172 For The Track......

[christurbo]

Hi Guys,

As you can see im new on here but have been pointed over from VX220.org by Gary G.

Hi,
I currently have a Civic Type R, and sold my Elise to buy a VX.

I now want to buy a cheap 172 strip it and track it.

I have been deciding between the Pug 106 GTI/Rallye and the 172 .....[ I used to have a 106 a couple of years back - so have some roots.... Although I will hanker for some pace - hence the 172.]

I will also be buying this for it [so it will be track ready ASAP]
Sparco Buckets
Sparco mounts
Sparco slide adjusters
Sparco 3 point harnesses
FK Konig-Sport/HK/HR etc... Adjustable Coilovers
OMP Steering wheel
OMP Boss
Decent Disks [Yozza Sport]
Pagids
Some decent rubber [Toyo/Yoko's]
Decent Exhaust
Decent Air intake


Where do the Harnesses fit against at the rear?[rear seat belt points]

Will the Sparco Universal Mounts for the buckets [from Demon Tweeks] fit OK on the 172?

Is stripping the 172 an easy task?

Oh and is the steering wheel easy to pop off or a racing jobbie?



PS. The forum is looking good - and will spend ages searching


Cheers,


Chris

 

[patty]

f**k me that vx220 is sex...

 

[ollie]

^ was thinkin the same thing

welcome to cs

 

[patty]

oh yeh wilkommen as well

 

[christurbo]

Thanks,

Any pointers on buying [a cheap 172] and preparing?

 

[ollie]

stripping it should be easy enough. not sure about the rest tho :X

sure the experts be along shortly tho

 

[Nomad]

Hmm, I used to have a 106 Rallye S2 and now a 172 Cup, i'd say the rallye is more fun and involving since the power is more accessable, but this might be a different story on the track, especially with the mods you want.

As standard the Rallye out handles the 172 but the Cup once stripped to the core will be in Rallye territory and looking at the mods you're after, it looks as though your intended mods will bring it close to (if not supersede) the rallye.

The Cup is more powerful and obviously faster yes but the 106 certainly has better road manners in that it doesn't suffer the torque steer that the Clio does, you might get used to it though and might make it more fun... Also you didn't need to change gears as much in a 106 and a q/shift gear linkage made the easy process more effortless.

Unfortunetly thats about as much info on the 172 i can give you but the power in the 106 can be gained fair easy,specially with decat, it was so much faster and i really used to give it a pounding and it kept on asking for more, i havn't had the Clio long enough (3 weeks) to comment whether its as resilient as the 106, but to be honest i would buy another 106 rallye not sure about the 172... yet.

 

[pecan]

That VX220 looks awesome the way you've got it. Stunning.

 

[kully]

defo agree^^^^..

 

[edde]

Sparco Buckets
Sparco mounts
Sparco slide adjusters
Sparco 3 point harnesses
FK Konig-Sport/HK/HR etc... Adjustable Coilovers
OMP Steering wheel
OMP Boss
Decent Disks [Yozza Sport]
Pagids
Some decent rubber [Toyo/Yoko's]
Decent Exhaust
Decent Air intake

Where do the Harnesses fit against at the rear?[rear seat belt points]

Will the Sparco Universal Mounts for the buckets [from Demon Tweeks] fit OK on the 172?

Is stripping the 172 an easy task?

Oh and is the steering wheel easy to pop off or a racing jobbie?

PS. The forum is looking good - and will spend ages searching

Strippings not to difficult.
Pm me your email address Ill send you a file on the 172 bits and pieces you'll need.
You can use the rear seatsbelt point or have a harness bar made up which attached to the top if the rear suspension mounts.

Forget the FK go to Leda or H and R. Even if it means you have to sacrifice the seats and other bits first IMO.

 

[tapias]

Im gutted looking at that, i just sold my LY vx for a clio cup cause im getting a squat, ill be back tho and the cup as far as hot hatches go is the nuts. In answer to your question, i dont no but would be a good idea starting with the cup as it is already partially stripped.

 

[paul_h172]

the vx is sweet!!!!

