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UR R26R.5, VW Golf R
Well, it's been an eventful last few months - not without issues. First off, in March, this arrived:
Full CSL cloned ECU, along with all the wiring and map sensor required. It was time to ditch the Alpha-N :smile:
Time to sort through all this...
Then position and mount the new map sensor:
Initial feelings were good. I already had the car mapped with CSL rev-matching so didn't feel too much of a difference, but it seemed very strong all the same.
Over the next few days I started having issues with the car cutting out approaching junctions. This was down to the map sensor wiring and one of the guys on Cutters was a massive help and a rewire sorted it all out.
That niggles didn't end there, though. Cold mornings the car was idle hunting, was seemingly starting to struggle with power (I noticed, no one else could) and was a bit "pop and bang" friendly causing rattles through the exhaust system on the underside of the car. To passers by, it sounded very unlike an M3, in all honesty. More like a noisy mess - at least until the car had warmed up.
I decided to try a few diagnostics with INPA and DIS, and I alarmingly found out my cam timing was 8degrees out:
It was that far out I was out of the tolerance range to even have reset the adaptations. Although, in fairness, as it was running the CSL firmware now I was only actually .7degrees out of tolerance. Still, that was enough to make me want to stop driving the car and book it in for timing adjustment. As the car required an Inspection 1 service in 1.4k miles, I decided to ring around and get it booked in early for this and the timing. Got a mixed selection of quotes but Steve @ Mr.Vanos was by far the best, and as he was the expert on Vanos rebuilds, I actually booked the car in with him for the Inspection AND a rebuild of the Vanos - purely for my own sanity. I also had a set of NGK plugs and Bosch coilpacks to go on the car, as well as a headlight leveling bracket I'd had since I bought the car along with an air-con belt and new drive belt. So I left the car a week and then travelled up/across from Cumbria to Darlington on Friday just gone.
Steve was out collecting his new F10 M5, so I was in the company of his mechanic, who was very chatty and certainly knew his BMW's and engines. Very, very refreshing. I said I didn't even know if the Vanos was an issue as I just wanted the Inspection and timing done, but when he started the car he said immediately, "Yeah, that's the noise." so I was quite relieved and frustrated at the same time, as the "rattling" noise wasn't even that bad, to me.
So in the car went and he set to work on it straight away, draining the oil and looking the car over.
He called me over and told me to look at the diff. I asked what was wrong with it and he said, "Nothing. It's bone dry. That is a very rare sight."
He then commented on the overall condition of the underside, stating the hoses were dry, no marks at all all the way to the front of the car with the engine tray off. The ONLY fluid leak from anywhere was the power steering hose, which I've known about for a while. Shown here:
Just need to find a place that can make me another piece up, as I'm not ready to pay £230+ for a replacement OEM part just yet.
I asked him to check the subframe and that came back spotless, too. He said the 2005 cars had a revised floorplan, which I think has been mentioned a few times on here, and certainly BMW claimed it to me last year when I had it checked there.
One thing that was picked up, and he knew straight away, was this:
That's a hole in my Supersprint Race 304 Stainless backbox! Coincidentally I'd been in touch with Supersprint over the last month or so about the length of the tailpipes on one side of the box compared to the other side, and negotiated for them to send me out a brand new box from their manufacturer in Italy, free of charge. Apparently one of their jigs was damaged and as such "faulty" backboxes were sent out. These faults included tailpipes being different lengths and also hanger discrepancies. The latter contributing to the lovely hole there which would then explain the noise and clatter I was getting from the car, especially in the mornings! So my new backbox should be here in the middle of April, and I then have to send my old one back to them, carriage paid for :smile:
Next up, engine strip:
The mechanic noticed a little bit of play in the timing chain. Not a lot, but more than there should have been, so the Vanos system wasn't working 100% as it should.
Vanos removed:
That was the work for the day, as Steve hadn't returned and the Inspection 1 couldn't be completed until the engine was completely cold. So I stayed at a Travelodge for the evening and returned on the Saturday at 12pm and everything was back together:
The car was started up and the first thing I noticed was how quiet the engine bay was. No rattles or noise at all other than the belts spinning. Incredible. What I believed wasn't an issue in the first place I couldn't even hear any more! :smiley: Few blips of the throttle and the airbox did its job at sucking in huge amounts of air. I certainly heard that!
Anyway, job complete. Well pleased. Had a good chat with Steve about the car (people thought it was a CSL, which is always nice :wink
and he said if I wanted to make the car completely bullet proof, engine wise, I should invest in some ARP bolts for the engine. Think it's around £700 as it's very labour intensive, but he said once that's done you wouldn't have to worry about the engine again. Something I'll consider in the future. He also recommended to use 5W Shell in 3k - 4k miles and I'd noticed a massive difference in both performance and noise with the new oil they'd put in there. I took a few pictures of his new chariot which are at the bottom of the post. Both guys knew their stuff, so knowledgable on these cars and I knew I was in capable hands just by looking around at the cars customers had dropped off for work. Incredible. Steve can be a difficult person to get hold of, but emailing him he always responded to me, even if it took a day. Top man.
