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kempj1

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Posts posted by kempj1

  2. Please Help!!!

    in Engine Maintenance and Problems

    Posted

    Did you rev it beyond about 4500 rpm when cold ?

    I rarely do this for obvious reasons but found my VR gets spluttery and only responds to a very small amount of throttle if I rev it too high when cold. A mile or two later and you can put your foot down again without grinding to a halt.

    I've never spent too much thought on the subject, becasue I know I shouldn't make the engine spin that fast when cold anyway, but I'd be interested to hear if this is a feature / fault with the VR. Mine's an ODB2 (1997) model - what's yours?

  6. Oil

    in Engine Maintenance and Problems

    Posted

    Fair enough - that's what cought my eye when looking at the analysis of the light weight Mobil 1 oils - they tend to have a far higher upper limit to their operating temperatures compared to most others. The same can be said for a few other oils, but the analysis didn't cover Synta Silver.

    The interesting thing with the heat is - yes, the worst thing that can happen is for the oil to start breaking down, but if you go for a lighter oil you get a larger volume of oil flowing through the engine. This means it gets shot of the heat better and reduces the running temps.

    But a balance needs to be struck - maybe I'll go for 40 rather than the 30 weight, just to be on the safe side...

    I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who runs (or has run) light weight oil in their VR though.

  7. Oil

    in Engine Maintenance and Problems

    Posted

    I'm a bit new to all this - I don't know all the factors involved, but I'd have thought that thicker oil would be better for trundling about rather than redlining it. So why if you drive it hard do you want the thicker 50 or 60 weight oil ?

  8. Oil

    in Engine Maintenance and Problems

    Posted

    Due for a service & I've read up on my oil recently.

    Thinking about putting some 0W30 Mobil1 in this time.

    Apparently the number before the 'W' is an indication of the viscosity of the oil when it's cold. The number afterwards is for the viscosity when hot.

    Thinner oils reduce pressure, but increase flow. When your oil's hot this means that heat is taken from the hot bits more quickly.

    Pressure increases with RPM, and the flow increases with pressure - up to a certain point.

    There is a pressure cut off in the engine which means that when this pressure is reached there will be no additional flow as the RPM increases.

    I think I need the oil to be as thin as possible when cold because most of the time the engine spends half a journey warming up (going to & from work, etc).

    Thinner oil also means less work is required to pump it. => less power wasted.

    I also checked the working temperature ranges of several oils, and Mobil1 seems to have a very high flashpoint - effectively the temperature at which your engine explodes.

    I've never seen my oil temp above 110degrees, which is much lower than the flashpoint of all engine oil. My old GTi got upto 124degrees on the Nurburgring, and was absolutely fine.

    Does anyone have any experience experimenting with oil ? Any thoughts on whether 0W30 Mobil1 is suitable for a VR6 with 85k miles on it ?

    Many thanks, James

  9. Alignment

    in Wheels, Brakes, Suspension and Steering

    Posted

    Hello folks,

    I'm going to get my alignment done.

    I was seriously considering wacking a fat anti roll bar on the back to tighten the nose up a bit mid corner, but have done my research (mostly on this forum) and found that people suggest giving the front wheels considerable -ve camber to achieve the same.

    If I give it -2degree camber on the front wheels do you reckon I should give it a little toe in or just leve it on 0 toe?

    Anyone know what the std specs are for rear wheel alignment, or have any advice if adjustment is necessary?

    Finally, does anyone know of a garage in South London that does proper 4 wheel alignment?

    Thanks for your help, JK

  10. Neuspeed Anti Roll

    in Wheels, Brakes, Suspension and Steering

    Posted

    Yes I did that on my old MK2 - more neg camber and some toe out - gives it a really sharp nose, but wrecks the tyres!

    Does anyone have experience of Bilstein OE Shocks?

    I hear they are about 15% stiffer than the regular shocks. I spoke with a local garage and they said Bilstein OE shocks work well with H&R -30mm springs to give sharper handling, but comfy ride. [these are not Bilstein Sport, or HD shocks].

    Do you think the shocks will be stiff enough to damp the stiffer spings ?

