172 cup track project. HELP DESPERATELY NEEDED!!!

[172alex]

Ok guys so here goes. At the moment i can no longer afford to insure my 172 cup. So i have decided to use my little saxo 1.1 as my daily run-around and turn the cup into a devoted track weapon!

As i am new to the whole RS scene, can people help to point me in the right direction of what to do to my car. Im not on a massive budget, probably a couple of grand to turn it into somethig track worthy. :approve:

Are there any progress threads of peoples track 172 cups that people could post links up of??

And what do i need to do to my car? My thoughts are..

• Strip (not sure exactly what ill take out though. Back seats, trim????) help
• Cage (what can i get that is cheapish and light?)
• Front Brake Upgrade. (Again what is available?)
• Tyres. toyo 888's???
• Buckets and Harnesses. Cobra clubmans are quite cheap i think?
• Suspension? Is the standard up to much in terms of track driving?

If this seems like too much stuff for my budget, i could always stretch to more over time as im not planning on doing it all in one go, more as a project.

I know you guys on here are really helpful so any input would be greatly appreciated :star:

 

[LeeP86]

markcup's your man for a track 172 cup

 

[Timmay]

^ hell yeah - hes managed to save some wieght in his

check his vids on youtube as well

 

[Spark]

does a mean 0-60 time aswell

search markcup70 on youtube, some amazin vids

 

[ForceIndia]

Remove as much weight as possible, get some decent seats, pads + discs, job done. Spend the rest on tuition and you'll end up quicker than if you just throw 1-2k at the engine.

 

[172alex]

Are the standard brakes good enough for track or will pads and discs be enough??

 

[msa197]

Abit off topic but has the Saxo got a tow bar, in order to get the Clio to the track?

Or have you a 3rd car?

 

[Djw John]

I dont understand how you dont have enough money to insure it but you can mod it for track work :S

 

[Spark]

possibly crashed and cant afford the insurance renewal?

 

[Lee172_cup]

I dont understand how you dont have enough money to insure it but you can mod it for track work :S

Exactly what I was thinking. Surely £2k would insure the car?! Probably rather have a track **** though! Nobody really needs anything more than a 1.1 on the road these days to be honest.

 

[Lee172_cup]

The best thing you can spend your cash on for the track is some 'proper' track tyres. They make more difference than everything else together.

You will also definitely need uprated brakes. My standard brakes turned to jelly after 3 laps of the Donington International circuit (with the Melbourne Loop hairpin).

 

[E11OOT]

as said already get some 15" wheels, good brakes, good suspension and good tires. And remove everything you don't need!

 

[Peperami]

I dont understand how you dont have enough money to insure it but you can mod it for track work :S

I spent silly amounts turning mine into a track car. A few years insurance worth at least.

 

[172alex]

Abit off topic but has the Saxo got a tow bar, in order to get the Clio to the track?

Or have you a 3rd car?

My dad has a landrover and trailer so can tow me down the road (its only like 5miles to oulton park)

I dont understand how you dont have enough money to insure it but you can mod it for track work :S

Because im paying almost 3k in insurance which is just money flushed down the bog. I got done speeding in a 30 a few weeks ago so my insurance will probably go up and i would like to mod my clio which i cant do atm also due to insurance. Insurance on the saxo is less than £500 for me. Money spent on mods for the track is not a complete waste as they can always be sold on and as my dad is an ex racing driver he is willing to support me financially in this whole track thing as he doesnt want me racing around on the roads. :nono:

So if that is enough of an in depth look at my financial life can we please get back on track with this thread.

as said already get some 15" wheels, good brakes, good suspension and good tires. And remove everything you don't need!

I need more in depth info really. Like what brakes, pads, fluid, discs, sus and tyres.

 

[Bazzon]

Max brembo discs, Ferado DS2500 pads.
This is whats on our track car and held up really well around croft for 6 sessions no brake fade at all, and loads of meat left on them.

As for trye we have, Yokohama prada spec 2, these were suggested by a few people on here. We found they held up really well and were alot cheaper than R888s.

Other than that rip everything you can out of the car and get some Tow eyes.

 

[Lewis_S]

il kindly take the interior for cash when u get round to stripping it

 

[172alex]

Max brembo discs, Ferado DS2500 pads.
This is whats on our track car and held up really well around croft for 6 sessions no brake fade at all, and loads of meat left on them.

As for trye we have, Yokohama prada spec 2, these were suggested by a few people on here. We found they held up really well and were alot cheaper than R888s.

Other than that rip everything you can out of the car and get some Tow eyes.

Cheers great help mate. So are the standard calipers etc pretty good then, just new pads and discs needed? And are drilled or cross drilled discs better?

Are these any good? http://www.k-tecracing.com/show_product.asp?id=2390

Also what about suspension? Necessary? Surely a stiffer ride would be needed?

 

[E11OOT]

Max brembo discs, Ferado DS2500 pads.
This is whats on our track car and held up really well around croft for 6 sessions no brake fade at all, and loads of meat left on them.

As for trye we have, Yokohama prada spec 2, these were suggested by a few people on here. We found they held up really well and were alot cheaper than R888s.

Other than that rip everything you can out of the car and get some Tow eyes.

Cheers great help mate. So are the standard calipers etc pretty good then, just new pads and discs needed? And are drilled or cross drilled discs better?

Also what about suspension? Necessary? Surely a stiffer ride would be needed?

