Mkiii Race Car

[bombsquad21]

I'm back from the dead, I still own this 2.0 slow, it's pretty stock save for lots of little mods and a vr6 interior. I would like to track this car but keep it street registered. What would be the first port of call for all the MK3 peeps?

[dylan8]

Light weight wheels. Decent brake pads, rotors, braided lines. Decent set of rubber.
Make sure it's running 100%
Make sure bushes and mounts are fresh and firm. Alignment is good.

It's not going go be fast. So might as well try to maximise handling and stopping.
Keep it nice and light. I'd say loose the rear seats and spare wheel, but if you want it to be a street car that can be awkward at times.

[bombsquad21]

Light weight wheels. Decent brake pads, rotors, braided lines. Decent set of rubber.
Make sure it's running 100%
Make sure bushes and mounts are fresh and firm. Alignment is good.

It's not going go be fast. So might as well try to maximise handling and stopping.
Keep it nice and light. I'd say loose the rear seats and spare wheel, but if you want it to be a street car that can be awkward at times.

I was thinking definitely new wheels and tyres 15 or 16's toss up over what brakes fit. It's also 4x100 now, should I forget that and go 5x100 with new hubs etc? Will that help with the brake swap? Mk4 bora 4motion front brakes are pretty large. My gearshift is awful, what's the best box to mate with my 2.0.? I want to set the car up for handling and braking, it will never be powerful or very fast. I have some higher hp cars that are my daily drives.

Oh and it's on eibach springs with shocks, I don't want really cheap coils for track use but I also will be building this on a budget to try and enjoy some track time.

[dylan8]

15s will be your best bet for decent rubber cheaper.
stay 4x100 as smaller and better spec wheels are easy to get your hands on. 5x100 is all subaru stuff which is generally horrid specs for a vw
as for callipers they should do the trick. I know the VR guys upgrade the rears to bora rears as they are lighter, not sure if that can be done on 4 stud rears.
When I went bigger on brakes I felt how much slower the car was and that is just on the street.
box should be fine, maybe look into new bushes or a short shifter.

im waiting for waterboy to time in. he has a 1.8lt mk3 golf race car without spending big dollars

sway bars would be another item to look at. springs to get the control arms level and decent shocks should be fine

[mmmRacer]

To keep it cheap stick with the 4x100's. But just remember the latest Polo is still running 5x100 and although you have to be careful there are still lots of factory and aftermarket wheels. From personal experience the semi slick tyres to match are harder to find for both 4x100 and 5x100 wheels.

[Bug_racer]

Not many people modify the older cars to race but due to them being so light there is a lot of potential to make a nimble car for the shorter tracks . I had a Seat gti years ago that was quite quick off the mark and handled really well . It was quite reliable as well covering 300k km before rust from a previous accident virtually wrote it off .

Id spend as much as you can on decent suspension . I ran KW V3s which I modified from a VR6 at first and later some Weitecs (which weren't as good but not as stiff) .

I would plan on eventually doing a full MK3 VR6 front end . You'll need ball joints , VR6 Arms , sway bar , uprights . This will help with the front end . For the rear Id do a strut brace and later a sway bar .

Engine Id run a 256-268 cam , remove throttle body heating , extractors (some mk4 ones actually fit if you can find them) , 2 1/4 - 2 1/2 inch exhaust . A BMC style intake .

Brakes - Some lines , rear alloy calipers (I might do a group buy on these ) , good fluid (change this often!!) . Down the track Id do a 5 stud conversion , there are plenty of options for bigger brakes that way .

Gearbox - Lightweight flywheel and a stage 1+ clutch , an LSD is a must but its not cheap !

Overall - Weight reduction , there is a lot you can do , it all depends on how much you can handle road noise !

[Notso Swift]

Well, this is not good

[Notso Swift]

Don't do anything

Read the rules for your class

I see so many people who do a few easy mods that then get put in a class which is in appropriate...
Sure, it is just for fun, but looking at results and always coming last by 20 seconds a lap because you are against full blown slick shod sports sedans makes it less fun.

Next, don't do anything

Put the mandatory extinguisher and secondary strap and do an event or two stock (only exception would be some HD brake pads, just Bendix Ultimates or the like.
What is your previous experience? Don't discount doing motorkhana and autocross as well as hillclimbs and sprints
I am not trying to be presumptuous but I am guessing you will not be stringing 5 laps within a second

Then report back, let us know your goals and budget and we can go from there