Re: Prepping an 8v for AutoX

[Shawn C Meze <skerocdriver@juno.com>]

On Tue, 11 Jan 2000 14:39:48 -0500 "Ian Pitts" <Ian_Pitts@g1.com> writes:
>I have recently acquired a Scirocco II 8v and plan to use it for AutoX 
>first and SCCA Road Racing later. I currently have the following:
>NS Lower Front Subframe Brace
>TT Short Shift Kit
>NS Weighted Shift Lever
>Boge Struts and HR Springs


I see there have been quite a few replies however i'll throw in what ive
picked up over the years. 

The only thing wrong with the above is the spring/shock combo. H&R's and
Boges are a good spring shock combo, don't get me wrong. They're simply
not the best for autox or IT use. To save money in the long run, buy a
set of Koni adjustable shocks and use them with coilovers. Ground control
makes a kit which is very affordable compared to some coilovers on the
market. GC uses Eibach springs. Its a good coilover spring, spring rates
are very precise. Their stock style springs have been known to suck. 




>My stepfather and I plan on installing the following:
>* Upper Rear Tie Bar (What do you suggest, the triangulated NS one or 
>just a top one?)


If your gonna run FSP (Formerly DSP) then you cant use a triangulated
bar. Eurosport makes a decent affordable bar. Simple really. Or if your
into fabricating your own, a couple exhaust clamps and some tubular steel
and you can make your own. 


>* Front Upper Tie Bar
>* Polyurethane Bushings wherever possible (Any suggestions as to 
>manuf?)


if you want to get REAL with the autox scene, you can use these. Id
recommend you first learn to drive before modding the hell out of the
car. *Not a personal slam*, just saying that autoxing takes alot of seat
time to figure out what works and what doesn't. Its best to learn how to
drive a FWD car on the autox, then once you've gotten a full season in,
start the modding process to enhance the cars abilities. It will in the
long run make your learning experience a quicker one. 


>* Removal of front sway bar

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. 
For autox use, NEVER remove the front swaybar. I know the goobers at SRS
really love their setups but this simply doesn't work on a FWD -autox-
car. Get yourself a big front swaybar. 22mm is the biggest anyone makes. 
Yah, I know Autotech makes a bigger bar but HELLO, its hollow and its
tensile strength is only as good as a 22mm bar. (Been there, tested
that.)
Also, its good advice to stay away from Autotech's front swaybar. Unless
of course you want to spend more money on buying some beefy front mounts.
Otherwise plan on breaking the stock units. 



>* Ported and Polished Big Valve Head


Not legal for FSP. Port matching is legal to 1" inside the port, nothing
more. You must use the head which came on the block. You cant mix and
match heads. IE 1.6L block, 1.8L head. The engine must be a complete
stock unit. Updating and backdating is allowed and im here to tell you
that the best you can do is get is a .40 over JH block & head. Its good
to  just under 130hp. 


>* Cam (G-Grind or Hor cam.. I'm leaning on HOR cam due to top-end 
>gains


Again, not legal. You must use a stock cam. 
Besides that, most of your time is spent on the low end side of things.
You wont notice a difference between a stock cam and a g-grind cam.
(other than the fact you would be illegal with a g-grind.) 




>* NS Throttle Body

Just get an A2 TB. Its just as big as the NS TB for a margin of the cost.
Just swap the linkage to the other side. Simple cheap mod. 


>* Headers?

For racers, getting all the power is always the game. Id say yes, get a
decent set of headers. They might be little lighter than the stock 4-2
manifold and might just flow a tad bit more too. 



>* Velocity LSD Upgrade (Thoughts on this?)


Weeeel, its better than nothing. However if you have the 90mm drive
flange's and your car is lowered, expect to have problems with the bolt
backing out and causing problems. Im not going to get into a whole lot of
detail on this right now but its basically a clearance problem with the
90mm flange's. The 100mm drive flanges are physically deeper and to my
knowledge, have never had any problems of the sorts. Im a victim if the
bolts backing out. It sucks.  


>Is there anything we're missing? The car still needs to be street 
>legal, but it will only be driven occasionally on the road and to the
various 
>track events. I have a bunch of experience modifying my VR6 Passat, but
this 
>CIS stuff is all new to me. Grin.


Only basic maintenance issues. Make the car like new again, maintenance
wise and you should have a good reliable car. This is good advice for any
car owner but more so when your going to drive the car hard on a regular
basis. 

Missing stuff.... well, here's my list of things you might want to
consider:
1) Snell 95 rated helmet. 
2) driving harness of some kind. (Schroth, Simpson, ect.) 
Not for the aspect of safety as much as it is to hold you in the car so
you can concentrate on driving and not holding yourself in place. 
3) A good tire gauge.
4) a good plastic box to hold all of your racing stuff. I carry my spare
parts, spray cans, oil, tranny/brake fluid,  and a small air compressor
and my helmet in mine. Makes for loading and unloading a fast simple
task. Also makes it simple to not forget to bring stuff. :)



Shawn Meze
86' Jetta GLi   82' Scirocco GTi   81' "Project Scirocco FSP"
The Fastest, Quickest, Cleanest and
best looking Scirocco in all of San Diego!
http://www.Geocities.com/MotorCity/Speedway/1308/index.htm

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