chazrad

Looks really good. annoying that I've been living 30 mins away for 20 months and never been to this meet. And now we're working / moving away again, I won't get a chance... ho hum

R32 is a great engine - no doubt about that. All the best bits of the VR6 carried across but the design updated, VVT and modern management which will take a remap when you get around to fitting forced induction. One thing to consider when you eventually go down that route (and you surely will: once you've had a turbo you can't go back to standard torque delivery) I think the idea of fitting the turbo into the exhaust under the back of the car is an interesting one. It brilliantly uncomplicates the install and you can do away with things like an intercooler. Its also a relatively quick install with minimal fabrication and no messing around with complex and precisely made down pipes to fit into tight spaces. And best of all: you'll be able to open the bonnet and no one will know its turbo'd if you keep the standard inlet manifold and cleverly route the turbo to TB inlet pipework. The alternative would be a rotrex which I believe works really well on the R32 and R36. Again, its a more straightforward install and a remap (United Motorsport can sort you out) of the standard ECU will see you right and will retain all the functionality and protection afforded to the engine by the standard sensors. Looking forward to hearing more about this as it progresses, Kev. I just love the noise an R32 or R36 makes and would happliy fit one into my Mk3 when the the standard VR finally becomes uneconomical to repair.

The Phirm have fitted a fully working TFSI into a Mk2 Golf. Its mega quick (I'm lucky enough to have had a ride out in it) and a great install. The point is it can be done but there are some clever workarounds required on the TFSI ECU to get it to run with Mk2 (or any other) clocks and other anciliaries. Speak to the experts if you need to know why you can't run standalone ECU and have the TFSI working fully, but it seems to be the case.

I need to check the diary but I'll try and get along.. Hope tyo catch up with you all soon. Charlie

I drove through it twice this week in the VR Golf with windows down and gave it a couple of blats. The speed limit is up to 70 (National speed limit) through the tunnel now but there is a camera at either end which looks to be a permanent fixture, so be warned. I have to say the Highways Agency have dne a great job. Its a great piece of engineering and looks very smart, shiny and clean as you drive through.

Tim, Many thanks for a very prompt despatch of the door trim I bought from you. arrived in excellent ands well wrapped condition. Great work, and the new trim looks good on the car too, replacing my cracked part. Cheers. Charlie

Glass out respray would soak that cash up I reckon; and if it didn't I'm sure new window rubbers and anciliaries would! Then powdercoating the rear beam.

Sorry I can't make this. That's yet another I'll have missed through being away on hols. I'm making a bit of a habit of it!! : ( Have a great weekend. Charlie

Alas, the Stealth RR day at the start of May was cancelled through lack of interest which I found extraordinary and disappointing. So no, no graphs or numbers at the moment. I will try and get the VRT dyno'd sometime soon though.

A couple of photos after finally getting around to fitting my new RS reps to the Mk3 Golf daily driver. Very pleased with how they look. At the same time as an oil and filter change, Tim at the Phirm welded a steel plate onto a spare VR sump and swapped them over; - the previous owner had ground the sump and it had always slightly weeped. It weeps no more! Thanks again to the Phirm for their help working out spacer requirements then for helping to fit the wheels and sorting out the geometry late on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.

Hi Tim, I no longer need the tank straps, thanks. Sorry to mess you around. I do need the strip for the top of the driver's door though. Happy with £10 plus postageso I'll take that, thanks. Let me know when its wrapped and ready to send, and I'll make payment. Charlie

Hello Tim, I'm interested in the tank straps and, if you still it, the length of plastic that sits across the top of the drivers's side door card by the window. My one has a crack in it (like so many do). Just wandering if yours is available and blemish free? Rgds and thanks Charlie

John, I followed you off at Jct 10 then came back along the A25, which probably no quicker was at least flowing all the time. Like you say, not one of the best drives home I've ever had; it took me 3hrs 20 mins to get home (70 miles)! I was rather hoping we'd have had a chance to open the taps up a bit so I could see how quick your car is. Another time, I hope. In all other respects though, a great day. Nice to meet Jay, and catch up with Dave, Steve, Eric, Chris Stevens, Kip and Chris Gaskell as well as some of the Scirocco guys, like Sean. Weather held and there were some lovely looking cars on show, as well as some really nice people to chat to. I do love the atmosphere at that show: really relaxed and fun, and idiots are generally conspicuous by their absence, unlike at some shows. There did seem to be fewer people at Stoner this year though and the visitor car park was nearly empty by 3pm: I wonder if it was due to the weather forecast or the financial climate? The club stand did look good and we had a good catch up. Quite a bit of passing interest in the cars too. Not sure what my next show will be, but hope you all have a good time.

Sorry to hear of your det problems with the DTA, Kev. Funny that that's exactly what happened to mine. My no.4 piston looked exactly like your no.5. At least your block is reusable and will live to fight another day. I suppose I was fortunate that there was no damage to my turbo. Will be interested to see how you get on with the 24v lump in NA form. You should catch up with John Munyard (corozin) on here who has some experience of trying the high power NA route, albeit with the 12v. Best of luck.

