Green Storm Turbo - Sold :(

[clumpy1 11]

6th Corrado?! Sucker for punishment eh? ;) There is something very special about these cars, and this is my second Corrado but unfortunately I don't have a garage where I can keep it locked away (and anyone who does is out to make a big profit in rental fees). The car itself is running perfectly after having loads of work done, so any new owner would have a well cared for motor.

 

My budget for a replacement is £10-£12k - that's E46 M3 money (despite looking like a flush chav), decent E39 M5 money, TVR Cerbera money, up it a little more and I could get a 996 C4s (although the interior lets it down imo), etc etc.

 

Thing is, even if I went for any listed above I know that nothing would feel as special the Corrado on the road in terms of looks, rareness and cool factor (ok maybe the Cerbera :norty: but doubt I'd have the bottle to take the plunge). I am also wondering if I should just spend my budget on a VR6 Turbo (Stealth Kit) as IMO it would be the complete package of looks and power. No idea about reliability though so I have a lot of research to do!

 

 

 

Nice meeting you too, must say your car is even better in the flesh than the pics! I reckon a trimmed dash would finish off your interior nicely (but then I would say that :lol:)

 

 

 

Known nothing but Corrados for 6/7 years mate, but like I mentioned above, if I up the power then maybe it'll be awesome. Quite depressing when you've got to really hustle to keep up with some modern TDIs!

Have you considered R32? I have no problem's with modern diesel's or just about anything else for that matter :lol: thank's for the kind comment's regarding my car it is a bit marmite for some people but then it's not their car and to be honest i am not trying to fit in and won't just to feel part of something i aint finished with it yet either.

Edited May 8, 2013 by clumpy1
spelling

[Jim 2]

Or turbo the VR6... you won't be troubled by modern TDI's ever again :)

[big ben 10]

Known nothing but Corrados for 6/7 years mate, but like I mentioned above, if I up the power then maybe it'll be awesome. Quite depressing when you've got to really hustle to keep up with some modern TDIs!

 

Hey, i haven't been on much lately. Just thought i may be in a place to add comment.

 

I to was the same, always wanted more power. And i ended up with a VRT, great. But, i sometimes think about putting it back to standard. Seems crazy, but the VR6 you can just jump in, let it warm up to 70degC and have fun. VRT needs to warm up to 96degC ideally, drinks fuel also, as you have to drive it hard or there is no point. So all those short journeys etc, you dont use it. So i have missed out on so much corrado driving cruising it hurts. If i went back i would have a daily VR6 all day long, cant beat being in a rado every day

 

And you wont find a car like the corrado. I had lots of other cars, RX8 etc, nothing compares. So it will be another regretful owner selling

Edited May 8, 2013 by big ben

[n3p 3]

Have you considered R32? I have no problem's with modern diesel's or just about anything else for that matter :lol: thank's for the kind comment's regarding my car it is a bit marmite for some people but then it's not their car and to be honest i am not trying to fit in and won't just to feel part of something i aint finished with it yet either.

 

I have, although I was thinking of £/bhp. Not exactly sure what an R32 lump would cost, but factor in the fact that i'd give my car to a garage (a conversion like that is wayyy beyond my capabilities to do properly) it could soon all add up. There's also a certain charm to the 12v VR6 ;) Your car looks evil, love it!

 

Or turbo the VR6... you won't be troubled by modern TDI's ever again :)

 

I did phone Stealth to discuss. The price for the turbo kit is now more than was quoted on the forum (which was 3 years ago to be fair, but still reasonable). I also know that I'd need an uprated fuel pump, clutch, brakes, head bolts, etc etc. They said they won't be able to work on it till October, so it would be a long wait!

 

Were you at Stanford Jim? Looked around for you (and davidwort) but there were a few green VR6s and not knowing what either of you looked like didn't help!

 

Nick

[Jim 2]

I was there mate but was feeling quite under the weather so didn't go out of my way to chat to the folks I should have done - yourself, clumpy, etc.. sorry for being so antisocial. I was wearing a grey hoodie and had the black SF Giants baseball cap on so you may have spotted me.

