EUSPEED. S uperchargers are the stuff of legends. Fahrverg-youbetcha-nugen

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "EUSPEED. S uperchargers are the stuff of legends. Fahrverg-youbetcha-nugen"

Stewart Rich
6 years ago
Views:

2 S uperchargers are the stuff of legends. Remember the all-conquering Mercedes W-196 Formula One racers? Supercharged. Likewise, 4,000-plus-horsepower fuel dragsters are the very essence of power, and all have monster superchargers prominently mounted on the top of the engines. The stock supercharged Corrado produces only 158 horsepower from its 1.8-liter, two-valve, SOHC engine, and even the quality of the engine power isn't what we're used to from VW. By contrast, the normally aspirated GTi was a high-revving, happy motor that begged to be driven hard. The Corrado motor seems unresponsive, and even when driven hard, the results are disappointing. Zero to 60 mph takes 9.3 seconds, putting the stock Corrado in the same ballpark as the Geo Storm and Nissan Stanza. Further, the handling dynamics of the stock Corrado are also mundane at best. Never fear, Neuspeed is here. Neuspeed is a division of Automotive Performance Systems of Anaheim, California. It has complete engineering, testing and dynamometer faciliti es and focuses on BMW and VW vehicles. Neuspeed was formed to build complete test cars and to provide a complete installation service for customers who don't have the time or ability to do the work themselves. It's possible to order a single shock from the company's catalog to install yourself or a complete turn-key Corrado similar to the one seen on these pages, or anything in between. This screaming yellow zonker addresses all the performance shortcomings of the Corrado with aftermarket technology without compromising any of the vehicle's original emissions performance. Generally, cars modified with aftermarket parts leave as many questions as they answer. This one seems extremely well engineered, yet is as bulletproof as we'd expect of a factory vehicle. The Corrado is quite livable on a day-to-day basis, as long as you remember the low front spoiler and can accept the tight fit of the custom leather Flofit seats. During Sunday morning blitzes over your favorite mountain road the seats are more than welcome. However, when you have to get in and out of the car 20 times a day, they're less so. The seats blend perfectly with the upgraded interior. The door panels, the steering wheel, the shift knob and all four seats are coordinated with the Neuspeed colors: a black base with red and gray trim. The interior exudes qual- ity as only a custom installation can. We especially like the steering wheel, which has a marvelous tactile feel, plus hand and thumb grips that are "competition" oriented. Even though the seats are a little tight, their lateral support is appreciated during hard cornering. The Neuspeed Corrado is capable of a click less than l.og cornering power, and without such seats it would be nearly impossible to stay behind the steering EUSPEED Fahrverg-youbetcha-nugen 70 SPORTS CARS of the World

3 wheel. In addition to the awesome cornering forces the Corrado is lightning premium on precise changes of direc- To achieve this kind of handling per gates spaced 100 feet apart and puts a the cones a heartbeat less than 70 mph. quick during transient maneuvers. In tion. Softly suspended cars that bound formance, the car is fitted with one-inch instrumented testing it managed one of around on their suspensions are dead..1 lower progressive rate springs (160/220 the quickest times ever recorded for the meat in slalom testing. The Corrado is lbs./in. front and 120/160 lbs./in. rear), standard slalom. The test consists of six taut and precise and rockets through one-inch front and 1 Ys-inch rear sway bars, Bilstein Rallye-Race shocks in front with Sports in the rear and Yokohama 205/50/ZR15 A008RS super CORRADO gumball tires on 15x7 Momo Star wheels. In the aforementioned precise handling department YW motorsport front control arm bushings are used. To stiffen the chassis, Neuspeed designed and manufactured tie-bars that bolt laterally between the front and rear strut By Ron Grable towers. The function of these tie-bars is Photography by William Claxton to increase chassis stiffness, but like everything else on the car they're beautifully constructed, like works of art. To take advantage of the fat, sticky Yokohamas, Neuspeed opted for vented and cross-drilled brake rotors, special competition pads and stainless steel brake lines tor better pedal feel. As this is being written, the company is still experimenting with different materials in an attempt to find an optimum pad that will produce the correct balance between stopping power, a quick warmup and fade resistance. The pads installed on our test car weren't optimized, and we were unable to lock the wheels in hard braking, which accounts for the seemingly long stopping distance while traveling 60 mph. The cure for the~ngine blahs mentioned earlier required some drastic steps. The engine was sent to the VW specialists at Techtonics Tuning in Sheridan, Oregon. The focus was a "streetable" engine that would maintain production reliability yet stir emotions on demand. To achieve this, displacement was increased 22 percent with an Oettinger crankshaft and 82.5mm pistons (which raised compression to 8.5:1 from stock 8.1:1), the cylinder head was flowed (the port shape altered and polished), and a three-angle valve job maximizes intake and exhaust flow. A Neuspeed supercharger-grind camshaft was installed, which is part of its Stage II kit for the Corrado engine. Also included in the kit is an overdrive supercharger pulley that increases boost to 14.5 psi, a fuel enrichment system and exhaust hardware. To keep oil temperatures under control with the additional power output, a Neuspeed oil cooler kit is installed. The final touch to the engine is a high-performance ROM (read only memory) computer chip. The new ROM provides different spark and fuel curves to meet the demands of the increased displace- SPORTS CARS of the World 71

