tandino

My 6rd old has the Technic Bulldozer (superb) the Technic Tow truck (even better), the Technic Combine (not bad at all) and the Technic Skidoo/snowmobile. Loves Lego which in my mind is a great thing. He also loves the real stuff and has a Hpi Savage 25 and a 110cc quad :lol: Get enm started young!, Dont know where he gets it from mind!! :D

You can get damn good deals on finance on nearly new from main dealers or independants. Work out the money you lose on depreciation, ifs far more than the extra % or so on finance... Your money mate but whatever way you look at it 30% or so is what you lose in the first yr on a car, show me a used car finance deal that loses that sort of cash over the term... Ill also say a 4 yr old 3 series will be worth a hell of a lot more than a 3 yr old Octavia or equivalent if you offload in 3 yrs. Theres more to it than a fancy finance deal when its your own money, trade is down atm so you can twist their arms to get what you want...

that 330d is the same price as a Octavia VRS which was one of the cars the OP was considering at 19k. You can get a 1yr old full spec 330D with less than 15k miles on it for 19k......

i just cant understand why people buy brand new cars, What exactly do you gain out of buying a brand spanker over a 1 yr old car? Unless you have more money than sense or you just like the idea of losing all that dollar in depreciation then buy something better and 1 yr old, no brainer really. Sorry but give me this over any leon hatch thingamy all day long.....

I had nothing but good service from Pirtek in Crawley when i was living up that way a few years ago. I guess it depends which franchise you goto but the guys up there couldn't have been more helpful if they tried, they made feed and return lines for my TD04 turbo onto a Saab of mine with new fittings both ends for about 20 quid. Sounds like you've been stitched up, i guess they will be drinking Earl Grey for the next few months :lol:

I think as a starter i would temporarily pull the thermostat out to see if the car can hold a stable temperature in traffic with nothing to impede the flow through the stat housing, if it can then the problem lies in the thermostat or the fact that it is impeding flow enough through the housing to allow the temps to creep upwards. If removing the stat stabilises the temperatures then the cooling system in theory should be capable of holding the temperature steady which would say the thermostat is not allowing full flow even though it may be working correctly, Pattern part??.... What is puzzling is that your temps are stable when moving which does rather point to your cooling fan not flowing enough air over the rad core???

40 weight oil should be ok for upto 140'c but only if its a good quality semi or fully synthetic. Anything over that and you will want a 50 weight. I had my VR6 upto 148'c on the Nurburgring, i knew it was going to be hot on the oil side of things so i had 10W/60 shell helix synthetic in there. Oil cooler next yr me thinks!

I ran a bailey DV26 on my Highline when i was running a ZR2 charger. I was suffering with compressor stall at high rpms when changing gear, seemed to help the problem....

Zak ive sent you a PM.... Cheers Pete.

I wouldnt say the 'Ring is any more suited to a VR than any other track!, Id also hardly say there are any really long straights at all!. Even the straights have bends,kinks and crests!. I dont think the Corrado gives away much to the never stuff in that environment or at least mine didnt but it has been played with,chassis felt like it could take at least another 100 horses Flugplatz/SZ was the fastest point on the circuit for my VR, i just nudged 140 and thats about the quickest straight on the circuit but not very long

Zak ive got a 2.8 you can have for 150 quid. My car had a 2.8 in it when i bought it and to be honest it doesnt feel any different to the ABV lump ive got now. In fact it was a better engine in reality as it didnt smoke on the overun!, it is in an Autobox'd Golf so i really dont think its had a hard time. 110k miles... I would guess the intermediate pulley bolt has worked loose, both sets of chains route round this pulley and if you do not torque this bolt upto 75lb/ft it will work loose. Dont ask me how i know,sometimes working with a mate who owe's you a few favours is not a good idea as you dont always know if they have done things up tight :shock: :shock:

Personally id go for a year old or so 330d rather than a newer smaller car but thats just me. Depreciation will be less as cars take the biggest hit in the first 12 or so months.....

Im not complaining about the gearing, ive got 195/45's on 15's on mine so if anything the gearing is a bit shorter than stock so it kind of overcomes the hurdle from 2nd to 3rd, Its more the power delivery of the VR, its quite a lazy lump and you really need 4k for it to pull with conviction,third in the karousel was really the only option, 2nd gear and it would have been sat nigh on the limiter, 3rd was just under 4k. It just took its time to get into its stride again. We all know why VW didnt want to fit the VSR to the Corrado, dollar!!!! onto what was an already fairly expensive car. that and a 6spd box would have made it something else!. Only cars of its day with 6spd were the 3.8 M5 and the Audi S2, ive owned both :lol:

You will find he fan unit is usually self taper'd into the housing with 3 or 4 screws. Easiest way to get access to the thermal resistor is to take the glovebox out - you will see it upto the top left of the fan housing.

Yes it still looks like its being pampered but to me its followed the run of the mill onto a set of BBS. Looks jacked up now too. I guess it was one of those cars that any new owner was going to do something to it to 'make their mark' on it......

Well ive just come back from a long weekend at the 'Ring where the old girl coped admirably against alot newer stuff. Did 9.20 BTG and short shifting at 5500rpm due to increasing oil temps - got her upto 148'C at one point!! :shock: (just didnt get the time to fit a Mocal before going) luckily id already stuck some 10w/60 race synthetic in to cope. The only real let down for me was the low down grunt out of some of the slower corners ie exiting out of the Karousel, bogged a bit on 3rd but too high for 2nd - this is where the modern day turbo'd stuff just pulled lengths on me and i had to reel them in again. She really did well and i was very impressed at how well she performed. Only real things to go past me were race prep'd BMW's & Golfs,GT3's,RS4's and the odd Evo/Scooby etc. 2 hours from the Ring Monkey, what you waiting for? (after the oil cooler of course!) Pete.

Well its working! Cant believe it, im so happy as i love this car to bits but driving round in a dark car with black interior and black leather in the heat is not fun. I had several issues with my install which was from a Mk3 Golf and its a royal pain in the arse to fit this system even though in principle its quite a simple set up. If you want it to look perfect - ie factory fit then be prepared to take a lot of time doing the fiddly little bits like trimming the pass side under dash shelf to fit the new heater box, also i kept the fan intake shroud under the scuttle cover, you have to trim this to suite if you want to re-use it, Overall a complete pain in the arse to fit but feeling that lovely cool air on my face this afternoon has made it all worthwhile! Cheers Pete.

id say yours needs a regas yes, If its not used frequently it will lose its pressure over time. Well im nearly there, All ive got left to do is to solder the A/C loom to the fan thermoswitch so that it bridges the sender and switches the fans on when the A/C button is pressed then its off for regas!! Fingers crossed ill have A/C this weekend just in time for me going to the Nurburgring! :clap:

Just to add to this thread im quite a way through fitting a Diavia kit from a Mk3 Golf Vr6 into my Corrado. Has turned out to be a bit of a bitch to be honest. line from the Reciever dryer to to the fan box/evaporator was too short to reach the heater box, only discovered this after i had fitted the condensor and dryer behind the bumper, this in itself was a pain in the arse as i had to move the condensor over to the left as the lower a/c line on the condensor was too tight onto the subframe. Ive now fitted the dryer underneath the nearside chassis leg near the horns, utilising some of the line legth from the condensor to reciever dryer pine has enabled me to move the dryer closer towards the bulkhead and therefore the line now reaches the fan box/evaporator! Getting the larger fan box in single handedly was a mission in itself!! Working in a baking hot garage in the sweltering heat yesterday was another sore point!!

retrofitting my Diavia Air Con out of the Mk3 im breaking! What a complete bitch of a job to do on your own!

Sills are the rot area on the 3dr along with roof just above the windscreen, Front wings low down and as said rear arch lips rot. OBD2 will give approx 190bhp so not a million miles away from the 2.9 OBD1. Looks lie a nice car especially with the recaro's

e36coupe.net on http://www.bmwowner.com/forum/

All depends on how you drive it, But on a run 30mpg is easily attainable. if you get stuck in traffic then its a bit like a Vr - it will drink the juice but as long as you are moving they are very good, Obviously if you drive it like a nutter on the road it will be in the teens. Just for reference my mate has been pootling round in his Evo the last couple of weeks and has averaged nigh on 40mpg :lol: , Main thing to watch on the 3 litre's is engine oil leaks,- usually the cam cover, exhaust rear box will rot its outer skin and they are not cheap, rot on previously mentioned areas, rear trailing arm bushes. Make sure the rack is tight, what seems to be worn inner track rods can be the rack itself and on the 3 litre its a specific part and is not cheap. General servicing costs are V.good if you do it yourself, only things like engine,brakes,exhausts and suspension is specific.

93- Late 95. Ive had the use of one over a period of time, ie my mate lives in Singapore and i get to look after his.

Never found the steering to be undergeared or lacking in feel, the 3 litre has a variable ratio rack which is V.expensive therefore its not uncommon for it to be replaced with a no variable rack from a lesser 3 series. Alot depends on the set up of the chassis and i dont doubt there are dogs out there. I think the E36 is a great car for the money, you cannot compare it with the M Coupe as they are holding their money very well and are not in the same league moneywise.