corozin

Well I should probably add that the fitment of a rear strut brace years ago made folding the rear seats down virtually pointless as whatever you put in there also has to fit around the bar. And the fitment of some very nice sound equipment robbed me of perhaps 40% of my (already pathetic) boot space but since there seemed to be sod-all to start with my calculation was something like "removing 40% of sod-all will still leave me with sod-all". But on long trips the value of some decent quality hi-fi should not be underestimated! So admittedly I'm in a different position to many, and it's a compromise, but I still stand by the statement that the boot space in a VR6 ain't one of the car's strong points. Luckily for Jim the boot space in the G60/16v is deeper than in the VR6 (due to the smaller fuel tank). What's the betting lots of guys start sporting roof bars at shows this summer now, ha-ha-ha. They could be 2009's show-season equivalent of InPro rear lights :cuckoo: I think it probably needs a carbon-fibre roofbox as well for the right amount of bling, as you know those Westside boys don't give no respec' unless you have lots of gold/carbon-fibre fitted :cuckoo: :cuckoo: :cuckoo:

I'm a little uncertain why the Tacoma is such a revelation; the thing was racing at Pikes Peak ten years ago, and goes up the hill at Goodwood FoS almost every year these days. In fact the footage on the link was taken at Goodwood...

Well to answer your question you'd bother because the Corrado has a small boot. Have you ever tried putting more than two or three bags in the boot or a Corrado? Ever tried putting a bike in the back? Ever tried going away on holiday for more than a couple of days with one? That's why you'd bother... But I wouldn't buy these ones. Thule do the best ones and although they're more expensive than the ones above they're worth it. In fact the only thing that amazes me is that we don't see more Corrados sporting them.

I would say that legally your car is still in SORN status until 1st of February. Your tax disc reads until next year but your may still get stopped by by a dibble if his ANPR alerts him. How you get through that will (I suspect) depend largely on how much of an issue the officer wants to make out of it all considering that only a day is involved, and how persuasive you can be with your undoubted "I didn't have a clue it wouldn't be ok" excuses.

They may me awesome but they're very big, very heavy and not actually very quick. My friend Eddie can tell you many stories about how he simply can't hang onto my Corrado travelling across Salisbury Plain, despite his 300ZX being modified to well over 400bhp. The 300ZX is just too big to pedal proper-quickly on anything other than a dual carriageway. Same for a Toyota Supra But it's not all about speed. If I wanted speed, I'd go buy a quick car, not a Corrado or a 300ZX.... The problem is that 'awesome' can be defined in so many ways. I've no problem with the 300ZX but certainly it's performance is one of the better reasons I can think of to buy one. You certainly wouldn't pick one for the quality of the interior trim :)

Is your Corrado on tracks?! Only thing I know that shifts on Salisbury Plain is a Challenger 2 tank! More rails than tracks :wink: but it does go out on track as well. There are roads across Salisbury plain y'know!

They may me awesome but they're very big, very heavy and not actually very quick. My friend Eddie can tell you many stories about how he simply can't hang onto my Corrado travelling across Salisbury Plain, despite his 300ZX being modified to well over 400bhp. The 300ZX is just too big to pedal proper-quickly on anything other than a dual carriageway. Same for a Toyota Supra

Brillinat, i love teh old 8 series too. I prefer the 840 tho, but those Alpina rims are just superb. Also has the 'uniqueness' of beig a production failure like teh Corrado, making them very rare too. BUT, the thing with the C is its also quite practical - you an get two adults in the back in fair comfort and carry stuff in the boot AND look cool. The beamer i believe is very cramped in the back even for kids and my two are growing up fast. I have also thought about a worthy replacement to the C and i cant relly seem to find one, unless you spend mega bucks. At risk of inflaming opinion I drove an 850i and in many ways it was a huge disappointment. It looks terrific (esp. with those Alpina rims) but the cabin space was frankly piss-poor, the driving position relative to the wheel was 'not right' and it didn't feel especially quick, although that may have been down to the auto-box. A Corrado has decidedly more space inside IMHO and usable rear seats unlike the 850i, which is crazy considering the difference in size between the cars externally. Add onto that the 14mpg economy and parts prices which wouldn't be out of place on a Ferrari (e.g. a replacement bonnet is around £5,000!) and it just doesn't add up to me. An M5 is a lot quicker, roomier inside and would cost you a fraction of the 850's costs to run and maintain. But frankly onto the original poster's question; whilst I'd personally move onto an M3 or M5, I would recommend either an R32, an Impreza or a Leon Cupra R, which are all affordable cars around the same size as the Corrado. I know the Impreza has a chavvy image but it's hard to fault how quick they are or the build quality. If you're on a tight budget or want something more subtle then a MkIV 4Motion is a good buy; add some coilovers & remove the badges and you have an anonymous Q-car.