 

[Blue4Ever]

IMO you'd be best getting a cheap Mk2 Ph1 172 for track use. Advantages are it's cheaper and has the cable throttle, smaller wheels etc so better for track. With good coilovers, stripped out and buckets it''ll be lighter than a cup anyway and handle better. Maybe consider uprated brakes (not just pads) maybe 4 pots. Slicks or semi-slicks maybe for track? All sounds good anyway!

Impressive collection of cars you have and will be even better with the track **** 172.

 

[skindemon]

hey Chris, welcome along matey!!

can't comment re the 106, but the cup gets my thumbs up. Quick, decent handling and at least some of the lightening has been done for you!

 

[christurbo]

Hi bud! - How's it going??? Enjoying it???

Im defo getting a 172 instead of the 106 idea [I think!!! ]

Strippings not to difficult.
Pm me your email address Ill send you a file on the 172 bits and pieces you'll need.
You can use the rear seatsbelt point or have a harness bar made up which attached to the top if the rear suspension mounts.

Forget the FK go to Leda or H and R. Even if it means you have to sacrifice the seats and other bits first IMO.

Thanks bud - PM'd you.....


So... looking at the early 172's - are the std rims suitable for tracking [tyre size etc]? Dont really want to spend extra for some other Speedlines.

The main difference between the std 172 and the cup is the air con isnt it??? [apart from susp - I'll be ripping that out anyway].

Has anyone installed buckets and harnesses??? I'm interested in what mounts you used for the seats - DT sell the universal mounts but I dont want to weild/drill into the car.

Where can I get the rear harness mount from???

Question, Questions, Questions!!!!! Sorry:sleepy:

Thanks for the replies ~

 

[Saner]

As Blue4Ever says, with that amount of work your doing i'd look at a Ph1 172, not a Ph2. Will make a far better track car imo.

 

[Englebert]

Hi Fella,

I've spoken to you in the past, you kindly let me use the photo for Plans:

http://www.plansmotorsport.com/vauxhall-vx220-servicing-tuning-race-preparation.htm

Personally i think you shouldn't be a pussy and stick to RWD for the track

-Rob

 

[Justin]

Hi mate, we mounted my mates harnesses into the rear seatbelt mounts, stripping it out took about an hour max, really isnt anything to it.. the mounts were just the bolts, no welding needed..

hope that helps..

Your VX looks awesome!!

 

[christurbo]

lol clio buyer!

Yep - thats the first time Ive seen that plans page.... good stuff!

Right - something I need to work out. There are 3 varients???:-

Ph1
Ph2 mk1
ph2 mk2

?????

 

[Englebert]

If you must, get the 172 Cup. Best colour/wheels and the lightest to begin with.

 

[Justin]

the ph2 mk1 is the same as the ph1 when speaking about a 172..

ph1 is the one with the rounder headlights, usually in silver, and ph2 is the newer shaper with triangular healights

 

[Blue4Ever]

You have Mk2 Ph1 and Mk2 Ph2

Both the same shell and engine, few slight differences, cable throttle, air box.
Exterior, The Mk2 Ph2 is the newer version with the triangular front headlights, the Mk2 Ph1 has the dual optic headlights with the vents in the front bumper. Mk2 Ph1 is 2000-2001. Mk2 Ph2 is 2002-2004

Mk2 Ph1

Mk2 Ph2

Just to confuse things, people on here tend to relate to them as the Mk1 172 (Mk2 Ph1) and the Mk2 172 (Mk2 Ph2).

 

[Timmay]

I know this is no help with getting a 172 but i gotta say that vx220 is f**king gorgeous - nice one

 

[Justin]

If you must, get the 172 Cup. Best colour/wheels and the lightest to begin with.

I agree..

 

[christurbo]

Blue - thanks for that post~!! My mind is less of a tangle now! lol!

Are these std Ph1 rims painted black??? - very nice - perfect for the track as it hides the brake dust!!!!

 

[christurbo]

Ooops just found out they are not! Doh!

 

[Gary G]

Hi mate and welcome

They are turini's on the silver one.....standard fitment is 15" OZ rims.

