Hi to All! Brad // Central Coast NSW

king_panther

Gettin' tanked
Location
New South Wales
First Name
Brad
Drive
2012 VW Caddy 1.6TDI 7-Speed DSG. Still crappy DSG.....
G'day everyone here on the VR4 forums !

Been a lurker for a while, but I've had my VR4 for over a month now but only just the other day I managed to take some decent photos of it.
I bought it from a compliance workshop but he was selling it as a private seller. Not sure if I want to deal with him again due to some annoyances which I'll get to later........
Funnily enough this is actually my first car. I've been driving company Corollas for nearly 10 years now hehe.

Firstly though, the specs ; these are all untouched by me & came with the car ;

1997 Mitsubishi (Der!) Legnum VR4 Type-S White Tiptronic
17" Rays Wheels with only Dunlop Lemans tyres. I think 1 of them is a Bridgestone too... (sorry long day & I'm buggered to look)
Nardi Touring steering wheel
Leather seats
6.5" Eonon touchscreen CD/MP3/DVD/TV/Radio/GPS player
Reversing camera

Everything else is stock. No engine mods or anything like that. I'm damn sure the car has been lowered but I was told no. Need to get it jacked-up as I'm scraping nearly everywhere I go & my driveway is too steep.

Now, my gripes ;

Already have had the gearbox replaced - $2500 (ouch). It let go coming down the Kariong mountain & was NOT fun ambling home in 3rd !
There are gremlins in the wiring no doubt - coming home one night it claimed the Traction Control was turned off & I couldn't change it. Engine warning light came on too. Pulled over for a while with the engine off. Turned her back on & problem solved.
Just the other was on the freeway going to Sydney & bang it slipped into 3rd again & wouldn't change. Pulled over. Turned off. Turned on. Problem solved so something weird there for sure.
Sometimes you can feel as though there is quite a bit of heat coming through on your feet. I don't thrash the car around & drive pretty sedately so I don't know ?

Now, some questions for you VR4 wizards ;

- The guy's wife ran it for a short time but on 91 fuel. Can she screw something up because of that ?
- How does the engine cope with ethanol blends ? Is there any harm in giving it some Shell V-Power ?
- I really want to make the engine more efficient. Cold-air intake would be great especially in these summers. Turbo-timer is a must plus a boost controller. Might sound weird but I'm kind of thinking of reducing the boost to make the turbos last longer & reduce wear & tear. Am I being stupid ? Blow off valves &/or wastegates are on my list too. Obviously plumbed back in & not venting out into the atmosphere.

Any help at all you guys can give me would be greatly appreciated !!!! Anyone live nearby or in Sydney who has modded their engines such as that who can give me some tips or good places to go to ?

I'm going to try & see if I can upload some pics onto here.... here we go ..

P.S. The 4 antennas on the back are for the TV reception !!!
 

Attachments

  • IMGA2476.JPG
    IMGA2476.JPG
    77.8 KB · Views: 89
  • IMGA2477.JPG
    IMGA2477.JPG
    57.5 KB · Views: 89
  • IMGA2478.JPG
    IMGA2478.JPG
    82.8 KB · Views: 85
  • IMGA2479.JPG
    IMGA2479.JPG
    44.8 KB · Views: 84
  • IMGA2480.JPG
    IMGA2480.JPG
    83.9 KB · Views: 81

SiliconAngel

1 AYC Bar
Location
Perth, WA
First Name
SA, Trevor
Drive
'99 Legnum VR4 Black MT
G'day Brad, welcome to the forums :)

Running lower octane fuel isn't very good for the engine as you'll get preignition (detonation). You should always try to use the octane rating recommended by the manufacturer. Check out the extremely informative Car Bible page on the subject.

The simple answer to your question is no, its unlikely to have caused permanent damage or anything. But you might want to reset your ECU (by disconnecting your battery for 10 minutes) and let it readapt to the correct fuel type.

Ethanol should really be avoided like the plague. Read further down on the page linked above for a detailed discussion on the subject. You want to run 100% clean fuel at all times, for both greater fuel economy and better performance.

If you want to play around with your air intake, I strongly suggest doing some reading, both here and on ClubVR4. To summarise, a good aftermarket intercooler is easy enough, and a high-flow panel air filter is beneficial. However if you want to start playing with air pods, unless you do it properly (which could well include an aftermarket flow-rate sensor AND new ECU) you will end up with LESS performance than you started with.

Regarding your concerns for the turbos, yes you're being over-cautious. The tubos in these cars are small, light and durable. Even pushing boost up around the maximum the turbos will give you (around 1 bar, or 15psi) will barely affect the life of the turbos, while giving you 10 to 15 extra kWs.

The fact that these turbos are so small and are fairly efficient at shedding heat means turbo timers are a waste of time on them... Which has the added benefit of keeping your car that much more legal ;) Turbo timers are really only necessary for big turbos in overworked engines running massive boost (30psi+) that are being driven hard. You just won't ever put that kind of pressure on a VR4, unless you modify it fairly heavily, in which case you won't have stock turbos anymore anyway ;) And if you're still concerned about it, just make sure you spend the last five minutes of your trip driving relatively sedately and it will have the same effect :)

Anyway welcome to the forums and enjoy looking around and asking questions - there are heaps of very helpful and informative people on here who will be glad to assist where they can :)
 
G

Guest

Unregistered
My thoughts on the gearbox issues.

From reading a lot of threads over on clubVR4, all of your gearbox issues sound like either...

incorrect amount of gearbox fluid, either overfilled or underfilled.
Incorrect gearbox fluid.
Overheating gearbox.

All of these things can be solved by a full flush and refill with proper spec fluid.

If the box still goes into 'safe mode' stuck in 3 then it might be worth investing in a trans cooler.

regarding the tcl light etc... i had that problem once, happened very intermittantly, turned out to be my battery was on its way out. From my experience it would seem with VR4's if the voltage drops too low all sorts of lights start coming on. Alternativly your alternator #may# be on its way out.
 

bradc

1 AYC Bar
Location
New Zealand
First Name
Brad
Drive
Facelift Manual 400hp VR-4 Legnum
I would tend to agree with Don, what oil was put into the gearbox and how much?

As for the TCL light and engine light, I'm willing to bet that it is alternator or battery related.

Lastly - don't worry about the turbos, they will last for a very long time, just drive the car like you want and don't worry about them. Just make sure you reset the ecu (disconnect battery) and fill up on high octane fuel, and you will be fine.
 

hawks

Leaving Skid Marks
Location
NSW
First Name
Mark
Drive
Sold my 1998 Legnum VR4 Type S
Hi Brad, welcome to the site. Good to see another NSW person (we have had a few lately)

Get yourself a transmission cooler installed, any decent workshop will do this with their eyes closed, and keep an eye on the fluids like the boys said. It seems a bit of maintenace is needed and all will be well.

If you are keen you can also get a larger intercooler and adapt a cold air feed to your factory airbox.
 

snickells

Leaving Skid Marks
Lifetime Member
Location
Australia
First Name
Anon
Drive
Car
Nice to see I'm not the only one who is having slush box problems, I feel your pain Brad.

Good luck sorting out the other little issues man. It's all part of the joy in owning an import.
 

VR-04-TT

1 AYC Bar
Location
NSW
First Name
Paul
Drive
2005 Liberty 3.0R Spec B
Hey mate! Welcome to OZVR4 :) Good to see more NSW members coming out of the paintwork.

For mod and mechanical work in Sydney, I've heard a LOT of good things about Meek Automotive in Giraween, which is about 45 mins out of Sydney down the M4.

Let me know if you're ever out this way mate, we'll catch up!
 
G

Guest

Unregistered
Howdy!!!

I may end up seeing you on the F3 from time to time! im about to move back to the Central Coast myself!!!
 

RaZZa137

Leaving Skid Marks
Location
NSW
First Name
Rowan
Drive
1998 PFL Legnum VR4 2012 Skoda Superb 1990 Suzuki GSF250
Welcome to ozvr4!!
by the looks i don't think ur car was lowered, there's a lot of clearance between the tyres n guards, have you tried going sideways or angle on steep driveways n such?? shell v-power is GOOD for your car

what's the interior look like??
 

king_panther

Gettin' tanked
Location
New South Wales
First Name
Brad
Drive
2012 VW Caddy 1.6TDI 7-Speed DSG. Still crappy DSG.....
Hey again everyone !!!

Wow holy crap thanks for all the replies !!!! This is the earliest I could get myself back on to post another message & great to hear from so many of you
!!

I'm going to go ahead & get a new battery, alternator, & trans cooler so I can sleep easier at night & stop stressing about this car !! Sometimes I get really paranoid when driving it that something's is going to let go hehe..

I was trying to get home last night (massive traffic on the F3) & was on the Pacific Hwy & was being followed by a cop car for a while & they were talking to each other & pointing stuff out to my car. I was getting ready to be pulled over & be defected for something when they passed by & were eyeballing my Legnum. PHEW !!!!!!!!!!!! I don't mind when people look while driving, it's when I get multiple people ogling when it's parked & I'm not in it that I get really paranoid !!!!

To the list of things that have happened to this car, I add that yesterday the front 2 tyres were punctured which ended up with me getting 4 brand new tyres all the same brand fitted. BF Goodrich I think (can't get to look at the moment).

I might give Meek Automotive a look after checking out their website yesterday...... I used to go to school at Girraween so small world hehe.

I'm a little confused though now about Shell V-Power : it contains ethanol, so, is it GOOD or BAD for the engine ????????

Here's some more pictures that I couldn't add with my first post... including the inside..

Hey mate if you're on the F3 at least I won't be hard to miss !! Sorry I'm new to posting on forums ;-) Can you reply directly to someone on here ??? We should organise a cruise day or some kind of get together.... would be a good photo op :)
 

Attachments

  • IMGA2482.JPG
    IMGA2482.JPG
    69.6 KB · Views: 73
  • IMGA2483.JPG
    IMGA2483.JPG
    52.1 KB · Views: 66
  • IMGA2484.JPG
    IMGA2484.JPG
    83.3 KB · Views: 66
  • IMGA2485.JPG
    IMGA2485.JPG
    87.2 KB · Views: 81

2000VR-4

Leaving Skid Marks
Location
Angle Vale
First Name
Jason
Drive
1988 Magna (Daily) 1975 GC Galant hardtop (W/End car) 1972 GS Galant hardtop, 1973 Galant GTO X-II, 1978 Galant (Scorpion) hardtop
Just a little tip ............ I ONLY use BP Ultima 98 RON fuel in everything, even my shitty '90 929. BP fuel always seems the run cleaner and I get more kays from a tank.
Welcome to the site and hope the battery and trans cooler have sorted ya probs.
Jason
 

king_panther

Gettin' tanked
Location
New South Wales
First Name
Brad
Drive
2012 VW Caddy 1.6TDI 7-Speed DSG. Still crappy DSG.....
Hey Jason,

Thanks for the tip sorry I didn't see it sooner :)

Yea I was putting BP Ultimate 98 through while I was waiting for my company fuel card. It only works at Shell stations though so I'm putting 95 through it. That was hard enough to beg them for as the card was only designated for Regular 91 fuel. Yikes.......
 

2000VR-4

Leaving Skid Marks
Location
Angle Vale
First Name
Jason
Drive
1988 Magna (Daily) 1975 GC Galant hardtop (W/End car) 1972 GS Galant hardtop, 1973 Galant GTO X-II, 1978 Galant (Scorpion) hardtop
Het Brad,
Just re-read this thread and noticed you said the Engine and TCL light were coming on.
Dont know if you got this sorted or not mate but in my exp. that is almost always caused by a fault coil pack in Nissans. Might be worth looking at
 

king_panther

Gettin' tanked
Location
New South Wales
First Name
Brad
Drive
2012 VW Caddy 1.6TDI 7-Speed DSG. Still crappy DSG.....
Whoa Jesus I must be pretty popular on here ... HAHAHA

Bugger, if the missus finds this forum I'm in trouble. I told her I had Subway for dinner last night !! ;)

That was only last night ??? Boy they were quick to post it ?
 

hawks

Leaving Skid Marks
Location
NSW
First Name
Mark
Drive
Sold my 1998 Legnum VR4 Type S
What was that about losing weight for the wedding ? hmm :p :D
 

king_panther

Gettin' tanked
Location
New South Wales
First Name
Brad
Drive
2012 VW Caddy 1.6TDI 7-Speed DSG. Still crappy DSG.....
Awwwww come on man !!!

Well the toaster was buggered at Subway so I DID go there !

& I only had a small cheeseburger meal that's all I swear ! :D
 
Top Bottom