My New (Old) Mk3 VR6 - Plans

[sydVR6]

G'day to all vwwatercooled members. I've been browsing here for a few years, since owning my first Golf VR6 back in 04/05. I've recently bought another Golf VR6 from a member here, after contemplating a few options for an interesting second car.

I also own a Peugeot 306 GTi6, which is a great car to drive and own, as long as you don't restrict yourself to dealer spares and service.

Currently I'm prioritising my order of projects for the VR6 - rectify an ABS issue first, adjustment of slow window regulator second, then I'll address the suspension. Exhaust is way down the list for now. I totally welcome your comments and suggestions on all the ideas below.

The ABS light presently comes in at random times and stays on. I've noticed that is illuminates usually during take off, rather than under braking. I'll be checking all fuses and wheel sensors before turning my attention to the module, which I'll probably send out for re-manufacture if need be.

Suspension wise, I've noticed that alot of folks here are trying out the 'ebay coilover' setups at the moment, but I'm definitely not looking to 'slam my ride' so I'm not sure how comfortable/adaptable those kits would be for me be. Having already owned a hard riding VR6 on Eibach/Sachs kits, basically I want to install shocks and springs (or coilovers) that satisfy 3 requirements:

1) Comfort and refinement compromise for the street
2) Body roll control and firmness for performance driving
3) Economical supply and fitment - the Golf is a 'second car' afterall, so no shelling out thousands : )

I wouldn't like to drop the car by any more than one inch up front. The current rear height is fine for me.

Exhaust?

When I do eventually get to the exhaust, it's a matter of deciding whether to keep the suitcase resonator and just fit a discrete looking, slightly less restrictive muffler (thus avoiding the prospect of drone and low rev range torque loss), or:

Removing the suitcase and replacing it with another, less restrictive resonator in front of a new, discrete looking rear muffler, which should produce a nice deep sound and keep drone to a minimum, but may still produce a torque hole between 2-3000rpm. Opening up the exhaust more would allow for more power and torque up higher, but I don't want that effect - this is a street car and I want the torque down low, but with a nice deep sound.

I'm currently leaning toward the first option because obviously, maintaining all low down torque will help fuel economy with a 6 cylinder car in these uncertain times, whilst still allowing those VR vocals to speak up. I definitely don't want the drone and raspiness of just deleting the suitcase with a pipe.

Driving the VR6 on the torque, like an old V8 in higher gears is helping keep the fuel consumption down - she'll perfectly happilly sit on or below 2000rpm in 4th around town all day and I want any exhaust choices to reflect this. A K&N panel filter will make its way in there at some point.

My old VR6 had a 2.5" system from Hi-Tech in Sydney, and was a little too loud, to be honest : )

Lastly, thanks for such a great forum. I haven't posted much, but I've enjoyed following the progress of many build-ups of VW's and Seats on here over the years.

Cheers.

[The_Hawk]

Welcome aboard!... um to posting! Take a minute to update your profile with your location (although I assume your in Sydney) then come along to one of our meets and say G'DAY!

ABS is going to be a fun one for you if it's anything more than a speed sensor. People talk in thousands to fix the ABS system. In many cases people simply remove the globe and live without it. (I have even heard tell of people hooking up the globe to the air bag light so it lights up when you turn the car on )

Window regs, well, Golf Loon @ Camden GTI can replace them for you on the spot if he has the parts onhand. But then if this is a second card, it's one of those things that may be worth leaving till it breaks.

satisfy 3 requirements:

1) Comfort and refinement compromise for the street
2) Body roll control and firmness for performance driving
3) Economical supply and fitment - the Golf is a 'second car' afterall, so no shelling out thousands : )

I think that point one and two are different ends of the spectrum, you either set up for comfort or handling, not so much of both.

The cheaper versions get more travel and comfort the lower they are, otherwise your just pre loading the springs up and getting a harsh(er) ride.

In your case with such a [relatively] small drop in mind you may be best served simply getting your springs reset to sit that little bit lower, failing that a decent cup kit should do nicely although your usually talking more than one inch lower.

Consider a cold air intake rather than a K&N panel, you can look at the BMC CDA or one of it's cheaper alternatives like the one I installed here.



Oh, and nice colour BTW

[sydVR6]

Thanks The_Hawk,

I'll definitely update my location and come for a burn one day.

ABS wise, I think the people who spend thousands are the ones going straight to VW dealers. I do most of my own work and have a few friends to help, so I stay away from Stealerships for the most part.

I've been looking at a couple of re-manufacture options, such as those provided by the following:

http://www.injectronics.com.au/ABS%2...%20Modules.asp

or:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/VW-Ca...spagenameZWD2V

Once I've checked fuses and sensors I'll probably pull the module myself and use the other car for a while, even though the Dub would still be driveable.

None of the fixes are urgent but whatever gets done will be done properly - so no ABS light rewires. The car is a pretty clean unit so I plan to keep it that way.

