dr_mat

Make sure nothing's dragging too - if you've put smaller wheels on or something, it might be catching somewhere.

Not just the wheel bolts, but check the rims for any dents or flat spots.

Cruising at 85 you shouldn't see much more than 110 degrees on a normally setup VR6's oil, and 80-85 degrees on the water. Either your gauges are BOTH wrong, or you ought to look into getting at least a new thermostat!

Would that drive have been during the hottest part of the day, by any chance? Give it time... :)

Hopefully GSD3s WILL be available for 205/50/15s by the time I need some more... Though the squishy sidewall on the GSD2 is quite handy for parallel parking!

Dunno, if it was checked, it's probably ok. What surfaces does it squeal on? It's very odd that it only happens round right-handers..

Can't complain at the F1s on mine.. Maybe the squealing is cos of your tracking being out? It can be steering geometry...

(Just to clarify the MAF situation - later cars with the later OBD2-style MAF don't appear to do this. My MAF has never thrown an error code, and the engine pulls absolutely fine, so am assuming it's fine - yet unplugging the MAF has little or no effect at tickover. Plug it back IN, and the engine stutters slightly tho. Other people have reported the same thing on late engines. Early engines are as you say, however. Just wanted to make the difference clear.)

Yeah, the OEM struts are sealed units, no adjustment, no screw threads, no notched rings (as it were).

It should come with instructions...

Bear in mind the VR6 engine is quite clattery anyway, and is also pretty flat, performance wise, below 4k rpm. It should pull hard from 4000 though, pretty much clean through to 6200 or so. (Don't bother with the redline, you'll just take life off your engine and go no faster.)

They already did a comparison on paper - when they reviewed the R32 they commented that it was twice the power, twice the weight, nearly twice the capacity (ccs) and probably twice the price... Bhp/tonne is about the same as the Mk1 GTi, yep, but of course 245bhp and 4x4 means the R32 is much quicker in the real world...

The best way to tell if there's sticky calipers about, in my experience, is to just see how the car rolls.. If it doesn't wanna roll, and seems to come to a halt at junctions, even when you feel it should continue to roll, chances are you've got a sticky caliper. Also if one brake disk is hotter than the other, or if one side is wearing pads down more quickly etc etc.. In my experience, a sticky caliper can sometimes come free and behave perfectly, only to be screwed up again a day later...

:lol: You'll only do that once, though, won't ya! :lol:

Complete unit, assuming they're original equipment. They're about £35 from GSF. Replace both on the same axle at the same time. Yes you'll need to get the camber done again afterwards. May aswell replace the top mounts and top bearings too, while they're off.

From what I remember, a "failed" compression test has to be below 120psi, so you're looking well good there mate!

TBH I've found that windscreen wipers are useless, so I removed the screen altogether. Visibility is much improved!

You didn't mean "on fire" then? Good! Whisps of smoke isn't that uncommon...

Well when I was looking at replacing the shocks, I bought a set of OE (i.e. SACHS Advanced) for only £70.. :) :) It's who you know, not what you know... :)

Most cheap "uprated" suspensions tend to be not bouncy, more rock hard, from what I've read...

I don't wanna scare myself by getting into this thread....

It looks a lot like a Ford Ka. And I hated those, too.

Times change, what happened a few years ago may or may not be relevant now. The supermarkets are known to be extremely quick to switch suppliers if they can get a cheaper deal. Many of them may well be taking fuel from the big names, but many of them won't be. The "branded" garages, at least, you know what you're getting. I have no idea if the original post has validity either, so I'm taking what it says with a pinch of salt, but it seems to make sense that you get what you pay for, and cheap supermarket petrol may not necessarily be the same as branded petrol...

Bubble car!!!! :lol:

Yep, quite possible! The ECU is wired to a sensor in the steering column. If the sensor is still there, and you wired the ECU to it, it'll be expecting the keys to match, and it won't start otherwise. You'll need to get the keys done to the serial number of the ECU.