chazrad

Yes, Steve Greenauld did map the car, and yes, he does have a good reputation. To be fair to him, it is well deserved given his background in motorsport and building race engines, not to speak of the countless cars he continues to map for motorsport and even car manufacturers. He also has the experience with DTA which is why we took the car to him in the first place. Re the cold start mapping, Steve never had my car overnight so was not able to map the cold start. Of course, you've had plenty of time to perfect yours - four years I think - as you use it everyday. It is also of greater concern to you to get the cold start right. We would have got there with mine eventually (bearing in mind that my car is a weekend toy and therefore cold start behaviour is of less concern) but for starters, it was more about getting the car running as it should when warm.

I'll let you know when it'll next be back there, Joe.

The bigger bore tubing was simply to reduce back pressure / pressure loss in the pipework, or put another way, so that it can flow more air for a given pressure loss from turbo cold side to throttle body. The pipework quite simply can now flow a greater volume of air - necessary for producing higher power figures. Yup, the cold start issues were indeed down to the mapping. The problem with the DTA was that as it did not run a MAF, it could not see air density and therefore adjust fuelling for different 'cold start' conditions ie. depths of winter or heat of a summer's day. Therefore, it ran rich and lumpy when the engine was cold. That in itself is not a problem because it only seemed to do it for between 30 secs and 1 min depending on external air temperature. With a standard factory ECU, it has got these other sensors which means it can adjust fuelling to suit the density of air it is seeing at idle. DTA per se is not a problem. It is a blank canvas onto which your mapping is only as good as the person mapping it and the range of sensors the ECU supports that it can draw on to control it. I am not going to go into the specifics of my old setup here, but can discuss with you my experiences further by PM or should we meet in the future.

I completely agree with all of this, sad as I am, especially about the cleaning thing. Mine is so shiney at the moment, I think I might struggle to get the miles on it I need to run it in because the weather is so damp atm. And its not like I can use the power yet anyway! Will be good to see your VRT again before too long, Ben.

Hi Ben, Yeah, would be great to catch up again with you and the others. The last one I was able to get to was probably 2 years ago, may be longer. I recall Guy giving me a run out in his mental RS4. The goal with the present set up is nothing too ambitious. I am more interested in reliable power rather than 'blow my socks off' big numbers. I know what it should make at 1 bar and having driven it at a bar before the last rebuild, that was more than enough to scare me witless! Speak soon I hope.

You're right John. Its just the way it has worked out. I think the thing to remember about these conversions - something that can be easily forgotten - and something that I have learnt (then been reminded about) on a number of occasions, especially with the turbo work, is that you have to go into this level of modification with your eyes wide open (and John, I know you know this with your experiences!). Anyone who thinks they can turbo an N/A engined car and not have problems is kidding themselves, even if you get someone else to do the work for you. Like a number of other people on here, my engine spec is unique and bespoke and so it has always been a case of test and adjust. Every time my car has been back to The Phirm, there have been little things that Tim has changed (eg. uprating the fuel relay circuitry to give the race pump its own relay, adding an oil swirl pot, remaking the intercooler boost pipe work in bigger bore tubing, replacing the oil cooler hoses with braided, adjusting the position of the oil cooler (then replacing it after the last little episode etc.), and literally countless other minor mods and tweaks, all to improve reliability and/or performance. That said, its all credit to Vince for being able to turbo a VR and knock out 360bhp conversions for the price he does them for, and make them reliable first time out. But even he has no doubt put alot of development time into his demo car to get the base conversion to that level, in order that customers can reap the rewards. Cheers matey. When the ol' girl is run in again and the on-road mapping and tweaking is complete, I'll happily take you for a spin.....

The car looks fantastic, matey. I do love those TH2's. I know they're relatively heavy but they look ace on your car. I love the lick of flame too. I think its tremendous that you are not afraid to put the car onto the track and really be able to make use of the performance. I think when mine's run in again and things have settled down, I'll try and get a day this Summer...

