StuartFZR400

Not sure really; although got a rattle somewhere - yet to find the suspected heatsheild. Firstly it'd be nice to improve and replace old parts, either interior or engine bay. Next would be to fiddle with the wheels and suspension again; goto a 16" wheel and 20 to 30 drop. However I've got an idea that i should get a VR6 and spend all my money on that. Whaddya think of the BBS? Not as nice as yours but a tad retro. What are your wheels (if bbs - what type) Bally? VAG zorst looks fine... .

One year later... 8)

All the above is right Timmaaah. Start off by taking out sensors and cleaning them, clean thermostat ; if problem still occurrs then replace - quite cheap ! You are right to be worried, but the biggest worry is engine temp which must reach a minimum of 100 before you drive it firmly - ok. You dont want those sensors keeping the fan on and water running if it makes it cooler than that said. Now just make sure it doesnt over heat :lol:

How does the gearbox and clutch feel? Start with the cheapest items and work your way up. Heat sheilds under car & CAT. Then other possible metal loose items. Then worry about the engine. However if the gearbox does feel sloppy or the clutch is riding, then get them done to be safe; 131k a car should have the clutch replaced once maybe twice if it was a city commuter. Walking into a VW garage is like opening your wallet to a hobo!

Entire car spray overs can be about £600 to 800 ; but this is in the same colour. To change colour, I've known mates to spend a couple grand; again its the preparation, undercoats etc. So Id say £300 for a resprayed bonnet, bumper and wing is fine. Its about £80 worth of paint plus his time, which is his morning gone. Other than cosmetics are you sure there aren't any other BIG cost items like exhaust/shocks/engine/charger ???

What a bargain! But oh dear about that front wing. Can you find a new one (or scrap) cheaper ; compared to a guy tapping it out? Whats with the bonnet - yuk! Are you getting the whole car done? The front strips, bonnet etc look tatty; but as you know the bumper won't rust - its plastic ;) (that could be filled & painted or just replaced - however the brackets behind might be bent) In general, listen to everyone above; spraying is very hard to do your self; theres a nack to it (much like plastering). That front wing would be a real b*stid, as its curved and angled! The actual preparation is easy; hacking out to bare metal and filling, then sanding down with emory paper can be quite theraputic; but Im sorry to say again that the spraying is near on impossible to DIY ; and thats assuming good warm weather - you cannot spray in this cold. Also think of the cost of DIY; you need a spray gun, compressor and the paints. Then also filler and wire brush. A pro will cost you to do a very nice job. Most will insist they do the preparation - which is fair. How long do you want to keep the car? What do you want the car for? - hacking around country lanes onto a building site or stables means you're better off to DIY. If you want a tidy motor, get it done by a pro. The rust does not look bad, quite minor to the cills and I would hope there are no holes, meaning that DIY could be an easy option on those cills. You might want to touch up until you can afford a propper Pro Spray. Getting the whole car done in one go would be nice, no colour fades to worry about. Otherwise - GREAT BUY 8)

Agreed. TG is really just a laugh and it made ok when they take the pizz out of themselves. JC is a lanky middle-lane hogger but funny when not PC. One bad part is the long haired guy from the dark ages. Twonk! - cant wait to see him crash. Im also glad they do put stupidly priced car on there; I've got to dream about somthing and know what these business types drive around here. 5thG is pants in many ways, less fun etc, but somehow seems more real, yet im still unsure its all true; that ponce Plato loves his BMW's too much. V should carry a wideload ssticker - but she still 'gets it'. ;) Its the cars that make it worthwhile.

What a difficult question. You're talking about a 10 year old car. But you are right in wanting to know the usual replacement/maintenance costs you will incur. I bought a well kept 16v 2.0 and have spent over £800 in under a year (cheapo exhaust-back-box went, as too did the original exhaust system + bought new wheels, suspension etc). Again, whos to say what needs replacing on a 10yr car? Some are highly maintained and have new everything; but most lads only replace exhausts etc. You're still left to replace anything like (any car): shocks/suspension, joints - engine/ball drive shaft, seals, Exhaust, siezed electrics, etc Typical yearly stuff still applies: oil & filter, wiper blades, antifreeze, tyres More Corrado specific: beware of dodgy sunroof mechanism, or in-active spoiler. This list needs to be extended by VR owners........ .... but also excellent: Guide . ps - heavy car; soft tyres = replace tyres more often.

