Scirocco Track Car Development...X-Flow Conversion preparation

At the end of last year I bought a modded Mk2 Scirocco, which has had a lot of good bits on it, but still has some room for improvement.

The rough spec is
- 2.0 8v engine - reputed to be the ex Claire Tippet VW cup engine (and I've no reason to doubt this), running on Kjet instead of carbs.
- Koni Sport suspension kit, and poly bushed all round.
- 280mm G60 discs, and rear disc conversion, Goodridge hoses. Willwood bias valve.
- Partly stripped interior
- The shell is a bit scruffy in places, where the previous owner's graphics were removed, but I view a shell as expendable on a track toy, as long as it's straight and solid, that's fine.

It's first trackday with me was at Curborough - need some stiffer ARB's!!

and I did a navigational rally in it a week or so ago.

The previous owner used to do Autosolo events in it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DGmmQnyMU0

So far I've done some fettling to get the car to a decent roadgoing standard:
- Fitted an oil cooler, and replumbed the cooling system, so you don't have to leave the heater full up to get coolant flowing round the engine!
- Changed the burnt out ignition switch
- Fitted an uprated headlight loom and bulbs
- Fitted a lower front strut brace
- Changed the wheels for some that actually fit the car (without rubbing the arches).
- Checked the mixture and timing - fitted a 16v WUR to get the engine running a bit better
(Air:Fuel Ratio went from 14:1 to 12.5:1, with no other changes)
- Fitted an oil pressure gauge, which thankfully gives me good news!

Much more to follow:

Next jobs:
- Fix the driveshaft(?) that's knocking
- Find the knocking engine mount and replace.
- Fix the fuel filler neck, which has just started seeping.
- Optimise the mixture and timing a bit more.
- Replace the scruffy and badly fitted seat and harness
- Uprated ARB's
- Sunroof out (15kg?)
- Plastic Windows
- Stud and wheel nut conversion
- Extra oil cooler.

More jobs I remembered...
- Fit supersprint exh manifold instead of the Ashley rubbish that's on there!
- Battery in the back
- Fit racing master cylinder and delete the servo/brake linkage (10 kg?)
- improve intake tract


In the past I've tended to spend too much time working on cars, and not enough time driving it. I'm aiming to enjoy it this summer, and then take on some bigger jobs.
- Megasquirt conversion on the 8v
- Rollcage
- Eventually, a 2.1 16v lump, that I've been buying uprated bits for.

 

Seems to go well Mike.

Gemma got a couple of good pics, i just need to reload Aperture 2 on the Macbook and edit before i put them up.

 

Glad to see you started to write about it.

 

Looked good on Saturday Mike.

 

Still got that MS ECU sat in the hall. I'm going to play with the Kjet as far as I can, then install the MS and see what improvement I can get. It's been very slow progress, although I have got most / all of the bits I need.

Sticking point at the minute is finding a throttle body and fuel rail that don't foul eachother. I want to move the airbox to the driver's side, although if I put the battery in the back, that's less of an issue (got a batt. cable out of an audi 200 quattro to do that), so I'd then be able to get a decent intake tract on either side, without all the 90 degree bends that are currently in it.

 

Thanks for the comments. It felt like it was working well at the end, although the back brakes were lethal at first, due to so much weight being removed. Once I sorted that out, I could actually start driving the car, thinking about lines and braking points, rather than struggling to brake in a straight line.

I reckon it's capable of sub 30 times round Curby, if I:
- Remove the rev limiter, go to 7000 rpm, and avoid 4 gearchanges on the back of the circuit
- Lighten it (sunroof, plastic windows, door cards)
- Fit stiffer ARB's
- Fine tune the engine set-up (I got 2mph more on the straight when I advanced the ignition a smidge - just setting ignition timing by ear/feel so far)
- Get some weight off the fat git behind the wheel

 

Pics would be great! I hope someone got a pic of the big 'moment' going into the hairpin!

 

i am upgradin the brakes on my scirocco i have ****ty drums on the back and the tiny standered disks on the front but i have got my hands on a rear axel with disks off a vr6 golf and for the front i have got 288mm for the front and i noticed you said about Fitttin racing master cylinder and delete the servo/brake linkage were would i get my hand on a racing master cylinder and what do you mean delete the servo/brake linkage
cheers dale

 

also wht suspension would you sugest i had the same idea as u with koni but as u have got them fitted how do you find them any downfalls?

 

Time for an update - to rttsvw, I'd say drums on the back are fine, if you get them working properly.

Racing master cylinders are available from places like Rally Design, Car Builder Solutions, Etc. If you modify the pedal to suit, and mount it directly to the driver's side bulkhead (probably need to reinforce it a bit too) then you can work the M/cyl directly off the pedal, take off the servo, linkage, and throw it all away.

There's a bit more to it than that, and I haven't got round to figuring out the details yet. A mate of mine has a 2.0 16v scirocco that runs that sort of setup though, and it seems to have plenty of brakes.

Suspension wise, it depends on whether it's a road or track car.

I've got 2 sciroccos, one is a daily, and the other is a track car.
- one is on eibach springs and koni TA shocks. It's a nice fast road compromise, and not too stiff for the road.
- The track car has a koni sport kit, which uses the same shocks but stiffer springs. A better track setup... crashes and bangs a bit on the road... not stiff enough for a pure track car, probably, but mine gets driven to events.

Hope that helps.

 

Update time.... the car is currently on a diet. I've got lots more to do, and need to sort out some pics, but here's the progress so far.

