phazed

Coincidentally, I fitted a new expansion bottle when I first bought the car about three years ago, that still seems sound and intact. It did occur to me that the pressure cap might well be faulty and not doing its job under extreme pressure! Also thinking that a proper oil cooler would help matters as an upgrade. They do come as standard with the small oil/water cooler but a proper 19 row or similar oil cooler must be much better. Any recommendations for a kit would be good.

Thanks. Will check.

Thanks for responding. No air-conditioning, I stripped that out. I will run it up this morning and see if the fans come on. As mentioned, the last few sessions I drove changing gear at 4.5 K revs and I could stay out for 15 minutes or so without noticeable loss as long as I came in as soon as the needle started going off normal. It is in the garage at the moment running. I have checked all the houses and there isn’t any noticeable leaks. I did stay out on the last session until the needle moved a few millimetres of normal and I had to top it up with about half a pint of water this morning. Regarding the fans, what sensor do they work from. Can I bridge this and check if they are both working? Do the fans work with one coming on first, and then the second if needed?

I use my MK1 purely for Track Days. It has been 100% reliable and have done about 25 in the last two years. On Friday the car started overheating slightly in the afternoon. I was pushing hard as usual and the temperature gauge slowly crept up a couple of segments, so I pulled off. Water wasn’t visible in the header tank and after letting it cool down, it took a couple of pints to top up. I’m not sure that the fans are working properly as when I came in, they were not turning. I went out another three times but kept short, shifting to keep the temps down which prolonged my sessions out and as soon as the temperature gauge started rising, I came back in to the pits. Sometimes it didn’t need a top up or other times just half a pint. Question, what is my problem? Some say that the fans generally don’t need to come on at speed as there is enough air flow to keep everything cool. Are these engines prone to head gasket problems? The car has only done about 85K miles and generally the engine is as sound as a bell. Any hints as to where to start looking for the problem? I decided also on the day that I should fit an oil cooler and will order one tomorrow to assist in cooling. By the way, new radiator was fitted three years ago when I first prepared the car for the track. I look forward to any suggestions. Cheers.

I did a proper mock up the other day. With the correct size discs and calipers fitted I would need a 10 mm spacer. I would not run anything more than a 3 mm spacer as this car is used for Track Days. The G force that is generated with sticky track tires puts such a strain on the front suspension front/axle et cetera that I would not risk it. Also, with a 10 mm spacer, the tyres would foul the wheel arches. Looks like if I want to go ahead with this, I need another set of wheels with the correct offset. Question, I assume that wheels from an LCR have the correct offset? Not keen on losing my niece Wolfrace Prolites… Damn!

My standard size discs, (312mm?). Looks like I will need a pair of the 323mm Discs. Brembo calibers are fine on the diameter of the 17" wheels. The callipers foul the back of the spokes as the Brembo callipers are deeper in thickness to the front! Alternative is about a 3-4 mm spacer, hmm.

I think it is definitely down to the damper/spring combination. It could be just as simple as the dampers are not very good. Or at the very least not set up for this particular car. Suspension upgrading is a black art. so easy to get wrong. As I might have mentioned, I had some expensive dampers supplied specifically by Nitron for my car, (TVR) sometime ago and they were awful. They went back for revalving three times and they still couldn’t get it right. In the end I went to a different make, (Gaz Mono’s) and the problem completely went away, and I had good suspension again.

Problem solved! got the parts from the guy I got the calibers from. Will order new discs tomorrow. Was thinking these as they are high quality. Any other recommendations? https://www.tarox.co.uk/product/front-tarox-brake-discs-seat-leon-1999-2005-typ-1m-cupra-r-1-8-turbo-20v-17-wheels-f2000/ States that they are for 17" wheels... I would hate to loose my Wolfrace wheels and a fairly new set of Toyo R888's. There seems to be plenty of space with the standard callipers...

Great, all those part numbers are discontinued!!! What can I do now?

Most useful thanks. I will get on to TPS unless anyone has any other suggestions? Here's hoping that they fit under my nice set of 17" Wolfrace Prolites...

Using the Brembo callipers, will I require the brackets? Or will they bolt straight on?

Hi. I know that many have done this over the years, apologies for a repeat of info. I have done a few dozen track days now with the standard front callipers, quality discs and DS2500 pads. Stopping has been surprisingly good but now ready for the next step. I have got hold of a pair of LCR Brembo calibers but unsure as to what else I need. From a bit of web searching I believe I need a pair of 323mm discs. Adapters, are these available off the shelf? Will I need longer hoses? Anything else? I assume that there is a brake bias valve on the car, does this remain the same? All help and info gratefully received. Maybe someone has some bits unused sitting at home?

Just had a little poke around as I haven’t used the car since the last track day. Took off the plastic cover under the fan motor, which revealed pretty much nothing apart from the fan, ran the fan up and put it all back together. For some reason it now all works perfectly. I guess either a stuck flap or a dodgy servo motor. When you use the hot and cold buttons to adjust temperature, you can hear various things moving internally so I assume all is okay for now. Doing Bedford Autodrome next Monday so fingers crossed I can turn the heating down once it gets warm in the cabin. Believe me, it was super hot last month, even in January at full chat…

Got a track day next Monday, so car has sat in the garage with other projects taking my attention . Can I access these flats easily enough? What is the best way to check please?

Your problem sounds like the dampers are at fault. You may also possibly have springs that are too hard. I experimented a lot with different dampers and spring rates on my old TVR. It is amazing how bad a car can feel with the wrong set up. I tried a set of especially set up coil overs from Nitron, quite expensive and they were absolutely rubbish on the road with the car skipping about all over the place. I returned them and stuck with my will proven Gaz Mono’s. I would say your spring rate may be too hard, but the dampers are set to stiff, not allowing the car to absorb minor bumps and literally just bouncing off them. I run my vRS for the track with a set of budget lowered coilovers which are firmer and perform really well on Road and track. Suspension set up with as much negative camber as I can induce on the Seat Cupra lower wishbones and tracking set at zero.

Thanks for that. Will have a look tomorrow.

I did as described in the video and this code came up. 4F7. I then scrolled up and the figures, 318 appeared. Does anyone know what this means?

It certainly was hanging in the inner wing exposed to the cold air through the nearside, lower vent or thereabouts. The heater was working fine during last year, as I did 13 Track Days, mostly with the heater in the off position. I removed the air-conditioning, a couple of years ago, when I first got the car as it wasn’t working! I sometimes regret that, especially when the weather has been so hot in the summer. Too late now!

Thanks for that. It is climate control. I will have a look. Open to any other hints as well of course. Cheers.

I use my vRS for Track Days, and while at Donington last Sunday, even though the weather was very cold it was getting very hot in the cabin. I turned the heater down, still hot. I turned it to the coolest setting, (air-conditioning, removed) still heater, pumping out hot air. any ideas how I can rectify this problem?

I fitted a set to my P38 range Rover three years ago. They haven’t given any problems at all.

Hope this works…

Only downside of leather seats, is that with the accompanying electric motors et cetera, they are about twice the weight. I had a set but didn’t fit them as I use my car mainly for Track Days. From memory, the standard seats are about 28 kg each, the S3 leather seats I had were far, far heavier. Out of interest, the Lotus, Elise seats i now have fitted weigh 3 kg each!

The existing calipers fitted with Ferodo DS2500 pads are surprisingly good. I bought my 4 pot Brembo brake calipers on a whim but I am now not sure whether to fit them. I am at Brands Hatch tomorrow so will concentrate more on the brake performance and take it from there.