any tips?

You list those figures for the 21t, but in Retrocars on a RR session earlier this year, even the most heavily modified 21 failed to make 250bhp and he had everything you list and more.

They didnt have the proper remap on the ecu. If you look, all of them make peak power around 4900-5000rpm.

The guy that has just done 285bhp did two back to back tests, with and without the remap. It made 240bhp with the standard ecu (as with most R21's) and then 283bhp with the dedicated remap, and peak power shifted to just over 6000.

R21's run quite high boost as standard, and the ecu is heavily retarded above 4500rpm for safety reasons from a manufacturers point of view. Chips have been available in the past for the 21, but these are set maps and never tailored for your particular vehicle...

The R21 boys have never quite hit the tuning mark, but theyre getting better now. The europa cup 21's were more or less standard, bar a big turbo, 255 degree cam with 10mm lift, remapped management and 20 odd psi boost...fuel/injector upgrades. 300bhp and 300lb of torque.

Hi drellis (David)
that'd be me, your local Manc GTAist.

A GTA is like a supermodel, beautiful to look at, temperamental as f#ck but a great ride when she's in the mood!

I've had mine for prolly 6 months now, RAC recovered 3 times, spent about £800 quid so far in repairs! About £300 of that was on an alarm.

I 've still got a new exhaust to get (half fell off the other day but I quite like the noise and the fumes!!)

Also got an overheating problem in traffic! Need to get the rad off and try a good flush but the botch is so low that minor mechanical jobs become major cos she won't go up diy ramps and you can't jack her up with a trolley jack like you would a normal car cos of her skinny plastic body (I keep thinking she should eat more but then she would'nt be a supermodel anymore!!)

Oh yer and I still need to get a dip stick kit as the guide tube fell off the other day due to corrosion.

You definately need to be good at auto electrics to run 1 cheaply as that seems to be the major source of problems.

Having said all of that, it is a lovely car, always gets looks and petrolheads will come up to you in the street for a chat and a lust!

She has a lovely driving position and some quirky details like the wipers and the horn (sounds like Katey Moss after a night out!)

I would recommend buying 1 from 1 of the guys on this site as it will have had all the little bits sorted already.

This site/ club is amazing, you often get a reply within half an hour (god knows what they all do, must be drug dealers or lottery winners or sommit )

Finally the standard atmo is slow! 0-60 figure is 8 secs which most modern cars can manage easily so you don't go burning off from lights! Rather, a cool, classy, serene, V6 noisey pull away! They all slow down to look at you
(140mph top speed?? who goes over 100 these days in "camera every 100yds" UK?)

For grunt go for a turbo (0-60 in 5.sommit) thats what I am coveting now.

I hope this is not too negative! I came to GTA from a '72 BMW 2000, bought for £700, £50 a year in parts and run into the ground. Eventually had to give her up as the body rotted around me and I could'nt get panels anywhere. AH! Olga my beloved frauline!

That said, you are getting an extremely sexy bit of kit for the price of a second hand golf. Just be aware that it is a 15 year old car that is French not German!

I am in Withington, so if you'd like to take a look at Neomi, let me know and we can meet up.
regards
Mark
thats the longest post I've ever made!

Trust me, get the ignition timing advanced first.....you will notice a difference

It doen't matter how much air and fuel you get into an engine, if you ignite to late, it's all a waste of energy!

Ish how much 5/10 degrees
Turbo and Atmo
I'll see if there's enough time on the rollers to get it looked at .

Its hard to say and up to the operator, as it depends on the current engine tune/fueling etc...

Also, in the handbook, GTA Atmos are meant to be advanced 15 degrees from the factory setting, I know of some that have been played with and incorrectly set back to base timing.

Atmo - usually around 3-6 degrees, Turbo 3-4, again the RR can play with the advance until he senses pinking. The Atmo is easier to play with because it doesn't have a knock sensor like the turbo, which would automatically retard it because of the crap conditions on a rolling road.

Some atmos have been retarded if using low octane fuel. Always run Super if your going to run more advance. My old atmo really went like stink but on hard runs, could make the manifolds glow slightly.

Also got an overheating problem in traffic! Need to get the rad off and try a good flush but the botch is so low that minor mechanical jobs become major cos she won't go up diy ramps and you can't jack her up with a trolley jack like you would a normal car cos of her skinny plastic body (I keep thinking she should eat more but then she would'nt be a supermodel anymore!!)

You can use a trolley jack as long as you're careful to place it just behind where the jacking point is for the spare wheel jack on each sill. If you feel just behind this point you can feel a square metal area just big enough to place the pad for a trolley jack. Anywhere else behind the sill and you will make a nice hole in the floor! Be careful to show them exactly where to jack it when you take it to tyre fitters etc.

Standard metal ramps are indeed too steep to use with a GTA! I use two old solid wood railway sleepers with one end cut to a nice shallow angle so I can drive up.

That square of metal is actually a beam that goes all the way across the car......you can put 2 legs of a normal 4 post lift there and put the other 2 legs in the very corner of each front footwell (for balance more than lift) and lift the whole car. Makes working on it really easy if you have access to a lift.

Also, in the handbook, GTA Atmos are meant to be advanced 15 degrees from the factory setting, I know of some that have been played with and incorrectly set back to base timing.

Atmo - usually around 3-6 degrees, Turbo 3-4, again the RR can play with the advance until he senses pinking. The Atmo is easier to play with because it doesn't have a knock sensor like the turbo, which would automatically retard it because of the crap conditions on a rolling road.

David,
I'm confused re the above. Do you mean that the standard advance (for an Atmo) set at the factory is 15 degrees but that you are recomending advancing by 3-6 degrees to 18-21 degrees of advance?

Yes, 3-6 degrees on top of the correct factory settting.

There seems to be two threads going on here. Tuning and tips!

thnx for that Juzz, might have a go at that this weekend!
Need to get the rad out cos she's going to the red as soon as she gets abit of traffic - HOT botch!

The latest bit of work I had done was a new Alternator and the connector at the ECU has been sacked and replaced with an 'ittle bit of loom. The guys done a nice job and she's running lurverly! (I think she may be in the mood!!)

New alternator + bit of loom for that connector next to ECU + soldering the joints the alarm cowboys did (Transound in Mancunia - don't do near them!!!!) = £282 incl VAT!! pretty good methinks! - if any1 needs the no. then let me know cos I have no hesitation in recommending this guy.
Only trouble is he is in Mosseley nr. Ashton.

Trip 'puter now flashes continuously, in the faulty flow valve config! Have disconnected battery and re-set a couple of times just to be sure. (New connections ??)

But shes puuuuurrrrring! AND I LURV HER!!!

MT

Don't know if this is what you've tried already, but the correct procedure for resetting the trip computer is:

- disconnect the battery,
- press the orange reset button for 10 seconds,
- reconnect the battery,
- press the orange reset button.

If the computer still flashes after this I think it means you might have a faulty flow meter. Not sure where this is located.

Orange ??
I've been pressing the ittle black 1 on the speedo?
U mean the 1 on the switches LHS?
MT

Ah, maybe they're not all orange! Thought mine was orange, I'm not sure now! I don't mean the black button on the left. This just cycles through the trip functions. Or the black trip button on the speedo. This just resets the mechanical trip. I'm sure there should be an orange button on the rev counter. This is for resetting the computer when you fill up with petrol etc.

?????
methinks you're as pissed as me ATMo

mayb its a NW thing