Blog
Turbocharger Installation Tips
Fitting a new turbocharger may sound simple but it is easy to miss key steps that could result in another failure of your new turbo!Below are the critical installation tips you should follow to ensure correct installation.
1. Fully Remove and Drain the Old System
Before installing your new turbocharger, remove the old unit and drain all oil from the system. Contaminated or degraded oil is one of the most common causes of premature turbo failure.
2. Inspect for Debris Before Installation
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21 04 2026
Let’s talk about VW’s 6 Speed Manual Gearboxes
Many of us discuss what a true ‘drivers’ car should be, most say that 3 pedals and driver input via the gear shifter is an absolute must. Some say that the transmission doesn’t make a difference and that automatic gearboxes such as the DSG (direct-shift gearbox) will offer a similar driving experience, if not better.Let’s delve deep into what makes the VW / Audi 6 Speed Manual Transmissions stand out from the rest whilst also looking into the flaws and limitations.02M Gea
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26 01 2026
Silverstone GP - Britcar Trophy - 13th March 2022
We had an early start to the 2022 racing season, as we made a one off entry to the Britcar Endurance Trophy race at Silverstone on the GP Circuit.
With it being in March, it gives us another month to fully prepare for the first rounds of both the Turismo-X Racing Championship and the 750MC Club Enduro Championship, which we are competing for the whole season. All the details and dates for those series can be found on the Darkside Motorsport Page.
A layout of Silverstone is below. We get
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24 03 2022
Brands Hatch Indy - MSV SuperCup - 12th September
The next round of the SuperCup, took us all the way down South to Brands Hatch, on the short Indy Circuit.
With a busy schedule outside of racing, we were not able to do any testing before the race, which wouldn't have been much of a problem had we not being having the usual Golf nightmares!
The DSG box started causing issues on Wednesday night, sticking in gears. We figured it was a wiring or solenoid issue, both of which we had lost interest in trying to diagnose after countless hours trying
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16 09 2020
Silverstone GP - MSV SuperCup and Focus Cup - 15th-16th August
With only one week between our MSV Trackday Championship and EnduroKA success at Oulton Park (which you can read about here) and the next round of the SuperCup, we needed to get the car ready quickly, especially after we found a few niggles that we know would haunt us if we didn't get them sorted.
As the circuit is so big (and expensive to rent for over an hour), MSV decided to combine the SuperCup Grid with that of the TDC and Trackday Trophy. This meant we had a grid of over 50 cars, so it
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25 08 2020
BREXIT - What will it mean for my Darkside Order
The United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum, or the Brexit referendum, took place on 23 June 2016 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar to ask the electorate whether the country should remain a member of, or leave, the European Union (EU). 51.9% of the votes cast were in favour of leaving the EU.
Since then, there has been an extreme amount of chaos and confusion both in the UK, and the rest of the world about what that will mean for
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30 01 2020
750MC Birket Relay - Silverstone GP - 26th October 2019
Something a little different to what we normally do race wise, we decided early on in the year to enter the 750 Motor Club Birkett 6 Hour Relay Race which takes place every year at the end of October on the Silverstone GP Circuit.Instead of a straight race or normal endurance format, the relay element is for the driver AND car. Basically, a car and driver goes out, does their stint (which can be anything from 1 lap up to 3hrs of driving), and when they come back in the pits, a second car and d
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01 11 2019
V6 TDI CUSTOM EXHAUST! - AUDI A5 3.0 TDI QUATTRO PROJECT
Part 5 of our A5 BuildWe are now on to the Exhaust System. This is a common modification our customers do, both from a performance, aesthetic and acoustic perspective.A quick look at the stock exhaust, it is 65mm (~2.5") to 55mm (~2.15") and has 2 small boxes right at the back, but is still pretty quiet as the DPF is also a large silencer. It also has twin 3" Rolled Slash Cut Tips as standard. The standard grade of stainless is very poor and we see a lot of cars with rusty ex
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26 01 2019