Lupo GTI

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claytonjones

Original Poster:

235 posts

151 months

Monday 6th February 2023
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deedub87 said:
This thread is fantastic, an inspiration to all us GTI owners!
I have been trying to fill the engine mount as you did - did you simply cut off the rubber round bit at the bottom and drain it or was more surgery required?
Mine seems to be full of black stuff and the oil doesn't really drain out. It seems there is another rubber diaphragm behind that sieve-like metal thing that you can see in your picture of the filled mount, but I can't get to it to cut it and release the oil.
Thanks mate!

Yeah so you have to cut the bottom piece of rubber off then what I done what got a drill with a small bit and drilled out the rubber piece behind. Basically just keep going at it until you get it all out. You’ll want to let it drain and dry over night before filling with resin!

Despicable

45 posts

188 months

Monday 6th February 2023
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Very cool thread, read the whole thing and really impressed with the build. Nice one!

deedub87

2 posts

15 months

Tuesday 7th February 2023
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claytonjones said:
Yeah so you have to cut the bottom piece of rubber off then what I done what got a drill with a small bit and drilled out the rubber piece behind. Basically just keep going at it until you get it all out. You’ll want to let it drain and dry over night before filling with resin!
Legend, thanks! I'll give that a go.

chazwozza

732 posts

187 months

Wednesday 22nd February 2023
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Such an awesome little car, loved these when new and the CS vibe suits it so much better than 'scene' or 'stance'!!

Nice one

Chaz

claytonjones

Original Poster:

235 posts

151 months

Sunday 5th March 2023
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Update time!

I bought some Project Silver adjustable top mounts as I wanted to try gain some more castor as these only come with 1.4 degrees from factory. So I got to work on removing the KW’s, got one side complete no problem, started on the drivers side to notice the shock had failed, It had lost all its pressure. I was a little disappointed seeing as they aren’t much older than two years, I know they have had some hard track use but my old much cheaper BC’s lasted 4 years. Anyway, I got in contact with Cornering Force about rebuilding them, got that booked in and sent off being told the turnaround time is 10 working days. 12 working days went by without hearing anything, tried to contact them via email and phone, nothing. 4 weeks went by, still no answer. On the 5th week I eventually got a call saying they have been stripped down and they have found some anomalies, they said they have been put together wrong from factory which was surprising. Any how, they are back now in better than the new condition and back on the car with the top mounts. First impression was the KW’s instantly felt better even with the solid top mounts.

Since having it back on the road I’ve just been out enjoying it on the weekends and a trackday at Snetterton.

I removed a spark plug a few days ago to check which ones they were to order a new set to notice something very strange, one of the electrodes pretty much gone. The only thing I can think of is how this is has happened was at the Nürburgring last August. I had a misfire and noticed one of the HT leads has popped up, so I checked the spark plug to find it slightly lose, tightened it back up and the car has been perfect ever since. Fresh plugs in it and it’s running lovely, no idea where that electrode went!

Gave the car an oil change yesterday with some Fuchs Titan Race Pro after hearing good things about it smile







claytonjones

Original Poster:

235 posts

151 months

Saturday 25th March 2023
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Update time!

Since having the suspension back on the car, I done quite a few miles just enjoying it. Until I was out taking a few photos, I left the car idling and I suddenly noticed a hydraulic lifter suddenly got very loud! So I got the car home and parked it up annoyed with it knowing it was going to have to come apart. I got some new lifters and rockers arms ordered, got the car over to my good friends the following weekend (he is a Lupo GTI wizard). Upon strip down it was very obvious which lifter had failed. I’ll leave a video below. All 16 new lifters and rocker arms installed, back up and running in a morning and my god it’s like a different engine it’s so quiet now! My suspicion is it’s been failing for a while getting louder and louder over time.

https://youtube.com/shorts/mWgVQIxe4bI?feature=sha...




Another little detail on the car that’s annoyed me for a while is the OMP steering wheel has a Yellow horn button and Yellow engraved OMP logo below, both Yellows are completely different shades. So I painted the engraved one Black for a subtle look, well pleased with it!



The next upgrade is a new version of the airbox system I run from Sprogley Motorsport. Completely 3D printed with a revised filter setup inside. It’s hard to tell if there is any differences on the road but it certainly looks a lot better!





I’ve also had a redecorate of my garage and a reorganise, pleased with how it turned out!







paulnb

9 posts

25 months

Tuesday 18th April 2023
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Congrats for the feature in Speedhunters!
Amazing car, much deserved!

Court_S

13,019 posts

178 months

Tuesday 18th April 2023
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This looked and sounded very naughty at Prescott a few weeks ago. Such a cool wee thing.

Danm1les

785 posts

141 months

Wednesday 19th April 2023
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Awesome car and very tidy functional looking garage!

dxg

8,235 posts

261 months

Wednesday 19th April 2023
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Can I ask what tyre size you're running?

