A45 vs Focus RS vs Golf R

A class has a nasty interior... I would personally discount it for that. The later ones have greatly improved gearboxes though (software changes, hardware is identical)
 
Nasher said:
With perfect gear changes it's not going to make a huge difference tbh
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Yes it makes a huge difference! The manual VS DSG in the Golf R even if a pro gear changer showing no mercy is pretty much a full second off the pace in the quarter mile, even more so once tuned and I speak from experience.

melchy said:
Is the Golf R in that video not also a manual hence a bit slower?
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Yes manual, a tuned manual can't get under 4s, whereas the DSG on a mapped DSG/ECU will crack it in 3.1-3.3s, the difference is mammoth scales in performance, by 100mph its over a full second difference, thats several car lengths.
 
Gibbo said:
Yes it makes a huge difference! The manual VS DSG in the Golf R even if a pro gear changer showing no mercy is pretty much a full second off the pace in the quarter mile, even more so once tuned and I speak from experience.
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The biggest difference is LC. The gear changes themselves are marginally quicker on the DSG/S Tronic, but Launch Control literally drops the 0-60 time by over half a second (down from 5.2 to 4.6). Remapping only increases this difference, especially if you have the haldex clamping force adjusted, and the DSG box remapped.
 
AmDaMan said:
I’ll look into m140i / m240i, there’s only 2 for sale at the moment and they are both up in Auckland @ ~$70k. I’d definitely deviate for the M2 but it’s over budget for this round, they are more expensive than the F80 M3’s too.


I just fancy a quick hatchback for a little while, there’s no real logic other than they seem to offer a decent balance of fun and speed for the value. Ideally I’d like a 997 911 C4S but a manual one has strong residuals. I don’t really understand why the majority of cars here are automatic, anything with a manual instantly demands a +15-20% premium.


I’ve driven the GTR and while it’s an absolute freak it just felt way too big. It doesn’t help my lockup is on the 5th floor of a multi storey, it sounds daft but it would just be a chore every time I want to go out in it.


Cheers Gibbo – there is actually a unicorn one for sale at the moment – the spec is good other than the seats are that weird cloth (https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/us...07.htm?rsqid=21514e5a0ca84e28a52cdd98fab09bb9). They are claiming 420bhp – I’m assuming that’s at the crank, still good though. This appeals as I don’t have to faff about getting all the parts and getting it tuned. Did you have any issues with the DSG box and that kind of power? I’ve seen Golf R’s up here with prices as low as 17k gbp for the 2015’s but the RS seems to be holding quite well. As a bonus they all come with the Recaro buckets too as standard.


It’s not nailed on that I’d pick those 3 although I’m being drawn more to the Golf just for the sheer performance you can get for the $ – I did initially look at the Lotus but the Exige’s have appreciated here and the interior is a bit spartan for me, I still want some basic comfort.
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Golf R MK7 DSG:
Stage 1 map & DSG map: 360HP, 0-60 around 3.5s and 0-100 around 8s, quarter mile very high elevens or a low 12 with LC around 115mph terminal. (£700)
Stage 2 map & DSG with air box, catted downpipe: 380HP, 0-60 around 3.3s, 0-100 around 7.7s and quarter mile high elevens with LC around 117mph terminal. (£1500)
Stage 2+ map & DSG with air box, de-catted downpipe, intercooler: 400HP, 0-60 around 3.1s, 0-100 around 7.4s and quarter mile mid elevens with LC around 120mph terminal. (£2000)

Stage 3 map & DSG, hybrid turbo, air box, de-catted downpipe, intercooler, other necessary modifications results in 470-570HP depending on how much you want to push it and how much money you want to spend. 0-60 generally does not improve, maybe a touch slower due to wheelspin as in such a light car with Haldex you begin to trouble the system. 0-100mph will be very low 7s region, maybe a high 6s on a perfect launch, but hard, quarter miles will be high 10s if your running around 550HP. (£6000)


The best bang for your money is simply to map ECU, TCU and maybe fitted a downpipe, panel filter and turbo technics hose, that what I did with mine and it was more than quick enough and cost me about £1200, so incredible value for money tuning.

