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Track TT **Silverstone... Pic Heavy**

46K views 504 replies 44 participants last post by  1781cc 
#1 ·
Ok, I have been lurking and loitering in this section for a while but haven't posted anything up yet as I hadn't earn my stripes on track, well, all that changed on Wednesday and its full steam ahead...

As I give all my cars women's names, I think BeTTy works well for obvious reasons!

So, I bought her at the start of the year, 96K miles and quite a long mods list from its previous owner (mk1f4n) and reads like this:

FK highsport adjustable coilovers
Super Pro fully poly bushed wishbones and top mounts
19 x 9.5 & 8.5 staggered BBS LM black and chrome replica Alloys and stretched tyres
15mm Eibach pro spacers front and rear
Genuine Audi TT Gloss Black QS front grill& rear valance
3 " stainless steel Blueflame cat back exhaust system
Neuspeed P Flo induction kit
smoked side indicators
Headlights have been colour coded and internal orange lens smoked
all red symmetrical rears
Legal metal euro pressed plates
de badged and smoothed rear
Anodised black Pro bolt fuel cap kit
High quality alpine head unit and Bluetooth kit

and looked like this:



I have since finished polybushing the whole car, fixing a misfire issue and a few other bits and bobs as well as taking her to the TT shop for a Stage 1 remap and feeling like a different car.

Having come from a B6 Audi S4 to this I was surprised at how awful the handling was and how slow the car felt, but as I always intended to make a track car, I had to really throw her around and she if she would either be fit for purpose, or if I needed to sell her on.

This Wednesday just gone I booked an Opentrack day at Bedford on the GT circuit and it she didn't miss a beat, coolant didn't rise above 101, brakes felt a little soft but never warped or let me down, tyres on the other hand took a right hammering and after 6 laps felt like I was driving on banana skins, but I wanted to see how bad she was before throwing money at her (if at all)





Having had a great time killing a full tank of fuel, learning how not to unsettle the car (by doing a sweet 360 spin) and recording 140 very punishing miles on a car that was unprepared for experience, I set about ordering parts, talking to my local Audi tuner Guru (Will at VRS Northampton) and today, starting the stripping process.

This is what is in the pipework (ordered and awaiting parts/booking in when they arrive)

- Brembo J Curve Front Discs
- Mintex 1166
- Goodridge Hoses
- Hi temp fluid (can't remember which, but its not the US 600 deg fahrenheit stuff)
- 2x Sparco LF II Circuit seats + mounts/runners
- 18" Rota GTRs in white
- 225/40/18 Nankang 120 NS2-Rs (thanks guys for the tips!)
- Forge Baffled sump
- New pickup pipe and all fitting accessories
- Motul oils and fluids

I am not chasing power now, its all about grip, lightening, stiffening and stopping!

Today, this happened...




When the seats arrive, I'll be glad to get those heavy beasts out of the front!

Now I need some tips on getting all that sound deadening junk off the interior!
 
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#2 ·
If you're on standard calipers, save money and buy OEM discs. For the size they will give you the greatest metal mass and hence will heat up slower the drilled and slotted disc etc. great choice on pads though, I can't fault my Mintex pads!

Heat gun, plastic scrapers and "sticky stuff remover" are what's best for the sound deadening! See my project thread for just how good a finish you can achieve using just these 3! (Sticky stuff remover available from Lakeland for £3.99 a bottle!). If you're a tall guy then careful consideration is needed when fitting the seat to get it as low as possible (I ended up cutting the cushion in mine as with a helmet I was wedged in on the roof!).

Otherwise, great to have you here and looking forward to updates!!!

Oh AND...

GET THE 28th OFF FOR BEDFORD!!!!!! :p
 
#3 ·
I can't mate, Ill be in Antwerp all that week, so losing one day means losing a week of work (and I need money for a half cage, harnesses and a smaller steering wheel!)

thanks for the info about the deadening, will have to buy a heat gun and will see if there is a lakeland around here - good tip. A friend did his time attack S2 when it was winter, apparently the stuff was nearly frozen and just flaked off, I can't wait that long tho.

I've already bought the discs, but good to know for replacement 8)
 
#6 ·
ESP and Haldex can stress this enough! The ESP off button is still crap, You will suffer in tight corners where the ESP says Mmmm that shouldn't be happening! I was suffering brake bind on sharp hairpins so had the steering angle sensor switched so the ESP could not make the decisions.

Hadlex, blue, powertrak or HPA Touchmotion with powertrak being $90 bucks as the yanks on here will say!

