The most suitable 'platform' for a fun road/track day car with PD130?

[davidif]

Also posted elsewhere,so apologies if anyone has come across this on Briskoda!

I am up for a 2nd car for fun cross country blasts and maybe the occasional track excursion. I haven't owned a car with a 1.9PD130bhp engine for a few years and with the march of time assumed that I would not again. My current daily is a leased Skoda Fabia MonteCarlo Tech 1.6TDI 105bhp which is perfect for the daily commute being relatively quiet and refined but isn't that much fun.

My first decision is what platform. I have already had a Skoda Fabia VRS diesel years ago and most offerings from the VAG stable in 1 form or another in 1.4/1.9&2.0 TDI flavours as well as 1.8t's etc.

My thoughts have turned to a Mk4 Ibiza as firstly it's a model I've never owned,secondly 3doors appeal and most importantly 130bhp sports seem to be a fair bit cheaper than say a Fabia VRS.

Other possibilities are Leon/mk4 golf or even an early A3 with the PD130 engine.

I am going to be working to a ltd budget and will do most of the maintenance and upgrades myself with the obvious exceptions of remapping and wheel alignment. I would ideally like to spend £2k max on the car with a further £1k for mods,312 brakes,uprated suspension/rear ARB & remap.

Is what I am proposing ridiculous or achievable ?

 

[Aaron87]

Hi dude,

I had a Mk4 Ibiza 130PD with a remap it was running around 200bhp and 300NM of Torque.. It was great fun and still returned decent MPG.

I've seen 130 PD's selling for the price your looking to spend.. A remap would cost you £250-400 depending on where you go so leaving plenty for the other bits you're after!

 

[davidif]

I wonder if someone with experience can run through some basic mods and in particular the best order to approach things. My initial thoughts are 312 Brakes and decent tyres followed by springs&dampers&ARB then a geometry setup and finally a remap.

Maybe some more tuning in the longer term eg front mount intercooler& hybrid turbo etc

Any routine upgrades eg clutch/flywheel to be done as and when needed

 

[kelford1988]

I'm in a similar situation myself to you. I have a company car and have kept my pd130 sport to tinker with. In my experience I'd get a rarb and poly bushes all round, 312 brakes and slap a fmic on it and get it remapped.

If you are serious about it as a track motor strip it out and I bet you'll get the weight down to about 1.1t. I'm currently debating stripping mine and selling the interior to fund a few more bits but can't quite bring myself to do it.

 

[davidif]

I'm in a similar situation myself to you. I have a company car and have kept my pd130 sport to tinker with. In my experience I'd get a rarb and poly bushes all round, 312 brakes and slap a fmic on it and get it remapped.

If you are serious about it as a track motor strip it out and I bet you'll get the weight down to about 1.1t. I'm currently debating stripping mine and selling the interior to fund a few more bits but can't quite bring myself to do it.

I think I will experiment with stripping the interior,certainly by removing the seats and door cards/rear trim and installing 2 lighter fronts and have a go at making some lightweight door cards. I will,however, keep the originals in the garage in case of a change of plans and possibly resale.