Hello

[Layton1985]

Hi I am a new member, I'm an electrician from Manchester, currently own a 508 estate as a family car and a 205 gti as a hobby weekend car,
I haven't bought a vr4 yet but will be this weekend hopefully, I plan on seeing the car Sunday, it is a Mitsubishi legnum vr4, are there any points I should look out for?

My plans first will be to fit new brakes and tyres all round, repair any bodywork then a few tuning bits, as I have never owned a Japanese car or a turbo petrol for that matter I really don't have much knowledge of this field of brands/parts etc, mechanically I am quite capable and do as many modifications and repairs as I can as long as they don't require specialist tools which would otherwise not make the job worth doing myself.

Not sure if there is a buyers guide that I should read? The forum prompted me to introduce myself first.

Thanks for accepting me

[Confused]

Hi and welcome! :)

There was a buyer's guide written a few years ago (2004 to be precise), which is available here: https://www.clubvr4.com/forum/content.php?134-Buyers-Guide

Obviously the cars were a lot newer when that guide was written, so at this age, I would say that condition of bodywork is one of the most important things, as this is the most difficult and expensive things to correct, as they are prone for rust around sills, rear arches, and front suspension strut tops. Obviously good, regular service history using proper fluids is critical, as they are expensive high performance cars, despite their current low purchase prices.


There's a huge wealth of knowledge here. Overall, if you keep on top of the maintenance, they're fantastic cars that, in my opinion, rarely go wrong. I've had mine nearly 9 years, and I've not had any major expenses that fell outside of routine servicing and maintenance.


In Manchester itself, you have adaxo and Davezj both of whom are very knowledgeable about VR-4s, and I'm sure either of them, if they are free, will be willing to give you some assistance! Further afield, there's more people, and we often have dyno days (typically in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire) where we can extract some extra power from your car, and we've started tweaking the auto gearbox too.

Any questions you have though, just ask - we'll probably initially point you to an existing thread or technical article (which will be available to you by becoming a paid-up member, which is just £10 per year) - some of us know exactly where to find existing threads or articles within seconds for almost any topic! ;)

[SGHOM]

welcome Lee. /Welcome

my advice would would be take a look at the car, & if it's not exactly right.....walk away. they do keep cropping up for sale. next tip would be......... don't touch it !! not even the brakes.! join as a full member & be patient. advice on here is very useful...( sometimes fecking useless !!) rashness = wallet depletion !! not that I know anything at all about legnums !

be sensible & enjoy the ride

[Nick Mann]

/Welcome

Feel free to show us details of the car, or throw a link in. We are good at picking apart a car from a distance too.

I'd agree with Garry - rust is the biggest killer of these cars now, so have a good look around the front strut tops - from under the wheel arch and in the engine bay - as well as the rear arches, sills, front slam panel etc. If there are signs of heavy corrosion in these places then the car is either a short termer or a strip, fix and rebuild. Then I'd suggest a club meet of some sort, as we all enjoy chatting about the cars and you will get a load of knowledge and ideas about what to do next. You don't need any special tools to work on them, every job is diyable if you have a good tool box and a certain amount of common sense. Most of the jobs have been written up on these forums over the years.

I hope you enjoy your purchase!

[adaxo]

There will be few of us with vr4 at 3 sisters in Wigan this sat, feel free to pop in for a chat.

[Layton1985]

Hi thanks for your replies, I am now a paid member of the forum so will start looking through the articles whenever I have spare time, I'll take your advice and not make any purchases or repairs until I've driven it and got to know any niggles etc, also I'm assuming you guys will know exactly what brakes, suspension, fluids etc are best to buy for it, first jobs I want to do are maintenance related I.e,
Fluids,
timing belt/chain? (will look further into it)
Plugs
Brakes
Tyres
Suspension
Then maybe appearances after the important stuff
Bodywork
Alloys (16" x 7.5 bola Matt bronze, not sure of offset?)

SO if anyone has any suggestions on best brands or sizes etc I'd appreciate the advice,
Are there any good YouTube reviews or write ups on the galant vr4 legnum vr4? I wanna find out more about them.

