Antera309's VR6 Cabrio

[antera309 3]

I really appreciate all your kind words of encouragement, and believe me, the last thing I want to do is abandon a project that's 99.9% complete.

If I could get out there and finish it myself then I would. Unfortunately I am (and always have been) reliant on others to complete certain parts of the project.

[badboyV6 4]

Nick - read your comments and really gobsmacked at a)how you feel and b)how stealth have treated you.

You may feel really down right now, but get back on the case - you are so close to finishing a mental all out project that it would be stupid to throw in the towel now. Get it finished at least and see how it goes - if it aint to your satifaction then sell it. Thats one very rare setup you have there!

I was feeling the same a month ago when the car was in bits and wasnt going anywhere - finally got it sorted and its all good now and well happy with the end result :-) Stick with it mate...

[J5KE F 0]

Nick, I have heard of a few others who have had problems with a chain being just 1 tooth out and that was enough to cause problems.

Vince in my opinion isnt a quitter, and if it was solveable there & then i'm sure he would have. Keep your chin up fella, that project of yours is one of a kind, and it seems like such a shame to throw the towel down now.. your so close to having such an amazing show stopper forgetting all the toilets in the boots and gold leafed engin bays, even as a performance vr you got somethin special!

Please just give vince the benefit of the doubt and get the chains checked, as i said i've seen this on two cars now and thats all it was.. if any1 knows the vr, it'll be the phirm or stealth.

dont give up, hang in there buddy

[antera309 3]

Tim at the Phirm sounded very helpful. I wish I had gone to him sooner, but involving another 3rd party at this point would only serve to complicate matters.

I'm going to send Vince a rocket this morning and see if I can get a result. But failing that I see nowhere else to turn.

[daniles 0]

Nick, its true what VrSick says Vince was unable to remap my car last week as the timing was out, it could just be a matter of one tooth out and is easily rectified. The worse it could mean is you have to take the inlet manifold and wotnot off to time the cams up and make sure all the pulleys are at TDC, a job worth doing after all the blood sweat and tears you have put in to this project. Putting cams in a VR and getting them right are notoriously difficult as i've found out with two trips back to my mechanic now for the same problem. If you want it explained in more detail how to time them up PM me. Good luck!

[purple highline monster 0]

dont give up Nicolaaas! its just a gremlin! sometimes its like urinating in the wind trying to get garages to help you, stick with it, it will be running sweeeet in no time, it was before the charger so it will again!!

[antera309 3]

Well there have been developments. Managed to get it running smoother today by reconnecting the MAF sensor (these are usually disconnected by Stealth for charger remaps) after some excellent advice from the guys on the-corrado. net forums.

With the "temporary" ECU map it's still way down on power, but at least its driveable now.

Vince was very reasonable when I spoke to him today and is going to fit the car in tomorrow for one last try on the rollers.

If the remap fails again though, the car will have to be returned to standard VR6 spec and sold off. I won't blame Vince any more, he's giving it a fair go. If it ain't meant to be then it ain't meant to be, it's as simple as that.

I'll let you all know what happens tomorrow!

[goonersteve 0]

Really hope it works out well for you Nick. I have only just looked back at the pics of how your car started out and you've done a SUPERB job on it :-)

[antera309 3]

Thanks, Goonersteve.

I'm not feeling bitter any more, but I still think the time has come (or will come very soon) to move on to newer, more refined machinery.

Went for a test drive in the Astra VXR and it is monster quick, but I've decided I don't like the styling so much & rear visibility is terrible. I'm really feeling the new Golf mk5 GTI (especially the lightweight 30th Anniversary 230BHP version due out soon), but the horror stories I've heard about VW Dealers messing people around on warranty jobs are still scaring me...

Anyway, Cabrio is going into Stealth later today for another go at remapping for the 'charger, so watch this space!

[VR6Pete 1,455]

I'm waiting with great anticipation - how did today go Nick?

