The unlikely sprint car - Leon Cupra R
Discussion
How does a Seat Leon Cupra R from the noughties sound as a sprint and hill climb car? Youre right it probably is a terrible choice and I'd be better off in a Clio 172 or Type R. For whatever reason I like the sporty Seats and I couldn't be talked out of it. I convinced myself it's cheaper, will be better dealing with daily child vomiting duties and dump runs when it's not competing with that glorious flabby mk4 golf chassis.
For me my journey with the car and dabbling in grass roots motorsport all kicked off in 2020 so I've got a few posts to take us up to date. I'll leave this as a thread opener on the day I collected the car.
For me my journey with the car and dabbling in grass roots motorsport all kicked off in 2020 so I've got a few posts to take us up to date. I'll leave this as a thread opener on the day I collected the car.
Always loved these! Really fancy a tidy, standardish red one as a nice all round daily.
I'll never forget my Dad turning up home from work in a yellow one as his new company car, I would've been 10 or 11 at the time and I was rather excited
Turned out it was an FR with the PD150 diesel but because it was a last of the line 55 plate, it came from the factory with the Cupra R kit and wheels.
Will be following this one!
I'll never forget my Dad turning up home from work in a yellow one as his new company car, I would've been 10 or 11 at the time and I was rather excited
Turned out it was an FR with the PD150 diesel but because it was a last of the line 55 plate, it came from the factory with the Cupra R kit and wheels.Will be following this one!
One of the chaps I worked with at my first proper job had one as a company car. We were all insured on company cars and got to borrow them for business use.
I was quite fond of borrowing his Cupra. It was a bit of a dog (it’d had a hard life but it was pretty brisk and drove well enough. Felt like a rocket ship compared to my 1.4 Clio.
I was quite fond of borrowing his Cupra. It was a bit of a dog (it’d had a hard life but it was pretty brisk and drove well enough. Felt like a rocket ship compared to my 1.4 Clio.
vx220 said:
I've recently been looking at these as a replacement for a mkiv gti. Am I right in saying these have the same front hubs as the TT to correct the roll centre?
As said above, I've always liked the shape, although I can't help but feel they put the tail lights on upside down!
Yes they are basically a 2wd TT with the benefits of cast lower arms, better geometry ball joints and hubs, thicker anti roll bars mounted to the dampers, quicker steering rack and stiffer top mounts. So it distanced itself slightly from the Golf GTi of the time but its not like the TT was the handling pinnacle eitherAs said above, I've always liked the shape, although I can't help but feel they put the tail lights on upside down!
Cupramax said:
Very nice I was keen to get a red or yellow leon and looked at one locally that looked superb in the autotrader pictures but was covered in lacquer peel acne. Even a decade back the yellow ones were having the odd paint issues and there literally aren't any survivors left that don't need a respray which is a real shame as grey isn't exactly the exciting colour choice.This is the 3rd mk1 Leon I've had now and 2nd Cupra R. I don't know what it is but I keep coming back to them and I've inadvertently become one of those one marque model lovers. This one popped up locally on FB market place, my most loathed car buying site but I get these cars are in that cheap potentially chav car bracket and it's where most are for sale. At least this one had an advertisement i could interpret. The car is a 2005 platinum grey metallic Leon Cupra R 225. It was on 60k and had only 2 previous owners with almost all the history from new so I did have to organise a viewing sharpish to save missing out which meant I made the cardinal sin viewing the car in the rain the next day. Overall its in great mechanical shape and drove solidly. I wouldnt say its rough but a little neglected inside and out mostly needing a proper clean. Its near standard and the 1.8 20v turbo lump has had a piper cross panel filter added with forge 007p recirculating dump valve and a stage 1 remap to 260bhp/280lbft. When i got the car home in the dry the first niggles started to appear. It has a bit of rust bubbling on the roof, the odd minor ding and has potentially had some work on 1 door with some flat paint that might polish up. Something to sort but not the end of the world. The more annoying niggle was it only has 1 key which I still need to sort over a year later. I've not lost a key to date but it's always at the back of my kind incase this one breaks or my young daughter hides it.
For anyone interested in what differentiates a Cupra R from the other models here is a run down;
BAM 1.8T 20v 225 engine which has the K04 turbo charger, twin side mount intercoolers and a few other benefits over golf engined 1.8ts
The front end setup is basically a 2wd TT with cast lower arms, quick steering rack, uprated hubs, anti roll bars and suspension.
