phazed

Bit of advice please. My vRS is running 244bhp and 310 torque. Car is used for track days. i am running a solid fly and a MK4 diesel clutch which has been okay till now, about 10 track days. last Saturday when driving the sighting laps, (temp about 1 deg) I had a little clutch slip but it was fine during the day. Now I have the gearbox out to enable my LSD to be repaired, I need to upgrade the clutch. Am I correct in thinking that a lot of people fit an R32 clutch? if so, is it man enough? if not, what is a sensible priced upgrade? I look forward to hearing your experiences.

Bit of advice please. My vRS is running 244bhp and 310 torque. Car is used for track days. i am running a solid fly and a MK4 diesel clutch which has been okay till now, about 10 track days. last Saturday when driving the sighting laps, (temp about 1 deg) I had a little clutch slip but it was fine during the day. Now I have the gearbox out to enable my LSD to be repaired, I need to upgrade the clutch. Am I correct in thinking that a lot of people fit an R32 clutch? if so, is it man enough? if not, what is a sensible priced upgrade? I look forward to hearing your experiences.

Out of interest, this is the baffle kit fitted in position. There are 4 trap doors and the design throws the oil down to the pickup.

I have the CB Auto kit baffled sump fitted, also a new oil pickup. I think I will do the next couple of TD's booked and renew the oil pump with n OEM unit. I like to be ahead of the game if at all possible and not wait for things to fail.......

I have been doing work on my car preparing it for the seasons track days when the oil pump crossed my mind. Car has done about 75K, all in good order and running a healthy 244bhp and 310 ft ld of torque. Obviously the car gets hammered on track but also has oil changes every 4 track days. Question: Should I consider changing the pump or are these good for a lot of miles? Just trying to keep on top of future proofing the car.......

I understand about oil temperature but sadly have not got an oil temperature gauge to monitor yet. I hadn’t thought of stiffness of the chassis, most important in a track day car. I will definitely leave it well alone. I stripped out all the air-conditioning last week so the a/c condenser is not there. I will leave it will alone. I just fitted a new radiator so will have the maximum cooling capacity as I can. Thanks guys.

I should have been clearer. I wanted to open up the front as that link...............

Why, found this. Centre cut away...

I was keen to enlarge the grill area to improve airflow to the radiator on my car. The car gets used almost exclusively for track days, hence my question. I had the whole front end off in the last week to remove the A/C, treat a little surface rust and renew the cam belt. As people may know, the crash bar has to have the centre section removed. Once the plastic bumper has been removed, you can see that if the centre section is cut out, most of the integrity of the crash bar has gone! Do people replace the centre section with something or is that it? To be fair to the car, I have only seen the temp gauge rise by about 1-2mm. that was on a slower track with lots of 2nd and 3rd gear work. At this point, I would rather keep the bar intact if it is going to protect me if the worst happens although I do like the idea of the open front end! Any thoughts? Pictures of before crash bar removal and after prior to clean up and any work. Obvious once centre section is removed, there aint a lot of protection left!

I weighed one of my Wolfrace wheels with an Accelera track tyre and it was 17 kg. I weighed a Spider with an all seasons Bridgestone tyre fitted and it was 19 kg. I would guess that the track tyre is heavier as they have much stiffer sidewalls. I guess that is why they call the Wolfrace wheel a Pro-Lite!

Just seen this. I think the standard wheels set into the arches very slightly. My Wolfrace wheels are ET 35. These seem to set out slightly more without fouling the arches. The wheels with spacers on your car in the second photograph seem to be of similar ET as my Wolfrace wheels. I am sure spacers are okay for the road but I would not use them on track. Every corner is on the max with huge strain going through the front offside wheel, hub and suspension.

Thanks for your response. Existing Wolfrace wheels are 17" x 7J ET35. I believe these are offset slightly outwards giving a slightly wider track. Car handles very well. Has stiffer springs, uprated front and a rear ARB, Cupra R quick rack, hubs and alloy wishbones. I will have a cruise on Ebay under those suggested headings.

I have been tracking my modified vRS all summer and have been using a set of Wolfrace Pro-Lite wheels with a set of Federal R-SR 595 tyres, 215-45-17". Looking to hopefully add a bit more rubber in width on another set of wheels. Car is lowered with stiffer AP suspension and I don't have any clearance issues. Can anyone tell me what size wheels I would look for, (offset etc). What other wheels fit, (i.e. Audi, VW etc). Possibly one of you guys has a set that might suit sitting at home in the shed! I also have a standard set of vRS wheels with a hardly used set of name brand all season tyres surplus to requirements.

6 TD's is pretty good. I am concerned about the wear on the outer edges of the front tyres that continue about 25mm down the face of the sidewall.

I wondered if anyone has changed the camber of the front hubs for TD use? After 6 TD's, I have worm my tyres pretty much out. I have severely worn the outer edge through heavy cornering at speed. Car equipped with Federal R595's and usual suspension mods. I have fitted Cupra R quick rack, hubs and lower suspension arms. I know there is limited adjustment in the lower swivel joints and am interested to know by how much and what adjustments are beneficial.

Exactly why I chose it! When clean it really does look a great colour especially with my wheel colour imho of course!

244bhp and 309lbft Yep, I win, just!

As you say, very similar. I can’t see exactly what your power output is. Maybe it’s because I’m looking at it on my phone! at Mallory Park tomorrow morning so will be making use of the additional power.

Normally go out 15–20 minutes max as you stated with warm up and cool down laps. Existing standard brakes with DS2500 pads work well, no fade but towards the end more effort is required on the pedal to stop the car. It seems like the problem arises on shorter tracks with more braking, The circumstances show the limitations of the brakes. Given that, I will keep a look out for some four pot Brembo’s. Doing Mallory Park on Wednesday so will keep an eye out for when the brake pedal feel changes as an indication.

Just thought I'd post up my figures from yesterday. 244 BHP and 309 ft ld of torque with good curves on both. Engine has been mapped to Stage 2, has a 3" exhaust with sports cat and a K&N filter. Lots of other mods to the car, mostly for handling as I use it for track days mostly. Really happy with the results. Car feels very strong and still remains very drivable on the road. Picture of car is in the pit lane at Brands.

^^^^^^^ Defo. Have done several track days this summer with standard brakes, )different pads and fluid of course) and brakes work perfectly. Leave well alone.

There is a pair of refurbished Brembos on the bay for £500. Is that the right price for them?

There is a nice MK4 golf for sale in here with Porsche wheels fitted, spooky!

That is a good price for the kit. I will keep that in mind if/when this diesel clutch fails! So far, so good. It feels strong without a hint of slip considering the additional power. We shall see.

Good reply about the Boxster brakes! is it because I have a Boxster sitting in the garage at home? Ha ha. I’m sure it would be happier keeping it’s brakes!!!