What would you do if you were starting again?

[deank93]

Evening all,

I was wondering, knowing what you now know about your GTIR and it's weaker areas, if you were to start again from a standard car what modifications would you carry out?

The reason i ask is because back in the day, like many of you, i spent a lot of money on my GTIR and looking back...which i do a lot as i loved my car and the community...i wish i knew when i first bought it what i do now as i could have saved myself a fortune and it got me thinking about what i would do if i purchased another one some day.

I'd like to go with a forged engine with rod job...just from a reliability point of view...and run a fast spooling turbo and decent management to keep all in check, coil overs, proper brakes 4/6 pots, quaiffe box, lightweight 16 inch wheels, a cage with clean standard bodywork.

Dean.

 

[fubar andy]

Only thing I wish I did was bang in a new PPG gear set with uprated selectors...everything else was planned :thumb:

 

[nimhbk]

leave it standard
And then leave it in garage for another 10 years

 

[markwashington]

I guess it depends on how much money you would spend. I would have uprated the handling as much as possible, ARB's, coilovers, brakes, bushes etc, then full 3 inch exhaust, then up the boost, Nistune remap to get it running at about 280-300 bhp and concentrated on keeping it looking nice. That being said I'm pretty sure with a quaiffe box mine would be exactly what I want.

 

[vpulsar]

I think if I where to do it again I'd do this>>>>>>

forged engine.
quaif box.
AP brakes.
Motec.
alloy rad.
oil cooler.
Disco potato. (350 bhp) perfect!
poly bushed
gabs
strut braces.

Job done.

I'd then thrash the life out of it at my local track and drag strip, Happy in the knowledge that it wont brake down (much) lol.

And I'd of probably saved myself about 30k in the process.

I could probably not bother with the motec but when it was mapped properly it transformed the way the car drove giving good MPG and a fantastic quick/smooth and very responsive car.

John

 

[PobodY]

I wouldn't waste my money on an electronic boost controller again; I'd just put a dawes device in from the beginning. - That probably holds true for a lot of the bits that look shiny or have lights and/or alarms.

 

[deank93]

I think if I where to do it again I'd do this>>>>>>

forged engine.
quaif box.
AP brakes.
Motec.
alloy rad.
oil cooler.
Disco potato. (350 bhp) perfect!
poly bushed
gabs
strut braces.

Job done.

I'd then thrash the life out of it at my local track and drag strip, Happy in the knowledge that it wont brake down (much) lol.

And I'd of probably saved myself about 30k in the process.

I could probably not bother with the motec but when it was mapped properly it transformed the way the car drove giving good MPG and a fantastic quick/smooth and very responsive car.

John

That's pretty much where my head is at, although thanks to being made redundent I was unable to finish the last evolution of my car but i had all the bits sitting there for a 500bhp track monster but on reflection i think a good quality 300/350bhp fast road and part time track car...big brakes, propers handling set up and cage....lovely.

 

[Tim]

I'm happy with mine .. wish I had kept the stereo but that's about it :lol:

 

[Mad]

I guess it depends on what route you want to go down.

My GTiR is for track and If I was starting again, I would probably start with stripping the car completely and having a roll cage welded in from the beginning.

If I was looking for something upto 400bhp as a fast road car, I would probably firstly invest in a Quaife box.

 

[johnsy]

I guess it depends on what route you want to go down.

My GTiR is for track and If I was starting again, I would probably start with stripping the car completely and having a roll cage welded in from the beginning.

If I was looking for something upto 400bhp as a fast road car, I would probably firstly invest in a Quaife box.

will you not have trouble keeping your car on boost with such a big turbo? i would of thought 400-450bhp would be a better setup for track

 

[R called Jay]

If only we could go back.
It would be 1 bar of boost and thats pretty much it for me.
Then all that money saved could've gone on a dedicated track car designed for the job, rather than trying to get the pulsar to be a road/track/drag all purpose car.
Don't get me wrong the pulsar does really well at doing everything but it's just not the route I would take if I was to start again.

