Rob's R32 Corrado - FOR SALE :(

[fla 9]

you've done pretty much everything else on your car Rob, just the shocks remainig now, so maybe worth investing in a good set? Then it really will be a new motor.

[herisites 0]

At the end of the day though, ride quality and comfort is down to the damper quality which Kev proved as he went out in a corrado with the much respected V1's on (same spring rates as our Weitecs and same as he had on his) and he said the ride quality was terrible compared to his, actually said it was pretty much the same as mine. His suspension obviously being the V3's with the correct damping/rebound etc setup! A lot of money though at ~£1300 now for a set of V3's :(

weitec are just a cheaper subsidiary of kw anyway aren't they?!?

 

no surprises that v1's are going to be similar to the top end weitecs...

 

Yeah Weitecs are made by KW but obviously they are a lot cheaper and the seals are obviously one thing they skimp on judging by mine! The V1's are only height adjustable with fixed damping etc so they're the equivilent of mine and are supposed to be about the same ride quality (when mine were new at least) you just pay more for the name and better quality parts. The top Weitecs, the TX's are height and damping adjustable and not much more than a set of V1's but would most likely give a better ride although I'm not sure on the quality of these but it will be similar to mine no doubt.

[herisites 0]

you've done pretty much everything else on your car Rob, just the shocks remainig now, so maybe worth investing in a good set? Then it really will be a new motor.

 

Well I thought I was doing that with the Weitecs at the time, they were well praised and weren't a budget set so I thought they'd last a fair whack, but 3 years is a bit gash really, although my old local roads and journey to work (country roads/villages!) didn't help, where I am now is much better.

 

Ideally I would like a 2nd car for daily use so that I can take the strain off the corrado every day.

 

Going back to the GAZ suspension though, I had a chat with a dealer near me and they confirmed that the GHA Fast Road coilovers (the cheaper ones at £530) are height AND damping adjustable. They also set up the damping and spring rates to suit the needs of the client and said that most off the shelf coilovers have way too stiff spring rates/damping settings as standard, to try and counter for everyone I suppose, also german makes like Weitec/KW are setup for german roads which are smooth!

 

I was also chatting to a guy last night who's in to his Fords and he told me that the GAZ coilovers are very well respected in the Ford circles, so that and the fact Kev owned some and was very happy with the ride quality (albeit the GAZ GOLD's) is swinging me towards them now.

[quicky1980 0]

I will be keeping an eye on what you go for rob as Im looking into gaz dampers, might even stretch for the gold versions! just cautious with the quality issue they are been reported to be bad on.

 

I'm using really cheap coilovers at the moment kw av's front and jamex rears (to get through an MOT) but since fitting the jammex the ride is very harsh. Im hoping to go for a decent set soon but want a more comfortable setup.

[herisites 0]

Yeah I had concerns about the quality too but most of the bad reviews I read were from a few years back and these issues have since been improved, apparently! So hopefully they're better than they were.

 

Tbh though, the quality is good where it matters i.e. the damper quality! The only place they had quality issues were with the protective zinc coating coming away from the threads meaning they could rust up over time, but I will cover these with duct tape anyway once I have set the desired height and I regularly clean the car including the arches so hopefully they will last quite well!

 

This is the kit I'm looking at, these guys are just up the road from me as well:

 

http://www.corbymotorsport.com/corrado-9198-gaz-coilover-conversion-kit-p-65.html

[KADVR6 0]

whatt about H&R's these are supposed to be very very good

 

http://www.venommotorsport.com/manufact ... el=Corrado

[herisites 0]

whatt about H&R's these are supposed to be very very good

 

http://www.venommotorsport.com/manufact ... el=Corrado

 

Yeah, nice coilovers but they're £1100, I'm looking at the GAZ's for £530 which I still can't afford at the minute (damn house!) but my credit card can :lol:

[herisites 0]

Went out and took some more pics last night with my mate. We were trying to get some good motion pics but none of them turned out any good really, these are the only remotely OK ones. I think he's going to invest in a rig of some sort so we can get some really good motion pics without having to move the car much!

