There are few little bits to sort. Door cards need retrimming, maybe a new rear bumper. Rev counter still needs sorting but other than that it’s done I lied, we still have to change the springs to the Corrado jobbies we have and upgrade to mk3 top mounts
Dynos vary considerably and I would take peak numbers from the result with a pinch of salt. Without a reference, the actual number quantity is are irrelevant and only adds to the facilities database. I would also suggest the quantity of the result is on the high side. I look at engine characterise profiles with these things and what I have observed about that plot, is that your manifold flap is not working. The plot is the correct shape for a malfunctioning manifold flap and I can see the rev limit is what is in the classic prep calibration. All factory 2.3, 2.8 and 3.2 4 valve/cyl V5 and V6 engines, have maximum torque between 2800 to 3200 rpm then another bump of torque 5-10 % lower than peak torque at 4600 rpm, or shortly after a change over dip from 3800 - 4000 rpm. The plot is missing the lower down girth, which based on ECU data and experience should be 245 to 255 lbft measured. So even in standard form, you are losing low down go, as you are lacking torque which results in vehicle acceleration in gear. With that fixed and also tuned, the torque should be near 265 to near 270 lbft at 3000 to 3200 rpm, the change over dip is better blended and by 4500 rpm you will still be achieving 245 -250 lbft. Torque is directly proportional to vehicle gs in a gear and is the main item I am targeting for validation during tuning and vehicle drivability.
Thanks Adlai. Where is the manifold flap and how would we check to see if it working and what’s the fix?
Today was rear suspension. The rear has been too low for a while and putting any weight in the back caused the tyres to rub on the arch. It was suggested that the solution was Corrado springs and as usual @dodgy came to the rescue with some Corrado Apex springs. As you can see the Apex springs have more coils but other wise they are same length and width as the ones on the car. I was tempted to use the shock too but it’s rebound was very very slow so stuck with the one on the car. What is interesting is that the genuine spring top rubber, under the cap, is in far better condition than the aftermarket part which is squashed all over the place so I used those. The result is that the car sits about and inch higher which is just about right. It may settle a bit of course but as the springs are used hopefully they won’t as the settling has already been done.
In other news, the front outer CV boots split on the rolling road so new ones ordered. When they arrive we will swap to the Apex springs on the front along with changing to MK3 top mounts. However, if the difference is as much as the rear it may be too much, we shall see.
Right then, some updates but not many pics I’m afraid. We set about replacing the outer CV boots. Ordered from B&B on eBay (who are very good) and they turned out to be Meyle. With all the bad reports about modern rubber I wasn’t holding out much hope but in actual fact the rubber seems quite substantial We decided to change the front springs and the top mounts at the same time so hub nut loosened, wheel off, suspension strut out and hub out, easy peasy. Then the instruction is to remove the old boot and clips and hammer the CV joint off the axle. Well this is where it started to go a bit wrong Said hammering resulted in the flange coming out of the gearbox! At this point I panicked and made a phone call. Calm was restored as the resulting advice was “don’t worry, you haven’t done any damage, it’s just a circlip, line it up and knock it back in”. So before doing that I changed the boot on the bench and happily the shaft popped right back into the gearbox . We then went to change the spring and top mounts. At this point we realised we were missing a part which turned out to be a threaded bush (thanks @dodgy ). We put the Corrado spring on but retained the existing top mount, which is G60, for the time being. Put it all back together and then on to the other side. We removed the driveshaft this time to save making the same mistake again. Boot changed, spring changed, all back together. The car sits much more nicely now and the ride is improved with the stiffer springs, no bottoming out and less crashy over bumps. We have ordered the threaded bushes and will swap over to the MK3 top mounts when they arrive. You may remember that we were having issues making the rev counter work. The box supplied with the loom was supposed to be fit and forget but for some reason it would not work. It was tested and deemed working correctly but I had a feeling it only did one job which was to change the signal from 6 to 4 cylinders. It needed to amplify the signal from canbus to 12v too. @daNpy suspected this too So I took the signal amplifier from my BMW and connected that up. Lo and behold the rev counter sprang into life. However, it was a third out which equated to a 6 cylinder signal. I then wired both boxes together and sure enough the rev counter became fully functioning showing the correct revs. This is the wiring if anyone is interested. Lastly, the odometer and trip has not been working for a while so today I went through all the faff of removing the clocks to investigate. I identified the issue almost straight away. In the below picture there the pink cog had basically moved up its shaft so it was no longer being turned by the white worm gear. I pushed it down and for security added a tiny drop of superglue. Put it all back together and went for a test drive. It still wasn’t working So I took it all apart again. This time I took the pink cog off the shaft, cleaned the shaft and the cog with alchohol and then glued it back in place. This time however I pushed the cog as far down as it would go and it felt much tighter. All back together, test drive, working Tomorrow, weather permitting we will be stripping the drivers door down as the window is not working. Something can be heard rolling about in the bottom of the door Watch this space……….