 

Did have a quick look at your motor - utter perfection on those CH's! :)

[clumpy1 11]

Hey, i haven't been on much lately. Just thought i may be in a place to add comment.

 

I to was the same, always wanted more power. And i ended up with a VRT, great. But, i sometimes think about putting it back to standard. Seems crazy, but the VR6 you can just jump in, let it warm up to 70degC and have fun. VRT needs to warm up to 96degC ideally, drinks fuel also, as you have to drive it hard or there is no point. So all those short journeys etc, you dont use it. So i have missed out on so much corrado driving cruising it hurts. If i went back i would have a daily VR6 all day long, cant beat being in a rado every day

 

And you wont find a car like the corrado. I had lots of other cars, RX8 etc, nothing compares. So it will be another regretful owner selling

You are so correct in what you say mate a VR6T is a weekend play car no good for the tootling about.

 

---------- Post added at 1:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 1:40 PM ----------

 

I was there mate but was feeling quite under the weather so didn't go out of my way to chat to the folks I should have done - yourself, clumpy, etc.. sorry for being so antisocial. I was wearing a grey hoodie and had the black SF Giants baseball cap on so you may have spotted me.

 

Did have a quick look at your motor - utter perfection on those CH's! :)

Didn't realise that was you Jim would have had a chat if i had known ;)

[n3p 3]

Hey, i haven't been on much lately. Just thought i may be in a place to add comment.

 

I to was the same, always wanted more power. And i ended up with a VRT, great. But, i sometimes think about putting it back to standard. Seems crazy, but the VR6 you can just jump in, let it warm up to 70degC and have fun. VRT needs to warm up to 96degC ideally, drinks fuel also, as you have to drive it hard or there is no point. So all those short journeys etc, you dont use it. So i have missed out on so much corrado driving cruising it hurts. If i went back i would have a daily VR6 all day long, cant beat being in a rado every day

 

And you wont find a car like the corrado. I had lots of other cars, RX8 etc, nothing compares. So it will be another regretful owner selling

 

Sorry, missed this post the first time round - thanks for your input. Only ever heard good things about going VRT so this is an interesting perspective too, things i'd never considered! The Corrado only does about 4k miles a year (i get a train to work but also have another car for "normal" duties), but every now and then I'll nip to the shops in it. Is the mpg really that woeful? Makes me wonder if rotrex'ing it would be preferable now!

 

I was there mate but was feeling quite under the weather so didn't go out of my way to chat to the folks I should have done - yourself, clumpy, etc.. sorry for being so antisocial. I was wearing a grey hoodie and had the black SF Giants baseball cap on so you may have spotted me.

 

Did have a quick look at your motor - utter perfection on those CH's! :)

 

Aah, were you in the corner? Think I may have spotted you in that case. Thanks for the kind words, but looking around at all the other cars makes me realise there's so much I could still do! Surprised you saw my car, had a fat Scirocco parked in front :lol:

[Jim 2]

Aah, were you in the corner? Think I may have spotted you in that case. Thanks for the kind words, but looking around at all the other cars makes me realise there's so much I could still do! Surprised you saw my car, had a fat Scirocco parked in front :lol:

 

Yep - very deliberately in the corner as my VR looks like it's done every single one of its 187,000 miles... I like to park it out of the way as I think there's an expectation that as a moderator here, or as someone involved in the committee of the CCGB, I should have a superb example of a Corrado... and I really don't.. hence hiding away :)

 

Anyway - sorry for derailing the thread!

[big ben 10]

Sorry, missed this post the first time round - thanks for your input. Only ever heard good things about going VRT so this is an interesting perspective too, things i'd never considered! The Corrado only does about 4k miles a year (i get a train to work but also have another car for "normal" duties), but every now and then I'll nip to the shops in it. Is the mpg really that woeful? Makes me wonder if rotrex'ing it would be preferable now!

 

The mpg normal driving is 25mpg, so not that bad, but you dont slap a turbo on there not to use it haha. Otherwise its a waste of kit.