Drive home was great. Car felt very responsive, and I could now fully appreciate the CSL ECU, SMG rev-matching and map.
Speaking of which, I had to ask my mapper why my rev-matching felt a little off, he asked if I had the latest CSL SMG software, which I believed I had having paid BMW for the honour last year (£70!). Turns out I didn't have 255, I had 252! So this morning I spent an hour downloading the latest Daten files and using his guide updated my SMG to the latest code. Took it out for a short blast and it's tip top. Car pulls like a train and sounds amazing so I'm delighted.
Enough waffling now, here's some pictures from the trip to Darlington and a few other randoms from the past weeks:
This car was so clean and tidy. Only done 60k miles and going up for sale next week:
Nom nom nom:
Full CSL cloned ECU, along with all the wiring and map sensor required. It was time to ditch the Alpha-N :smile:
Time to sort through all this...
Then position and mount the new map sensor:
Initial feelings were good. I already had the car mapped with CSL rev-matching so didn't feel too much of a difference, but it seemed very strong all the same.
Over the next few days I started having issues with the car cutting out approaching junctions. This was down to the map sensor wiring and one of the guys on Cutters was a massive help and a rewire sorted it all out.
That niggles didn't end there, though. Cold mornings the car was idle hunting, was seemingly starting to struggle with power (I noticed, no one else could) and was a bit "pop and bang" friendly causing rattles through the exhaust system on the underside of the car. To passers by, it sounded very unlike an M3, in all honesty. More like a noisy mess - at least until the car had warmed up.
I decided to try a few diagnostics with INPA and DIS, and I alarmingly found out my cam timing was 8degrees out:
It was that far out I was out of the tolerance range to even have reset the adaptations. Although, in fairness, as it was running the CSL firmware now I was only actually .7degrees out of tolerance. Still, that was enough to make me want to stop driving the car and book it in for timing adjustment. As the car required an Inspection 1 service in 1.4k miles, I decided to ring around and get it booked in early for this and the timing. Got a mixed selection of quotes but Steve @ Mr.Vanos was by far the best, and as he was the expert on Vanos rebuilds, I actually booked the car in with him for the Inspection AND a rebuild of the Vanos - purely for my own sanity. I also had a set of NGK plugs and Bosch coilpacks to go on the car, as well as a headlight leveling bracket I'd had since I bought the car along with an air-con belt and new drive belt. So I left the car a week and then travelled up/across from Cumbria to Darlington on Friday just gone.
Steve was out collecting his new F10 M5, so I was in the company of his mechanic, who was very chatty and certainly knew his BMW's and engines. Very, very refreshing. I said I didn't even know if the Vanos was an issue as I just wanted the Inspection and timing done, but when he started the car he said immediately, "Yeah, that's the noise." so I was quite relieved and frustrated at the same time, as the "rattling" noise wasn't even that bad, to me.
So in the car went and he set to work on it straight away, draining the oil and looking the car over.
He called me over and told me to look at the diff. I asked what was wrong with it and he said, "Nothing. It's bone dry. That is a very rare sight."
He then commented on the overall condition of the underside, stating the hoses were dry, no marks at all all the way to the front of the car with the engine tray off. The ONLY fluid leak from anywhere was the power steering hose, which I've known about for a while. Shown here:
Just need to find a place that can make me another piece up, as I'm not ready to pay £230+ for a replacement OEM part just yet.
I asked him to check the subframe and that came back spotless, too. He said the 2005 cars had a revised floorplan, which I think has been mentioned a few times on here, and certainly BMW claimed it to me last year when I had it checked there.
One thing that was picked up, and he knew straight away, was this:
That's a hole in my Supersprint Race 304 Stainless backbox! Coincidentally I'd been in touch with Supersprint over the last month or so about the length of the tailpipes on one side of the box compared to the other side, and negotiated for them to send me out a brand new box from their manufacturer in Italy, free of charge. Apparently one of their jigs was damaged and as such "faulty" backboxes were sent out. These faults included tailpipes being different lengths and also hanger discrepancies. The latter contributing to the lovely hole there which would then explain the noise and clatter I was getting from the car, especially in the mornings! So my new backbox should be here in the middle of April, and I then have to send my old one back to them, carriage paid for :smile:
Next up, engine strip:
The mechanic noticed a little bit of play in the timing chain. Not a lot, but more than there should have been, so the Vanos system wasn't working 100% as it should.
Vanos removed:
That was the work for the day, as Steve hadn't returned and the Inspection 1 couldn't be completed until the engine was completely cold. So I stayed at a Travelodge for the evening and returned on the Saturday at 12pm and everything was back together:
The car was started up and the first thing I noticed was how quiet the engine bay was. No rattles or noise at all other than the belts spinning. Incredible. What I believed wasn't an issue in the first place I couldn't even hear any more! :smiley: Few blips of the throttle and the airbox did its job at sucking in huge amounts of air. I certainly heard that!
Anyway, job complete. Well pleased. Had a good chat with Steve about the car (people thought it was a CSL, which is always nice :wink
and he said if I wanted to make the car completely bullet proof, engine wise, I should invest in some ARP bolts for the engine. Think it's around £700 as it's very labour intensive, but he said once that's done you wouldn't have to worry about the engine again. Something I'll consider in the future. He also recommended to use 5W Shell in 3k - 4k miles and I'd noticed a massive difference in both performance and noise with the new oil they'd put in there. I took a few pictures of his new chariot which are at the bottom of the post. Both guys knew their stuff, so knowledgable on these cars and I knew I was in capable hands just by looking around at the cars customers had dropped off for work. Incredible. Steve can be a difficult person to get hold of, but emailing him he always responded to me, even if it took a day. Top man.Drive home was great. Car felt very responsive, and I could now fully appreciate the CSL ECU, SMG rev-matching and map.
Speaking of which, I had to ask my mapper why my rev-matching felt a little off, he asked if I had the latest CSL SMG software, which I believed I had having paid BMW for the honour last year (£70!). Turns out I didn't have 255, I had 252! So this morning I spent an hour downloading the latest Daten files and using his guide updated my SMG to the latest code. Took it out for a short blast and it's tip top. Car pulls like a train and sounds amazing so I'm delighted.
Enough waffling now, here's some pictures from the trip to Darlington and a few other randoms from the past weeks:
This car was so clean and tidy. Only done 60k miles and going up for sale next week:
Nom nom nom:
UR R26R.5, VW Golf R
It's a 2002 but has all the vital stuff done. Only 60k miles, rare colour combo and they reckon they'll easily get £12k for it.
UR R26R.5, VW Golf R
UR R26R.5, VW Golf R
ForceIndia
ClioSport Club Member
Gentlemans spec 200
Lovely. You've done all the required maintenance and some mods. In true cs fashion, shouldn't you be selling it now?
Needs to strip it for track then not track it first.
Steve is a good guy and he rebuild my whole engine earlier this year, new BMW crank included (you don't want to know the bill but all know issued should be covered of for many years to come).!!!!! very knowledgeable but very busy.
Car runs great though ;-) I did see your thread on cutters and I guess timing chain tensioner and mine was broke with the timing issue, when he stripped mine it had broken too and mentioned it was very common and could timing / vanos issues.
Car runs great though ;-) I did see your thread on cutters and I guess timing chain tensioner and mine was broke with the timing issue, when he stripped mine it had broken too and mentioned it was very common and could timing / vanos issues.
UR R26R.5, VW Golf R
Yeah, my timing tensioner was fine, but replaced nevertheless. He certainly does know his stuff, and yes, he can be extremely busy!
Rob
ClioSport Moderator
UR R26R.5, VW Golf R
Not many Imola ones about in decent condition. Stunning colour too.
UR R26R.5, VW Golf R
So, these may well be the last photos (or certainly shoot) I'll take of the car before the Golf R arrives at the end of this month. A potential buyer has already been in touch for months now, and a fair few in the queue behind, too! I've been of the mentality that if the car doesn't sell (although I'm certain it will), then it'll just put it away for a while. The Golf was a lease option so we could free up funds for a house purchase, but that was put off so although there wasn't the necessity to sell the M, the papers for the Golf were already signed and the wheels in motion.
Anyway, I took over 100 pictures today, but here's a small selection:
:smile:
Anyway, I took over 100 pictures today, but here's a small selection:
:smile:
Starlet_gt
ClioSport Club Member
VW T5.1
Wow. That looks incredible.
imprezaworks
ClioSport Club Member
Mk5 Golf GTI :)
Absolutely stunning.
Have you still got the megane
Have you still got the megane
UR R26R.5, VW Golf R
imprezaworks
ClioSport Club Member
Mk5 Golf GTI :)
Also an awesome car, very jelous
That is gorgeous!
BMW M4; S1000 RR
Some Pole Positions and you wouldn't tell the difference!
We need a dislike button!!
Short Norman
ClioSport Club Member
997 C4S
how long was the list of people queuing up to buy it?
UR R26R.5, VW Golf R
Most people I've ever had wanting a car. Probably about 20+ folk, even offering more money after I'd provisionally sold it.