  13. Same wheels - different tyre size. Dangerous?

    in Wheels, Brakes, Suspension and Steering

    Posted

    I only heared about the Bridgestones because they have a ridiculously high rating on the website linked to mytyres - it's a German website, but you can view half of it in English - reifentest.com

    Wouldn't believe everything you read on there, but most of the tyres that I've heard good things about on this website & clubgti do get a good rating.

    For that price though I don't think I'll miss out on the F1s. Plus they have a bit of rim protection (I think) which may prove useful given that the track width will be 10mm tighter than before.

  14. Same wheels - different tyre size. Dangerous?

    in Wheels, Brakes, Suspension and Steering

    Posted

    Thanks lads - I'm looking forward to getting a fresh set on. The old timer that had my VR6 before me had a different make of tyre on each corner - and I've never heared of any of the brands! One even has 'quickfit' embossed on the side of it...

    Stu - yes I've never heared anyone say a bad thing about F1s. I had Yoko A539's on my MK2 and they were awesome in the dry - turned into sticky chewing gum consistency when pressing on, but they were seriously crap in the wet. I want something that grips in the wet too - that's why I'm considering the Uniroyals and the Bridgestones. How do you rate your F1's in the wet?

  17. Same wheels - different tyre size. Dangerous?

    in Wheels, Brakes, Suspension and Steering

    Posted

    Only reason (other than money) is that I thought it might stiffen up the tyre wall a bit => make it a bit sharper, and I can definitely afford better quality rubber in that size. I'm going to check out prices on the 205/45's - but my guess is that they will be pricey. Obviously going for a lower profile will stiffen the wall up a bit.

    I reckon fitting considerably higher quality rubber will more than make up for the loss in tread width (5%). In fact the loss in tread width will slightly reduce the chance of aquaplaning.

    What do you think?

    Is there any reason from a safety point of view for not doing this- i.e will the tyre be deformed at all, etc?

  18. Same wheels - different tyre size. Dangerous?

    in Wheels, Brakes, Suspension and Steering

    Posted

    Quick one - Tyres.

    I have standard VR6 15" BBS Alloys and currently run the tyres that came with the car when I bought it. Size is 205/50R15.

    Yes I know - 15" wheels don't look right, etc.

    I was looking at tyres on the internet and noticed that tyres for 15" rims are generally cheaper if you go for a width of 195. Basically I can afford much better rubber if I get this particular size.

    Does anyone know if it is safe to put 195/50R15 tyres on these wheels. To be honest the current tyres look a bit fat for the rims - but that might just be the design of the tyres.

    I know it will affect gearing, but less than 2% - not really noticable. I was wondering if it would be beneficial for handling at all, maybe by tightening up the wall of the tyre. But the main thing is that I do not want to affect the safety at all.

    It's only 10mm - but will it make any difference?

    James

  19. Neuspeed Anti Roll

    in Wheels, Brakes, Suspension and Steering

    Posted

    Thanks for the input - that's got me thinking. Unfortunately I can't justify spending out on coilovers. However, it's good that someone sees the addition of the Neuspeed on the rear as being valid without having to get a new front one.

    Konis & H&R springs might be my way forward then. I need some springs that are quite gentle unless compressed over an inch or two.

    Couple more questions :

    Are H&R good for this or would eibach be a better compromise? And how does the damping of the Koni TA's (on soft) compare to standard OE damping?

  21. Neuspeed Anti Roll

    in Wheels, Brakes, Suspension and Steering

    Posted

    Seems like too much hassle (& expense!) to me - do Eibach do a range of different springs? I'm really not too bothered about lowering the car very much. Ride quality is of huge importance. Are there any other lowering springs that have a reputation for keeping ride quality reasonably gentle?

    I'd imagine a set of stiffer shocks would probably make a load of difference in handling regardless of what springs they are damping. When Koni's are on their softest are they about as soft as standard dampers?

    Stiffening up the front dampers a bit and putting a fatter arb on the back might make a hell of a difference to both the turn in and the balance.

    Does anyone know if it's straightforward to fit Neuspeed rear bars with a fairly standard tool kit?

