mikkijayne

The Americans seem to do this a fair bit, and I really don't understand why :shrug: I have a mk2 with manual steering, and although it has a little more feedback than the Corrado it is a slower rack so it is less direct, and less stable at speed. It feels a lot less 'planted' than the Corrado does. They have the same size tyres, and the same suspension. The other way is just running a power rack with no power assistance, but that is horrible to live with in a daily driver, as its just so heavy. I don't think a manual rack will save you any space in the tunnel anyway - its pretty much the same size & shape as the power rack, but without the pipes, and they're on the end or front of the rack anyway.

It may be an air lock - my mk2 does the same thing when filled from dry. Try squeezing the rad hoses a few times and allow it to warm up with the cap off the expansion tank (don't allow it to get hot! just warm). Also make sure the small hose from the top of the stat housing to the expansion tank isn't kinked or flattened.

Bumpity bump for updates. I've been busy with the rear subframe :) [link temporarily removed] :cat:

KRs seem to be a bit random about their fuel preferences. The first one I had hated 95 and pinked like a bitch, eventually to the point where it shattered the top ring lands on all the pistons and stopped working :( The current daily however doesn't seem to care either way, and runs perfectly sweetly on 95. Pulls well, no pinking, and did 37.5mpg @75mph on the way from Hull to Exeter today. They're funny buggers. K-Jet is great when it works and a complete pig when it doesn't. I have no idea why this current engine likes 95 and the old one didn't :shrug: They were both set to factory ignition timing...

The system doesn't always log transient faults (even though it ought to). Did they scan everything? EPC can be a bunch of stuff from ignition to ABS, so you need to scan all the control modules, ideally while it is actually having the problem. My Mum has a New Beetle that did a very similar thing - the EPC light came on occasionally and it lost power, but didn't record any faults. It only showed the fault in VAG-COM when it was actually happening and when the light was on, and it turned out just to be a bad coil pack.

Definitely a no-brainer then. I just have to get round to it.... :wink: Thanks for all the info :)

Interesting thanks. You say 4-cyl Corrados - does the VR6 have a different bush? Does the R32 bush still lock in to the little C-shaped notches in the subframe? I might have to get a couple to tinker with - I was going to use them on the V8 anyway :)

I just used mk2 Golf 16V hoses on mine. No idea why they used those daft short bits of solid pipe on the caliper - they are an MoT failure waiting to happen! :roll: Although the mk2 hoses work fine they are a little shorter than I'd like, so those longer ones you have found should work just fine :)

You can use the mk3 one with a little modification. The legs on the back are longer on the mk3, so you need to cut them down and drill a new hole to match where it is on the Corrado legs, then it will bolt up to the body. The rear engine mounting is different on the mk3 subframe though, so you will also need the engine mount and the bracket from the back of the block from a 4-cylinder (1.8-2.0) engine, which will fit fine on the back of your G60. I did this swap on my 16V because the original subframe had cracked and all I could find was a mk3 one. It worked just fine :) I wouldn't be inclined to use a mk2 subframe without the legs - they were obviously added to stiffen the front end up, and it might spoil it if you didn't have them.

WTF? I thought that thing was only fitted to the mk2? :confused4: I've heard about it before, but never taken the wishbones off the mk2 to see if it has them. None of the Corrados had it though - they all had the larger ID bush, and I assumed that the oversize hole was to allow alignment of the subframe to the body. I take it the R32 bushes with the smaller ID locate the subframe much more accurately on the body. Does anyone have a definitive answer on what this sleeve *should* be fitted to please? Also how long is the sleeve? Does it just go through the bush, or through the subframe too? Thanks!

Thanks for those pics. Thats the first time I've seen any detail of how this look is achieved. I always wondered how you get past the inner arch, and thats obviously it! :)

OZ Polaris in 7.5x17" :)

In a curiously unrelated way, yes! I have 3 full weeks off over xmas, so I will be working down the road in the tractor workshop and building the rear subframe :D I actually fitted the VR6 struts and 16V hubs on the mk2 daily, but the principle applies equally to early 'rados. The V8 is getting custom Koni struts all round, but won't be doing a lot on that until I finish both subframes. I do still need another pair of front Koni's though if anyone has any kicking about for cheap ;)

If you're talking about just the struts then yes, they fit fine. I just did it this evening, using VR6 struts with early top mounts. The strut is an inch taller, but the bump stop seems to be a little shorter to compensate.

