Track Slag/Eurotrip

[welchy]

Right, thought i'd share a few thoughts with you guys because i need some help. I am thinking of turning my car into a bit more of a pure bred racer for the track, BUT i still need it to be usable for a 3000 mile Eurotrip. I am planning on leaving Devon, heading to Plymouth, Plymouth to Roscoff, Roscoff to Paris, Paris to Tignes/The Alps, The Alps to Barcelona, Barcelona to marbella, marbella to Portugal, then back home.

I have 2 weeks for the trip. 1.5k to spend on the actual trip and 1k to prep the car for it. Info can be found in my sig for the car as it is. Basically, I want to make the car ready for the track and ready to take on a big drive. I have no interest in more power or a bigger turbo, I just want the handling to be top notch.

What would everybody suggest if i had 1k to spend on handling mods? Baring in mind I would quite like some Recaro's and harnesses but this means budget can extend by £300 to 1.3k.

If anybody has any ideas about the trip, what to spend on the car, what track experience they have with their LCR or Leons please help me out. (also if anybody is serious about joining me on the trip pm me!)

Cheers

Welchy

 

[SalSheikh]

dont know what to say other than enjoy it, make the most of it but take lots or photo's/vids and keep us posted. sounds an amazing experience to be.

oh, you need a massive SEATCUPRA.NET sticker on your car

 

[Smee]

so you wanting a full on track car stripped ect?

front a rear ARB.
upgrade brakes if havent already.
strut braces
coilovers - probably something thats dampner adjustable like the SPAX RSX kit. tighten them up at track then loosen them afer.
roll cage if your going the full hog.

lee

 

[sambryant]

front and rear arb.
a good set of brake pads, maybe fluid change.
strut braces front and rear, i found a place that charge £60 for the pair
coilovers, midrange £400+
a good service on the car before you go.

as above have a great time and get plenty of pics
sam

 

[Murdered LCR]

Do what I have done need a bit more than 1300 quid tho lol coilovers , front and rear arbs , front and rear strut braces , strip the car out, new seats+ harnesses ,High temp fluid and decent pads ,disks .

 

[Applemobile]

Change your brake and clutch fluid for fresh 5 dot for sure.

 

[welchy]

Okay, so things are looking pricey. As for Labour thats all good as me and my bro can do it all, apart from welding up the cage, but may give that a bash myself. So far costwise I have got:
-Bucket Seats a Harnesses £500 Second Hand.
-OMP Roll Cage £500
-Coilovers £500
-Polybushes £150
-RARB £150
-S3 Strut Brace £60

Clutch and dmf just done, brakes and fluid bought ready to go on, click on readers ride!lol. Then I think i need some cheapish but not cheap crap tyres, my tyres are good now, all pretty new, but for the track etc think i may need better ones! I'll try and source as much as possible 2nd hand, so prices may vary giving me cash more for elsewhere... not fussed about front uprated ARB, surely it will be stiff enough with the roll cage in?

 

[welchy]

Also my mates gunna be documenting on his gopro.. hes pretty good with it!

http://www.pinkbike.com/video/163857/

Think we may plaster the car with monster/redbull/rockstar stickers as we will be going to all the extremesports, trackdays, surfspots etc etc. So hopefully we can market it to them to get some freebies!

 

[Murdered LCR]

Cheap tires are you mad ? That's the worst thing you can do make a car handle good and stick cheap rubber on them , there what keep you on the road

 

[m0rk]

Okay, so things are looking pricey. As for Labour thats all good as me and my bro can do it all, apart from welding up the cage, but may give that a bash myself. So far costwise I have got:
-Bucket Seats a Harnesses £500 Second Hand.
-OMP Roll Cage £500
-Coilovers £500
-Polybushes £150
-RARB £150
-S3 Strut Brace £60

Clutch and dmf just done, brakes and fluid bought ready to go on, click on readers ride!lol. Then I think i need some cheapish but not cheap crap tyres, my tyres are good now, all pretty new, but for the track etc think i may need better ones! I'll try and source as much as possible 2nd hand, so prices may vary giving me cash more for elsewhere... not fussed about front uprated ARB, surely it will be stiff enough with the roll cage in?

I'd do none of that for the road trip. All of the things you've listed will make the long drive even more intolerable.

Sensible for your plans (not so many tracks near devon) though, but 3000 miles in a caged bucket seated car? with stiffer suspension, stiffer bushes etc.. It won't be fun at all.

 

[Eckstar]

remember to do a oil and fillter change be for the big trip mate, dont want to run that sorta distance on crap oil. timing belt change as well , wouldnt wana get half way round europe and have it snap. fresh coolant would be an idear as well. just my thaughts

as for your tyre's .. for road and track use id say get some toyo proxi's but thay wont be cheep. good grip tho

have fun on the trip , wish a could join ye... cupra.net on ture haha think some one sould organise a mass cupra euro gathering

 

[Murdered LCR]

My buckets are pretty comfy and the ride on mine is ok will be going ring in July so time will tell lol I have extra cushions tho

 

[SalSheikh]

strut braces front and rear, i found a place that charge £60 for the pair

care to elaborate Sam?

 

[Applemobile]

I wouldnt want to drive any distance just after doing any modifications/work, always bound to get teething problems.

 

[DannyC87]

proper track car? baffled sump? oil cooler? I'd make sure it can safely deal with track work as standard before uprating everything!

 

[welchy]

proper track car? baffled sump? oil cooler? I'd make sure it can safely deal with track work as standard before uprating everything!

Spot on, at the end of the day the car has to handle the track safely, not in record breaking time, I just need to have fun and be safe. As for comfort, Im 21 used to student life and uncomfortable living conditions, driving on stiff suspension is going to make me smile rather than shudder, though i completely understand where you are coming from. Hence going for the dampening adjustable option. The cage is for safety and is not needed.

The Back seats will prob be out, as will any spare wheels. Plans so far are:
-Coilies
-RARB
-Reclining Buckets/keep the comfort or R32 interior, just need two good looking seats.
-Strip rear out of the car, keeping carpet in to reduce noise.
-Fitting uprated bushes on wishbones as mine are crud.
-Front Strut Brace
-Full Service. I think the rest can wait.

How have people fitted there harnesses without strapping to a cage?

So excited!!!! And yes, seatcupra.net will be my first purchase...

This is the track: http://www.autodromoalgarve.com.pt/

Right next to my godfathers house, 2 miles away, have used a Caterham around it when i last visited..

Also will be raising money for helpforheros charity, so will put up a donations page when it is setup.

Welchy

 

[welchy]

And no, not proper track car, im not looking to break records just have fun safely!

 

[dougmcdonald]

3000 miles sans-spare tyre?...better touch a lot of wood! or get some breakdown cover just in case!

Also worth checking your insurance covers you abroad, I know mine didn't until recently!

Have fun on the trip, my brother did eastern europe in a 20yr old 306 diesel....not quite the same I bet!

 

[drka-drka]

Why bother with fancy buckets, find yourself a set of recaros out of a EK9 civic or sumthing, they are all over ebay they come standard in most evos, tegs, civics so on. They are very comfy dead and will hold you in when needed with some harnesses. No i dont know from a leon side but iv been in plenty of jap crap with them in.

Again decent tyres, ARBs, you budget may not allow for coilovers ;-) just Buy my weitec springs and shocks ;-)

 

[JamesL]

I would at least stick a spare in the back, personally.