Bought a Mk3 VW Golf GTi 16v - now for some trackdays - help
Discussion
Hi there,
Me any my business partner fancy taking part in a few races in something like the Toyo Tires Racing Saloon championship next year. We have just spent a few quid on a 1996 P reg VW Golf GTi 16v and are planning on heading out in November and December to do a few track days.
The car is completely standard at the moment, but we will probably spend a few quid putting in some decent seats with harnesses and upgrading the brakes. We are trailering the car to the tracks so theres no need for it to be road legal.
Our nearest circuit is Oulton Park (our offices are in Stoke on Trent) and they have a couple of days coming up. Is it alright to book for one of these days, or would we need to do a 'novice' day first ?
Neither of us have driven on track before and don't want show ourselves up by getting completely in the way of the more experienced drivers.
Any help or advice would be much appreciated.
Also any of you Golf owners are there any quick and easy mods which will make a noticeable difference on track ?
Regards
Tim
Me any my business partner fancy taking part in a few races in something like the Toyo Tires Racing Saloon championship next year. We have just spent a few quid on a 1996 P reg VW Golf GTi 16v and are planning on heading out in November and December to do a few track days.
The car is completely standard at the moment, but we will probably spend a few quid putting in some decent seats with harnesses and upgrading the brakes. We are trailering the car to the tracks so theres no need for it to be road legal.
Our nearest circuit is Oulton Park (our offices are in Stoke on Trent) and they have a couple of days coming up. Is it alright to book for one of these days, or would we need to do a 'novice' day first ?
Neither of us have driven on track before and don't want show ourselves up by getting completely in the way of the more experienced drivers.
Any help or advice would be much appreciated.
Also any of you Golf owners are there any quick and easy mods which will make a noticeable difference on track ?
Regards
Tim
Great first choice of track car, I used one for my first track car and it was awesome. Great engine, predictable handling and absolutely bomb proof.
The first thing I would do is a major engine service before you do any track days, the ABF engine is very good and mine benefitted imensely, also you shouldn't do any hard track work until you know the engine is good. This is what you should change:
Cambelt
Cambelt tensioner
Cam Chain
Aux Belt
Coil pack
Oil
Oil Filter
Spark Plugs
Gearbox Oil
This will cost a few bob but you really should do it as a broken cambelt/chain/tensioner will ruin the engine for good.
Also when you are doing the work check the water pump for play in the bearing's, if there is an replace it as you need decent cooling on track.
On mine I also noticed that the throttle position sensor wires that were very close to the exhaust manifold had melted through, replacing this noticeably improved the throttle response.
Performance? Easiest thing is a Cat' bypass pipe, this gave 5bhp on mine and improved engine response for £25, also it means you can put your cat' to one side so that it doesn't getting knackered on track days. Stick a decent cone filter on it as well. 155bhp should be what you are looking at then but with much better response.
Brakes will be next thing on the list, some EBC Pads and decent discs are easily enough on track but................
...........the ABS is a problem, the MK3 Golf is constantly lifting it's back wheel under braking into corners, when this happens the ABS goes mad and you end up going into corners with no brakes. It's not a very nice feeling.
Get as much weight to the back as possible, the MK3 is front heavy and you can feel it on track. A decent front ARB will help quicken the response but moving battery etc to the back will help.
Anyway that's about it for now.
ETA the thing that will make the biggest difference is a decent set of tyres, they will do more for handling and braking than any other mod.
Novice track day? If you are a competent and resonably confident driver then I wouldn't bother. Go to a normal track day and just listen watch and learn, you'll be flying around within 5 laps.
The first thing I would do is a major engine service before you do any track days, the ABF engine is very good and mine benefitted imensely, also you shouldn't do any hard track work until you know the engine is good. This is what you should change:
Cambelt
Cambelt tensioner
Cam Chain
Aux Belt
Coil pack
Oil
Oil Filter
Spark Plugs
Gearbox Oil
This will cost a few bob but you really should do it as a broken cambelt/chain/tensioner will ruin the engine for good.
Also when you are doing the work check the water pump for play in the bearing's, if there is an replace it as you need decent cooling on track.
On mine I also noticed that the throttle position sensor wires that were very close to the exhaust manifold had melted through, replacing this noticeably improved the throttle response.
Performance? Easiest thing is a Cat' bypass pipe, this gave 5bhp on mine and improved engine response for £25, also it means you can put your cat' to one side so that it doesn't getting knackered on track days. Stick a decent cone filter on it as well. 155bhp should be what you are looking at then but with much better response.
Brakes will be next thing on the list, some EBC Pads and decent discs are easily enough on track but................
...........the ABS is a problem, the MK3 Golf is constantly lifting it's back wheel under braking into corners, when this happens the ABS goes mad and you end up going into corners with no brakes. It's not a very nice feeling.
Get as much weight to the back as possible, the MK3 is front heavy and you can feel it on track. A decent front ARB will help quicken the response but moving battery etc to the back will help.
Anyway that's about it for now.
ETA the thing that will make the biggest difference is a decent set of tyres, they will do more for handling and braking than any other mod.
Novice track day? If you are a competent and resonably confident driver then I wouldn't bother. Go to a normal track day and just listen watch and learn, you'll be flying around within 5 laps.
Edited by T89 Callan on Wednesday 28th October 23:23
Edited by T89 Callan on Wednesday 28th October 23:24
Hi Tim. We are running a day at Oulton on Nov 13th, it's fully booked now so I can't sell you a space but you'd be welcome to come down and have a look at how it all works and if you can blag a ride with anyone it's only a tenner to sign in as a passenger.
Steve H
Trackaction-Online
Steve H
Trackaction-Online
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