Storm grey VR6 - A little update

[G60MAT 0]

Great addition with the seats, welcome to the recaro club! ;)

[pbradley98 0]

Thanks :)

 

It has 205/45's on it. To be honest I've not had 15's on there. I bought the car with these 16's. But from memory of driving other Corrado's there doesn't seem much difference between them in ride comfort. I have BBS centre caps on them.

 

Hi, just one more quick question - what width / offset are your wheels? I've seen both 16 x 6.5j et 43 and 16 x 7j et43 and wasn't sure if the 7j would fit?

 

Cheers

 

Phil

 

Ps the recaros do look mint!

[Portent 0]

Hi, just one more quick question - what width / offset are your wheels? I've seen both 16 x 6.5j et 43 and 16 x 7j et43 and wasn't sure if the 7j would fit?

 

Cheers

 

Phil

 

Ps the recaros do look mint!

 

They might look mint but I still haven't had time to wire them in so I'm driving while sitting at a really odd angle :D I have tomorrow off so hopefully I'll get time to fit them properly.

 

How do I find out the width and offset? I have no idea when talking about wheels/tyres as I've only ever bought 100% standard cars and this one came with the wheels on. If it helps they were apparently from a mk3 GTI Anniversary (I think).

[pbradley98 0]

They might look mint but I still haven't had time to wire them in so I'm driving while sitting at a really odd angle :D I have tomorrow off so hopefully I'll get time to fit them properly.

 

How do I find out the width and offset? I have no idea when talking about wheels/tyres as I've only ever bought 100% standard cars and this one came with the wheels on. If it helps they were apparently from a mk3 GTI Anniversary (I think).

 

A mate did exactly the same - he fitted some electric OE leather but had to drive hunched over the wheel for two weeks before he could get them wired correctly!

 

Not sure about all wheels, but on the original speedlines the wheel info is embossed around the inner rim of the wheel and is something along the lines of 15 x 6.5J ET43...... was hoping that there was something similar on yours, as have seen both 6.5J and 7J GTI BBS wheels and don't want to end up buying a set that rub! Unless anyone else knows if you can fit 16 x 7j et43 wheels? I'm guessing you can, but like you I've never changed wheels before either!

[Redfox 10]

Very nice set of Recaros.

 

In my former Mk. II I bought a complete Edition One, and they surely held me firm when driving in good curves. But the sidebolsters were bigger it seems.

 

Cheers,

Redfox.

[Portent 0]

I can't see anything on the wheels themselves but they were apparently off a mk3 anniversary. I just dis a quick Google and it came up with an ended eBay sale:

 

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewitem?itemId=220833072831&cmd=VIDESC&title=Description

 

Looks like they are 7J et 43 from that link.

 

Recaros not yet wired in. Took a look at the fuse box and wanted to do some more research before wiring them in. Want to do it right. I know its only two wires but as can probably be seen I'm an amateur when it comes to cars so taking it slow and steady while I learn. But loving them so far. They are superbly comfy. Worth every penny :)

 

Replaced the rear VW badge with a much better condition one today. I'm getting really quite attached to this car.

Edited September 9, 2011 by Portent

[Purple Tom 0]

Really really nice car! I love the Recaro's, really sets the interior off nicely and its a shame they weren't standard on Corrado's (would certainly have brought the second-hand price of the seats down!).

 

Keep up the good work :)

[Portent 0]

Thanks, much appreciated.

[Portent 0]

I popped along to the Pistonheads Sunday Service today. It was around the corner from me at Mercedes Benz World in Weybridge right next to Brooklands. I had the kids in tow which meant they were bored after 2 nanoseconds so all I managed to do was have a quick look around, chat to a few people and wander off home again when it started to rain. There were some lovely cars there. I'll try to upload a few more at some point but it takes a while to resize them. But here are the other Corrado's I saw there. Got chatting to a couple of you.

 

A lovely Storm. I think the rear lights work well. Really do love classic green.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]49161[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]49162[/ATTACH]

 

Some valver action going on. Great colour, nice wheels.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]49164[/ATTACH]

 

A gorgeous magic black VR. Really loving the wheels. The rest of the bodywork was in great condition too.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]49163[/ATTACH]

 

Sat alongside a black mk3 VR6 with some very nice black leather recaros. I do miss my immaculate black low mileage Highline.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]49165[/ATTACH]

 

A blue VR doing great stuff advertising the forum, the CCGB and the history of the Corrado :thumbleft:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]49166[/ATTACH]

 

And lastly, mine shortly after I arrived.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]49167[/ATTACH]

Edited September 11, 2011 by Portent

[jacko 0]

Nice pics! im glad you got the 'good side' of my valver!

[goozie 0]

great pics, thanks for the comment on the lights i really was sure when i first got them but did the job perfect, for me any way lol.

Was good to see other corrado's there amongst the riff raff lol and ron doing us proud with the advertising.

[Harrier 1]

Thanks for the nice words and great picture of my black vr,unfortunately did'nt see you there.Maybe another time.

[Portent 0]

I tried my black grille badge today but can't decide whether I prefer chrome or black... opinions?

 

 

[C5 OEM 0]

chrome

[OSV 0]

black

[CazzaVR 0]

Black!

[ben_wooduk 0]

Black!! Without doubt!

[KIPVW 0]

Definately Chrome :)

[goozie 0]

Black

[Redfox 10]

Hi all,

I had the same thoughts, and decided that a crome badge is not in line with the sportslook I want. Lower, wider, faster.

I also don't want it to be in crome because it looks like an extra light or whatever. Surely don't want that.

I think the black is more discrete and makes the frontgrille look wider than it actually is.

