Single parent has mid-life crisis @ 34; buys dream hatch; gets back into racing after 8-yr hiatus; chases BMW M-cars

[GoatAutomotive]

Got some nice company there

RIGHT!? This one event made up for 80% of the loss I felt for missing 4/10's track day.

 

[MrTSI]

Suspension work 4/9-4/10. Hand washed engine bay on 4/9. Hood, too. She was shamefully dirty. Our little Stormtrooper Mopar killer deserves the best pampering.

H&R OE Sport springs went bye bye. I loved those for what they were: an excellent street spring for OE dampers.

S3 springs went on.

PSB Track Day Spec pads went on for trial purposes and track use.

I’m documenting their performance in a separate thread over in the Tracking/Auto-x forum. I’ll link it here if I remember to.

Note the mandatory GTI coffee tumbler filled with Dad Fuel. ️

If you still have the OE Sports on hand, would you be able to measure the wire thickness, and the overall diameter of the front and rear springs? I'm trying to approximate the rates relative to stock to validate H&R's "10% stiffer" claim.

 

[GoatAutomotive]

If you still have the OE Sports on hand, would you be able to measure the wire thickness, and the overall diameter of the front and rear springs? I'm trying to approximate the rates relative to stock to validate H&R's "10% stiffer" claim.

They sold a while ago. Sorry!

10% stiffer is believable, but you never feel it. They do great with the Koni and OE dampers (DCC included).

Bilsteins not so much…

 

[MrTSI]

They sold a while ago. Sorry!

10% stiffer is believable, but you never feel it. They do great with the Koni and OE dampers (DCC included).

Bilsteins not so much…

Thanks for replying. I wish H&R would be more forthcoming with their rates. I'm always skeptical of claims of "about x% stiffer" from vendors and owners alike. Often, the rates are actually softer than stock, although I have found this is more common with linear springs than progressives.

Looking at pics of the OE Sports, it looks like once the tighter windings bind, they have the same number of free coils as stock. So then it becomes a matter of comparing wire thickness, and to a lesser extent, the overall diameter, to get an idea of how they stack up versus stock. Thinner wire/wider diameter = softer, and vice versa. I do think 10% stiffer is plausible, but in God we trust, all others bring data...

Thanks anyways. I will keep following your build. Your posts are always entertaining and very informative.

 

[GoatAutomotive]

Updates 11/10/24:

11/4-11/5: full track day prep and tech inspection. Flushed brake fluid for RBF600. Swapped the race wheels and sticky shoes on. Verified torque and condition of front end components.

Found busted RS3 brake ducts after low mileage street use and spirited drives. Culprit is likely the stock length FSB end links + slightly lower ride height (15mm) + girthy 28mm H&R FSB contacting the ducts.

Disappointing, but easy fix. Time to order new ducts from the lovely Svetlana in Latvia .


11/6/24: only track day of the year, HHR (home track) in San Marcos, TX.
…Rewarding, but not without issues. I blame @MonkeyMD for not attending, thus not letting me rub his “good luck beard.”
(#nohomo)

For full, unfiltered info on the track event, Click below…laugh and learn stuffs: https://www.golfmk7.com/forums/index.php?threads/we-tried-to-take-a-fwd-lap-record-instead-we-built-the-perfect-street-and-track-mqb….447621/

…navigate to page 3, start @ post #33, read to ~ post 38-ish. That includes you, @tigeo


11/8/24: ordered BFI stage 1 engine mount and trans insert.

Purchased on sale from UroTuning. ETA late next week.

Have had APR billet steel dogbone insert aince 8k miles and all stock mechanicals. Did a great job, but the car has had all suspension issues sorted, so now the low integrity of stock rubber chicken mounts has revealed itself.

Goal is maintenance + final elimination of excess engine movement, for maximum traction in the first 2 gears again (DSG, deep drag race gearing from factory).

Remaining goals:

1) VCDS adjustments to ABS, VAQ and TC. System blocked me when I attempted it the first time, and I was in a hellacious time crunch. Abandoned mission.

2) IS38 w/OTS tunes from Ed Susman and co. 93, E30 and E85

3) Full paint correction and sealant (7-10 months past due).

Last job was done 6/2023 and had amazing results. Took 3 full days, though.

Can do it in 2 this time, due to better detail products and a nice DA w/5” pads.

That is all! Car is fantastic otherwise.

7 year anniversary just passed on 10/30/24, and I’m still in love with my pint-sized 3150lb Stormtrooper.

Hope you all are doing well, and loving your MQB as much as I adore mine.

 

[GoatAutomotive]

Forgot to mention:

11/6 goals for 2024: 1:30 at HHR running CW.

Actual results: 1:34 fastest recorded lap. Consistent 1:37-1:38 initially (lot of fear and mental dust to manage).

Fastest lap was on pace for a solid 1:32, but a sloppy BRZ c**k-blocked us in the very LAST corner (T11)

This was from watching my telemetry closely, not from any speculation or wild hopes.

My racing lines and brake zones need improvement, and it shows.

The car is totally ready for a 1:30 with just another -1* of rear camber, front FSB set to full stiff, and proper driving lines around HHR.