 

But when having all that kit, you don't do small trips ever. The thought of using it for a normal journey doesn't even cross your mind. I am sure it would be the same with a rotrex, they need real care and attention and warming up, something a normal VR lump doesnt. See how long it takes the VR to warm up to 98degC, sometimes takes me 15+ minutes or longer with normal driving (missed out on so many races lol) Where as 70degC is a few mins and you can open her up and listen to that nice V6 sound, which i have also lost, which is a negative for me.

 

So there is positives and negatives to both. It is worth thinking about, your rado is lovely, and i would love to drive it and be seen in it daily, instead mine sits there whilst i drive my company car, until warm/dry weather (as without racelogic TC there is no point in taking it out at all, so that narrows it down to about 20 days a year lol)

 

---------- Post added at 3:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 2:56 PM ----------

 

and one last thing, if you still park it up and look back at it each time, you cant sell it as you will regret it big time, there is no other car that can do that to you

[n3p 3]

The mpg normal driving is 25mpg, so not that bad, but you dont slap a turbo on there not to use it haha. Otherwise its a waste of kit.

 

But when having all that kit, you don't do small trips ever. The thought of using it for a normal journey doesn't even cross your mind. I am sure it would be the same with a rotrex, they need real care and attention and warming up, something a normal VR lump doesnt. See how long it takes the VR to warm up to 98degC, sometimes takes me 15+ minutes or longer with normal driving (missed out on so many races lol) Where as 70degC is a few mins and you can open her up and listen to that nice V6 sound, which i have also lost, which is a negative for me.

 

So there is positives and negatives to both. It is worth thinking about, your rado is lovely, and i would love to drive it and be seen in it daily, instead mine sits there whilst i drive my company car, until warm/dry weather (as without racelogic TC there is no point in taking it out at all, so that narrows it down to about 20 days a year lol)

 

---------- Post added at 3:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 2:56 PM ----------

 

and one last thing, if you still park it up and look back at it each time, you cant sell it as you will regret it big time, there is no other car that can do that to you

 

I do still look back at it! Even when indoors I'll have a peek out the window :(

 

I have spent a fair wedge on tarting it up to my liking and making it mechanically sound, but I've become bored with the power. Probably would regret selling which is why I thought upping the power would make it a keeper for sure, but the things you've mentioned have got me thinking. If a VRT isn't all it lives up to be as you say, then the thought of something like an E46 M3 would make more sense (despite the fact that they are everywhere, they seem like the best bang for your buck)

 

Maybe I need to hear some of the positives too - what's it like when you hit the loud pedal What cars can you keep up with? What's the low down pull like? :norty:

[big ben 10]

Maybe I need to hear some of the positives too - what's it like when you hit the loud pedal What cars can you keep up with? What's the low down pull like? :norty:

 

Ok, i hear you. You sound like me

 

VRT lives up to it and more. Power delivery is instant pretty much, pulls ALL the way to clock it at 160. RS4, E46 M3, CLS55 AMG are a few that have failed in their attempts against me, i have never lost a race as of yet. Racing Civic TypeR's and Imprezas is the best though, smash them to bits and they always get pretty angry.

 

The scream mine makes when on boost is more of an aeroplane, you wont of heard a car like it, but when cruising its real sleeper and quiet. It feels completely stock as well, so no downsides at all, apart from i don't use mine enough, but plenty of people have used them daily with no problems (myself included for a while) I recommend getting someone to take you out in theirs, but be warned, you will be hooked

[Jim 2]

A VR6 Turbo is a seriously quick car - be under no illusion. I took the Stealth 'demo car' out for a few hours a couple of years back and it was absolutely devastating. You're obviously hamstrung with the car being front wheel drive (unless you go for the RaceLogic traction control to help out a bit) but once you're into third, in gear performance is monstrous and there won't be many cars out on the road that will outpace you unless you start talking about serious performance cars.

 

I suppose the downside is that you have to consider that you will be throwing away some of your money to an extent that, perhaps, you wouldn't do if you sank the money into an older performance car that might instead stand a chance of accumulating in value - like a 996 Porsche or similar.

