2004 VW Golf R32 General
Information
Engine: 3.2L 15° VR6, 247 bhp, 236 ft-lbs
Transmission: 6-speed
manual, MQ350 transmission
Powertrain: 4-Motion
AWD (Haldex)
Wheels: 18” OZ
Aristo alloy wheels (45.7 x 19.1J cm / 18.0
x 7.5J in); 27-29 lb ea.
Tires: Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 225/40ZR-18
Brakes: all
vented; 334 mm (13.1 in) front, 256 mm (10 in) rear
Calipers: 2-piston
front, 1-piston rear; blue-coated
Colours
available (% of production): Deep Blue Pearl
(40%), Reflex Silver (35%), Black Magic Pearl (15%), Tornado Red (10%)
Seats: by
Koenig; cloth, standard with leatherette inserts (35%); Full leather (65%)
Interior trim: brushed
aluminum
Steering: shortened
rack (2.6 turns lock-to-lock)
Steering wheel: leather-wrapped,
thicker with thumb cut-outs
Number of vehicles produced for the U.S.: 5000
VW estimated mileage: 19 mpg (city), 26 mpg
(highway)
VW estimated fuel cost: $1142 per year
For official information on the U.S. R32, click here for standard equipment and here for technical specifications.
Official VW accessories for the 2004 U.S. R32 are here. I prefer using Foxit Reader to view pdf
files; Foxit is available for free download.
Most of this stuff I cleaned up and edited
from the forums at VWvortex:
R32 FAQ.
U.S.-spec. vs. Euro-spec 2004 R32:
some differences with the European-spec. 2004 VW Golf R32 and other
information.
2004 MkIV R32 vs. 2008 MkV R32: some
reported differences between the U.S.-spec. versions.
R32 dimensions and additional
technical specifications.
Available performance mods
and their reported power gains for the R32.
What do you get over a 1.8T for $30,000?
History of the R32 as it relates to the
U.S. market.
Wonderful news (23OCT2008): after almost 5 years the R32 is now
admissible in Canada! Hurrah!
Previously the R32 was completely inadmissible
– no mere bumper change could let you insure an R in Canada, at least, not
until 2019.
Check out the updated Canada U.S. Vehicle Admissibility List (pdf).
The Golf IV R32 shares most of
its major components—including engine, AWD system, front and rear suspension
geometries—with the 3.2L Audi TT. Five
thousand 2004 R32s were produced for the U.S. market to be sold over a two
year period. In January-February 2004,
the first R32s began to arrive in the U.S. and thirteen months later all 5000
units were sold with little or no advertising.
The R32 remains the quickest
car Volkswagen has imported to the United States. A stock MkIV R32 is capable
of 60 mph in only 5.8 seconds, and clears the 1/4 mile in only 13.9 @ 97mph.
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R32 maintenance
Here is the R32 full maintenance schedule, from
VWoA as of 19 May 2010. You’ll note
that the Haldex oil and filter is scheduled
to be changed every 40k miles.
However, Volkswagen Driver magazine (March 2004) published this
article, 4Motion maintenance, Haldex servicing?,
which—in addition to a DIY—said the Haldex oil should be changed every 20k,
and the Haldex filter every 40k.
Haldex oil cartridge, Part no. G 052 175 A1
Haldex filter, Part no. 02D 525 558 A
Haldex tool, Part no. T10066 (needed to remove the filter)
Haldex update (13 February 2007): Early
last week I contacted VW Customer Care for
clarification as to when the Haldex oil & filter should be changed. A few days later they phoned to reassure me
they were researching my question; today they contacted me once more with an
answer. The VW representative had no
explanation for the article in VW Driver magazine, but told me definitely
that the Haldex oil and filter
should be changed every 40k miles.
Obviously
this is contrary to the article in VW Driver magazine and the consensus
on VWvortex
(oil at 20k miles, filter every 40k miles).
For myself, I’m going to stick with changing oil & filter every
40k.
MkIV fuse list—I recently found this information
to be very handy. This was originally
posted on VWvortex so I can’t vouch for its 100% accuracy. On the other hand, the ones I have tried
have been correct. The list also
includes a handy-dandy picture (not mine) of the fuse box.
I followed these instructions when I aimed my HIDs: aiming headlamps (*.pdf). I took them from the Daniel Stern Lighting website.
Technical
Service Bulletin (19 May 2010): I downloaded the TSBs
for the 2004 Volkswagen R32. This
information came from the Office of Defects Investigation of the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,
USA.
15 February 2007: There is now a recall notice for the brake light switch.
Service
Action 60A7/S9 (7th May 2010):
VW has a service action (for models 1997-2009) for the moonroof
drain. I’ve also received a couple
notices about how to receive reimbursement if you paid for water damages
prior to settlement of the class action lawsuit. I haven’t had any problems, but according
to the letter I received from VW some vehicles have had moist debris clog the
drains leading to water entering the passenger compartment. With the letter was an insert for the
owner’s manual regarding sunroof maintenance every 40,000 miles or 2
years. This 60A7/S9 expires on 31st
December 2011 after which it
will no longer be performed free of charge.
