All Things Mk5 > Other VAG
Bluewaffle Octavia vRS MKII Track!
Turbobell:
So.... Feel like having a little bit of a rant, regarding the "identity" of modified cars. TRAX is dubbed a performance car show, and for that reason, is the only car show I have attended for a long time. The lack of cars modified for "performance" was frankly depressing... I can appreciate the work that goes into a stanced car, but it is not my thing even remotely, so a car show that claims to not be about that, but then litters every stand with exactly that kind of car, is frankly, stupid.
To make things worse, I had booked track time prior to going, but the front roll bar developed a horrific knock en route, and with no tools to hand, I couldn't even disconnect it to get on track. The fact that I couldn't even give the track slot away, summed up the majority of attendees.
In the short term I am chatting with whiteline about possible causes. I have also finally decided to order a tyrolsport front subframe deadset kit. Aside from bracing, the chassis of the car will be complete. I have a return trip to the Nurburgring booked for the 10th of October.
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Turbobell:
Right.....
I think sometimes when building a car, with an ultimate aim in mind, you have to start with something as close to your intentions, before starting the build.
I haven't done that....
I have had my octavia for nearly 3 years, and until only relatively recently, I left it near standard.
I wanted a fast road/track car. In my opinion, this is not an ideal target for a MKV platform car to achieve.
So, I pollybushed the entire chassis prior to going to the Nurburgring in May, fitted the NQSBBK and with the coilovers and rear roll bar that were already on there, I had a go. Car performed well, but the track revealed some weaknesses. Mainly the OE exhaust which snapped off from the turbo on the last lap, and left me with a 10 hour drive home with NO exhaust. I replaced this with a full milltek system which luckily I had already purchased as I had intended to upgrade.
The suspension was so soft, that the car was rubbing its head off when cornering, the arches were modified as much as possible for clearance, and I confess, I got carried away while it was in there, creating the visual monstrosity the car is now. I fitted whiteline front roll bar, which helped considerably. And a nice set of BC coilovers, with front camber adjustment and adjustable damping. These, however, created their own issues. Running the car at the correct spring rate and ride height, caused contact between roll bar and control arm, and occasional contact between body and driveshaft......
The front subframe had been creaking for a while, so i ordered a tyrolsport locking kit for the subframe, and a pair of adjustable droplinks. Hoping this would tackle both issues at once. It didn't... And the subframe locking kit is the biggest fight I have ever had fitting aftermarket components to a car, there is absolutely zero tolerance when fitting, the subframe is literally mm perfect to centre, great when its done, but a real challenge to achieve.
So the shorter links didn't help, so i fitted some superpro roll centre correction ball joints. No more bottom arm contact, but still driveshaft issues. Booked the car in with a good friend to have the chassis notched. Before this could be done, however, the driveshaft had seen more than its lion share of abuse, and the CV joint exploded. While at it, I replaced the shaft entirely with a solid shaft from a diesel, identical length and weight, but thinner. The car could then have the notch done.
As the car stands now, the chassis prep i started back in may, is now only just coming to fruition. And believe me, there has not been a weekend free that I haven't had to mess about in some way or another fettling the car.
What have I ended up with....
Polybushed front and rear axles with anti lift
Whiteline 24mm adjustable front and rear anti roll bars
Oz superturismo 17x8j et35
Goodyear eagle f1 225/45/17
BC Racing BR Coilovers 30 point adjustable damping, 10kg front 12kg rear spring rates,
Camber adjustable pillowball front top mounts
Porsche Boxster s calipers, dimpled and grooved disks, ferrodo pads
Braided front and rear HEL brake lines
Arch liners removed
Arches modified for clearance
Front Strut tops and scuttle modified for top mount access
Interior stealth strip
Carbon Recaro profi side mount seats
Custom seat subframes, fixed passenger seat, drivers seat on runners
Diesel drivers side drive shaft
Tyrolsport front subframe deadset kit
Adjustable front droplinks
Superpro front rollcentr/camber adjustable ball joints
Chassis notch
The car of course, now handles extremely well, and will **** an inside rear wheel fairly consistently through fast corners. Something a MKV platform car will only do normally just before it lands on its roof. But it has not been without sacrifice, and the car so far has cost a small fortune. I will ofcourse, be continuing the build, as I have the last few bits for the K04 conversion to gather, and the car will be a fairly well rounded package. I have another trip to the Nurburgring in October, which will be a nice chance to test the car's progress, and also set the roll bars and suspension stiffness up.
My advice to anyone wanting to build a fast road car, who has a MKV platform car, frankly, would be sell it and buy something else.... I certainly wish I had.
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Turbobell:
Fresh back from the Nurburgring, this is the cars second venture there, and a hell of a lot has changed chassis wise since the last trip. I had the alignment set for the 10 thousandth time prior to going and one little thing that made a great difference to turn in was being able to widen the front track. Using the superpro ball joints at maximum neg camber, and the top mounts adjusted to reduce it, effectively pushes both top and bottom of the wheel outwards, while still maintaining around -1.5 camber. The scope for adjustment from damping, roll bars and geo makes all of the heartache at least count for something! I think a few more track days are needed before I decide the suffering was worth it!
So, now the winter is approaching, I'm hoping to get one, maybe two, more track days in before the car gets rested and I finally take the plunge and get the K04 on. After that, the DTM style will be in full swing, front splitter redesign, wide arches and slicks.
In preparation for a lot more track work next year, and in keeping with my OCD over the car and spec, I've picked up another set of O.Z Superturismo's in identical specs to my current wheels. (5x112 17x8 ET35) These will be refurbished, probably remain silver, and have some track rubber fitted in the new year.
This is now up to date as of Nov '15, for clarity the car was bought in Jan '13....
Thanks for reading guys,
Dale
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vRSAlex:
Nice write up there. :drinking:
I wonder if anyone has Googled 'blue waffle' yet?
On my vRS I run the TT front hubs, wishbones and steering rack. This gives around 12-15mm extra track, then I run Ohlins with Ground Control top mounts to achieve -3 degs camber on the front. It works a treat. Just need to find some wider front wings then I will be happy.
Turbobell:
--- Quote from: vRSAlex on November 02, 2015, 02:44:52 pm ---Nice write up there. :drinking:
I wonder if anyone has Googled 'blue waffle' yet?
On my vRS I run the TT front hubs, wishbones and steering rack. This gives around 12-15mm extra track, then I run Ohlins with Ground Control top mounts to achieve -3 degs camber on the front. It works a treat. Just need to find some wider front wings then I will be happy.
--- End quote ---
I call it that because I wouldn't wish the car on my worst enemy... Lol
The cast hubs and control arms have been on my wish list for a while, my porsche brakes are up for sale at the minute and I'm planning to get a more track focused brake setup. 6 pots and 2 piece discs. The cast hubs and arms will do me a favour in keeping the unsprung weight down will have to have a look at your car mate, got a thread?
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