Hoppy

You can get a very clean Golf R32 or Audi TT V6 for £10k now, complete with that wonderful DSG dual-clutch gearbox. Add another £10k of VAGtech turbo and you've got 400-450bhp of daily driver madness.

ft-400

Not the most sensible way to blow £20k, but putting that thought aside for a mo, what do you think?

Cheers

Richard.

Steve vRS

[sensible head] What sort of torque can the DSG take though? [/sensible head]

Steve

john banks

Not at all daft except the DSG torque issue.

john banks

If you don't need all wheel drive then a used 335i at about £19k for a year old with a Procede would give similar output.

Hoppy

My first thought also.

VAGtech development TT car has been running 360lbs/ft through a stock DSG box for some time, and is now a fair bit higher I believe. Posted some good quarter times and got good magazine write-ups (on the link).

The man at VAG tech (Jon) reckons that if this conversion has a weak spot, the DSG box isn't it.

Having chewed my way through two-and-a-half boxes on my Classic Scoob (third one on its way, I fear ) I am very wary of this.

I wonder if, given that the DSG box was new when these cars were built, maybe VW over-engineered them a bit? I also know that DSG boxes run a lot of power in other VW/Audis, but they are probably uprated or even completely different. I just don't know. Seeking reasurance on this really.

But the more I think about it, the OEM 3.2l V6 is a very fine drive out of the box. Give it 400bhp and turbo-style torque and we're surely knock knock knockin on heaven's door

Richard.

Hoppy

Tasty option John, and thanks for the thought, but I have been irrevocably smitten by that DSG box. This is what is leading me in an exclusively VW/Audi direction.

The way DSG changes so quickly, so seamlessly and smoothly without the inevitable and clumsy jerks you get with BMW's SMG, or anything other than a dual-clutch system. Just flick the paddles and fly Plus the lazy full-auto option. It's the future, I tell you.

Richard.

wrx287

iTrader: (8)

400 lb-ft is the maximum the DSG can cope with iirc.

john banks

The latest 335i has BMW's version of DSG, but there is a lot of fluff in the price as they are still very new. I don't find a torque converter auto like those in BMWs a problem though.

I'm sure DSG gearboxes are the future, but the future maintenance requirements would worry me. An old torque converter auto plus a large normally aspirated engine with cam chains rather than belts are nice as a used buy I think (as long as you can change the ATF). No clutches to change, no risk that it has been over-revved, no cam belt to be changed, no turbo/supercharger to replace, little detonation risk, no intercooler or pipework to worry about. High pressure fuel pumps/injectors will also likely cause many expensive headaches in the future, if they aren't doing already for a lot of diesel owners (who also have DPFs to worry about too).

Hoppy

LOL John You sound like a man who has suffered a few bouts of the modding blues. I am pretty fed up with it too, but somehow I can't resist

TBH I didn't think BMW's dual-clutch system had really hit the used market yet. I will take a look. 3 Series Beemer is a very nice place to start.

Richard.

TopBanana

Sounds like a good idea if your intent is to p1ss away £10k and end up with a boring car.

Hoppy

I know that this is not the most sensible way to blow £10k, but SN is no place for common sense at the best of times. I've got £20k and want some fun. Whatever else a 400bhp Golf or TT might be, boring doesn't appear on my list. Even a broken down nightmare is not boring, not as in dull, anyways.

What would you suggest?

HankScorpio

In your scenario, I'd probably look at 15k R32 or V6 TT and spend the remainder on moderate fettling (miltek, sport cat, induction, suspension, custom map).
There is still (at the moment) a market for cars with those types of mods but the conversion mentioned above...? You'd never get near that back and it would really restrict the future value and buyers.
Fair enough that it's your money and if you intend to keep till it's dead that's cool but I don't think the ancillaries and interior would last long enough to even out the deprecation to a sensible level and at the end you still have to get rid of it somewhere. Even if you keep it 8 years and scrap it, hasn't cost the earth but I just feel that will have been an EXTRA 10k depreciated that was unnecessary.

Hoppy

Good answer Hank There are lots of nice Mk 5 R32 Golfs for £13-15k which is half the new list and, providing this is the right choice for me I certainly intend to run it until it's dead so residuals are not a major consideration. (Scoob is nine years old with 140k.)

An extra £1k buys a remap and sports cat, which adds 20bhp and makes the car a nicer drive unfettered by the marketing/environmental benchmarks that OEM cars have to negotiate. Seems like a no-brainer and still some cash for suspension and brakes, although the R32 is already uprated there and since I no longer crave track days that department might be okay (can always nick the AP 6-pots off the Scoob though ). This route keeps the insurance sensible, too.

Then when I'm old and bored (after six months ) slap on the turbo and ruin everything

One thing I'll certainly do is fit some good tyres. Everybody talks about big power, diffs, ARBs and trick suspension but if you just want to go fast, grippy rubber makes a huge difference. Massive. Dunno why folks don't pay more attention to that. Racers do. All the time

Anyone want to tell me about the ups and downs of Haldex?

Cheers,

Richard.

HankScorpio

Get the controller remap (when you get this, at present, imaginary vehicle )

It will adjust where the power goes to give a much more of a "drivers" car. It's a bit too fwd favourable as it is.

wall

I have had a Mk5 R32 DSG since new and it's a great car with excellent standard handling + traction + brakes thus certainly able to manage some extra power ... I can only imagine how it would go with over 350hp ... !

TopBanana

Nearly all road cars end up boring no matter how fast you make them go. How about a proper sports car like a Caterham or a fast Elise, then buy a nice car like the Golf and just leave it be?

Or... if you have a bit of spare time... buy a old gravel rally car and enter a few events for a bit of fun.

Hoppy

If you buy a road car whose only virtue is speed, like my modded Scoob, then yes it can get boring as its impossible to use the performance for more than, say, 10% of the time. But you have to put up with the downsides of a quick car for the other 90%.

I'm looking to change that balance, but the two-car option has never appealed, and not just because of the obvious cost. I like to drive one car, all the time, not least perhaps because it's got all my ICE and music set up.

Things have changed a bit as I won't be doing track days, where any genuine road car (as opposed to a fun car) is just horribly compromised. This opens up a lot more more choice.

If I wanted pure motoring fun, I'd go karting with Club 100. Three grand for a 10-round national championship in pukka 2-stokes. Fantastic fun-per-poun£
Club 100 2 stroke arrive and drive sprint championship 2009 dates

Wall, thanks for your post

Richard.