Peugeot 306 Gti6 Track Day Project
Discussion
Spent some time getting the car ready for Silverstone next week - she's been washed/polished, oil changed, along with a new set of Bilsteins being fitted, and a faster steering rack from a xsara vts.
It is finally coming together, with the engine really the only part left to have a refresh after the track day next week assuming it survives!
I think she cleans up pretty well for a well used 18 year old French hatchback with 162k!
It is finally coming together, with the engine really the only part left to have a refresh after the track day next week assuming it survives!
I think she cleans up pretty well for a well used 18 year old French hatchback with 162k!
So Monday was Silverstone GP day - in short, if you get a chance, just go - what an experience, what a track!
I'm pleased to report all of the bits I added/refreshed (new vts rack & bilstein's etc) were well worth the money, despite being a very wide, long F1 circuit the Pug was utterly brilliant. The agility and ability to put its power down just never ceases to amaze, running rings around the non-race cars in the twisties...
So it was another early start, checking in at 8am for the Newbies briefing, which was truthfully pretty intimidating given that the car park and brief were full of amazing machinery with full on back up teams, trailers etc etc
Nice drive down the M40 with no sound deadening was a joy lol
The sense of occasion and sheer scale of Silverstone when you are down in the pits is something else, and with my own garage area it really was a bloody impressive setup......AND it was only bloody sunny ALL DAY....in Feb! Happy days...
Some nice machinery in the next garage...
Lining up amongst some very tasty kit!
The first few sessions both in the morning and after lunch were predictably terrifying, with loads of cars on track, but it soon cleared after a good 20 min window.
Had some great fun chasing/playing and i'm pleased to report overtaking Clio's....(although a couple of more sorted race one's did leave me for dust...)
The eagle eyed may also notice the cloud of smoke in the above pic from the morning...it transpired I over filled the oil on Sunday and after a good old slide avoiding a static radical, it promptly smoked its t*ts off for about 5 laps - after that we were all good (thank god)
So the good pics...
Tripod!!!
Believe it or not, this is 100mph in 4th...
As you can see, the weather was amazing, dry all day, however that did take its toll on my tyres, particularly where 2 of the corners off the straights are taken at 90 in 4th...
In the morning they got very hot...
At 3pm the front left threw in the towel after 3 track days...
And finally, a nice 17min youtube vid to demonstrate how the lowly 170bhp gti6 can hang on to Stage 3 Focus ST's and Hybrid turbo'd 300+ bhp Astra Coupe Turbo's!
https://youtu.be/bYSQveHD0y8
All in all an amazing day, the car was fantastic, although I really do want a cage and bodies to finish it off nicely. If you still havent taken your '6 out on track, do it - its bloody brilliant
Cheers
Chris
I'm pleased to report all of the bits I added/refreshed (new vts rack & bilstein's etc) were well worth the money, despite being a very wide, long F1 circuit the Pug was utterly brilliant. The agility and ability to put its power down just never ceases to amaze, running rings around the non-race cars in the twisties...
So it was another early start, checking in at 8am for the Newbies briefing, which was truthfully pretty intimidating given that the car park and brief were full of amazing machinery with full on back up teams, trailers etc etc
Nice drive down the M40 with no sound deadening was a joy lol
The sense of occasion and sheer scale of Silverstone when you are down in the pits is something else, and with my own garage area it really was a bloody impressive setup......AND it was only bloody sunny ALL DAY....in Feb! Happy days...
Some nice machinery in the next garage...
Lining up amongst some very tasty kit!
The first few sessions both in the morning and after lunch were predictably terrifying, with loads of cars on track, but it soon cleared after a good 20 min window.
Had some great fun chasing/playing and i'm pleased to report overtaking Clio's....(although a couple of more sorted race one's did leave me for dust...)
The eagle eyed may also notice the cloud of smoke in the above pic from the morning...it transpired I over filled the oil on Sunday and after a good old slide avoiding a static radical, it promptly smoked its t*ts off for about 5 laps - after that we were all good (thank god)
So the good pics...
Tripod!!!
Believe it or not, this is 100mph in 4th...
As you can see, the weather was amazing, dry all day, however that did take its toll on my tyres, particularly where 2 of the corners off the straights are taken at 90 in 4th...
In the morning they got very hot...
At 3pm the front left threw in the towel after 3 track days...
And finally, a nice 17min youtube vid to demonstrate how the lowly 170bhp gti6 can hang on to Stage 3 Focus ST's and Hybrid turbo'd 300+ bhp Astra Coupe Turbo's!
https://youtu.be/bYSQveHD0y8
All in all an amazing day, the car was fantastic, although I really do want a cage and bodies to finish it off nicely. If you still havent taken your '6 out on track, do it - its bloody brilliant
Cheers
Chris
Always had a soft spot for the GTi-6 and Rallyes, it's a shame most of them are dogs now, I wouldn't mind buying one but there's nothing decent available as far as I can see!