One of my priorities is to keep to the genuine look and feel of the car. My first parts purchase was OEM chrome front and rear VW badges for the car, which has black replacements on it at the moment : )

Suspension wise, coming from a Peugeot, I'm fairly spoilt when it comes to comfort/handling compromises - the 306 is an almost perfect balance between to two, so I'm really going to try and do the same with the Golf. I've looked at a few options and so far I'm leaning toward Bilstein Touring or Koni Red shocks, with custom springs which I might have made up to match, by Pedders or Kmac locally. I don't want to go back to Eibachs - 1.2 0r 30mm all round is just a little too much for this application.

I've had a look around at some Cup kits, but they're all about the 2" drop and my days of slamming cars is over : )

The exhaust induction side of things, even though its further down my list, is going to be the fun part. Being that I want to keep a standard look and feel, I definitely won't be going down the CAI route, although I may consider small modifications to factory box if they can be done tidilly.

Thanks for suggesting Camden GTi for the window regs - I wasn't sure if they carried them. I'd probably throw them in myself but its good to know they have a fitting service.

Nice looking ride you have there, Hawk.

[bahjah]

Welcome to the forums!



i love the gti6!! Was thinking of buying one myself. That or a vr6, lol!!

Cya round, BJ.

[peedman]

Window regulators can be bought brand new from US ebay for cheap ~$70 each last time i ordered. For good suspension setup u cant beat spring/shock kit like koni's since u say u dont want to lower too much. Sure it might be more expensive than a cheap coilover kit but u know the ride will be good and comfortable.

Throw some pics up of ur cars, i'd be willing to lend u a hand if need be

[The_Hawk]

Nice looking ride you have there, Hawk.

Thanks mate, one of my favourite pics at the moment is this one:


I too have tried to stick to the OEM+ look, nothing outrageous, but subtle touches here and there

[sydVR6]

Managed to get the car onto a VAG scanner yesterday and read the fault codes out of the ABS System.

Apparently its the right rear wheel sensor which is throwing the code, so hopefully with a little help from a well aimed compressed air gun, things will clear up niceley. If not, I'll throw in the spares sensors I have ; )

I'm going to take a good look at the window reg this weekend and see if theres anything simple/obvious causing the problem. Peedman - I'll make sure and snap some photos to stick on watercooled at the same time.

[kkillalea]

Vr6 abs

Hi SydVR6 Fan,
Where did you get the ABS sensors from?
I bought my VR6 in Sydney 15 months ago and have already spent a ****load on it:
Gearbox conversion(auto was starting to give trouble); ignitition switch; expansion tank; timing chain; window regulator etc, etc. I now have to get a RWC to transfer to Qld rego and this came up during the inspection.

regards,
Kevin

[sydVR6]

Hi SydVR6 Fan,
Where did you get the ABS sensors from?

Wow Kkillalea,

You've managed to drag up a seriously old thread. I'd almost forgotten posting this up. It's pretty amusing reading the plans I had for the car nearly two years ago and reflecting on what I've actually done.

All my ABS problems were cleared up with a new brake pedal position sensor - a sensor which is part of the vacuum brake booster. Self fitted in under an hour. I was only able to get this part from VW after spending several days phoning back and forth with ETKA guys.

I was able to figure out what was needed using a V-Checker.

The ABS sensor rings and cables were items I had lying around for my previous VR6. I didn't end up using them - they still sit in my shed for when I happen to need them.

If you're after ABS sensor rings or the like, try http://www.germanautoparts.com - they stock most of the wear items for our cars.

If I'm after a more local hookup, I hit up South Yarra.
Matt from Camden GTi also carries quite a few parts and may be able to help out, depending on what you want.

One day I should probably update this thread with what I've actually done on the car, but the idea was never to do any radical mods, so it would probably bore most people here : )

[mk3pete]

Wow Kkillalea,
One day I should probably update this thread with what I've actually done on the car, but the idea was never to do any radical mods, so it would probably bore most people here : )

nah man its always good to hear what other people have done to their cars no matter how subtle, somtimes can be really handy

[kkillalea]

Thanks,
Fault came up as RR sensor. The car has cost me a bob or 2 but it is great to drive - particularly since Matt (Camden GTI) changed it over from auto to manual. Matt did a great job and was also very affordable for subsequent services.
News tyres made a huge difference to noise - put on Federals (cheap) but the ride is great and the whining is gone.
Hey, I had the car modified to suit the Qld conditions and RWC requirements - took the indicators out, they dont use them here!! (and fitted a big illuminated index finger that pops up when someone uses their horn!) Ha ha no offence.
I'm thinking of selling (that means giving!) the VR6 to my son (now that I have paid for all the fixes) and buying myself a 4 motion Bora. Anything I should about these - I like the sleeper look, all the little extras and the 155kW 2.8 V6.
Regards,
Kev