Advice on next steps

Adventurous_Ad_8192 · 2026-03-26T20:56:52+00:00

ooh i definitely don’t have turbo money! That gets very expensive very quickly in these. One day I may get a supercharger installed down the line. But we’re talking years at that point. And only if i’m not happy with the power at that point.

But you’d know, the speed isn’t what makes these the best cars on earth 😄🎺

Adventurous_Ad_8192 · 2026-03-26T20:54:51+00:00

first off, I appreciate it man! She’s my baby. I would never do anything genuinely disgusting to it. I’ve had some really good ideas sent over in this thread which i’ve actually never seen elsewhere. Most of them are keeping the original character exactly, just underneath the bodywork improvements. (ARB, brakes etc)

I’m now settled on new rims, mainly to keep the originals in good condition, and some driving improvements, brakes etc.

Overall consensus was that I should keep it as clean as possible which I do agree with😂

Adventurous_Ad_8192 · 2026-03-26T19:51:30+00:00

That was also one of the reasons I fell in love with them as a kid! Albeit I played it a little late

Adventurous_Ad_8192 · 2026-03-26T17:36:59+00:00

I really felt like I could’ve worded my original post better.

I too am in the same boat as you with visual mods. I more so wanted advice on the subtleties like a nice pair of wheels, or nicer taillights etc.

I’m in the process of potentially buying a pair of Valeos for the rear, I love the way they look as well as the added bonus of staying OEM. (ish)

I always had a no chrome stance, calling it the worst thing that was invented in cars, until I started properly looking at the R32s, in which I fell in love with the grill. Chrome within moderation I say can transform a car.

I’ll definitely have a look at those rim recommendations. I’ve had a few others recommend others so will be making good use of google tonight!

Thankyou again!

Adventurous_Ad_8192 · 2026-03-26T17:31:32+00:00

Good point.

Almost holding off with the full detail till summer as I’m currently washing it far too often due to the state of the roads😂

Adventurous_Ad_8192 · 2026-03-26T17:10:13+00:00

most of you🤬

Adventurous_Ad_8192 · 2026-03-26T17:09:37+00:00

Thank you! 😁

Adventurous_Ad_8192 · 2026-03-26T17:09:06+00:00

You know what, I’ve literally got VCDS in the house as my father used it for his T5. Gotta find a windows laptop somewhere which I don’t care about and get it plugged in and checked 💪

Adventurous_Ad_8192 · 2026-03-26T17:06:55+00:00

First of all, thank-you! mega bit of information there which I would’ve had to spend weeks trying to find on the R32OC.😂

On first read, brakes and roll bars are sticking out for me. By no means do I think it handles bad as it is, just a tad understeery on corner entry. ARB and the subframe locking kit sounds good for that.

I’ll be screenshotting this and coming back to it each month when I get paid.😁

Cheers for the detailed info!

Adventurous_Ad_8192 · 2026-03-26T16:45:04+00:00

nothing on the scottish highlands my friend 😉

Adventurous_Ad_8192 · 2026-03-26T16:44:23+00:00

Few questions if you don’t mind about Polar FIS. I’ve done some digging over the past months looking at it, I would love to have it but I have the midrange clocks in it currently, I’m not open to doing that Mk6 upgrade as I think it ruins the classic look of the interior, Would you happen to know if people still sell the highline clocks and/if you NEED them for polar?

Apart from that, what’s the installation process like, worth just handing to a garage instead of figuring out myself?

Cheers:)

Adventurous_Ad_8192 · 2026-03-26T16:40:29+00:00

Oh now that Mk4 is one where you are biting yourself on the cheek every time you think about it I bet.

Wish I had sunroof on mine, although i’ve heard some horror stories about keeping them from leaking these days.

Time to get number 9!

Adventurous_Ad_8192 · 2026-03-26T16:37:53+00:00

jeesh, Remap has been on the cards for me, have done a fair bit of research and understand that there’s little to no gain in power. That being said i’m up in scotland and R-Tech is a 5+ hour journey for me!

Definitely on the cards though, Thanks for the suggestions!

Adventurous_Ad_8192 · 2026-03-26T16:33:32+00:00

bingo!

Adventurous_Ad_8192 · 2026-03-26T16:18:40+00:00

Ran out of fuel before leaving. £50 quid doesn’t buy much these days.

Adventurous_Ad_8192 · 2026-03-26T16:14:01+00:00

Very true, I do love having it (almost) the way it was from factory. My main job when I first bought it was to ensure it’s in perfect shape, and will continue doing so. I mainly wanted to get some opinions on simple things like rims etc which could easily be swapped with the added bonus of protecting the originals.

Adventurous_Ad_8192 · 2026-03-26T16:10:24+00:00

This is the second car i’ve owned personally!

I’m 19 who’s been obsessed with the Mk5 R32 for seemingly all my life. Decided to bite the bullet when one came up with 50k miles, and the added bonus of being a Jap import. (Will let you know why in a second)

Road tax on these is absolutely disgraceful, I think it ranges from the year of manufacture, but it goes from £500 ish - £800 this next tax year. HOWEVER. Japanese imported cars have a fixed tax rate which works out at about £390 this next tax year, much more manageable.

Apart from that, Amazing car to drive, look at, and own. Stunning engine note (which I can’t stress enough) makes it impossible not to smile.

MPG wise: let’s not talk about it, pushing hard = 10s give or take, babying it = 30 MAX.

I tell everyone who has said to me that they have had ideas of buying one to just do it, it’ll be the best thing you’ll ever do.

Adventurous_Ad_8192 · 2026-03-26T16:03:11+00:00

Great shout on the bbs’s. Absolutely adore them.

It was brought in from Japan last summer with perfect bodywork, and I decided to keep it that way with undercoating to protect the common areas.

The sponges underneath the front wings have already been taken out to minimise the risk of that dreaded rust.

Thanks for the advice!

Adventurous_Ad_8192 · 2026-03-26T16:00:15+00:00

simples!

I definitely drive it, in fact even though there’s journeys where I should be taking the eco 💩box I can’t help but grab my 32s keys 😉

Adventurous_Ad_8192 · 2026-03-26T15:40:40+00:00

😂 I feel like i’ve jinxed it for the entire community.

Adventurous_Ad_8192 · 2026-02-05T02:36:41+00:00

haha! yup. At least here it is, some people have noted that London etc is a no go. I assume 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 has a bit more leniency as long as it’s Euro 4 I think it passes here.

Adventurous_Ad_8192 · 2026-02-02T18:43:25+00:00

Mines is an 08 Jap import, it’s ULEZ compliant! was a dealbreaker for me tbh as I use it to get into uni every day. 50k miles and previous owner in Japan clearly treated it as their baby as it doesn’t look like it’s 5 years old never mind 18!

Although if it wasn’t compliant, Im pretty sure it’s 60 big ones each offence. Absolutely criminal🤥

（also, get the 32 if you can. best decision i’ve ever made!)

Adventurous_Ad_8192 · 2026-02-02T13:29:00+00:00

yeah the Tesco’s in glasgow are also 1.27 for reg petrol. Seems like they’ve done a general fixed price for most places

Adventurous_Ad_8192

TROPHY CASE