Track day upgrades?

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STEVEN878

Member
Hi all,


I'm looking to put my pulsar on track next year (knockhill) for a bit of fun, as it will never see the road again as long as i own it....


Im wondering if any of you guys could point me in the right direction to essential modifications required to have a semi reliable track GTIR, without spending a fortune on it.


thanks
steven
 
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pulsarboby

Guest
if you do a search on here steve theres loads of stuff covering track prep etc

but in a nutshell
ideally forge pistons as old stock ones are likely to crack ringlands
larger rad and waterpump pulley
oil cooler
brake upgrade or pads at least with high boilpoint fluid
any handling mods you can get your hands on will help big time
bucket seat keeps you in place lol
uprated clutch if you not got one fitted
tyres self explanatory

if a stock engine then keep boost to no more than a bar
keep the temps down and your engine will live longer;-)
 
S

STEVEN878

Member
Thanks.
Iv tried doing a bit of searching and couldn't find loads on the subject without spending thousands on the car :(

the car has wilwood 4 pot brakes, poly q pads, braided lines, 285mm discs, dot 5.1 brake fluid, whiteline springs and shocks, poly bushes, rose jointed track rods, whiteline strut braces, front mount intercooler, blitz air filter, iridium spark plugs, magnecor 8.5mm ht leads, forge dump valve, 1 bar boost.

I'm unsure to which pistons, rods and clutch i have in the vehicle at the moment and the garage i purchased the car from 6-7 years ago have no record, but told me the car had been rebuilt!

so i need:
a uprated fuel pump (walbro one seized on me)
oil cooler kit
uprated radiator
battery relocation kit

Whats wrong with the standard waterpump pulley?
anything else i should consider without opening the engine up to check pistons, etc?

the plan is to run yokohama AD08's all round, if i can get them in the correct tyre size....
 
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pulsarboby

Guest
you dont need to open engine up to chech piston type.....just remove a spark plug and shine a torch down plughole, if you can see a circle indent in centre of piston just under the size of a penny or number 54c engraved then pistons are stock.

with regard to pump pulley.....youll find that on track your constantly above 5500rpm and the pump cavitates air into coolant system as its spinning too fast, by fitting a slightly larger pulley you are gearing the pump down which gives coolant a much better flow and stops cavitation issues, water wetter also helps keep temps down.

seems like your pretty much there with rest of it fella
 
S

STEVEN878

Member
Nice one, ill check the pistons next time im with the car :)

so is it still possible to get these larger water pump pulleys or do i have to wait on one coming up for sale?

need to hope for forged internals. :/
i need to keep this car low budget as iv promised the missus i wouldn't get carried away like i did with my other car (£14k on engine and brake mods and still runs a standard turbo)
 
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pulsarboby

Guest
if its stock then just use it and if it does a ringland it aint the end of the world.

the larger pump pulleys can be obtained fron g spec performance in the states, there only around £60 delivered so not wallet wrenching lol

if your cars running a stock skinny rad then we have one which is double cored which will do you fine
oil cooler and either bosch or walbro pumps i have or get new stuff if you wish
the rest of it you pretty much have in place to go out and have a bit of fun
 
S

STEVEN878

Member
Haha, not a big deal until i have to buy a new engine which will be silly money. :)

nice one! £60 seems cheap! I expected 3 times that price.

yeah the car has a stock radiator which i removed last weekend, so looking for some sort of upgrade before it goes on track next year.

any ideas how much weight can be stripped from the car safely without buying lightweight panels?
 
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pulsarboby

Guest
haha your talking to the wrong guy there fella being a 19st fat bastad, i find stripping weight off of car totally irrelevant:lol:

im sure others will help you with weight saving gains to chop a few grams off here and there, but basically you need to bin as much weight from over front axle and reposition it to rear to try get some sort of weight balance.
taking loads out the rear seems pointless to me as all you do is make the car even more nose heavy which gives you more understeer issues
im sure others will dis-agree though!
 
M

MarkTurbo

Well-Known Member
You may have to change the fluid for something better depending on how hard you brake ;-)

I'd agree with Bob about stripping the rear of the car to save weight. Your not chasing seconds or tenths of seconds on a track day so i wouldn't bother stripping it out. The rear seats aren't that heavy anyway and i've even left the standard tailgate on my car instead of going fibreglass to keep some weight at the back.
 
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STEVEN878

Member
Ill be removing the full interior as my friend wants to have a full weld in cage to add to safety.

the car is purely for fun, but still want to be able to keep up with some of the other cars on track :)

What brake fluid would you's guy recommend?

any idea on cost of lightweight bonnets, etc?
 
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vmax85

New Member
www.pesch.cz delivers lightweight doors, front wings, bonnets, etc for the n14 sunny/pulsar.

i bought years ago a set of full m3 e 30 panels and they're perfect.

cheers
 
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MarkTurbo

Well-Known Member
The cage will make the car stiffer which isn't a bad thing. ATE super blue fluid is good value and has a high wet boiling point, i've still yet to boil it with 330mm AP 4 pots and Carbotech XP8 pads.

STEVEN878 said:
any idea on cost of lightweight bonnets, etc?
Click to expand...
Speak to Phil (Bracpan on here) i've got one of his fibreglass bonnets as have many others on here and they're top quality. I paid £300 for one with the standard vent but that was a while ago now, he does flat ones too ;-)
 
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Greygtir

New Member
Flat bonnet single can be picked up for 120 carbon 220 but require bonnet pins which is the only real souloutio. As u save a bit more weight. Not like all the others who think shit racer bonnets are light
 
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STEVEN878

Member
Think ill stay away from lightweight panels! Haha

really need to try and keep this car low budget or the missus might castrate me! Ha
 
J

Jon Olds

Well-Known Member
If you want to run at any sort of budget, get out and use it as it is. Then upgrade when you identify a weakness. You will find the costs of fuel, brake pads, tyres and tarckday fees
high enough to have an effect on your balance of payments. (i know i do....)
The danger of making a mega must do list is you never get to the track...
INHO
Jon
 
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