Golf GTI >> Corrado G60

[Andy T 0]

Hello,

 

I'm soon going to be buying a Corrado G60 to replace my mk2 GTI. I've looked through the FAQ's so I roughly know what to look for , i.e checking the spoiler/sunroof/electrics/history/charger history etc.

 

Is there anything else I should be looking out for, as well as the usual VW & mk2 golf problems?

 

I've been to see a few Corrado's now, most of them have been sheds! I think I've narrowed it down to these two -

 

 

'92 G60 Red, 118k, FSH(stealth), new charger at 85k, karmann leather, fairly standard, 25mm koni susp, 17" speedlines. tons of receipts, needs bonnet respray. I've been to see this car twice now, It drives great, great condition, only prob is bonnet is rusty, paint is fading slightly, so would need a full respray eventually.

 

'92 G60 Red, 98k, FSH, new stage 4 charger at 97k, jabbasport 220BHP, karmann leather, -45mm suspension, full respray, colour coding, tons of receipts, a few body mods, but reversible.

Not seen the car yet, going on friday, but the pics look amazing. Only slight concern is power increase, will it be reliable? don't like all the mods, would have to spend some money on changing them. Is 45mm drop ok on corrado, or too much??

 

They are both asking roughly the same price, and neither are in any rush to sell the car. Which one sounds the best all rounder?

 

 

All the Corrado's I've been to see have had brand new chargers because they have blown up! even a 67k miles charger had been rebuilt once and then replaced because it blew.

 

Apart from a rebuild every 60k(?) what else should be done to protect the charger?

 

 

cheers people,

[Jim 2]

Andy,

 

Welcome to the forum :)

 

The only thing I can say about the charger is you need to use a bit of common sense with it. If you take the car out and rag it from start to finish, like the engine, the supercharger is gonna be giving up REALLY soon.

 

If you treat it right and let the car get warm before giving it any stick, and then giving it time to get back to regular temperatures before parking the car up you should probably do fine. There was also a discussion on here a while back advising G60 owners NOT to take their cars right up to the red line whilst driving as it doesn't do the supercharger any favours.

 

As for the choice of cars.. the 2nd one does sound nicer. If the 220BHP has been engineered by JabbaSport, you should be pretty safe. The 45mm drop is probably just right as well :)

[VR6 0]

You'd have to spend a fair wedge to get a G60 to 220!

 

I think it's either had a lot of money spent on it, or the power claim is a tad optimistic.

[Supercharged 2]

You'd have to spend a fair wedge to get a G60 to 220!

 

Not as much as you think..... apparentlly they re-act very well to head work and a piper cam combined with a stage 4 charger, chip and pulley can take them to at least 220!!

[Andy T 0]

Cheers for that, I've always let my GTI warm up properly before putting my foot down, I'll just have to remember to let it cool down before swithcing off! I assume the charger uses the engine oil supply, should the oil be changed more often because of this?

 

Is the charger supposed to be fairly quiet when running? Two cars I tested had noisy chargers(like a humming sound), the other two were really quiet.

 

It was engineered by Jabbasport apparently, It was chipped & cammed on one occasion, then a stage 4 charger (smaller pulley?) afterwards. I agree 220BHP sounds optimistic, the intercooler is standard, as are the rest of the engine mechanicals.

 

Can't wait to get a Corrado! :D :D

[biggrim 0]

Charger hums, nothing to worry about mate.

[G60Jet 1]

Andy T,

The Second G60 sound a lot better on paper but to get a G60 upto 220 BHP you need a lot more that a stage 4 charger. Corrado very rarly see a NEW charger, they are normally reconditioned.

 

If they are both 92 then they should be high spec, check the sunroof if it has one and all the other stuff that normally brakes. get the car going and check that spoiler works (after all its gonna be your favourite toy).

 

Most important of all check for accident damage, a corrado is never the same again after a chassie twisting accident.

 

Cams

Gas flowed head

decent chip

intercooler/charger cooler upgrade

Custom made sports exhaust (cos 220bhp is a lot more that 160BHP)

3bar fpr and more

 

so just think about his claim 220BHP

[GazzaG60 0]

depends on whether its 220 at the wheels or crank.

