Daily driver track car upgrades

[Deanjet]

I have a 2015 Non-PP with the following; APR stage 2, intercooler, front and rear adjustable endlinks, Stage 1 Trans mount insert, Stoptech ST-1=41's, 24mm RSB and APR lowering springs. Due to tight budget budget what would my next logical step be? I was thinking Polyurethane bushings for the front lower control arms might be the next logical step.
Since I have no clue, and a restrictive budget, what is your opinion?

 

[jay745]

Can't go wrong with control arm bushings, they'll improve the turn in quite a lot. MIght consider upgrading the oem shocks/struts to a koni yellow or similar. What kind of tires do you have? Tires are probably the biggest bang for the buck you can get.

 

[bfury5]

Ditto to tires. With the power you have you're definitely losing time anywhere if you aren't on at least a solid 300tw tire.

As mentioned control arm bushings are cheap if you buy them and do the labor yourself. If you want to keep the car tame you could do the eurosport camber mounts in the front, lots of folks have had good luck with those. That will increase front camber and help with turn in and increased mid-corner grip.

An alignment is a fairly cheap way to get some performance as well. Dial out some of the front and rear toe to make the car more responsive. I'd say this might be my first recommendation if budget is your #1 priority, since this takes no parts and will give you tangible results in ~1hr at an alignment shop.

 

[tpellegr]

200tw tires, engine/trans mounts, FCA will all help at the track. Have fun out there!

 

[xXDavidCXx]

Stiffer rear springs

 

[Will_]

How much track time do you have in the car? I'd say get more seat time and then determine where the weak link in the car is. Always best to spend money on seat time instead of mods.

 

[Deanjet]

Can't go wrong with control arm bushings, they'll improve the turn in quite a lot. MIght consider upgrading the oem shocks/struts to a koni yellow or similar. What kind of tires do you have? Tires are probably the biggest bang for the buck you can get.

Can't go wrong with control arm bushings, they'll improve the turn in quite a lot. MIght consider upgrading the oem shocks/struts to a koni yellow or similar. What kind of tires do you have? Tires are probably the biggest bang for the buck you can get.

Jay, thanks for the feed-back. I'm using Firestone Indy 500's to keep the cost down. For the oem shocks/struts I am looking at EQT coilovers down the line. I am new to track days, so keeping within my limits for now.

 

[Deanjet]

Ditto to tires. With the power you have you're definitely losing time anywhere if you aren't on at least a solid 300tw tire.

As mentioned control arm bushings are cheap if you buy them and do the labor yourself. If you want to keep the car tame you could do the eurosport camber mounts in the front, lots of folks have had good luck with those. That will increase front camber and help with turn in and increased mid-corner grip.

An alignment is a fairly cheap way to get some performance as well. Dial out some of the front and rear toe to make the car more responsive. I'd say this might be my first recommendation if budget is your #1 priority, since this takes no parts and will give you tangible results in ~1hr at an alignment shop.

I like the idea of the Eurosport camber mounts, good stop-gap until I get camber plates and coilovers. My Firestones are 330 TW and I heard hard tires are good for a novice to learn on. Thank you for the input.

 

[Deanjet]

How much track time do you have in the car? I'd say get more seat time and then determine where the weak link in the car is. Always best to spend money on seat time instead of mods.

Good point, only 4 track days so far. My weak point now seams to be under heavy breaking, It feels like there is a lot of front end flex. I was loking at the new BFI front end bushings that are solid rubber form the Audi RS3 with no gaps. Or should I make the jump to Powerflex or SuperPro Poly? Both are affordable ssince I will do the work myself.

 

[Deanjet]

Stiffer rear springs

My APR roll control are the stiffest I want to go, big improvement over stock.

 

[Deanjet]

200tw tires, engine/trans mounts, FCA will all help at the track. Have fun out there!

Put the SuperPro control arms in my friends R last month along with aluminum sub-frame, Racingline lower mount and Tyrolsport dead set kit; major upgrade but out of my spending limit.

Will BFI stage 1 mounts help that much on track? Pricey, but I think my stock mounts are on their last leg.

Thanks for the pointers, most appreciated.

 

[xXDavidCXx]

My APR roll control are the stiffest I want to go, big improvement over stock.

You'd be surprised how much better the car is with stiffer rear springs. Moving the rear suspension frequency higher, allows the rear to recover from bumps sooner. This actually increases comfort, in my opinion. Less pitching forward and aft over bumps is better.

 

[Hollywood0220]

The car ceased to be a legal “daily driven” car when a non EPA certified cat was installed. Make it a genuine track car.

 

[tpellegr]

Put the SuperPro control arms in my friends R last month along with aluminum sub-frame, Racingline lower mount and Tyrolsport dead set kit; major upgrade but out of my spending limit.

Will BFI stage 1 mounts help that much on track? Pricey, but I think my stock mounts are on their last leg.

Thanks for the pointers, most appreciated.

I run the stage 2 BFI mounts and they are amazing at the track. Zero wheel hop and feels like a racecar. IMO worth the NVH.

 

[GTIfan99]

My APR roll control are the stiffest I want to go, big improvement over stock.

I'm with you, I'm using the same springs. I've heard Tein makes struts/shock that are easier to adjust than the Konis.

I'm also getting ready to go back and cut the front bump stops. I'm getting into them to early and it's causing some understeer while braking.