 

 

 

 

This last one would have looked great if the car was in perfect focus!!

[fla 9]

stunning 8) Looks like you're going at 300mph!

[herisites 0]

stunning 8) Looks like you're going at 300mph!

 

It was about 12 :lol:

[quicky1980 0]

If your mate is any good with photoshop, it may be worth taking a static photo and blur the background and wheels to look like the car is moving. I think thats what some pros do.

[herisites 0]

If your mate is any good with photoshop, it may be worth taking a static photo and blur the background and wheels to look like the car is moving. I think thats what some pros do.

 

Well I'm pretty good with photoshop so could easily do that, it's not the same though lol.

 

The best shots are taken with a rig where the camera is attached to the car on a pole. You then set the camera up for a slow shutter speed and can then literally push the car round and you get an awesome effect.

 

Here's a during picture someones put up on Flickr to show how the pic looks pre-editting with the guy in the pic (the final pic would obviously be taken when he's out the way!):

 

PRE-EDIT

 

And then post-editting:

 

POST-EDIT

 

My mate's going on holiday today but whe he's back we're gunna set up a rig of some sort and have a go at some pics like this 8)

[junkie 0]

Exactly how my pics were taken with the pole, literally moving half a mile an hour kinda speed, just a very small slight roll forwards.

[poll250 0]

Just a quick note Rob: I got my Tracking and Camber laser-alligned on Friday. Took them a good two hours to get spot on but the car feels so much better over bumps now, and a lot more solid.

 

Not sure if you've had yours done recently?

[herisites 0]

Just a quick note Rob: I got my Tracking and Camber laser-alligned on Friday. Took them a good two hours to get spot on but the car feels so much better over bumps now, and a lot more solid.

 

Not sure if you've had yours done recently?

 

Yeah I had mine done not all that long ago, the car definitely drives better when I get that done. But still gash due to the fooked shocks!

[herisites 0]

Small update, the car is booked in to Stealth next week to finally get the rear axle bushes done so they should improve the way the car drives a bit!

 

Also after fitting new drop links to the car at the weekend, I decided to check the condition of my engine mounts as I have been getting clutch judder and the engine generally feels 'crashy'. Turned out the cheapy GSF mount I put in not long after putting the engine in (so not even a year old) is foobarred, standard :roll: I can pretty much pull the rubber apart from the metal by hand so the engine pulling on it must have been sloppy as hell! Fitted the VT mount I had lying around which I removed originally as I didn't like the vibrations, needless to say the engine feels solid now and the way the car drives has improved. Just have to put up with few more vibrations now until I can be bothered to order a new VAG mount.

 

Also, I have finally ordered my new coilovers :clap: Went for the GAZ's in the end, annoyingly they take 3 weeks to arrive though as they're made to my requirements, not just off the shelf. Still in discussions as for which spring rates to go for as the recommended rates seemed way too soft to me so we've gone for somewhere in the middle of theirs and mine (uber hard german 'sporty' 400lb springs!) so it's still firm but with the vastly better (and 42 way adjustable!) damping it shouldn't be crashy!

 

So whilst I wait for these to arrive I am also going to be accumulating the parts to fit a fixed steering column to get rid of the masses of play mine seems to have in it. So in a few weeks time the car should be driving sweeeeeeeet! :clap: Then I can start saving for more power :nuts:

[pete_griff 0]

glad to hear things are finally on their way to being 100% sorted finally Rob! :D :clap:

no doubt you'll be happy to see the end somewhere in sight!

 

any news on getting your flat spot sorted yet? did you confirm if it was the same stretched chain issue that Coxxy had?

[herisites 0]

No not found out the cause of the flat spot yet :( When I was at Stealth on saturday looking over my car (for causes of the bad handling etc) we briefly spoke about it and they reckon it could be something with the cam advance or something along those lines but there's no telling unless I get it to them to have a real look at it. That's the next thing on the list really as my main concern at the min is getting the car driving a lot better as I'm not enjoying driving it anymore!