[coullstar 0]

How many miles do you do? I loved me VR for the reason the guy gave. I would say Ben is painting a slightly worse picture than in reality but I also know what he means. I would happily have used mine everyday and you can do. If your just poolting about then a standard VR isnt exactly the best car either. You just use the car progressively as you would any other car and to be honest you dont need to give the car the beans that much anyway as in 90% of situations in the power is more than enough. Whenever I thought about selling mine I went for a blast and soon realised I couldnt sell. To be honest I have had a lot of cars over the years but my VRT is the only one Ive ever regretted selling, almost bought it back recently as well and would have done if I didnt have my RS4.

 

As for driving in the wet again its all about being progressive and I never had any real issues. The Traction control would help but even from driving my 24v car they have similar issue, to a certain extent, as they torque comes in low down as well. You learn how to drive them.

 

Not easy but best thing is to see what each car is like. I would say 80% of the time an R32 conversion will be the same if not slightly better than a VRT but its that last 20% that makes you laugh out loud when you drive it that made it for me.

[C5 OEM 0]

If your after a fast car then just buy one..... hope that makes sense but look at all the modified corrado`s. Spending thousands of pounds to add 60 bhp maybe pushing upto 300bhp....? then all the strain on the rest of the components that have to be improved.... A vr6 with cams and a remap is a great drivers car and more than capable of keeping up with modern sports cars and still retains its original look and without pushing the car to its limits.

 

If thats not enough then buy a quick car out of the box....

[big ben 10]

disagree with that post as any serious car you want to look after is a money pit... Running a E46 M3 for example, would cost more than a VRT in running costs i am sure, and would be NO where near as fun ;)

 

As i say, try a VRT out, and if you don't go silly with the boost (mine is only 0.7bar), it will have no problems if done right. The VR6 lump is perfect for forced induction

[coullstar 0]

Agree, I did about 8000miles in mine with basically no issues at all. And that was a hard 8000miles of 1bar.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Agreed. That's like saying "If you want a big house. Buy one". Well, some people are quite attached to their small home and the area they live in and simply want to extend it.

 

0.7 bar is enough to stop a V8 M3 from getting past you ;)

[Rams 0]

It's a classic. When you love cars so much, the speed, torque and all the associated bits that come along, its always going to be a tricky one. You always want what you don't have. I've been down this road and I think I've finally worked out what I need to do.

 

Your situation could be different but good friends of mine have nice cars and spent a nice fortune on them and people don't wave, no thumbs up, a generic feel and whilst smooth and comfortable after a few weeks of being a passenger you soon forget all about it. The C always pulls you back in and you have to be patient about it.

 

The smile factor when you do blow something away is a deep feeling of smugness! Merc drivers seem extra angry when you teach them a lesson! Try and stick with it

[clumpy1 11]

I have had no experience of a VRT but have had a turbo powered car in the past in that case it had 4wd so traction was not an issue but i imagine the VRT would suffer from traction issues however I have a peloquin LSD in my R32 and suffer no traction issues I also know a VRT would have an R32 but in certain situation's it would be hard pushed.So basically what you need to do is get an R32 powered C and lob a turbo on it nothing will get near you oh and while you a talking about getting a Porsche mine only has 290bhp with it I have punished a couple of them you would be gutted if you got rid of the C got a porsche then the following week got hammered by a C hope this help's

[n3p 3]

Wow, thanks all for the replies. I'm weighing my options after reading everything. What's definite is that I want a faster car! Clumpy, I was also looking at some Pork but in my price bracket they'd most likely be ropier examples (and I don't want a boxster - no ragtops for me). I also hate the 996 interior! For now I'll just be thinking about an E46 M3 as an E39 M5 could bend me over if it broke :)

 

I do about 4000 miles a year in the Corrado, I have access to another car for normal driving duties and get a train in to London for work so MPG isn't really an issue.

 

I've compiled a little list, feel free to add to it as my knowledge is lacking, and I don't particularly feel like trawling through hundreds of pages on the FI thread:

 

Corrado VRT Pros:

It's a Corrado! And I've spent a lot of money and time on getting it to an acceptable standard looks wise.

It would make Merc drivers angry :norty:

Reliable and could be used faily if needed

"Absolutely devastating" according to Jim

Power all over the rev range

 

Corrado VRT Cons:

Having to wait for it to warm up to temp before giving it the beans (although I do this anyway to an extent)

Not used during short journeys

Expensive install compared to buying another car outright (Stealth quoted £5.5k minus head bolts, fuel pump, clutch, brakes, TCS)

Drinks like a fish (as expected)

Not so good in the wet?

Stealth won't be able to fit it until at least September-October!

 

E46 M3 Pros:

Excellent value for money

More creature comforts

Properly quick and can seat passengers comfortably

RWD

Highly rated by journos and enthusiasts alike

Could go searching for one now

 

E46 M3 cons:

Looking like a flush chav ;)

Potential rear subframe issues

Potential VANOS issues?

Still depreciating?

Insurance issues? (a friend with an E36 M3 paid a fortune)

 

That's all I can think of for now. Ben's correct though, I need to go test drive both ideally...

 

C5 OEM - I understand where you're coming from, and it would make more sense. But it seems hard to let go of the Corrado, and as been said before it is a much cooler car and I'd most likely regret getting rid.

 

Nick

[C5 OEM 0]

I agree on the coolness side of the corrado but can`t understand the money to sink into it to make it something its not...? cams and remap £500 and you`ll see 220bhp ish with drive and response improved and enjoy the corrado for what it is, a 15 year old car that can hit 60 in 6 seconds and do 150 top end.....

[big ben 10]

You have never been in a VRT, we can tell haha. Nothing quite like it, hard to describe.

 

And anyone can buy a M3, its running them which is expensive. Where as the rado is cheap to run, its just fuel tokens that are needed

[clumpy1 11]

The thing you are forgetting OEM is even though i have an R32 under the bonnet i don't drive it like a nutter so saying it is putting everything under strain isn't really relevant but the power is there when you need it you have your view on it mate but we are not all the same ;)

[Kevin Bacon 5]

You don't have to wait for a VRT to warm up to ~ 100 deg before giving it boost. I never did on mine and I used it daily for 60K miles. It just comes down to owner preference but there's certainly no mechanical need for it if a top quality oil is used.

 

Traction is indeed an issue but decent tyres, an LSD and Racelogic TC improve things considerably!

 

Yep it's not a cheap conversion but what other cars can you get with 320hp/tonne for the price of a Corrado and a turbo kit? :D

 

Fish drinking wasn't a problem with mine as I mapped it myself. Mine averaged 27mpg over the 5 odd years it was turboed. Not bad for a 400hp 2.9 turbo! E39 M5s average 18-20mpg from the same 400hp.

 

I was in your position last year. I researched very thoroughly the M options and I decided the safest bet was the Z3M Coupe because it was a niche market car and therefore attracted more diligant owners/enthusiasts. But I needed £15K+ to get the more desirable S54 engined one and I wasn't prepared to spend that much. I also test drove an E34 M5 and an E39 M5. The former blew it's head gasket and brakes on the test run and the latter just didn't live up to my expectations, which was a real shame as it was a car I coveted so much when I couldn't afford one!

 

The E46 is a lovely car to drive but the ones I saw had exchanged owners several times. I suspect because, as you say, chavs buy them and then sell them on again once they realise how much an inspection 2 with tappet adjustment costs and it's thirst for 10W/60 Castrol Edge!

Too much of a gamble for me and they also sound a bit unrefined cruising at low revs because of the solid lifters.

 

I got quotes of ~ £350 - £500 for the Ms because I'm an old man now :D The VRT cost me £900 to insure!

[C5 OEM 0]

Ok then so can anyone throw any actual facts and figures at me...? don`t mean bhp but actual 0-60 times to show how the extra 100-200 bhp converts onto the road.

 

Having owned a 20v mk2 I understand the grin factor.