Corrado Track Car

[onzlouk 0]

I have recently bought a corrado VR6 to use as a track car, its already stripped out completely, no seats, carpet, dash, sunroof etc and the plan is bigger brakes, arbs, cage, coilovers, better cooling and light wheels. Do any of you guys run one as a track car? and what are the reccommendations for the bits and bobs above? feel free to argue :norty:

Yes i am new here but no stranger to VWs just finished building a 1978 golf gls with a BAM 20vt, always wanted a corrado and wanted to do something different for the track than the usual mk2 golf! :wave:

[Dr Forinor 0]

I wish I could help you with useful advice but I know next to nothing compared to the rest here so I will leave the advice to those who are more knowledgable.

 

My reason for posting is that I would like to request that you take pictures at each stage and keep us updated as to what you are planning and doing :D

[onzlouk 0]

I can do that....

 

Started like this, bought for a bargain price!

 

 

now looking rather sorry for itself but ill get there! Hopefully wont be long either

 

 

A bit more unwiring to do and smoothing the inside then cage in and go from there.

[yacobwood 0]

saw a corrado as a racer at hednesford hills raceway. looked amzin. came second :( would really like pic along the way though :)

[aide 0]

nice one, welcome here too

 

was actually considering this as a purchase, resisted in the end http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120452324960&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

[corozin 0]

Well if you're building a dedicated track car then you can dispense with the compromises imposed by road usage.

 

Wheels : Go straight to 18's as you'll need them for the brakes. I would personally convert the hubs to studs. R888 tyres or similar almost mandatory.

Suspension : H&W do a range of trackday coilovers which I understand are impossible for road use but will be fine for the track. Stiffer the better. Polybush everything and replace all the arms etc with new ones - take no chances on old parts. Bonrath do (or used to do) a nice line in tough top mounts which you also need. Check your steering rack.

Brakes : No sodding about. Audi RS6 monoblocs with 365mm front discs. Ferodo DS2500 pads. If you can afford them dump the Audi calipers and get some Alcons as they're just the best and will save weight compared to everything else you can think of.

Gearbox : A standard box is ok, but a Quaife/Peloquin is a must, and a lower final drive will help a lot, as will a quickshift

ARB : If you run hard enough suspension you don't need to worry about this too much, but options on ARB upgrades for the Corrado are a bit miserable these days. I think most only tighten up by around 25% but you might be ok with that much given the weight reduction. Don't forget your cage will stiffen the car a lot provided you fit a full cage linked to the suspension areas. Don't forget to have your engine subframes all seam welded as the OE parts only have spot welds - fine for road but not enough for extreme track use.

Oil Cooler - fitted/ducted from full airflow source. You might also want to cut a hole in the numberplate recess to get more air onto the radiator.

Engine - with all the above you don't actually need to go bonkers on the engine as it will be proper quick with little more than stock horsepower, but I'm sure you've already thought about the lump. For hard track use avoid superchargers & turbochargers unless you are confident with how to deal with all the temperature issues concerned.

Instruction - essential, and always more useful than a big set of balls.

 

Have fun. Would be interested to see how the car turns out.

John

[bristolbaron 11]

nice tips john.. makes it sound so easy!! :notworthy:

[coullstar 0]

Do you really have to got that big with brakes? Surely you can have an overbraked car and the massive discs will end up adding more weight.

[corozin 0]

Do you really have to got that big with brakes? Surely you can have an overbraked car and the massive discs will end up adding more weight.

 

Personally I don't think you can have 'too big' brakes for track work. The bigger the discs, the more stopping, the better heat dissapation, the less chance of locking up. The brake size I mentioned was basically the same as Ken Lark ran for many years (and still runs) on his VW Cup race car, which also ran stock rear discs & calipers.

[corozin 0]

nice tips john.. makes it sound so easy!! :notworthy:

Haha - just budget £5k-£7k, or £9k if you want the Alcons.

[KipVR 1]

I think Corozin is prettey spot on there except for the wheels and brakes....

 

Personally I'd stick with 17" wheels and some AP racing brakes, but get some ducting to the back of the brakes, this makes a big diference. You can use G60/16v ducts from the front bumper to the wheel arch liner and then you'll have to custom pipe it to the back of the brakes.

 

AP racing because there is no other brake manufacturer out there who are as reliable and experienced on the track. If you want spare parts the aftermarket service is absolutely spot on. They may not look as flash, but there performance per pound is totally unmatched. You won't have any braking problems with 330x32mm up front providing you make the car light enough.

 

17" wheels are lighter and cheaper, but the tyres are much cheaper, and you'll be wearing through a lot of them and the cost adds up very quickly.

 

Take out all the glass, get a sheet of lexan fmr coated polycarbonate or similar and use this as a replacement, it'll save you a lot of weight.

 

Take out the adjustable steering rack and put in a non adjustable item suited to yourself.