4 ment, different cam profile and increased boost. Neuspeed has developed these curves based on test data, plus their extensive experience with this engine. Another function of the new ROM is to raise the rpm limit to 6,500, providing a more useful rev range in addition to the increased power. The 2.0-liter (actually 2021cc) engine produces more than 200 horsepower at 5,500 rpm. Between 5,500 and 6,500 the engi ne maintains 99 percent of peak power. When yo u get your foot into it, things happen. It's smooth all the way to redline, and it pulls hard in the low part of the rev band, coming on with a whirring rush around 4,000 rpm. Unlike turbocharged engin es, the supercharger is always producing boost, and in traffic passing can be done without downshifting. Get into the throttle, and the power is there in stantaneously. Equally important, this engine is extremely docile and tractable around town, never overheats, always starts whether it's cold or hot and remains within state and federal emissions limits. The exterior aerodynamic body panels are a mix of Kamei and Zender parts. The Kamei kit includes front and g rille spoilers, side skirts, door skins and a rear skirt. The rear wing is Zender. European headlights finish off th e custom a ppearance of the Neuspeed Corrado with 100-watt bulbs replacing the standard 60-watt units. As we mentioned earlier, th e Corrado is one of the best-handling cars we've had the pleasure of testing. Performance like this isn ' t without penalty, though. For our personal taste we'd be quite happy with the car, but Corrado owners considering such modifications should be prepared to accept Corrado drivers will love the sensation of this very rational steering wheel. The coordinated interior includes leather upholstery for the Flofit seats. 72 SPORTS CARS of the World

the loss of ride compliance. On freeways and rough surface streets expansion strips and bumps are transmitted to the passenger environment as chassis motion.

5 the loss of ride compliance. On freeways and rough surface streets expansion strips and bumps are transmitted to the passenger environment as chassis motion. The noise generated by the suspension and tires is well damped, however. When you get the Corrado on your specia l section of twisting road, all those concerns vanish. The Neuspeed Corrado devours twisty backroads almost Like a prepared road-racing car. It corners in a flat, neutral-to-slightundersteer attitude that'll put a big grin on your face. Getting one is easy-call Auto PERFORMANCE DATA POMONA TEST FACILITY OCTOBER ~7, 1991 VEHICLE Neuspeed Corrado Stock Corrado 0-60 sec. l4 MILE @ Performance Systems at The package we've described will lighten your wall et approxim ately $15,000. The full-house Neuspeed engine makes lots of power and is California-legal. SLALOM SKIDPAD mph g 60-0 ft. You supply the Corrado. It's a small price to cure th e stock Corrado blues. e Strut towers are neatly connected with tie-bars that stiffen the chassis. SPORTS CARS of the World 73

6 AUTOMOTIVE PERFORMANCE SYSTEMS, INC Corte Malpaso Camarillo, CA tel fax

Run like the wind! inter-cooler which increases air density by lowering its temperature to

Run like the wind! inter-cooler which increases air density by lowering its temperature to Run like the wind! T he name Volkswagen has never been traditionally associated with such adjectives as power, speed and performance until recently. VW's latest entry into the sport coupe field of cars,