyi, the Rabbit is VW’s reiteration of the Golf on a MkV platform). I attempted to explain the differences but
I left with the impression it didn’t get through to him—he seemed fairly
stuck on Rabbits. He also
wanted to know if I’d imported my R or purchased it domestically. I explained to him that, yes, the R was
sold in the U.S., but that only used MkIV R32s are currently available.
20
July 2006
Updated Favourite links.
19
July 2006
As I said in my previous update, on Saturday I
had a MIL come on so I made an
appointment at Pro-Imports for today.
Just my luck, the MIL disappeared yesterday evening. I had Pro-Imports check for codes, anyway,
and I had four faults, all of them having to do with cylinders misfiring
(cylinders 1, 2, and 3). They cleared
the codes, and recommended I drive the R for a week and then bring it back in
to see if any new codes come up.
Since I was already having the R looked at, I
decided to have my engine coolant temperature sensor replaced as a
preventative measure—one of the TSBs for the R32 pertains to this. Click the link for details and pics.
16
July 2006
On the upside, this weekend I replaced my driver’s
side ceiling grab handle with a VW OEM sunglass holder. It’s a straight swap, but as it’s not
offered in black I had to paint it myself.
Click the link for more details.
On the downside, my R32 came down with the
MIL, also known as the dreaded check-engine light. Wangos!
Tomorrow morning I’m going to have to make an appointment to have it
diagnosed.
8
July 2006
Yesterday, a 2004 VW Golf R32 (Reflex silver—a
great casting choice, by the way) had a significant cameo on one of my
favourite television shows, Monk.
It was the season premiere, titled Mr.
Monk and the Actor, and aired at 9pm EST on USA
Network. It’s actually being
re-aired as I type this, from 5:30pm-6:30pm (EST). The R32 shows up near the end of the
episode when the villain is handcuffed to the passenger door handle. I hope they didn’t scratch up the paint
;o)
In case you missed it, the next time it’s
showing is tomorrow, Sunday, 9 July 2006 at 12pm (EST). If that’s not enough for you, the full
schedule of additional show-times can be found at the official Monk website.
I really wish I had some way of getting a
screen-capture to post it. Oh
well. I guess you’ll have to make do
with these,
these, and
maybe some of these,
too :o)
24
June 2006
A couple weeks ago I decided that I should
have cleaned my exhaust tips a long
time ago. Check out Wash & Wax for details and preliminary results.
Added links to Einszett
and Open Road Motoring Accessories to Favourite links.
In R32 maintenance I added the
instructions I followed to correctly aim my HIDs.
17
June 2006
Not much new that’s R32-related this week, but
I’ve updated my fuel consumption data for 2006.
I also gave this site a new look. Hope you like it!
5
June 2006
It occurred to me that all of my recent shots
of the R were taken with the R in the shade (to get reflection
pictures). To remedy this I took a few pics in the sun :o)
For those who wanted but missed out on getting
a R32, it looks fairly certain that North America will be getting the Golf V
R32 in July 2007: 250hp, 3.2L VR6, 3-doors, with DSG only. You can look here for more details.
27 May 2006
This morning I tried out Einszett’s Metallic Polish Wax and Glanz Wax.
Results and my impressions are here.
24 May 2006
I downloaded the TSBs for the 2004 Volkswagen Golf R32 from
the NHTSA. Right now there
are only four and I’m keeping this information under R32 maintenance.
Updated Favourite links.
20 May 2006
Earlier this year I bought the Mr.
Clean AutoDry Carwash for the times I simply wanted to rinse off salt or
pollen without having to do a full wash and dry. I was lead to make this purchase because I
had hard, visual evidence that water-spots are darned ugly. There’s no way I’m hand-drying a dirty
car! Anywhoo, I bought it just for the
hard-water filter—I’ve no intention of ever using the special soap. The filter certainly worked, but be
forewarned: the water pressure with
the filter is fairly feeble.
14 May 2006—Happy Mothers’ Day!
I bought some billet aluminum upper dash vents at the R32 GTG, yesterday. I installed them today and took some pictures.
These billet vent covers are sold in pairs by EIP
Tuning.
13 May 2006
The 2nd East Coast R32 GTG is today
and tomorrow. Check out Events and GTGs for pictures and notes.
Today I uploaded the R’s maintenance schedule from VWoA. My next service is at 30k miles, with a
Haldex oil and filter every 40k. I’m
going to have my Haldex oil changed at 30k, though—according to this article from Driver Gear magazine
(published March 2004) the Haldex oil should be changed every 20k, and the
Haldex filter every 40k. This info is
going in R32 maintenance under R32 information.
My 20k service was in March, and I went to Pro-Imports
because I’m not going to a dealership again except for warranty work. I’d been to Pro-Imports previously to get
some things done, and I’ve always been happy with their service and work. Well, one of my Lexan headlight covers was cracked, but that
could have happened to anyone, and it’s still useable.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but my coilovers were installed on the eve of the 2nd
anniversary of happy R-ownership :o)
Talk about a great birthday present, eh?
10 May 2006
On Sunday I washed the R and afterwards put on
some Blackfire Deep Gloss Spray. Check
out Blackfire results for pics and my overall
impressions, to date.