 

Having said all this personally i'd start off with a rwd car, much more satisfying round the track. E36 or something.

[onzlouk 0]

Thanks for all the replies!

I do intend keeping the car road legal, i already have some wheels which are 15" team dynamics lightweights which i intend to clad in r888' 205/50/15' I already have some brakes too which are only the 288mm but they cope great round the track on my mates 350+bhp golf track car so i figured theyd be fine on the corrado, though it sounds like the bigger ones may be a better route (meaning bigger wheels?) I will be getting some Eibach ARB, front and back and a midrange set of coilovers (spax maybe). The glass is coming out today and the sunroof and bonnet will be carbon items. Foglights removed with oil cooler and ducting to engine bay sounds good.

As for the RWD thing i appreciate what your saying, ive been round the Nurburgring in my TVR cerbera, but i think fwd is more fun for a novice/intermediate trackday driver until im back into the rwd thing, the cerbera is being sold today :(

[Kevin Bacon 5]

AP racing because there is no other brake manufacturer out there who are as reliable and experienced on the track. If you want spare parts the aftermarket service is absolutely spot on. They may not look as flash, but there performance per pound is totally unmatched. You won't have any braking problems with 330x32mm up front providing you make the car light enough.

 

You might struggle with 32mm discs on the Corrado VR6 platform. The lower ball joint gets in the way. You have to clearance the BJ casting with 28mm discs so 32mm would need a different solution. This is why people like Alcon don't make kits for MK2/MK3 based cars, only MK4 and MK5. More disc clearance.

Agreed, 330mm with 4 pots is plenty. The Corrado is no 911 or Evo, so can't carry half as much speed into the corners.

 

No one's mentioned adding more caster yet, something the Corrado definitely benefits from. You can get up to 5 deg with solid top mounts, but if it were me I would weld in MK4 front turrets and use MK4 struts and hubs (and thereforec ould use the 32mm discs!) and enjoy 7 degrees of caster, as opposed the Corrado's standard 3.5 deg.

[corozin 0]

Thanks for all the replies!

I do intend keeping the car road legal, i already have some wheels which are 15" team dynamics lightweights which i intend to clad in r888' 205/50/15' I already have some brakes too which are only the 288mm but they cope great round the track on my mates 350+bhp golf track car so i figured theyd be fine on the corrado, though it sounds like the bigger ones may be a better route (meaning bigger wheels?) I will be getting some Eibach ARB, front and back and a midrange set of coilovers (spax maybe). The glass is coming out today and the sunroof and bonnet will be carbon items. Foglights removed with oil cooler and ducting to engine bay sounds good.

As for the RWD thing i appreciate what your saying, ive been round the Nurburgring in my TVR cerbera, but i think fwd is more fun for a novice/intermediate trackday driver until im back into the rwd thing, the cerbera is being sold today :(

 

To be honest with all the weight you're removing from the car you may find the 288mm discs are ok for a while but the grip from the sticky tyres will encourage you to brake very late indeed. I run 323mm Brembos which generated 1.12g under braking at Castle Combe in what is an unlightened road car with two people on board. A lighter car would brake with a lot more force than that but frankly it's still not in the same league as what a properly prepared racing car makes.

 

I was lucky enough to get a passenger ride in Ken Lark's VW Cup Corrado at Snetterton a number of years ago and the brakes he run were around the size I mentioned in the earlier post. Even in the wet the braking force of that car was something. That car ran (at the time) only around 220bhp but we were lapping hard driven Ferrari road cars as if they were Ford Fiestas. The point of that you don't have to have a car with a zillion horsepower to be very very quick indeed on track.

 

RWD would just eat up time & money and wouldn't necessarily give you a quicker car at the end of it. If you wanted a RWD track car then you would have just bought an E36 instead? For what it's worth I think you're taking the right approach; removing weight is the cheapest and best modification you can do to a track car. I've have a think about KevHaywire's suggestion on the camber settings too as that is a good point. Using midrange coilovers for starters is also ok, but honestly I think you may quickly want to go beyond those so something with a better spec as road springs will compress more than you want on a track, especially with those sticky tyres fitted.

 

You might find it interesting to have a read of the competition rules for VW Cup Cars (used to be downloadable from the VW Racing Cup website). You might actually be surprised at how limited the modifications allowed are. Certainly no Quaifes allowed, or glass removal, or carbon bonnets! If you think about how quick those cars are within the rules then you could eventually end up with a road legal trackday car that's quicker than they are in the right hands. That's an encouraging thought.

[Wendy 0]

Hi,

 

Although you are only going to using this car as a Track Car, you wil get lots of help and tips from Specialist Race Garages, Websites of similar formula's and Racing Clubs. These people will have years of experience and will have done many improvements at huge costs to later find out cheaper alternatives.