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Also, I have finally ordered my new coilovers :clap: Went for the GAZ's in the end, annoyingly they take 3 weeks to arrive though as they're made to my requirements, not just off the shelf. Still in discussions as for which spring rates to go for as the recommended rates seemed way too soft to me so we've gone for somewhere in the middle of theirs and mine (uber hard german 'sporty' 400lb springs!) so it's still firm but with the vastly better (and 42 way adjustable!) damping it shouldn't be crashy!

 

Good stuff mate. This will be another kit for the 'tried and tested' list, so cheers for being the forum guinea pig! Makes a refreshing change to read about something other than bloody KW and Weitec :salute: :D

 

You are right about the springs chap. This is what I was saying, it's the more measured 'British' way to go about suspension tuning, rather than just slapping 400lb springs on ALL Corrado kits, from 8V to VR6. It just doesn't work like that.

 

The spring rates on my Gaz Gold kit were 275lb front and around 200lb rear and that worked really well on the back roads :D Try what they recommend first, then go from there I'd say!

[herisites 0]

Good stuff mate. This will be another kit for the 'tried and tested' list, so cheers for being the forum guinea pig! Makes a refreshing change to read about something other than bloody KW and Weitec :salute: :D

 

I'm happy to be a guinea pig if it means finding some coilovers that give good handling and comfort and dont cost stupid money!!

 

You are right about the springs chap. This is what I was saying, it's the more measured 'British' way to go about suspension tuning, rather than just slapping 400lb springs on ALL Corrado kits, from 8V to VR6. It just doesn't work like that.

 

The spring rates on my Gaz Gold kit were 275lb front and around 200lb rear and that worked really well on the back roads :D Try what they recommend first, then go from there I'd say!

 

Hmm I probs need to ring him back then as I went for the rates you have on your V3's, 325lb front 228lb rear. Or do you reckon they'll be ok? I don't want it to be too hard but I also don't want to be leaning in the bends! I'd love to be able to drive down a back road and not be sh*tting myself over 50mph FFS :roll:

[mic_VR 3]

No not found out the cause of the flat spot yet :( When I was at Stealth on saturday looking over my car (for causes of the bad handling etc) we briefly spoke about it and they reckon it could be something with the cam advance or something along those lines but there's no telling unless I get it to them to have a real look at it. That's the next thing on the list really as my main concern at the min is getting the car driving a lot better as I'm not enjoying driving it anymore!

 

Just a thought mate. When Dave was wiring up my 24v he noticed the N156 valve was missing. I've never heard of it but apparently it controls the switching between the long/short runners on the variable manifolds.... hate to ask but have you checked this on yours? Maybe its malfunctioning and having an effect on what runners are in use and when?

[herisites 0]

No not found out the cause of the flat spot yet :( When I was at Stealth on saturday looking over my car (for causes of the bad handling etc) we briefly spoke about it and they reckon it could be something with the cam advance or something along those lines but there's no telling unless I get it to them to have a real look at it. That's the next thing on the list really as my main concern at the min is getting the car driving a lot better as I'm not enjoying driving it anymore!

 

Just a thought mate. When Dave was wiring up my 24v he noticed the N156 valve was missing. I've never heard of it but apparently it controls the switching between the long/short runners on the variable manifolds.... hate to ask but have you checked this on yours? Maybe its malfunctioning and having an effect on what runners are in use and when?

 

Hmm good shout! I'll have a look in to it :salute:

[Kevin Bacon 5]

You do have that valve on yours mate.

 

I think the 325lb 228lb combo will work fine mate 8) Didn't realise you'd already ordered those rates!

[Jim 2]

If you wouldn't mind Rob, wondered what the possibility of coming along and having a nose at the work involved on doing the fixed height column swap, not to mention the parts list, when you come to do yours - I'm not miles away from you!

 

Been on the radar for a LONG time on the 16v and really thinking I'd like to get it done soon.. and would just be good to get an idea of whats involved and whether I'm up to it?

[herisites 0]

Jim, no problem at all mate. Not going to be doing it for a couple of weeks as I have access to a workshop so I'd rather wait and get everything together and then get it all done in one go! Kev will be giving me hand as well as he's quite interested to see what the GAZzers are like and he's done the fixed column on his so knows what he's doing!