ASTRID - SCCA TT National Tour & Time Attack Build

I originally started Auto X with FCSCC (I still have their "Doctor of Pylons" award from when I did their AutoX for new drivers school) but their events are pretty far from me. I much prefer going to the CART events (Connecticut Autocross Rally Team). They're more in central CT versus Fairfield county. They have a track day at Thompson on May 5th that I am going to try to be there for.

I'm in Rocky Hill; I frequent the Berlin Turnpike on the weekends, should definitely meet up! Car is gonna be under the knife for the next few weeks, but once the car is settled and dialed in most definitely.

Ah ok! I was going to start with CART but then a friend of a friend suggested FCSCC because they have bigger lots for it. CART does most of their events in Hartford, right? I looked into them briefly.

I've got family in Wethersfield and in Rocky Hill (off Rt 3 near Westside Super Market) and I am currently in Middletown so I know the area pretty well.

I check out the Berlin Turnpike pretty often during the summer months so i'll definitely keep my eyes peeled for another mk6.

Speaking of the pike... what are the most popular times for meet ups now? They used to go pretty late and me and some buddies would show up for around 10pm but seems like the cops have really cracked down on it all. Past summer or 2 have seemed dead on the Berlin Turnpike... at least late night.

They use 2 lots, the bigger of the two (the south lot I believe?) they only use maybe 3 or 4 times a season. The CART lot (1-17 Pequot Street Hartford CT 06120, if you google map it you'll see the skid marks from the satellite image that's the lot) its bigger than the north lot but not quite as big as the south lot. Either way you're only looking at ~40 second run times no matter where you go. Also just in terms of the people I enjoy the CART folks a lot more--they're a more laid back crowd imo.

The pike has calmed down a bit for sure, but when it's nice out there's still a good crowd... they just go to route 9 to race instead of doing it on the actual pike (which is probably why police haven't really bothered us). Out of all the nights I've stayed there late last summer we only got kicked out once.

And you know what's funny is last summer I did street race a CSG MK6 on the pike that I believe he said was Revo stage 1 at the time. Who knows we might've met and not realized it haha. We both had passengers, we went down pretty far on the pike almost into Meriden.

zef said:

The focal point of this car since I got it has been the suspension and drivetrain in order to accomplish one thing: to eliminate or minimize the weaknesses of FWD. As evidenced by the new Civic Type R (and ClubSport S), a properly setup FWD car can be a serious contender. I have experimented with multiple suspension setups that I will be happy to share with you all.

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I am curious why you didn't seek out a Golf R as a starting point. I am considering making more engine modifications to my GTI and wonder if I will be disappointed without AWD. What was your thought process on that?

SteveInLA said:

I am curious why you didn't seek out a Golf R as a starting point. I am considering making more engine modifications to my GTI and wonder if I will be disappointed without AWD. What was your thought process on that?

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I didn't go for the R because I knew I wasn't looking for a crazy amount of power from this car (which would be pointless for that very reason you mention). The KO4 allows you to gain a healthy bump in power, but without overpowering the chassis completely. With proper suspension and drivetrain modifications you can still maintain that well balanced, nimble, all around fun car that the GTI was meant to be.

The price difference between the models was also fairly large (over $10,000 at the time), which played a factor as well.

Received my Revozsport rear spoiler in the mail today. Damn this thing is hot! Now if only it would stop snowing out





I also added a piece to the original thread regarding oil starvation. I will be adding a Wortec oil pan to help combat this, but a proper accumulator setup is really going to be the only way to foolproof the motor from this happening. Since APR's OPS system is discontinued I'll need to figure out a way to obtain my own setup.

I am also looking at obtaining a dedicated set of track wheels/tires. Volk Racing has released a new TE37 called the "SAGA" which has several 5x112 fitments. I am looking at going 18x8.5 ET42 with 255/35/18 all the way around. It'll be tight, but based on all the research and measuring I have done it will be possible. If necessary I might have to pick up some SRS-TEC fenders, which would definitely give me enough room in the front. The rears are fine as is.

Is there a schedule for autox for CART CT yet? I can't seem to find anything but the track day in May.

That rear spoiler looks pretty sweet! Hopefully tomorrow will be the last of the snow for the season.

GreyGti1990 said:

Is there a schedule for autox for CART CT yet? I can't seem to find anything but the track day in May.

That rear spoiler looks pretty sweet! Hopefully tomorrow will be the last of the snow for the season.

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Good question. Their first member meeting is next week, I will let you know as soon as I find out.

And yes, f**k this snow... I feel like New England winter is Feb-April instead of December-Feb

More goodies came in today!















After holding and taking in the awesomeness of my brand new turbo, I threw it back in the box (minus the hardware) and shipped it out to SoCal Porting for a P&P/ceramic coating job. Should hopefully see it back here in a couple weeks!

I'm interested to see how you like those 034 trailing arms. I had my eye on them for a while but decided to go with a 90a poly bushing from powerflex instead

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Yesssssss new turbo and intake manifold!! I'm jealous.

In the not so distant past I was thinking about going the hybrid turbo route to push my engine closer to 400whp but as of late I've been thinking against that and just go with a K04 + P&P. It's my daily driver and I don't want to deal with potential headaches due to a hybrid turbo or pushing more power through the engine.

Can't wait to see the results!

