Project Polo - 1min10 around Wakefield

[clubracer]

Hey guys,

I run AUTOsports Australia and I'm doing a series of mods only to the brakes, suspension, wheels, tyres and some small aero and weight loss, the ultimate aim being to get into or below 1min 10 or below around Wakefield.

So far I've run the car stock and posted mid/high 15's.

With 17x7's 215 Falken RT615's, plus some adjustable coilovers times only dropped to the high 14s, which in all honesty wasn't too bad. The geometry will need some playing around with to really get the most out of it plus the RT615's aren't much better than the continentals that it came with.

Next up I'll be adding some decent sized front brakes as well as playing around with the suspension to get it handling a lot nicer...

You can follow the progress on our facebook page AUTOsports Australia | Facebook

I'd love to hear from anyone who's had success around the track with different bits and pieces (other than engine mods).

Cheers

Peter

[VWindahouse]

Best of luck Peter, sounds like a decent goal! Just wondering what aero modifications you have planned?

Cheers.

[seangti]

I'd have bet semi-slicks and coilovers would have got much better returns than 1sec. I gained 2seconds at QR on the sprint track from stock to bilstein and H&R's, on worn out continentals and have done enough laps to be consistent to claim a genuine 2secs. Semi slicks are next. I'm also still running other stock spec.

Will certainly follow with interest, good to have a plan of attack.

[clubracer]

In terms of aero mods I was planning a front splitter/diffuser and a read diffuser... perhaps a small rear wing, but I didn't want anything too OTP. Diffusors are a lot more efficient than wings in terms of the downforce/drag ratio and with no extra power I didn't want to compromise too much top speed.

With my suspension mods I had to have some custom top hats made up. The maximum neg camber is about 1 degree, although it needs to be closer to 2.5. I haven't adjusted the shocks yet and I don't know what wheel alignment was like (coilover fitment was done by a great mob first time round, but the guys who delivered the coilovers gave me the wrong ones! The guys who fitted the second (the correct ones) were useless, and so I didn't get it aligned the way I wanted)... Once the camber, toe and rear sway bar are on and I have more of a chance to adjust it all, I'll see some better results..

I think the conti's were actually on par with the 615's, the 615's just didn't get torn to shreds...

I think once the alignment is where I want it, and the balance is better times will drop another few tenths, but I won't bother going to semi's, I'll just end up going straight to slicks, which should drop at least a full second!

[jamesatfish]

Peter,

Very interested in your thread and your progress - I've got a MY07 Polo GTI that I run on the track, and as a Canberran Wakefield is obviously my local so I've spent a fair bit of time there in the car. Sub 1:10 is my goal on the circuit also, though compared to your target I'm replacing your obvious driving talent (1:14s with stock power is pretty impressive) with power enhancements.

My previous best in this car is a 1:12.3, on Kumho V70A 205/40 medium compound tyres, in the dry. That was with the APR Stage 1 tune, Bilstein PSS9 coilovers, 323mm Brembos on the front, rear swaybar, Seat intake and running with pretty much no interior trim behind the front seats.

I can't be objective about the performance gains made through most of the mods individually as 90% of the above was done before I ventured near the track - the only feedback I can give is in terms of R Spec tyres for the track. I tried the Falkens initially but found them no better than the street tyres I was running originally, so gave the Kumhos a go next time around and was very impressed (I bought medium compound as we ran the 2008 Dutton Rally with the car and we had to use the same tyres across the whole rally, including highway transport stages). There was a 2 second difference at Wakefield between the Kumhos and the Falkens.

I'm now running Toyo R888s (in the softest compound) as the Kumhos were on back-order when I needed them, but I haven't had a dry Wakefield session to report back on those at that circuit.

swingn on this forum has organised a Wakefield day next Friday 16th July and I believe there's a spot free at the moment. If you can make it to the track I'd love to chat and share ideas - and to see how quickly a proper driver could get my car around the circuit.

[team_v]

You need to look at Plautos build thread - http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/f127...olo-25317.html
He has a monster of a pogo GTI

[bfeboi]

i can just crack 1'14"9** but the only suspension mod was a rear sway bar

apr chip
apr downpipe
seat intake
RSB
ferodo DS2500
ebc slotted rotors
martini brake fluid
falken rt215 (205/50/16) stock rims
only removed spare wheel and tool kit

[bfeboi]

I think i remember trying to chase down you or your brother at Oran Park till i bent my steering..... I would've beaten 1'30 ...

[noone]

1.10 is an impressive time to hit in the Polo, but doing 1.15's in a stock Polo makes you a much better driver than I am.

I cant vouch highly enough for James' setup, I was lucky enough to have him take me for a lap last year and it was amazing by comparison. The speed his car could hold through the corners made me eager to get my Polo in shape...

To be honest, if you said you wanted to hit 1.10, I'd say you were dreaming unless you had some cash, but if you are starting 4 sec of the pace, should not be a problem.

IMO, a few things to add to your list: Control arm bushes (rear) - stock ones are too soft. Front strut brace - makes a difference for a stock car. Sways may work well with your setup, I do enjoy the whiteline swaybars. I found I had much better handling with wider wheels, lower offset working on the same tyres, might be worth a thought, although you are already running 17's, so you may have the poke lined up.

James and I will be down at Wakefield next Friday (16th), so will have some feedback for you afterwards...

[clubracer]

I'd love to come down next Friday but I don't really have time to make any adjustments to my car (plus I'm out of brakes...) to get any further improvements...

I'll see what I can do but either way I'll try to get down there just to have a chat and watch... and maybe bring my helmet just in case.

[clubracer]

How did you guys go on Friday? I tried my best to make it down but I got stuck with work! Times?

[noone]

Hi mate,

Nothing special to note. I didn't get my times down sufficiently before the brakes glazed on me. 1.19.1

I'm pretty keen to get back to the track with some proper brake pads and some decent tyres (currently running Kuhmo Ku31's - Street). The car was handling really well for the tyres, just could not jump on the brakes late enough and was still getting my head around the speed I could take into the corners. On my last run I was running the rear swaybar on med (up from soft) and the front tyres a few PSI down (37ish) and was starting to get a fairly solid platform for holding some speed through some of the softer turns.

The only other VW on the day was Golfloon's Sirocco, it was awesome to see after reading the build thread and pulled a 1.15.something.

[clubracer]

Hey guys,

I will try to keep everyone on here updated with my progress...

But I will also be keeping a project log on: Project Polo - AUTOsports

Cheers

Peter

[jamesatfish]

Peter,

Please keep us updated if you're heading out to Wakefield in the future (especially if it's a public / open day) and I'll bring my Polo up for a run also. Very keen to see how you're running (and follow you out one session to try to steal your secret lines) as this is certainly a very interesting project.

At Friday's Wakefield day the sub-1:10 times were primarily the domain of some seriously modified track cars - I don't know what sort of power those cars were running but I guarantee none were anywhere near the 110kW of a stock Polo GTI. I think the fastest non-AWD car was a track prepared Corolla Turbo running 1:11.8.

[FL00DY]

Well all power to you and your driving skills if you can get anywhere near 1:10. I think it's a tough ask, obviously with enough money anything is possible, but I don't see it happening. Don't wanna be deputy downer. My first ever day at Wakey saw some Evo's hitting 1:10, one of them being a brand new Evo 9, first day it had been on a track.

My fastest time is 1:16.5 with michelin pp2, RSB, srtut brace and stock brakes. I haven't been in over a year, but I was pretty happy with my time for such a under powered car.

Good luck with it, will follow closely.