824 replies to this topic

[Gti Fly]

I use Flikr, seems to work ok

Cars looking brand new still, a testiment to its owner!

Thank you , and thank you

[Gti Fly]

Today:
130515 miles

New engine oil.

Today 25 may 2020


LiquidMoly engine flush additive.


oil change - 131949 miles (VW Quantum Gold 5w30)

Fitted another new VW oil pan sensor 1j0667990c?? Or something . C part number anyway this time, rather than B part number


Oil temperature readings still don't work as they should.

Fitted magnetic sump plug made by VW Racing Line .


Ride height set back to OEM level, 66cm arch to ground.


Set dampers to

Front 2 clicks from soft for compression
Rears set to half way for compression

Left the rebound as per previous settings .


Ride is now really comfy compared to b4
Lift off oversteer is very obvious and sudden, it's quite fun .
Car does not turn in as hard as before under power , the very glued front end is now gone, needs to lift off to slide the tail around and point the nose in.
Trade off is ride comfort.

Let's see how long it takes before I go back to previous set up

[northpole]

you might want to switch to 5w40 it actually gives the same protection but is a little bit thicker it might help with your oil readings... I say this because in all the countries of mainland europe the oil spec for the r32 is 5w40 not 5w30... it might make a difference to the readings (it also gives the same protection and actually covers the 5w30 spec so no harm will come to your engine) 

 

anyway i see you've done a mayor service... what brand are your coilovers? 

[Gti Fly]

Yeh I am going to switch to 5w40 once I use up my stock pile of quantum gold!

My oil temp gauge is part of my new colorMFA. So oil temps being displayed is a new thing in the MK4. It's the main reason I went for the colorMFA install.

As soon as it's been installed I found that the oil temps don't work properly

Between 60c-104c I get erratic readings. The numbers just go up and down like it's coding. Random numbers flickering like minus 180, minus 2, plus 170, several times per second.

The oil temp is fine when it's below 60c, so from cold start I can watch it warm up to ambient to 60c.

Then if I'm ragging it then it'll start showing past 104c. I got it to 109c the other day when doing an Italian tune up with a m135i

That really suprised me at the 109c temp so I did think it's time to swap to 5w40 to see if it makes any appreciable difference.

In the mean time I've tried all sorts to rectify the oil temp issue .

At first I thought it might be a duff oil sensor, so I got a new VW one, and fitted it. No difference. Same problem .

Tried updating the firmware on the colorMFA ,did that. Same problem.

Was told that it might be a wiring issue or damage to the loom, but I suspect not as the oil temps go mad at exactly 60to104c.


Yesterday I bought yet another brand new VW oil temp sensor with the suffix c (rather than B which is what I was told was on my car, and is what I fitted last time) and this time I thought I'd test the sensor a different way.


Cold engine. Jacked up the car. Connected the new sensor to the car loom.
Plonked the sensor into a bowl of water and slowly added hot water .

Sure enough the sensor works from cold. Displaying the correct temp. As soon as temp goes past 60c, the dash readings go mad .......


So what I'm gonna do next is get my clocks looked at and maybe flashed with clean software /firmware .

Hopefully that will fix it and I can enjoy watching oil temps like they had in the MK2 and MK3 MFA !!

Strange how vw omitted it from the MK4, but yet the sensor is in place and sends date to the dash directly !



My coilovers are KW Varient 3, so adjustable for height , compression and rebound individually

Previously I had the rear dampers set to almost full hard compression and it made the ride just aweful. Going slowly over speed bumps you got a very hard landing , and it only ever got better when you drive at illegal speeds.
The trade off what the cars handling was impressive. U can enter roundabouts really really fast, quick left right and onto power and it just fires out holding the line under full throttle.
It felt like it had an lsd diff fitted.

Now I've softened the rears to almost full soft the car rolls more at the back under quick direction changes and driving the same roundabout in the same way you don't get the lsd feeling. Instead you gotta lift off and arc the rear around slightly
It's more delicate and slidey. But it's not as point to point quick.

Both ways are fun, but this way is not as fast. Previously it was amazing just how much ground you can gap someone on roundabouts! Any doosh can drive fast in a straight line, but the corners are where the fun is!