[Dubsingh 0]

oh mate i knw what it feels like not to be able to get a service they way ud expect it to be......but if you deciding to move on whata bout the r32?....or the mk5 gt its supercharged and tubo charged....the diesle version id like 168 bhp...sure there is potential for mega hp and mega wheels under the mk5 shell......luved ur ride at ultimate dubs still think its the dogs balls....good luck either way

[J5KE F 0]

no news is good news??

[antera309 3]

Was over at Stealth all day today until 7PM. Vince gave the car his full attention all day, more than making up for his inability to finish it properly on Tuesday.

He was able to get 267BHP from it - 13BHP shy of the expected figure of 280, but still very respectable considering there are still suspected problems with the engine.

The suspicions centre on the valve timing, and until the gearbox comes off, this cannot be properly verified.

On the road it goes like a demon - The real action starts at 4000RPM, then it's a case of hanging on for dear life until the redline!! :-d We're talking real white-knuckle stuff here!

When the remaining 15BHP is liberated, it will be scary!!

Unfortunately I got a puncture just before getting home and had to put the space-saver on, which has ruined any chance of some supercharger fun this weekend (215/35R18 tyres are mail order only)

The verdict? Well, Stealth Racing have most definitely redeemed themselves, but I'm still not sure whether I want the cabby to be my daily transport any more.

Even though the exercise was a success in the end, I've p*ssed my employer off by having to take this week off at such short notice. I'll get away with it this time, but a repeat would not be a good idea.

At the end of the day, I need a car that's available to get me to work every day without fail. With that in mind, the search is still on for a replacement car that will do that, while still providing some driving thrills (80 miles per day gets awfully boring otherwise!)

Once the get-to-work problem is dealt with, the cabby's gearbox can come off, a bit of careful diagnosis done and I can get the project to 100% completed status. After this, maybe a magazine feature if I can get one, then it will have to be sold, as taxing & insuring two performance cars is going to cost way too much.

You're totally right about the R32, Dubsingh. Whenever I start looking at cars to buy, I always end up coming back to it. Plenty of power, looks nice, sounds nice, has hatchback versatility and 4WD for sure-footed handling on wet British roads. It ticks all the boxes. The only drawback are the somewhat inflated second-hand prices right now - everyone is asking at least a grand over book value for them. Maybe it would be better to hold on 'till just before Christmas - people tend to become a bit more negotiable when they're staring down the barrel of a £3,000 Christmas overdraft....

The Golf GT TSI is worth a look too. Dual chargers, 1.4 litres, 170BHP, 45MPG and a 7000RPM redline sounds like a very interesting package. Almost as innovative as the VR6 was in its day. I wonder whether there will be a TSIOC in 10 years time?

[J5KE F 0]

Good to hear your back on track chap! that car's gonna be awsome

[aad 0]

glad to hear you have it running i assume that's healthy 267bhp .

I am pondering over what car to get next,but the mk3 golf will start to burn holes in most peoples pockets as the miles get higher,thats whats starting to worry me mine is almost 10years old, i am really starting to like the mk5 gti but i can not make my mind up, mk4 r32

is still fetching a lot of money.

good look with finishing your ride but being s/c is great fun and takes some beating.

[cadguy77 0]

He was able to get 167BHP from it - 13BHP shy of the expected figure of 180' date=' but still very respectable considering there are still suspected problems with the engine.

[/quote']

I assume you meant 267 - not 167?

[antera309 3]

He was able to get 167BHP from it - 13BHP shy of the expected figure of 180' date=' but still very respectable considering there are still suspected problems with the engine.

[/quote']

I assume you meant 267 - not 167?

Darn right. 267BHP. I have amended my original post. Thankx for picking up on that one matey!!!