Andi, this looks pretty good stuff, so well done. Can you enlightne me on how to re install my avatar. I've looked in 'settings' but I can't find the screen and /or button on which I can do it. Rgds Charlie

Well, she's home and tucked away again. I collected the VRT at lunchtime and arrived to find Ryan about to finish off the cleaning with a coat of Dodo Juice, so all really was well! When he'd finished, I thought it looked so good that I had to take some pics. Here attached. Tim had given the car another oil change this morning - 180 miles into the new engine's life. Under strict directions to run it in using high gears, wide open throttle where possible but limited to 3,000rpm, the running in is now underway. I was instructed to take the cross country route home rather than head up the M3 and around the M25, so headed across to Guildford then picked up the A25. What a pot-holed crappy stretch of tarmac that is! I know the car's lowered, stiffened etc, but as it got dark I found myself wincing as a wheel disappeared into yet another chasm in the road. Appalling. Still, I was able to follow instructions to the letter on a number of occasions !! The task is now to get another 750 odd miles onto the engine before the car goes back for some mapping tweaks (and no doubt another oil change) before RR day at Stealth on 1 May. Hope you like the pics.

Cheers chaps. Much appreciated. I am really looking forward to get it back now. As it happens Yan, the damage to the engine wasn't really my fault - less the fact I was driving the car at the time, but that's another story and I'm not about to tell tales on that one... :? Getting the train down there in the morning and will be driving the ol' girl home...gently... :grin: Pics to follow soon.

Well, its been a while since I've posted much on here. Part of that has been down to not having the car for the last few months whilst the engine was rebuilt...again. Some might know I had a problem and all was not well with the engine....which was a shame so soon after getting the VRT on the road. Anyhow, its coming back and its better than ever. The old overbored 2.9L block is history, and is now replaced with a 2.8L AAA block, primarily because a rebore or rehoning was likely to make the walls between cylinders too thin for FI. The replacement has been rebuilt from the ground up. Its been great in many ways because I've been able to get involved doing bits and pieces in the build down at the workshop, not that I'd recommend that as the grounds for going through a second engine rebuild in as many years! Headlines include: The DTA is gone and OBD2 is in with a new loom and the electronic TB. Obviously all the standard sensors are back too, which it seems was a problem before. Its running a 4in MAF and a C2 chip. So are another set of Wossners with the IE rods from before. The head was fine so after cleaning it up, its gone back on with the 263 cams in. When the old block was all out of the 'bay, the guys had a subframe and lower arms - that I'd got with the engine and loom - powdercoated and swapped them over with the originals. All the other features from before are carried over: the turbo, downpipe, custom 3in exhaust and 'twintercooler' setup. The beauty is that the car now starts on the button from cold which it never did easily with the DTA. I popped into the Phirm last night, to hear it running again for the first time since the end of August. It sounds better than ever and the install is such a neat clean job. I was persuaded - it didn't take much persuasion! - to take it outr for a quick drive, and have to say the drive is so smooth and effortless in any gear, and there is more torque than I remember even if off boost (clearly not using much of that at the moment). I get the car back at the weekend and now have to run the engine in again. Once that's done, it'll be time to tuuuuurrrrrnnnnn it up again! hehe ... :D Got something else in the pipeline for a couple of months time. Anyway, for now, I hope I've time to run the engine in so that it'll be ready to run on the rollers at Stealth at the RR day in May. The final thing is to say publicly how grateful I am to Tim and the guys (including Paul, Jelly, Kristian and Matt) at the Phirm for being such fantastic people and outstanding mechanics. The number of hours Tim has lavished on my car over the last 3 years is simply astonishing. He truly is a perfectionist and a gentleman; and to go with it, he has an encyclopaedic knowledge of all VWs. I've said it before but its not for nothing that the PVW team turn to the Phirm to help out with their Q & A column and are good friends. But the best thing about the Phirm is the great atmosphere that permeates the place. All customers are treated like friends and there is always time to stop and chat. Also, as is my experience, customers are encouraged to get involved with their builds if they wish. So to the guys at the Phirm, all I have to say is: I salute you! :salute: Rest assured, I'll take care of it.

Sounds like fun. I'll stick this in the diary and see if I can make it. :D Assuming I can come along, I'd like to run the car on the rollers. Presumably, you'll collect payments for those wishing to run nearer the time so you know how many you're expecting...

Glad you got it sorted, John.

Right, I spoke to the guys at the Phirm today about fitting R32 starters to VR 'boxes. In short, they recommended just fitting a genuine Bosch VR6 replacement starter motor. Basically, the design is different: the R32 starter is predictably a more modern design and is brushless. Also, there is a difference in the depth of the gearbox bellhousing as well as the flywheel being different, so they were unsure whether an R32 starter would marry up correctly to a VR6 flywheel. HTH, John.

John, Kev, Sorry I can't help. I don't have an R32 starter fitted. I've never had a problem with standard one so never needed to change it. Equally interested as you chaps if the Mk4 R32 one fits though. I'm popping down to The Phirm on Saturday so I'll ask the guys if I remember....

Personally, I would be seeking help from the guys at The Phirm, who I know will sort it for you. They are based between Hook and Hartley Wintney on A30 in Hampshire; its not Dorset or Bournemouth but they will know what your problem is. A quick cal to them should give you confidence. They were sorting out a K-Jet 16v Corrado today, and are converting another 9a engine 2.0L 16v Corrado from mechanical to electronic fuel injection to resolve running issues. In my sig, you'll find the link to their website. If that is too far for you, you might also try JMR (John Mitchell Racing) based in Littlehampton in Sussex. HTH

I know what you mean. I've just put my winter Solitudes on my VR6 Golf, and I am trying to get used to the change in stance, with the wheels so much further tucked in than with the LMs on.

I was about to post that I was not going to be able to make the RR day on 19th now. So its just as well this is going to be rescheduled. I'll try and make the next one. :wink: Impressive dyno plots in PPC. I can't get over or understand how you get so much power from just 16psi. Charlie

I have the Jetex 3 box system on my Golf VR6. The previous owner apparently started by fitting a 2-box system and found it way too loud to live with everyday, so added in the 3rd box to quieten it down (which apparently, according to Jetex themselves, is very common!). I find the slightly more sporty note over the standard exhaust enjoyable, and I drive the Golf everyday to work. I think I know what you mean about the boominess, but it doesn't really bother me. Have you still got the standard cat in or a replacement decat pipe? The cat helps to quieten things down a little further. Last time I saw his car, CrazyDave was running a Jetex system on is VRT, but the turbo is really good at quietening things down - even without a cat - so he may not experience the problem you are experiencing.

You cannot buy from DTA an ECU that plugs straight into your harness, if that's what you mean. You need to wire in the DTA to the loom. I have heard good things about MBE standalone management and 20v turbos, so you may want to consider that as well.

Same here. The date is in the diary and I've cleared it with the wife too! :lol:

Yep Jetex custom build pipes, its a tight fit in the tunnel but as long as the mounts and hangers are well positioned and good and strong then the silencer doesnt move. You can order pipe parts with flared ends to fit over the 3" pipe or they do joiners. Your system is almost identical to mine, matey. Same parts: Jetex pipework and Simons backbox. Your downpipe is different as my turbo sits alot lower down behind the engine than yours, so it is shorter with a very tight bend (in its own diameter - quite some welding!) from the turbo down into the tunnel.

3in custom system built onto the car from the turbo back. One silencer. No cat, except for MOT time.

Dependent on date, I would be interested in a VRT rolling road day... As Pete says, it would be good to see different set ups and swap experiences.