Sunset Red 1.4 TSI(TFSI) GT Sport - daily drive & track car

[rex]

the bruce First of all thank you for all your comments so far. I hope you won't stop. You are always asking the right questions.
And now to answer your questions...
I am selling the wheels (already sold them) because:
1. I need spacers to fit behind the nqsbbk.
2. Because I use spacers the wheel + spacer combination is around ~10.8 kg. I want to buy some lighter wheels.

I want to go for 7,5 x 17 ET 45 instead of 8 x 17 ET 50 because:
1. the new rims should be lighter because of the 0.5 inch less material (which is furthest from the wheel hub, so where it counts).
2. I have 8x17 ET 50 (BBS rims) with which I have no issues with brake clearance but I have rubbing on the Nordscheife. So, wider fenders are a must. Since I will buy some wider fenders I want to increase the front track and I also want the car to look better( it looks better with the lower offset rims)

Tfsi_Mike Thanks!  

Thanks TC for you comment!

[Tfsi_Mike]

When £££ permits I would love 17" TDs that marginal weight loss, better handling and a 2nd set of wheels...

[danishmkvgti]

When i contacted Raeder Motorsports reg. wheel sizes they recommended 18" over 17" for the golf 

[rex]

danishmkvgti Thanks for the reminder 
I think I will go for 17 inch because:
1. I already have the semislick to go with them
2. cheaper
3. lighter
4. the tires are cheaper (when I will change the tires)
5. I have to put the 18 inch rim in my registration otherwise it is illegal to have them mounted on the car. This step is not costly but very time consuming.

The only advantage the 18 inch has over the 17 inch rim is marginal performance considering the ideal rim/tire size. But, a very important thing, my car is not a GTI (I don't have the same power) so the 17 inch rim might work better for me.

[xht20]

rex, in our new registration paper (talon) the wheel size is not mentioned  > And the police can't see the original wheel size

[rex]

I have the old one.

[the bruce]

Great thread Rex  

the bruce First of all thank you for all your comments so far. I hope you won't stop. You are always asking the right questions.

You know this ist one the threads I like most on this forum.
You fill it with heart & soul like no other. Go on, Rex !!  

I am selling the wheels (already sold them) because:
1. I need spacers to fit behind the nqsbbk.
2. Because I use spacers the wheel + spacer combination is around ~10.8 kg. I want to buy some lighter wheels.

I want to go for 7,5 x 17 ET 45 instead of 8 x 17 ET 50 because:
1. the new rims should be lighter because of the 0.5 inch less material (which is furthest from the wheel hub, so where it counts).
2. I have 8x17 ET 50 (BBS rims) with which I have no issues with brake clearance but I have rubbing on the Nordscheife. So, wider fenders are a must. Since I will buy some wider fenders I want to increase the front track and I also want the car to look better( it looks better with the lower offset rims)

I understand almost all of these arguments, Rex. 

But I still would prefer an 8.0" wide rim which offers the ability to fit
235 tyres.
 

I still run just the 7.5" Denver (Monza) with 225/45 Federal although
I see them as a compromise. So I will swap to my 8x18 BBS when the
Feds are blown.

I'm sure 17" and 18" perform similar. I guess a 18" might be better on
a heavier car while 17" might have slightly advantages on lighter cars
like Rex' GT 1.4 TSI.

[rex]

Thanks 

You are right, for you the 235 tires make sense. For me not so much...

Oh... and I forgot to tell you guys... Guess what I did last weekend  !
Some hints: Hungary, F1, and this:

[rex]

And because I improved my best time on Hungaroring, here is the video with the fastest lap:

And some thoughts:
- The lap is 2.23.35, about 0.25 seconds faster than the previous best
- Although this is not a perfect lap is it the best lap of the day. The laps where there was no traffic were only a handful.
- Comparing this lap to my previous best ones you can see that I am much more aggressive. I am riding the kerbs and this is visible in better time. Roberto Merhi, the F3 driver I was telling you some pages ago (BTW we is now F3 champion  ), told me that riding the kerbs is crucial for obtaining a better time. We was obviously right. But, riding the kerbs is not all about gaining.... I found out that the more I ride the kerbs mid corner the more the car understeers mid corner. There is a explanation for that, by riding the kerbs (which are higher than the track) the car gets more weight on the outside and the wheels loose grip because they have more weight than they can handle. So there is a balance that we must all find.
- At 1.45 in the above video is the biggest mistake of the lap. Here I miss the apex by about 1.5 meters and the result is an understeer. But, because I knew of the generous run of area I stayed on the gas and lost very little time.

Comments are welcomed.

[fuscobal]

Very nice lines indeed. I noticed the small mistake you were talking about at 1.45 but it wasn't so severe. You had an early turn in followed by a larger exit wich was unavoidable. Great lap Rex ! How much meat do the Kumhos still have ? (can you approximate the number of kms done ?)

[rex]

Thanks 
Yup... As we both said... An early turn in is making me miss the apex by 1.5 meters and an understeer at exit.

About the tires, I have to say I've had 4 Hungaroring track days (about 20 sessions), 23 Nurburgring laps and one Spa track day (4 sessions) ~900 miles (1400km) . The tires are worn but I think I won't change them yet....
The outer part of the front left tire and the inner part of the front right tire are slicks (no more groves) but the rest are pretty much ok... They suffer from overinflation (so the middle is a little bit worn compared to the outer parts), but other than that all is fine. I wouldn't like to use them on rain, but they might be ok for a few more dry track days.
I will make some photos of the tires to see exactly what I mean...

[rex]

Oh... and I forgot... some more photos with the car on the track 
She really likes being on the track  .

[the bruce]

 

Rex, now it's time to have a PerformanceBox and display some data, isn't it?

[fuscobal]

Rex, now it's time to have a PerformanceBox and display some data, isn't it?

What the man said. Will do it myself in the future. Bruce, do you think a driftbox would be appropriate ?

[rex]

Rex, now it's time to have a PerformanceBox and display some data, isn't it?

Ha ha, doubt it...  
I am still going on the track for fun and I am not that interested in the lap record... I am only keeping track of time to see if/how I am improving my driving skills. Once you are all about time you might take some chances you wouldn't take otherwise. At Hungaroring I can afford to take some chances but at Nurburgring I cannot.
And I still have a long way to go before my budget will allow me to spend 1000 EURO on lap recording. Before the beginning of next years track days I hope to make some major mods to the car. How, they say: I have bigger fish to fry  .

 

What the man said. Will do it myself in the future. Bruce, do you think a driftbox would be appropriate ?

Well then... I'll just wait to try yours before buying mine  .