2.0 16v - Couple of questions (new owner)

[radness 0]

Hi guys I have a 94 Corrado, 9a engine.

 

Basically im a new corrado owner (very happy!) but i have a couple of questions, im sorry i have so many, i have spent the last week searching this forum and others but haven't had any concrete answers to my questions.

 

1. Does the corrado have a fuel light? I seem to hit the bottom of the red marker but i have yet to see a light come on yet.In regards to fuel should i try running 97oct or would this not be any noticeable difference?

 

2. Sometimes my car idles at 1500 sometimes when starting, it doesn't hop around a lot or go crazy , i read the thread about the 9a in the passat - with the idling and coughing issues, but mine seems different as it goes to 1500rpm straight on and i basically don't need to use the accelerator to hit 30mph in 2nd gear! It does eventually disappear. On the question regarding idling, my regular idle is around 800-900 is this normal?

 

3. Sometimes when im going slow (after a long drive) the oil temp is around 110c, is this too high? When accelerating hard and driving 50mph+ it stays around 100c).

 

4. My steering seems very heavy, so heavy i think my power steering might not be working, is this a normal fault ? if the power steering pump is dead could it explain my high idle? (the engine stressing because it is having trouble turning the power steering). I'm not sure if the power steering isn't working at all, i have 205's 17" so i kind of expect them to be a bit hard to turn.

 

5. A what millage does the timing belt need done?

 

6. I believe the ABS in my car works but i hear a bit of a skid(lasts 0.5-1 seconds when braking hard from 90mph), is this normal or just due to a less efficient ABS as it's an old car? Brakes feel good either way :shock:

 

7. I have a milltek exhaust , someone told me it's a easy flow or powerflow cat, sometimes when im reving high (4-5) then drop into second and ease off I get a bit of a back fire, is this normal? it does sound like it's coming from the rear as opposed the engine bay itself. Anyone know what soft of BHP this exhaust gives?

 

8. Is it worth getting a chip for the 9a? There was one on ebay that stats that it increases rpm limit to 7500, what is the standard limit on this engine? and would this be recommended increasing to 7500? is it the only way to get extra power or does it improve the power down the band before the standard limit?

thanks a lot guys!

[Jim 2]

Hi guys I have a 94 Corrado, 9a engine.

 

Basically im a new corrado owner (very happy!) but i have a couple of questions, im sorry i have so many, i have spent the last week searching this forum and others but haven't had any concrete answers to my questions.

 

Hi - welcome aboard! :)

 

1. Does the corrado have a fuel light? I seem to hit the bottom of the red marker but i have yet to see a light come on yet.In regards to fuel should i try running 97oct or would this not be any noticeable difference?

 

Nope - it doesn't. So be mindful of letting it get too low!

 

2. Sometimes my car idles at 1500 sometimes when starting, it doesn't hop around a lot or go crazy , i read the thread about the 9a in the passat - with the idling and coughing issues, but mine seems different as it goes to 1500rpm straight on and i basically don't need to use the accelerator to hit 30mph in 2nd gear! It does eventually disappear. On the question regarding idling, my regular idle is around 800-900 is this normal?

 

Between 800-900RPM is fine. When mine is all running properly it sits at almost exactly 800RPM and just feels right at that speed. As for the higher idling - is that literally when you start the car? How long does it do it for and when does it drop back to normal idling speed...?

 

3. Sometimes when im going slow (after a long drive) the oil temp is around 110c, is this too high? When accelerating hard and driving 50mph+ it stays around 100c).

 

Temps sound ok to me. Just so long as the radiator fan is coming on, etc you're probably ok there.

 

4. My steering seems very heavy, so heavy i think my power steering might not be working, is this a normal fault ? if the power steering pump is dead could it explain my high idle? (the engine stressing because it is having trouble turning the power steering). I'm not sure if the power steering isn't working at all, i have 205's 17" so i kind of expect them to be a bit hard to turn.

 

Big heavy wheels won't help of course - the Corrado was only designed to cope with 15" wheels. Maybe this is a 2.0 16v "quirk" because my power steering has always been heavy but everything has been checked and rechecked and is all fine. One cause of heavy steering can be worn top mounts / bearings - if there is no history of them having ever being done, might be worth considering? A flush and change of PAS fluid wouldn't hurt either.

 

5. A what millage does the timing belt need done?

 

Good question. I'd imagine its probably every 40-60,000 miles but would seriously get it done as soon as possible if you can't find any info in the service history about when it was last done!

