Should I sell my GT4 and turn my DD GTI in to a full blown track car?

[nasieg]

I know, sounds nuts, but hear me out.

I am in the middle of a divorce :-( , and between that and my business suffering from COVID-19, tougher times are certainly ahead. I've been a long time Bimmer enthusiast, had many M3's and other 3-series, but when I started to get in to track days 7 years ago, I "traded down" from a 335i and bought a new 2013 VW GTI with DSG as a DD, so I could free up some money for a dedicated track car. BTW, the GTI has been one of the best cars I have ever owned. Unvelievable value.

For the track I started with an e30 M3, then back in to a cherry low milage e46 M3 (my alltime favorite BMW) and 2 years ago moved up to a like new GT4...........it was one of those situations where "you can't fight them join them" kind of things. It's just hard to beat Porsches for the track. Never was a huge fan of the p-cars, but they are just ready to go out of the box, and I got tired of modding. However, now with wanting to save some money and cut back I might be faced with having to let go of it. Not sure yet. Another factor is that one of my son's backed my wife's Rubicoon in to the front of the GTI recently. Messed up the hood, the fenders, radiator support, headlight and a few other things. While the car was pristine at 80k miles, I am now wondering......rather than spending $3k to fix the damage on a car worth about $8k, should I maybe just get a CF hood and fenders, upgrade brakes and suspension and make this a dedicated track car? I get it that it isn't anywhere near GT4 level, but the cost would be exponentially lower. The drawback on tracking a Porsche is that I can only afford to go about 6 times a year, because I have to insure it each time, wich is really expensive. Basically doubles the cost of each track day. With the GTI I could probably go a lot more often and have fun.

What other upgrades would I need? Are these cars bullet proof at the track with 80k miles? How about the DSG, are there issues with them long term? Even though I had this car for so long, I really have not been super involved in the community to know what other things might come up, other than the water pump. I do know that is an ongoing issue.

 

[jay745]

Sorry to hear about the troubles. I'm sure a gt4 is a hoot on the track. I have a gti track car and honestly it does pretty well, I can play with a lot of P-cars out there. You'll definitely need some maintenance, timing chains are due especially if you're going to the track with it. For a few g's you could have a pretty good track car, definitely needs all the normal stuff you'd expect, brakes, suspension and bushings/motor mounts. With your experience I'd expect you to be pushing it too, cooling will be an issue. You'd be wise to add an external oil cooler and probably an external dsg cooler. The dsg is fairly good to go with a tune.

Good luck, keep updated on the progress.

 

[brat_burner]

I would let go of the gt4, you can always go back later when things turn around right?

 

[nasieg]

I would let go of the gt4, you can always go back later when things turn around right?

I know it would be the wise thing to do.

Sorry to hear about the troubles. I'm sure a gt4 is a hoot on the track. I have a gti track car and honestly it does pretty well, I can play with a lot of P-cars out there. You'll definitely need some maintenance, timing chains are due especially if you're going to the track with it. For a few g's you could have a pretty good track car, definitely needs all the normal stuff you'd expect, brakes, suspension and bushings/motor mounts. With your experience I'd expect you to be pushing it too, cooling will be an issue. You'd be wise to add an external oil cooler and probably an external dsg cooler. The dsg is fairly good to go with a tune.

Good luck, keep updated on the progress.

Yes, it doesn't get much better than GT4 for the track.

That is precisely what I have seen also, that if set up right, a GTI can almost hang with P-cars. It's the driver mostly anyway, right ;-)

Thanks for the input. Sounds like it would take some things to sort out though. Did not consider all the cooling issues and timing chain. I also have a leaking water pump seal, again. I will need to see if this is worth doing.

 

[jay745]

I know it would be the wise thing to do.


Yes, it doesn't get much better than GT4 for the track.

That is precisely what I have seen also, that if set up right, a GTI can almost hang with P-cars. It's the driver mostly anyway, right ;-)

Thanks for the input. Sounds like it would take some things to sort out though. Did not consider all the cooling issues and timing chain. I also have a leaking water pump seal, again. I will need to see if this is worth doing.

Those of us that have been at it a while know it's mostly the driver. I get all sorts of "fast car" drivers that come talk to me at the track and ask me how a gti is keeping up with them. Fast cars do not equal fast drivers and it's way more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow.

 

[nasieg]

Those of us that have been at it a while know it's mostly the driver. I get all sorts of "fast car" drivers that come talk to me at the track and ask me how a gti is keeping up with them. Fast cars do not equal fast drivers and it's way more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow.

Yep, very true. I used to enjoy passing all kinds of fast cars in my e46 M3. I remember a HOD track day where in one session I passed, 3 GT4's, F80 M3's, Lambo Aventador, McLaren 650 and a and a GT3 RS. However, a fast driver in a fast car is still going to drive circles around me ;-)

Definitley very true that it is more fun to drive a slow car fast, then the other way around. The added issue with a GT4 type car is this. If I go for a Canyon run, I have to drive a speeds that would land me in jail to get anywhere near the limit or where the car offers me enough thrill. However, when I drive my sons POS NB Miata, I can do so at more reasoable speeds and having almost nearly the the same fun.

 

[GolNat]

Just to throw another idea out.

Sell the GT4 (beautiful car btw) and sell the MK6. Get a low mileage MK7 with a manual. Stage 2 flash will put you above 325HP (Uni claims) and then work on some suspension tuning and brake upgrades.

 

[nasieg]

Just to throw another idea out.

Sell the GT4 (beautiful car btw) and sell the MK6. Get a low mileage MK7 with a manual. Stage 2 flash will put you above 325HP (Uni claims) and then work on some suspension tuning and brake upgrades.

Thanks. I did toy with that idea, to sell both and get a cheaper dual purpose car, but if I would, I don't think I would go GTI, no offense. Love the allround capabilities of these cars, however, I think a used M2 or M3 would make a more capable track car that I can still DD.

 

[Cole2999]

They definitely make good track cars. My only thing is if you want to move into FF as a drivetrain layout for the track. It's going to be a different beast entirely.
In an ideal world I'd tell you to buy a Miata or 86 and track that; however you're not trying to buy a track car, you're working with what you've got. But you could still fix it up back to stock and buy a separate dedicated track car.

So I guess it mostly comes down to which layout you want. But hey, any of those cars, properly modded, will be beasts on the track. The modding potential with GTIs is enormous. Only thing I recommend is fixing some common failures on the GTI, such as the water pump and timing chain tensioner.

 

[zef]

I agree with Jay. These are amazing track cars with minimal amounts of work. The biggest expense will be getting an LSD installed which on a DSG I believe the book time is 16-18 hours. Other than that, after some basic cooling mods and preventative maintenance the car will be good to go. If you want power, you can invest 5-7k in a big turbo (GTX28-30 series or a G25-XXX) and get ~425whp or for ~$2500 you can upgrade to the Golf R turbo and get about 330whp.