About Me: How I Met the Corrado

Here’s some iPhone 4 pics of the 1993 Road & Track Sports & GT Cars special issue with the article that helped me discover the Corrado and made me want one bad! I think I compared its stats with the other cars in the issue and for the cost/performance it made it to the top of my list of cars I wanted to get when I finally got my license (I was 13 at the time and knew I didn’t have any money lol). Pretty interesting looking back at what sports and GT cars were around at the time. Enjoy!

And for most of the articles on both the G60 and VR6 versions of the Corrado check out this VWVortex post that the former webmaster of the now defunct Corrado Club of America posted.

And finally watch this UK Top Gear video of the last Corrado that Volkswagen ever made, the 97,521st Corrado which was a Green Corrado Storm. This clip was a great farewell for the Corrado.

Video: My Corrado VR6 Turbo Stage 1 In-Car with iPhone 4 and Gorillapod

I just finished installing a Stage 1 Kinetic Turbo kit into my Corrado VR6 and wanted to try to take in-car videos. I’m only running 5psi (wastegate supposed to open at 7psi) so nothing crazy..yet. But I really posted this to show how easy it is to make decent in-car videos with an iPhone 4 and a $30 Gorillapod flexible tripod. My suspension is pretty stiff so I’m actually surprised that it turned out more stable than I expected. More videos to follow in the future. But for now enjoy!

Corrado Specs at this time:
Kinetic Stage 1 Turbo, OBD1 w/Distributor
7psi Wastegate opening at 5 psi
3″ Downpipe into 2.5″ TT Exhaust.

My Corrado: Pounds Per Horsepower Comparison

The new turbo and the talk of the HP numbers got me thinking about the gains I’m about to get in the performance of my Corrado. Although buying the turbo kit was pretty much an impulse buy, I have been thinking about how cars today are getting faster while my Corrado is just sitting still. The horsepower numbers of cars straight from the factory today are steadily increasing. I mean cars are getting bigger and heavier due to more safety restrictions, but the increase in horsepower is increasing faster than the cars are getting heavier. Thus cars are getting faster every day and my Corrado is comparatively getting slower and slower. I’ve been thinking for awhile now that I need to do something to keep pace. Hence, the turbo kit.

I believe that a good indicator of how well I can keep pace with the newer cars is in the weight-to-power ratio. How much weight does 1 HP have to put into motion? So I decided for fun to put together a chart as you see below. I’ve gathered most of my data from Road & Track’s Road Test Summary. For some of the older cars I used various other sources. I’ve gathered the Curb Weight (the manufacturer’s published weight of the car with all fluids minus the driver and passengers), Horsepower, 0-60 times, and calculated the Pounds Per HP Ratio (Curb Weight/Horsepower). I’ve included the torque and F/R/AWD drivetrain info for completeness’ sake. The dark green rows highlight my Corrado’s numbers (stock and theoretical numbers for the turbo kit). The light green rows are cars I’ve owned, and the yellow rows are some cars my friends own. I tried to put together competitors to the Corrado and also other more expensive sports cars for fun. Here are the results:

So my high school experiment shows that there is a direct correlation between Pounds Per HP and speed. The less weight 1 HP has to pull, the faster the car. Of course there are other factors involved, like the drivetrain which affects how well the cars launch and the gearing of each car. AWD cars generally launch better than RWD and RWD better than FWD. But as a reference these numbers tell alot.

What’s the conclusion? Well look at where my stock Corrado sits on the list. Near the bottom. And with the turbo kit it’s theoretically near the top against other stock opponents. That’s even thinking conservatively since the turbo kit is supposed to get 280 to 300 WHEEL horse power. So I would say that the turbo kit is WORTH THE DOUGH!

My Corrado Build: Kinetic Stage 2 Turbo

I never thought about getting a turbo for my Corrado but got this anyway! The VR6 in my Corrado was not designed for a turbo, but with the low boost (7 psi) I’ll be running I think and hope it should still be reliable. Here comes 280 front wheel horse power!

The last time I dyno’d my Corrado was in Sept 2004 at H2O in Ocean City, MD. I had just a Garrett Chip, ABD Intake, and Techtonics Tuning 2.5″ Exhaust and put down 166.0 hp and 171.6 lb-ft of torque at the wheels. There is a theoretical 17% drivetrain loss so at the crank I was running 194.2 hp and 200.8 lb-ft of torque. I will scan and post the dyno chart in an upcoming post. I’ve since added a Schrick Manifold, but that only really increases the low rpm torque. Now with the turbo I can sell the manifold and recoup some of the cost of the turbo kit.

I can’t wait to install this and see the new numbers. It’s going to take some cutting to fit the Front Mount Intercooler, but I’m ready for the challenge. Without an intercooler I’d be losing at least 30 hp. There are other items needed to ensure a good reliable install (Wide Band O2 Sensor, 3″ exhaust, all new gaskets) so if you’re thinking of getting a turbo for your car remember there’s more to buy than just the turbo kit!

Kit Features:
– Rotomaster 60Trim T3/T4 Turbocharger
– Kinetic Motorsport VR6 Manifold
– Precision 39mm Wastegate
– 3″ Stainless Steel Downpipe
– 3″ Stainless Steel Intake
– Stainless Steel Braided Oil Feed/Drain Lines and OEM Oil Pan with fittings
– AFE Re-useable Air Filter
– Kinetic Motorsport 4″ Black Anodized Aluminum MAF Housing
– Kinetic Motorsport Silicone Hoses and Stainless Steel Clamps
– 30# Injectors (Distributor)
– C2 Motorsports 30# Chip Software
– Kinetic Motorsport Aluminum Intercooler Core
– Stainless Steel Intercooler Tubing
– 4-Ply Silicone Hoses
– Stainless Steel T-Bolt Clamps

WTD: Spare Tire Bike

What a brilliant idea by Volkswagen. An electric bike that folds up to fit into your spare tire compartment. It’s a great supplement to a spare tire.

This weekend I’m buying 4 17″ Oettinger RE1 wheels with tires for my Corrado from a guy upstate NY. They are a classic style rim at a perfect 17X8 et 35 size to fit my Corrado’s wheel wells pretty perfectly. I plan just have them for a couple years b/c 17’s look great on Corrado’s and I’ll be keeping my current 16″ DZ Exklusiv DZ1’s. So for a little while I’ll have the stock 15″ Speedlines, the 16″ DZ1’s and the 17″ RE1’s. Every size that works well on a Corrado! Here’s how they would look on a Corrado:

Last night I was wondering if they would all fit into my 1998 Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG. The seats fold down but it’s not a hatch so I’m worried about having enough room. Not to mention the fact that my car is lowered but that’s another matter. Anyway, there’s a full sized spare in the C43 so I was thinking of taking it out so that I would have an extra spot for one of the wheels I’m buying. But then I’d be without a spare tire. If I had this bike by VW I wouldn’t have to worry as much. I mean, if I get a flat it’d be better to change it with the spare wheel so I can change it and go rather than bike somewhere to get help. But at least with the bike I’d have a little piece of mind taking out the spare. Luckily, there will be other cars going with me so I think I can risk taking out the spare. Knock on wood!

Right now it’s just a concept but I think it’d be Worth The Dough for Volkswagen to make the Spare Tire Bike and for me to buy one! Check it out.

F1 2010: Launch of Lotus-Cosworth T127

The new Lotus-Cosworth T127 was launched yesterday in its Lotus colors (aka John Deere). Do you think it has enough winglets on its front nose? Umm wow. Even though I’m reminded of John Deere more than Lotus, I still like the livery since I’m biased towards cars in the green color like my Corrado.

Source: F1 Fanatic

Volkswagen Corrado Production Numbers and Database

The Volkswagen Corrado has gained a cult following mainly because it is a great car that was limited in production in North America and the world. According to the Corrado Club Of America website (which is now defunct), in North America approximately 18,648 Corrado’s were sold between 1989 and 1995. Meanwhile, the US only sold the Corrado between 1990 and 1994 so there are even less in the States. The website also shows that my 1993 Corrado was 1 of only 2,111 sold in North America that year. Finally, worldwide production is said to have been a total of 97,521 from 1988 to 1995. In comparison, one of its chief competitors, the Acura Integra, sold approximately 262,285 units from 1990 to 1993. That’s more than double the number of Corrado’s produced in half the number of years!

The Corrado Database website was created a couple years ago and proves the Corrado’s cult like following. Separated by country, it is a great way to get an idea of how many Corrado enthusiasts are out there and where they are from. It is also a great way to see their Corrado’s and how well they have kept them. Most of them modify them but at the same time treat them like collector cars. Finally, it is one of the many great ways Corrado owners can connect. So far it shows 3,577 active members, including 442 US members. Not a huge number, but pretty cool nonetheless. I finally joined over the weekend as screenname RadoRage. Check it out.

My Driveway in 2012

In 2012, these cars will be in my driveway 😛

2011 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe and 1993 Volkswagen Corrado VR6

The Search For: Great Driving Roads

This past Sunday was a gorgeous day so I decided to take my Corrado out for a nice enjoyable drive around Long Island. I love driving so I like taking random drives whenever I get the chance. It helps clear my head as well. This time as I drove around I decided to explore some new roads on Long Island I haven’t taken before. I took some back roads near Huntington and realized that I’ve lived on LI for 25 years and there are still many areas that I haven’t explored before! I bet there are plenty of fun roads to drive on. I think it’d be fun to search for the best driving roads in the northeast.

But what do I consider a fun road? There are 3 main ingredients for a great driving road:

• Smooth
• Winding and curvy
• Nice Scenery

Do you agree? What are some great driving roads that you know of?

Intro to Me and My Corrado

I have been a car enthusiast for as long as I remember. So it was only natural that I would end up getting a car that I would make my hobby to own and modify. Well I chose a 1993 Volkswagen Corrado SLC as my hobby car. I’ve wanted one since this particular version came out in 1992 (I was 12 yrs old!). There are plenty of reasons why I desired the Corrado and these will be chronicled in upcoming posts so stay tuned!

As for my particular Corrado, I have owned it since January of 2000. I bought it from an older gentleman from Tennessee while I was attending college at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. At the time it had approximately 46k miles on it and I became its 3rd owner. Currently it has over 112k which is still pretty low considering it’s a 16 year old car. So I’ve enjoyed many many miles and smiles with it 🙂

Well enough talk, here are some pictures I took recently at a small park in Levittown, NY. This is one of the better and more creative photoshoots I’ve done so far considering my new foray into the photography world. Plus it’s rare that I have pictures with me in them too! Each picture was taken with my Nikon D40 DSLR and enhanced with Apple’s Aperture software. Enjoy!