Woohoo - first trackday - GTI awesome on a track!

[dubaiphil]

Hi All

I had a Mk 4 1.8T in the UK but never got round to going on a trackday.  Now the Mk 5 GTI is run in, and there's a great track 5 miles down the road (Dubai Autodrome) I'd thought I'd give it a go.

Got there nice and early to find a Porsche 997 GT3 and 997 Carrera already there, so I was getting a bit worried about how the Golf would get on.  The eventual line up was:

Corvette Z06 7 litre, tuned to 600bhp
Porsche 997 GT3
Porsche 997 Carrera
Porsche Boxster 987 S
Porsche 996 (race prepped)
Evo XIII (race prepped)
350Z (race prepped)
Toyota Yaris (!)
BMW M3
BMW M5
Porsche 928
BMW Z4M
Golf GTI x 5
Golf R32 x 2
Mazda 3

We had an intorductionary briefing, followed by safety car warm up laps and then 3 sessions of 20 minutes each with 20 minute breaks to cool everything down.  It was held in the evening under floodlights (track temp was still 44c!) on a 2.56km track and cost 600 Dirhams (about 80 Pounds).  As I've never been on a trackday in the UK I didn't know how to guage the price, but it seemed pretty good value for money.

On track the GTI was awesome!  On the straight in the last session I had an M3 and 997 Carrera in front of me which obviously pulled away but caught right up through the back section, and bagged a M5 running wide and a couple of GTIs in the process.  The Corvette Z06 was scary though - there you are caning up the start finish straight getting up to 210km/h and this thing barrels by, doing 275km/h before the first corner!

Now I've got the bug big time - unfortunately we don't get the ED30 in Dubai, so a stage 1 up to around 300hp is a no-no.  A 250hp remap seems pretty good value but does anyone have any experience of this on a track with the rest of the car as standard?  I don't want to go overboard with the mods and want my car to look standard (apart from maybe a bit lowered).  Any suggestions on what other mods are good for occasional track days without ruining the balance of the car or ride height too much (speed humps are a bit harsh over here!)

[RedRobin]

....Anti-Roll Bars - They will help 'flatten' the car and aren't an expensive mod and also don't alter the appearance.

If you are thinking of lowering then you will want to also change the springs and shocks but it's all more money.

If you want to more seriously improve your lap times I would suggest a big brake kit, but then it's even more money.

Quaife ATB limited slip diff? - Much more money!!

But improved handling is key. Power is useless without traction and handling.

If available , I would invest in some track driving training.

[karl]

it sounds like a lot of fun phil... is this the trackday you mentioned in your post to me earlier?

I've put 500 miles on mine so far, so its nearly run in and will defo look into a track day in the not too distant future.

k

[Hurdy]

If you could afford to do it a set of semi-slicks would work wonders on track out there in Dubai (warm and dry)

[neg]

Remap + bigger IC or Forge TWINtercooler might do pretty well over in that heat.

As far as suspension goes, like others say some better shocks and ARB

Brakes - If you buget allows something a little bigger would be nice.

[Hurdy]

Remap + bigger IC or Forge TWINtercooler might do pretty well over in that heat.

As far as suspension goes, like others say some better shocks and ARB

Brakes - If you buget allows something a little bigger would be nice.

Forge TWINtercooler isn't all that good. Better to go for the APR, Oettinger or S3 ones.

[neg]

Cost wise you right, TWIN would be ok if it was half the price...

[dubaiphil]

Thanks for the advice, guys - I've found a few tuners in Dubai so the bonus might be blown already!

[dubaiphil]

it sounds like a lot of fun phil... is this the trackday you mentioned in your post to me earlier?

I've put 500 miles on mine so far, so its nearly run in and will defo look into a track day in the not too distant future.

k

Hi Karl - Got the bug after the track evening!  I'm booked in on 21st April in the evening and there should be a few other golfs on track again....

[karl]

i think i read that the 17inch rims are a bit quicker.... and your in luck phil. I happen to know someone who would swap their 17's for your 18's and it wouldnt cost you much at all