lazerblue Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 Looking for Tsn'ers views on these 2 options. On face value and disclaimer that I have not driven either car yet my personal view on each car is: Remapped Golf Gti Positives - Looks (personal pref) Performance (250 bhp, 270lbtft torque + lighter car) Economy (30 mpg rather than 25) Aprox £ 2700 saving considering remap & fitting miltek exhaust Negatives - Warranty issues & insurance regarding modified cars. Possible torque steer issues putting the power through front wheels (any recommended suspension mods to avoid this) R32 Positives - 4 wheel drive V6 engine note On the face of it the GTi seems the preferable option given i am willing to risk the reliabilty issues of modifying it but would be interested in anybody who has considered and preferably gone through with either option. BTW great site & looking forward to your informed opinions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AGK512 Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 I've TD a gti and R32 and have the 32 on order. I personally would find the torque steer 'tiring' Had a couple of TD in Alfa 147 GTA's a couple of years ago ..... It's not the heavy fuel consumption I was worried about ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRobin Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 It depends how you drive but I've never found torque steer (I assume you mean understeer) a problem. Traction would be the potential problem with a re-mapped GTI....Again depending how sensitively you use your right foot (I've driven 270bhp GTI). Probably the biggest problem with 4WD is that when it loses it, it loses it big time! If I had an R32 the first thing I would want to do is a CarLimits course to find the car's limits. Much more important for any driver than a re-map IMO. Something not mentioned in your comparison is how each car feels to drive. It's not reasonable to claim that one car is better than the other - They each have unique features. I view them as 'brother' performance Golfs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L3ETT Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 [ QUOTE ] It depends how you drive but I've never found torque steer (I assume you mean understeer) a problem. [/ QUOTE ] torque steer isn't understeer, its when you accelerate and the power 'grabs' the steering wheel. It's a limitation of FWD really. This is the main reason I think chipped FWD cars suffer.. getting the power down in anything other than the dry is very hard! (And even then its difficult). I imagine once moving that the remapped GTI would be quicker thru the gears tho. [ QUOTE ] Probably the biggest problem with 4WD is that when it loses it, it loses it big time! If I had an R32 the first thing I would want to do is a CarLimits course to find the car's limits. [/ QUOTE ] What a wierd comment. When you reach the limits of 4WD you get a 4WD drift wide a bit like understeer but easier to control.. and I have to say thats pretty hard to do in the R. RWD is more scary when it 'loses' it.. or is that fun ... I can never tell I love being able to boot the car away from any junction in any weather without a hint of wheelspin, makes driving a lot easier IMHO. Personally if I was buying new now I'd probably go for the GTI, mainly cos I hate the looks of the new R32; although once you've driven the R for a while and got used to the loverly V6 sound, you won't want to go back trust me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRobin Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 [ QUOTE ] torque steer isn't understeer, its when you accelerate and the power 'grabs' the steering wheel. It's a limitation of FWD really. This is the main reason I think chipped FWD cars suffer.. getting the power down in anything other than the dry is very hard! (And even then its difficult). When you reach the limits of 4WD you get a 4WD drift wide a bit like understeer but easier to control.. and I have to say thats pretty hard to do in the R. I love being able to boot the car away from any junction in any weather without a hint of wheelspin, makes driving a lot easier IMHO. [/ QUOTE ] ....Okay, I just call it lack of traction rather than torque steer but thanks for letting me know about the term. EPS plus a more sensitive use of right foot solves it anyway. It's certainly a reason why I'm not over keen on re-mapping - I've got enough power in my GTI to enjoy. Each to their own but the whole 4WD thing feels too heavy for my taste but I've never pushed one into a drift. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKLooney Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 only had the car a couple of weeks and finally got past 1k on the clock (hadn't really taken much notice anyway). was out the other evening for a brisk run round some tricky b roads, ESP off and i was away. there had been some light rain and the roads where rather slippery. i was pushing pretty hard through the corners in an attempt to loose traction, there is a noticable sense of understeer until you boot it a little more, then the car breaks into a really controllable 4 wheel drift. Would have been in a field if i tried that in my 350z. Car felt very much in control and gave enough feedback to let me know what was going on (can't say that for my old TT225C). I see no benefits in having fwd other than a few less kilos. rwd? well that's a different story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woppum Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 Torque steer is the the tug on the wheel you get when accelerating. It happens because the front wheels are always trying to push straight when you put the power down. The only way to really cure it with front wheel drive cars is to add some heavy power steering, but then you loose the feel through the wheel and still have to face massive wheel spin when you put the power down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashleywater Posted May 13, 2006 Report Share Posted May 13, 2006 Well having the benefit of having both cars,in the family, so to speak, the missus runs an 06 gti,if performance is what you are looking for, there is no competition. The R32 absolutely pees all over the gti simple as that. Dont get me wrong here, the gti is an absolute cracker of a car,but in sheer performance terms no contest. Ok remap your gti, but the truth is you cant get the power down anyway, I see it as a pointless exercise. I drive both cars on a regular basis, and I make these comments based on that. If you were to widen the criteria for choosing one or the other, based on fuel consumption, running costs, practicality, driveability, fun factor etc, then the outcome could be rather different, but performance wise, total "no brainer" If I come up against a MK5 R in the wifes gti, you wont catch me getting in it's way........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R32North Posted May 13, 2006 Report Share Posted May 13, 2006 Well, I've owned an R32, driven 2 standard GTi's and now have a torque happy vRS. Lets put it this way, if I buy a new car and it has 225hp or more I want 4WD. Don't care what anyone says about tyres, traction, limits, etc, 4WD out performs 2WD when you get near the limits of a cars ability and have lots of power to put down. You have to ask why Subaru and Mitsi runs 4WD and why BMW uses RWD. I'm not saying that 250-270hp through the front wheels can't be used and controlled but the increased risk of major understeer and loss of control outweights and speed, power or 'drive' benefits that the remap GTi may have over the R32. I think what a large proportion of people whould like a car that looks, drives and handles like the GTi, but has 250hp and 4WD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vman Posted May 13, 2006 Report Share Posted May 13, 2006 Fagash32 I know you say the R32 is the faster car, but which do you find the most fun to drive?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oli Posted May 13, 2006 Report Share Posted May 13, 2006 [ QUOTE ] The R32 absolutely pees all over the gti simple as that. [/ QUOTE ] Thats a bit a bit strong, unless its wet, there is very little difference, especially with a normal average driver. I had a MK 4 R32, before the GTI( i know the MK4 had slightly less power than the new one), and I would say the difference is marginal, except in the wet, when yes the R32 would, as you so nicely worded it, pee all over the GTI. When you compare track times between them both, there is very little difference with a lot of people prefering the balance of the GTi, to the R32. As I said I like them both, put prefer the GTi for looks, driving and economy. I am going to Revo my GTI at some point and I will give you an accurate report then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazerblue Posted May 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2006 Thanks for all opinions. I think its going to come down to driving them, along with other cars on my shortlist, then hopefully decision will be clearer. Whilst on that subject anyone know a Yorkshire Dealer with a R32 available for Test Drive ? Called in at Gilders - Rotherham & Sheffield branches yesterday no R32 available for test drive , seemed to think I should spend 28K on a motor without even a 30 min spin in one. Sure not all stealers are like this but not impressed with VW based on this experiance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woppum Posted May 14, 2006 Report Share Posted May 14, 2006 Id do an autotrader search Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now