So I went black and the more muscular look;)

Btw, the same thing about the rear badge - became black and looks much much better.

And that is also why I keep the black trim on the sides. Makes it look longer and more sleek.

 

Cheers,

Redfox.

[4eyes2wheels 0]

black suits the overall car colour scheme better in my opinion

[Portent 0]

Thanks for the feedback guys. No clear decision yet. I guessed C5 OEM was going to vote chrome and OSV vote black as that's what each of them already have :D I'll leave the black one on there for a while and see how I feel in a week or two. Leaning towards chrome right now but that's probably just because it's what I'm used to.

 

Hi all,

I had the same thoughts, and decided that a crome badge is not in line with the sportslook I want. Lower, wider, faster.

I also don't want it to be in crome because it looks like an extra light or whatever. Surely don't want that.

I think the black is more discrete and makes the frontgrille look wider than it actually is.

So I went black and the more muscular look;)

Btw, the same thing about the rear badge - became black and looks much much better.

And that is also why I keep the black trim on the sides. Makes it look longer and more sleek.

 

Cheers,

Redfox.

 

I like chrome on the back and have just replaced my faded VW roundel with a much newer one. But yes I also like the contrast of the black side trim and other black details against the paintwork. I see your point about black making it a more sporty look and considering the cloth interior in the car I think that's probably what I'm leaning towards too.

Edited September 18, 2011 by Portent

[Portent 0]

A minor update and a busy weekend.

 

Oily Bits

Gearbox oil changed today, courtesy of floppyman. I know the gearbox has had some work on it in the past (invoice in the folder from a previous owner) so the oil probably didn't need changing. But it does feel good now and it's all preventative maintenance which is good. He found a slight oil leak from either the oil cooler seal or the cam sensor seal so that's probably the next job to get done. I hadn't noticed any oil on the floor but I'll keep an eye on the level until it gets done. It was also nice to hear floppyman comment on there being quite a few new parts on the car. Not being mechanical I had to take it on trust when I bought it (and looking at invoices of course). So it's good to know someone independant say the same.

 

 

Interior Cleaning

 

With a bit of spare time on my hands this evening I shampood the interior again. I only did it a couple of months ago but I've changed the seats recently. While they weren't dirty I just like the idea of it being clean and free from anyone elses dirt. It also makes the car smell great.

 

 

Electrical Bits

 

I replaced the mirror switch and drivers door handle for a slightly better condition one. The switch worked fine but one of the four LED's wasn't working when I bought the car. So I went hunting for a replacement. Bizarrely it seems to have fixed itself upon the threat of being replaced as all four now work on the old switch. But I swapped it out anyway as the LED's are much brighter on the 'new' one. I then found the replacement didn't actually move the mirrors so I stripped the whole switch down and cleaned it up, then greased the movement. It's perfect now and nice and bright :)

 

And lastly... I finally got around to wiring in the seat movement. The family were out so I knew I had a good few hours to sort it out if it all went horribly wrong. But it was actually very simple. The only slight snag was that one of the movement switches didn't work. So I stripped that down too and cleaned it up inside. Again, it works fine now. So at last I can get the seat into the right position :D I have one question about the wiring still but I'll put that in a separate thread about them.

 

And significantly the switch LED and the seat movement were the last two electrical items which didn't work 100%. So, as far as I'm aware, everything electrical works now. Happy days (how long will it last!)

 

 

 

 

I'm starting to have tempting thoughts about tidying up the stone chips on the front of the car and the mirrors. So if anyone can recommend a good bodyshop near the Surrey area then it would be appreciated. Otherwise I'll probably go back to my regular place in Epping (I trust them completely, but they are quite expensive and not very near). I'm probably not getting it done quite yet as funds don't really allow. But as I get the other little things sorted out it's starting to nag at me.

Edited September 25, 2011 by Portent

[fla 9]

get some pics of the work up!

[Portent 0]

Wow it's been a while since I updated this thread so I though I'd do so. As it has been winter the car has mostly been tucked up in the garage. I've tried to drive it every couple of weekends to keep it on its toes though.

 

I treated it to an oil and filter change on Christmas eve and have some G12 sitting in the garage for a coolant change when the weather gets a little warmer. The only issue that's emerged is a slightly noisy serpentine belt. The chains and waterpump had only been done a few thousand miles ago and while the invoice doesn't mention the belt I would be surprised if it wasn't changed at that point. But I've read a few times that even new belts can get noisy if they are not OEM so I'll get that changed soon, just to be on the safe side.

 

I've replaced the rear hatch gas struts recently as they were creaking. Now it opens which a nice "shhhhhhhhhh" noise again :). I did a detailed explanation of how to replace them here, including pics:

 

http://the-corrado.net/showthread.php?60896-Hatch-strut-replacement

 

 

I've swapped over the darkened side repeaters back to some new ambers. I did that as I think the darkened ones may be an MOT failure under the new rules. I quite like the ambers against the greay car as it adds some colour although I may also try some clear ones too and see how I feel.

 

And I've just got these two items which I'll get into the car soonish:

 

 

OEM mats from the dealer.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]51677[/ATTACH]

 

 

And I've finally managed to get hold of some Audioscape pods. They have a few minor marks so I'm in two minds about whether to just fit them or to do some refurbishing on them. In all honesty I'll probably just fit them as they are good enough I think. I doubt I'll get around to it until I have some time off work in March though.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]51681[/ATTACH]

 

 

I really must get around to taking some decent pics at some point. I'll make an effort to do that when the weather improves. But for now here's the only recent one I have. As you can see the little man is loving the car.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]51685[/ATTACH]