For suspension, a good set of coilovers would be the best, there is great debate on here about which is best for you buck etc. i personally think you can't go wrong with a well set up H&R coilover set.

 

[172alex]

hmmm i see. i wouldnt be too knowledgeble about setting them up but im sure my dad will know a thing or two. As the coilies have adjustable height, are camber bolts necessary to adjust camber depending on ride height?? http://www.k-tecracing.com/show_product.asp?id=1100

Also what about strut braces? Im guessing definately a front http://www.k-tecracing.com/show_product.asp?id=2035

but are rear ones neccesary?? http://www.k-tecracing.com/show_product.asp?id=1274

Also this is a complete nooob question but why are tow eyes needed? is it just so you can be pulled out of the gravel traps? what wrong with the standard tow eyes? :clown:

 

[john lloyd]

some good advice and i see your reason why your planning on doing this.

15 inch alloys as much more choice of track day rubber at good prices, shed motorsport can sort some good deals on r888 at the moment.
uprate front brakes, brembo discs (hc or max) ds2500 pads, stainless steel hoses and good fluid. then strip as much weight as possible and some bucket seats hey help so much on track.

then tuition mate its worth its weight in gold.

 

[john lloyd]

front and rear braces i wouldnt bother.
front are drilled in and rears stiff and rear barce at top of suspension turrets make no diff to be honest.

 

[E11OOT]

hmmm i see. i wouldnt be too knowledgeble about setting them up but im sure my dad will know a thing or two. As the coilies have adjustable height, are camber bolts necessary to adjust camber depending on ride height?? http://www.k-tecracing.com/show_product.asp?id=1100

Also what about strut braces? Im guessing definately a front http://www.k-tecracing.com/show_product.asp?id=2035

but are rear ones neccesary?? http://www.k-tecracing.com/show_product.asp?id=1274

for track use a few extra degrees of negitive camber would help. with the coilovers set up properly the car will not a great deal lower than standard.

if you are putting in a roll cage then the back one would not be necessary as the roll cage would stiffen this area of the car up. A front one would be good but i don't know how much difference it would make around a track.

 

[172alex]

When you say...

uprate front brakes,
then tuition mate its worth its weight in gold.

do you just mean the pads/discs or the calipers aswell?

then tuition mate its worth its weight in gold.

Wont bother with that. Me and my dad will both go out in the car and take turns in driving and he can give me tips and advise when im at the helm haha.

 

[E11OOT]

ideally you would want uprated calipers as well, but you can get away with uprated pads and discs if you get some extra cooling to them (i.e taking out the fog lights and running an air feed to the brakes).

 

[Bazzon]

I forgot we have braided brake lines, they are worth their weight in gold.

 

[Justin]

Tuition brakes and suspension.. Maybe strip it, wouldnt bother with the cage or braces

 

[MarkCup]

Sticky tyres.
Upgraded brakes.
Lose weight.

In that order, that's all you need to do;

Sticky tyres...
Any brand almost will do...I'm about the only one on here that hasn't run a set of Toyo 888s so can't comment on them. Apart from them Yoko A032s are my preferred choice.

Upgraded brakes...
Standard calipers are fine. Braided lines needed for a firm pedal, a decent fluid that can handle the heat to stop the boiling, Brembo High Carbon discs, and Carbon Lorraine/Pagid Blues/PF97 pads (Blues are my preference). That's all you need...if you cook them, you are braking way too much.

Lose weight...
If it doesn't add to the driving experience...take it out.

Those three things will give you the biggest improvement in lap times for the lowest initial outlay (aside from on track tuition which you'll obviously need).

Do the above, drive it for several trackdays, then decide on what suspension you need. Decide that before learning the car, and you could waste money as you won't truly appreciate what it is in the standard car's setup that you're trying to improve.

I'm on 102k and have done 1.5 million trackdays...all on standard suspension with the above setup. So much fun, so cheap, and so f***in' fast!

 

[john lloyd]

front brace really does nothing mate, it drills into the front suspension its only as strong as your self tappers, i have used them on previous cars which have bolts exposed on the turret but on the clio your just boting it through the metal wing. i wouldnt bother with a front brace on a track car, look nice but thats not what your after.

the rear braces you buy are 2 fold, wither bolt on top of the rear turrets (i have one of these but only so we use the wifes car and not mine for shooping trips) you can also see one that bolts across the boot lower down they are also really cosmetic.

the std calipers are fine for what your looking at, you not building a 200bhp+ time ttack jobby. et some brembo hc or max discs 280mm, some fast roads pads ds2500/carbon lorraine etc you can take your pick mate, some stainless steel hoses and some good flid, gastrol response dot4 i use 5.1 long life as higher oil tep but does need chaning a little more regular.

keep it simple fella, good tyres, brakes and strip weight.
take it from there and have fun. you will learn after a few track days where to go from there and what you think you want to do to the car.

as far as tuition goes depends how expereinced a driver you are, i had 0 years under my belt and an advanced driving qualification but tuition is great value for money and can learn more in 25 minutes than an entire day on track from the experts.

 

[john lloyd]

mark you posted while i was typing (i drinking beer and watching tele so took me a while) but glad to see more similar comments, especially from someone with the amount of trackday hours under your belt. seen a few of your vids and i admit to clenching a few times. good work.

 

[MarkCup]

Sticky tyres.
Upgraded brakes.
Lose weight.

In that order, that's all you need to do;

keep it simple fella, good tyres, brakes and strip weight.

LOL

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