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Members' Cars / Re: G135EPB 8v GTI
Last post by Monkey -Also, glad I didn't go now, if you were one db over the limit, I'd have been bollocked on my first lap!
Also, glad I didn't go now, if you were one db over the limit, I'd have been bollocked on my first lap!
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Members' Cars / Re: G135EPB 8v GTI
Last post by ianmac86 -The day before washed, fluids and nut and bolt check.
Early start at 5am. I got up, walked the dogs, forced some food down and then met Dan and Dion at Tesco to get fuel and grab some lunch for later.
We had a steady 65 mile drive, 1hr 30 in the wet. The forecast suggested it might dry out later in the afternoon so we were hopeful conditions would improve.
After signing on and getting the driver briefing out of the way (with a bacon sandwich) we went out for some very wet sighting laps. At that point it was clear I wouldn’t be making full use of the R888Rs.
Initially I considered waiting to see if the weather improved, but it looked like everyone else had the same idea so I decided to get straight out on track.
Grip levels were exactly as expected in the conditions, but it was still great fun. After a 15 minute session I came back in to check the car and tyre pressures. I was surprised to find they had climbed to 35psi, so there was clearly still a decent amount of heat building up. I dropped them back down to 28psi and went straight back out for more laps.
As the day progressed the rain started to ease and grip levels gradually improved. Bedford is a very forgiving circuit with lots of run off, which gave confidence to start pushing harder and explore both my limits and the car’s.
That said, I did manage two spins in one lap 😳, so I decided it was a good moment to come back in and rest.
Unfortunately a couple of issues began to appear:
A rhythmic grinding noise and what felt like fuel surge on sharp corners.
My first thought was that the grinding noise might be an inner CV joint, I’d brought spare driveshafts with me so carried on. The fuel surge could also have been due to being down to about ¼ tank of fuel, so I brimmed the tank and went back out to get as many laps in as possible.
As the day went on the Mk2s were definitely starting to feel the strain:
Dan' 20v melted the clutch line O-ring at the master cylinder
Woz' 20v had his turbo oil return pipe come loose and start leaking
Dion's ABF had fuel cut issues too, which were cured by topping up the tank
We called it a day around 4pm, which was a shame because the track was really starting to get grippier as the conditions improved.
I managed to get some laps in with Dan and Woz, both following them and passenger. The 20v cars are a lot of fun — the low down torque makes them feel very different compared with the ABF.
That said, I did follow Woz for a couple of laps and managed to keep him in sight — though the weather probably helped level things out!
One questionable highlight was the marshals waving signs at us for “NO DRIFTING” and “STEADY” 😂
I also managed to get black flagged twice:
Once when I drove down a bit of closed track with hazards on when I first experienced the fuelling issue
The second time was for noise — 1 dB over the limit
Despite the weather, the car was surprisingly good fun in the wet, especially with the lift-off oversteer. I feel like I’ve learned a lot from back to back wet trackdays at Donington and Bedford. I did 240 miles of which 130 were drive there and home. So must be something like 110 miles covered on track so approx 29 laps covered.
Post-Track Inspection
We all limped home and compared lists of repairs needed.
Having had the car up on the ramp since:
Nearside ball joint definitely needs replacing
The grinding noise has now been diagnosed as an input shaft bearing 😞 noise can be heard when I gear with shafts disconnected.
As for the fuel surge / misfire, I initially suspected the fuel pump assembly, as it seemed to happen during long corners. However, the fact that a brimmed tank didn’t fix it makes me think it may actually be related to the TPS or throttle switch wiring.
When I unwrapped some of the loom tape I could see exposed copper, so I suspect there may be a short or broken wire somewhere.
Gearbox Decision
It briefly crossed my mind to just find another gearbox, remove the Quaife LSD and sell that on, then treat gearboxes as a bit of a consumable item since they’re relatively cheap and plentiful.
But realistically that would be a step backwards at this stage, so the plan now is to:
Order a full bearing and seal kit
Remove the gearbox this week
Head back to Dan’s to replace the bearings and rebuild it properly 😁
I picked up this thick pile carpet off a mate whi was having a clear out. So might get this fitted whilst the car is off the road. I dodnt even know this was a thing?
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New Members Say Hi! / Hello, bringing Passat B2 1.8 back to life.
Last post by tin.santic -I am new here with my Passat B2.
I came here to get some help and learn something new. I need help with vacuum setup on the car. My car has a Pierburg 2E carb that I recently rebuilt but have not installed it yet. I need help with setting new vacuum lines because original ones perished. Does anyone have a vacuum diagram or something? Also my car has a tachometer, MPG meter, and everything else that normal clusters have but no upshift indicator.
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Wheels, Brakes & Tyres / Re: 15x7.5 ET35 with 205/50 too wide?
Last post by Russell WARD -A 15x7 ET35 is usually fine for many setups, but if you go for a 7.5-inch width with the same ET and drop it by 30–40 mm, you're definitely pushing the limits. The extra half inch pushes the outer lip a few millimetres further out, and with ET35 it can sit pretty flush, depending on the car. You might be OK on smooth roads, but rubbing on the fender liner or arch edge is very possible on big compressions, with passengers in the back or on uneven bumps.
A lot also depends on tyre size. A slightly stretched tyre can help. A taller tyre profile will make it worse. If you really don't want to roll or pull the arches, I'd personally play it safe and either stick to 7J ET35 or go for 7.5J with a slightly higher offset (ET38–40). This might not look quite as aggressive, but it will keep your arches intact and prevent that annoying rubbing sound when you hit a dip.
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Mk2 Golf Chat / Re: Stop the Leak! Please.
Last post by Monkey -Problems like that can be so infuriating, yet so satisfying when you fix them.
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Mk2 Golf Chat / Re: Stop the Leak! Please.
Last post by Mk1mark -The membranes did have minor leaks, but I guess over time it all adds up. The other source of water ingress was through some worn out gromits in the scuttle area. Car is bone dry inside now.
Thanks for all your help folks!
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Suspension & Steering / Re: Momo Steering Wheel Boss Woes - please help
Last post by Monkey -If so, take the boss off and measure continuity (resistance) between the ring at the back of the boss and its chassis. If you have 0 or very low ohms, your issue lies in the boss and not the method you're using it to fix to the car. It's entirely possible something has moved in the boss and is constantly earthing out the horn push wire.
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Members' Cars / Re: G135EPB 8v GTI
Last post by Monkey -29
Suspension & Steering / Momo Steering Wheel Boss Woes - please help
Last post by Mk1mark -I bought my 89 Mk2 Gti years ago and it came with a Momo steering wheel fitted, the boss used was for a small spline Mk2. The previous owner had removed the small>large spline adaptor in order to fit it. Ok cool.
I added the adaptor back in and fitted an original steering wheel maybe 5 years ago.
Last week I picked up a Momo Master steering wheel and figured I could just use the old Momo boss that I had in the shed, and so I removed the small>large spline adaptor again, and now when I have fitted the boss, the silver horn ring and base of the boss in general is making contact with the steering column housing, meaning that the horn is constantly on.
Now, I thought perhaps I'm meant to use a small spacer between the back of the boss and the steering column, but there isn't a flat surface for the spacer to butt up against. The column does the following: Threads>Splines>taper
So the only option would be to fit some sort of tapered spacer, which makes no sense.
Am I missing something? Would love some help. Thanks in advance!
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