Quite a few have been supercharged in the past, but you'd really have to love it to drop a few grand on doing it properly! It would suit the cars character brilliantly though.
Quite a few have been supercharged in the past, but you'd really have to love it to drop a few grand on doing it properly! It would suit the cars character brilliantly though.
DanGPR said:
Always had a soft spot for the GTi-6 and Rallyes, it's a shame most of them are dogs now, I wouldn't mind buying one but there's nothing decent available as far as I can see!
Quite a few have been supercharged in the past, but you'd really have to love it to drop a few grand on doing it properly! It would suit the cars character brilliantly though.
Totally agree but I think I'll go the throttle bodies route. I do absolutely love it and will for sure drop 1000's into it over the next few years, but I never plan to sell It, and it's relatively cheap to work on and very much what I want from a track car (light, agile, etc) Quite a few have been supercharged in the past, but you'd really have to love it to drop a few grand on doing it properly! It would suit the cars character brilliantly though.
I'm sure I could buy a
Megane cup or something that would be faster but building/honing the car is half of the fun for me frankly!
problemchild1976 said:
great to see what can be done with some smooth driving and good lines vs some big power and dubious ability 
some of the lines from that astra were v interesting
JJ
Haha thanks!some of the lines from that astra were v interesting
JJ
I found the chicane and right handed on to the new straight pretty hard to link together but that's part of the fun, continually improving throughout the day.
I now need to work out what tyres to go for this time round, I'm tempted to upgrade to Dunlop Direzza's but I gather they are very expensive
problemchild1976 said:
great to see what can be done with some smooth driving and good lines vs some big power and dubious ability
some of the lines from that astra were v interesting
JJ
Haha thanks!some of the lines from that astra were v interesting
JJ
I found the chicane and right handed on to the new straight pretty hard to link together but that's part of the fun, continually improving throughout the day.
I now need to work out what tyres to go for this time round, I'm tempted to upgrade to Dunlop Direzza's but I gather they are very expensive
Update time!
So it has been a long time coming, but lots of improvements, and i'm relieved to say the car is better than ever....
First up:
Needed a new clutch, so along with the new clutch cable its now all new, and the feel, progressiveness of the pedal etc is massively improved, and whilst in there we fitted a new RichW flywheel! (WHAT an impact that has had, engine now revs so much more freely, and coupled with the Satcshift the gear changes now are lightening fast and loose little rpm...) - You can see in vids below
Next up:
Removed all remaining air con pipes AND replaced the power steering pipework we had done with the fitment of the VTS rack....Still not great sadly, getting a horrible feedback when wheel is anything other than straight ahead, i'm guessing it could be the rack now as we've tried/changed everything bar the pump (which was fine before....)
The cambelt....
Well this turned out to be a barrel of laughs...it had only done 8k miles but in 6 yrs so thought it wise to change given its age...as some of you may have read, had a bit of a mishap when the car was accidentally started it half way through the change (with no belt on....)
This lead to a full head rebuild, which has transformed the car, it is now smooth, quiet and pulls harder than ever - so very pleased in the end....
The mechanic used all OEM parts and cleaned up the engine bay, so it is now genuinely like new and so much better than it has been in my ownership
The brakes!
So i am running Billet 300 HiSpec brakes with Tarox G88 discs, previously with DS2500's. After Silverstone in Feb these really glazed over (despite having a good 4mm depth left
) so these were replaced by DS3000's - Utterly amazing is all i can say, you can see in the videos I ate everything up on the brakes, including cars with much bigger setups than me - cannot recommend this combo enough!
Steering wheel...
I couldn't resist, i've never liked the 2 spoke OMP rally wheel so upgraded to a smaller, Corsica wheel - its bloody lovely
So she rolled out of the garage, fully rebuilt the Friday before the trackday on the 19th of Sept @ Bedford Autodrome
I'm massively relieved to say the engine and all of the works completed were utterly brilliant and didnt complain once, despite being thrashed mercilessly all day....that said I did run wide onto the kerbs in the morning which appears to have broken the front left driveshaft/diff and requires further investigation (hence the horrible noises and slightly reduced pace through right handers on the videos below)
The new AD08R's also stood up very well in dry and damp conditions, and certainly have every bit as much grip as the RSR's before them, along with better turn in.
I cannot recommend getting out on track days enough, particularly with decent tyres, brakes and a light(ish) car, it is utterly brilliant and massively rewarding.