Earlier this month I took a few pictures after washing the R.
Another 2004 R32 review, this time in Ride & Drive, posted October 2004.
2 May 2006
I found another review of the 2004 R32,
published in the Austin American-Statesman (June 2004). If you don’t feel like searching through
the entire list of R32 articles, click here.
Yesterday, I put a 4th coat of
Blackfire’s Wet Diamond AFPP on the R.
That’s probably going to be it for this spring/summer. In the autumn I might add another coat to
prep for winter.
FYI, next weekend is the 2nd East Coast R32 GTG at EIP.
30
April 2006
Wow, I found another review of the MkIV
R32. Published in Driving Sports Magazine,
the review is here, by Ryan Douthit.
I placed it with all the other R32 articles.
I also updated my personal fuel consumption data
for 2006.
Check out R32
information for previous years.
29
April 2006
Hmmm… well… oh, what the heck. I took some pictures from the Herbie and
Friends tour in May last year. Better
late than never, eh? Check them out in
Events and GTGs.
For those interested, here’s a list of visitors by country in March 2006.
23
April 2006
Two weeks ago a passenger accidentally snapped
off the seat release handle. Luckily,
it’s an easy enough job to replace, and a relatively inexpensive part, to
boot. Check-out my mods and parts page if you’re interested.
Recently I’ve noticed that I have a lot of
chips on my front bumper. Ugh. I guess the paint on the new (though it’s
not exactly ‘new’, anymore) bumper isn’t as ‘hard’ as it was on the
original. I finally couldn’t stand the
black spots, so I went over them with touch-up paint—now I have silver spots
on a silver car [/sigh]. Oh well, I
lack the patience to do a proper job of it.
2
April 2006
It’s been almost a year since I’d last applied
a coat of Klasse SG. I’m very
impressed (and thankful!) for the durability of the Klasse AIO/SG. Nevertheless, I’d decided to try something
different—Blackfire Gloss Enhancing
Polish and Blackfire Wet Diamond
All Finish Paint Protection. I
think the wetness of the shine is better than the Klasse twins, and I hope
the durability will at least be close.
I uploaded a lot of pictures today as evidence of my hard work
;o) Check out Wash & Wax and Exterior pictures
for the pictures.
31
March 2006
When I had my cold air intake installed I
opted for including the AEM bypass valve.
With the K&N positioned so low, I wanted the added insurance
against hydrolock. I’ve finally
uploaded a review of the AEM BPV—the link is found under the description of
my CCAI.
As a mini-celebration to myself for finishing
my R, I decided it was high time I replaced my old GTI monster mats with .:R-line monster mats.
Updated Favourite links.
I uploaded a couple pics of some of the
official VW R32 ads/promos that used to be on the VWoA site. I placed the links under R32 General Information.
25
March 2006
Project
complete!
All the performance modifications I wanted for
my R32 have now been installed :o)
Hurrah! When I first purchased
this car, I ultimately wanted to get three things: HIDs, upgraded suspension,
and a rear sway bar. Due to fortune
(of the good kind!) and a change of mind, I went a little above and beyond
that. In order of installation:
EIP short shift and lower rear transmission
mount (July 2004)
EIP ECU upgrade (April 2005)
VW OEM HIDs (May 2005)
H&R 21mm RSB (May 2005)
EIP CCAI (May 2005)
HPA Motorsports SHS coilover suspension (March
2006)--installed Monday this week.
Having driven it for almost a week, now, I don’t know why I was
initially hesitant about installing it.
Anywhoo, more information on Parts & Accessories.
Any future modifications will be
purely cosmetic :o)
On the R32 information page under General Information
I’ve included the MkIV fuse list—originally posted on VWvortex—because I
found it very useful earlier this week.
I also updated my personal fuel consumption data for this year.
This weekend is the Cherry Blossom Festival in
Washington, DC. Because driving in DC
is a chore and pain at anytime, especially this weekend, I found my own
cherry trees in a less crowded location.
Check out Exterior
pictures.
15
February 2006
Last weekend we had a pretty big snow
storm. I took a few pictures after I
had some fun :o) The pictures are in Exterior pictures. I really need to get an ice scraper. There’s no way I’d use it on the paint, but
glass is fair game.
5
February 2006
I updated my fuel consumption data on the R32 information
page. I split them into years: 2004, 2005, and 2006.
30
January 2006
Last weekend I replaced all the wiper blades
on the R. For more information on this
engrossing and exciting development check out Parts
& Accessories. ;o)
29
January 2006
Wow.
It’s been too long since my last update. That’s what you get for being lazy :o) I updated some links on Favourite links,
including my blog which includes stuff that may or may not be
R32 related.
There’s another article on R32 reviews from European Car, “My R32 Blues”.
I added a picture of my HID beam pattern on Parts
& Accessories.
Last year, VWoA thoughtfully sent me a decal
exempting the R32 from 2-wheel dynos, for obvious reasons. I had no idea it was missing. It’s on Parts
& Accessories.
Some more exterior shots. Check out Exterior pictures.
Hey, it’s been a while!
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