[trackday_prep] 309 Gti Trackday Car

[edbar 6]

Forgot that i had more pics to add.

Finished the dizzyless conversion but forgot to add pics.

I wanted to have the ecu accessable to be mapped but protected so i had a look at using the original ecu carrier/shield.

 

 

Drilled a couple of holes for a cable tie to hold the alpha ecu to the carrier.

 

Then utilised a bolt in the passenger footwell to hold the lot to the car.

 

The car wouldnt start for a while but after a phone call to daza who i bought it of, turned out that the trigger wheel only runs one way and there isnt any noticable differance. So borrowed an air gun, wipped it of and turned it around an it fired into life straight away!

It drives so much better it really is amazing even on the base map, cant wait to drive it after a set up!

[stuart 31 3 Cars]

Just been having a quick read, seems very similar to my new engine

 

I have been putting together an Ignition Management system and have gone with Megajolt, have a trigger wheel, weber TPS and will be using the Ford Edis but hopefully with a coil similar to yours so I can use the ZX leads and keep the coil pack in the original position.

 

Can you tell me what car it is off? I'm also under the impression that you can get a thermostat housing for a coil pack on an XU engine, I presume this is off the same car?

 

By the way, how is the engine going on? Have you had it mapped on the rollers yet?

It'll be good to see how it performs, hopefully be at a similar stage myself in a couple of weeks

[edbar 6]

Dont remember what car the pack is off.......think it might be a corsa. Engine goes very very well and you run out of gears at quite a rate! Not been on the rollers yet but maybe in a month or so. The thermo housing with the blank end(no hole for dizz) i believe comes off a zx volcane 8v with dizzyless ignition, i just used hylomar to seal my original, held so far.

[Sandy 189]

That coilpack is on most injection 106/306 etc.

[edbar 6]

well the engine has been blowing alot of oil into the catch can so i decided to take a look at the filler tower as it was all plumbed in correctley.

 

so it was nearly blocked on the one side and heavy so the gauze inside must have been nearly blocked aswell.

a phone call to peugeot later.

 

looking inside the cap i noticed that the hole inside for one of the breathers was small in comparison to the bore of the pipe.

 

so a spell with the drill later.

 

already seems to be alot better but time will tell if its cured. got a few more ideas to try.

[edbar 6]

Had e few days off holiday from work so seized the oppurtunity to fit the seat and roll cage.

 

 

 

trial fitted rear cage.

 

[Nrj 0]

Excellent thread and read,

 

although i cant see 2days pics

[Anthony 1,000]

although i cant see 2days pics

You can now...

[edbar 6]

Right as the pics are now showing ill load the rest up.

 

Had to cut the tunnel to get the seat far enough over to be centre with the steering wheel. Also prepped the areas for the cage feet.

 

 

Then russ from custom body repair started fabricating the cage feet and modded tunnel.

 

 

 

Now with the front section and door bars bolted in.

 

[edbar 6]

Next on to the seat mounts.

 

 

 

Then painted up with hammerite silver.

 

 

Seat bolted in with the harness.

 

 

Feels great to dive now being so low in the cabin. Due to the cage being from a 205 the fit isnt very good, too far away from door pillars and roof line at the front. But for now it will protect me against a roll if i bin it so better than nothing but i am going to get a weld in late next year to stiffen the shell up aswell.

The car is lurching around under acceleration terribly and diving alot under braking. It generally feels unstable at all times!

So suspension needs looking at as a priority.

[edbar 6]

Thanks Anthony again!

[Cloverleaf 1]

Looks good, shame you have gone to all the effort of welding in cage feet to change cages shortly though!

 

The cage should stiffen the shell up a bit, which will make the car feel more planted.

[edbar 6]

Yeah i know but ill get a year out of this cage and it the lot has only cost about £65 including the paint for it. And plus me and my mate love fabricating anyway so bring on the challenge

Has stiffened it up quite a bit already actually, yours must be ultra toight!

[Cloverleaf 1]

Well in that case it's definately worth it. Bargain.

 

My cage completely transformed the way the car feels.

 

The welding looks spot on too mate. Keep up the good work

[taylorspug 7]

Nice welding.

