G-Lad

Blue VR6, L reg, spotted by my Mrs at 17:45 yesterday, driving past Nottingham central library. It had a red badge on the back apparently, so either a storm or early spec vr i guess.

I'd consider joining a group buy - let me know a price if it materialises cheers Vince! Chris

I think the short answer is no, but if you could elaborate on which model of corrado i think that would help. Id assume that a 1.8 16v would the same as a mk2 golf 16v, but im guessing. The corrado is a bit of a "missing link" between mk2 and mk3 golf evolution, from what ive seen.. :shrug:

I will try this, it may be the reason why my spoiler is not working. :scratch: Ah, the old "my stereo is on so my spoiler doesn't work" problem! The "Gala" (road speed-based volume control) system is mis wired as well. Snip the blue lead for your electric aeriel as well, and low and behold your spoiler will work again just like magic* :) According to Steve Cresswell (of C&R fame, aka the Brain from Golf+ magazine), the road speed sensor that is triggering your spoiler is getting a duff signal from your stereo, which is essentially telling your spoiler that your stationary. I'm paraphrasing, and he used lots of books and pictures to explain. I snipped mine and it now works fine (after tracing the blue aerial lead back to the correct part of the fuse box he described, just to assure myself he was correct - he was). Good luck! Chris *assuming your spoiler worked anyway and wasn't seized, cooked or full of wet fish.

and the rest! When I last looked a couple of years ago, the whole exhaust was about a £1000! :shock: I replaced my exhaust from the cat back with genuine parts in late October 2009: The back box and centre box (comes as a single piece, req rear beam being removed to fit, unlike the pattern parts pictured below) is part code 535 119E and costs circa £421.34 plus VAT The straight link pipe joining the centre box to the cat costs £113.87 plus VAT, sorry didn't write the part code down... I don't have a genuine cat part code or price. Ditto no manifold code or price. Genuine clamps are circa £7-10 each plus VAT, depending which one you need

The Corrado... just a car!

It's time I gave you a long term test report on my Uniroyal Rainsport2 tyres... I've had all 4 of them since mid July 09, so that's 8 months. I've managed to run up 9,000 miles ish in that time (god knows how, as my VR is not a daily driver!). I paid £242 for all 4 tyres, roadside fitting and removal of 3 old tyres (I kept 1 x RainSport1 in case of punctures). This was from a local garage in Staffordshire, which had a better price than any online place I found (inc BlackCircles or MyTyres), or indeed any cheap back-street places in Nottingham. I've still got a good 6mm on the rears, and 5mm remaining on the fronts, which suggests to me that the back end is working nearly as hard to stay on the road as the fronts, with the odd wheel spin off the lights. Initially I was really impressed. Initially the roads were nice and dry, given the time of year..! They were pretty reassuring in the January snow, but then I was driving like a nun, as one does. In the damp we've had recently, they're starting to prove pretty slippy on roundabouts if driven hard. In the dry they're considerably better, but I do noticeably drift at the back end, albeit in a controllable way. It's not unreasonable to describe my driving style as "drive like you stole it" (I tell you this not to sound clever but to hint at how hard I push my tyres - yes, I know I probably shouldn't). I would say that I've had some increasingly scary roundabout slides of late, notably in damp conditions on roads like the A43 (M1 Jct 15a, cutting down to the M40) and also the A5 heading into North Wales (Telford - Shrewbury - Llangollen). Both of these roads are pretty fast A roads and have plenty of roundabouts. Previously I have been happily whizzing around dual carriage way roundabouts, but now I'm really starting to worry about sliding into the person in the outside lane - not big or clever. They are reassuring on fully wet motorways, with no noticable aquaplaning problems. This is a big positive on long journeys from Nottingham to the Lake district, up the A50 and M6, etc. Road noise is minimal. In summary, my long term test result is "Rain Sport my @rse". These aren't what I'd consider great damp-road sporty tyres, but are good for wet use if driven on conservatively (how many C drivers would describe their driving style as conservative?!). They are starting to remind me of my trusty Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3 tyres before they are ready to change, but with 5-6mm still left on them, I'm a bit disappointed. I dont intend to replace them until they need it, unless the sliding gets really bad. I'll rein in my driving style for a bit, to see if I'm just being too hard on them. Conclusion: I probably won't buy these again if someone recommends something stickier in all-round conditions. I don't want to try another total shot in the dark, but I don't think I've done that badly for a fairly random punt based on a single recommendation and no prior personal experience of the tyre. I'd give them 6 to 7 out of 10. Chris

exactly, that's how the passat B3 / corrado rear trailing arm works. mine are new and almost feels like possible oversteer, but is always well behaved apart from tyre slippage. if the rubber aint peeling, they're fine, imho Chris

Sounds to me like your rear axle bushes are shot. You should be able to visually check easily, by looking for peeling rubber. As a pro standard nerd, id say dont do it re: poly bushes. The whole beauty of how a corrado corners is down to the very slight passive rear steer due to the rubber rear axle bushes flexing. If you just want to have axle bushes done it should be quite a quick job, ie a couple of hours but beware that the rear brake load compensator is attached to the axle and is fixed with crap alu pins that seize and may need heating to remove. This can lead to cooked compensator syndrome! So to be on the safe side, get a quote for a new one (£150 ish?) in case your mechanic is unlucky or clumsy and cant rebuild it or get it working again. I was lucky.. Also, the odd piece of brake pipe may need fabricating. It all depends on what was nicely replaced when your dampers were fitted. In summary id say stick with rubber as new rubber will feel loads better than old rubber. Lets see what the pro tuning fans have to say... :)

Another red C, early spec this time. Spotted on the M40 around 1130 this morning, heading north west at around j7. I was in an SMAX :(