I agree with Kip. FSH on a 15 year old car is just a load of bollocks unless you intend to show it in concours (and even then I'd argue about the need for it) On a car as old as this I'd want to see bills for perhaps past 2-3 years. That should be enough to make a decision on, together with an HPI check which will throw up any o/s finance or total loss insurance repairs. HTH, John

Yep, been looking at that car myself! That and the Z3M Coupe are my fave M cars. I also have an urge to stick a Chevy LS2 engine into something, maybe an M5 :D There is already a subframe kit available in the USA to transplant a LS-series engine into a Porsche 944 shell, and I did look into it before making the decision to do my Corrado rebuild. Indeed the LS2 engine weighs less than the 2.5 Porsche engine it replaces. I reckoned that such a car could be built for under £14k and would have been an absolute rocket (and uninsurable!). It would have also had side exhausts - just [strike:1kj1b905]for when I got[/strike:1kj1b905] in case of flames you understand :shades: I think an engine transplant like that would be a bit wasted on an M5 (cheaper to start with a 520i base car). Whole E39's with good history are now common under £9k. Must... resist... spending... money...

No but if you want expert advice I can recommend contacting Bill at Badger5.co.uk as he also specialises in and sells some of the cheapest Brembo conversion kits in the UK. Top fella. Don't forget if you go to 305mm disc setup you'll need at least 16" wheels. Good luck John

Yeah let's hope Usman stays lucky and doesn't have a knife stuck in him next time he gets out to 'av a go :roll:

Nooo! No mincing 11½:1 pistons for me, I managed to get 12:1 compression. I'll let you imagine how I felt when Wossner announced some 13:1 jobbies about 3 weeks after my box arrived :( Don't get me wrong the engine is quite strong, has great torque, makes a huge noise (and crappy economy!). I've just given up trying to work out what the issue is; it's bound to be some kind of part matching, or pressure, or sensor issue, but we've tried everythiinng we can think or for the time being. In fact the VSR flows fairly well compared to the standard ABV inlet, which itself flows a lot better than the inlets fitted to the SLC. I not only had a big valve head, but also the head and exhaust ports all flowed too, so it should easily be making 250+. The issue lies elsewhere, undiscovered. Elusive. Like you say - a real shame because it's got all the parts to be a complete monster (for a NA car!) I've been pondering an R32 swap for quite a few months, and I may do it still. Job uncertainly has put those thoughts on hold. Frankly I'm just as minded when that decision comes to swap the whole car for an E39 M5 instead, which is a helluva lot quicker and comfier than an R32'd rado would ever be. The credit crunch is making these things affordable these days! John

Has anyone done a Schrick / VSR, Schimmel 263 cams, BMC filter and big bore throttle yet? In the good old days that setup (but with Schrick 268s) used to make 220-225hp on a healthy VR6. And that was on 97 RON fuel. I reckon with 99 RON V power and the 263s, it's gotta be knocking on the doors of 240hp? I wish V power and the 263s were around when I fitted my Schrick + 268s 5 years ago :? Was never particularly bowled over by that combo tbh. I felt it was a very small gain for the outlay, hence my earlier remark :D I have all that stuff, plus a lot more, including extra capacity, big compression, big revs, lightened/balanced parts everywhere - almost the entire shopping list except for titanium rods in fact. Despite lots and lots of thinking & effort this exotic has never made the target power (>250bhp) let alone what we had reason to hope for (~280bhp). After a year in development I've given up pouring time & money into trying to unearth the solution. What I can say is that I've run standard (258) cams, 284 race cams (with solid lifters), and currently Schimmel 263s. The 263s work very well with a VSR as they're quite a torquey cam anyway. By comparison the 284s made lots of power right at the top, but we determined that the huge cam profile of the 284s conflicted with the VSR. In fact they worked a lot better when the VSR was taken off. As such I would say that based on my experience a 263/268 cam is about ideal for use with a VSR, and given the choice these Schimmel 263s would be the preferred choice as they punch above thier spec in an ABV (the 'magic cams' effect) A big bore throttle body (which isn't easy to get these days) isn't going to make a huge difference on it's own. It's effect is more one of an 'enabler' when you start adding lots of parts together. In other words it won't make a huge difference on it's own, but when combined with lots of other things plays a part in the overall equation. A big-bore throttle body will also noticeably impact your mpg when you put your foot down so you've got to be sure you want it! When trying to build a truly exotic specification engine all these bits need to work with each other in harmony to achieve the desired effect. I've been through the whole process of trying to achieve this and hit a wall (and an expensive one at that). My recommendation would be to go with the 263s, the VSR and a decent remap and leave it at that. Frankly for the money involved if you just want to achieve ma-hoo-sive power for sensible money it's more sensible to consider either a charger conversion or a 24v conversion. But of course that's just my opinion. You are welcome to spend thousands and let me know the answer !

