Kevin Bacon

Apparently you cannot remove any scratches / chips which are deep enough to catch a finger nail on. Shame there's no such thing as 'glass filler' which can be sanded back!

There must be a TRE from a different VW that will fit, shirly? It's a pretty standard part. If I still had my Rado and was faced with this mass obsoleting problem, I'd just fit the hubs and stuff from newer VWs. Problem solved :) And opens up more wheel / brake upgrade options!

Had GKN CVs on my VR6 turbo for years and they survived, so a good enough acid test in my book! Never been impressed with anything from GSF / ECP tbh, except maybe Valeo stuff. Yup, OEM tie rods were TRW and if you put one alongside a Febi pattern one, the difference in quality is obvious. Can't believe VW are obsoleting so many critical components. Swines!

Yeah I found the same. I tried 8Jx17 Rotas with Bridgestone RE040A and ContiSport 3s and both worked really well at that power level...... save for your last sentence! Wet is always going to be hit and miss, but both were great in the dry.

Bloody good result mate! 230hp from a 12V is very good indeed!

Think I've got a pile of those in my tool drawer marked - "Old redundant shat I don't need no more for them ol crusty ancient ol vdubs". I'll have a look when I'm in the garage next.

Yeah I would connect the SAI solenoid and the carbon can purge valve. The engine won't grenade itself with stretched chains, don't worry about that for now.

+2. I notice the N80 evap valve isn't connected as well. Without SAI, N80, rear lambdas etc connected or coded out, it won't run properly. When all is well, closed loop will run not long after start-up and you will see some adjustment values in the measuring blocks. Because of all the faults, it's assuming a complete meltdown and is running a very basic map to get you home. Next step is to get it up to Vince. -9 deg is on the ragged edge as -8 is the limit. Yours hasn't thrown the "Cam / crankshaft correlation error" yet, so you're within limits, just. I reckon yours is on the change over year when VW introduced upgraded chain gear, so yours might have the older MK4 stuff.

What Vince normally does is defeat the immobiliser so that you can drive it to him for a proper map, and delete all those codes. I think because the ECU thinks so much has failed, it doesn't know what the heck is going on and is running a rich safe map. What engine is it? Blocks 209 & 208 should read in KW (german for degrees). Not sure what 'CF' is. Not seen that before. If block 209 really is at -9, it's either not timed properly or has chain stretch.

Worth double checking on your V5 mate, just to be sure as it might explain the elusiveness of the broken down invoice!!

Mmmmm, an abortion of a front bumper job and angel eyes! 8K is laughable!

Did the engine number stay the same after the 'rebuild'? Just wondering if they bought an engine in from one of those engine supermarket places, who just paint the block red and sell them as refurbed.

Sounds a bit too high pitched to be big ends. Big ends sounds like a diesely knocking noise, very deep chested from the bowels of the engine. That sounds top endy to me.

Didn't realise it had been around so long! I'm just getting too much into "manufacturer knows best" in my old age I think!

I think the main disadvantage is cost. It can't be mixed with water, so if you spring a minor leak on a long journey, you need to carry a big bottle in the boot for safety, and it's not cheap stuff! With G13, you can pull into any garage and top up with plain water to keep you going. I suppose another disadvantage is no one really knows what the long term reliability is like as it's not been on the market that long. Water works for me. It's cheap and has served us well for decades :)

Dunno mate. I just got them from the dealer, for a MK4 1.8T GTI. Can't go wrong!

For decoding spark plugs, have a read of this - http://www.ngksparkplugs.com/techinfo/spark_plugs/partnumberkey.pdf Those ebay BKR7Es will work fine in the VR6, but you may not need to go as cold as a 7 with a low boost charger. The colder the plug, the more likely you will get starting and carbon fouling problems. The reason plugs are heat ranged is stop the tips from glowing red, which can cause detonation, but it's more of a problem with turbo engines because of all the exhaust reversion backing up in the combustion chambers. I reckon a 6 is probably good, I would just go with the 1.8T plugs as originally suggested. Readily available and proven to work well in all boosted VRs.

The MK4 definitely isn't a terrible car and most people would enjoy a spirited drive in one. But as a long term ownership proposition, there are more rewarding cars out there tbh! The Edition 30 is just such a car, especially when remapped!

Xenons Highline MFD display Multi Function steering wheel Sunroof (if desired) Winter pack (heated seats, auto lights, auto wipers and some other gumpf) And some other bits, lol Pretty sure there were audio upgrades too - an amp under the seat and 3 ways in the front doors instead of 2 way. Think they were DynAudio drivers too, so top notch.

Just drop em in mate, no need to gap. It's only the yanks who get all hung up on gapping because they run too much boost and too much fuel. Euro / UK tuners have never had issues with plug gaps and boosted VRs! These worked REALLY well in my VRT, heat grade 7 - http://www.ngksparkplugs.com/products/spark_plugs/vpower.asp?mode=nml They're cheap (from America) as well as they're copper core iirc, so don't last long, about 7K miles. Engine loved them though. Just seemed to start quicker and run smoother with them. If you can't get hold of them, try the Bosch F5DPOR (I think that's the no) which are Audi S2 plugs. Not cheap, but last!

Yeah 1.8T plugs worked well for me too!

The standard brakes are fine for road use at sensible speeds imo, thanks to the vacuum pump making them super sharp at the top of the pedal. AP kits are great for track days and regular stops from 100+, but it's £2.5K I'm not prepared to spend as the roads are just too busy to enjoy them where I live! They do look good though!

MK5 Edition 30 :) Definitely the Edition 30 as it doesn't feel as heavy on it's feet. It does everything well, whereas the R32 only really has exhaust noise and traction on it's side. Oil consumption is negligible (compared to the regular GTI) as it's the Audi S3 engine with beefed up internals and has the better pistons / rings as standard. Mine's modded to 300+hp and it needed an uprated clutch as the standard one can't cope. That and an uprated fuel pump is all I've done in terms of mods. The rest of the car can take it. They handle really well as standard and I've not felt the need to lower it all. The brakes are OK imo but a lot of folk feel the need to uprate them as they're only 312s. Mine averages about 26mpg running that power, but I rarely do the speed limits and accelerate hard. It averaged 30 when it was standard. The people who claim mid 30s must drive it like a granny is all I can say to that! It's been reliable so far (touch wood) and only needed a rear wheel bearing and a side repeater in terms of unplanned maintenance.

It made an epic noise from the exhaust I cobbled together but it wasn't as quick as I was hoping for...... but that's to be expected I guess after a Turbot! Anyway, not wanting to take anything away from Swifties conversion or anything, I'm sure he'll love it :)

I'm 50 / 50 on the R debate. I'm in agreement that the MK4 was the first 'R' and VW did give it a half decent attempt, by their usual reserved standards. Bilstein B6s, H&R springs and ARBs as standard, Big brakes as standard, decent seats as standard (even if they whack the roof in the 3 door car) and a tasty looking bodykit, and which alongside the TT started off the current twin exit exhaust craze. MK5s onwards have been pure cost cutting exercises, but what they took away with one hand, they gave back with the other in terms of structural stiffness and handling. Despite VW's intent, the MK4 never delivered. The engine has one of the most irritating power deliveries I've ever experienced and it just wasn't powerful enough either. The MK5 was better, but it still wasn't all that. Both are boring to drive and is why I got rid of mine after 18 months. Dynamically the R32 is the best MK4 there ever was, but it still sucked as a daily driver. Crashy suspension, droney exhaust, rubbish quality electrics, useless engine mounts (the MK5 is even worse on that score fwiw) and just nothing there when you really boot it......and massive understeer if you fit a sport haldex controller. That's why it will never be a classic, because most people hated it dynamically everyone cited it as being too slow and unfulfilling to drive.