Kevin Bacon

Yeah there is plenty of space behind the engine block for a Turbo. Stealth produced a VR6 turbo some years ago and was insanely fast but they reckon getting the parts required is no longer easy or cheap.

Cheers guys, knew you'd know! The dealer was right after all! Kev

Hi all Should there be a plastic scuttle cover sheilding the wiper motor and motronic module on a VR6? There is a small one on the passenger side but the rest of the scuttle area is exposed. I tried to get one but the dealer claims VW never fitted one. There must be one surely? Seems silly leaving everything exposed to the elements like that! Not to mention looking horrible. If there is one, could someone do me a huge favour and get the part number from it? Thanks Kev 94 VR6

Just look under the bonnet for a big black box above the gearbox with loads of brake pipes going to and from it. If it's not there, no ABS. Yeah the TC is too weak to be effective and it's no use when you boot it at 4000 rpm in second, by which time you'll be past 15mph but I think the TC works up to 25mph anyway. Kev

18s would make your brake discs look tiny!! Good excuse for some huge discs and 4 pots though! Whilst I don't see any harm in 18s, I can't help thinking they would wreck the car's brilliant poise and handling. MK2 Golfs always handled best on 15s, and it's therefore no surprise to find 15s on the Corrado, which is as we all know, a MK2 Golf underneath. Depends what you want, looks or handling. You can't have both with 18s, no way. I personally think Corrados look at their best riding on Estorils with no more than a 40mm drop. If I did ever see the light and go for bigger wheels, then it would most definitely have to be 17" Borbet Cs. Kev 94 VR6

Correct, the bores are too close together to go mad with over-boring. As mentioned the only way you can do it is with a combination of crank and pistons. As for cost, bargain on a few thousand, at least.....for a PROPER job. To be honest you'd be better off with a Supercharger, providing you have the patience to iron out pinking and extremely hot running issues. You could use a 4 Motion engine which has variable valve timing and being 24V, ideal for Supercharging. Shame the head bolt pattern is different to the 12V otherwise you could bung a 24V head on the 2.9. Good for at least 210 I reckon. Stealth racing do a true 2900cc engine (as opposed to the normal 2861cc) with flowed and big valve head, shrick VSR, chip etc that produces well over 200bhp, about 240+ I think. Ain't cheap at £4K though. Quality costs unfortunately! Kev 94 VR6

Welcome Buddha! Forgive my ignorance, but what does SLC mean? One thing that always puzzles me about VW is why they give the American market a dilluted version of what Europe get. My 2.9 develops 200bhp in standard trim but you guys would need to spend a fair bit of cash to get that much out the 2.8! Maybe the 2.9 didn't meet the US emission regulations. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure you love your car to bits, I've just never understood why the Americans get short changed engine wise. Even the 16V A2 was down on power compared to the European model, but then US ones had catalytics, ours didn't :-) As for bits, I'd love some Neuspeed Anti-Roll bars (Sway bars in your lingo) and strut braces please!! Don't the Vortech Superchargers originate from your country? How much are they over there? They cost a fortune over here! Cheers Kev 94 VR6

Toni, the Corrado VR6 is an expensive car to run and troublesome, period. 2.9 litres, 15 Gallon tank, 6 litre oil sump = ££££s as the engine uses lots of both! I would personally find as low a mileage an example as possible and just enjoy it. Problems will occur, which you can tackle as and when they happen. There are plenty of tools, parts and advice available to make ownership less painful on the wallet. RE the tensioner and chains. You only need to do this job when they start making lots of noise, it's kind of like a 16V top end rattle when it's cam chain weas out, only on the VR6 it's louder, so you'll definitely know when it needs doing. 100,000 miles is the most common failing point. I say fail, but the chain won't ever snap, it just gets loose as the linkages wear out and then the tensioner runs out of travel to take up the slack, aswell as wearing down itself. If the chain does need doing, that would be a good time to replace the clutch and crankshaft & gearbox input shaft seals. As for the Americans suffering from premature wear, I'm not really sure why this could be. Didn't they have their own factory over there? In which case the parts would have been Mexican made, which are not always up to the same standards as the German parts. Just a hunch. A warmed up VR6 should be quiet at the top end bar perhaps a sticky follower or two. To this end it is better to use Quantum Silver oil as Stealth Racing have found that using thin synthetic oils not only increases consumption, it also reduces the life of the hyraulic tappets. Anyway, you seem like a level headed bloke and will find a good one I'm sure. Kev 94 VR6