Just put a new belt on :)

Yup. They need that much pressure to support the weight of the car because they are so thin.

I'm afraid not. I hate football and I'm not much of a drinker, although I do like the odd cocktail occasionally :hic: Glad I'm not all on my own though - its nice to see there are other women on here that share the same passion :smurfette:

Totally! I've just read all this thread, and blackberry has to be my favourite OEM colour of them all :luvlove: Its pretty high on the short list of colours to do the V8 :) Love what you've done with the car :thumbleft: Mikki x

Thats a fair question, and one I have thought about in some detail. The V8 engine on its own weighs the same as the VR6 + gearbox, and my new subframe weighs about the same as the old one so I think weight up front is about the same as the VR6, albeit distributed further behind the axle line. The main weight gain is going to be at the back with the Tiptronic gearbox. That thing weighs about 120Kg! :shock: Thats like having a rugby player in the boot, and thats all extra. The rear subframe and suspension weighs less than the boot floor and rear beam, so I'm about square there once I've put a bit of reinforcement in. Add in electric leather recaros, climate control, and the torque tube and I think I'll probably be looking at about 1400Kg all up. Given it will only have 230hp I think it'll probably be about the same speed as a stock VR6 as the power to weight ratio is exactly the same. On that basis some may consider this a bit of a pointless exercise, but 230hp will be plenty for me to get used to a RWD Corrado and perfect the setup and handling. Once I know how it behaves, well I have plenty of options - 4.2, forced induction, etc :norty: Tbh I'm not building this to set the roads on fire - thats what VRTs are for. I'm building it a; because I can, and b; because the Audi V8 with open headers sounds like Zeus and Aphrodite having angry sex :D

Nah I'm just really good with photoshop :tongue: Yes it really is my car :) All designed and built by me too, although I do bounce a lot of ideas off my friend Andy who built the Polo V8.

Actually thats one of the bits that should be fairly straightforward. The torque tube sits very high in the new tunnel, so there is plenty of space underneath it for a couple of 2.5" straight pipes down to the back. They'll diverge under the rear seat area and go over the rear driveshafts in to a pair of RS4 backboxes. I can almost modify an RS4 system to suit, but I've not found one cheap enough to cut up yet :wink: The tricky bit is going to be getting the driver's side downpipe around the steering column boot - its very tight round there, but doable in 2.5" if I build it from a bunch of bends. The passenger side is much easier. Two O2 sensors as well! Still, the 40V engine has four of them :cuckoo: There's space for a pair of rotary mufflers in there under the manifolds if I feel like it later, but I'll probably just supercharge it if I go FI :)

This week I are been mostly doin'.... donuts woohoo! :lol: (not mine!) (not me! I just like the pic)

I uploaded a couple of extra pics to show how much space there actually is round the engine. A good inch clearance to the chassis legs: Two inches to the radiator once the viscous fan thingy is removed: Don't forget to sign the guesbook if you visit the site :cheers:

Thanks for the comments guys, and for signing the guestbook Pete :) Lol no she was already here. She always sits out on the driveway with me when I'm working on the cars :cat: If I can get it running for the show season then yes I will probably take it along. Ed38 seems to have quite a following, but I've never been so I don't know what it's like. Does GTI International still happen? I went to that many years ago, but otherwise I'm a bit of a car show virgin :? Well, apart from crossing the atlantic to H2O last year, which was a total disaster because it rained most of the weekend :censored: When its up and running you guys will have to tell me the best shows to take it to :wink:

The engine was a lucky find tbh - the 3.7FWD cars are pretty rare. DCS did me a good price on it :) 4.2s are much more common, but also more expensive, and they all came with Quattro which doesn't have the right electronics for this setup so I was pretty happy to find a 3.7 so close to home. Also the 3.7 is an over-square engine with mild cams, so very well suited to boost if I decide to put a blower on it later, which is nice :D