Donkervoort maintenance

04-10-2008

Scheduled maintenance for your Donkervoort

new Tech tips & tricks album

15-06-2008

Information which I think is worth sharing........

Fuel pump numbers Audi engines

08-05-2008

I have had my fuel pump sounding gurgling like I was flushing the toilet, so it's gone and has to be replaced..
Audi No. 893-906-091/B
Bosch No. 0-580-254-053 (more attractive pricing)
5 Bar / 175 ltr.

carbon propshaft developed

07-12-2007

Donkervoort.info has developed a Carbon propshaft for the D8 Audi. Look here for the pictures. To receive a quote , or to make an appointment, just click here.

carbon lorraine brake pads tested

09-09-2007

Donkervoort.info have tested the Carbone Lorraine RC-6 brake pads No. 4016 in front and No. 4035 in the rear brakes. It is a large improvement over the Ferodo DS 3000 brake pads. They can be ordered here. More company info here.

upgrade 280 bhp

12-08-2007

Upgrade to 245 or 280 BHP now available for Audi E-gas engines.

Donkervoort.info and Beek Autoracing has developed an upgrade to either 245 or 280 Bhp for the Audi E-gas engine. The price quote with required upgrades can be downloaded here. Pictures can be found here. Torque is limited to max for the Ford T-9 gearbox.

To receive a quote based on your personal requirements and specific wishes, or to make an appointment, just click here.

We advise to mount the BGH T-9 gearbox in addition/ combination. NEW: Heavy Duty Synchro. Their new Heavy Duty Synchro Gearbox design, to address the problem of baulk rings breaking on third and forth gears, due to harsh racing conditions. Also Suitable for road use.

magnetic oil drain plug

08-09-2006

Add Life to Your Engine!
You can add tens of thousands of miles and years of driving.

 
Know Your Engine's Condition
Super Plug is the only engine protection that gives you results you see change after oil change.

Save Money
Avoid costly repairs and unexpected breakdowns - Super Plug provides lifetime protection for you engine.

Improve Performance
Clean oil means better performance.

Less Wear - Cleaner Oil - Better Performance

Click here for the Q&A's and mail to order in Europe for about € 19,75 ex VAT/BTW and shipment.

Part No: SP 210 M14-1.50 (Audi and Cosworth engines).

air mass meter

Problem with air mass meter resolved

08-09-2006

Today I have resolved a problem with our D8 Audi E-gas engine. The engine was not pulling hard anymore and vibrating/ shaking between 2.000 and 3.000 rpm.

1st point discovered was that a vacuüm valve connected to the air intake was not glued back in properly by the Donkervoort factory when they replaced our scuttle. Unbelievable. When you bring you car there it is always the case that you find out something not properly repaired.

2nd point is that the open structured K&N filter will cause the air mass meter to get damaged by small particles of dirt and water. This will be the case more quickly when you often are driving in the rain.

Note: To measure and to be able to let your Donk talk to you all you need is a laptop and some VAG official aftermarket software for 349 Dollars. Can be ordered here. The communication connector (OBD II Plug) is mounted on the left hand side in the car. Just connect, start your engine and you know what might be wrong with your Audi Donk! Come see the Doctor.... You can even drive your Donk and perform a dynamic test on all your components.

So, replacing this part had to be carried out. A tip... buy one from Bosch as the original part number but not via the Audi dealership but via Seat dealer. Saves a lot of money.

Price part# Audi: € 225,00 Ex VAT/BTW
Price part# Seat 1,8 Turbo (06A906461LX) € 88,10 Ex VAT/BTW !! You can replace this part yourselves within about 15 minutes. Problems.. mail us!

More background info (Dutch only) here and here.

Ford T-9 gear box problems

Type 9 gearbox problems!

If you own a Donkervoort or Caterham with Ford Type 9 gearbox and have more than 180 BHP...contact & prices This supplier in the UK has the best reinforced Type 9 gearboxes which can cope with 500 Nm of torque! Prise axle out of one piece! No Internet, no bullshit...

24-07-2006 Update: it seems the Internet is no longer bullshit to them, so here's the link...