The Passat mechanism is apparently more reliable, so say our American friends. Cheers Kev

Well it had to happen sooner or later. My passenger side cable block sheared off today when my mate tilted it (forgot to tell him it didn't work) so the drivers side comes down again, and not the other! Arse and treble arse. I know what a pig this is as I looked into it before buying my Corrado. It seems very few people have never had a sunroof problem. Is there a guide online somewhere outlining a strip-down and overhaul? Apparently I have to buy the whole cable mechanism but I read somewhere you can actually buy just the cable blocks seperately? Cheers Kev 94 VR6

Ay that's the very car! God I can't believe a difference that makes to the rump! Why does the left hand cluster group never align properly??? I've noticed that on a lot of Corrados, mine included!! I've played around the rubbers stops and the latch but I just can't get that inner set to line up 100%! Time to get the dremel out!! Anyway, awesome delivered mine today as promised but unfortunately they sent the clear ones by mistake, and not those in the picture. Still, I gave them the once over and construction is not up to OE Hella standards, but it's pretty good though. Will be getting the proper 'M3' ones on Tuesday. Cheers Kev

Check the manual for the correct offset as it varied among Corrado models, for example the G60 rides on BBS 15" ET33 whilst the VR6 rides on 15" Speedlines or Solitudes, ET46. I think the 8 & 16Vs were different still, but not as deep as 46 though! Kev 94 VR6

The Cam postion sensor costs £19 from VW. It's worth keeping one as a spare as they're quite a common failing. Kev

I've driven an old shape Scoob Turbo (250bhp cat removed jobbie), they don't do much past 5000 rpm and the engine is pretty coarse when pushed too. They do sound cool for a 4 cylinder though and don't forget, the scoob has an electronic centre diff and LSDs front and rear....it WILL leave any VW for dead on twisty B roads. Downsides are naff interior, iffy build quality, wafer thin panels, hideously expensive running gear parts and they eat clutches quicker than we use brake pads. A well setup VR6 will give it a good run for it's money, don't forget that when the Corrado was launched, it was heralded as the best handling FWD car ever. Some even said the handling is so neutral and under/torque-steer so well controlled that you couldn't tell if it was FWD or RWD, unless you really pushed it. Scoobs also have a puny petrol tank and ridiculously low mpg when thrashed, so by the time he has caught you, he'll have run out of petrol. Lastly, which is the more attractive car? Scoobs and Evo6s may be quick, but they're so butt ugly and only people 'in the know' know what they're all about. Whereas Corrados generally get good praise as let's face it, it's the best thing that ever left Wolfsburg Kev 94 VR6

There was a danish company that used to bead blast the source car's underbody, drill out the original floorpan spot welds and then weld in a complete Rallye floor pan using the existing weld points. I've seen one such car at Stealth and the work was faultless. This was done to a 16V MK2 Golf though to take a VR6 engine (using MK3 VR6 synchro transfer box) but since the floor of a Corrado is MK2 Golf anyway, there is no reason why this can't be done. You could do it yourself at home using one of those cradle things but you'd need a damn good welder to put the Rallye floor back in place of the Corrado one! A lot of work and is it really worth it? I've seen Stealth's VR6 Corrado Turbo put 400bhp onto the tarmac through the front wheels OK. Just my thoughts... Kev 94 VR6

Silver fusion?? Jees I've been out of the scene too long! Where can I get these? I take it they are siver coloured as to not upset the clear look too much? Cheers Kev