I'll probably be doing the K04 swap next summer. I'd like to do the intake manifold too. Not sure if I should keep my Revo tune with the K04 or go with a new tuner (UM/Stratified/Maestro)... all depends on $$$.

jay745 said:

I'm interested to see how you like those 034 trailing arms. I had my eye on them for a while but decided to go with a 90a poly bushing from powerflex instead

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Will definitely report back on them. I've read that the NVH is hardly noticeable with these...we'll see.

GreyGti1990 said:

Yesssssss new turbo and intake manifold!! I'm jealous.

In the not so distant past I was thinking about going the hybrid turbo route to push my engine closer to 400whp but as of late I've been thinking against that and just go with a K04 + P&P. It's my daily driver and I don't want to deal with potential headaches due to a hybrid turbo or pushing more power through the engine.

Can't wait to see the results!

I'll probably be doing the K04 swap next summer. I'd like to do the intake manifold too. Not sure if I should keep my Revo tune with the K04 or go with a new tuner (UM/Stratified/Maestro)... all depends on $$$.

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I switched to Strat from Maestro. Way easier working with Alex. Closest Eurodyne tuner is Evans Tuning in PA and while he does a good job its $675 for the first fuel type and $175/hr for each fuel type after that. Retunes are even more. Plus you don't get the accessport which gives you all kinds of awesome info (boost, afr, oil temp, etc).

Also there's an argument to be had for dyno tuning vs street tuning... while street tuning isn't exactly "safe", the dyno doesn't always mimic real street conditions perfectly which can cause issues. There is plenty of safe areas near me for 4th gear pulls so I'm not worried about that.

I highly debated KO4/BT/Hybrid and honestly anything more than KO4 you're going to really struggle with traction. You can argue that big turbos "make power later" and with progressive boost-by-gear it's "smoother" than a KO4, but it's all bologna imo. If you have 400+ whp, you're roasting tires 1st through 3rd. Doesn't matter. The difference with KO4 is you can make adjustments to the suspension and drivetrain (i.e. LSD) that will give you the ability to actually effectively put down the power anywhere in the power band (and not just in a straight line). It also allows you to safely maximize the potential of the internals (did I also mention it's stupid cheap to do so?) All around a no brainer. Also, a KO4 MK6 only makes ~20hp & ~20tq less than a IS38 MK7 (according to APR).

I dug up some info that HPA actually bought their manifold design and slapped their name on it and didn't actually develop the product themselves. Even more reason why I am glad I stuck with IE for the manifold. The velocity stacks on the runners is an awesome design. It's basically ITB's with a plenum over it.

The P&P is kind of the cherry on top. For only ~$250, you get a tad quicker spool and a little extra HP. Add an extra $50 for ceramic coating and it's another no brainer. It just sucks having to go an extra week before the turbo can go in.

I did get confirmation from Strat that I'd get the AP by Friday. Super pumped for that! I will see if I can get the trailing arms and misc suspension components in this Saturday. Will definitely give a full "review" on that once it's done.

Some more goodies came in today... another round will be arriving on Friday and a few more stragglers next week.

PTP Turbo Blanket



Neuspeed TOP



I've contacted PTP on making a "one off" hood/firewall insulator since they've now been discontinued. Hopefully they can come through for me.

Awesome man!

Any thought around the aftermarket Gramm throttle body?

I'm on the fence about doing an LSD job as well. I think that'll be my absolute last mod I do.

Really can't wait to see all this stuff installed and see what kind of power this is putting down... I'll probably end up with a very similar build in terms of power.

GreyGti1990 said:

Awesome man!

Any thought around the aftermarket Gramm throttle body?

I'm on the fence about doing an LSD job as well. I think that'll be my absolute last mod I do.

Really can't wait to see all this stuff installed and see what kind of power this is putting down... I'll probably end up with a very similar build in terms of power.

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Thanks man, the grams throttle body is more like a "while I am in there why not?" kind of mod. I also got it for a little over $200 during the last black Friday sale and I am going to finally get it on Tuesday (they were on a ridiculous back order). As long as it doesn't cause any funky business.

The LSD has so far been my favorite mod. I flashed back to stock a couple days ago so I can finally try and get my car to pass emissions and even on stock power levels the car was still a blast to drive.

I'm very anxious to see everything come together myself as well. There's a lot of moving parts going on right now, just hoping it all comes together without much drama.

I was down with a stomach bug for the past couple days but I did manage to throw in some LED dark cherry tail lights and some yummy OSRAM Xenarc's this afternoon. There's an annoying gap on the passenger side that I fussed with for about 45 minutes and couldn't seem to figure out if it was an issue with the bumper or the headlight. Regardless they're beautiful and project way more light. Next will definitely be some deautokey LED fogs. I just need to figure out where people mounted the gold resistor.

I knew I should have put in an LSD when I upgraded the clutch... But I already had an expensive bill on the clutch alone so I passed on it.

I love those headlights!! Those are the ones I want too. They might have to wait a little while for me though lol.

I'm trying to source a new front bumper and not exactly sure where to get one... I'm thinking of getting a Replica front bumper.

I posted on C.A.R.T's facebook page, think i'll give them a try whenever they decide to post their schedule. I know someone else that runs with them too so I think I'll have more fun with CART.

This weekend I did an oil change, spark plugs, and new PCV valve. Next weekend I plan to install a rear sway bar, clean my air intake filter and mass airflow sensor and maybeee put on my lightweight rims and summer tires. Trying to prep for autocross as much as I can!