Kevin Bacon

Yes you'd think the hose ends would be the mirror image of the caliper hole to ensure a snug fit! I've heard of yet another problem with braided hoses - grit getting behind the stainless braiding and wearing throught the rubber hose. It's a rare one, but it has happened. Personally, I don't find the difference between traditional flexi hoses and braided ones great enough to justify the expense, fitting hassle. I used to have them on my MK2 Golf and they did remove a small amout of pedal squish, but not enough to make you think, wow, what a transformation. Kev

I reckon it's the slide latches then. When the roof is tilted, observe the shiny metal castings. Behind these are pivot fingers with a roller wheel and a rubber end. The roller wheel falls into a detent on the slide channel in tilt mode. As the roof slides back, the shiny castings strike the pivot fingers and lift the roller wheel out of the detent to allow sliding. Chances are the little rubber ends have either fallen off or perished. Sounds like the rollers are not lifting out of the detents, preventing sliding. Put some larger diameter hosing on the end of the pivot fingers and try that. Old central locking hose is perfect. Kev

I'm getting Standard front wishbones and Vibra technics rear wishbone bushes fitted on Friday. I did try Powerflex ones once and they weren't to my satisfaction, so replaced them with VW ones and never looked back. The main issue with wishbone and rear axle bushes is the rubber getting soft with age. They do on rare occasions split completely. If you feel how stiff a new bush is compared to an old one, you'll see what I mean. The rear axle job can be expensive as the rear brake biasing valve on corrados are prone to conversion, so you need to budget an extra £100 for one of those, just in case. Changing the bushes themselves is fairly straight forward on a ramp and well worth it. Kev

I used to have a 16V Turbo. The biggest hurdle is the exhaust manifold, which must be high in nickel content. Turbo Technics are the only UK source that I'm aware of and they will only sell them in batches of 10 as their primary business is supercharging for Elises etc now. Stealth won't do the work unless they can source the parts but there is no better place to have it done. Garrett T25s or T28s are readily available and these Turbo Technics will sell you. The intercooler can be fabricated by companies like Pace or Allard Turbo sport. Try ebay for s/hand parts. If you do source the parts, the block needs it's compression ratio lowering to 8.5:1 by offset bushing or forged/different pistons. It's quite an involved conversion. Let me know if you need more info. Kev

I wonder what they did to the engine to get 215bhp out of it? Takes some doing and keeping it naturally aspirated, even these days. A rechip and possibly exhaust and cams but even then, 25bhp is optimistic. Kev

If the water pump is wearing, the interior heater would be cold at idle and warm up when you drive off. Not a bad job to replace on the G60. A pain in the backside on the VR6. Kev

If there is a lateral rocking or jolting over close knitted bumps and pot holes, definitely bushes. Could be the rear axle ones, could be the rear damper top mounts, which are solid rubber and flatten and harden with age. When you look at the rear axle bushes, dont' be fooled by the peeling rubber, they all do that around the edges but the main meat of the bush will be fine. It just gets soft with age. Your wishbone bushes have probably also met the same fate. Forget lowering and strut braces, focus on the bushings first and go from there. I wouldn't fit poly urethane ones either as they're hard to live with if you value refinement and composure over demanding surfaces. Chipstar is Milford electronics version of a 'chip'. Unlike AmD's method, it piggy-back's the ECU's chip. Good for removing with no trace for insurance purposes. They deliver similar results to replacement Eproms but don't respond as quickly as it's external. Kev

The sunroof channels have some kind of shiney black coating on them to aid sliding. When this wears right down (as mine have) the plastic feet on the guides grind on the alloy that was once covered by said coating. Even new guides don't seem to help. I would have a look in your roof channels and see what's what. Might just need some decent grease, failing that, the motor could be dying. Kev

I remember that clip! It was doing the rounds a while ago on a different forum. We should produce our own "How to...." videos!! Kev

OEM ones are LUK but are reconditioned. SACHS use all new parts. Mine is new and bites quite high on the pedal, so not too sure how AmD can be sure without stripping it down, but if in doubt, change it out but please get your flywheel skimmed or you may not be pleased with the results. Kev

I haven't noticed any tail happiness from my C, but then I probably drive like an old fart :? I used some Power flex bushes on a MK2 once and pulled them off shortly after! They creak when you brake and they don't dampen road vibrations especially well. The VW ones are pretty good. They just get squidgy with age, compare a new one with an old one and you'll see what I mean, especially on the rear axle ones. I'm trialling some Vibratechnics wishbone bushes next week, so I'll let you know what they're like. Kev