Red, probably late spec, spotted on the M1 northbound, between Leicester and Nottingham around 5pm yesterday. I was heading south at some lick, so didnt wave or anything.

lol, ta :lol:

I know it's a bit of a soap box topic of mine, and I don't profess to having loads of other tyre experience aside from a few choice models, but I'd steer clear unless they have "made in Germany" on them, they are just plain dangerous. The Honda guy might check for you if they want the sale... It can't hurt to ask. If they are proper german ones, they're great tyres imho, tho it's been 2 years since i last bought german ones so I'm not sure stocks will still exist. Sadly F1 gsd3s are not available in 205 width, so yes go for 195/50 15 Chris

Thanks, top advice! Surely then, when i had new front disks fitted 2 weeks ago, the front bearings would have been obviously lose to a skilled mechanic, and they would have replaced them? Obv I'll need to check them if its not the rears, or if after replacing the rears, the noise is still there.. Just trying to narrow it down logically :)

thanks folks, i'll try jacking the back and wobbling with wheel attached. if the rears are wobbly i'll assume new bearings needed and can't just be be tightened. I know my Golf was just tightened up, but i haven't done many miles in it in the last year, so they could well be over tightened... will be really annoying if it IS the fronts, as i've just had new brake disks and pads put on the front, so it's all been apart in the last 2 weeks and i'd like to think my mechanic might have noticed! what sort of lifespan should wheel bearings have? I have a funny feeling after all the work ive been having to do, that this car has been seriously neglected from a maintenance point of view! not driven into the ground as such, but just obvious stuff left to the last dying days... Last Q (for now!): Are VR6 C rear wheel bearings going to be the same as Mk2 Golf 16v? I bought some new rears for the golf but then just tightened them instead of fitting, so i still have them in their boxes from GSF.

Are VR6 wheel bearings tightenable tapered ones, like a Mk2 Golf? ie can they be adjusted or would they need replacing, if that's the cause of my noise? I'll do some high speed coasting on the way to Ultimate Dubs and see if my mystery noises do anything different when in neutral! Cheers

perhaps im labouring the fuel consumption worries in hope of convincing people that my manifold worries are right. i may be barking up the wrong tree. :lol:

oh, isnt the wolf standard kit, along with the fa kit and triangle?! :nuts:

maybe you're right! but i have to nibble around at sub 2.5k revs to beat it. My golf does 28mpg if i hoon it around at 5.5k revs, which of course is exactly what the valvers are built for ;)

thanks for the feedbak folks! i did have a cv joint rebuilt when the gearbox out... hmm i shall check which was rebuilt, which was replaced and what is still as was. the bad fuel consumption has been worrying me, and i was hoping it'd improve more than it did when the exhaust back pressure was sorted. new centre and back box did help a bit... wheel bearings under load and fast / wide cornering seems to make sense. its mostly on big left turns, thinking about it. i did have to wear my gig ear plugs on a memorable drive to leeds, but thankfully it's mostly bearable now most of the exhaust is new. it's a proper WAAARP noise sometimes though, which i wouldn't have thought was wheel bearings. ..back to the garage i go!

Hi Folks, My VR6 has had lots of cash lavished on it, but I still have a weird problem that seems to have been masked by others which are now resolved. Here's a list of relevant work done to the car in the last 12months: Chains, clutch, master and slave cylinder replaced Full cooling system rebuild, most parts replaced. Cured oil temp too high issue. New tyres 6mths ago, no steering wheel judder New MAF sensor, Idle Valve & damper pot, and PCV valve All new dampers, wishbones, bushes, engine mounts, top mounts, bump stops etc, retaining old springs OK New genuine standard exhaust from the cat back New front disks, pads and braided hoses Full wheel alignment It's got 125k miles on the clock and recently had an oil & filter change. ...but even though the obvious noise sources of blown exhaust, wallowy suspension, and warped disks have been sorted, it still makes a weird howling noise which builds up around maximum motorway speeds, and then goes away if I go faster (on private roads, of course). Clearly it is some resonant frequency issue. It seems to be more road speed related than rev related. Significantly (I think), it doesn't always happen. It usually happens if I'm driving hard around corners (ie putting Gs onto the chassis), or if I hit bumps and pot holes. Sometimes I'll slow down for traffic and when I speed up it doesn't happen. This makes me think it's something changing shape due to torsion or heat. My fuel consumption is diabolical considering all the other work. I struggle to beat 28mpg unless I crawl along at 60 in 5th gear. I reckon it's probably a cracked manifold. What do you think? Any suggestions on how to check? If it is, how big a job is that? I presume the lovely new exhaust is going to need removing. How much subframe needs to come off to get to the exhaust manifold, or is it purely done from the top down? All advice gratefully received! Chris

Just in case anyone else is hunting for info and finds this thread, here's the wiki page all about it http://wiki.the-corrado.net/late_heater ... epair.html It actually details putting in Passat parts, but covers the main points and also shows how to stop the face-feet control arm getting stuck again in future - simply dump or reposition the flat spring that provides the locating clicks at each of the 4 positions... lets see if my stiff cable makes it happen again! Oh, and here's some handy part code info: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=47345&hilit=358+819+045

so my windscreen control cable is smooth and so is the temp control cable, but my face-feet cable is mega stiff, hence i have the good old grinding wheels. if i'm going to swap the control housing, i fear i'll break that too if i don't swap my stiff cable. what are my chances of replacing the face-feet cable without ripping out more dashboard than the centre section i removed to free up the control housing? cheers Chris

Thanks, sounds like good advice :)

Can you give me a list of parts you needed as well as the standard 280mm standard front parts, please? :help: