What would you rate these items? From most important to least important for a track day with our Gti's:
LSD
Big brake kit
Bigger, baffled oil pan (oil starvation)
Bigger Radiator (Tyrolsport or the like to combat overheating)
K04
I know K04 should be the last thing lol. But for those of you that track your car... do you tend to overheat easily? or have problems with oil starvation?
This is just my opinion, but I tried to include some rationale / experiences.
1. LSD - Being on track with an open diff is insanely frustrating. I cannot overstate how much an LSD changes the car. You need to experience it yourself.
2. Brakes - Honestly, there are plenty of people tracking their GTIs with a good set of rotors/pads/fluids/lines. The key is airflow. Removing the factory dust shields is an absolute must. Install TT-RS cooling ducts as an additional measure. This setup can handle some pretty serious tracking with the right pads.
3. Cooling System - My temps on track range from 200-210° F, and I use Harry's Lap Timer to analyze my temps over the course of each session. My advice would be to look at your G13 coolant mixture ratio. Most people default to 50/50 mix, which is not correct. Depending on climate, we should be somewhere between a 15/85 to 40/60 G13 to water ratio. You want the most water while still achieving frost protection of -20° C. The only way to do this properly is with a refractometer. The correct coolant mixture can effect temps by as much as 15 degrees.
4. Oil Starvation - A friend recently ran into this issue with his mk7 R running 2:10 range on the VIR Full Course (at Nascar Bend), which is an extremely impressive time. We resolved the issue by keeping his oil level at the top of the dipstick range. Always take oil to the track with you, and make sure you're topping off between sessions, if needed.
5. Power - After the things above are addressed, add power if you want (K04, etc)