They also race roadsters now I'm damned...........

BW
 
#10 ·
brushwood69 said:
ESP and Haldex can stress this enough! The ESP off button is still crap, You will suffer in tight corners where the ESP says Mmmm that shouldn't be happening! I was suffering brake bind on sharp hairpins so had the steering angle sensor switched so the ESP could not make the decisions.

Hadlex, blue, powertrak or HPA Touchmotion with powertrak being $90 bucks as the yanks on here will say!

They also race roadsters now I'm damned...........

BW
I agree, at a certain level of driving, the ESP (even with the button off) will intrusively step in and ruin the dynamics. Fortunately, the ESP since was a post-recall afterthought, can be coded off in VCDS. This totally disables it, and it's reversible by imputing the original software code back if needed for slick or winter driving. Brushwood's idea is a slick one, but wanted to throw it out there that it's also possible to simply code ESP or even EDL off.

PS: Hey, you know people can take jabs at roadsters all they want nowadays, but 2 door, two seater, topless cars are what started the whole car racing thing. The Mazda miata roadster is the best and most raced sportscar ever produced... I think roadsters are in good shape. Cheers!
 
#11 ·
1781cc said:
I can't mate, Ill be in Antwerp all that week, so losing one day means losing a week of work (and I need money for a half cage, harnesses and a smaller steering wheel!)

thanks for the info about the deadening, will have to buy a heat gun and will see if there is a lakeland around here - good tip. A friend did his time attack S2 when it was winter, apparently the stuff was nearly frozen and just flaked off, I can't wait that long tho.

I've already bought the discs, but good to know for replacement 8)
That's a shame dude, but not to worry, I'm hoping to organise a lot more next year :D

If not they delivery, or its on eBay, Lakeland was just the cheapest place I could find it and there's one Just up the road from where I work! As I say also, plastic scrapers from eBay mean you don't scratch the paint work, so the finish beneath looks half decent...





Those 3 pads removed and weighed come to 2kg so it's easy to see how the total weight of this stuff is gunna add up!!
 
#12 ·
Wow, you could eat dinner off that thing!

There is one in Milton Keynes, so will be popping down there later, how many bottles is it worth getting?

I have also noticed in the rear quarters, where the CD multi changer sits and same opposite side is some kind of weird yellow waxy stuff, is that normal? I can't see where the hell it came from either

Also, how the hell do you get the rear bumper off and does that lack of ballast affect the rear end balance much?

Loads of questions, sorry!
 
#13 ·
I've used about 3/4 of a bottle to do those pads so far. I've got 4 in total for the whole car which I hope will be plenty!

Yeah I have the wax too, I wouldn't worry! No idea why or what it's for though!! I assume it's okay to remove it?! :lol:

Rear bumper - light units out, couple of torx screws where it meets the boot lid. A couple of 10mm bolts either side in the wheel arch area (possibly 2 torx screw underneath the diffuser too but can't remember!)

Get the ballast out, don't worry about upsetting balance, that's mumbo jumbo!! I've never seen anyone complain about having something in the boot, or a passenger upsetting the balance, and this is far less weight then a person!! :lol:

Good luck!!
 
#14 ·
NickG said:
I've used about 3/4 of a bottle to do those pads so far. I've got 4 in total for the whole car which I hope will be plenty!

Yeah I have the wax too, I wouldn't worry! No idea why or what it's for though!! I assume it's okay to remove it?! :lol:

Rear bumper - light units out, couple of torx screws where it meets the boot lid. A couple of 10mm bolts either side in the wheel arch area (possibly 2 torx screw underneath the diffuser too but can't remember!)

Get the ballast out, don't worry about upsetting balance, that's mumbo jumbo!! I've never seen anyone complain about having something in the boot, or a passenger upsetting the balance, and this is far less weight then a person!! :lol:

Good luck!!
Thanks bud
 
#15 ·
Some goodies started arriving today, which is exciting - and the wheels will be on the car tomorrow as Tomm is picking the old ones up on Sunday.

Nankang NS2-R 180 XL





Rota GTR 18s





Seats are coming from Poland despite being ordered at GSM in Nottingham, so I guess direct from the Sparco factory?



So, question, in the absence of a cage or harness bar at this stage, what do you guys recommend for harnesses (I am thinking Luke 4 point 50mm harnesses) and do I use the plate/bolt eye mounts (is it 3 plates and 3 bolts per 4-point harness?)

