Kevin Bacon

The best way to avoid air locks is refill through the top hose. Pour it in through the hose until you see coolant in the expansion tank, pop the hose back on, run engine until the coolant in the expansion tank rises (thermostat open), quickly screw the cap on and take it for a drive. Top up the following morning. A full flush is only really necessary if there are clear signs of sediment in the old coolant and expansion tank. Refill only with G12 plus as G11 has been found to cause corrosion. Kev

Remember the poll about one-touch windows intermittently being 'one-touch'? Well I found out today why they are so fickle. Bugger all lube on the window runners! I greased them all up (with some proper water proof lithium grease) and they're as good as new now. I liberally greased up the door handles too for good measure as we all know how easy they are to break. They are also a lot smoother and easier to open now. I also discovered my doors have side impact bars, which I didn't know Corrados had. You learn something everyday! Kev 94 VR6

Green stuff, yurrghh! They're shite. Pagid Fast road pads are infinitely better. I did a side by side comparison of GS v PFR. The GSs take ages to bed in and don't bite anywhere near as well as the PFRs, which you can see by inspecting the disc surface. Kev 94 VR6

That VF mount is a rear one and poly, so will be quite harsh. The front one is top priority as it's the only that causes major problems if it goes and is also why the engine rocks back so violently. Joe, I bought the regular front lower (blue poly) and a heavy duty rubber gearbox mount. Don't know if they're sports or race as it wasn't specified when I bought them. I ditched the front one in favour of a Vibratechnics one, which is miles better. Kev

If the Golf in question is a Highline then it's not far off the Corrado's output, so would be evenly matched. Non highline Golfs don't pose much of a threat to Corrado VRs. If the Corrado's cam position sensor is dead, it'll be 30hp down. Kev 94 VR6

OK, just refining the NOS law a bit, I thought it was illegal to discharge NOS on public highways, in official blurb? At the end of the day, how would the rozzas know you're using it anyway, apart from an insane burst of acceleration?!! Kev

Chris, once again you a proving to be a veritable fountain of knowledge with all things blown!! Nice to have a blower 'techie' to hand for advice :lol: I had an Aquamist (ERL) water/methanol injection kit on my Golf 16V Turbo and found it to be hideously unreliable. The pumps kept burning out. I've seen they've added a flow detector to their recent kits, which you can link up to an LED on the dash, so you know it's working. When it was working, it was awesome, after an hour's hard driving, the inlet manifold was stone cold but the turbo was cherry red! I used a 9L washer bottle from a headlight washer equipped Golf, so never ran out of water/methanol! Since methanol is the key ingredient of screenwash, you could also use it for removing bugs and road grime too :lol: So what's the score with NOS then? I thought it was illegal for road use? Doesn't the gas bottle drain quickly and aren't refiller's hard to find? Just some of the things I've heard..... Cheers Kev

I find the stock VR setup too hard around town and not hard enough when pushed. Is the softest FK setting softer than stock VW? My plan is to lower the car 30mm ish and soften it but with much bigger anti-roll bars whilst retaining standard rolling stock. The end result SHOULD still allow the tyres to lean over slightly and 'bite' into the tarmac, whilst offering a good ride and reduced body roll! I can do this with H&R springs and Koni yellows to be honest, saving some loot but I do like the idea of a coilover kit's height flexibility. Kev

From Evo Magazine's 'The Knowledge' section:- Corrado VR6 - 0-60 in 6.2 seconds, Top speed 146mph. Verdict - Positives - Still to be bettered for all round ability and appeal. Negatives - Errrr ? BMW and Alfa had more powerful six cylinder engines (2.8 & 3.0 respectively) at the time but they were both 24V, so not a like for like comparison. A lot of 2.9s seem to develop more than the quoted 190bhp anyway, so perhaps it was the most powerful 2 valver per cylinder V engine? Alfa's V6 is a true V though, and used 2 heads, so VW are the victors of innovation once again! As for chain's breaking, that's a myth as we all know. Fast Car is biased toward Jap cars and Fords anyway. The VR is often misjudged, it never was supposed to be a tarmac shredder, just a refined and smooth powerplant. Kev

That is a VR6 sized rad looking at it!

Ess Three is exactly right. The engine has no means of detecting fuel type, so always assumes 95 UL (which is also on the flap sticker btw) as it's the lowest UK octance rating. Putting 98 in simply allows the knock sensors to relax a bit but any boost in performance is purely down to the fuel itself, which the majority of us agree is small. Kev

Does the G60 have both it's radiator hoses on the gearbox side? If not, the VR rad won't work unless you make custom hoses. The other alternative is an external oil cooler but it can be a chore to fit, plus you need to avoid a big pressure drop as well, otherwise the G Lader bearings won't thank you for it. Kev

I doubt it as the Corrado was killed off the following year and development on the 24V engine began. The 2.8 VR6 saw a few engine changes but the Corrado, afaik, stuck with the same specification throughout it's life. There is one man that would know for sure, Vince Saiya! VW were never happy with the torque of the 16V or the VR6! Crossflow heads breath exceptionally well, which can hinder low down torque a bit. This is why they jointly developed the VSR with Peirburg, but dropped the idea. Shrick then bought the rights and developed it. The 2.9 always was torquier than the 2.8 but it still does most of it's pulling past 3,500 rpm. Why the VR feels lifeless low down is a mystery when you look at the torque curve. 190bhp allied to 181lb/ft SHOULD feel grunty from idle to Vmax, but it doesn't! A supercharged VR does though I reckon! Kev

Why not use the VR6 rad and fan housing? It's really shallow due to the tiny clearance from the manifold to slam panel. The slave fan is only about 2cms deep, so should offer enough clearance? Is the gap between the G60 and the rad tight then? Cheers Kev

Hmm, I thought there might be more to it than their adverts suggest although 1000bhp is silly. I bet the engine doesn't last especially long, despite the exotic upgrades! Like you say, the drag engines kick out mental power but are only built for one race! They say if it lasts two races, they haven't got the most out of it!! Have you seen the 680bhp video clip on the rollers? It spools up to max rpm in a couple of seconds! Mad! Doesn't the Vortech introduce pinking then, due to the absence of an intercooler? I know 8 odd psi isn't immense but it's enough to heat the air up? I've seen several SC conversions that make the engine pink, but they probably had the Z engineering one! All interesting stuff but I don't have the readies at the moment :( Cheers Kev

From the VW manual:- Unladen Weight * (ready for road) 16V 100KW - 1175Kg G60 118KW - 1155Kg VR6 140KW - 1210Kg * These figures are for the basic model. Other model versions and optional extras - air-con, sliding roof, towing brackets etc increases unladen weight. If my memory serves me right, a MK2 Golf 16V weighs just under 1100Kg. Also from the same source, max speeds and 0-100Kmh times:- 16V (100KW) 210Kmh Vmax - 0-100kmh - 9.3 seconds G60 (118KW) 225Kmh Vmax - 0-100Kmh - 8.5 seconds (8.3 for Non cat engine) VR6 (140KW) 235Kmh Vmax - 0-100Kmh - 6.9 seconds Kev 94 Vr6

If you're lucky it's just a peice of trim that needs sorting but if you're unlucky (and I know i've got this problem) the roof brace behind the sunroof has seperated from the roof (it's bonded on) and is clanking over bumps. MK2 Golfs do it aswell and it's all down to the chassis twisting over uneven surfaces. My drive entrance is pig for it and I can hear the chassis twisting as I drive on and off it. Nasty. It's just a case of sticking some dynmat over the beam to rebond it to the roof but hopefully you don't have that problem! Kev

Are you sure the clattering noise isn't corroded brake stone guards or something? If you're getting a clonk through the column, it could be anything - Bushes, top mounts (ECP ones are shite by the way), ball joints, wheel bearings, top and bottom column bearings, steering rack, tie rod ends etc etc Take it somewhere decent (VAG engineers are incompetent compared to specialists) and they'll trace it immediately, rather than going through a process of elimination which is both expensive and frustrating. Kev 94 VR6

Try here :- http://www.corrado-club.com/faq/techtips.cfm and here:- http://www.atx-hosting.co.uk/corrado/fo ... highlight= It is a nasty job. I haven't done it yet as I'm still trying to find the motivation to pull the headliner out, which is very fragile and a pain to remove from the car. You'll also break umpteen A, B & C pillar trim clips in the process and Corrado interior parts and NOT cheap if you should fracture any of the fragile trims. The clips are generic across the MK2/MK3/Passat range, so should be a few pennies each. Always a good idea to replace these to ensure a snug refit. I would also put some dynamat or equivalent over the roof beams as the glue is prone to seperating causing them to rattle. When I get round to doing mine, I'll post a full pictured overhaul and repair guide. It can be done, you just need a lot of patience. Bloody Corrados, eh? Cheers Kev 94 VR6

Just make sure you wrap some PTFE plumbers tape round the cooler and sandwich plate threads!! Kev 94 VR6

Is the Z Engineering blower the one that has ceramic (oil less) bearings? Never was overly convinced by that to be honest. I would guess you would need to drop the sump to tap the thread in order to avoid getting swarf in the oil? Something else worth considering is EIP Tuning's Stage 1 turbo kit, which produces 330hp and comes in at £3,166. Same kind of deal really, 8 hour fitment plus setting up and no block internals to be done. Virtually zero lag too, apparently. http://www.eiptuning.com/vr6turbo/stage1vr6turbo.html Either option sounds good but 3 grand! In a couple of years time the kit will be worth more than the car! Oh the joy (and expense) of modding!! Cheers Kev 94 VR6

How's the VR been recently Roddy? I find my VR has good and bad days. Seems to go like a rocket on hot sunny days and so-so on mild overcast days. Scott may have a point with the plugs as when I hoiked out my Bosch twins and replaced them with NGK twins (not plats) there was a noticeable improvement, especially lower down the rev range. I put this down to the NGKs having a wider gap and therefore producing a slightly larger spark. If Nology hotwires weren't so expensive and huge, I would try a set. Not sure on the Optimax debate though, mine feels torquier with 95 but smoother with Optimax. Kev 94 VR6

It should fit as the second fan is slaved off the main one via a belt, so is very shallow, but I'm guessing! Kev 94 VR6

Cheers Chris. Thanks for the info mate! Kev

The gears themselves are tough as old boots, just change the synchro rings because trust me, you will faint when your stealer tells you how much individual gears are! You are talking over £100UKGP each. Just check the condition of the helical cuts and make sure the centre groove is intact and no teeth are chipped/missing. Rebuilding boxes requires a few specialist tools and certain bearings need preloading too, which is easy to mess up if you don't know what you're doing. You might also want to bolt the diff (ditch the rivets) too if you're planning any power upgrades or better still, fit a quaiffe. On that score, I can't help thinking though, that allowing the power to spin away rather than the box taking the strain would be better for longevity? I've had a few boxes rebuilt in my time and changing the diff bearings, the lower ratio synchro rings and the main input and intermediate shaft bearings was all that was required. HTH Kev 94 VR6