18 inch 5 twin spoke wheels with full size matching spare. I want to say these are 8j but might be 7.5j
Brakes are 323mm vented discs with brembo 4 pots, rears are 256mm discs
Oval tipped Seat Sport exhaust
Cupra R body styling which is bigger bumpers, side skirts and rear spoiler and the infamous cupra r chin spoiler.
Inside everything is black including the headlining
Gear gaiter, steering wheel and handbrake are black leather with red stitching and the seats are the Seat Sport cloth seats with R logo and red stitching.
There weren't many options at the time other than double din Nav and the lovely R recaro seats with sculpted 2 seat rear bench with armrest. Something I wouldn't mind getting my hands on.
My car arrived with a few niggles and initial maintenance i've sorted out included;
Rear door lock module wasn't working a standard mk4 golf platform issue but I've changed about 8 of them so not a problem.
Window washer line on the front had perished under the scuttle which only needed a bit of silicone hose to resolve.
Cambelt, tensioners and waterpump were over 5 years old but not too bad on mileage. I bit the bullet and had these replaced with fresh coolant for peace of mind. A whopping £460 bill I should have negotiated harder on at purchase in hind sight.
Its also had a few cosmetic bits including a mini detail to get rid of the human slime in the car. I thought the indicator stalks had been worn through as I could see this horrible exposed brown layer. Disgustingly this scraped off with some interior detailer and elbow grease
I couldn't help myself but order a R dead pedal cover for my left foot to cover the black plastic.
New mats tidied up the interior and boot. This is how crazy things have become in noughtiea VAG world where i almost threw the tatty chequered flag OEM floor mats out when a mate said put them on Facebook and they sold for £60, the world has gone mad!
Photos aren't quite in the right order but hopefully you can piece this together from wet collection day, some of the grime on the car and once its been tidied up a bit.
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/9c71sLiL[/url]
For anyone interested in what differentiates a Cupra R from the other models here is a run down;
BAM 1.8T 20v 225 engine which has the K04 turbo charger, twin side mount intercoolers and a few other benefits over golf engined 1.8ts
The front end setup is basically a 2wd TT with cast lower arms, quick steering rack, uprated hubs, anti roll bars and suspension.
18 inch 5 twin spoke wheels with full size matching spare. I want to say these are 8j but might be 7.5j
Brakes are 323mm vented discs with brembo 4 pots, rears are 256mm discs
Oval tipped Seat Sport exhaust
Cupra R body styling which is bigger bumpers, side skirts and rear spoiler and the infamous cupra r chin spoiler.
Inside everything is black including the headlining
Gear gaiter, steering wheel and handbrake are black leather with red stitching and the seats are the Seat Sport cloth seats with R logo and red stitching.
There weren't many options at the time other than double din Nav and the lovely R recaro seats with sculpted 2 seat rear bench with armrest. Something I wouldn't mind getting my hands on.
My car arrived with a few niggles and initial maintenance i've sorted out included;
Rear door lock module wasn't working a standard mk4 golf platform issue but I've changed about 8 of them so not a problem.
Window washer line on the front had perished under the scuttle which only needed a bit of silicone hose to resolve.
Cambelt, tensioners and waterpump were over 5 years old but not too bad on mileage. I bit the bullet and had these replaced with fresh coolant for peace of mind. A whopping £460 bill I should have negotiated harder on at purchase in hind sight.
Its also had a few cosmetic bits including a mini detail to get rid of the human slime in the car. I thought the indicator stalks had been worn through as I could see this horrible exposed brown layer. Disgustingly this scraped off with some interior detailer and elbow grease
I couldn't help myself but order a R dead pedal cover for my left foot to cover the black plastic.
New mats tidied up the interior and boot. This is how crazy things have become in noughtiea VAG world where i almost threw the tatty chequered flag OEM floor mats out when a mate said put them on Facebook and they sold for £60, the world has gone mad!
Photos aren't quite in the right order but hopefully you can piece this together from wet collection day, some of the grime on the car and once its been tidied up a bit.
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/9c71sLiL[/url]
Radec said:
Always liked the look of these compared to other hatches that were available around that time.
Shame we never got the 4wd version here although I think it had the VR6 engine so may be nose heavy, I think I remember hearing about a supercharged version as well in Europe.
They didn’t really need 4wd, don’t know whether it was the suspension changes but even when remapped it put the power down remarkably well and felt light and nimble handling wise compared to a mk4 Golf.Shame we never got the 4wd version here although I think it had the VR6 engine so may be nose heavy, I think I remember hearing about a supercharged version as well in Europe.