I concur with the comments of others here: It was a great trip out on a super day so well done, Ron. It kicked off with a gentle convoy of 6 cars travelling a couple of junctions around the M25 (Reigate to A3) to be met by very enthusiastic staff at Brooklands. It was nice to meet some new faces and visit a venue I've never been to before, steeped in real motorsport and aviation heritage. Oh, and a great cooked breakfast too! See some of you at Stoner next month. Charlie

Kin , all, Yup, that's the lay-by. It'll be a squeeze to get us all in I reckon, but I'm sure we'll cope! We will be departing at 7.30am sharp, so if you're late just catch us up!! Charlie

Hi Ron, hi all, I've spoken to the wife about this, and I've got a pass to attend, so can you stick me down for this one too, please. After a slowish start, it seems this has gained a head of steam after all... I'll be travelling from Biggin Hill, through Westerham, along the A25 then joining the M25 at Jct 6 (Godstone), then westbound passed jct 7(M23/Gatwick) etc. If those coming from the M23 and others coming from Kent and the east wished to, we could meet just off Jct 8 (Reigate) in the small layby/service road on the south side of the the roundabout above the motorway. I reckon its 35 mins from there to Brooklands so we'd need to meet and be departing from the meeting place by 7.30am. I would plan to be there by about 7.15am. If anyone's interested, let me know. Charlie

Sorry to hear that, matey. Hope you're better soon. Sorry you missed the show too. It was a good day out. I think my car stayed slightly cleaner in the car park than it migh have done on the club stand, which was a dust bowl...

Joni, I can offer a slightly different opinion to Kev's. I know he's had both types of turbo and I value his judgement but I am finding the GT3071 I have to be absolutely superb. Frankly, I seldom reve the engine out to the top of the rev range anyway, so for me, its all about the low down torque. The performance clearly depends on what boost setting I've got selected, howver, the GT30 produces max torque about 1000rpm lower than the GT35 (somewhere around 3000rpm). I find it just so flexible and responsive to drive, and have yet to find a situation when I'm lacking mid range punch. I'm actually only using setting 2 of 4 at the moment (around 9 psi as opposed to the full fat 16psi) and I'm finding it perfectly punchy enough. I reckon 9 psi must equate to somewhere around 300bhp and 300ftlb. Kev may well be right about the GT30's ability to break gearboxes, but I've never heard of it happening to anyone yet. I thought it was pretty accepted that if you keep torque figures below about 400ftlb, you'll be ok. You may want to consider a gearbox rebuild at the same time as dfoing the engine, so you know its in tip top condition. You might also want to consider a diff whilst you're at it, but then that arguably puts more strain through the 'box by making it much harder to spin away excessive torque. One final point is that you'll find a roller bearing turbo will spool up just that little bit quicker than a journal bearing turbo, helping to move the torque curve slightly further to the left. HTH , Charlie.

Only pics I took was of the three Corrados - Paul's and Judith's VR6s and Dave's VRT - on the concours stand, so no pics of the CCGB stand I'm afraid, and no pics of any air cooled stuff which was plentiful. The concours stand was certainly the place to be to avoid the dust storms...

Had a really good day today. The Corrados on the CCGB stand looked great, as did the superbly presented concours entries from Paul Kippax, Judith and CrazyDave. Good to catch up with a load of friends from the Club too. The sunshine was welcome, the wind and the dust was less welcome! The only downside of the day was trying to get away from the place..what a nightmare..no traffic control to speak of and massive queues trying to get to the M1; the organisers can surely do better than that. Took nearly four hours to do 140 miles home because of traffic on M1 and M25 !! Rubbish! Still, at least tomorrow is a Bank Holiday. I'll be rinsing my the dust off the car !! Oh, and I'm loving the turbo power....

Looking really good, matey. I love the paint - that really shines!! Its obviously been looked after which is good to see. Loving all the dials too. I've got my stereo relocated to the glovebox too, to allow some auxiliary dials to be fitted. Ahh the Raceland route: I had those for a time. The six branch improves the noise a little. I always found it pretty hard to tell whether it made any real performance difference, but if nothing else, it looks good. I wrapped mine and it was a real pain to fit as the bottom row of studs/nuts became very inaccessible to do up. I the end, I had to unwrap the manifold down to the point where 3 into 1. That's not to say that you couldn't make it fit if it were completely wrapped, but we couldn't in the time we had available. Best of luck with car. Its always nice to see another cherished Metallic Green Pearleffect VR being cared for. Charlie

Might well take a drive up for this on Sunday now, as the Stealth RR day is off.

Pretty disappointed really. I've just read on the VR6OC website that this is now canned.. Was looking forward to a good day at Stealth, and having a chance to figure the VRT as well. I can't fathom the lack of interest either. Next time maybe.

I would have thought that G-Werks would be good guys to deal with. After all, this is what they're known for. If they can't do it themselves, I'd happily take their advice as to where is best. You could also enquire at The Phirm for another opinion. I don't know whether Tim can remap G60's, but he too will almost certainly know someone he'd recommend who can... HTH.