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Any Track Rats Still Active?

Roadrunner_GTI

Roadrunner_GTI

Drag Racing Champion
Eowyn89 said:
Hi all, I think this may be my first post with this forum, but I wanted to weigh in on the LSD vs. power upgrade. I added the Peloquin LSD this winter after doing the APR Stage 1 upgrade last spring and I wish I had done them in reverse order. I've run HPDE at Summit Point (WV) and TNiA at Pitt Race (PA) and both times the Stage 1 made me spin tire like crazy on the uphill turns (I would get less wheel spin w/o the Stage 1, but still would get it). I will be going back to Summit Point over Memorial Day weekend so I'll get my first feel on how the LSD performs at the track, but at least when canyon carving the LSD seems to have solved my slippage problem.

Question for the group - is there a point where you stop upgrading your GTI due to the limitations of FWD and F/R weight distribution and consider moving on to something like a Miata? I bought an E91 325xi last year as my "new" daily driver and am amazed at how balanced it is which has got me reconsidering how much I want to keep upgrading the GTI. Thanks!
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I'm with you on LSD being the first mod. Sending power through one wheel is just ridiculous, and it's hard to explain to people that it completely changes the car so they will understand. Also, it's low on the "scene points" scale, but really really high on the "I actually use my car scale". :laugh:

As far as modding a FWD car, I would say the limit is pretty high. I say this as a traditional RWD guy that is one of the few FWD cars in a group of E46, E90, and Subaru AWD cars. I'm right in the mix and usually have more power in the straights. The important thing to remember is that you drive a FWD and RWD car completely different on track. In some ways, FWD has it's advantages regarding powering toward the apex. With FWD, I would focus on trail braking in order to keep weight on the front.

A decent set of sway bars, along with an anti-lift kit will drastically change the understeering tendencies of the car. What tires are you running on track?
 
BoostedVW11

BoostedVW11

Drag Racing Champion
watch a continental sports car series race...

the minicoopers are impressive.




fwd sucks for burnouts and drag racing< both of which get boring fast and require little to no skill. FWD perfectly fine for roadcourse racing .
 
Eowyn89

Eowyn89

New member
Ronnie - thank you for the reply. I was running Dunlop Direzza DZ102s the last two years. I upgraded to Pilot Super Sports this year. I have yet to make the commitment to having a dedicated set of track tires because I'm on the fence with keeping my GTI or getting a Miata (or something similar). I have to admit that reading through this thread has been a nice reminder of just how special the GTI platform is and that the best thing I can do is keep the GTI and focus on seat time, seat time, seat time...and run some track tires. :)
 
Eowyn89

Eowyn89

New member
DASVDUB said:
lol go look at Jay's build thread. There is NEVER an end to modding. lol
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Holy cow...I just looked at Jay's build and got a little lightheaded! :eyebulge: Very impressive!
 
Eowyn89

Eowyn89

New member
...fwd sucks for burnouts and drag racing< both of which get boring fast and require little to no skill...
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I'm glad that I'm not the only one who feels that way! :)
 
Roadrunner_GTI

Roadrunner_GTI

Drag Racing Champion
Eowyn89 said:
Ronnie - thank you for the reply. I was running Dunlop Direzza DZ102s the last two years. I upgraded to Pilot Super Sports this year. I have yet to make the commitment to having a dedicated set of track tires because I'm on the fence with keeping my GTI or getting a Miata (or something similar). I have to admit that reading through this thread has been a nice reminder of just how special the GTI platform is and that the best thing I can do is keep the GTI and focus on seat time, seat time, seat time...and run some track tires. :)
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You probably know I'm going to say this, but those PSS don't handle track duty very well. ;)
I went the same route, and quickly went through two sets of PSS's before I got a cheapish set of 17" track wheels. Now I run whatever 17" track-oriented tire I can find on sale (at the moment Yokohama Ad08R). :) It gives you some flexibility to not rely on your street tires for trackdays, for those of us that daily drive our car.

You already have the biggest mod of an LSD, so with some seat time and minor suspension/brake system tweaking here and there...I think you'll find this platform is really capable.
 
Eowyn89

Eowyn89

New member
Ronnie_B said:
You probably know I'm going to say this, but those PSS don't handle track duty very well. ;)
I went the same route, and quickly went through two sets of PSS's before I got a cheapish set of 17" track wheels. Now I run whatever 17" track-oriented tire I can find on sale (at the moment Yokohama Ad08R).
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Stupid noob question - I took a look at your build page (very nice BTW!) and it looks like your non-track tires are 18", correct? Is it okay to run 17" for track? I'd love to downsize to 17" for track so save some money on tires as well as weight.
 
Roadrunner_GTI

Roadrunner_GTI

Drag Racing Champion
Eowyn89 said:
Stupid noob question - I took a look at your build page (very nice BTW!) and it looks like your non-track tires are 18", correct? Is it okay to run 17" for track? I'd love to downsize to 17" for track so save some money on tires as well as weight.
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Yes, I run 17" wheels/tires on track and the stock 18" for daily driving.
 
Brendon

Brendon

Ready to race!
Having a kid changed track day auto-x for me. It's harder to make it out to events but I am hoping to get a few in this year. Cars are pretty well setup for them. I also plan on towing to central florida and Georgia tracks next year more than likely. I like the comfort of knowing I can get the car home if something happens.
 
jay745

jay745

What Would Glenn Danzig Do
I don't tow mine. The costs for me of owning a tow vehicle, trailer, storage and registration for the trailer are far more than a couple hundred dollar tow home if something happens. The furthest I've gone to the track is only a few states away. Figured for under a grand I could tow it home if something happened vs investing thousands for the trailer/tow setup.

My car doesn't have a cage and is still safe to drive on the street though too. That's a big factor. If I ever decide to put a cage in that'll be the time I start towing it.
 
Eowyn89

Eowyn89

New member
jay745 said:
My car doesn't have a cage and is still safe to drive on the street though too. That's a big factor. If I ever decide to put a cage in that'll be the time I start towing it.
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I don't tow mine either. I did have a pickup a year ago and considered it, but to rent a trailer and the lousy full economy just didn't make financial sense. The furthest I've driven for an event is ~5 hours away. I've decided to make my car a fun weekend car that I occasionally track (I'm doing 3, maybe 4 HPDE events this year) so it's still comfortable on a road trip. I also agree with Jay's comment that if I get serious and put a roll cage in, I'll start trailering it.

~Steve
 
Eowyn89

Eowyn89

New member
Brendon said:
Having a kid changed track day auto-x for me. It's harder to make it out to events but I am hoping to get a few in this year. Cars are pretty well setup for them. I also plan on towing to central florida and Georgia tracks next year more than likely. I like the comfort of knowing I can get the car home if something happens.
Click to expand...

Your comment made me laugh at myself because I didn't start doing HPDE until I had a kid! I blame my wife since she got me a 3-lap session with Xtreme Xperience in an Audi R8 for my 40th birthday and that started the obsession. :D

On a serious note, I will say that doing track events makes for a great family outing. We bring two vehicles (so my wife and son can leave early if they like), a canopy, chairs, cooler, and lots of coloring books, etc. for my son to do. Plus it's really neat to wave back at them when I'm doing the cool down lap. :)
 
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