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t700bes

Making your car feel "newer"

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So I have a few thoughts, and wondered if anyone things this would work.. and if I'm thinking right...

 

Brakes:

So my brakes are good, the car stops well when you hit the brakes.. However, you have to STAMP on them... Is my problem the master cylinder? Can anything be tweaked. Obviously its an old car, but I would LOVE it if I could get light braking (like a newer VW).

 

Steering

Power steering is also slightly heavy... Anything I can do to upgrade this (had a flush of fluid).

 

So I'm not sure if "newer" parts of the same thing would help, or whether its just that it was never that good, does anything bolt on from a newer car?

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you'll never get "modern" braking - you'll always have to use more effort, but it will stop in the end. A good flush will help, and new pads. I think it's to do with the master cylinder, servo size and the angle of the pedal to the m/c.

 

Power steering is "assist" - and as a sports car it should be slightly heavy.

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What model Corrado is yours? 288mm brakes are a very worthy upgrade indeed but are a heck of a lot easier on a VR6 than on a 4 cylinder car!

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Have to say I hate the newer VW brakes, find them too sensitive for my relaxed style of driving, like to smoothly pull up not jolt to a halt if I go an extra half centimetre by accident

 

Also I wasn't a fan of my power steering, I thought it was broken but have got used to it now and its great when on the road, just 3 point turns etc that are a pain compared to a newer car!

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Have to say I hate the newer VW brakes, find them too sensitive for my relaxed style of driving, like to smoothly pull up not jolt to a halt if I go an extra half centimetre by accident

 

Also I wasn't a fan of my power steering, I thought it was broken but have got used to it now and its great when on the road, just 3 point turns etc that are a pain compared to a newer car!

 

I test drove a mk5 R32 recently and nearly put myself through the windscreen the first time I touched the brakes :D

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hahaha, same, my girlfriend always winds me up if I havn't driven her car for a while, end up stopping 2m before the end of junctions, have to say they definately perform very well though if you should really need to stop quickly, but I prefer the Corrados' for everyday driving!

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Why would you want the brakes and steering like a new vag? They are way too light and have no feeling, one of the best things about the corrado is the steering and pedal feel IMO

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Hmmm

 

So my original question is what would you need to change :)

 

Discs surely would just alter how well it stops when you stamp on it..

 

you'll never get "modern" braking - you'll always have to use more effort, but it will stop in the end. A good flush will help, and new pads. I think it's to do with the master cylinder, servo size and the angle of the pedal to the m/c.

 

It has new pads, and a new flush... So if I change the master cylinder to something newer and maybe the angle of the pedal it would be better.. What about taking the brake servo and pedal from a MK4 Golf? Would that then be it?

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Without looking into it, I am sure the servo assistance is much greater in newer cars, thats why it feels when you go past the threshold the brakes suddenly grab! If you transferred everything from a newer car that would be one way to surely do it!

 

But remember that big brakes doesn't always equal great stopping in everyday driving, the race cars I used to used to work on had massive brakes but they were shockingly bad until they were steaming hot!

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288mm brake conversion with good quality pads should get you improved braking but you'll never get pedal feel anywhere like a new car due to the massive amount of assistance they have which I think is too much anyway. I wouldn't change the steering, I think its spot on as it it, if you must maybe a smaller pulley on the power steering pump would make it a bit lighter.

However I would recommend renewing all the bush's up front as they can make a massive difference.

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Might seem an obvious thing, but keeping the tyres pumped up will help a lot with heavy steering feel.

 

I had a slow puncture on the plum and it always felt loads better when I dosed the rubber up a bit!

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I don't understand why you would want feather touch brakes and steering. The missus' MK2 has a lovely firm and progressive brake pedal, compared even to the Corrado - you don't exactly have to stamp on it but you need to be fairly firm. To be honest I find the Corrado pedal a little TOO sensitive and over-assisted.

 

As for Power ASSISTED steering, the clue, as already mentioned, is in the name. I want to feel the steering when moving, but also want a little help when turning at low speeds.

 

Over-assistance of the brakes and steering take away the feel of the car

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I test drove a mk5 R32 recently and nearly put myself through the windscreen the first time I touched the brakes :D

 

This is one of the problems I have going between my VR6 and the Mrs' Mk5 R32! Very embarassing! The other problem is it's SO tempting to drive fast!

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I like the feel of the brakes on my mk4 4Mo. They aren't as sharp as the mk5 R32 I mentioned but have a lot more bite than the Corrado. Mind you I can't complain about the Corrado too much either. Last weekend some idiot pull off the hard shoulder of the M40 right in front of me without getting up to speed. I managed to slow the Corrado right down very quickly. I did have a brief second when I thought "no way I'll stop in time" though. I think it does help if you've recently had the brake fluid changed recently too (which mine has).

 

But I do find the 4mo steering very wooly and imprecise compared to the Corrado. I can place the Corrado exactly where I want it.

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I dont like the feel of new car steering nor brakes either, the brakes a too twitchy and feel either ON or OFF. The steering i find too light, doesnt give me confidence as the steering wheel feels disconnected from the road wheels. With the Corrado steering gievs feedback nad you can feel the road.

 

Though i agree that the Corrado brakes could be that little bit better, though not to the extent of modern brakes.

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The issue I have with my VR6 brakes, even after the upgrades I have done, is that if pootling around they feel a bit old - travel in the pedal etc. Now, before you all say the VR6 needs to be driven hard, if I am "pushing on" and give them a good stamp to scrub off lots of speed (60 down to 20 to wing round a roundabout for example) then they are very good. I think it's just that they are better cars when pushing on, less good for pootling around but it's my only car so I have to use it for everything (while the wife is charging about in her R32!).

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I test drove a mk5 R32 recently and nearly put myself through the windscreen the first time I touched the brakes :D

 

I did that in my pals Audi S3s Quattro... good job no one was behind me! :lol:

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Thanks for the link fendervg! It was just something I was thinking about doing, but it looks like quite a ball ache.

 

It could be that my steering and brakes are not working properly if you all think its good.. Or maybe I'm used to driving newer cars...

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Could be that your rack is on the way out... the steering on my 2.0 16v was always very heavy and my VR6 is very light in comparison! The pump was replaced on the valver (which didn't fix it) and it was determined it was the rack...

 

You're not a million miles away from me - would be happy to meet up and compare steering weight if you want. And also demo the difference 288mm brakes make!

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Hey Jim, that would be a great idea!! :)

 

You might be right about the rack / brakes. I just wanna see what you "can" do using orig parts!

 

I'll pm you :)

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