Bigpower

Hi all, it's been a while since I last posted. I have just aquired a mk3 8v golf gti. It's a 3 door with no sunroof. Paid

Track only or road legal?

If you're going TO then you can rid an enormous amount of weight (=free 'power'), and you can do things like stiffening the rear up to improve turn in and assuming you've got 15" wheels, buy some decent and cheap sticky tyres.

Weight saving is pretty much free or better if you sell on bits, stiffer will cost you a few quid in springs or ARB and tyres will also cost a few quid but it will be much, much better. If it has to stay RL then your options are kind of limited as the weight of the thing will be the biggest performance killer.

Joking aside, bucket seats or something offering a much lower driving position will help, as will harnesses. These will help you feel more connected to the car, and you really 'need' that in a MK3. My old 16v felt so removed from the track it was actually harder to drive quickly than my caged, R888 shod M3 at the time.

If you need any pointers on weight loss for these let me know. I've had a couple

Thanks Stuart,
It will be track only. Is there a front bumper bar like the rear? Also I've heard there are heavy door bars in, are these removable?

I found this which is an interesting read:-
http://www.clubgti.com/showthread.php?1 ... its-pg9-gt

All pointers are gratefully recieved!

JM

Yeah, a great project and source of loads of valuable information.

I think that the crash structure behind both bumpers is similar, so it's worth checking. If it's TO, you don't 'need' bumpers on at all, so whip them off as it may give you better cooling if nothing else.

There are quite a few brackets that you can remove from the interior and engine bay, you should consider removing the dash and full heater system (buy a kit car heater for about

Interesting, thanks.

What do you think about the door bars? The bloke in the link looks like he has kept his in but he has removed all possible excess material.

Keep them. You're not getting a cage (I presume) and they are a fucker to get out. As and when you do get a cage, then they will be an option but if they are like others I have removed they weigh very little in real terms.

Re-reading Martin's thread, you won't go far wrong emulating a lot of his ideas. Another resource to tap up on here is Ian200sx. He and a guy called Lolek have built a tough MK3 VR6 that's stood up to a fair amount of abuse and was quick when I last went in it. Their's is TO and therefore there is a lot of shared ground with your car.

Good luck. Get some pics up and get a proper thread running.

That's saved me a job!
Cheers.

That chaps done a lovely job on that Mk3 .. damn I'm beginning to really like the MK3 now ....

I loved mine and they are bloody good value.

I recently removed the air con pump and pipe work, bought a shorter non air con alternator belt. But it is too short. Does anyone know the correct size belt or if i need different diameter pulleys or tensioner?
Thanks