dr_mat

Nah. If you're in there, check the condition of the upper guide rail. You can't replace the upper chains (either of them) without dropping the gearbox. But if your guide rail is knacked, and the tensioner is ok, then it's worth replacing the guide rail, which can be done simply enough. What I'm saying is that if you *do* try and replace the "upper chain" you need to ask the guy at VW for TWO upper chains, or make sure that the part number you order contains TWO chains. But you already said you don't wanna do that, so... Clearer? ;)

Indeed they are. There are two upper chains too - both run in the same guide and tensioner though. The lower guide/tensioner are completely obscured by the lower cover, so you can't even inspect them without taking the g/b off. But from what I've heard, they very very rarely wear out - it's pretty much always the upper tensioner that goes. Sorry, should add - you can replace the upper guide rail without taking the g/b off, but not the tensioner.

Please will a mod make this post go away? It was a dup of the one below. Ta! :)

This will show up on VAG-COM though, so you'd know about it if it wasn't working..

The new wheels would need to be less than 17/18ths of the weight of your original ones for there to be an improvement in the acceleration. You sure you haven't just got heavier shoes on? ;)

I type too slow. Well actually, in my defence, I typed twice as many words...

Ahem. Which Henny just said...

In answer to the two questions here: The mass of the wheel is not so important as how FAR that mass is from the centre. Any wheel has the majority of it's mass in the rim, not the spokes. So the rotational force required to turn that wheel is more or less proportional to the diameter of the wheel (multiplied by the mass). So even if you fit a larger wheel that is the SAME weight as a smaller one, it still requires more rotational force to turn it, which is force that would otherwise have been applied to the road and used to accelerate your car. Secondly - the rear brake bias valve uses the position of the rear axle to decide how much weight is on the back wheels, and sends more or less braking force to the back wheels accordingly. If you drop the springs, you trick the brake bias valve into thinking there's permanently more weight on the back wheels, and you may well find it locking the back end up when you wouldn't expect. Which is bad. HTH.

Lot of labour involved with replacing the timing chain. You have to drop the gearbox off to get the lower cover off so you can drop the chain off the sprockets. If you're doing the timing chains, you MUST replace the tensioners and guide rails at the same time. The chains don't wear, it's the guides and tensioners that wear.

There's many reasons.. You alter the rotational inertia of the wheel, thereby stunting your acceleration significantly. You alter the rolling radius (particularly with 18/19!!) wheels slightly, stunting the acceleration further. If you choose wider wheels you actually increase the rolling resistance of the car AND the wind resistance, thereby dropping your top speed.. You alter the suspension geometry.. Typically the car is lowered at the same time, and this brings about all kinds of other compromises that need to be configured out of the equation. If the car gets lowered you should definitely do cast/camber/tracking, and adjust the rear brake bias adjuster to compensate. One thing you generally *do* do with bigger wheels is sharpen the responses, because you have to run rubber-band like very low profile tyres to make them fit in the arches. This gives you stiffer sidewalls which results in sharper handling, but enormous transmission of bumps etc to the cabin.. At least, that's how I understand it.. :)

We've been banging on about this for some time. No-one knows for sure. The only way to find out is to call the tyre manufacturer and tell them how much weight the tyre will have to bear. On a G60 with approx 65/35 weight distribution that means 1100kg*65%/2 (~ 360kg) for the fronts, and 1100kg*35%/2 (~ 200kg) for the rears. They should then be able to tell you what range of tyre pressures are suitable. Then you choose a point in that range that provides the best compromise between handling sharpness and ride comfort.

So - how painful are they to replace, ££ wise..? (And who makes them - presumably they are VW-only parts...)

Ick, sounds like a labour intensive job. Which means £££. Great. So, we reckon the steering racks are ok then? Damn it. That's the bit that's easy to change..

You know, thinking about it, I remember a garage telling me once that "there was a little bit of play in the steering column". I assumed he meant the tilting wheel adjustment, which moves slightly due to it probably always having been left in the same spot..

I get stuff like that Kev too, not necessarily a wobble, but I get the occasional clunk from the front end that I can't explain any other way.. Don't forget these cars get caned, from day1. It's what they were built for, and that takes it's toll. The biggest issue with my steering is the straight-ahead. It just feels a bit vague. On the twisties it's fine, precise, full of feedback, but on the straight-ahead it's vague, and that gets MUCH worse over bumps. I remember one time I had a flat spot on one front wheel, and at speed it really felt like the rack was slapping back+forth due to the vibration, it no longer felt as tightly "connected" to the steering. Hard to explain, but I suspect I'm not the only one who finds that...?

petervr6, the myth of higher top speed with larger wheels is amazingly stubborn. No matter how much it cannot possibly make sense in any physical terms whatsoever, it clings on to the world with an amazing tenacity. It's just not true. All you do is alter the gearing. If the gearing was that bad from the factory that lengthening it makes the top speed higher, then great, but I don't think it is.. (In fact I can't think of ANY standard car that hits the redline in top gear..) So: to recap - with bigger wheels you get a) slower acceleration, b) worse handling, c) a worse ride, d) an illegal speedo and e) if you're lucky no change in top speed. I know a lot of people prefer the way the car looks, but you have to realise that is the ONLY thing you get from it... My 2p.

Interesting, maybe I'll have a chat with Vince, see if he knows what the options are with this stuff.

ECP have the original for 369 + VAT, or a "recond" unit for £180 IIRC. I can't vouch for the quality or source of either. *do* let us know how you get on, I have a feeling my rack is a little sloppy myself (though I'm not losing any fluid).

It's written in the Corrado owners guide book, kev! RTFM! ;)

Bolster, you should immediately apply some Grind-O paste to all the bearings on your car. Since it's so expensive, you can use a simple mixture of builder's sand and water - this will do. Apply liberally to any metal surface that moves against another one. If you don't do this immediately, you are in danger of a) missing out on the grindy noise and b) missing out on the joy of visiting the VW dealer and paying arse-clenchingly large amounts of money for replacement parts on a regular basis. ( ;) by the way, just in case someone thinks for a millisecond this is serious..)

Well AMD charge £60+VAT so that sounds about right.

It was 130 and still pulling honest.. I don't do big wheels.. :)

Yeah, we know, but the question was about the car running out of steam at an *indicated* 120...

Vince quoted me £254 to do the tappets on my VR!! And that was *while* the manifold and cam cover were off for the timing chains!

Actually, a thinner grade oil might help too.. The basic issue is that the tappet is probably a little blocked up, so it's difficult to pressurise with oil. Thinner oil will enter the tappet more easily, and may help. You might also try some Wynns Hydraulic Lifter concentrate from Halfords, this might free it up a little. If the tappet is releasing pressure too easily, however, then maybe a thicker oil might help too, but it all depends...