I was doing the whole course in 3rd and 4th, compared to having to use 2nd gear in previous events and sections from the far slower cornering speeds (suspension issues + street tires in 2023)

So two minor suspension tweaks, and a rented track day with an HHR member will get me there.

VCDS adjustments (unsuccessful on first attempt) will easily shave 1-1.5 seconds off the lap with no other changes, based on extended talks and data swapping with my much smarter mentor.(@DerHase)

 

[tigeo]

The car is totally ready for a 1:30 with just another -1* of rear camber, front FSB set to full stiff, and proper driving lines around HHR.

Car is ready with nothing else but driver mod. Same with me getting a 2:13 around VIR - nothing is needed but some balls through esses/T10...hell...a 2:12 is in it. Like I am told regularly at the shop I frequent that builds and manages/supports race cars - "Could someone else get a faster time than you in your car as it is? [answer is "yes"] Then spend more time driving instead of XYZ part."

 

[GoatAutomotive]

^ you’re not wrong, but the rear camber adjustment is to increase corner speeds and preserve the rear tires.

At ~-1.5* rear, the rear tires were taking some scrub on the outer shoulders;
Fronts were perfectly uniform (temp and wear) across the tread w/-2.4* camber; and this is on a FWD MacPherson car
, where the fronts do most of the heavy lifting in cornering.

Hope this helps, but yes, better driving alone will easily get me into the 1:31 range.

I’ve had “incidents” at the track caused by mechanical issues (2023) and driving mistakes (11/6/24) that made me a lot more conservative with my speeds.

And this is on a track with a 95-105mph v-max.

VIR is a whole different animal.
“Big boy track” with 30% higher speeds and a lot more braking needed.

I salute 🫡 you, @DerHase and others who play there.

 

[tigeo]

^ you’re not wrong, but the rear camber adjustment is to increase corner speeds and preserve the rear tires.

At ~-1.5* rear, the rear tires were taking heavy scrub on the outer shoulders;
Fronts were perfectly uniform (temp and wear) across the tread w/-2.4* camber; and this is on a FWD MacPherson car
, where the fronts do most of the heavy lifting in cornering.

Hope this helps, but yes, better driving alone will easily get me into the 1:31 range.

I’ve had “incidents” at the track caused by mechanical issues (2023) and driving mistakes (11/6/24) that made me a lot more conservative with my speeds.

And this is on a track with a 95-105mph v-max.

VIR is a whole different animal.
“Big boy track” with 30% higher speeds and a lot more braking needed.

I salute 🫡 you, @DerHase and others who play there.

I believe I'm at -1.7 rear and -2.6 front. Tires look ok.

 

[DerHase]

Set the rear to roughly 1.0 deg less negative camber than whatever you have up front. That should be a good ballpark +/- 0.5 deg.

You CAN put more camber out back, but you'll need to run some insane rear tire pressures to compensate most likely.

I'd make the sway bar change first and reassess. That'll keep the entire body (and this the rear suspension) flatter so you won't lose as much camber dynamically.

 

[GoatAutomotive]

11/14 updates!

1) BFI stage 1 mounts ordered (and moving slower than a Prius owner).

2) EQT secrets in the works…

3) Storm is due for some light maintenance and a full paint correction.

4) VCDS changes pending.

5) Why am I still obsessed with this car?

And the best for last…










…track photos posted!!!!

(Stormy looking hotter than Lily James in Baby Driver)

Huge thanks and gratitude go out to @DerHase for all the pep talks and tech talks; and to @krs for being an absolute saint to work with earlier this year.

Photo credits: Greg Pfaff, who did an outstanding job covering a field of 65 very quick cars.

https://www.gregorypfaff.com/

 

[GoatAutomotive]

My two favorites:

Sunset Stormtrooper

And my Chris Harris 4-wheel drift around T7 (proud GTI parent!)

(Is this shameless self-promotion, or am I just infatuated with my tiny escape hatch?)

 

[GoatAutomotive]

For the curious crowd, full pics of all the other cool cars in attendance can be found in the links below.

And there was some TALENT out there on 11/6!

Intermediate:
https://www.gregorypfaff.com/TNIA-110624/INTER

Advanced: https://www.gregorypfaff.com/TNIA-110624/ADV


Link to the full Track Build thread, where I tune and prep a FWD sleeper to run 1:29-1:30 at HHR, then stuff an overweight 1:35 driver in it…

https://www.golfmk7.com/forums/inde...ilt-the-perfect-street-and-track-mqb….447621/

 

[GoatAutomotive]

Post #131 in motion.

Lots of maintenance pending.

BFI mounts are here and tempting me for the install, but I’m buried on customer projects.

Gonna verify my Moog stock length endlinks aren’t smacking the LCAs, but I’m 90% positive they are (on hard bumps or maybe hard cornering.

Good adjustables may be on order. Front-only have the issues due to factory geometry, and I’m only dropped ~15mm up front.

Wish I’d had the coin for Bilstein B16s with adjustable dampers, but this is what I have to work with.

Updates next week!

Old photo that’s still relevant.

 

[19birel]

The powerstop track pads, have you run them before? Curious as to your thoughts!