 

[pulsarboby]

I think if I where to do it again I'd do this>>>>>>

forged engine.
quaif box.
AP brakes.
Motec.
alloy rad.
oil cooler.
Disco potato. (350 bhp) perfect!
poly bushed
gabs
strut braces.

Job done.

I'd then thrash the life out of it at my local track and drag strip, Happy in the knowledge that it wont brake down (much) lol.

And I'd of probably saved myself about 30k in the process.

I could probably not bother with the motec but when it was mapped properly it transformed the way the car drove giving good MPG and a fantastic quick/smooth and very responsive car.

John

basically where im now at with my car and wished i had done this years ago rather than chasing big power and adding worthless gizzmos that just create more problems in the long run.
simplicity is the key to a more reliable quick car and youll save a fortune in the process too

 

[Mad]

will you not have trouble keeping your car on boost with such a big turbo? i would of thought 400-450bhp would be a better setup for track

Hi Johnsy,

Yes, in its current trim it is not ideal for track. Choice of turbo is very important for getting the best out of the car on the track and is something I am currently looking into. The scooby and evo boys are getting upto 600bhp for the track with the right engine / turbo / ecu setups.

Scoobyclinic are a good example of this with their exclusive turbos, the best one being their GT30 Billet Turbo with a .63 exhaust housing.

They have a 2.33 engine, running 10% Meth and are now acheiving over 600bhp with the GT30.

I met them at Time Attack last year when we were running Craig's car and have had some good advice from them recently.

They are really into their Track cars where lag is minimal and they seem to be pretty switched on as are winning a lot of events.

Im way off that setup at the moment but is probably the route I am going to go down with the higher cc and turbo configuration, mapped with the Haltech system.

 

[vpulsar]

500-600 bhp is useless on track, It's OK on the straights but absolutely hopeless on a tight twisty circuit.

It's OK if you are a professional time attack team with a 100k to Chuck at you motor, But in the real world for the rest of us mere mortals 300-380 max bhp is the sort of set up that will not only be fun & quick but will last the cause, I hope some of you newer younger members learn from the mistakes some of us have made over the years, It's the good thing about forums. You can hopefully learn what works and what doesn't, Well you can if you're willing to listen lol.


John

 

[Mad]

John,

Sorry mate, but you are a little bit behind with the times. You dont have to spend 100k to get 600bhp. The top time attack cars are running 750 - 800bhp and are costing 100k +. The Pro Class winners are running circa 600bhp.

The DDAutosports Time Attack Car was running 530bhp. Unfortunately Craig, the owner has split the car now. It was early days for them but at Brands Hatch were running mid table in the Pro Class and if they continued with the development would have hopefully improved on this.

Im not saying a GTiR will ever win a Time Attack event and obviously if you run less power you are going to have less problems but there are members who are developing the GTiR to new levels.

I agree, 300 - 380bhp is a nice sort of power to have fun and be quick around the track and I applaud any members who are doing this but there are some of us who are looking to raise the bar.

Giving advice to other members on forums is excellent for everyone. Dissing others for spending time, effort and money trying to improve the GTiR and bring it to a higher level is pretty poor.

I remember being told by a lot of members that the Z32 would only be good for 480 to -500bhp and that I was stupid thinking the Z32 would cope with anymore than that. We have now acheived 557bhp with a Z32 without it Maxing Out which just goes to show that with a bit of R & D, we can all learn and gain ideas for others which is what being a club member is all about.

 

[Tim]

Reckon i'd be just as quick around most of the circuits in the UK in my ~220hp car than some of you big power boys

 

[Mad]

Reckon i'd be just as quick around most of the circuits in the UK in my ~220hp car than some of you big power boys

:lol:

Certainly with me you would. What car are you talking, GTiR or something else.

 

[Tim]

It's a GTiR, yeh.

 

[Mad]

It's a GTiR, yeh.

Of course. Only the best.

 

[MarkTurbo]

Reckon i'd be just as quick around most of the circuits in the UK in my ~220hp car than some of you big power boys

What would be quicker round a track, a car with a really good handling set up and not much power or a more powerful car that didnt handle as well?