RE: Volkswagen Corrado VR6: PH Heroes
Discussion
gforceg said:
MattxSam said:
I had one for 6 years and loved it, but they're money pits. Usually one major failure a year (coil pack, heat exchanger, clutch, ABS etc) and a new electrical failure every week... good luck finding a decent one.
Not all doom and gloom, then, eh?I've had mine since 2009 and none of those problems. And I commit the cardinal sin of hardly using mine at all. The only problem is the sunroof motor but that was easily disconnected to allow head in the sand motoring.
I guess you just bought a duffer.
Both of my Corrado VR6s are on over 200,000 miles, yes both engines have been apart to have the headgasket/timing chains done. One required it's first set of chains at 82k and then I did them again when the top tensioner failed at 198k. At both points whilst the engine was out it ALWAYS makes sense to do the clutch (ideally fit a lightened flywheel to!!!) and do other maintenance. The last rebuild included having new valve guides an 6 new valves and a skim/clean because i'm fussy. Even then with a headgasket kit/bolts, clutch, chains+tensioners and coolant/oil/filters etc I spent £650.
The other had it's first set of chains at 170k at which point the engine was stripped an sent to Grant Motorsport for big valve/ported & polished head,uprated valves/retainers, ported throttle & inlet manifold, head skim, mk4 steel headgasket, rehoned, new oil pump and umpteen other bits. It now makes around 230hp at close to 7000rpm (raised limit to 7200) That engine is now on nearer 220k
In Europe/UK we got the best engine/running gear spec by having the 2.9L engine, better throttlebody/inlet manifold and better exhaust system with less smog crap fitted. However, the 2.8Lengined Corrados that the US/North American market got had the advantage of more suitable gearing by having a 3.68final drive, the effect of which balances out the reduced power to make the 0-60times not that different. It's worth noting fitting a 3.68final drive (as found in mk3 golf GTI 16v gearboxes is an excellent upgrade - adding a LSD to totally transforms the car!!
That said the UK/Euro market lacked in other areas for example my American spec Corrado has cruise control, electric seat belts, air conditioning, half leather, and many safety features like reinforced bumper bars, side impact bars , additional bracing/knee bar but has NO ABS which to me is a bonus.
Talking of ABS and people worried about ABS modules failing the people to speak to are BB REMAN in the UK who can rebuild a controller for £100-200 which in my opinion is not a big deal!
The biggest issue I have found with Corrados is sourcing some body parts , trying to find some good wings can be hard especially on the early pre 1992 cars. Trying to get a good set of fog lights and indicators with no cracks/stone chips and splitters that haven't been scuffed can also be hard but by no means impossible and no harder than trying to find parts for a 1990 Nissan 200sx, Honda Prelude an other coupes of the era that have been out of production for over 20years.
ClockworkCupcake said:
2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:
Did you get the 2.8 or the 2.9 in Canada? (We had the 2.9 in the UK, but 2.8 in most of Europe)
I know that America got the Corrado SLC which was the 2.8L engine from the Golf with the Golf's far more restrictive throttle body. A common upgrade was to fit the UK throttle body. I had 2 vr6s in the 90's, the first one was a moonlight blue pearl with grey cloth bought new from Haysledens Barnsley in 95, I sold that and bought an e36 m3 but I always fancied another so in 98 I came across an aqua blue pearl with the mega expensive electric recaro seats in grey leather with an unbelievable 15k on the clock at a franchised dealer so I had to have it kept it a few years and sold it to a chap on here who I believe still owns it.
Fantastic cars for the period
Fantastic cars for the period
2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:
It was really mad...why go to the trouble of 2 x engines for 100cc?
The 2.8 was used in quite a few cars beyond just the mk3 Golf & North American market , it's the 2.9 that is the minority engine. I wonder if the 2.9 an hp figure was a deliberate move much the same as the BMW 328i at the time , something to do with German tax rules?aka_kerrly said:
2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:
It was really mad...why go to the trouble of 2 x engines for 100cc?
The 2.8 was used in quite a few cars beyond just the mk3 Golf & North American market , it's the 2.9 that is the minority engine. 
My VR6 was the most unreliable car I've ever owned. Door handles broke, sunroof motor and mechanism failed, intermittent starting fault traced to a dodgy fuel pump relay, seized calipers. The final icing on the cake was when it fouled number 6 plug with oil, having glazed the cylinder, causing the rings to stop sealing, necessitating a complete engine stripdown. It was genuinely nothing but trouble.
I loved it. It was a great car to drive, and handled way better than the Impreza Turbo 2000 I also had at the time. I'd have another in a heartbeat if I had the garage space and could find the right spec car.
I loved it. It was a great car to drive, and handled way better than the Impreza Turbo 2000 I also had at the time. I'd have another in a heartbeat if I had the garage space and could find the right spec car.
2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:
kambites said:
2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:
It was really mad...why go to the trouble of 2 x engines for 100cc?