I reakon ph1 172, stripped out with buckets, leda's and decent brakes would do the trick

 

[Lagerlout]

Get a Cup if you're going to track it. It's already lighter, has brakes set up for track work, no ABS, better gearing...... Makes more sense imho.

 

[christurbo]

Good advice - although I dont want to spend too much actually on the car itself as this is going to be a cheap project, so if I mash it up on the track I can laugh it off [instead of rolling around crying like a baby!] then buy another one - after ripping all the bits off

Whats the best sized rim for the 172? I take it will be 15/16".

I ditched the 17/17 setup on the VX for a 16/17 - it completely transformed the car [due to widening the front tyre mostly]

Hi Gary!

 

[Saner]

all these people recomending a Cup are right and wrong, A Cup (ph2) will cost more to buy and as standard or close to standard will track better. With the modifications you are going to do, the ph1 172 will end up lighter than a cup with the same modifications and will also cost less to buy in the first place!

 

[christurbo]

Ding!

 

[len_beach]

Is a 16v not an option?

 

[Ali]

FOOK! that VX is awsum.

 

[christurbo]

Is a 16v not an option?

Scored really well in EVO.... very impressed. But a 172 has tugged on the heart strings!

 

[darren_rallye]

Saxo VTSs are cheap as hell now, but the way, and pretty quick.

You don't need massive power to have fun on track.

In fact, I loved my Rallye on track as I could go flat out without fear

 

[Darren]

i have the 172 cup

it is stripped with two cobra bucket seats in and i noticed a big change in just how much lighter it is now.

wanting to put it on a track some day when i get the moola together to fund a decent run-a-round motor.

 

[edde]

With the modifications you are going to do, the ph1 172 will end up lighter than a cup with the same modifications and will also cost less to buy in the first place!

Probably not, the Cup has no ABS which weight a bit.

It's already lighter, has brakes set up for track work, no ABS, better gearing.

Same gearing on the 172 full fat and Cup. The Mk1 172 has longer gearing and the 182 the longest. Brakes abn't setup for track work IMO though.

So... looking at the early 172's - are the std rims suitable for tracking [tyre size etc]? Dont really want to spend extra for some other Speedlines.

The main difference between the std 172 and the cup is the air con isnt it??? [apart from susp - I'll be ripping that out anyway].

Hubs are stronger on the Cup to deal with the differetncamber the Cup's ran the differences etc are all noted here though.
http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?t=161269

172 wheels are fine for track work but depends how abusive you are many people buy a set of 15 inch dynamic alloys as there gear and cheap alloys to get hold off. Stick with 15's though on a CUp or phase 1 as there cheaper. The brakes on all the cars are the same though so you can fit 15's on any of them (thats the smallest you can go though).

stripped out and buckets it''ll be lighter than a cup anyway and handle better.

Handling with coilovers will be much the same stock vs stock the 172 phase 1 is superb the best of the lot maybe.
Won't be lighter though the removal of all extra bits will mean the Cup will be lighter since it has lighter glass less sound proofing no A/C brackets etc and moe importantly no ABS which weights quite a bit realy.

 

[Richy123]

I thought about getting a 172 cup and stripping it but changed my mind when I realised the cup would cost £6000 for a decent one and the mods would take it up to trophy money.

 

[klmillard]

Hi Pal,

I currently own both the mrk2 phase1 172 and a series 2 106 Gti. Personally I would go for the 106gti every time for track use. The 172 is so vague to drive compaired to the gti. I love the 172, dont get me wrong but it is more of a sensible hot hatch where the 106 is more of an animal, so much better car for handling and knowing exactly where you are with it.

I have been out in the 172 and my mate in the 106Gti and there is basically nothing between them. Yeah the 172 feels slightly more powerful but I would not say it is faster,

0-60 = nothing between the 2
60-100 = the 172 is faster
Handling = 106 Gti wins by miles
Braking = 172 is better

By the way I have my 106 gti for sale if your intersted, its S plate, 69k, FSH, 1 previous owner, sportex exhaust, Lowered, 15" VTS rims. £2995 ovno