Track day upgrades?

johnny gtir

Well-Known Member
Have you used the car much ? Ditch the thin tipped irridium plugs for some cheap ngk copper core plugs. Irridium have proved nothing but hassel in the past snapping tips off or causing starting problems with the car or spark blow out and making the car miss or hesitate on boost
 

Greygtir

New Member
And tbh if your on a budget the Gtir is the last car I'd if picked. To many people buy cos there cheap, realise how much parts are and break there car. Vicious circle
 

STEVEN878

Member
And tbh if your on a budget the Gtir is the last car I'd if picked. To many people buy cos there cheap, realise how much parts are and break there car. Vicious circle
iv had the car for 6 years mate.
i had a issue with a leaking heater matrix 5 years ago which destroyed my ecu. once i had fixed it i already had another car and had lost interest in it.
now its going on track, but i dont want to spend loads on mods to get it on track, but if it breaks it will get fixed.

this car is pretty cheap to mod compared to my other car......
 

Georges Dad

New Member
And tbh if your on a budget the Gtir is the last car I'd if picked. To many people buy cos there cheap, realise how much parts are and break there car. Vicious circle
I'd agree with this,as much as I love GTI-r's I had a clio 172 cup for track use uprated pads and sticky tyres was all it needed and it was huge fun. Plus not a fan of 4WD on track tbh, when you reach the limit it will just spit you off! No such thing as budget track cars I reckon, everything's gotta be perfect or you just have a shit day IMO.
 

Greygtir

New Member
Thes cars are only cheap when you cut corners. No matter what car you have, if you do things right it's never cheap.
 

STEVEN878

Member
i dont plan on cutting corners, i just dont want to go splashing out on carbon fibre panels and forged engines, on a car that wont run more than 250-300bhp.

there must be some sort of compromise???
 

STEVEN878

Member
I'd agree with this,as much as I love GTI-r's I had a clio 172 cup for track use uprated pads and sticky tyres was all it needed and it was huge fun. Plus not a fan of 4WD on track tbh, when you reach the limit it will just spit you off! No such thing as budget track cars I reckon, everything's gotta be perfect or you just have a shit day IMO.
i like the clios. got the bigger brother megane sport r26. it has a custom build and race balanced engine with custom made cat camshafts, cp piston, cat cam rods, etc, etc
 

Greygtir

New Member
Therse a Tom of metal to be cut out the Gtir before the need for carbon parts. And since really everyone's running shite racer parts that's only for bragging down at you local mac ds I wouldn't bother just yet. Maybe in the future but use it first
 

Georges Dad

New Member
i like the clios. got the bigger brother megane sport r26. it has a custom build and race balanced engine with custom made cat camshafts, cp piston, cat cam rods, etc, etc
Sounds impressive, I loved mine stripped it out, solid mounts, coilovers etc. but they are good out of the box too. I'm as pro pulsar as can be but you've got to choose the right tool for the job and your budget otherwise you'll just end up getting pissed off IMO. £4k for a 182 Trophy is hard to ignore...
 

red reading

Active Member
i dont plan on cutting corners, i just dont want to go splashing out on carbon fibre panels and forged engines, on a car that wont run more than 250-300bhp.

there must be some sort of compromise???

Why not upgrade where you feel the car is lacking, tbh most people only need a few bits and the car is good. Remember the car as completely stock laps circuits as fast as an r32 gtr, so a few choice mods like decent size wheels and tyres, decent oil cooler,carbotech xp 10 pads and stripping the car of anything un needed will equal a lot faster.....most people mod things and go backwards.
 

STEVEN878

Member
Why not upgrade where you feel the car is lacking, tbh most people only need a few bits and the car is good. Remember the car as completely stock laps circuits as fast as an r32 gtr, so a few choice mods like decent size wheels and tyres, decent oil cooler,carbotech xp 10 pads and stripping the car of anything un needed will equal a lot faster.....most people mod things and go backwards.
This is all im looking to do. Maybe budget is the wrong word.

I have a pulsar and have no use for it, so track car makes sense, i want it to be kinda reliable, i.e not over heating, oil temp issues, cant stop the vehicle, etc.
so im going to add a top mount oil cooler kit, double core radiator, change the fuel pump again, AD08 tyres, larger water pump pulley change my spark plugs, strip some weight out of it and have fun ;)

i just wanted to make sure im not cutting corners and going to end up with issues on trackdays....
 

STEVEN878

Member
Sounds impressive, I loved mine stripped it out, solid mounts, coilovers etc. but they are good out of the box too. I'm as pro pulsar as can be but you've got to choose the right tool for the job and your budget otherwise you'll just end up getting pissed off IMO. £4k for a 182 Trophy is hard to ignore...
The megane is rather modified and seems to be in a different league of spending compared to pulsar! Front discs on the megane were £834! Pulsar brakes including a Calipers were around half that.
i just want to put the pulsar to good use, rather than it sit in a shed or garden, so track is the only use i have for it.

£4k for a clio is very cheap! Im £26k on the meg including buying it £12k standard...oops! Haha
 

STEVEN878

Member
Just comparing prices, from brakes kits/parts iv bought in the past compared to the pulsar.