 

6. I believe the ABS in my car works but i hear a bit of a skid(lasts 0.5-1 seconds when braking hard from 90mph), is this normal or just due to a less efficient ABS as it's an old car? Brakes feel good either way :shock:

 

Provided the ABS light illuminates when you start the car and then extinguishes about a second and a half later, it should be fine. The ABS system is fairly primitive - wait till you drive it on snow / ice - it goes beserk!

 

7. I have a milltek exhaust , someone told me it's a easy flow or powerflow cat, sometimes when im reving high (4-5) then drop into second and ease off I get a bit of a back fire, is this normal? it does sound like it's coming from the rear as opposed the engine bay itself. Anyone know what soft of BHP this exhaust gives?

 

It might just be that the exhaust is decatted - it might even be flaming out or something if the car is overfuelling a bit. BHP increases are usally fairly marginal - a few BHP if you're lucky!

 

8. Is it worth getting a chip for the 9a? There was one on ebay that stats that it increases rpm limit to 7500, what is the standard limit on this engine? and would this be recommended increasing to 7500? is it the only way to get extra power or does it improve the power down the band before the standard limit?

thanks a lot guys!

 

Never really heard good / bad comments about eBay chips but I personally wouldn't go near them - ESPECIALLY ones that bump up the RPM limit. One of the best / most proven easy & cheap mods for the 9A is fitting the inlet cam from the 1.8 16v (KR) engine. Typically gives about 10-15BHP increase - they come up for sale on here quite often at the £30 mark :)

[radness 0]

Hi - welcome aboard! :)

 

Thanks Jim :)

1. Does the corrado have a fuel light? I seem to hit the bottom of the red marker but i have yet to see a light come on yet.In regards to fuel should i try running 97oct or would this not be any noticeable difference?

 

Nope - it doesn't. So be mindful of letting it get too low!

 

Ah, thats a pity, i always run my cars on £10 but now i will need to be a bit more careful :?

 

Between 800-900RPM is fine. When mine is all running properly it sits at almost exactly 800RPM and just feels right at that speed. As for the higher idling - is that literally when you start the car? How long does it do it for and when does it drop back to normal idling speed...?

 

Most times i start the car it sits at 800-900 but the odd time ill start and it'll be 1500 and stay that way for about 3-4 minutes then drop down instantly to 900 and stays that way.

Big heavy wheels won't help of course - the Corrado was only designed to cope with 15" wheels. Maybe this is a 2.0 16v "quirk" because my power steering has always been heavy but everything has been checked and rechecked and is all fine. One cause of heavy steering can be worn top mounts / bearings - if there is no history of them having ever being done, might be worth considering? A flush and change of PAS fluid wouldn't hurt either.

 

I'll give this a go and see if it improves anything.

6. I believe the ABS in my car works but i hear a bit of a skid(lasts 0.5-1 seconds when braking hard from 90mph), is this normal or just due to a less efficient ABS as it's an old car? Brakes feel good either way :shock:

 

Provided the ABS light illuminates when you start the car and then extinguishes about a second and a half later, it should be fine. The ABS system is fairly primitive - wait till you drive it on snow / ice - it goes beserk![/quote:3slpq25h]

 

Yeah this is when ABS becomes more of a danger than a safety aid, your car will take about 150%-200% longer to stop in the snow if it has ABS i think i read somewhere. It's a shame we don't/or any car, have a button that disables ABS for a journey.

Never really heard good / bad comments about eBay chips but I personally wouldn't go near them - ESPECIALLY ones that bump up the RPM limit. One of the best / most proven easy & cheap mods for the 9A is fitting the inlet cam from the 1.8 16v (KR) engine. Typically gives about 10-15BHP increase - they come up for sale on here quite often at the £30 mark :)

 

Yeah my thoughts as well, i don't like hitting the standard rev limit as it is, never mind going PAST it. Our cars are not honda civic type-r(although personally i think are better) and i assume they wouldn't like rev'ing as high! I'll give this inlet cam a try are they a big job to fit? how many hours you'd recon? I did a bit of research after you mentioned it and I see they can knock off some low down torque-is this right?, if you have experience of this mod how has it changed the characteristics of the engine? does it add to the 4000+ rpm range and take away from the sub 4000rpm range? Is this inlet cam the 50mm? By standard ours is 42mm?