Besides all the drama going on in here, road racing an Mk3 is a lot of fun. Granted the car I drive is stripped down to about 3000lbs, running my TIP suspension setup, and I wasn't running on the best tires and it was making about stock power. But besides the brakes which need to be upgraded, the car was pretty solid and would hang with a lot of faster cars in the corners. It could've been a lot faster that day if the brakes would last longer than the first couple turns.
For brakes, I was planning on getting new rotors, some Carbotech race pads, stainless lines and some good fluid, probably Motul or AP Racing. I would like to do something different with the brakes, probably something similar to the ARZ kit, but that might not happen for a little while.
Now if I could only get some good power, the car would tear it up.
But if you really want to do this, make sure everything is solid before even thinking about upgrading. The engine is running fine and won't have any problems after getting really beat on for 20-30 minutes straight. The suspension bushings are good, nothing is blown. The spring/dampers, I don't know about running on the stock stuff, but you could probably get away with it as long as the dampers aren't blown. I wouldn't suggest cheaping out on some low-end coilovers that will probably cause more handling problems than they will fix. Make sure you have good tires on there, make sure the brakes are good. And make sure nothing is going to fall apart or fail after getting abused on the track.
After that, go out, try it, then decide what needs attention first. If the engine is running good and causing no problems, then leave it alone for now. Same with everything else. Since it seems you're on a tight budget, you need to prioritize and focus on what needs attention the most. And save the money for getting to and from the track and paying for gas, tires, fluids, entry fees, etc.
Just go out there and try it first, unless you have a racing background, building a car before doing anything with it is stupid and will probably reinforce any bad driving habits you may already have. I've driven so many different cars in different situations, that I feel comfortable hopping in a different car, feeling it out for a couple laps and then pushing it pretty hard for the rest of the time. You just need to know what you're looking for and what to expect. It takes time, but you're young, so take things slow and do it right and you will have no regrets. If you start throwing money at the car to get it what you think would be track ready, then you're probably going to end up spending double the money to fix the things that you had bought before you really knew what you needed.
Tim
For brakes, I was planning on getting new rotors, some Carbotech race pads, stainless lines and some good fluid, probably Motul or AP Racing. I would like to do something different with the brakes, probably something similar to the ARZ kit, but that might not happen for a little while.
Now if I could only get some good power, the car would tear it up.
But if you really want to do this, make sure everything is solid before even thinking about upgrading. The engine is running fine and won't have any problems after getting really beat on for 20-30 minutes straight. The suspension bushings are good, nothing is blown. The spring/dampers, I don't know about running on the stock stuff, but you could probably get away with it as long as the dampers aren't blown. I wouldn't suggest cheaping out on some low-end coilovers that will probably cause more handling problems than they will fix. Make sure you have good tires on there, make sure the brakes are good. And make sure nothing is going to fall apart or fail after getting abused on the track.
After that, go out, try it, then decide what needs attention first. If the engine is running good and causing no problems, then leave it alone for now. Same with everything else. Since it seems you're on a tight budget, you need to prioritize and focus on what needs attention the most. And save the money for getting to and from the track and paying for gas, tires, fluids, entry fees, etc.
Just go out there and try it first, unless you have a racing background, building a car before doing anything with it is stupid and will probably reinforce any bad driving habits you may already have. I've driven so many different cars in different situations, that I feel comfortable hopping in a different car, feeling it out for a couple laps and then pushing it pretty hard for the rest of the time. You just need to know what you're looking for and what to expect. It takes time, but you're young, so take things slow and do it right and you will have no regrets. If you start throwing money at the car to get it what you think would be track ready, then you're probably going to end up spending double the money to fix the things that you had bought before you really knew what you needed.
Tim