Also by joining a Race Club - they bulk buy on many of the Track Day consumables - helping to keep costs down.

 

I would also get the car onto Track as soon as possible.

This way you will discover for yourself the areas for improvement you wish to complete, feel the difference and not waste unecessary money or time.

More than almost anything else, it is the way you drive on the Track.

 

I would strongly recommend - Instruction - even if you only have one 20 minute session each time you go out (cost approx £25), this will teach you more in the car handling, balance, braking etc etc plus of course the lines to take through the Track for best speed and enjoyment.

 

Good luck and enjoy.

[Fanjita 1]

Hi Mate,

 

If you are getting rid of those wheels I'd love them! Let me know how much :)

 

Jim

[jenks 0]

Im so glad this post has arisen, As im in the same process with the 3litre corrado I have currently. Good winter project for next year I hope.

 

I was going to run 15s with a good 288mm set up as in better brake fluid, uprated discs,pads,lines,etc,etc but it seems reading a few posts this isnt good enough? Im not a fan of running 16s for a 312mm conversion as the tyres are too expensive, and for me 17s ruin handling so I cant believe 18s have been mentioned?!!!! :shock: I totally understand that brakes and handling are very important, but 18s to fit big brakes is all well but surely that ruins the handling?

 

Also does anyone know of any firms that do fibreglass panels for the corrado?

 

Also I noticed Steering racks being mentioned, I think my rack is on the way out, what non adjustable rack would work and how would you know that this'd be suited to yourself before fitting???

 

Cheers

[Kevin Bacon 5]

People's definition of Handling varies enormously and is down to individual tastes. 18s haven't ruined the handling if that's what Mr Lark finds works best for him on the track.

 

Like me, he probably hates the squidgy turn-in you can get from 15" tyres on the narrow standard rims. If you must stick with 15", at least go 8 x 15 with some hard sidewalled tyres, like the A048R or R888.

 

Wheel size affects mainly the turn-in and initial acceleration from rest. Some folk like a heavier turn-in but the pay off is more grip from wider tyres and less sidewall flex from the very low profile and obviously the ability to fit mega stoppers and I am whole heartedly support those, and the bigger the better.

[onzlouk 0]

Im so glad this post has arisen, As im in the same process with the 3litre corrado I have currently. Good winter project for next year I hope.

 

I was going to run 15s with a good 288mm set up as in better brake fluid, uprated discs,pads,lines,etc,etc but it seems reading a few posts this isnt good enough? Im not a fan of running 16s for a 312mm conversion as the tyres are too expensive, and for me 17s ruin handling so I cant believe 18s have been mentioned?!!!! :shock: I totally understand that brakes and handling are very important, but 18s to fit big brakes is all well but surely that ruins the handling?

 

Also does anyone know of any firms that do fibreglass panels for the corrado?

 

Also I noticed Steering racks being mentioned, I think my rack is on the way out, what non adjustable rack would work and how would you know that this'd be suited to yourself before fitting???

 

Cheers

 

Ditto with the wheel situation, ill be running 15s with 288mm setup as with the weight and power ill be running they should be fine, as i get better at using the car and more confident i may feel the need to upgrade, which i can do at a later date......Unless...i see a setup for a bargain price and i cant resist :wink:

 

For plastic/carbon bits try http://www.performance-trim.com/index.html

[jenks 0]

Im so glad this post has arisen, As im in the same process with the 3litre corrado I have currently. Good winter project for next year I hope.

 

I was going to run 15s with a good 288mm set up as in better brake fluid, uprated discs,pads,lines,etc,etc but it seems reading a few posts this isnt good enough? Im not a fan of running 16s for a 312mm conversion as the tyres are too expensive, and for me 17s ruin handling so I cant believe 18s have been mentioned?!!!! :shock: I totally understand that brakes and handling are very important, but 18s to fit big brakes is all well but surely that ruins the handling?

 

Also does anyone know of any firms that do fibreglass panels for the corrado?

 

Also I noticed Steering racks being mentioned, I think my rack is on the way out, what non adjustable rack would work and how would you know that this'd be suited to yourself before fitting???

 

Cheers

 

Ditto with the wheel situation, ill be running 15s with 288mm setup as with the weight and power ill be running they should be fine, as i get better at using the car and more confident i may feel the need to upgrade, which i can do at a later date......Unless...i see a setup for a bargain price and i cant resist :wink:

 

For plastic/carbon bits try http://www.performance-trim.com/index.html

 

Yeah dont remind me, I was very close to buying a full carbon corrado bonnet from performance trim at Ultimate Dubs, went a way for 2 mins to have a think and it went in that time, I was gutted! :censored:

[corozin 0]

Im so glad this post has arisen, As im in the same process with the 3litre corrado I have currently. Good winter project for next year I hope.