I sold my Mk2 Golf last year for £300, with 105k. The sweetest engine ever; better than my C. The Golf had a Pierburg carb (auto choke) on it and was known to go wrong. Mine was brilliant and I should have kept it on, as it always cold started (only the diafram split, but could be replaced for £15); however i replaced it with a Weber (manual choke) £120 new off ebay (versus £180 out of the shop). This was a twin carb and meant better fuel economy and better drive (once fully open on both carbs) given the right jetting. There would have been a big black box on top of the carb, this being the Airbox, with in line filter; this had a pipe all the way to the front of the car and had a second pipe (corrugated as said previously) which came from the manifold/engine thus preventing carb-freeze.

There are different issues here that can combat your problem. 1. Firstly is the spring. As Sambo mentions, the spring may simply be too hard. i dont know what setup you have, but ideally you would simply back off the spring preload; or for many of us, replace the spring with a softer one. It is the spring that offers most resistance. 2. Not sure which shocks you have; be it gas or oil. Within an oil shock, the oils' movement is restricted by holes in the metal discs within the shock. 2a. On compression (force/push down) the oil is usually free to move, but can be restricted in some shocks - Compression Damping. If yours is adjustable, it is most likely set too hard and can be backed off by unscrewing; although look at your instructions for them. 2b. (not likely to be your problem) The other damping effect that all our shocks have is Rebound Damping; when the shock extends (car rises) the oil is again restricted. I guess on your shocks this can be adjusted. The idea behind this is when you go over a bump or hollow that it prevents silly oscillation; just imagine if there was no shock and only springs - in this case the car would rise after the bump, but then go down, up and down again; often a tell tale sign of buggered normal shocks or not enough Rebound set on the adjustable sorts. http://www.koni.com/_cars/frame.html you can have progressive damping, but lets not go there. Always good to have a fiddle your self and see what you come up with; try different extremes, but... *I guess they are also height adjustable. If you have them set to low and want to keep it low; there is a good change that if you start making things too soft, that you may possibly start to bottom-out, so go a few clicks/screws at a time. In Summary:- I'd say you could back off the Compressive Damping a touch. But at the end of the day, you may just have to live with the hard sporty ride and enjoy your little go-kart!!!! :) This maybe you: Corrado G60 55-85 9,11,15 FKKKVW57 http://fknorthamerica.com/downloads/pdf ... ge_048.pdf

oh and a lot of oppinion found here too: http://the-corrado.net/.archive/forum/viewtopic.php?t=25311 8)

Bit of preference and common sense here lads. As stevemac says; dont want em too low or you'll damage the rim. A soft tyre can also lead to too much movement and cause sliding or even over-heating on a thrash - not likely. I ran my Toyo Proxes 17" 40% at 33front 30back or a touch lower. Bit of preference for feel. I now only run 38front because ive gone to a 15" 50% which obviously has a bigger tyre wall & movement.

1. CHEAPEST test to do first is (as Steve says) the Tyre Pressures. 8) 2. Balancing (although you get judder normally) 3. View your shocks for leaking oil 4. Check brake calipers are not sticking on; jak up and spin wheel freely (within reason; you know) 5. Buckled wheel 6. Alignments - test all (or you're breaking on a badly cambered road :lol:)

Presume they're not 17" at that price. Yes the rim protection is a fatter rim of rubber that is supposed to stick out further and protect the rim. Maybe someone has a pic. Michelin are expensive but good; you pay for what you get. I think Mr Phat is saying the Sports give better grip etc. The Exalto are good for high mileage http://www.michelin.co.uk/uk/auto/auto_ ... exalto.jsp What can you get the sports for? What about Toyo Proxes ?