I was under my 94 VR6 on Wednesday and the roll bars look the same as a MK2. With regard to losing grip in the wet, in theory this is true since the tyre does not lean over and 'bite' into the tarmac, however, a lot of it is down to tyre compound, shock and spring choice and camber setting. I ran a MK2 Golf Turbo with Eibach ARBs, koni TAs front and rear, H&R springs, 0.6 degrees negative camber and Goodyear F1s. I never once lost traction in the wet, in fact it was better than when I ran standard ARBs. Just my findings Kev 94 VR6

Well I've taken the plunge and bought some red/clear ones (http://www.inpro.us) from Awesome GTI. I probably paid over the odds for them (£290 inc VAT & Next day delivery) but I've had previous mail order experience with them and they're great. Venom advertise them on an Ice Grey Violet car (same as mine) and they look fantastic. Will post up pics this weekend if I get round to fitting them. I take it orange bulbs aren't included in the kit? still, Halfords do them for a couple of quid, so no biggy. Kev

DIS is very reliable and in my opinion a good thing! VR6s can occasionally suffer from a mis-fire if the plug leads are not pressed fully home. You get a little plastic tool (should be on the bonnet prop) with the car for removing/re-inserting the plug leads. A lot of engine controls and sensors can be checked via a computer by plugging it into the multi-pin plug under the gear lever shroud. A good bit of software for this can be purchased from http://www.ross-tech.com and it's called VAG-COM, which is a generic application for fault diagnosis of VAG engines post OBDI. VAG-COM is invaluble as it told me my cam sensor was dead, I wouldn't have known otherwise. The Corrado has a number of common problems, most of which are covered on the forum, but if you get stuck, just ask and someone will be able to assist! Happy hunting! Kev 94 VR6

Doing the rear brakes is easy as it's the same process as a MK2 Golf. Just be careful you don't disturb the ABS ring or sensor - if fitted to your car. Takes about 15 mins per side once the car is jacked up. If the calipers are seized (locked on) the good news is MK4 rear calipers are a direct replacement and are cheap. As for the exhaust, well any Corrado owner will tell you the system is bloody heavy, something VW didn't think about too much when designing the brackets. When you ask VW for a replacement system, many people resort to the welder! The brackets are weak from the Cat back, shouldn't worry about it too much. The subframe... hmm, I've only ever seen one rot right through, so it's probably more cosmetic than structural. Rusty subframes and rear axles are indicative of cars that have lived on the coast, but not always. Just brush the loose rust off and and apply a liberal coat of black waxoyl. Cheers Kev 94 VR6

Here's my plot info from my Stealth run on 26.02.03 Maximum power speed - 5672 rpm (109.1 mph in gear used - 4th) Power at flywheel (Corrected*) - 200.0 bhp (DIN 70020) Power at flywheel (measured) - 195.7 bhp Power at wheels - 147.4 bhp Power loss - 48.3 bhp Maximum torque speed - 4544 rpm (87.4 mph in gear used - 4th) Maximum engine torque - 192.3 lb/ft Maxium road speed reached in test - 119.8 mph Maximum engine speed reached in test - 6228 rpm Min ambient temperature - 20 deg C Max ambient temperature - 24 deg C Barometric pressure - 998mb * - Corrected means adjusting figure to take into account temperature and barometric pressure. This is part of DIN 70020 dyno testing. Cheers Kev

Yeah stealth confirmed the VR6 never got the 288 discs, or the OBDII injection :-( Then why would they if they're going to axe it? Stealth do the Brembo 4 pot kit fitted for £475. Or for slightly more you can use 4 motion discs but you need bigger wheels. I've put pagid black grooved discs and fast road pads on mine and they are superb. No warping as yet, which they're known for. Cheers Kev

Are they 19" like the Corrado ones? My standard wipers are perfect after attacking the arm stops with a dremel. I basically ground 5mm off each of the alloy 'posts' that the arm rests on, meaning the arms sit lower than VW intended, therefore pressing the screen harder. How this one escaped quality control is beyond me as it's a vital part of the car! You can't tell it's been done externally and so far I've had good results. I might still try the Lupo mod as it looks cool! Cheers Kev

Where do you get the red/white lights from? How much? Cheers Kev