Today I said sod the space-saver and gave it a right booting anyway. It picks up really well from 4000RPM and above 5000RPM it's just devastating!! I can see how people get addicted to this kind of power, although I think much more would be pushing the mk3 chassis beyond its limits unless serious suspension work was done. Great fun though!!!!

The plan is to get hold of a nice Mk4 GTI as my daily driver and keep the cabrio as a pure project car for a few months until it's 100% sorted. As always, I'll keep you all informed of progress!!!!

[cadguy77 0]

excellent Nick

[tubby 0]

267 bhp now thats what i`m talking about nick good work bet your really chuffed now.

[antera309 3]

Although I was a bit disappointed at first that it didn't make the full 280BHP, the on-road performance is more than enough to handle until I get used to it. I wonder what quarter-mile time it would make now?

[goonersteve 0]

You're sounding alot happier now Nick, good to see bud

[antera309 3]

Yea, feeling a lot better now. It seems that lots of people have had problems getting their VRs remapped for superchargers at Stealth, it wasn't just me. Vince came good in the end and got a decent figure out of it when I took it back on Friday, and even called me up on Saturday to check that everything was going OK.

I've secured a nice Golf mk4 Anniversary as my new daily driver, and will be picking it up later this week. Pics to follow.

[6potmkII 0]

ive just read the entire topic as i cant sleep lol

nick i came close to how u felt a couple times during my conversion too, but i thought ***k it, iv come too far to stop now, it would be a complete waste of time if i did.

im putting the charger on 2moro, and my cars booked in for friday at stealth and after a couple of the stories ive read over the last week or so, i must say im ***ting myself for my mapping session with vince for sum reason. i only have the money to do it once you see, im only 21, bmw technician but on apprentice wage for now...

basicaly wot im trying to get at is, for all these times you go back to vince cos he couldnt map your car properly, did u have to pay for all these hours or does he do it as he has messed it up 1st time round?

also did u make 267bhp with 268's? and at what psi?

your cars a real head turner mate, and as said before anyone can just buy an r32. it takes guts and currage to build a car like yours and i woudnt regret any of it if i where u.

komi

[antera309 3]

I thought I was the only one that stays up until ungodly hours on here! LOL

No, Vince didn't charge me for the extra day taken on the remap. He honoured the original price he quoted me for the whole job. He's always fair like that.

The issues with the charger remap are already being discussed HERE, but basically it goes like this...

If you are OBD2, you will be OK. If you are OBD1, it's worth reading off your ECU number and letting Vince know what it is before you go there. If it's an ECU he isn't familiar with, the two of you might want to allow more time for the remap.

This is because he works from a "baseline" map from other s/c cars that he's done, then makes tweaks here and there to suit the individual application. However, it seems that different OBD1 ECUs have some quite key differences, so if it's one he hasn't seen before it's possible that it will have to be remapped from scratch. This is a VERY time consuming process, even for someone as skilled as Vince.

I had Stealth refit the standard cams before mapping the ECU, so the 268s are up for sale now. 268s are a bit too wild to run with a charger. 264s or 248s would have been OK.

The kit I have is the VF-Engineering stage 2 kit, with the Vortech V9-F charger running 8PSi and the replacement redtop injectors. It is one of the kits purchased on the recent group buy. Which kit do you have?

Rather than sell up and buy an R32, I have bought something a bit cheaper (a mk4 GTi Anniversary) so that I can keep the cabrio for a while as a pure project/show car. After going through all this pain, I at least want the enjoyment of running it up the dragstrip a few times at the shows next year!!

[6potmkII 0]

lovely, thats made me feel a bit better, i have '97 obd2.

i have the zr2 with 8 psi pulley and also the bosch red tops.

only thing is, my 268's are still in there, add we had to demolish one of the standard cams to get the sprocket off as the screw was unbaleivably tight.

does running the 268 damage the engine or is it just that u loose alot of torque lower down??

also vince said if i decide to put the standard cams back in after the remap, i dont need it mapped again, but the other way round wouldnt work....