Great result & great service off McGard ;) Reassuring knowledge for me too

STOP STOP STOP Nice idea, just missing one thing. You lads have obviously never seen a car slide and slam. METAL on METAL is NOT a good idea. Please do use wood, or if you dont have any, you must have a dished/cup head to the jack/tripod-stand. Use belts & braces - ie double up on safety. There are loads of ideas here. I like the idea of driving onto shallow ramps. I've used the trolley jack on the jacking point with a solid piece of wood, no big problem but found that the clearance was not enough to get my stands under. I tried jacking up on the plate where the front axle meets the frame; this was too near to the middle of the car and was prone to toppling, so another jack was needed on the other side. Be careful - use common sense, and metal on metal can slide, so dont go underneath. Ideally we would own or know someone with a car lift or pit.

Here is the Michelin site: http://www.michelin.co.uk/uk/auto/gamme_ete.jsp The Primacy does seem to be the High mileage one. http://www.michelin.co.uk/uk/auto/auto_ ... rimacy.jsp However the Energy gets the highest for economical wear. http://www.michelin.co.uk/uk/auto/auto_ ... energy.jsp Ask about more here; hope someone can shed light on Continental, Firestone, Avon, Bridgestone etc for you. Otherwise, if you're on a mega tight budget, it seems you're off down to Kwikfit/local-garage for some Economy tyres.

Hi Hope some more people can give you oppinions, but in the mean time check this site for the different brands/models: http://www.tyretest.com/pkw_sommerreife ... index.html - the Pilot Primacy is just an example. Typical best prices: http://www.mytyres.co.uk/start.html From my own experience: Toyo Proxes; gave great grip in the dry and even the wet (as with a 205 you are bound to get minor aquaplaning in standing water, but Toyos gave hardly any), however tyre wear was mega Fast. Michelins; do a long range tyre and this does last a while & grips - but you will pay. Yokahama ; A515's gave nice grip but again wore down pretty fast, we're talking 6000 mile.

How is it not a problem? - What if you get a puncture? The flower patterns are fairly unique aren't they? Hence dink says you need the code. Is it the nut head that sheered or the key? - will it need drilling out; or can you file two flats?

As Supercharged says. you can also try blowing out crud from the pipes by taking them off, but they arre often brittle and easier to replace the lot for a small price. Assume the fronts work fine?

Why are you bothered? My bikes have always been slow on warm up, as too was the Mk2 Golf of mine. ~Its like you getting up on a frosty morning and being asked to run. Take it easy and let it warm up; mine has very slow throttle response for the first 5mins. But yes, if you're really bothered its extremly bad - then do as above. But any newbies reading this - dont panic!

Can someone do a 'How to' on this, piccys help. ???

keystar, all this advise is great fro you. All i can do is 2nd everything everyone has said. Ideally we would all keep it in the garage; makes no difference if its used or not in regards to sunlight spoiling. Infact I'd say your low milage is BRILLIANT. What with you taking it out for a spin every month for a LONG drive, means that the *battery is charged and also importantly is that the joints are moved; ie if the car is stood still for too long the grease & oil can settle to the bottom and bare metal rusts, such as within the ball-joints and wheel hubs etc. *Battery - is one thing you cannot ignore. Do NOT let it die out, as it does not work like your phone rechargeable battery. Its just like my bike, i leave the battery on trickle charge on the odd day during winter, then come summer, a quick dribble of petrol in the carb and it fires up 1st time. . Short runs will kill the motor. Typically the Ford Fiesta had bad reputation for the oil going white and cruddy; this wasnt so much the car, more the type of use it would typically have. The moisture build up reacts with the oil and turns white; a good run (over 15mins) will get so Hot that all moisture has gone. The moisture is also a killer to the exhaust system. So yes, change the oil at least once a year and spin it over for more than 10mins.

Good tip Neil Any new drivers out there, just be aware that this is just a heads up this month. Different car insurers will give a different price every day, but there is a trend for the cheapest that year or month. For example Tesco were good a year back. Everyone is different and so its worth phoning around and checking the web; just cos you saved £100 last year doesnt mean you're with the cheapest. Keep looking; and spend more on the Corrado

No price? :?: Anyone know where his pics are? (he seems an old regular) ... more details