Good job. I've sold quite some signal amplifiers in the last 2 years, in NL as well as via this forum!
Interesting. I have eibach springs/Koni dampers with MK3 top mounts so the front is slightly higher than the rear. This could be the solution. Or I put the standard rear springs back on. Not sure how it would affect the handling tho.
Some updates. This car loves to keep us busy I took the car for its MOT last week and was a little concerned about the wheelspin. I know the roads were greasy and covered in salt but it was still too much. The tyres came with the wheels and although had plenty of tread they were probably past their sell by date. So I did a little research and pulled the trigger on a pair of Michelin Sport Pilot PS3 (I think). VERY much better Less spin, less torque steer and better grip, money well spent. At the MOT I had a good poke about underneath, especially where I had a little concern about the exhaust downpipe resting on the steering rack. Sure enough it looked like the exhaust had melted/worn an exhaust shaped dip into the rack. If you zoom in below you can just about see it. There were two options here, cut and weld the exhaust to shorten it, expensive and very invasive, or, replace the rear engine mount with one that isn’t cut down. We went with the second option. Replaced it today. It wasn’t too bad a job. Undid the bolts on both rear mounts, undid the two retaining bolts on the rear right engine mount, raised the engine enough to lift the mount out of its recess and wiggled it out. Fitted the new mount. Bolted it all back up. The original mount was cut down by about 14mm so this is how much the engine went up. And happily the exhaust no longer rests on the rack and…… power steering fluid didn’t squirt out either Weirdly the engine now sits slightly more to the left giving the pulleys a little more clearance. You may remember that we had a strange grinding noise on fast left hand bends or tight slower left turns. Well, this now seems to have been alleviated I thought the problem was the top mounts grinding but it does now seem it was the pulley on the chassis rail. Now, clearly the engine has gone up a bit so how is the bonnet clearance I hear you ask? It seems not much different. On close inspection we already had some conflict where the further left ignition wire was hitting up against one of the bonnet strengtheners. This one Seems to have been contacting here. You can see the strengthening bar is worn and dented. When you blip the throttle the engine does move a fair bit. The front mount seems to have a fair bit of movement. This will have to be addressed. Is the answer a solid mount? Will that create a lot of extra engine noise/vibration? The alternative is vibratechnics but that is a) expensive and b) the bracket needs to be cut and shut. Answers on a postcard.
Cut a piece out of the bonnet strength section. On Corrado's when fitting a Schrick manifold this has to be done. I did it on mine and is absolutely fine. Just a suggestion
What about a subtle ding of a hammer? A bit of wood between the hammer and bonnet, to soften the blow.
Well, having looked for a solid engine mount one popped up on eBay and I swooped. I had a nagging feeling that it wouldn’t fit correctly as all the ones I had seen for sale from companies said “not for R32”. Sho’ nuff All the holes line up fine, it’s just the angle at the top which doesn’t fit. It also means the stud is at the wrong angle and you cannot easily do up the nut as the clashes with the upper part of the bracket. It’s a very simple thing. First I will see how much a machine shop will charge to replicate it in the correct shape and if that is silly money I will do it myself. It’s just a lump of aluminium with three tapped holes after all
Yeah that's a normal MK2 one, what you need is the mk2vr6' one, which is basically what you're going to make. same as MK2 solid mount but with the top cut down and angle changed The alternative would be a corrado vr6 / Passat B4 type front cross member which takes a mk3 golf front mount and your front bracket would fit on that fine
So do you think it would be better to lower the front edge by 15mm rather than raise the back 15mm thus lowering the front of the engine slightly? Also, are the Corrado VR6 cross members different to the G60/16v?
You're limited by the angles it all sits at since it's a solid bracket, but you could drop it a little more than stock so long as there's enough depth for the scre heads... Corrado 4 cylinder uses the same cross member as MK2 golf that's the thing
Right, bought some chunky aluminium in the correct grade (not cheap, £50 for two 100*100*40 pieces). Started with this. Cut down On the third hole I snapped a drill bit in the hole which caused some considerable issues but I managed to save it Ended up with this. The two bottom holes are a little off but there should be enough wiggle room to make it fit. Trial fit next. If it doesn’t fit or is the wrong shape I have another lump to work with. Wish me luck.
I never understood how solid mounts worked, when they aren't ALL solid. Surely the movement on the others would cause the solid one to crack?
