dr_mat

No denying it - there's a few VRs out there without timing chain problems on high mileage, but it seems to be unusual. (Admitted people don't post up saying "hi my car has done 200k and *doesn't* need cam chains done", but you do hear from a lot of folks having to have it done at that time.) Vince@Stealth seems to say himself that they tend to need doing around the 100k+ sort of age.

In what form!?

But they've gone back to the "original configuration" so the Schrick isn't implicated any more.. Unless they've got the Schrick back on now..

It's my fourth reincarnation. If you look past the first sentence in my previous posting, however, you will note that I suggested you get more quotes for the work, and you should be able to negotiate with the insurance company to NOT get it scrapped. See? A glimmer of positivity. :roll:

Yeah was gonna say - it's a G60, so it's at least 13 years old now. Insurance company probably have a book value of £2k for it. Any repair that comes to £1k or more will cause the car to be written off... So if you're looking at a door, a wing and two wheels you're easily talking £1k in dealer money. You might be able to find out what they've been quoted and take it elsewhere though. You've a right to do that.

So some folks have been lucky then? ;) A VR6 with 183k miles and original timing chains is a freak of nature in itself, unless it's running the later single chain setup! :) Interesting though - it seems these cars last MUCH longer out in the US. We rarely hear stories of untouched VR engines hitting 200k over here. Perhaps it's the climate? Or the auto gearboxes? Or the long distances? Or the fact it's a 2.8? Who knows? VW's engine design dept probably do, but I'll bet they won't tell us.

He reprised the scene in Clockwise, IIRC..

I can't be arsed. You lot never listen anyway... ;) It's my fault I come from the school of thought that says you repeat it often enough and loud enough and people might understand..

Some of us have work to do... And if that's your best riposte, I am disappointed.

(I do enjoy a good strop.)

Fine I'll shut up.

Dr Meldrew was nowhere near as negative as Kev "I don't believe it" Haywain this time mate..! ;)

I never said it was extreme, just that some people seem to think there is NO tradeoff here at all, and won't admit that it's inevitable that there's some loss of lifetime...

S'funny, I thought the G60 had abs already..?

...

Are they long enough? How many threads stick through the new wheels? If less than 5, don't even think about it, get some longer bolts.. :)

Right, and how long would that same engine have lasted, driven in the same manner, without the supercharger? Warrant you it would have lasted at least as long... ;) All I'm saying is there's no science behind any of these isolated observations! :) I didn't say the engine would blow a piston in 6 months, did I? I just said it's stupid to think that you won't wear things MORE by exposing the components to even greater pressures than they were designed for. Sure it'll "last" but it's all a compromise. The more power an engine puts out, the less it's lifetime will be. Simple fact. Ask the 20vt boys with 300 bhp how long they expect the engine to last.

Ok, and how many supercharged VR6s have you run, and how long for? When you're telling me I don't know what I'm talking about (ok, I don't), please tell us your reasoning at least! And to answer your question, of course my engine isn't giving out 182lbft torque every second of every mile for it's entire lifetime. But it *still* wears out. Make that 260lbft peak and it's sure to wear out quicker. If you down-tuned the engine, I'm sure it would last longer ... why not the opposite? Be interesting to hear from some folks who HAVE run charged VR6s for a number of years. I'll bet there's at least a couple of blown head gasket stories kicking about.

This has been answered before (lots), but: A proper MOT test will include checking if the ABS light comes on as it should when the ignition is turned on, and that it then goes out again within 4 seconds, as it should, and that it does not come back ON at any time during the test. Any deviation from this is an automatic MOT failure. They even have charts detailing what the light should and shouldn't do.. The dodgy garages might not care so much, but YMMV.

Thank you, socrates. Or was it that guy out of blade runner who said that? :)

Oh dear! Soon to be sold on ebay: 1 supersprint de-cat exhaust for Corrado/Golf G60 ... :) Sorry, but it is amusing.. :) :)

I'd be inclined to say the exceeding the factory spec on the bottom (and top) of an engine by around 50% is going to make a significant difference to the lifetime of the engine, myself...! Designed to last for 200k miles on 181lbft, and now you're pushing 265lbft through the same components? Of course it reduces the life of the engine! Whether it reduces it to the point where you're rebuilding every year or every three is probably down to how it's driven, but things wear proportionally to the stress they are placed under, simple as that. Of course, it may reduce the lifetime from 200k to 100k, in which case you're probably not going to notice (or mind, really!), but it will inevitably reduce it! That's not to say I wouldn't consider it, if I had cash floating around, I'd just budget for an engine rebuild every 50k and maybe be pleasantly surprised when it lasts 80k! :)

I agree, but at this point there's no need to scare the living daylights out of the original poster until we know more!! :) Unless it's on 180k miles and using 5w30 fully synthetic I'd be appalled at 3 litres/month consumption. But hey, it saves you having oil changes, as you've effectively changed 87% of your oil every three months anyway!!!

I wouldn't recommend messing with the adaptation settings now that you've lost them. Just let it re-adapt. That's better than messing it up..

The most likely scenario is that your oil consumption is due to bad valve stem seals or similar. Bore wear does happen, but it's less common. Meanwhile, your power loss is most likely: - they broke or simply didn't refit the cam position sensor, or it's key wheel when changing the cams - the timing is a tooth out I suppose there's other possible, but you've lost 25bhp during them effectively putting the engine BACK to how it WAS, so they must have broken something.