Thinking my next track day will be Bedford on the 10th of October - anyone fancy it?
 
#18 ·
My carbon helmet is MSA approved, by not sure if I plan on racing anything, I am very competitive (spent 10 years doing MMA, competed, tournaments, the lot, but think I've had my fill of competition I think) bit I think tracking is enough for me now, ha ha

I was planning quick release aviation style harnesses.

So bolts and plates, how many do I need to buy guys?
 
#21 ·
I just bought these harnesses:

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=370834734441&globalID=EBAY-GB

6 point and FIA approved until 2020!

Will be using these plates for the lower 4 straps:

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=301358403216&globalID=EBAY-GB

And an currently looking to get a decent harness bar fabricated in the coming weeks for the shoulder straps!

What seats have you gone for? I'm also speaking to GSM but probably going for the Mirco RS1 or the Sparco Circuit... Decided that we want head protection due to my close proximity a cage when it's installed!
 
#22 ·
NickG said:
I just bought these harnesses:

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=370834734441&globalID=EBAY-GB

6 point and FIA approved until 2020!

Will be using these plates for the lower 4 straps:

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=301358403216&globalID=EBAY-GB

And an currently looking to get a decent harness bar fabricated in the coming weeks for the shoulder straps!

What seats have you gone for? I'm also speaking to GSM but probably going for the Mirco RS1 or the Sparco Circuit... Decided that we want head protection due to my close proximity a cage when it's installed!
My thoughts exactly on the head protection which is why I went for these:

http://www.sportseats4u.co.uk/index.php ... ductId=906

But also size, I am a big guy at 6' 4" and 100kg so waist width and depth had to feel right and a lower seating area, which again is why these felt right (I am a 36" waist) however, I tried the RS1s and although they felt nice I had better support in the Circuit IIs - my only gripe with GSM is communication has been pretty poor since ordering with my order split with part of it arriving yesterday, bits now coming from Poland and a time delay that I wasn't planning on, that aside they have been good in terms of accommodating my questions and queries so unless anything is wrong when they arrive and how they deal with it, at this stage I would recommend using them over demon tweaks.

Thanks for the info on the harnesses as well, it seems like we are all thinking in similar lines.

Regarding the harness bar, are you commissioning someone to build this? if so, how about putting together a group buy? I'd certainly be up for buying a bar that fits correctly and built for the purpose we intend, I am sure some others will be as well...
 
#23 ·
Ah seems like you were along the same lines then with regards to seats!

The Harness bar we have a close mate who I think will knock something up, got to take the car down to him and discuss the best way to do it, we have discussed joining into the B-pillar braces as an option for more rigidity. I'll keep you updated, I'm not sure about a groupbuy as its such a vital safety item that liability should anything happen needs to be considered!
 
#26 ·
Just a heads up for anyone interested in purchasing any goods from GSM or sportsseats4u, this has been my experience:

Went for a seat fitting in the offices, driving out of my way to do so, all looked good, found seats, was told what I would need, given a print out, told timescales would be 2 days for dispatch

Went home, ordered, everything seemed fine, got the order info, after that things went wrong...

Subframes arrived separately after being told the delivery would arrive on the Friday (expecting it to be everything)

Had to chase where the rest of the stuff was, had booked the day off work and booked a garage to take in the car and fit everything

After chasing around, suffering a lack of communication from GSM, I found out the parcel was coming from Poland

Today they arrived, something was missing though... oh yes, bolts to attach everything together!

So I emailed them again explaining how unhappy I was that the order still wasn't complete and this was the response:

Thank you for your email.
Unfortunately Sparco do not supply their seats, frames or side mounts with bolts as they say they want everything to be fitted by professional tuning Garages who will have bolts.
The bolts are all standard M8 Bolts.
We usually recommend going to a local hardware store or b&q etc who will have them. But we can send out an official bolt pack for £5.00


I would have been happy to pay for bolts at the time of ordering, but no-one thought it was important to mention to me that all of the stuff they sold to me was useless unless I had these bolts.

I was going to buy the Safety Devices bolt in cage and harnesses off them, with a view to getting the big brake upgrade later on, this was the last straw and they just lost my custom - I would advise that if anyone is looking to purchase from them in future, make sure you cover everything off beforehand and chase them to get the info you need, or failing that, stick to a company that is reliable, like Demon Tweaks - I have never had a problem with DT before and will be going back to shopping from them now.

I'd rather pay more and get the right stuff first time and be valued as a customer then go through what I have already with these guys again.

Rant over!
 
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