Going back to last year what a year it was to take the plunge into motorsport with coronavirus just round the corner as we entered 2020. I had all the gear, no idea and a pandemic jeopardising every event of the year. This post is going to be a bit of a long one about getting into Sprinting and Hillclimbing that might be useful for others as licences, regulations, entries and events are a minefield.
Car Eligibility
From my perspective there are two types of car you can enter in events. Firstly Standard/Road class then basically Modified/Race cars with bucket seats, stripped interiors, modified engines, plumbed im fire extinguishers and cut offs etc as well as formula type cars. Road class was clearly for me to dip my toe in with a MOT'd road worthy car as well as not spending £5-10k. There are no drastic race car modifications so interior needs to remain, standard engine block has to be fitted and the basic silhouette intact so no drastic aero. Most bolt on mods seem OK unless standard class which is limited to less than 1600cc with nothing more than tyres and brake pads.
Turbos get a 1.4 engine multiplier so my 1800cc leon moves upto 2600cc and into the unlimited over 2300cc class. In its day a car that compared to a Civic Typre R on the road is a categorised as a class above and as you'll see from my competition later on it takes it well out of its depth.
Licence and other fees
Licence/membership - RS interclub licence £69 (used to be called a national B)
Local club membership and ideally one that gets invited to events you want to enter. I joined Sevenoaks District motorsport club for £25
Championship entry (optional and usually free or a small fee) I entered Sevenoaks own insite graphics speed league in 2020 and should have also entered ASEMC.
Competitor safety requirements
FIA race suit (£300) - Alpinestars is a great fit for the gentleman carrying a bit of lockdown weight!
FIA race gloves (£75)
Snell 2020 helmet - Bell sport 5 helmet (£400)
My local race shop were so unhelpful in trying to checkout the gear I turned to Demontweeks who were brilliant and hugely knowledgeable even offering a small discount as I bought it all in one go from them as well as some other bits
Scrutineering requirements
In road class to compete I could essentially take the Cupra R as it stands with only the following to meet the regulations;
Proof of valid MOT with insurance
Ignition sticker by the key fob
Tow hooks fitted with stickers to direct marshal's where they are in an accident
Timing strut - a matt black piece of metal or plastic to break the timing beam at the start and end of the course.
Entrant number stickers on the car
Battery wire wrapped in yellow insulation tape
MSA list tyres 1A or 1B like michelin pilot sports or track focused stuff like nankang AR1's
Car Eligibility
From my perspective there are two types of car you can enter in events. Firstly Standard/Road class then basically Modified/Race cars with bucket seats, stripped interiors, modified engines, plumbed im fire extinguishers and cut offs etc as well as formula type cars. Road class was clearly for me to dip my toe in with a MOT'd road worthy car as well as not spending £5-10k. There are no drastic race car modifications so interior needs to remain, standard engine block has to be fitted and the basic silhouette intact so no drastic aero. Most bolt on mods seem OK unless standard class which is limited to less than 1600cc with nothing more than tyres and brake pads.
Turbos get a 1.4 engine multiplier so my 1800cc leon moves upto 2600cc and into the unlimited over 2300cc class. In its day a car that compared to a Civic Typre R on the road is a categorised as a class above and as you'll see from my competition later on it takes it well out of its depth.
Licence and other fees
Licence/membership - RS interclub licence £69 (used to be called a national B)
Local club membership and ideally one that gets invited to events you want to enter. I joined Sevenoaks District motorsport club for £25
Championship entry (optional and usually free or a small fee) I entered Sevenoaks own insite graphics speed league in 2020 and should have also entered ASEMC.
Competitor safety requirements
FIA race suit (£300) - Alpinestars is a great fit for the gentleman carrying a bit of lockdown weight!
FIA race gloves (£75)
Snell 2020 helmet - Bell sport 5 helmet (£400)
My local race shop were so unhelpful in trying to checkout the gear I turned to Demontweeks who were brilliant and hugely knowledgeable even offering a small discount as I bought it all in one go from them as well as some other bits
Scrutineering requirements
In road class to compete I could essentially take the Cupra R as it stands with only the following to meet the regulations;
Proof of valid MOT with insurance
Ignition sticker by the key fob
Tow hooks fitted with stickers to direct marshal's where they are in an accident
Timing strut - a matt black piece of metal or plastic to break the timing beam at the start and end of the course.
Entrant number stickers on the car
Battery wire wrapped in yellow insulation tape
MSA list tyres 1A or 1B like michelin pilot sports or track focused stuff like nankang AR1's
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