Service Action 60A7/S9 – “Inspect,
Clean and Modify Sunroof Drains for Certain Volkswagen Vehicles and Revised
Maintenance Schedule – Sunroof Drain Inspection and Cleaning”.
Despite only lowering the R 10mm I was still
concerned about the effect of installing the HPA SHS on wheel alignment. It all worked out without the need for
control arms, but fyi: 2004 VW R32 wheel alignment
specifications.
Power Steering Fluid: Part No. G-002-012.
Please note that this fluid is mineral based, not ATF nor hydraulic
oil. Mixing and matching not
recommended.
R32
and VW colour codes.
Strange
sounds the R32 makes.
List of light
bulbs for the R32.
Motor
Oil: The R32 owner’s manual
recommends synthetic 5W-40 motor
oil that meets or exceeds ACEA A3
and VW 502.00 specifications. If 5W-40 is not available, then 5W-30, if
it meets the above specs, is also suitable.
I’ve been using Valvoline Synpower 5W-40, but it’s been difficult to find a local
shop that sells it or even has it in stock, let alone any other suitable
5W-40 oil. Luckily, I found an online
store that sells Valvoline 5W-40, among other oils.
Product information for Valvoline Synpower motor oils.
fyi, Amsoil
sells 5W-40 that is supposed to meet the required specifications.
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Golf
R32 and VW advertisements
I found a couple
ads/descriptions of the U.S. R32 that was originally posted on the official VWoA
website, from before (VWoA R32 introduction) and after (VWoA R32 no-longer available) the R32 was
sold-out. I wish I’d thought of saving
the whole official VWoA description of the R32 they had up, but this will
have to do :o(
Here are some neat Golf R32 print ads:
Wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Overtake faster—bus.
Overtake faster—concrete.
Overtake faster—firetruck.
Overtake faster—trailer.
Overtake faster—wood.
Golf R32.
Perfectly tuned.
Some general Volkswagen ads:
VW Genuine Parts—the dislaimers on these two
are pretty funny. :o)
No Fear
1.
No Fear
2.
Home
of VW.
The Golf TDI.
Unbelievable Acceleration.
It’s
ugly but it gets you there.
Eh? Is Volkswagen really saying
VWs are ugly?
VW
Caddy. This one is a little….
VW Polo. :o)
VW LT.
For
the love of automobiles. First
things first, eh?
Here are another two ads for Polo: Small but tough, and Polo
Ladies Cup.
It looks like VW has only been doing minimal
advertising for the MkV 2008 Golf R32 being sold in August 2007. I haven’t seen any save for the above print
ads I uploaded. I have, however,
received a couple e-mails from VWoA.
Back in February 2007 I received an e-mail
form VWoA stating they were now accepting
reservations for the 2008 R32.
Like the 2004, only 5000 units.
In April 2007 I received a second e-mail,
stating only 250 MkV R32 are remaining. Not bad, for a car that won’t even reach
the United States for another four months.
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R32 Videos
Here are some videos I’ve found on various places on the
internet. Some are R32 reviews, a few
are commercials for the R32.
Here’s a R32 Quicktime movie (5.69 MB).
Looks to me like an official VW video introducing the R32
(European-spec). Pretty nice! Watching it makes me want to go out for a
drive :o)
A review (73.6 MB) of the R32 from
Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson. I like
this one because he briefly compares it to the R32’s ‘real’ competitors—other
European hot hatches, since the R32 originally wasn’t planned to be marketed
in North America. Plus, for J.
Clarkson, the R32 came out on top :o)
A video
(20.2 MB) from MotorWeek reviewing the North American R32.
Edmunds Magazine Rack (?) also reviewed
(15.6 MB) the R32.
This is a Japanese R32 commercial (17.6 MB).
Here are two versions of a German R32
commercial, one (4.48 MB) and two (1 MB).
Another R32
video (13.2 MB) from Germany—looks like a compilation from various
sources. Well done, so I decided to
include it here.
Here are three short videos (courtesy of my
brother) of me passing and being passed.
The background noise is kind of loud, but you can still hear the
exhaust :o)—video
1 (1.66 MB, mpg); video 2 (0.67 MB, mpg); video 3 (0.54
MB, mpg).
Here are some videos that are VW-related but with no R32
content. How come I never see these in
North America?!
This is a VW commercial for the MkV
Golf GTI (5.78 MB, Quicktime).
It’s a spoof of Singing in the
Rain.
A second VW commercial that I think is pretty
funny, VW
Family (1.17 MB, wmv file).
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