StuartFZR400

Where do you go Jim? I use the Cov branch and the old guy there is fully up to speed, but the younger ones dont seem interested. Now Leamington GSF are always keen to know, even since a massive staff change over - as the old staff used to be very clued up on technical stuff, whereas the current mob are just VW mad!!

Now theres an idea. Any idea of cost - so I know Im not getting ripped off?

Daytona - seems the camber or toe is out of skew and thus you need an expert to fix this for you. As said, about £60. However, I'd get that done once you've replaced the suspension. bcstudent mentions getting a 40mm drop and is right to say handling is much improved. My question would be 'What are you after' ? Lowering the car can be advantageous in some ways and worse in others, all depending on YOUR preferences and requirements. In a few words a 40mm drop will make the car handle better but on the other hand the harder springs will give a much harsher and bumpy ride. Im looking to compromise and find a 30mm drop. A massive drop may lead to driveshaft problems (maybe).

Dear Triumph Rider Check (click) this pic and see what you think. You could fit your foot in there... [edit - as the above link doesnt seem to work] try copying this into your web address bar: http://upload.the-corrado.net/files/74/ ... 10032a.JPG

Not a stupid question. Should those 17" wheels have 205/60 tyres on, then yes it affects it. But in your case they are CORRECT. So you know for future, 205 refers to the width of the tyre (which obviously dose not affect height) and the 40 refers to the height of the tyre wall as a percentage of the tyre width. So in this case it is 40f 205mm (which equals 82mm). Should you go back to a standard wheel of 15", then the tyre is usually a 195/50*, thus giving a much bigger tyre wall (98mm) to compensate for the smaller wheel diameter (ie 16mm difference, to both edges equals 32mm ~ 1.5" which is roughly there) If you work it out for 195/55 - that seems the same. Much easier to explain via a diagram. Actual wheel & tyre sizes found in the Wiki. You may feel like you're driving a high up rally car simply because so many people drop thier Corrados. Look at my gaping arches on standard suspension & wheels. A 30mm drop would be perfect (ie speedhumps no problem either)

Is this for the VR6? This site http://www.balancemotorsport.co.uk dont say how much it lowers the car. Is that to say it does not lower the car? (if it does lower the car, all it means is that you need to set teh camber, which will cost about £60) If that is the case then you can do all the work your self; assuming your camber is correctly set at present (no odd tyre wear). The spring compressors being neccessary for the front. The Wiki might help as the How To shows how it is done for the 2.0L 16v; or may nto help. Ask a VR owner. Im not a fan of SPAX, but it all depends on your budget and how long you think you will own the car. H&R are more popular here, but expensive too.

Thats what I thought Dom. So a "ceased" on caliper - I presume will be a b*gger to get off? Any handy hints on How To ? : I presume it could be a few things gone wrong; be it rusty parts/pins or worse. I guess if its the piston rusted then its time to buy a new one. (I've only had it on an old dirt bike cos it was rusty; once rust removed all was good) : Seems I will be taking the callipers off this weekend, as I've got an MOT next Tuesday. From what people have written before it maybe just a case of rust etc. After a good search on here (lots of different problems, but thanks for hint on "seized caliper"), I found lots of helpful hints - so will start with the cheapest: Failing this, is the Mk4 upgrade for VR6 only?

There are a few on flea-bay. Has anyone tried the guy called customcarwizard? http://feedback.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI ... 9&frm=1728 or tried Carmats4u.com , AKA carmat001 on fleabay ? Although he came back after a question and said "I think you need the dealer VW mats". :?:

Id prefer a low mileage car but expect to knock off a few quid for an expected service bill within your early ownership. But as people are saying it all depends - a newer C migh have been kept outdoors versus a slightly older one thats been garaged and teh rubbers etc have not shrunk as much etc etc etc - you get the idea.

For the last week I've been getting a squeeking sound (louder when I wound down the passenger window) after a good 15mins of driving, but doesnt do it when the car is cold. After figuring out that its not likely the engine/alternator/rad-pump, I checked the wheels. Jacked the car up and spun the front wheel - all good. Yet when I went to spin the rear it was very stiff and wouldnt spin more than 10deg once I let go. Is this normal or would you say the rear brake is sticking on? (the pads seem to be fine). As you've guessed, Im thinking the rear pads are too close to the disc and getting too hot and thus squeeking.

Just to recap the Deisel or economical petrol car thing; is you friend aware of potential saving based on mpg. My gf would just say "oh, thats all right" if you said her car did 55mpg versus my 25mpg. Often worth doing the maths for them just to give an idea of what you can save for a given mileage - use big figures too (5 or 10k mile). And add somthing in like "and you could buy a cheap holiday to xxx for that".

chris, I have similar worries to you too. I'd certainly put in that caviat that you can remove it at any time for private sale. Tips: use the best key words that people search for. ;; Upload a couple pics ;; put a pic on the description when people search for it ;; Give as much information as possible. Somehow you want to avoid getting time wasters - not sure how. You also want to encourage people to view the car before buying. Think about what payment methods you accept, like Bankers cheque or what. Usual car selling stuff applies - dont go meet a guy on your own down an empty country lane. Personally I hate seeing "reserve not met" - why not put in a starting bid? Consider how low you can go, but remember you can always remove the item and not sell. "Buy it Now" might work - hard to tell if it does. Is the car super Bling or is it super reliable? Or is it just a dog? I found Autotrader the best way to sell my Golf after many other cheap attempts.

If I was looking into Feista's, I might even consider the older shapes with ultra low mileage with one careful owner, top spec with all the valour interior etc. Reliable cars not feeling too plasticy. Skoda Fabia isn't too bad (seen the Classic with 32k for £4); depends how image concious she is /could de-badge/. But in that case... Why not buy a Corrado for £2k then use the remainder £2 for insurance? LOL or spot her money on the shares, double her money and buy a new Mini Cooper - now thats a "girly car"

Matt , I'd read a few parts of the Knowledge Guide (click), which gives spec's etc. And in addition to that try the Search tool , but then you could be here for days, weeks, months or years :lol: . Oh and look in the Cars For Sale section for an idea of prices and maybe pick up a mint one. stu

Ahhh, Fleabay for you then. New tank, new forks, new rad , mirror, flyscreen & mudguard etc (I know you can get them fixed, but why bother unless you're handy enough). Good points from Coxy. And you'll be able to straighten you seat (sub) frame with a scaffolding pole. But I guess the lights and clocks are ok and just need re-mounting, even if it means some new mounts being welded on. Keep you busy this month eh ;)

Thank god I havnt started my lunch yet VR, but glad you're kinda ok. Guess the insurance is fully comp and will replace the bike - assuming a writeoff. Did the bike go end over end? Is the rear subframe bent too or just the seat hump mountings? At least the bike didn't hit you. It'll make for some great story telling down the pub - get well soon fella Other than that - was it a good trip? ;) Stu ps - if it is a writeoff, is it worth putting some 'just legal' tyres on it if your current tyres have loads of tread? Take your bobbins off too. The least of your worries I know, but every penny...

To state the obvious, I assume she is the same age as you and thus would appreciate a low insurance group car - so nothing fancy (although makes little difference to a lot of us, it can for a 1st time driver). Would we be right to assume she is not car mad either? Then, being typically sexist, I presume she wants a hatchback so as to make parking easy. That narrows it down somewhat. Forget the Polo, highly overpriced; my gf ended up buying a Megan Dynamique instead of a Polo (the polo feeling a smaller car and lower spec'd). For £4k you'd get a very good hatchback second-hand; this list is almost endless. Id expect very low mileage. I dont know what to offer because I dont like any of the hatchbacks of that ilk, all poorly spec'd. The Clio, Fiesta, Ka all feel plasticy inside - but maybe your friend doesnt care. *The only way is to test drive them and see what she likes. Individual people can like some odd things about cars that makes thier mind up; so take her out and help her find test drives and finally a car. Point out the options to her, ask if Diesel is an option, etc etc etc. Do you need a list of cars to look at? How about Honda Jazz or Civic? Would she consider Skoda? I mean, so many modern cars will be reliable for the time she will own it !!! * or as Phil says :lol:

That seems a bit unfair; surely it has nothing to do with his own insurance. What if he didn't have insurance, does that mean they pay nothing? Surely all it means is that he might have to tell his own ins company that he made a mod "yesterday" if they come and inspect it; otherwise rendering his ins void?Dunno - wait and see. Fingers crossed.

Wow BTJ, you're lucky you woke, chased him and found his mobile phone. And super lucky the ***-head didn't turn around and shoot/stab you. :shock: Lets hope it is him and that you can identify him at a line up. Should it be another guy driving the car, then you'd get £0 unless you have fully comp insurance on all your family cars. Although I get the impression you have. However, we all hope you do get to catch the little toe rag and get his insurance to pay up. A conviction can only help your cause. Thankfully no-noe was in those cars. That Megan took a heafty whack to punt it onto the pavement!! Still a bummer of a day though - good luck !!

Will keep my eye open for that then - many people buy them for one year just to say "I owned one of those". £5.5k - a snip if it was minty

Cool looking car, but I've got no sound. What does Hammond generally say?

After some dodgy weather the return of sunshine has put me back in the mood to make progress. Last night I came up on a 4x4 stuck behind a Rover. I knew of two overtaking opportunities and so decided to take the 4x4 first. Clean overtake, even got closer to the Rover than the 4x4; but you've gussed it, the 4x4 wasn't happy and got right onto my bumper. We drove down the road, full of solid white lines, with the 4x4 glued to my spoiler, whilst I left a huge gap infront. I closed up for the next overtake place where oncoming-traffic stopped me from passing. Into town and 4x4 went to turn off, but before he did so, he was kind enough to gesture to me that he would like to shake my hand (or somthing similar whereby he waved his hand at me, lol, you know what I mean). Im fed up of people who claim to own and RULE the road. "my 4x4 cant overtake, so neither can you. I wanted to hog the bumper of the Rover, get outta my way" ~ ***er

Just the two of you? Should be good fun. More comfortable than me on my bike 2 weeks ago. Hope the weather is much better too. Keep an eye out for the old Gen-domne (police). NB: The weekend of the bikes; the closeby motorways were free.

Grumpy Old Men is cool. Somestimes I sit there and think 'chill out yu grumpy old g*t' and other times I will think 'hell yeh, I agree'. Very funny stuff. Yet the womens one is a mixed bag; while I agree with some stuff, there is 50% that simply has a go at men in general - sexist comments like that visa-versa wouldn't be allowed. And thats my Grumpy Old Man comment for the day :lol: (off topic somewhat) Whatching TG tonight, missed it Sunday.

My wipers work 90% well - they are Bosh with the fins on. They are very cheap from GSF and make no sound whatsoever. A better contact could be made though, but not sufficient to warrant a Lupo conversion IMO.