106 gti 6 pot tarox kit £1300ish
megane front discs, 2 piece fully floating 330mm £834
pulsar wilwood kit £550ish
 

STEVEN878

Member
Ksport 356 kit for megane is 999 ??? In calipers. I know what id of bought
Ksport 356mm kit doesnt fit under the standard 18" wheels, so £999 plus £1500 for a half decent set of wheels. The megane comes with brembo 4 pot calipers, so no need to change them, just slightly bigger discs and some pagid ceramic pads ;)

my point was the gtir seems reasonable to me on parts compared to other cars, but thats just my opinion. I understand some of you guys have taken your cars to another level from me, but this car is only for fun and will never go back on the road.
I only wanted some advice on any essential upgrades/ modifications to run on track that may help increase the life expectancy of the engine and gearbox. I think i now have an idea of what i need, to hopefully make the car enjoyable on track :)

thanks for everyones advice and help.
 

fubar andy

Moderator & N/W Rep
Staff member
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.

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?

the plan is to run yokohama AD08's all round, if i can get them in the correct tyre size....
I'm going to contract some peoples statements here and cover the issues and points you've made/asked.

These are purely my findings and experiences of running a 300bhp GTIR on track for 7 years.

Brakes Front - Wilwoods are a good start, use ATE fluid and either Mintex 1155 or Ferodo DS2500's pads all round. Carbotech are very good (and very expensive), but if your price conscious the 55's or 2500's will do fine.

Brakes Rear - Minmum grooved discs from Black Diamond, this helps balance out the bias better, when braking. Pads as above
Braided lines all round.

Tyres - You've got that covered

Suspension - Covered (just upgrade when needed) Maybe a rear adjustable ARB if you get a lot of understeer?

Interior - Strip it all out, EVERYTHING! Get rid of everything in there, seats, door cards the lot. If its gonna be a track car only, do it right and get rid of it all (also costs you nothing to do). If you've still got the air-con system, junk it - it weights a bloody tonne.
Put in two race seats and some harnesses with your cage. Job done!

Engine - As mentioned, if you can afford to (or if its already done) get forged!
Standard engines are pretty good, but old tired ones can fail you need to make sure it's well serviced with quality oils etc. NO EXCEPTIONS.
As for the water pump pulley, I've ran a standard one for 7 years on track and NEVER had a problem. It's up to you, but personally it's never been an issue.
Front mounted oil cooler where possible, don't bother running it on the engine (topmount) that's pointless, mount it either side of your intercooler in the brake ducting for better cooler air flow.

Double core rad (or UK spec Sunny GTIR). It's the same thing and gives better cooling that the crappy JDM version.

Fuel - Covered (fuel pump)

Battery - Covered

Maintenance - You must look after it and use quality fuels and oils etc. Service the gearbox oil and diffs too. Keep on top of those things and you'll be fine.

Enjoy!
 

STEVEN878

Member
I'm going to contract some peoples statements here and cover the issues and points you've made/asked.

These are purely my findings and experiences of running a 300bhp GTIR on track for 7 years.

Brakes Front - Wilwoods are a good start, use ATE fluid and either Mintex 1155 or Ferodo DS2500's pads all round. Carbotech are very good (and very expensive), but if your price conscious the 55's or 2500's will do fine.

Brakes Rear - Minmum grooved discs from Black Diamond, this helps balance out the bias better, when braking. Pads as above
Braided lines all round.

Tyres - You've got that covered

Suspension - Covered (just upgrade when needed) Maybe a rear adjustable ARB if you get a lot of understeer?

Interior - Strip it all out, EVERYTHING! Get rid of everything in there, seats, door cards the lot. If its gonna be a track car only, do it right and get rid of it all (also costs you nothing to do). If you've still got the air-con system, junk it - it weights a bloody tonne.
Put in two race seats and some harnesses with your cage. Job done!

Engine - As mentioned, if you can afford to (or if its already done) get forged!
Standard engines are pretty good, but old tired ones can fail you need to make sure it's well serviced with quality oils etc. NO EXCEPTIONS.
As for the water pump pulley, I've ran a standard one for 7 years on track and NEVER had a problem. It's up to you, but personally it's never been an issue.
Front mounted oil cooler where possible, don't bother running it on the engine (topmount) that's pointless, mount it either side of your intercooler in the brake ducting for better cooler air flow.

Double core rad (or UK spec Sunny GTIR). It's the same thing and gives better cooling that the crappy JDM version.

Fuel - Covered (fuel pump)

Battery - Covered

Maintenance - You must look after it and use quality fuels and oils etc. Service the gearbox oil and diffs too. Keep on top of those things and you'll be fine.

Enjoy!
thanks very much for spending the time to write this reply :)

brakes:
will the poly q pads i have fitted be good enough to start with or should i really get rid for something better?
iv never really heard of ATE brake fluid, so ill have a look and upgrade to or motul rbf 6000 if you feel the dot 5.1 will boil.

rear brakes: the rear has mintex pads i think, so the plan was to use them first and upgrade as required for the first track day, etc in the pulsar...

interior: the plan for this weekend is to remove absolutely every single unecassary interior part, including any sound deadening.
The aircon system has now been removed (was shocked to how much the support bracket for the air con compressor weighed!!) also used a alternator belt from a micra...hope i read that properly and bought the correct belt?
standard seats will stay in the car to start with, but i already have harnesses to fit.

engine: its not that i cant afford to forge it, its just not the point of the car and as mentioned the missus will kill me for spending a fortune. Low budget fun car and fix it when it break :)
i need to check the pistons and make sure theyre standard, as i dont really know the engine or gearbox spec.
ill get a front mount oil cooler kit instead. Only reason i wanted a top mount was i didnt like the oil lines being close to the the pulleys/belts incase anything moved on track :/

Pulsarboby has a double core radiator i guess ill be purchasing soon.
Whats the general consensus on the alloy radiators on fleebay? Normally i would be told to stay away from junk ebay items and buy a forge/pro alloy unit.

is it worthwhile heat wrapping the intercooler pipes and downpipe?
 
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