cat7

I've got rid of my last track toy (caterham) and am looking for cheaper thrills. Anyone converted a mk 2 8v gti for track days, what should be done first, what costs am I looking at?

TheBigMan

Very popular in Nurburg. Locals use these - says it all.

Suspension, decent tyres, better pads and you're away. Strip it and cage it for full effect. Cheap as chips, reliable too. Though the 16v is quicker and equally as reliable.

All in - good choice!!

kayeabl

Hi mate,

I have a Mk2 Gti 8 valve and although its not a proper track car i have used it on the track and the airfield and found a few choice mods were required.

1. Resecure the battery - The standard battery mounting is no good and on the track it moves a lot!! I drilled new holes and bolted a cage over it like the Scoobs and other Jap cars have, keeps it nice and still

2. Exhaust mountings - I found even with a standard exhaust, under heavy cornering the standard rubber exhaust mounts kept snapping. My solution was better mounts from a Toyota Celica of all cars!

3. Brakes - standard 8v brakes are pretty poor. I bought a conversion kit and fitted Mk3 VR6 calipers from the scrapyard and EBC discs with Ferrodo pads. Change the brake fluid and now it stops really nicely. (still fit under standard BBS wheels)

4. Suspension and engine mountings - The 8 valve is a high car and rolls a lot, put Eibach springs on and it improved the handling a lot. Also standard engine mountings are not great.

5. Induction kit . A cheap K&N kit is only £60!
Cheers

Ash

The Chief

Wouldn't the 8V be a little breathless on the straights????

how hard would it be to lob in a 1.8t and remap it to around 180 this would surely make a great track weapon, Has anyone done this by the way??????

rb5_336

I'm a caterham convert myself. I love the mk2 golf, but I think it's far too heavy at nearly 1 ton (although I have no idea exactly how heavy it is) the bhp per ton is 127 for the 16v

I converted to Peugeot 205s and they are simply amazing on track. Stripped out your looking 750 to 780kgs (with cage) and from the 8v 1.9 engine (130 bhp ish) you are looking at 173 bhp per ton. That's a big difference. There are plenty of engine tuning options like mi16 160bhp (pick one up for £400 ish) and XU10 head 150 bhp (£500 flowed with cams) to take the bhp per tone over 200 on a strict budget.

If interested get yourself over to 205gtidrivers.com plenty of track cars over there. My old mi16 205 is here

Sean

Gutmann pug

I dont think you can go wrong. If you have a budget stick to it, get the best car you can for the cash and do the work yourself, its half the fun. 8V will be just as much fun as a 16V, not so quick on the straight but who cares, its cheap and fun and thats what counts.

Gary