  22. Neuspeed Anti Roll

    in Wheels, Brakes, Suspension and Steering

    Posted

    I understand that it's nigh on impossible to make a car handle exceptionally and still be a relaxed comfortable ride. You've begun to convince me that it may be better to put new springs/shocks or even coilovers on there. The problem is though, I know that this will give it better manners and much more grip - but I'll probably want to whack an ARB on the back after I've done all that to try and adjust the balance.

    I was thinking about adjustable koni's with eibachs, or coilovers. With your coilovers what adjustments can you make? - can you adjust hardness as well as height, and are the dampers adjustable as well? How quickly&easily are they adjusted?

    I like the idea or cruising comfortably across the continent and getting to the Nurburgring - then tightening up the dampers and dialling in a bit more oversteer by adjusting the ARB. But it would be a nightmare if it takes 2 hours to do it!

    I've never used Koni top adjustables (my old GTi had the ones that you adjust before fitting) - do these have numbered settings so that you can be sure of the correct balance when adjusting them?

    So many questions....

    Thanks for the advice!

  23. Neuspeed Anti Roll

    in Wheels, Brakes, Suspension and Steering

    Posted

    I understand that it's nigh on impossible to make a car handle exceptionally and still be a relaxed comfortable ride. You've begun to convince me that it may be better to put new springs/shocks or even coilovers on there. The problem is though, I know that this will give it better manners and much more grip - but I'll probably want to whack an ARB on the back after I've done all that to try and adjust the balance.

    I was thinking about adjustable koni's with eibachs, or coilovers. With your coilovers what adjustments can you make? - can you adjust hardness as well as height, and are the dampers adjustable as well? How quickly&easily are they adjusted?

    I like the idea or cruising comfortably across the continent and getting to the Nurburgring - then tightening up the dampers and dialling in a bit more oversteer by adjusting the ARB. But it would be a nightmare if it takes 2 hours to do it!

    I've never used Koni top adjustables (my old GTi had the ones that you adjust before fitting) - do these have numbered settings so that you can be sure of the correct balance when adjusting them?

    So many questions....

    Thanks for the advice!

  24. Neuspeed Anti Roll

    in Wheels, Brakes, Suspension and Steering

    Posted

    Take your point regarding the weight up front - although it does seem to help with putting the power down. The 306 has loads of lift off oversteer, which I think is fantastic - 'you can adjust it on the throttle'. I'd like a bit more of this in the VR6. The Neuspeed is adjustable, so I'd like to get some idea of how much difference the adjustments make. If I find there's too much oversteer and I adjust the ARB to be less harsh will it actually make much difference?

    My old GTi was hard work, and I nearly lost the back end on the Nurburgring. This was mainly because of 'snap oversteer' caused by very stiff shocks at the rear. The ARBs were standard. What I would like to achieve with the VR6 is to make it generally more tail happy so that lift off oversteer can be induced quite predictably.

    Is there any reason why Peugeots can oversteer but not be thought of as dangerous, but if I try and get a VR6 to do this it will be dangerous? I'd have thought having more weight at the back (like a 911) would make tail happy motoring troublesome, but having a few extra pounds up front shouldn't make oversteer more dangerous.

    Let me know what you think - this is interesting.

    My other thought is about giving the front wheels a bit more -ve camber - what sort of difference do you reckon this might make? I don't like cars that push their nose out on the limit and I'd like to stop my VR from doing it.

    All the best, JK

  25. Neuspeed Anti Roll

    in Wheels, Brakes, Suspension and Steering

    Posted

    I know - firmer suspension will make it more sporty. My old GTi was like a go kart, but do a few thousand miles across europe and you'd be fed up with it. I don't really want the VR any firmer than it is.

    I didn't say I'm loosing the back end in corners - I'm saying the handling's not balanced at the moment. It's not tail happy at all, and will understeer if put under pressure. It feels like there's too much roll on the back end.

    I've read a couple of threads on here where people suggest putting arb's on before dropping the suspension becasue arb's make more of a difference to handling. I like that way of thinking becasue it would fit in with my requirement of not toughening up the shocks&springs.

    Just need to know if anyone's tried fitting a rear ARB without dropping the suspension first.

    Also anyone have any ideas of manufacturers of quality replacements for standard shocks. (certainly not more than 20% stiffer than standard).

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