NOTE: There seem to be problems with the factory mounted gearboxes from Vegé. New Donkervoorts produced after 2000 seem to have more gearboxes which break down or shift heavy. The new gearboxes are much weaker in construction compared to the older boxes as mounted in the S8AT and Cosworth's. They were able to run at least 100.000 km's without problems and shift like a knife trough butter!

venture shield body protection kit D8

Venture Shield protection kit now available for the D8

09-07-2006 Donkervoort.info and Prorepair (the Dutch importer for Venture Shield protection foil) have AutoCAD designed a protection kit for the D8. Look here for the details. Please mail us for more details or orders.

WP shock absorber manual

WP schock absorber adjustment & service manual

11-06-2006 I found some extremely useful information on the WP schock absorber adjustment not mentioned in the Donkervoort owners manual. This offers adjustment and maintenance tips in Dutch, English, Italian and French. Download the original PDF file here here.

ZF limited slip differtential

Mounting-a-ZF-limited-slip-differential

20-05-2006 I have mounted a ZF 40% limited slip differential on our Donkervoort. Picures can be found here. This should be mounted standard on every car. What a difference it makes in handling and performance! 4681BAVP_owners_manual

Instruments overhaul

Overhaul instruments Donkervoort

23-04-2006 This company is specialised in overhauling the instruments on your Donkervoort (Dutch).

Overhaul instrument panel Donkervoort

23-04-2006 If your carbon dash needs to be redone this is one of the options. Car Performance in Nuenen has a lot of experience in handmade carbon car parts. They did a wonderfull job to the dashboard of Peter Halling.

They replaced the carbonside of his dash. A very cheep way to renovate a carbon dash (less then € 100,00). De Huufkes 98 , 5674 TM Nuenen, Tel: +31 (0) 40 29 06 011.

Maintenance log file

Maintenance of our Donkervoort

16-02-2006 The maintenance log of our car can be found here (Dutch).

different lsd's

Building a limited slip differential 40%

16-02-2006 We get many questions about builing a ZF 40% limited slip differential. Here is some useful info.

D8 brake pads

D8 brake pads

12-01-2006 We get many questions about which brake pads are used for the D8. It is the Ferodo Racing brake pad DS 3000. (FCP206R) read all about it on the Ferodo site.

cosworth mods

Cosworth Mods

18-12-2005 Eelco Tolsma has modified the original piping on his Cosworth. Have a close look at his work here.

problems clutch cable lever

WARNING!

Donkervoort has mounted some faulty clutch operating cable mounting bolts on (located in the pedal box) 2002 models and onwards. Crazily enough no clamour action from the side of Donkervoort. It can be identified by removing the bolt and check for propeller wire with udder. If not mounted replace it or the bolt will break irrevocably! Mount the bold the other way around as the standard bolt. Use 8.8 or higher strenght bolt and no stainless steel. And perhaps also replace your clutch operating cable.

11-07-2005 Latest news: Donkervoort has an official modification available as from today. The major mod is a fork style lever with two bolt mounting points. This devides the forces over two points, preventing the bold to break. Please contact Donkervoort in case of warranty.

heat shield

Turbo heat shield modification Audi engines

The turbo as mounted standard on Audi engines burns away the chassis paint like a paint stripper. This causes the chassis to rust away next to the turbo. I made a heat shield from aluminium to overcome this problem. In addition I mounted some aluminium tape.

Ford T-9 gear box problems

Type 9 gearbox problems!

If you own a Donkervoort or Caterham with Ford Type 9 gearbox and have more than 180 BHP...contact & prices This supplier in the UK has the best reinforced Type 9 gearboxes which can cope with 500 Nm of torque! Prise axle out of one piece! No Internet, no bullshit...

wheel balancing

Wheel balance (based on the DTC news 4/2004)

In this section a contribution from Donkervoort Driver Mr. John Carpai from Holland. Everybody has experienced the feeling once in a while; vibration in the steering wheel. You have the feeling that something is out of balance. What is it exactly?

If the wheel and rim combination is not equally balanced if balanced out of the exact middle, vibrations are transferred to the steering wheel. When improper balance is guided through your steering wheel you have improper wheel balance at the front wheels. When you feel vibrations coming to you via your “bottom” or your back, your rear wheels are out of balance.

This vibration can be solved by balancing your wheel & rim combination on a professional wheel balancer which spins the wheel and indicates the exact position and amount of compensation weight required. When fitted a second spin is performed to check the result.

This scenario works perfectly when the tire and rim combination is perfectly round. When the rim and hump are not perfectly round or the tire is damaged you can balance for ever with dramatic results. There will be continuous vibration in your Donkervoort.