Good man! So you noticed the way the whole car feels much tighter by firming up the dampers? With the rears, I just leave an adjuster knob (you can get spares) on each damper and put marks on the ribs. That way I can just turn them without taking the shelves off. Vince reckons on 1.5 turns front and 3/4 turns at the rear as the optimal setting. Too late with COs, Vince has already got the regular springs and dampers in, not to mention the vibratechnics wishbone bushes :lol: Kev

Did anyone see the G lader rebuild guide in this month's PVW? Seems like a peice of cake. I'll start rebuilding them myself and ship them out at £200 a pop!! Kev

Oh yeah Roddy, have you got round to twiddling your knobs yet? You are my personal appraiser of the Koni CO kit! Does your setup feature bump AND rebound adjustment?. Some only have one adjustment. Cheers Kev

Oh yes, Bespokery is very expensive! A small company called Leda are experts in this field. They are the preferred choice with track day people. They'll make up anything you ask of them. Top blokes. Kev

Agreed on all points. You should never fit uprated springs to original spec dampers. The valving is just not up the job of damping the oscillations of uprated springs, especially when worn. You'll bounce into the nearest ditch. Kev

You might want to check the rear biasing valve as they are prone to seizing. Kev

Oh dear, not the dreaded number 6 :( Vince at Stealth has seen many VR engines with premature bore wear on number 6. The reason for this is as yet unknown. Only way to be sure is a strip down and inspection I'm sorry to say. Kev

I have a Vibratechnics front mount and Turn2 gearbox mount and I can change gear as fast as I like with no baulking or crunching. Engine mounts have always been an achilles heel on performance VWs. Reducing engine movement is a good start for better gearchanges. Only do full bore changes when the engine is fully up to temperature though otherwise you'll shred the synchro rings. Kev

Yeah noise from the tank is the pump, I'll bet it's quieter when the tank is full? You need to pressure check it on a rolling road to be sure, it should deliver 4 bar from idle to max revs. To reset the ECU, just disconnect the battery. It'll relearn as you drive and store the parameters. You need to take it to a quiet road and do a mixture of hard and moderate acceleration. It's generally up to speed with what's going on after the 3rd restart/drive. The coilpack only cause problems when you accelerate and especially in the wet. The diagnostic check is to simply spray it with water at night and look for sparks. The idle problem is probably the idle valve. Try cleaning it with carb cleaner and make sure you clean the rotating vane with cotton buds. Kev

Absolutely. The NSpeed is of the fixed variety, much better than the adjustable type. You have to drill your strut towers though and probably drop the actual mcpherson assemblies too. Depends if the Nspeed comes with captive nuts or not. Turn2 do a very nice removable rear brace. In my opinion the rear one is of more use than the front as it's triangualted and stops the shell twisting. Either way, you won't feel the effect of the braces until you're driving at 9/10ths. Kev

Eibach are good, Neuspeed better. The rear one of either brand can be fitted in an hour if you have some axle stands. The front one takes a lot more work. You have to remove the rear subframe bolts and suspend the whole engine assembly on the front bolts whilst fitting. Not a job for the faint hearted - the risk of 100s of kilos of engine falling on your stomach is something to bear in mind. That said, I did it and am still alive! Kev

Forgot to add, Awesome are the only official UK supplier of Neuspeed kit and if you want a good strut brace, use a Neuspeed one. They are the absolute best. Awesome get 10 out of 10 for service and advice in my opinion. Jim Cotton is a top bloke. Kev

Correct-a-mondo my man. The Neuspeed ones are fantastic. They cost more than the obligatory Eibachs, but when you see them, you soon see why. Yes the rear NSpeed is adjustable - soft, intermediate and hard. You can get them in 25 and 28mm flavours. I recommend the 25mm one as the 28mm will have your back end out if you don't respect the changes uprated bars bring about. The NSpeed rear attachs via proper clamps to the rear axle, not wimpy stainless straps as per the ibax. They also use rose joints so that there is give in the bar when the car is traversing straight line bumps. Kev

Kstar KS301 also has an auxillary digifant injector for mapping fuel in to fill in flat spots. You can advance/retard and add fuel/remove fuel (lowering/raising base pressure) at 500rpm intervals. On one of my Golf 16Vs, I used the above K star, K&N panel filter, 2 x exhaust cams, vernier pulley and a Supersprint exhaust. The result was 154bhp and 141lb/ft torque on 95 Unleaded. Up from 141 and 128 respectively. Cheers Kev