Here is the Pug keeping up with new Aston Martins and 300 bhp Stage 3 ST's, Cupra R's with Cages and MASSIVE brakes, and Stage 2 Mk5 GTi's - punching well above its weight...
Aston: https://youtu.be/OfSfzfsomSM
ST: https://youtu.be/i6J50C08ZJ8
Golf GTI: https://youtu.be/oaR9YUXsTc4
Cupra R: https://youtu.be/j1x89sFFjPw
Now its time to sort the cage/shell and bodies - its as ever, the straights that prove frustrating...
So it has been a long time coming, but lots of improvements, and i'm relieved to say the car is better than ever....
First up:
Needed a new clutch, so along with the new clutch cable its now all new, and the feel, progressiveness of the pedal etc is massively improved, and whilst in there we fitted a new RichW flywheel! (WHAT an impact that has had, engine now revs so much more freely, and coupled with the Satcshift the gear changes now are lightening fast and loose little rpm...) - You can see in vids below
Next up:
Removed all remaining air con pipes AND replaced the power steering pipework we had done with the fitment of the VTS rack....Still not great sadly, getting a horrible feedback when wheel is anything other than straight ahead, i'm guessing it could be the rack now as we've tried/changed everything bar the pump (which was fine before....)
The cambelt....
Well this turned out to be a barrel of laughs...it had only done 8k miles but in 6 yrs so thought it wise to change given its age...as some of you may have read, had a bit of a mishap when the car was accidentally started it half way through the change (with no belt on....)
This lead to a full head rebuild, which has transformed the car, it is now smooth, quiet and pulls harder than ever - so very pleased in the end....
The mechanic used all OEM parts and cleaned up the engine bay, so it is now genuinely like new and so much better than it has been in my ownership
The brakes!
So i am running Billet 300 HiSpec brakes with Tarox G88 discs, previously with DS2500's. After Silverstone in Feb these really glazed over (despite having a good 4mm depth left
) so these were replaced by DS3000's - Utterly amazing is all i can say, you can see in the videos I ate everything up on the brakes, including cars with much bigger setups than me - cannot recommend this combo enough!
Steering wheel...
I couldn't resist, i've never liked the 2 spoke OMP rally wheel so upgraded to a smaller, Corsica wheel - its bloody lovely
So she rolled out of the garage, fully rebuilt the Friday before the trackday on the 19th of Sept @ Bedford Autodrome
I'm massively relieved to say the engine and all of the works completed were utterly brilliant and didnt complain once, despite being thrashed mercilessly all day....that said I did run wide onto the kerbs in the morning which appears to have broken the front left driveshaft/diff and requires further investigation (hence the horrible noises and slightly reduced pace through right handers on the videos below)
The new AD08R's also stood up very well in dry and damp conditions, and certainly have every bit as much grip as the RSR's before them, along with better turn in.
I cannot recommend getting out on track days enough, particularly with decent tyres, brakes and a light(ish) car, it is utterly brilliant and massively rewarding.
Here is the Pug keeping up with new Aston Martins and 300 bhp Stage 3 ST's, Cupra R's with Cages and MASSIVE brakes, and Stage 2 Mk5 GTi's - punching well above its weight...
Aston: https://youtu.be/OfSfzfsomSM
ST: https://youtu.be/i6J50C08ZJ8
Golf GTI: https://youtu.be/oaR9YUXsTc4
Cupra R: https://youtu.be/j1x89sFFjPw
Now its time to sort the cage/shell and bodies - its as ever, the straights that prove frustrating...
May I ask how you "accidentally" start a car half way through a timing belt job? Sounded expensive!
I have so much love for the GTI-6. Couldn't afford one in my younger days, so I wound up with a 406 which I was planning on doing a J4RS swap in to. Never got around to it - that induction note is like no other!
I have so much love for the GTI-6. Couldn't afford one in my younger days, so I wound up with a 406 which I was planning on doing a J4RS swap in to. Never got around to it - that induction note is like no other!
Rensko said:
May I ask how you "accidentally" start a car half way through a timing belt job? Sounded expensive!
I have so much love for the GTI-6. Couldn't afford one in my younger days, so I wound up with a 406 which I was planning on doing a J4RS swap in to. Never got around to it - that induction note is like no other!
Very innocently, he's a good mate who was going around other jobs and it got rolled out one day half way through and unfortunately instinctively started it when he jumped in to put it back on the rampI have so much love for the GTI-6. Couldn't afford one in my younger days, so I wound up with a 406 which I was planning on doing a J4RS swap in to. Never got around to it - that induction note is like no other!
The car is better than ever and the quality of his work second to none so im all good with it, the new head and fly together have made an incredible difference
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff