Tuning My GTi

[Dolly_Gti]

rite i have a 95 gti 2L 8v and im going for tuning, not body kits and that, but stuff that isnt so obvious that will sharpen the car up, for use on track days and generall racing around!

front and Rear Black diamond Discs Around £200-£230 for them, good? bad?
Mintex Pads? im not going for EBC as have decided they are max power pads
Steel Braided Hoses, See if it stiffens up the pedal.
H n R anti Roll around £180, is this worth it to eliminate my cars shockin body roll?
eventually the FK suspension all around, £300 after delivery

so i think im lookin at a total of around £800-900... is it worth what im doing or has anyone got any better suggestions... the other thing is, what can i do power wise, im reluctant to CAM the engine as i still need it for ordinary use!

 

[Steve]

It's worth looking at getting the bigger 280mm brakes from a 16V or mk3 20VT (yours are 256mm). If you get the callipers and carriers they bolt straight on.

You could also get a 20VT front ARB as a cheaper alternative to the H&R one, but I'm not sure how it compares.

Your suspension is likely to be tired, so a new kit should sharpen it up a lot. When I had my 8v I put the bigger brakes on it and a suspension kit and it was fantastic on track days. I toyed around with induction kits, cold air feeds and so forth but in the end the standard panel filter seemed to be best.

 

[Dolly_Gti]

Manufacturer : Green Cotton Air Filters
Category : Green Filters - Replacement Filters
Sub-category : GRF - Seat
Application : Ibiza 2.0 8v GTi mpi 2 different inlet Ø holes – call for details ; 1993>1996

Why is there 2 options for panel filters?? pain in the ass!
So Your sayin if i get dics, callipers and carriers off a 16v mk2 of any age its a straight swap? i dont see many 93-95 16vs they are all 96-99, and i was unsure is the lata had different hubs and what not
so your sayin 16v disc

 

[jcs356]

TBH I don't think the brake upgrade to 280mm is that important. Getting some decent pads - something like Ferrodo DS2500 (if you are intending to do track days) and some reasonable discs is just as good. Plus remember that 280 brakes means 15 inch wheels.

I enforce Steve's comments ref. new suspension kit and bushes, plus the ARB's make a big difference to the handling. Also agree to just use a plain panel filter and get a cold air feed into the airbox - you can rip out all the plastic feed from behind the headlamp which gives plenty of room to squeeze some ducting in.

You can chip an 8v - mine was chipped by old AmD - got another 10bhp or so and about another 15lb/ft - and definitely noticed it.

 

[Dolly_Gti]

as long as chipping it, and pushin the car doesnt blow up the box.. i heard they arent the strongest box's and i dont know if it would take extra torque..

btw my engine code is 2E.. so u reckon black diamonds and Ferrodo DS2500 will be sound... i still need the car to slow down when its cold, going to work ect

i assume your meaning, bigger brakes, smallest wheels = 15" .. i currently have some fox evos 16" on, but im going to santa pod a week saturday and im puttin the GTi standard alloys back on, being smaller... is there a difference in this or am i being niave?

 

[jcs356]

Well, mine was chipped at 40,000 miles in 1998, it's currently on 104,000. Still on original clutch and gearbox as well - so don't be worried too much about that. Funny how the Seat garage wanted to replace the clutch at 70,000 saying that the pedal was unusually heavy and something must be wrong.

Oh, and that mileage includes about 12 track days in the past 3 years. From my experience of track days, the Ferrodo DS2500 are the only pads I've used that have lasted more than 2 track days. I've tried Pagid fast road, Red Dot, and EBC Yellow Stuff. DS2500 is the best by far.

My car is a 2E as well - not sure if anyone would still chip this engine - everything is focussed on the turbos these days.

I agree that there is a bit of a lack of bite in the brakes when cold - but you soon get used to it and when they warm up you won't get any fade on a track day.

Yeah, if you go for the 280mm setup, the smallest wheels which will clear the callipers are 15inches. My GTi only had 14 inch tri spokes as standard - which wouldn't clear the larger calipers.

One thing you need to bear in mind if you are going to do a few track days is you are going to eat tyres - and having a cheap source of tyres is a bonus. That's why I keep mine able to run on 14 inches at the moment - can get very cheap Colway tyres direct from the factory which are very, very sticky.

Other cheap mod I should have suggested is to put some spacers on the back. If your car is pre-facelift, you will need to roll or cut the rear arches if you have tyres wider than 185 section and plan to space more than 10mm. I've got 15mm spacers on 185/60 14inch or 185/55 15inch wheels and I get a bit of fouling on the 15 inch rims - I think that is because the 15 inch wheels are 6.5 inch wide rims rather than 6 inch wide 14 inch rims so the tyres get dragged ever so slightly further out.

Hope that helps you.

 

[ibiza_95]

if the overall diameter of the wheels are smaller, the acceleration should be a bit quicker, but top end may be a little slower... but then that depends on the size of the tyres.

 

[Dolly_Gti]

yeh its pre face lift... well i can pick tyres up at cost.. working at a car garage, and thats why im putting the 14's on for the track and santa pod, what advantages will there be in pushing the back wheels out 10mm?

wider rear axle, more grip or something?

my clutch is the original i believe at 68000 but it does feel heavy in comparision to other cars ive owned.. ive put it down to a bigger more robust clutch being fitted to the gti models?

im going to look around for a chip, i reckon theres someone that would one.. i was also checkin my engine bay, theres alot of room for a supercharger..
although im gonna need uprated head, valves.. expensive?

 

[swales_p]

Just sort the suspension out, air intake and full exhaust system then re map it.

You wont get much BHP per pound when modding a N/A so personally id just focus on the handling.

As for brakes, seeing as you wont increase the car to crazy BHP there's no reason to upgrade - unless you want to show them HUGE calipers off under the rims!!!

Cheers

 

[jcs356]

what advantages will there be in pushing the back wheels out 10mm?

wider rear axle, more grip or something?

Yeah, the mk2 is a bit of a hotch-potch - the front is Mk4(?) Polo, the rear is Mk2 Golf. Net result is that as standard, the track is wider at the front than at the rear which makes the rear end a bit skittish. Fitting some spacers to widen the track out a bit helps the handling considerably.

 

[m0rk]

almost Jason - try the other way around

Mk2 'based' front susp - mk4 polo based rear susp

however - not the same (just similar)

 

[jcs356]

Cheers Mork!

 

[Dolly_Gti]

yeh the front looks identical to my mk2 golf! the rear is close to it but no cigar, ill have a run around with spacers, then fit some as they dont cost much and see how it changes the handling!

im going to stick with standard callipers but seeing as ive had brake fade 3 times now! and ive not even seen a track lol.. im goin to upgrade pads discs and hoses