Also Unicorn is a custom remapper based here in UK (Stockport) and as such I am not sure if he does email tunes, but he has done enough now so maybe he does but his ECU and TCU maps on Golf R seem untouchable, with considerably more real world performance than Revo, APR etc, even though horsepower figures are same, but in the real world the cars tuned by him are just so much quicker, I ran a 12.2s@116mph WITHOUT LC, with LC running around 11.7@117mph. A guy with the Stage 2+ setup and unicorn map a couple weeks ago ran an 11.4@119mph at Santa Pod.

So the performance is very real.

In comparison I've watched plenty of Focus RS (new gen) run at Santa Pod and they struggle to go under 13.5s and the fastest I've seen one go was 13.1s which was a Mountune, in short they get absolutely mullered by the Golf R in pure acceleration terms, not even on the same page.

A tuned A45 AMG at Pod I've seen running low and mid 12's, but no elevens with the same kind of tuning and bolt-ons, what makes the Golf R so quick is two things, the DSG mapped is silly quick and the Golf R is a rather light car at around 1400kg.

Yes the DSG is fine to around 360-380lb/ft stock just about, the TCU map increases clamping pressure at which point your fine to about 420lb/ft.

However I had Unicorn tune my car for HP and medium torque for a more pleasurable and fun driving experience, if you go big torque it all hits around 3000rpm and then falls off, makes the car feel a bit weak at top end, as such I had mine tuned so it smoothly hit 360lb/ft and then kept a pretty flat torque curve to redline more or less, this makes the car feel much more eager and fun to drive, makes you want to rev it out. :)
 
paradigm said:
The biggest difference is LC. The gear changes themselves are marginally quicker on the DSG/S Tronic, but Launch Control literally drops the 0-60 time by over half a second (down from 5.2 to 4.6). Remapping only increases this difference, especially if you have the haldex clamping force adjusted, and the DSG box remapped.
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True, but over a quarter mile your pretty much gaining another half second plus just through the normal gear changes, as unlike a manual, the DSG never drops the torque, its like full throttle flat shifting. :)

Yes TCU remaps (good ones) increase clamping pressure and also lower LC point, to essentially make it far more effective and to increase lifespan of clutch packs, makes it also feel a tad more engaging too as its instant on the paddles.
 
Someone mentioned RS3 also.

My view between RS3 and Golf R:

If you enjoy the handling side, chuckability side more, get the Golf R, its got better balance and weighs less.

If you prefer grunt, noise, RS3 all day long, they sound flipping fantastic and again I think just a basic stage 1 unicorn map puts an RS3 into high 10s quarter mile territory on DSG. :)
 
Not as 'premium' as Mercedes or Audi but what about the Hyundai i30 N? Something different to the usual hot hatch choices.
 
No competition between s3 and rs3. RS3 are in a different league all together.

A golf R is a good shout and they do everything so well. Though, that’s what makes them somewhat mundane.
 
Glanza said:
Not as 'premium' as Mercedes or Audi but what about the Hyundai i30 N? Something different to the usual hot hatch choices.
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Great car but and fun for a FWD hatch, but in this company far slower in terms of acceleration.
 
Between those 3.
A45 is a great hot hatch. Not the most subtle looking thing inside or out. Not that nice to look at inside tbh.
Focus RS. Fun to drive, but the interior is not good. Made my other half feel claustrophobic and I felt it was dark. Not had that in anything before.
Golf R. Oh how I wish they did the estate in manual gearbox, because that'd be what I'd be looking at right now. Not the fastest or most exciting, but for an everyday car, I really can't find many issues with it.
Not tried the new Audi RS3 yet.
 
had the same conundrum, went to test drive the focus, RS3 (previous gen) and AMG, and picked the one which felt the most special to me (AMG). Everyone will differ. Friend of mine has the Golf R, so it wasn't in consideration for me personally.

Go drive them, have fun, find which one suits you the most. AMG let me take the A45 for a day to really get to grips with it, spending the money for each of these cars you really have to get an extended test, it'll throw up the niggles with each one.
 
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