220 is on the high side

 

i think with a good charger,cam,port chip, FMIC and a cat removed system it is possible. from what ive seen G60 engines are crap on the rollers. they give poor power, maybe due to the boost rewturn. on the road however they go well through the mid range.

 

chargers these days aren't nowhere near as bad as what they get slagged off for. and the peeps slagging usually dont own them.

 

i have raced a few 220--230hp cars and they havent really gone anywhere, some ive beaten. .

 

problem is keeping the boost hoses on.

[Andy T 0]

Cheers guys.

 

I think his claim of 220BHP is based on the package from jabbasport. I've seen a few other G60's for sale stating '220BHP jabbasport'. I remember him saying he had it tuned on the rolling road there, so I'll ask to see the dyno graph.

 

If it's not 220BHP i'm not too bothered really, especially if its going to be more reliable.

 

Will give it a good check over for accident repair/new panels/panel gaps, and get it HPI'd if I buy it too.

 

p.s. Is the speedo cable driven on these cars? When I test drove the first one last week, the speedo didn't work for the first few minutes!!

 

Will my '91 mk2 golf 'snap-off' steering wheel boss fit a '92 Corrado? And are the wheel hubs 4-stud as per mk2 golf?

 

thanks,

[GazzaG60 0]

they are 4x100 as per golf 2

 

think after 90 the golf and c steering wheel fitmet is same. not 100% on it though

 

220 is a lot.

 

look at what size pulley it has on. that helps you with a guide on service intervals. i had my charger done by jabba nearly 3 yrs ago. its making 16-17psi at the moment on a 65 wheni can keep the boost hose on. :x

 

probly ready for another set of bearings n strips now to be on safe side.

 

id get it rolling rd tuned/tested if i were you. just to make sure its ok.

 

get a boost and AF gauge if it dont have um. that car isn't std so you need to know wats going on. ask questions if you like lots can answer on it. if its on a jabba chip id go SNS for the no-lag. a 220hp corrado(inocent until proven otherwise on power claim)will be making lots of boost for 220 id expect so itl make loads low down too. having digi-lag aint safe with lots of boost.

 

taking it to 6k is safe on the smaller pulleys no more really though. what youll find is the power starts to drop away before 6k anyway.

 

check the front engine mount on it.wont be healthy or will be a upgraded one if its got lots o power start it put it in gear with h-brake n lift clutch slowly. the engine will move lots if the mount is shagged, which it probly is. get a mate to watch it while you do that. the mount is down the front near the oil filter.

 

back on the power issue id say if the intercooler is standard then the car aint doing 220hp

[Andy T 0]

great, so I'll be able to put my 16" Azev 'A's on it, and possibly my snap-off 300mm Momo s/wheel.

 

Are there some nice s.steel/ally upgrades for the air hose/piping? The standard pipes look pretty naff. how can you make the boost hose more secure?

 

Whats an AF gauge? So basically, the standard ECU isnt a good idea when running higher boost pressures?

 

Will check the front engine mount, sounds like the mk2 might be donating its vibratec engine mount too :lol:

 

cheers,

[GazzaG60 0]

you wont have issues with boost hoses unless its a non standard Intercooler

 

deff take the vibra mount with you.

 

check the piping on std intercooler for damage. look down to the left of the battery on the square sections for holes. other than that its ok. you'd have to get the piping made custom as the aftermarket set from eurosport dont fit.

 

a AF gauge reads the signal from the o2 sensor in the exhaust thus telling you roughly how the car is working ie correct o2 operation and correct idle and WOT switch operation, rough idea on WOT fueling issues.

 

Digi-lag is something that you can read about in other threads but in brief it is a fix to the standard chip by SNS. when you are driving at partial throttle the o2 sensor feeds info to the brain that is then correcting the fuel to keep it running at stoich for economy. when you go WOT(wide open throttle) the std chip taskes a few seconds to react to the changes in boost before it matches the fueling up. this is digi-lag, a lean spike that becomes more pronounced with more boost. you can see it easy on a AF gauge. check the SNS websire or drop bilal a line about these chips.

[Andy T 0]

Thanks Gazza, i'll have a look at that website. Here's a pic of the Modded Corrado..... Had a quick go at removing the low slung number plate on photo express, lol