Having sold my Vauxhall VX220 track car in early 2010, I spent most of the rest of the year wishing I could get out on track again!! I did a few airfield track days (plenty local to me in the Bristol area) in my Audi S4 (B5) but really wanted something a little bit more 'fit for purpose'. It struck me that many of the cars attending the airfield track days had been built on a budget, using solid base cars (Golfs, 205s, E30s, Civics etc.) with appropriate modifications for track driving. So, in October 2010, I decided to bite the bullet and start the search. As a previous Mk2 Scirocco owner, I quite fancied another VW, so began scouring the web for similar vehicles. It didn't take long to find a track prepared (used mainly for Auto-Solo events) 1990 big bumper Mk2 Golf GTi 16v in Gloucester, which had just failed to make reserve on eBay. I rang the owner, arranged a viewing and bought the car a few days later!! So, the specification when I bought it: - 2.0 16v ABF conversion (with KR cams / cooling / ignition and K-Jet fuelling) - Remus 2.25" stainless exhaust system (down-pipe back) - Koni Yellow dampers and Eibach lowering springs - G60 front caliper brackets and 280mm discs - Poly-bushed suspension - Lightly stripped interior with Cobra Forza buckets and Willans 4-point harnesses - Borbet C 15" alloy wheels Despite the great starting specification, I've had to do a fair bit of work on the car over the past few months, in order to get it up to the standard I wanted for track driving. As well as improving the car considerably, this has also been a great deal of fun! - Momo Tuner steering wheel - OZ Ultralegerra (15x6.5) alloys with Yokohama AD08 (195/50) tyres to use on track - Re-connected engine electrics (idle had been set on throttle stop alone!) - ISV, WUR, coolant temperature sensors, followed by a DIY warm idle setup - New ignition coil and earth cables - Replacement silicon vacuum lines - Replaced ABF ISV with correct KR item - New coolant bottle and head flange / pipework - Jetex 2.5" stainless exhaust system with straight through front section - New lower ball joints, tie rods / tie rod ends and Mk3 GTi strut top mounts - DIY brake cooling ducts from front fog light ports As for other near-term plans, before it's first track outing in Feb / March: - Full idle tune this weekend (CO, ignition etc.) followed by rolling road tune later in Jan - Trial fit Girling 60 (2-pot) front brake calipers - Replace rear brake calipers with Mk3 VR6 items - Replace brake fluid - Fit replacement oil filter and filter/pump/accumulator connecting pipes - Finish interior strip out and fit passenger foot brace Some pictures of the car just after I picked it up (more to follow this weekend!):
Looks like a great starting point, and pretty tidy too. Did you get a good deal on it? You might find the Eibach springs are a bit soft for track use, but they're a decent compromise if you drive on the road too.
Thanks I got a very good deal on it and have obviously had to spend a bit since....however, I'm still within my budget so far. Yep, it's a relatively tidy example. The driver's side door is a little off-colour but other than that it's rust free!! I'll leave the suspension for the time being and see how it performs - pretty easy to swap / upgrade if required.
What made you sell up the VX220 , surely that was good fun on track. Just make sure you replace the brake fluid before doing the next track day
I'd owned the VX220 for two years and just got a bit tired of the loud, uncomfortable and cold drives to/from track days LOL!! It wasn't great in the wet either, so decided to sell it and move on....hence I now own a Mk2 16v
The project took another step forward today with an attempt at a proper idle tune this morning and the fitting of Audi S2 (Girling 60) brakes this afternoon. As for the idle, we set the ignition advance at ~8degs (giving a peak of 31-32degs in the mid-range) but the CO was only at 0.4%. Slightly worrying was the hydrocarbons at 2000+ ppm!! We wound on the CO to 1.8-2.0%, using the idle air valve on the throttle body to control the revs. However, this resulted in a complete lack of idle control, even with the ISV plugged in....blip the throttle and the revs would then plummet and the engine die. The old settings were much smoother and the idle picked up really nicely when you dipped the clutch etc. Not quite sure what's going on....could be cam timing potentially or an air leak somewhere? Drives great on load, really smooth and strong. As for the brakes, this was somewhat more successful. My friend has an Audi S2 fitted with Porsche monoblock brakes, so had the S2 items (with carriers and pads) lying around spare. We gave them a thorough clean-up and once-over before trial fitting them on my Golf. They fitted over the existing 280mm discs a treat, so got the whole lot on the car, bled the calipers through and took it out for test drive. There's a really noticeable improvement in braking force (due to the larger pad area), no real 'lenthening' of the pedal and plenty of bite (to the point of locking up) in the second half of the pedal travel. Will be looking into a bigger master cylinder (24mm) / servo (Mk3) to complete the setup, but definitely a worthwhile upgrade! Pictures of the new setup to follow, once my friend sends them through. Next on the list will be to fit the Mk3 VR6 rear calipers, re-align the exhaust back-box and replace the fuel filter/pump connecting pipes. Nearly ready for the track season
Thanks Stuart! I promised some more photos, so here we go.... Up front - lower dash stripped out, no radio, Momo Tuner steering wheel etc. Seats - Corbeau Forza Sport buckets with Willans 4-point harnesses (very comfortable and supportive) Interior - stipped out rear, retains carpets (for the time being) Engine - Mk3 ABF 2.0 16v, running KR cams, K-Jet fuelling / ignition and Jetex 2.5" exhaust system
For starters, it's definitely worth trying to find one that's already had a bit of work done already. Most of the stuff I'm doing is minor upgrades / replacing worn components, rather than major work....otherwise it ends up being a complete money pit!! I'm sorting mine out to a fairly strict budget at the moment and intend to keep it that way as I use it during the track season. That said, some adjustable coilovers would be nice
Looks good and should be a great track car. are you planning to lose the rest of the interior? makes sense if its just going on the track.