Problems with the rims

A problem which occurs quite frequently at older Donkervoorts is that the rim is not perfectly centrally situated on the wheel mount or brake drum. The exact mounting diameter of the rim needs to be 63,3 mm.

The younger Donkervoorts are normally OK. This has been different in the past due to changing ownership of the supplier. You can easily check the diameter with a measuring device such as a sliding gauge. When the diameter is to big we advise you to contact a specialised company who can mount a precision ring inside the rim. Due to safety this can not be done by any company. Look in your local yellow pages for a specialised company.

Another problem can be caused by the wheel mounting nuts who are not conical on the rim side. They are normally cylindrical mounting nuts/ bushes in combination with a mounting ring. This is a source for free play and therefore wheel balancing problems. The conical version for rim mounting is much better.

Wheel balance and vibration problems in a Donkervoort are not only very annoying, but it also disturbs the level of concentration while driving. Vibration is also a killing factor for your car. Due to the fact that the suspension is mounted to the chassis in a quit rigid way, vibrations are passed on to the chassis in a quite unfiltered manner. This causes the chassis to deteriorate and cracks in the area of the front suspension or at other parts can be the result of that.

Flat spots on the tires

A problem which quite often appears after the winter stop. When a Donkervoort has not been used during the winter, flat surfaces start to appear on the tires. This can be prevented by jacking up the car and place the car suspension on tripods. Make sure the shock absorbers are not in the outer position. It is also possible to pump up the tires to approximately 3-4 Bar of pressure before the winter stop. Remember to lower the pressure to the normal value because you will have zero grip when leaving your workshop. There is a trick to resolve flat spots on your tires. Do the following: lower the pressure to 0,5 Bar of pressure. Drive about 10 kilometres very carefully (not faster than 50 Km/h). When you have arrived back home, jack up the car, pump up the tires to approximately 3-4 Bar and leave the tires to cool down for a couple of hours with the tires not touching the ground. Than bring the pressure back to normal.

In short: it is very important and enjoyable to own a Donkervoort without wheel vibration problems. A normal balancing job can be done in the Lelystad factory or at your local service point.

donkervoort during winter time

Driving your Donkervoort during winter time

More and more frequently we take the Donkervoort for a sunny winter drive. An unexpected danger could strike you during such a pleasure drive.

Because of the fact that tires are not properly warmed up at temperatures below 10 degrees Celcius, the low grip in combination with the low vehicle weight can cause some seriously dangerous situations.

We all know that a Donkervoort can be quite surprising driving in the rain. Aquaplaning and less grip causes drivers to very carefully during wet conditions.

Loss of traction

The low temperature conditions have about the same effect on the car’s handling. The problem is that it is noticed when you are already “over the edge”. It is difficult to regain control over the car in such situations. The cold tarmac in combination with the much harder rubber of the tires will offer limited grip.

John Carpai experienced this himself. Although an extremely good driver, it has happened even to him. Switching from 2nd to 3rd gear on a slow highway entrance, the backside of his Donkervoort lost backend grip. He finally got the car back under control again, but he almost had a terrible accident.

Winter tires

Who enjoys driving his Donkervoort during winter conditions, best mounts winter tires. These special compound tires will provide more grip under colder conditions than normal tires. The normal tire will loose grip per degree of temperature, as the winter tire will be more effective per degree of less temperature. This because of the use of a special compound with a higher percentage of nature rubber.

The cost is not that high considering the saving on wear on your summer tires. Winter tires are also performing better when it comes to water drainage. Don’t act penny wise pound foolish when it comes to safety; when you drive during wintertime: mount winter tires!

Remember to clean your Donkervoort thoroughly after driving when salt is on the asphalt. This will cause your aluminium based body components to rot away under your hands! You best use silicone spray to protect various suspension parts and the light alloy rims.

wind deflector

Mounting a Wind Deflector

It is not cool to mount a wind deflector on your Donkervoort, but a must have during winter time!. It is now possible by converting a MG-F type Wind Deflector. The total price is € 279,- and it is available from Cabrio Care in the Netherlands. Mounting takes 4 hrs. in their workshop. Roll over the image of this ugly Escort, and you then know what makes the difference. The same basic rules can be applied to the Donkervoort.

Unfortunately I can not show you a picture yet, but a member of our club has the Deflector mounted in between his anti-roll bar and it just works great. It fits on a D8. Other types are not tried out yet.