There are quite a few threads on trackdays & trackday preparation in the history of General Car Chat if you want to do a search for them. Enjoy your day.

Although the Corrado wasn't a commercial success the Corrado name is well known, well respected and fondly remembered so I wouldn't be surprised if VW revived it again in years to come. But you're right Jim; with the Scirroco on release, the Audi R8 occupying the super-coupe slot and the industry on it's backside I don't think the Corrado MkII will be seen for many many years yet. VW talked at one point about dropping some combination of R32/R36 engine into the Scirocco shell but I think even that's been utterly shelved for the foreseeable future. Still - it's nice to dream a little once in a while. That image on the previous page evoked some pleasent thoughts...

I have to admit that insofar as my own personal "cool-wall" is concerned modified Escort Cossies are grouped over on the left hand side with all the other common chavvy, max-power rubbish. However there is something about the Escort /Sierra Cosworth (not Sapphire), in alpine white, unmodified with it's whale-tail which is now just a piece of magic and is on the right hand side of my wall along with the really cool & desirable motors. I admit there was a time when they were awful, but that has long-since changed. In fact I almost challenge anyone who has actually seen a standard, original Cossie recently (especially in white and on original wheels) to not be impressed with them all over again. There was such an Escort-Cos at the Castle Combe rallyday last September and I was just blown away by it. The RS Owner's Club are also a really excellent and enthusiastic bunch with a great club.

The problem is too many of these young kids have watched The fast and the Furious and now think a Civic is a kickass-quick car. It just ain't so... There are very, very few standard Escort Cossies out there any more, and the few that are about not only make absolutely epic money when they come up for sale, but are being bought by collectors rather than enthusiasts. Think £17k-£25k for a nice one. Personally I prefer the noise and delivery of a VR6, even if it's not as quick.

If you are able to add a bit more detail as to what you are trying to do you may get more responses. Are you looking for 4 stud/5 stud? Which disc size(s) are you considering? Various Seats of different ages came with 312,318 & 323mm discs. The calipers differ from the 312 vs 323 kits. If you get the option order them with Ferodo DS2500 pads as these are a lot better than the Brembo pads. I think you need to be looking at Seat based kits to get even close to the carrier specs you will need. Alternatively if you are on a 8v/16v motor consider upgrading the fronts to 280mm G60 brakes? Brembos are a lot of money these days but are well worth the investment if you know you're going to need the capability. With a 8v/16v I'd probably go for the 305mm or 312mm kits as those cars don't carry the weight of the VR6

If you have (or need) a genuine VW Motorsport VSR you will also need the earlier "concertina" inlet pipe connecting the MAF & Throttle Body (or a Samco pipe equivalent) as the later (95 on) hard plastic pipe will not fit the VSR (because the throttle body fits at a different angle to a stock inlet). You will also need to modify (or procure) a small modified elbow pipe which connects to the front side of TB.

Ok, so turning around to go back through twice on Wednesday was a bit childish. But it was also a lot of fun.

Where's the fun in looking it up on a Wiki? Takes all the fun out of being opinionated it does! :D

Subjectively the car does feel less "floppy" when turning but the magnitude of the effect in my view depends on how the rest of the car is set up. I think the effect would be still noticable (but lessened) on a car with stock suspension. Objectively fitting strut braces does make a difference and it is measurable. I fitted front & rear braces to one of my old Corrados between two trackdays at Castle Combe 6-7 years ago and the difference out on track was immediate; 3-4 seconds a lap improvement and with noticeably reduced tyre wear at the front. No other modifications were made (at that time) aside from the two braces.

Why is it felt necessary to have 400bhp to enjoy a trackday? You can have just as much fun batting around all day in a valver with 150bhp.

Couple of quick suggestions : 1) Convert rear light cluster so that both foglights work. If you open the panel up the bulb holder on the non-operational side is covered by a blanking plate which is easily removed. The bulb holder is already wired up, so just insert bulb & it's job done. 2) Swap the foglight switches in the cockpit around. I personally prefer to have the front fogs switch on the left. I normally find the right hand button is obscured from view by the steering wheel. Sounds stupid, but I liked it. 3) If you want a growl of a VR6 without the cost of an induction kit, remove the airbox and drill some holes in the bottom section ONLY before refitting. This will free up the airflow a bit, makes a great noise, and is easily reversible if you don't like it by covering the holes with some duct tape. HTH, John