The car is currently parked on the street, so I've left the black carpet / interior bits in to try and keep it just a little discrete. Moving somewhere with a driveway in a few weeks, so the rest of the interior will be coming straight out
So, as the track season is fast approaching, a few final jobs to complete over the coming weeks: 1. Front brakes - complete Girling 60 (Audi S2) brake upgrade with trial of re-bored Vauxhall Meriva 280x25mm discs and fitment of Mintex 1155 pads 2. Rear brakes - fit Mk3 VR6 calipers, Brembo discs (with new bearings) and Mintex 1155 pads 3. Fuel pipes - replace fuel pump / accumulater / filter interconnecting pipes with stainless, zinc coated items 4. Re-align exhaust back-box 5. Complete interior strip-out Also considering a suspension upgrade to a set of mid-range coilovers, as I don't think the current (and tired) Koni damper / Eibach Pro springs combination will perform that well during hard track use. Thinking along the lines of the APEX RDX kit (~380 from Venom), as I can't really justify paying silly money for Koni / Bilstein / AVO / KW etc. Can't wait to get out on track soon
So, I bit the bullet today and bought a set of Spax RSX adjustable coilovers. Having done some research and spoken to a few of the track regulars on the forum, these seem to be a great compromise between performance and price. Not quite 'budget' but should make a huge difference to the handling of the car on track. Should be arriving next week sometime, can't wait to fit them along with the brake upgrades!
nice looking project, just sure though that i have read on here that abf cams have more lift than kr cams, so a swap back might yield a bit more.
Been really busy with the car recently, as first track day is this Saturday Complete the following jobs: - Stripped out the rest of the interior - now bare metal except door cards - Replace electric windows with manual for weight / reliability - Removed central locking - Fitted and setup Spax RSX coilovers - Fitted new inlet camshaft to replace 'bodged' exhaust cam effort - Fitted Mk3 VR6 rear brake calipers, Goodridge braided hoses and Pagid pads - Complete S2 front brakes setup with trail fitment of Meriva 1.7 CDTi 280x25mm disc (seems to work very well indeed!) - Fitted chequeur plate to driver/passenger footwells and a foot rest for the passenger - Fitted OZ Superturismo wheels with Yoko AD08 tyre (need some 5mm spacers for the rear)
looking good, any more news on the meriva discs and the s2's??? did you manage to get the mintex 1155 for them?
The Meriva discs fit fine after the centre bore machining work, with a pair of 1.5mm thick "Form B" M12 washers used to space out the caliper (under the caliper carrier bolts). There is now no step on the pad/disc contact like the 280mm G60 setup, and the extra thermal mass (25mm vs. 22mm) is obviosuly a bonus. I'll be buying the Brembo variants soon and get them machined. I'll also fit Mintex 1155s (MDB1819) at the same time, along with the same disc/pad combination on the rear. I'll be sticking with the Pagid pads for this Saturday's trackday and just taking it steady.
Nice work pete. Might try and pop along on saturday afternoon if time allows to check out your work, and maybe grab a passenger ride. Gonna tax my golf on wednesday as its been sorn for a few months can't wait to take it for a drive. I have booked abingdon on fri 18th march as i have a rest day, looks like the next one i will do will be in may.