[edbar 6]

Got some new lower arms from work with some money from xmas.

 

So spent a few hours in the shed fitting them.

 

Took it for a small drive and now feels like the tracking is out! So i have now got new Track rod ends which i will fit this weekend then get it set up at powerstation in tewkesbury. Also have a load more bits for the beam re-build and new rear shocks. Will update on those soon.

[snooks 5]

Where did you get the wishbones from out of interest? Or where do you work as i see you got them from there.

Edited January 7, 2010 by snooks

[edbar 6]

They are Quinton Hazell. And i work at Bromsgrove Motor Factors in Worcester.

[Cloverleaf 1]

Lower arms look nice mate.

 

Set the tracking yourself with two poles and some 10lb fishing wire....cheap and accurate

[edbar 6]

How does that work? Never attempted tracking before!

[Cloverleaf 1]

This is what I do (first shown to me by a mate at work so I can’t take credit):

 

You need:

- 2-off metal poles (wider than the track width of the car). I’ve used curtain poles from B&Q

- 10lb fishing line

- 2-off weights (not heavy, something like 50g). Can use anything you can tie the fishing line to

- 4-off axle stands (or something to rest the poles on)

- Metal rule

- Tape measure

 

Method:

 

1) Measure the car track width (widest)

2) Hold the two poles together and make 2 grooves in them with a hacksaw about 100mm wider than the widest track of the car

3) Put one pole in front of the car on the axle stands and the same at the rear

4) Tie a length of fishing wire around one pole going through one of the grooves

5) Run the fishing line along the side of the car and tie one of the weights to the other end, draping it over the other pole so the fishing line runs in the groove

6) Raise/lower the axle stands until the fishing wire is at wheel centre height

7) Repeat 4) & 5) for the other side

8) Measure the length of each fishing wire to the centre of each pole, make them equal by moving the poles

9) Centralise the car in the “square” by measuring from the fishing line to an equal point on each side at the centre of each wheel

10) Double check 8 and 9 until all is equal

11) Now measure from the wheel rim at the front and the back to the fishing line with the metal rule – set as desired (if the value is the same then you have parallel toe, if the value is bigger at the back of the rim you have toe out etc). Amount of difference required per degree is dependent on wheel rim size but it’s easy to calculate.

 

If you calculate the angular misalignment for the measurement error (prob ± 0.25mm with a decent metal rule and eye!) it’s actually very accurate and also takes into account all 4 wheels.

 

It’s also really quick to do once you’ve done it once so you can try different settings.

 

Hope that's understandable!

[Cloverleaf 1]

Some general tips also....

 

Obviously, loosen your track rod ends first, then centralise your rack by ensuring you have the same amount of thread engagement on each track rod end and centralise your steering wheel once done by taking it off if necessary!

[edbar 6]

Seems a great idea, might give it a go in the future. Thanks for the tips!

[edbar 6]

Well time i posted progress again. Rear beam rebuild and upgrade!

After buying a second hand beam tube already with solid nylon front mounts i also bought some decent stub axles and xsara vts arms. Unfortunately i didnt get any pics of them before i painted the beam and arms. Also had some new sandwich mounts from work.

 

Got some 306 KYB AGX gas adjustable rear shocks through work.

 

 

Also got some Brembo rear discs and FERRODO Premier pads again through work.

 

 

My bottom engine mount is truly knackered so i bought this solid one to replace it.

 

Got the car to a friends workshop now where he is going to change the beams over for me as he has already put new bearings and seals in the tube. With all the weight removed the back end was up in the air so can rectify that now and see if the KYB's are an improvement over the AVO's already on the car. Hopefully with the rear end rebuilt it will handle properly for once....

[Dazza 4]

Got some new lower arms from work with some money from xmas.

 

So spent a few hours in the shed fitting them.

 

Took it for a small drive and now feels like the tracking is out! So i have now got new Track rod ends which i will fit this weekend then get it set up at powerstation in tewkesbury. Also have a load more bits for the beam re-build and new rear shocks. Will update on those soon.

 

If that picture is to guage from my 205 never had that amount of clearance from the standard Wishbone arms to roll bar ? It is within 15mm of the rear bush mount ....