I'm really interested to know as I can't find even Proxies in the correct 205/45 size at the moment...

I've zoomed into the pictures, but can't quite see... On one of the pictures, it reads as "something"/50 - is that 195?

Cheers!

Filibuster

3,165 posts

216 months

Wednesday 19th April 2023
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dxg said:
Can I ask what tyre size you're running?

I'm really interested to know as I can't find even Proxies in the correct 205/45 size at the moment...

I've zoomed into the pictures, but can't quite see... On one of the pictures, it reads as "something"/50 - is that 195?

Cheers!
This is a pic a few pages back wink 195/50 R15


dxg

8,235 posts

261 months

Wednesday 19th April 2023
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Thanks - useful to see the side profile...

claytonjones

Original Poster:

235 posts

151 months

Friday 28th April 2023
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dxg said:
Thanks - useful to see the side profile...
Sorry for the late reply, yeah 195/50/15 is quite a common size which makes finding tyres much easier!

claytonjones

Original Poster:

235 posts

151 months

Friday 28th April 2023
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paulnb said:
Congrats for the feature in Speedhunters!
Amazing car, much deserved!
Thankyou, was chuffed with that!

claytonjones

Original Poster:

235 posts

151 months

Friday 28th April 2023
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Court_S said:
This looked and sounded very naughty at Prescott a few weeks ago. Such a cool wee thing.
Thanks mate! I’ve completely forgot to check this since Prescott so sorry for the late reply!

claytonjones

Original Poster:

235 posts

151 months

Friday 28th April 2023
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Couple of nice little upgrades recently that have made a big difference! The first one is something I’ve wanted to sort for quite some time but never found a solution but after the Prescott hill climb with the tight hairpins I was determined to try find a solution. So with these cars on a 195/50/15 tyre, because they have very little castor from the factory, the tyre catches the rear of the wheel arch on 3/4 lock or more. I found out that the MK4 R32 shares the same front rear wishbone bush as the Lupo GTI, which Whiteline makes a castor bush kit for. So I ordered that up hoping it could be a solution, I removed my wishbones and which already had a Powerflex bush fitted to, rather than removing that and having to press the new Whiteline one in, I used the eccentric centre in the Powerflex bush which worked a treat. Got it all fitted back on to the car and instantly noticed the wheel was 15-20mm forward which has sorted out the issue I was having! Then went and had the alignment checked, I now have around 3.2° castor over the factory 1.5°!







The next upgrade is a Polyurethane gearbox mount to match the already upgraded engine side. I’ve been waiting for someone to make this for a long time now and a good friend in Germany has provided the goods. The factory bush is 50 shore vs this is 80 shore so a good chunk stiffer. I was worried at first that it may be a bit to harsh but it wasn’t! There is obviously a bit more vibrations on idle but I can live with that for the extra benefits it gives. Gear changes are sooo much crisper and on/off throttle accelerations feels crisper with no engine swing.



Dr.Hellno

112 posts

16 months

Friday 28th April 2023
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Props Clayton, you’re always coming up with quality and functional mods; rated this car for donkeys!

Those single pcd DTCs are too nice, i’d do unspeakable acts for a 8j set.


claytonjones

Original Poster:

235 posts

151 months

Monday 1st May 2023
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Dr.Hellno said:
Props Clayton, you’re always coming up with quality and functional mods; rated this car for donkeys!

Those single pcd DTCs are too nice, i’d do unspeakable acts for a 8j set.
Thankyou! There isn’t a massive amount of aftermarket support for these so got to do the research!

Yeah they are beautiful aren’t they! Hahaha I was getting to that point then these popped up for sale

claytonjones

Original Poster:

235 posts

151 months

Monday 1st May 2023
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Another nice find using a part from another car, Powerflex don’t make the small bush for the dog bone mount for some reason but I found out that a Series 1 Lotus Exige shares the same bush, so got that ordered and fitted up. The standard one was 20 years old so it had gone quite soft.




claytonjones

Original Poster:

235 posts

151 months

Sunday 25th June 2023
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No major upgrades to the car of recent, just been enjoying it racking up plenty of miles.

Me and the missus done a Wales road trip a few weeks ago, started down south and ended up at Anglesey for a trackday! What an incredible weekend and both cars were perfect!







Since that I attended the Players Classic show and I was lucky enough to get on to track at the historic Goodwood circuit, that was an experience I’ll never forget. Certainly not a great track for the Lupo as it’s a power track but still had a great time none the less.







I’ve also had the genuine Lupo Cup OZ’s refurbed and the ATS DTC to freshen them up. The ATS’s are my favourite for sure but I had the OZ’s on for a short time and also loved the look of the car, looks like my version on the Cup cars. I think I’ll use those over winter and save the ATS for summer.