Thanks

[Nick Mann]

Now your name is in blue, click the Members Links at the top right of the page and have a look round. There is an articles tab which will show you member write ups of most maintenance required. There is also a videos tab. There are a couple in there from the media but most are club members videos.

Have a look round the site - you will find lots of info. If you are struggling to find what you are interested in then ask and some of us who have been around for a while will try and link you to useful info.

[TAR]

Welcome to the club. You won't get big power from a VR4 unless you have very deep pockets. What you can get is a spritely old car which will out handle many modern sportscars and embaress kids in their hot hatches.

Buy on condition and evidence of sympathetic servicing.

:happy:

[mitsiboyblue]

There will be few of us with vr4 at 3 sisters in Wigan this sat, feel free to pop in for a chat.What's happening at 3 sisters on Saturday?
Although i wont be in my vr4 I'd like to come and chat when i finish work after 12.30.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[adaxo]

What's happening at 3 sisters on Saturday?
Although i wont be in my vr4 I'd like to come and chat when i finish work after 12.30.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
https://threesisterscircuit.co.uk/cars-bikes/car-track-attack-days
I should be there around midday

[Layton1985]

I have now bought a 2000 Mitsubishi legnum ralliart edition, 2.5 v6 twin turbo, I bought it off a vr4 club member it is in the sale section still, I feel it is seriously lacking power, I came to this conclusion when a snobby woman in a 15 plate Mazda suv smoked me off trying merge onto a motorway, it feels powerful from a standing start, if the floor is wet the rear end gets a bit smutty turning into a corner which in turn gives me the illusion the car packs a punch but in reality a 60mpg modern 2.0 Mazda diesel just walks away with no problems, the automatic gearbox drops the gears, the revs jump and the engine sounds awesome, again leading me to believe it's ok for me to mutter wow under my breath as long as nobody hears but in reality I think there is something wrong?

SO far I know the ayc pump has been taken off, so if this was fitted the rear probably wouldn't lose traction which in turn would mean I could turn safely and maintain speed,
The turbo gauge never goes past 0.4 kg/cm2 which I believe is about 5.5psi.

Also it feels as though when I do put my foot down It starts off strong then backs off well before the red line, like the engine has run out of breath?

As far as I can see the engine looks standard apart from a carbon engine cover which I think adds 2000bhp at the rear off side wheel,

Does anyone know what my engine code is? Bio should be? I'm going to get it rolling road tested next week, if I'm not working, after that I want to replace the plugs, fluids and belts as and when I get time

[Amonlym]

6a13tt is the engine code

I believe that boost level indicated is pretty low, 0,4bar I think 0,7 is normal. Now, that could be a duff meter as easily as a boost leak.
First thing; oil, filters all done?
Any codes on flashy dash?
Are you running 98+ octane fuel, and have been for a while?

Assuming my car is running well (not been on rollers yet) I can report that in first or second if you mat it from low load it should pickup instantly and feel fairly quick, then about 1/4-1/2 second later acceleration roughly doubles as turbos hit. Running out to the redline is pointless, 5k or so feels just as fast as the torque drops off fast at high rpm. 50-70 should be very fast, essentially lane-change think look indicate move time.

[Layton1985]

Mine's an automatic so the revs are out of my control but whilst the designer's of the engines and ecu saw fit that it can rev to the red line my point is that at about 5000rpm to the red line nothing else happens almost a waste of time but it should still be pulling hard, or the red line would be at 5000 or Mitsubishi would have made it change gear sooner to avoid this, it's not right I know that much, I want to swap all fluids, plugs and belts after a dyno check, I want to see what difference it makes, also after the dyno check I will know what bhp it is and can find out what it should be? Some say 260bhp other's 280bhp mines a UK ralliart edition 5 speed auto

[Confused]

That sounds like you're running at wastegate pressure only, which means the wastegate solenoid is probably not working - either it has failed shut (a common issue) or the wiring is damaged (a less likely scenario). This will limit the power quite a lot, especially at higher engine speeds.