Rallycross Golf, revisited

I only managed to get to two rallycrosses this year, and I ran them both in the Forester. I had big plans to work on the Golf this winter to get it ready for next year, but those plans were kind of cut short by needing to buy a new furnace for the house and having my wife scrape the side of the Forester with the Jeep while leaving the driveway. As such, the budget for the Golf has been cut down quite a bit. Also, after reading the latest article on the GRM Golf, I've begun to question my choices.

Please keep in mind that I am racing strictly on the local club level, and the classing is really loose. The class I'd be in is 2WD street tire under 2.5L displacement. Anything else is allowed (Gutting, cams, etc). within the class. The car will be a backup driver for when I am working on my DD, so fuel economy and harshness on the street are not real concerns.

Things I am most certainly going to do:

Suspension: New OEM springs or equivalent if I can find them; H&R OE Sport if not with KYB GR-2 shocks/struts (I wanted Bilstein HDs or H&R Gravel coil overs)

New front control arms with R32 bushings

Rims: BBS E30 325ix rims

Tires: Arizonian Silver Edition 185/60/15 (Discount Tire model) I'd already bought these tires for the 325ix and kept them when I sold the car. I am worried they might be a bit too tall.

Header (I forget the brand, I bought it used and I have to weld up the area where a wideband adapter was put in)

K&N drop in filter

new wheel bearings

new tie rods

Things I am thinking about adding:

Anti-roll bars: Neuspeed front and rear (I'm going to try running the car without them first)

Peloquin LSD

TT 268 cam

TT matching performance chip

larger intake of some sort

How does the setup look? Am I overlooking something ? Based on previous threads and some other research, I think this might work. I know making a car handle on the dirt is alot different from making it handle on the street or track. I'm also not an expert in engine tuning by any means, but the TT268 is based on a factory cam, so it shouldn't be too wild.

Thank you in advance.

In general, you want a little more roll on dirt than tarmac,for side bite ..

If it helps you any I have a set of A2 kyb gr2s and sportline springs I was looking to get rid of. Was asking 250 obo for em. They came off my challenge car minus the tophats. And on a gutted car they they looked stock ride height if not higher. Got replaced with a ground control setup.

In reply to Spinout007:

That might help. I'm going to assume they are in viable condition? Do you know the part number on the sportline springs?

Dont get a K&N, especially for dirt, its a waste of money, and it doesnt really do anything. Used Bilstien HDs can be found for as little as $100, they are so much better than anything else even close to as cheap as they are that you would be making a mistake to buy anything else. If you want stiffer springs, cut springs from a VR6 passat would be the best choice. Also, you didnt say if its an MK2 or MK3, but on an MK2, 16v passat (if you want to stay 4 lug), or VR6 MK3 (if you want 5 lug) suspension is a big handling improvement. But seriously, buy Bilstiens, if you cant afford them its better to just wait until you can that waste your money on junk.

A rallycrosser in our area ran a Mk3 Golf in stock class. They absolutely killed in tighter course, especially when it wasn't too muddy. They're pretty capable out the box. Knurled might know a bit more (tires/setup) about it.

In reply to Travis_K:

Travis- it is a MkIII. I didn't the VR6 springs would fit on a 2.0.

The current springs are cut (badly) and the dampers are just shot. I may just bit the bullet on the Bilsteins.

Yes, VR6 jetta/golf springs fit a 2.0, even passat springs fit if you cut them down. if you aren't worried about keeping it stock, 4 cylinder passats have stronger lower control arms too. Bilstiens are a must for those cars though, its well worth it.

Brett_Murphy wrote: In reply to Spinout007: That might help. I'm going to assume they are in viable condition? Do you know the part number on the sportline springs?

They are at my house so I checked the #'s for you.

Front:
Sportline 145337, 4.0985F

Rear:
Sportline 136151, 4.2085R1

They have some dirt on them from Spinouts driveway, but otherwise they appear to be in good condition.

I might have given them a blast or two down the drive in the rain doing my rally driver impersonation. Didn't ride to bad either over the ruts and bumps. (My driveway is about 3/4 of a mile long and sand/dirt/limestone mix.)

In reply to Spinout007:

It looks like they are for a MKII. In any event, it looks like I am going to have to do some more research. I may be able to get some VR6 springs for next to nothing locally. I might also just wait until after the holidays before I start shopping, as I still have not cleaned out my garage enough to get the VW inside to work on it.