New to tuning

[kobi 0]

Chaps, i'm not being dumb or anything but i've never really been into tuning and dont really have a clue as to what i should be doing to my standard VR to give it some much needed exta oomph ( to justify the expensive insurance and fuel costs!).

My previous motor was a MK3 GTi 8V !heart It didnt need anything doing as it went well enough (even though it was standard).

Maybe my expectations were too much and therefore now sometimes i'm a bit disappointed in the performance of my VR6. I've had it checked out and everything is running fine.

So now its time to make some changes. The thing is i've also rather stupidly taken on a mortgage and got me a house :@

I want an exhaust, induction kit, and a chip but dont know what to get. Please give me some honest opinions/advice.

What should i buy, where from etc. Cheers

[ingham 5]

frist thing i would try that is free,if you take off air filter top and look in hole that goes to engine,you will see a sort of cone remove that carefully and ive heard that it gives an extra 5 bhp.induction kits are ok but you must ensure that you are not sucking hot air form under bonnet ensure a cold air feed ,bmc are good but pricey,easy mod is kn panel filter using standard air box that already has cold air feed.carnt comment on chip or exhaust as not tryed out myself

[ingham 5]

make sure you shop around for parts,some parts are cheaper from ford some not (ford fitted galaxy with vw vr6 engine)

[acf8181 0]

what do you dislike about the vr6 kobi...the fact that you have to rev the titis off it? if thats the case, don't bother doing the silly little things, get a schrik...i believe theres one in the classifieds.

[binliner 0]

Did I read the first post right? you were happy with your standard mk3 gti but not with a standard VR6?!

I had a chipped mk3 gti and my standard VR is a million times more fun.... especially at 4000revs+!

[kobi 0]

Boy boys boys. Calm down.

I dont know why but my old Golf GTi was very quick. It didnt sound normal (sounded really beefy with a slight whizz sound) but it was standard.

Sometimes you get somthing you shouldnt get rid off. Unfortunately for some strange reason still unknown to me i ended up selling it... complete with my ALPINE I.C.E!

Anyway... I'm not saying that the Vr6's arent any good... just i think they are a bit overrated, hence why almost all the peep on here have modified the engine in some form.

I thought it was just mine to begin with but having had it given the green light i know theres nothing wrong with it.

Just i guess i expected more from it. It's quick but not that quick, if you know what i mean??

It was either a 3 series 328i or a VR6, i've owned a few golfs in the past so i stuck with them but the 2.8 litre aint all that compared to the beemers. i chose the VW as the Bmw is bit of a tw@ts car apparantly.....

[acf8181 0]

i was in the same situation...bmw e36 328 or vr6, they felt very similar to me, but the golf felt newer.

what revs to you tend to rev to before changing gear kobi? sounds to me that you don't like to rev to high revs, and you liked the low down pull of the gti 8v. vr6's do need winding up, like 16v does. it is frustrating, and the only fix is the shrik. you'll have to come up to the next stokenchurch meet, i'm sure six appeal will be there and he has a schrik...maybe he could take you for a spin to see what you think?

[ Edited Tue Jun 22 2004, 03:34PM ]

[kobi 0]

Andy, are you accusing me of not being able to drive?!!!

I like driving and love nothing better than revving the VR. On the way to work this morning i was changing from 2nd to 3rd at about 6000RPM.....and so on.

However thats not really my issue. My issue is that they just seem to be slightly underpowered for what they are. The BMW puts out about 192 bhp standard.

The VR has a rep but i dont really feel its justified... yet.

Let me know when the next meet is and i'd love to experience the Shrick. But then thats the point, your having to add a shrick to use the power. My mates got an E46 330Ci and keeps asking for a quick burn but it would eat my VR alive so i keep making excuses!!

[ Edited Tue Jun 22 2004, 03:46PM ]

[acf8181 0]

nah, lol...just some people like not to rev cars...nothing wrong with it.

vr6's are quicker than they feel...keep an eye on the speedo, or follow other cars...you'd prob be surprised.

if its not the car for you at the end of the day though, its just the way it is...everyone has different tastes.

[kobi 0]

Dont worry i havent given up on the old girl just yet. Going to give it another month or two then see what happens.

[acf8181 0]

you know what might be interesting...if you went and had a go in a gti now, i you'd suddenly realise how slow they are in comparison to the vr6. (its like light bulbs...when you get an uprated set you don't notice the difference, but then if you go back to your previous ones you feel blind! lol)

[Eat this 2]

lol@acf the vr is suprisingly nippy an e46 330 wouldnt embarres u they r pretty heavy btw imo the first thing u should get is SUSPENSION it makes soooooooooooooooo much diffrence

[acf8181 0]

imo the first thing u should get is SUSPENSION it makes soooooooooooooooo much diffrence

the boy doesn't lie...but add some more camber while you're at it.

