corradophil

Whatever you get, you need to make sure you can get the fuelling right or you are wasting your time and money. I tried Scrick 268/276 cams in mine, and it was lumpy as hell, and down on power. I went back to KR spec cams. Mine is a 9a, so it has KE-Motronic, which has a reputation for not being very tunable compared to the K-Jetronic, however I think I am getting somewhere with mine. Earlier this year I completely rebuilt the engine, including re-bore to 83mm bore and flowed head. After this it ran very badly, so I took it to Stealth, who confirmed it was running very lean, but they could not do anything with it. Since then I have done loads of research and adjustment. It now runs well, but I'm not sure how it would do with lumpy cams. Is yours on K-Jet or Ke-Motronic?

Only G60's as far as I know mate 16v KR and 9a engine have sodium filled exhaust valves too.

I would say all of the above and / or convert it to run on carbs. it may seem counter intuative, but the power gains can be quite substantial and the noise is fantastic! Might cost a fair bit and fuel economy would be shot but it could be worth it! According to his signature his car is a 94 model, which needs a cat for the mot emissions. Some nice carbs will likely end up with a :nono: from the mot man. I'm currently doing loads of research into Ke-motronic and setting it up to run a modified engine, and getting good results so far. Alternatively there is always stand alone management and maybe even ITBs for those who can afford them.

I have just re-built my 2.0 16v. At 206,000 miles in needed a re-bore and and new pistons/rings. £130 for rebore, £580 for 0.5mm oversize pistons and rings. If you can get away with just new rings in the original bores, do that, along with new main and big end bearing shells, and a good clean up of the oil pump strainer. I got a 'man in the shed' head for mine - ported, lightly skimmed, 3 angle valve seats etc. Budget for £400 - £500 for a nice head. Gaskets, belts, bolts etc, allow £100 - £150. Labour - free if you can do it yourself :shock: if you cannot. Yes if you want more power it is cheaper to by a vr6, but the vr6 will not have a freshly built engine, so potentialy could cost money in the future.

Inchape VW in Chelmsford are hopeless too. Their parts dept is somewhere else on site, and they have a desk in the corner of the showroom with a doorbell to ring to get a member of staff. This can sometimes be a lengthy process, involving lots of doorbell ringing. They are nearly always unavailable if you ring them. :censored: I've complained to the parts manager, but she said it is company policy, and whilst she understands it is poor, they are stuck with it. I have rang TPS and their staff went to get the VW parts guy to ring me. GSF in Chelmsford are the opposite - really helpful, carry a reasonable ammount of stock, and you get served quickly.

I agree. I rebuilt my 9A 16v over the winter, it is now 2008cc due to re-bore and new pistons/rings, with slightly raised compression from block and head skim, and now a "man in the shed head". At 1000 miles it was slower than before, now at around 1500 miles i'd say it is almost as fast as before the rebuild. More miles and gradual increase in how hard you drive it are required.

Take a look at post 19 in the thread below. A bit of overkill for a road car, but maybe a slightly more complient material could be used to stop the rubber deforming, causing the large gap above the tower. http://www.specialstage.com/forums/show ... 988&page=2 I have bought a new pair of mounts which I plan to fit at the weekend, but like everyone else has found, they don't last long. I have no problems with the bearings, it is just the rubber deforming and sagging. I am starting to think, am I waisting time and money replacing them, they only sag so far, and then the rubber will sit on the steel bearing mount which has a large surface area. I don't have a mount to hand at the moment, but I am thinking about sticking with the old ones which have sagged. What else is going to happen to them? The rubber will not pass through the tower, and the steel bearing mount will not pass through the rubber unless it completely splits in two, which would be very unlikely. Maybe I am missing something, because I don't have one to hand, but I am really starting to question the idea that a large gap between the top of the tower, and underside of the steel cap which fits above, to stop the strut dropping is even a problem other than MOT testers saying they are no good.

I bet you can't wait until the drive home tomorrow. I'm looking forward to reading how the find the VR6 compared to the 16v.

Some of those caps are a nightmare aren't they. Hopefully the new SKF one will last a few years.

