chazrad

Yeah, I was going to say that I just can't see a VRT making 500bhp on 16psi. Like Kev said, one bar should in effect double the output, especially on a GT30 series. I would have thought the psi figure for 500bhp would logically be closer to 1.5 bar of boost, so 22-23psi. A VRT rolling road day sounds like a great idea. :D

Ben, Torque wins races and 488ft/lb is a very good number. Interested to know what gearbox you are running. Is it still the O2a? Aaah, big valve head, hey? Am I right in thinking you're running a GT3076? What psi figures are your 'stages' at? Are you running water injection aswell? I've got Aquamist from when I had it with the SC, but its not up and running yet. Just for my interest really... Charlie

Kev, Ben, Tim at the Phirm did the very same thing to mine about six weeks ago. My swirl pot has a capacity of about a pint rather than Ben's one litre - not sure what yours is. I'm using the standard in tank pump with a Glencoe race pump on a neat bracket mounted next to the swirl pot and fuel filter under the car, very similar to yours. I wasn't suffering with fuel starvation but I did have what turned out to be a fuel relay problem on the Glencoe in early May, that was causing erratic running. When that was addressed - with a separate loom for the Glencoe - Tim fabricated then fitted the swirl pot at the same time. Having initially been living with a not-unpleasant but very audible whine, my pump has quietened down alot as the pressure has been turned down. I too am familar with the 'bees in the back' analogy... Mine's coming along. Its done about 3000 miles on the forged pistons and rods. The DTA has now been fully mapped at different boost settings by the guys at Track and Road Proformance at Rainham, and is really smooth. It even idles well from cold. I can't believe how rapid it is. Having said that, I'm not close to 500hp yet, nor do I think I will ever be. Its an animal as it is, and I just can't imagine needing to go faster on our roads! :shock: But well done to Ben all the same. Apart from the colour of the wheels and paint, mine now looks quite similar to yours. I love my Pro Race 1s. :salute:

Fitted new suede Sparco wheel with OMP fitting kit and a Snap-off boss. Looks fantastic and feels great. Its brought the wheel quite alot closer too, which makes for a more comfortable driving position, as I'm tall and sit a good distance from the wheel normally. Looks and feels far more Sebastian Loeb. Also, Tim at the Phirm altered the boost pipework into the throttle body to prevent the pipe jumping off, as it did last week under high boost. Now its sorted - and got a new set of plugs - the car's like a rocket ship!

I had my intercooler-to-throttle body pipe blow off the other day - causing a big bang and engine stutter - whilst in the outside lane on the M25. I'd just had the car mapped for higher boost and was giving it some beans when it happened, and so I suppose it was finding the weakest link in the boost chain, so to speak. Luckily I was pulling off the motorway at the next junction anyway and was able to pull over and check under the bonnet. I reattached it all when I got home and now all is well again. Sounds like you've had a bad run of luck recently so I hope things settle down for you now, and you manage to get some miles under the wheels... :D- Charlie

Hi Ross, Why are you selling? Surely for the cost of keeping/running it vs rewards, there's not alot else out there to touch it! Rgds Charlie

- I'd vote for ARB upgrade too as the #1 mod. Handling transformed. - Followed closely by a 288mm brake conversion. - Headlight loom upgrade is good, as has been said (get some decent bulbs too). - And the Lupo wipers mod was great; although tbh I don't use my wipers much. I wash the windscreen well then use Rainex or Halfords equivalent and the rain just zips off... Other things you might consider: - replacing tired/worn suspension bushes with polyurethane replacements (eg. Powerflex etc.) - a BMC or Ramair cone filter if you like more induction noise - a diff (Quaife or Peloquin) if you like bowling into corners fast ...I could go on. But the costs start to escalate... :lol:

Looks like Chris has done a sterling job, Kris. Great stuff. I think my C will be getting his treatment at some point (poss next year). :D

Fitted a new set of red tinted rear lights I have just finished, to replace the old ones that had begun to crack. Also, fitted a new rear number plate, as the last one was beginning to delaminate. Fitted a Audi R8 oil filler cap. Finally cleaned the car inside and out in prep for the Stoner Park show tomorrow. Even clayed it then 'lime primed' the paint 9leavin it beautifully smooth) before giving it a coat of Autoglym SRP. Alas, I ran out of time before I could go over it with the Extra Gloss Protection, so I'll have to do that when I'm there tomorrow. :D I need a respray though... :(

I renewed on the CCGB website the other day. I presume I'll get the new membership card in due course. I got the air freshener through though. Have just put it in the car this evrening ready to hang up in the car at Stoner Park tomorrow... :D

Good move, matey. Take it one step at a time. I can honestly say that there is more pleasure to be gained taking it easy and planning your purchases, so you buy only the best kit when you can afford it, and can appreciate each little modification in turn. If you rush to buy/fit it all, you won't be able to tell what the best mod was.. KWs are excellent coilovers. I have V1s on my C since Aug 2007 and the ride is great. If you decide you can afford the more expensive ones, then you get what you pay for. Just don't waste money skimping on decent suspension by being tempted by the cheaper end of the market; and make sure you get stainless steel bodied coilies as well, or else risk the adjuster rings seizing within 12-24 months unless really well looked after. I also had a set of RH ZW1s for about 12-18 months and loved them - in fact I still do! They are a heavy wheel and will slightly dull handling (make tramlining slightly worse too) but don't let that put you off them. They are lovely wheels - worth holding out for a good set too. HTH. Good luck with your car, and welcome to 'Rado ownership...

Nice vid Dave. Shame we couldn't hear more of the engine/turbo noise over the wind. Looking fwd to seeing the car again at Stoner.. :D

There's a guy who has his Mk5 R32 serviced at The Phirm who's just had a Capristo fitted. It does sound great but agree with you that its not worth spending that kind of money on an exhaust for a VW - far better spent making bigger gains elsewhere. However, from what I gather there are a good number of Ferrari, Lambo, Maser owners etc who drive R32s as daily drivers. They splash out on Capristos for their weekend toys and have obviously then persuaded Capristo that there is a sufficient demand to create a system especially for their daily hacks. In all fairness to Capristo - and like everything in life - you pay for what you get. The Capristo I have seen on the R32 is a thing of beauty. It may be a bit of bent pipe, but then there's bent pipe and there's bent pipe! Powerflow is bent pipe! The Capristo is finely crafted, beautfifully made and fabulously sounding bent pipe! :lol:

A pic of the VRT taken last year. Externally its not changed alot since then...

Hello Ben, I popped into The Phirm the other day, and Tim said you'd been in touch re getting some work done. He's looking forward to seeing your VRT again. Last time he saw it was shortly before Marcus sold it, I think. They were going to be doing some work with C2 Motorsports over the last couple of days too. Re my car, its up and running, and feels prety quick to me. So far, its only been mapped at the base boost setting (5-6psi I think). Its really smooth and very comfortable off-boost, then loud, raucous and fast on-boost, which is ace :lol: . I love the noise, and the popping on the overrun. The brakes are awesome too: My dad couldn't believe how quick the car was then how strong the brakes were when I gave him a run out in it recently. It has just developed a minor fuelling fault, due to a tired relay on the standard fuel pump, which has now been fixed; but its back with The Phirm at the moment to do a couple more things, before going off for another mapping session to sort it for higher boost levels. Hope to catch up with you again soon.

Hi mate. First things first: welcome to Corrado ownership. :clap: Second: I haven't read all your posts on this thread but It seems like you are getting yourself into a right state! So just relax and stop beating yourself up, matey. When I got my (totally standard) VR Corrado back in 2001, I recall temps in normal motorway driving conditions being about 104-110 deg. I recall seeing up to 114-116 on hot days. Now, I do not know much about the technical aspects of oil, but you are not doing any real damage to the oil at those temps. Oil starts to break down - depending on the oil, of course - above about 130 deg. Like John (dukest) says, the most important thing to protect the engine is regular oil changes, so consider an oil and filter change (for peace of mind as much as anything) if you are unsure when the it was last done. So, I'd say do not worry about your oil temps. They are not unheard of. It seems every VR6 engine is slightly different and what is normal on one is high on another, and vice versa. Don't take my word for it: Call Vince at Stealth Racing or Tim at the Phirm and ask about what normal temps on a VR are. I think you'll be reassured. :wink: On oil choice, I would suggest using only semi-synthetic oil in the VR, like VW Quantum Synta Silver oil sold by the dealers. I use it now - recommended by The Phirm - in my VR6 turbo, which potentially sees much higher engine temps than you will see. My view now (and everyone has an opinion on this, I know :lol: ) is that if VW recommend it, it must be right. Occasionally, there have been cheap deals on containers of Synta Silver on here. Re after market oil coolers, you will not seem much change from £200-250 fitted from a specialist. It will drop your oil temps a few degs although the actual amount differs between cars. But, I really don't think that at this stage, with your temps, you are in need of one. If you start modifying the engine (eg. cams, remap, air filter) and putting more strain on the engine, then you might consider it. Right now, I'd give your car an oil change, let it settle down, and then if you are still worried, call a reputable specialist - as mentioned above. I hope this helps. Best of luck. Charlie

Kris, really sorry to hear this. Very bad luck, and I am sure Fay must feel awful about it. :pale: It can't have happened long after I left you guys. Best of luck with getting both cars fixed.

I'm with you on that one!! :lol: Often had a little dribble to wipe up after a good long run... Thankfully, there are no such problems with the turbo fitted!

My list looks very similar to Leonard's but in a slightly different order: 1. Corrado VR6 2. Original BMW M6 or mint 635csi 3. Audi Ur quattro 20V (with a few choice RS2 engine mods) 4. Porsche 968 CS Supercharged (with only 25K miles that's up for sale for £20K on Pistonheads atm) 5. BMW Z4M (just about squeezes in under £20K)

Some great vids on their matey. Very entertaining. :salute:

Thanks for your offer of help/advice with the ISV, Kev. You are right: its not a daily driver, so I am able to live with the odd foible! However, I will make a point of learning more about the DTA. As you would expect, I have the manual and know that there is a pretty active online user community, so support - should it be required - is at hand. Tim did say he'd go out in the car with me one evening and do the final tweaks to the mapping, so its adjusted to my style of driving. I am now just looking forward to better weather then I can get the ol' girl out there and see how quick she really is... :D

As I recall, Buddy, its the gasket from a Sharan VR6, which is a 3 piece jobby. You simply pull it apart and ditch the sandwiched bit in the middle. The part number I have is: 021 103 383N. I hope that's right. Charlie

Hi Kev, The car is away having the last few bits done atm, but should be back with me very soon. As such, passing definitive judgment on the DTA is difficult but I've no reason to think - from my limited time with the car so far - that it is anything other than fine. The flexibility of it is great, but I have left the mapping and fettling to Tim at the Phirm to be honest. I have enquired about what he does and watched him do some adjustments to the mapping when I've been there, but I would need a lesson in all the various parameters and their effects on performance before feeling confident to alter settings myself. Tim has said that he is not fitting / has not fitted the ISV. As far as I know, there have been no issues with idle stabilisation so far. Not long now 'til the beast is on the streets....

I would go 8.5:1 personally and give the knock sensors less work to do, but it depends on how good your intercooler is and what boost you run. Completely agree with this. 8.5:1 is going to be safer. I think I've still got my Dubpower one upstairs in the spare room, having not needed it in the end.

Hello Chris, great to hear from you. I thought you'd fallen off the edge of the world, now you're in Dubai and no longer in Corrado ownership. The 'Rado is still at the Phirm for the last few bits of titivation. Various little bits of detail have been readdressed, most of which will never be seen but which will all contribute to a quick and reliable car, we hope. I've been in no hurry to get it back given the time of year and the weather. Should be returning to the roads around the south east within the next 2-3 weeks though. I must say that I cannot recommend The Phirm enough to anyone. The level of attention to detail and time that Tim has lavished on this build has been staggering. I am truly endebted to him and everyone on the team. :salute: A proper update will follow when the car's back.