- The sunroof has been removed, and just the metal panel welded back in. The parts I chopped out weighed about 15kg. My rattle can spray job isn't brilliant, but it's the right colour (ish).
- The rear wiper, motor, and window washer bottle is gone - about 4kg.
- The rear bumper is off for 'surgery'. It weighs about 8kg as standard. I reckon I can chop about 5kg of the metal girder out of it (then I'll do the front one)
- The rear spoiler has an appointment with 'Dr Angle Grinder'. It weighs 7kg, and I reckon I can chop out about 3kg. I considered deleting it entirely, but the car just looks odd, and it leaves holes in the tailgate.
- I'm still to fit the racing battery - will save about 8kg

More to follow - perspex windows, door card removal, etc.


* all weights are from a 2.99 set of Ikea bathroom scales, so may be subject to some error

 

nice project mike! good weight saving figures.

 

Post Nurburgring update

The Rear spoiler is gone - for now. I covered up the holes with black gaffer tape It looks a bit odd, but it'll do for now.

Having done 8 laps of the 'Ring at the weekend, and 2 laps driven by my mate Sharyn, I've changed priorities a bit. Comparing the way my car turned in, to the pax laps I had in other people's cars, I need to see what I can do to get it turning a bit snappier.

I've got a Neuspeed front ARB that I picked up for 50, and I'm trying to source a stiffer rear one. I'm running standard top mounts at the minute. I'll get round to some adjustable ones at some point, but it's not top of the list. Before I go there, I'll experiment a bit with tracking and rear camber. I think I've got too much negative camber on the back.

However, first thing's first - the exhaust manifold started leaking, so I'm going to see what I can rig up with the bits I've got lying around - including the supersprint manifold that's hanging up in the garage, to replace the Ashley one.

 

nice project , have you thought about dash board lightening and centre console removal ect?

 

The console is out, and the lower dash. I'm leaving the upper part of the dash in, for now, but it'll have to get chopped when it gets a cage in it (sometime).

 

Post 'Ring / Pre Curby repairs and upgrades.

Had a good look over the car. and decided to do something about the exhaust, which was leaking, knocking on the ARB, and hanging far too low. Had to take the long driveshaft off, and the ARB, to get the ashley manifold off. Here it is with the heat wrap removed - can't actually see a leak, but it sounded like it was blowing (maybe the flexi?).



A 2nd hand Supersprint 4:2:1 is going on in its place - just porting it out to match the gaskets, as the head is already matched to the exhaust gasket. The top runner in the pic has been started, the bottom one shows the overlap (soot marks).


Also port matched the inlet (with a B&Q own brand dremel type tool - blew the first one up after two days, but they gave me another). Because the head was originally running on carbs, the ports were bigger than the standard gasket -the man in the shed warned me it would be like that, as he did the head for Claire Tippet's car.... so the gasket needed a bit of gentle grinding too.




And fitted a bigger throttle body, porting the inlet out to match that, which is tricky, as the venturi are offset, compared to the standard rocco one. Had to be careful not to grind right through. A rotary file on a drill was used to get the general shape, then smoothed with the 'Dremel' thing, and hand sanded with 320 grit. Bigger 2nd venturi should give more airflow though (52mm vs 45mm), and it's got a TPS on it, so it'll be handy for the megasquirt conversion... just need a fuel rail for it, and I've got all the bits... I think.



I also noticed the air balancer pipe is open (it was blocked off with a bit of pipe, so that's been an air leak - no idea when it happened.


And I've ordered heat wrap for the manifold, and a new jetex 2" system... all due to be delivered to day (hurry up!!).

When taking the ARB off, I snapped the inner mounting studs, so here they are being welded in and a quick splash of paint. 12.9 cap head screws used, so hopefully they won't shear again
Weld, grind, check welds, and redo a couple of bits - had a gas problem with the MIG welder (now fixed) so the first welds weren't great.





More to follow... if the exhaust turns up, I'm fitting bits tonight... the heat wrap just turned up while I was writing this!

I've also fitted a quickshift kit, but haven't got any pics of that yet... still needs adjustment.

so the plan is

- heat wrap exhaust manifold
- fit exhaust manifold and system
- fit Neuspeed ARB
- fit driveshaft
- fit inlet manifold
- block injector air balancer pipe (properly this time!)

Hopefully this lot will make it quicker in a straight line, and turn in a bit sharper (with a bit of fiddling with the suspension settings and tyre pressures).

Lots more still planned... like the racing battery, modded airbox and heat shield, uprated rear ARB, roll cage, and plastic windows.

 

Heat wrapped and fitted the Supersprint manifold tonight, and started test fitting the Jetex exhaust - which arrived today - figuring out which bits I need, as the manifold comes back further than a standard toilet bowl one.

Loosely fitted the Neuspeed ARB too - unlike the Ashley tat, the Supersprint manifold is well clear of the ARB. It is pretty close to the steering gaiter though. I've got the steering column gaiter wrapped in aluminium tape, and the heat wrap on the manifold should help.

 

Looking good for Curby

 

Cheers, Dan... it went better too - shame I wasn't driving it very well! The tip on tyre pressures from Jamesa2 helped it get round corners, and it wasn't as twitchy as I expected.

Meanwhile, I've been making a grille out of aluminium expamet, to delete the front inner lights. This is more about leaving more room for airflow, than saving weight (probably saves a kilo if I'm lucky). It makes more room for an oil cooler, and I can take a cold air feed for the airbox where one of the lights used to be.


10 worth of aluminium expamet, a block of wood and a rubber mallet to get the edges, screw it on on the original screws for the inner end of the headlight frames, and job's a good un. Not the neatest job ever, but I don't care. I'll paint it black at the weekend, but it needs some etch primer, or the paint won't stick.



You can see where I made holes to get at the screws (10mm drill bit)


Looks better if you don't look too closely The bonnet does shut though.


I've left the old inner light frames in though, in case I want to do another night rally in it.

 

What pressure did you run ?