[six appeal 53]

you know what might be interesting...if you went and had a go in a gti now' date=' i you'd suddenly realise how slow they are in comparison to the vr6. (its like light bulbs...when you get an uprated set you don't notice the difference, but then if you go back to your previous ones you feel blind! lol)[/quote']

I don't actually think my standard VR or modded one for that matter was/is much quicker than a GTI around town etc.... they are more of a motorway mileage muncher than a little hoping around town terror! But get them fully wound up and they can be a LOT fo fun!

[VRmonster 1]

i must admit, some days i feel as tho my vr is slow, but then as i zip past people entering a roundabout at 20 mph and leaving it at 70, i get the idea it may be quicker than it seems. the trouble is, the engine does get realy hot, which will sap the power out of it, yo have to keep on top of oil and coolant changes and new fuel/air filters wouldnt go down badly.

very fast or not tho, they are a very fun car to drive, just give yourself time to adjust to it, and learn the driving style for the car. i came from a 1.2 nova and thought the vr was dangerously fast when i was taken out in it before i bought it. then the drive home i was like. hmmm. its not so quick after all. a few weeks in and i was flying. my mates were like. have you modded this? its faster. when id actuall just got used to the car. anyway. good luck with the tuning, heavy or light mods, its all supposed to be fun.

[ Edited Tue Jun 22 2004, 07:43PM ]

[Eat this 2]

here here btw thats a hell of a jump nice 1 8o)

[ Edited Tue Jun 22 2004, 07:48PM ]

[VRmonster 1]

2nd gear. lol. does it pretty well

[acf8181 0]

i went from a 1.2 punto, and the vr6 seemed failry quick...but you have to keep it over 4k rpms. still slower than the race cars i've driven though! lol

[Eat this 2]

yeh i bet what hav u driven btw?

[acf8181 0]

caterham 7 (unsure what engine, think it was a 1600 k series), formula first (1.6 8v xr2 engine with a few mods, so about 100bhp, but only 400kgs), formula ford zetec (1.8 16v zetec engine, about 150-160bhp, 400kgs, hewland straight cut 'box), renault clio cup racer (2.0 16v, 182bhp, 6 speed sequential, 900kgs), then a few mildly modded race school training cars (pug 306 gti-6, proton satria gti, mondeo v6 skid car, cliio 1.6 16v sport).

any open topped car feels 100 times quicker than a closed car, all proper race cars are really hard work to drive, esecially the fford with no syncro's (i went off cause i missed a downshift once!)

the formula first is probably equivelant to a vr6 with 250-290bhp in outright speed in a straight line...but it stops better and corners quicker...and they weren't even on slicks!

i fancy a go in a radical or formula renault 2000 next! lol

thing is though, after all that i just realised that spending loads on modding a road car is a waste of cash...on track is where its at. no road car will ever compare to the challenge of driving a proper race car. all i want is a reasonably quick/comfy/cheap road car.

[ Edited Tue Jun 22 2004, 11:05PM ]

[kobi 0]

Andy, in a strange sort of way your right about changing light bulbs and then going back to dimmer ones... I've been driving around recently in my company Focus (1.6 Zetec). After a week in that in manchester i came back this weekend and was aching to get into the VR and have a blast down the road. And it felt like i was driving some one elses VR6 because of the power difference. Obviously big diff between 1.6 AND 2.8. However i also realised how shite the handling of the VR is. Although having said that, i'm much more interested in straight line power as most of my driving is on dual carriageway to work etc. Cant really blast around town as i've local plod know me quite well!

[kobi 0]

Also "six appeal" where abouts in Berkshire you from? I think i may have seen your car in High Wycombe recently?

BTW thats one fine looking sixer.

[ Edited Wed Jun 23 2004, 10:05AM ]

[nickbee 1]

When I was running my VR6 back-to-back with my 8v GTI, every time I got in the 8v, going round town and stuff, it always felt a bit nippier - I'm still sure my (chipped) GTI responded more quickly to throttle input. I think you're suffering the same effect..

However, I have friends with 8v mk3s and, having driven with them en route to shows, there's clearly no comparison between the two. I think the GTI is working harder and thus feels faster - it's the only thing I can think of!

[jcorallo 0]

Nick - when I had a go in your GTi for the first time having only ever driven the VR6 before, the first thing I noticed was that it was easy to spin the wheels in 1st gear. The difference is due to the gearing - the GTi has lower ratio gears or final drive to be able to do that. You'd then notice that the VR6 has a much longer first gear so its harder to spin the wheels up, but you can sustain acceleration for much longer, whereas you'd have to change up sooner in the GTi.

Jules

[acf8181 0]

However i also realised how shite the handling of the VR is. Although having said that' date=' i'm much more interested in straight line power as most of my driving is on dual carriageway to work etc. Cant really blast around town as i've local plod know me quite well![/quote']

get a suspension kit or uprated arb's, add a bit of extra camber and you'll notice a manic improvement in handling.

the vr6 is designed for the motorways, and is a total rocketship at high speeds, so its even more surprising that you find it slow if you do lots of motorway driving...unless its in rush hour and you dont get to stretch its legs!