Kevin Bacon

Mmmmm, Z3M Coupe. £10K will get you into one of those. Don't like the seats much, but at least they're black! http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/bmw/z3m-coupe/bmw-z3m-coupe-3-2l-rhd/279584 Engine bay is a bit cramped too!

Steel is a bit OTT and for low boost imo (

Search for "Chris Harris on Cars" on YouTube and check out the M135i vs Audi RS3 video. Absolutely cracking car (the BMW that is) and Chris's dissapointment of the RS3 on the track is a must see :D Most of the vids on YouTube by "drive" are well worth a watch actually.

I wonder if some of the H&R/Koni's harshness is to do with the bump settings in the dampers because the H&R springs aren't that hard. Low and high speed bump (or compression) can't be adjusted unfortunately. You can only adjust the rebound. Just to remind folk of the different damper characteristics: Low speed bump - The damper compressing slowly: brake dive, turn-in, driving up a kerb, B road undulations etc High speed bump - The damper compressing quickly: Potholes, speed bumps, cats eyes etc. Rebound - The damper returning to it's static state. This is the one that makes the car feel more 'planted' and sporty. It's the setting we notice the most and is usually the only adjustment offered. Damper manufacturers would prefer that we trust their judgement on the bump settings, especially the high speed one, but KW do at least give you a low speed adjustment on the V3s. Personally I think user adjustment of high speed bump would solve a few crashiness issues, but in order to get 3 way adjustable kits, you're looking at the wrong side of £2500. But if you consider what some peeps spend on their Corrados on superficial stuff, personally, I'd rather sink more into getting the car to corner and ride properly. And just to reiterate, 'coilovers' (or ride height adjustable to use the correct term) as a configuration isn't crashy. They can be way softer than the standard setup if so desired. It's the technology and settings that determine the ride quality. Just thought I'd throw that in as many people automatically associate crashiness to coilovers. It's the cheap £250 ebay specials that give the configuration a bad name. I tend to think of suspension as a tailored suit vs an off the peg Moss Bros one.

I had a Turbo Technics 16V MK2 (Stealth Racing updated version) many moons ago and I loved it. Definitely a better engine than the 1.8T imo. Smoother and lots more character. What 20V Gearbox have you got in there? The one from the Polo GTI (BJX engine code) would be perfect for your car as it runs 205/45/16s as standard, a common aftermarket corrado tyre size. The trouble with some other 20V boxes is they're geared for MK4s wearing 17s and 18s with balloon tyres. If not, VR6 gears are fine, although I prefered them with the shorter 3.68 final drive from the G60 personally.

Don't like the red seats but the rest of it looks OK. Seems a bit rich for a 3.0. A couple to 3 grand more gets you into the Z4M :D The only bad words I've heard against them are a hard ride, cramped interior and build quality not up to the same standard as the 3 and 5 series. The ride could be down to run flats though.

Have a look at the spring coils Jim. On one of them there should be a number that gives you the length and rate. For example, on my V3s, the front was 70/200. That translates as 70nm/cm (400inlb in old money) and 200mm length. The V3s were quite bouncy unless the damping was turned right up, but the difference with that kit compared to others I used was the ride quality didn't worsen. Bounciness seems to be a common trait of german suspension. We've all seen the famous 911 nose bounce!! I think the only way to get 100% satisfaction is custom spring rates and valve damping, but with all due respect, not many folk know where to begin with that. Gaz were like that. They could build to your requirements and the ones I had (Gold coilovers) performed superbly, but the quality was terrible. Aside from them, there aren't really any reasonably priced English suspension makers. You've got Leda & Nitron but they're well into 4 figures for the kind of ride / handling compromise you're after.

What's the spring poundage Jim and what model of Bilstein? Bouncing suggests under-damped for the springs. They should really be bought as a matched set, or use adjustable dampers to fine tune them to the springs. The B12 kit isn't bouncy from what I've heard / read about it and that uses Eibach springs. Having said that, a lot of german kits are bouncy but the H&R / Koni combo is excellent. A bit harsh on busted up roads but the faster you go, the better it gets.

Another Kev bolting turbos to his Corrado :thumbleft: I think you've skimmed over the real extent of the work and made it sound easy! Having been down the same road (albeit with a VR6), I tip my hat to you sir, and the power figures are excellent! Top job!

The H&Rs certainly don't lower too much. There's pictures in my thread with those fitted. They use the earlier top plate IIRC (larger diameter), but they're cheap from VW.

God knows, but these are the fellas you need - http://www.sparkplugs.co.uk/pages/database/plug-detail-ccp.asp?partno=BKR5E

It would appear you have a kit that retains the OE heat exchanger. You need the kit with a shorter centre tube that bypasses the HE.

I sold my old VR6 turbo block to him. Small world indeed.

Or NGK BKR5E. Even cheaper!

Haha, yep! I used to have send them a 2 sided A4 sheet listing all my changes away from OE specification. I bet they ignored it, but I made damn sure they were declared on the policy. They will use any means possible to get out of paying for a claim.

Done

For the money, the standard VW pads (£40 a set IIRC) work just as well as any other pad I've tried for 90% of peoples requirements. And I've tried a few pads and brake setups in my time :D They're great from cold and resist fade very well. Hard to believe they're only 40 quid tbh. I've had expensive Ferodo DS2500s at 5 times the price, but they're nowhere near 5 times as good!

Bigger pistons aswell IIRC. If you can't improve braking power with leverage (disc diameter) because of wheel size limitations, good old extra friction comes a close second :D 288s should have been standard on a 146mph Coupe. As others have said and as I have also confirmed, EBC pads are utter garbage. Steer clear. OE MK4 GTI pads are what you need and work LOADS better than EBC GreenSchitt.

That's probably the rear end going light. The front end can feel a bit wayward in those situations if the road isn't dead flat. As Jim says, 288s is your lot with standard Speedlines and even then many people have trouble with the calipers fouling wheel weights. Clearance is measured with rizla papers with new discs and pads.

I got 410 miles from the last 50 quid I put into my Rover 25 daily snotter :D

Because they ovalise (especially the exhaust ones) and valves that rock in their guides accelerate guide seal wear. But obviously it's only worth the bother if they are actually worn out though. VW use soft guides, so it's highly likely they will be worn on 100K+ old motors. I would only use dealer guides and seals personally, or maybe high quality aftermarket guides, but definitlely VW seals.

That's proper Mad Max that! Simple motoring doesn't come any more basic than that too, so good call! Even more of a money pit than a Corrado unfortunately, but again, good shout! Old school reliability and capable of big power!

Sell the Corrado, buy a cheap run around (£2K is way too much for that imo), focus on your marriage and then come back to Corrados some other time. They're not going anywhere ;) We all know a cheap VR6 as a project is anything but cheap! Just bringing the things up to scratch with standard parts is crippling enough, let alone anything else.

The DC5 has a very decent interior. Sat in one a long time ago and it immediately felt comfortable and right. Proper Recaros ;) I don't like 350Zs I'm afraid, but cheers for the suggestion! I don't like modern VAGs in general either. Dull to drive, lifeless steering, unreliable, over-priced and Audis have a serious image problem right now. Only MK5 R32s interest me from the VAG stable (and B7 RS4s, if I can live being an 'Audi driver'), and that's mainly for the Haldex as you say, and that engine, mmmm, the engine :D The DC5 is the only thing Corrado like in the list, which is probably why it's in my top 5 of definite maybes.

Yeah, good call, forgot about those.