[northpole]

Must be the software acting up on the MFA mate, and that is quite impressive to read about the KW variant setup you got... and yes comfort always diminishes how hard you can go around corners...

ps the R32 and all the other V engines ( including the v5) have hotspots points where the oil always goes hotter regardless of your oil flowing at it's best... now i'm quite sure you don't have a baffled sump but if you regulary storm about on B-roads ( and why wouldn't you that is what the v engined cars are made for) you might want to invest in that.. it makes sure the oil pump never misses to pick up a sufficient amount of oil... and therefor keep the lot flowing as it should and in doing so reduce the heat contained in those hot-spots ( alternatively you can baffle it yourself if you have a mig welder)

I did this to several vr6's engines they have 3 hot spots top rear right corner where the chain tensioner is, diagonally across on the side of the waterpump, front rear bottom of the head gets bloody hot too and i think that is because of the coolant sensor housing in that spot... now afaik the r32 has at least these spots aswell including where the intake has the variable intake parts sitting ( right underneath that part get's up to 20 degrees hotter than the rest of the head, no problem really as long as the oil keeps moving around at the right pace

[Gti Fly]

Sent my clocks to Ray and he's managed to fix my oil temperature display to work correctly. Flashed the clocks with another VW firmware and it's now all working correctly


Well chuffed.


This week marks 17 years of ownership of my car since new. Gave it the obligatory wash and hoover today , but no pics sadly. Can't work out how to post pics easily since photo bucket changed terms

[northpole]

 Can't work out how to post pics easily since photo bucket changed terms

i use www.myalbum.com they support 3rd party linking...  and you can upload a shoot load for free...  I don't even downsize my pictures, the website does that automatically for 3rd party links...  And i've been using it for years... 

[Aidymk4v520v]

Sprayed my cream auto dimming mirror matt black to match my retrim and just masked out the glass and used blue tak in the hole for the light sensor. Then touched up any bits missed due to the blue tack with a small paint brush. Came out pretty well for a quick 30 minute job.

Sent from my COL-L29 using Tapatalk

[Gti Fly]

[Gti Fly]

[Gti Fly]

[Gti Fly]

Today,

133370 miles

Removed the 10mm rear spacers and fitted 15mm spacers


New top mount bushes and bearings fitted. (OEM seat cupra R top mounts this time around).
Old VW top mounts were fitted with the KW coilovers in 2007ish, so have last really well

New haldex oil also

[Gti Fly]

Fitted Osram xenarc Night Breaker Laser next gen...
supposed to be the brightest d2s bulbs currently on sale according to the reviews and tests on the internet.


No need to take the bumper off. Took me about 35mins in total. Could probably do it in 20 mins now that I realise that taking the battery out makes it easier -doh.

Strangely the water bottle side is really easy to do even though there's not much space to move around.

Haven't been out for a drive but they seem very bright even from just in my garage !

Previously had the osram cool blue intense d2s bulbs for around 2-3 years as they were highly recommend back then.

[northpole]

I noticed with Xenon and HID bulbs that when that round bit in the bulb is not clear anymore it takes them longer to go to full brightness... don't get me wrong i've ran the same xenon/hid bulbs for 7 years without them being less bright, they just take longer to go to full power, put a new bulbs in and they are a lot faster to full power... 

 

but i'm now running the novsight h7 led bulbs on the vectra in the main projectors and  i can honestly say that they are even brighter than the xenon/hid kit at the same colour temperature... also they are instant bright no waiting for them to be on full wack. 

[Gti Fly]

25 may 2020

oil change - 131949 miles (VW Quantum Gold 5w30)

7 October 2020

133687 miles

Oil + filter change, plus a new OEM filter housing cap.
This time I'm using

Petronas 5w30 oil - (vw 504/507 compliant).


Also fitted 2 new OEM lower control arms as the rear bushes on both arms have just started to peel away on one edge.

Also fitted 2 new OEM ball joints - and if anyone cares the OEM ones are TRW brand, not febi, not lemforder.

So get them off eBay to save 50 percent compared to what VW charge for them. Something like £30 each Vs £60 each.

Also fitted 2 new inner front CV boots as I noticed 1 had started to spin grease out which was kinda lucky that I spotted it before it damaged the CV joint etc.

Anyway car feels less crashy which is kinda cool ,I guess 17 year old original bushes must have been rock rock hard with age. I guess I should do the rears at some point too.


Anyway alignment due to be done on Friday and I can't wait.