Very budget track build

[Clarkj93]

Sorry chaps didn't realise you all commented. Thanks for all the bits of info and encouragement!!

We could all talk coilovers forever and never decide haha.

Not much to update yet as needed the car for a few trips, thankfully I can retire it again now for a while and can start some work.

Added a square duct where the passenger side fog light used to  be as an air inlet to the intake (which may or may not do anything)





Had to do a fog light delete then on the drivers side as well then. Pretty proud that I used the bottom of a tin that I was about to throw in the rubbish and just used a permanent marker to paint it black, then cable tied it in place. Recycling level = master.



So yeah couldn't bare fiddling with the side skirts after a failed first attempt. Instead got a decal removed rubber wheel drill bit and took all the residue tape off then stuck in some screws with a washer and simply painted them red with a touch up pen. Looks okay now. I got some jack stickers to go on as there is no longer any arrow markings to the jack points now the skirts are gone. This is primarily for tyre shops who don't always take car when jacking up the car...







Added some forge motorsport gold tape to the intake.



I lost the locking wheel nut after driving off with it still in, very annoying. However I realised a spline bit works just as well... made me laugh as its not the best anti theft wheel nut if that's possible!

Hopefully things will get more interesting now I can crack on with a few bigger jobs!

[Clarkj93]

Found an exhaust leak by the middle silence welds so thought it was time for some exhaust work...

Carried out the pre cat delete...



New non-res miltek exhaust





Not taken it out yet but happy with the miltek so far, welds look fantastic to a noob, sounds oem on idle and can hear a louder rasp up to about 3k, not tested it further than that to try and not piss off the neighbours.

Annoyingly one of the clamps that links to the original downpipe is not quite the right size. Can only getting it tight by tightening it to the point the bolt is bent. Looks worse in real life than the pics.This is the 2nd bolt after the 1st snapped and its still leaking, albeit very minor as can only detect it via a bit of water in a spray bottle. Got another brand of clamp in the post so will give it another go with that.





As I lost the locking wheel nut thought it was a good time to get the studs installed





Booked into VW for cambelt late December. Next il change the oil and fix that very minor exhaust leak and all ready for rtech stage 1 in Jan :)! If I didn't have to budget for bushes and coilovers and a bucket seat, tyres etc. then would love to just go ko4 but sods law I guess, well over 300bhp is great until you cannot stop or get around bends!

[LC5F]

Annoyingly one of the clamps that links to the original downpipe is not quite the right size. Can only getting it tight by tightening it to the point the bolt is bent. Looks worse in real life than the pics.This is the 2nd bolt after the 1st snapped and its still leaking, albeit very minor as can only detect it via a bit of water in a spray bottle. Got another brand of clamp in the post so will give it another go with that.

Those clamps are a lot nicer than the ones Cobra give with their exhausts - those are more like scaffolding clamps - if the replacement doesn't work out, Look at Mikalor W4 all stainless clamps - nice and wide plus they really clamp solid.

Booked into VW for cambelt late December.

This contradicts the thread title!
How much in "track days" are they going to charge?
With older cars, dealers tend to give them to the inexperienced staff to learn on, add that to Xmas/hangovers/distraction it's not a great recipe.
It's a straight forward job - have you considered doing it yourself?

[Clarkj93]

This contradicts the thread title!
How much in "track days" are they going to charge?
With older cars, dealers tend to give them to the inexperienced staff to learn on, add that to Xmas/hangovers/distraction it's not a great recipe.
It's a straight forward job - have you considered doing it yourself?

Do you know what I was going to ask what people thought but thought I'd see if anyone confirmed my suspicions that it might not be a good idea...the only other places I've found either want fortune to do it or are miles away and don't fancy taking a day off to sit in someone's garage drinking coffee for 4 hours for a poxy cambelt.

The idea of doing it myself did occur but I'm scared I did see the cambelt and waterpump kit up for 320 quid at aks tuning the other day and was like well if just the kit Costs that much... maybe it's cheaper from VW I've not checked.

You've confirmed my doubts anyway so will cancel at VW.

[LC5F]

I used INA kit, the stuff I replaced was genuine and everything but the pump & belt were marked INA - I got my kit off ebay it was only £101.

Best tip I leant years ago is to get a pint pen, mark the timing marks on the cover, the pulleys and also the old belt, then copy the belt markings to the new belt - old belt stretches, so count teeth to be 100% sure - once the belt is on slowly turn the engine over by hand 2 full rotations to confirm cam and crank timings line up - note the crank is usually very slightly out.

Hardest parts are getting the engine mount & timing cover off/on the engine - the 2 timing cover bolt at the bottom of the cylinder head are tricky to remove/install - make sure you have a good selection of T30 bits

When I did mine, it did turn into a saga, but with both the timing belt slipped and cam chain spun - it was a worst case with everything out - yours being a running engine it should just be swapping new for old.

[Clarkj93]

I used INA kit, the stuff I replaced was genuine and everything but the pump & belt were marked INA - I got my kit off ebay it was only £101.

Best tip I leant years ago is to get a pint pen, mark the timing marks on the cover, the pulleys and also the old belt, then copy the belt markings to the new belt - old belt stretches, so count teeth to be 100% sure - once the belt is on slowly turn the engine over by hand 2 full rotations to confirm cam and crank timings line up - note the crank is usually very slightly out.

Hardest parts are getting the engine mount & timing cover off/on the engine - the 2 timing cover bolt at the bottom of the cylinder head are tricky to remove/install - make sure you have a good selection of T30 bits

When I did mine, it did turn into a saga, but with both the timing belt slipped and cam chain spun - it was a worst case with everything out - yours being a running engine it should just be swapping new for old.

Hmm you've given me a bit of boost to give it an attempt myself. I think I'll get some parts and maybe have a crack myself then. It looks simple when you see d.i.y's it's just the worry of making a catastrophic error by being an idiot!

[Clarkj93]

Just took it out for a test drive. All good. The miltek exhaust fairplay is quite quiet, not that much more than oem, its an oem+ kind of noise, good for me as will be well within noise limits but for anyone wanting a loud cat back.. definitely not the choice for you.

[blingsta]

Sorry chaps didn't realise you all commented. Thanks for all the bits of info and encouragement!!

We could all talk coilovers forever and never decide haha.

Not much to update yet as needed the car for a few trips, thankfully I can retire it again now for a while and can start some work.

Added a square duct where the passenger side fog light used to  be as an air inlet to the intake (which may or may not do anything)





Had to do a fog light delete then on the drivers side as well then. Pretty proud that I used the bottom of a tin that I was about to throw in the rubbish and just used a permanent marker to paint it black, then cable tied it in place. Recycling level = master.



So yeah couldn't bare fiddling with the side skirts after a failed first attempt. Instead got a decal removed rubber wheel drill bit and took all the residue tape off then stuck in some screws with a washer and simply painted them red with a touch up pen. Looks okay now. I got some jack stickers to go on as there is no longer any arrow markings to the jack points now the skirts are gone. This is primarily for tyre shops who don't always take car when jacking up the car...







Added some forge motorsport gold tape to the intake.



I lost the locking wheel nut after driving off with it still in, very annoying. However I realised a spline bit works just as well... made me laugh as its not the best anti theft wheel nut if that's possible!

Hopefully things will get more interesting now I can crack on with a few bigger jobs!

mate....   where did you get the blue hoses from under the bonnet please? 

[Clarkj93]

@blingsta Creation Motorsport, that is the charcoal cannister hoses, and 9 piece coolant hoses they sell. I think the Forge stuff is a little better quality but their stuff stills very decent quality, more than up to the job and quite considerably cheaper.

[blingsta]

cheers fella.. 
can i ask how much it cost you please

[Clarkj93]

cheers fella.. 
can i ask how much it cost you please

Here they are...
https://creationsmotorsport.com/silicone-carbon-canister-hose-kit.html
https://creationsmotorsport.com/2-0-fsit-turbo-silicone-9-piece-coolant-hose-kit.html

I opted for the jubilee clips so came in at about 130, they're heavy duty clips and very good quality. The standard flimsy clips on Amazon won't cut it, need something a bit beefy like the jubilee ones they provide.

[blingsta]

 
cheers for that mate

[blingsta]

not sure if i will go for the clips..  im sure i'll be able to find a few good quality ones from a few of my friends who work in garages 

[Clarkj93]

So car feels a little sluggish in 3rd and up at about 3.5k onwards. Its currently got about 80/100kg of tools/equipment in boot and back seat so maybe that's a contributor but I swear I can hear boost escaping at about 3500 rpm occasionally.

Checked the DV which has covered under 1000 miles and had this small crease which looked bad at first. But took it apart and the crease had sorted itself, just refitted and made sure it was tight enough with some loctite this time, no change.



Ordered some new seals for the boost pipes and clamps and will change the throttle body hose for forge one I have laid about. Did some logs and looked OK to me, could just be me tbh but just double checking it's all good and R Tech don't send me home empty handed in Jan.

Feels like I'm charging this thing all the time.... the few times I actually want to test drive it its always dead the beast that is the fiat 500 in the back ground, she's trading it in for a audi a1 next year I think, getting into the golf after driving that little thing makes it feel like a bus in comparison.



I came across this book recently, Great Xmas read for any setup geeks. Most interesting part I found was how it debunks a lot of poly bushes as when the grease gets pushed out after said weeks or months they start to bind to the inner steel tube and don't offer proper rotation anymore (squeaking noises are evidence of this apparantally). I notice super pro seem to have a couple of differences to most other manufacturers to keep hold of grease for longer periods and stop it being pushed out, in my mind anyway they sound far superior after reading this.
Chassis Engineering HP1055 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1557880557/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_29GYX4G6BS1QF386VW3C?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

So! After mentioning God knows how many times this year, finally settled on coilovers. I was settled on the idea of replacing all bushes with super pro and gaz golds but costs were growing, life is getting seriously expensive with a wedding being planned additionally and this is a budget track build after all... so decided I need to get this to a good baseline that I can work to improve over time otherwise il get carried away and it will be 2023 before it turns a wheel, I'm aiming to have it on track by April I hope.

Picked up a set of B14's in the black Friday sale for 750. Great price and I know they will be durable and do the job for now and leaves me some budget to spend on other things. Plus should be easy enough to sell these on when it's time to upgrade.



Not sure when il fit these yet. R Tech specify to keep to stock ride height but I'm sure these at their highest setting would be fine on the rollers? Got enough jobs to be getting on with between now and Jan anyway and with Xmas coming up not sure il get time until after the session anyway! Just hope the clutch doesn't give in immediately I think it's the original one with 104k on it.... if it lasts until the end of next year il count that as a win.

[bobby_fodge]

I'm going to Rtech next week and they said my lowering springs would be fine on their dyno.