Andy, I'm coming to the conclusion that nothing is wrong with the car. From what I have read some tyres are more prone to it than others, and it seems the direction tyres with 'V' shaped tread patterns are worse. Unfortunately it only takes about 2-3 thousand miles to occur bad enough to make lots of noise, so no chance of wearing the tyres out that quick.

Yes, that is exactly what happens to the tyres on the rear of my Corrado. I first noticed it several years ago on Toyo Proxes T1S's, I replaced those with Pirelli P Zero Nero's, but sold it before they got worn. When I bought it back, it had Diamond Back tyres :norty: fitted, and they have worn just the same. One way around it is to use non-directional tyres so you can swap the tyres across the car so they rotate the opposite way. When I get Kuhmo's for it, I'll do that, but it is annoying, because it sounds like the wheel bearings are shot, which they are not.

GSF ones are pretty rubish. VW supply bearings made by top brand manufacturers, such as SKF, FAG, NTN or Timken. Any of these makes will be fine, and in the past I have bought them from bearing suppliers for around £14 per set including seals etc. I bought one from VW which was NTN and they charged £24 for a set. It may be worth you also chacking to see if you have heel and toe wear on the tyres. Mine has this, and it makes exactly the same sound as a failing wheel bearing. I have seen a rear bearing fail spectactularly on a mates Mk1 Jetta. It melted and welded itself to the stub axle, which then broke in two and the rear wheel came away. :gag:

Both American Hotrod and Overhaulin are good, but I prefer American Hotrod because you see alot more detail throughout the build. Foose is an incredibly talented person, more so than Boyd, but Boyd was a legend. I would not have wanted to work for Boyd though. So sad that Boys Garage did not continue to trade when he died a couple of years ago.

Your wheels look like Wolfrace Voodoo to me :wink:

Exactly what I was just thinking. He does alot of the heads for the Mk2 GTI racing series, which have to be standard spec. I highly recommend at least giving him a call to discuss your requirements.

He's in Northamptonshire. Shouldn't be too bad to get to from Cambridge.

I have no experience of Gwerks, so cannot comment on them good or bad. I can say it would be worth you joining club gti and checking out the group buy for 'man in the shed heads' in the members only section. After loads of research I have just got a man in the shed head (AKA All Stage Cylinder heads). It is ported, polished, skimmed, new guides, and stem seals etc. I spent 3 hours at the shed discussing his work, and find it hard to beleive anyone could better the service he provides. Cylinder heads are all he does, and he knows VW heads inside out :notworthy:

Twin charged 1.4 maybe :?

I should never have sold my Corrado, which is why I bought it back again :clap: I have no plans to ever sell it now. In fact I have even suggested I want to be buried in it, although, I'd hate the thought of it rotting away. Mine is only a midly tuned 2.016v, and my daily car is a Stage 2 tuned Mk4 1.8t Golf running around 230-240bhp, but the Corrado is still my favourite. I have even turned my g/f who could not understand why I like them so much. She now often tells me about nice C's she has seen for sale on pistonheads etc.

Could be the injector stuck open, good point. In the photo, there is a warm up regulator, which is not fitted to the Ke-Motronic equipped 9a. I think this is a 9a engine running kr spec injection etc.

I assume you are running K-jetronic incjection from the kr. I had this problem on my mk1 gti, I never got to the bottom of it, but I jus left the cold start injector unplugged. IIRC the injector should only run for a few seconds whilst cranking, it is used to increase the fuel mixture for cold starts. Does you car have a thermotime switch? If so I would check it is working correctly.

I am rebuilding by 9a in my Corrado, and have been getting prices for rings.. VW quote £176.44 Local engine builder £118.59 for Goetze rings (I have used these before and am 100% happy with them) Another local engine builder who a friend has used alot is offering Hastings rings for £106.75, he has given me a discount because of my mate putting me on to him. All prices include VAT and are for 4No. sets of 3 rings. Are Hastings up to the same standards as Mahle, KS and Goetze?

I am considering doing an advanced driving course at the moment. I feel at the grand old age of 33 I am more cautious, but less able at driving than when I was say 25, so I like the idea of sharpening up my skills.

Mine doesn't - just a single multipin electrical plug.

My 93 Corrado is every bit as reliable as my 01 Golf, and in a lot of ways built better :notworthy: