Kevin Bacon

I would fill any pits in the head with chemical metal before skimming. The valves will have to come out before you get it skimmed, so that would be a good time to check for guide wear. The exhaust guides are usually well on their way to ovalising by 100K as VW use a soft material, but a simple check will confirm. Get an Elring head gasket set. That'll come with the newer 3 layer gasket. Make sure the block surface is meticoulsly clean before reassembling. Get yourself some new headbolts too and a new thermostat housing isn't a bad idea as they often warp or crack. Stealth racing are good for remaps and also any of the aforementioned work. A VR6 gains back some of it's lost sparkle after a head rebuild. The box doesn't need stripping to fit a taller 5th but the rpm drop from 4th to 5th might be pretty large, which could prove annoying after a while! I always liked how the 3.68 final drive moved 70mph cruising a bit more into the torque band for more responsive acceleration.

Harsh if you use all 3. Fine if you use just the front one.

There are many discussions about VR6s and juddering clutches on this forum, but just to remind people. I went through a few trying to cure a judder and Vince at Stealth discovered manufacturing inconsistencies in the aftermarket supplied Sachs and LUK clutches. I tried both and an OEM one. The OEM was the best of the 3, but still juddered. After that I was into uprated clutches and never got to try a Valeo. Vince is well aware of this juddering problem and when he tells me the Valeos are the only clutches he's not had any juddering issues with, I believe him!

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It's all in the quide DriverVR6 linked you to mate. You can't get to the intermediate shaft sprocket without dropping the gearbox. I was going to suggest doing the chains if the top tensioner is knackered but we'll see what it's like when you show us pics :D When you put the chain back on the sprockets, you have to ensure there is no slack in the length of chain on leading up to the front sprocket. When you press the tensioner in by hand, it will take up the slack between the two sprockets and the cams may move a little. They should be perfectly aligned. Spin the engine 4 times and recheck. If the cams aren't lined up properly, you've mistimed it. Clunky spell checker?

Cheers Charlie. I don't blame you for getting a B5, they're great cars. I very, very nearly went down to Dorset to get a grey RS4 (there are NONE local to me at all) but in the end I just didn't have the kahunas for RS4 ownership :D Yeah I am warming to the Rotrex idea tbh. The engine in this R seems to be a good one and I'm reluctant to split it at the moment, so I'll probably just start with a Rotrex on standard compression (6psi) which is still good for 350hp I'm led to believe. As you say, 100hp from a relatively simple install. Unlike the VR6, the R32 has plenty of bottom end torque to fill in the gap before the Rotrex kicks in. You'll be the first to know :D

And 4WD!

That gets worse with a Quaife. It doesn't help much with traction either tbh. Racelogic is a good shout.

MK4/MK3 ATE 288s use the same banjo end, but the bolts can vary in thread pitch. The original VR6 280 calipers use completely different ends and bolts. It's a shame the thread ended up as a witch hunt but I think we need to get to the bottom of the issues with the fitment because your reputation is at stake Swampy. We encourage and welcome trading on here but customer disputes need to be handled professionally and customers given the benefit of the doubt in the first instance.

Some people don't know any better and that's the worrying part. Brakes are the most important part of the car and your nonchalant attitude is disturbing. You typify everything that is bad service in this country. The customer is always wrong and you vehemently defend the product. It's funny how you suddenly appear when the quality of your product is brought into question, but vanish when it comes to settling disputes.

You shouldn't have to do that. In a correct banjo + bolt pairing, the bolt shoulder aligns the banjo correctly so that a uniform pressure is applied across the copper washer's surface. If the banjo is askew, the sealing integrity is compromised. If it were me I'd take those lines off, toss them in the garbage and get some proper Goodridge ones.

Cheers Alex! Yeah HPA do apply a hefty mark-up don't they! With the Race controller, the rears are engaged more often, so would that shorten the lifespan of the Haldex pump and mehcanicals? TBH, the standard haldex is already a massive traction advantage over a FWD VW, so I'm looking forward to gettting the controller on :D Not sure yet Karl. Still researching the best options!

5 deg above atmosphere is VERY good. 15-20 above is the norm.

Is that all? Only kidding, nice one, good result and par for the course with Vince really :D

I've seen 33 on the rolling average screen, so they can be pretty frugal. I've got my blue Haldex controller now, so I'll expect the mpg to plummet after fitment :lol:

Very nice sir! 63 litre tank in the MK4. Currently averaging 27mpg with a mixture of driving styles. Cheers Laurence :D Hope your car is doing OK!

Good call on the brass valve WinchBietch. I forgot about that and yep, Samcos don't have that in as standard. I'm note sure if the VR6 kit comes with a fitting note about that or not?

How much of the IC is in the air flow? You don't need full exposure into the airstream for it to work but obviously if it's more than 70% blocked, it's not helping matters. Why not use a pair of side mounts as per Audi TT? Should be able to use most of the TT's pipework I'd have thought? OEs choose sidemounts in preference to front mount as the air slows down too much, which can affect the engine cooling radiator.

You could be right there as MK4s had to have a solenoid controlled exhaust flap to pass the noise regulations. The R32 can be very noisy between 2500-3000rpm. It certainly would but my comparison was against Stealth's stage 1, which is a nice and mild 9psi. A VRT running a bar of boost would indeed shoot off into the distance from 3500ish rpm upwards. I just remember thinking the first time I drove mine with an R32 in it, that it was a faster than I expected it to be! I was trying to find my old R32 torque graphs but they might be at home. Stealth's torque graphs are in their turbo kit thread on here, but IIRC, if you take a typical VRT torque curve and move it to the left a 1000rpm, that's pretty much an R32 for you :)

Nice one mate! I know you've had some fast cars in the past, so you know what you're talking about :D I'll be honest, the R32 engine is a slight dissapointment in the MK4/MK5 but in a lighter car, it bloody shifts!! I think some of it is down to the mapping because both you and I have found it's a better engine when run from a standalone. There isn't the same idling and cold start refinement as stock, but otherwise it drives a lot better imo. All the annoying ME7 flatspots just aren't there.

Good stuff! Is it fitted in the standard location with the standard fixings? I've been down this road in the past and some of these batteries (Odyssey as well) have no way of attaching to the car without special brackets!

I reckon it's your head to matrix hose mate. Do you still run the coolant lines to the throttle body or have you T'd them off? Inside said hose, where it turns into a T shaped bulge for the throttle body hose, is a plastic moulding that often cracks. I think there's some kind of little ball valve in there is as well. Anyway, that's what happened on mine once and it caused the gurgling noises you described. Air in the system basically, which the after run pump disturbs and you can hear it in the matrix. If you've never replaced that hose, now would be a good time. People moan about how expensive it is, but now you know why. It's not just a peice of simple rubber ;)

That's some pretty darn useful information! Cheers!

Cool! I've got a spare set of R32 ones (of unknown origin) which I might send off to him then :D

If they're exactly the same parts, then it's a no brainer and more power to us! If it's another one of these "Worldcarparts" or "Onlineautomotive" type sites, then 95% of that tat is only good for door stops.