I always assumed it was an emissions thing (the fact the US didn't get the 2.9, I mean). ETA: Although Wikipedia implies the 2.8 was only put in the Corrado in north America, that all European cars were 2.9s.
Edited by kambites on Friday 3rd March 22:42
martin-6nlh2 said:
Joe M said:
Loved mine, best mod I done was definately the quaife differential. Also had koni coilovers, eibach arb's, schrick vgi and 268 cams. Used to be all over evo's and sti's round the corners at knockhill. Supercharger would have been nice but they seemed a bit underdeveloped at the time with many issues. The brakes were also seriously lacking even with the later golf vr6 brake upgrade.
Sold it for £1000 back in 2009
And I still have it mate, currently in bits at the moment as various bits needed sorting and I got kind of caught up with other projects(more corrado's) . I assume you removed the quaife before I got it ? Only asking as I wouldn't know if it was on it or not ? ??Sold it for £1000 back in 2009
kambites said:
2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:
kambites said:
2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:
It was really mad...why go to the trouble of 2 x engines for 100cc?
I always assumed it was an emissions thing (the fact the US didn't get the 2.9, I mean). ETA: Although Wikipedia implies the 2.8 was only put in the Corrado in north America, that all European cars were 2.9s.
Edited by kambites on Friday 3rd March 22:42
The UK missed out on lots of cool VWs in the 80s and 90s could we have missed out on VR6 first gen Corrados? We only got the VR6 in the second gen. The G60 was the top of the line Gen One in the UK.
P-Jay said:
Was it a timing thing perhaps? I seem to recall the 2.8 was a fairly standard engine for VAG, it went into lots of things, Audi 80s and 90s, Sharans (bet that was thirsty) and of course the Golf. .
To my knowledge, the VR6 engine was never used in any Audi. They had their own V6 engines with a more traditional wider angle V which was mounted longitudinally, whilst the VR6 was a narrow angle 6-cylinder (the VR in VR6 stands for V-Riehenmotor, which means "inline V") and was designed for transverse installation. P-Jay said:
The UK missed out on lots of cool VWs in the 80s and 90s could we have missed out on VR6 first gen Corrados? We only got the VR6 in the second gen. The G60 was the top of the line Gen One in the UK.
There weren't any VR6 Corrados until the 2nd gen, though the VR6 did change slightly after a year or so; the red line was lowered by 500rpm and the exterior VR6 badges went from red to silver.I think my earlier VR6 must have been breathed upon or particularly fit, because I tried a later one a year or so after I sold it and it felt a bit flat in comparison.
Jobbo said:
There weren't any VR6 Corrados until the 2nd gen, though the VR6 did change slightly after a year or so; the red line was lowered by 500rpm and the exterior VR6 badges went from red to silver.
The changes also included different foglights and a different grille too. It also had some interior changes, especially in the area of heater controls and switchgear, and a different steering wheel. In fact, it could be that those are the "2nd gen" changes you're referring to, in which case there were some early VR6s that were 1st gen. There is some evidence that there were also some minor changes in the run-out year too. Certainly my 1996 car didn't suffer from the poor headlights and windscreen wipers that people usually complain about. Also, when I had the Chipstar piggy-back ECU fitted it initially didn't work because the wiring loom was subtlety different. Although that could have been a convenient excuse for them wiring it up incorrectly.
I ditched the Chipstar when I had the Schrick VGI fitted and went for a proper ECU remap instead. I've still got the Chipstar somewhere and should probably bin it as it is undoubtedly worthless.
ClockworkCupcake said:
The changes also included different foglights and a different grille too. It also had some interior changes, especially in the area of heater controls and switchgear, and a different steering wheel. In fact, it could be that those are the "2nd gen" changes you're referring to, in which case there were some early VR6s that were 1st gen.
The changes for 1994 were relatively minor details though - the VR6's arrival in 1992 introduced entirely different front suspension and some body differences such as the bumpers and bonnet which I have always considered to be the facelift during the Corrado's life.I'm fairly sure the foglights and grille changed in 1992 (with the VR6's launch) and then remained the same until the end of production?
Jobbo said:
I'm fairly sure the foglights and grille changed in 1992 (with the VR6's launch) and then remained the same until the end of production?
When I went looking for my first Corrado in late 1995, I looked at a range of examples of the Corrado VR6 of different ages, and the earliest cars definitely had the old heater controls, switchgear and steering wheel. Not sure about the grille and foglights though. I haven't seen any VR6 with a steering wheel other than this one (my 1993 red badge VR6 had the same, as did the 1994 silver badge car I drove later):
Here's a page from a very early VR6 road test in Autocar from 1992 - same wheel:
ETA: I've just realised you you are; I was even going to suggest asking JonRB as the fount of all knowledge
Here's a page from a very early VR6 road test in Autocar from 1992 - same wheel:
ETA: I've just realised you you are; I was even going to suggest asking JonRB as the fount of all knowledge
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