 

I was going to run 15s with a good 288mm set up as in better brake fluid, uprated discs,pads,lines,etc,etc but it seems reading a few posts this isnt good enough? Im not a fan of running 16s for a 312mm conversion as the tyres are too expensive, and for me 17s ruin handling so I cant believe 18s have been mentioned?!!!! :shock: I totally understand that brakes and handling are very important, but 18s to fit big brakes is all well but surely that ruins the handling?

 

Also does anyone know of any firms that do fibreglass panels for the corrado?

 

Also I noticed Steering racks being mentioned, I think my rack is on the way out, what non adjustable rack would work and how would you know that this'd be suited to yourself before fitting???

 

Cheers

 

Wheels 18's don't necessarily ruin the handling. On a road car you'd probably consider running a 30 profile tyre so as not to affect the gearing/tacho of the car but on a racing car this is not a consideration. Lark's car runs on control race tyres with the equivalent of a 40-section profile, there is no tacho, the gearsets are changed from the road car, and the suspension is race stiff & cambered, and the wheel arches were cut & rewelded to accept the larger wheels too. In other words a lot of work was carried out to ensure the car could run the biggest brakes available.

 

Panels There used to be a carbonfibre bonnet panel for sale a few years ago but I'm unaware of any other lightweight Corrado panels being available. To be honest you should be able to get a lot of weight out just by doing the obvious things, but if you're obsessing about light weight for your VW track car then you should have bought a Mk1 or Mk2 Golf instead.

 

Rack You just need to get a Corrado steering rack. Someone told me a few years ago that the Seat Leon rack can be used in the Corrado but you'd need to look into that & check. I'm not sure if that would be cheaper to buy than a Corrado one or not but it's worth a thought I suppose

[horney 0]

I run a track car, but a MKII Golf not a Rado.

 

I'm not sure about the comments on big brakes on here, it's a bit overkill. On a race car every tenth matters as you're actually racing people, on a car for track days you really don't need to spend £5K on brakes for an extra 10th round the circuit do you? All you're doing is adding more unsprunf weight for little benefit unless you're Mr Late-on-the-brakes and you need all that stopping force.

 

Proper geometry, track suitable tyres (I run R888's and love em), decent suspension and lessons will get you going far quicker than some fancy brakes and big wheels.

 

Cost come in as well, you'll kill a set of pads in 3 track days. Mine cost £60, I bet the pads for these big brakes cost far more! Trackdays are not as cheap as they seem either. I did silverstone last tuesday and here's a brakedown of my costs.

 

Entry fee - £165

Fuel - £90

Tyres - £100 (killed a part worn front pair)

Brakes - £20 ( 1/3 wear on a new set)

Oil and oil filter - £30

Red bull - £5

 

Total - £410.

 

Nick

[polog40racer 0]

Also, Ken Lark spent a hell of alot more money on that corrado race car than anyone with just a track car would ever dream about. I heard a rumoured £80K from a few of the vw competitors. Thats the same as my mortgage! :shock:

 

Im sure you could stick to grooved 288mm discs but with say Hi-spec (or similar) 4pot calipers, motul RBF600 or similar racing brake fluid, good brake cooling ducts, brake bias control and decent race pads. Surely that could effectively stop (for a track day goer) on 15"s *8s decent contact patch for tyre on a VR6 lightened to say 1000kg - 1050kg. And thats not going into suspension setup, elimination of front end dive under braking, etc

[corozin 0]

Also, Ken Lark spent a hell of alot more money on that corrado race car than anyone with just a track car would ever dream about. I heard a rumoured £80K from a few of the vw competitors. Thats the same as my mortgage! :shock:

 

Im sure you could stick to grooved 288mm discs but with say Hi-spec (or similar) 4pot calipers, motul RBF600 or similar racing brake fluid, good brake cooling ducts, brake bias control and decent race pads. Surely that could effectively stop (for a track day goer) on 15"s *8s decent contact patch for tyre on a VR6 lightened to say 1000kg - 1050kg. And thats not going into suspension setup, elimination of front end dive under braking, etc

 

It was actually nearer £30k. That's still a lot more money than most people will spend on a trackday weapon, but isn't uncommon for a competitive car in club level motorsport. He was racing it in pre-93 touring cars last year but at Brands 2 weeks ago he was peddling a black Vento VR6 in the same series. I don't think you can infer that the Corrado has been sold on - more likely the Vento VR6 meets the spirit of the rules better than a 1996 Corrado Storm which was squeezed through on the argument that VR6s were sold in 1992!

[onzlouk 0]

I forgot i started this on here!

Shamelessly copy and pasted: :norty:

 

Got a couple of pics though it has moved on a bit since these!

 

 

 

Aiming to be fully track prepped and setup for a Ring trip in august!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not far to go now, refit baffled sump and fill up with fluids, complete windows and get the bonnet. Jobs a goodun! :grin: