Track Day Anxiety

[Sgnl05]

Hey all - I bought my Golf R with the intention of it being the fun commuter/occasional autoX & HPDE car. It currently has the all the the typical STG 2 mods: Intercooler, DP, with a EQT OTS tune.

The car has 41k miles on it and I have done my best to take care of it with increased service intervals for oil changes, brake fluid etc.

With all of that said, in my most recent HPDE I noticed I kept feeling this constant anxiety and need to watch my access port like a hawk; which really detracted from the whole experience. It has made me consider maybe finding an alternative platform maybe a bit more purpose built for the road course.

I know you gotta pay to play when it comes to this type of stuff, but do any of you guys deal with any of the same thoughts?

Briefly searching the market for something semi reasonable puts my only options in the pony cars, which seem to have their own unique problems or a Miata, which by no way could function as replacement for my daily needs.

Mods - sorry if this is the wrong place for this post

 

[jay745]

Been tracking my vw for 10 years, don't worry about it too much they can take a beating. Add some ducting up front to help keep temps cool

 

[DerHase]

www.datadrivenmqb.com

These cars are friggin stout. I wouldn't worry too much. Most problems people have are from fucking with the car. Keep the drivetrain basically mechanically stock.

A more conservative/lower boost tune (or stock) is better if you want to spend an entire session beating on the car. A good intercooler and a dogbone mount insert is all these cars really need drivetrain wise. Downpipe doesn't hurt anything. I did mine mainly just so I could hear the damn thing.

Good pads, some camber, and sway bars helps with tire wear.

Take a cool down lap if oil hits 270-275F.

A properly ducted oil cooler will sort out any temp issues. Lots of info on my site.

I have a very basic IS20 GTI which is several seconds quicker at VIR than the Spec Miata lap record. Still on the stock springs as well (for now).

I did the slow car thing for many years in a Mazda2 (a wrong wheel drive Miata basically). Having power is a lot more fun. Having power AND driving it reasonably well is even better. Driving the slow car for 7-8yrs definitely helped myself driver-wise more than anything.

Most people buy these cars and say they need X Y and Z parts to be reliable or fast. No. Just drive the car. Get consistent. Get "fast" and then tinker with stuff if you want to throw more money away to go faster to not win any trophies.

All that said, these cars are lousy as a DEDICATED track car. A Corvette is the right answer.

The MK7 is really hard to beat from a do-everything reasonably well stsndpoint though. If that is your need, you've already got the right car.

 

[Sgnl05]

thanks guys! I'll review the site and look into your recommendations

 

[tigeo]

Why not toss the Anxiety Port in the glove box? It's not necessary to watch it all the time.

 

[scrllock]

it's not the best car for track use but the R should run cooler than a GTI with the same parts.

fwiw the AP isn't going to tell you anything useful. any well-made tune will throw an EPC if you have an actual problem (excessive misfires, under/overboost, etc.). you can't actually log misfires on an AP and your EQT tune numbs knock detection somewhat.

camber, brakes, and if you can swing it, a real LSD make a big difference. if you end up needing an oil cooler (something that seems more likely in phoenix), avoid the ones that use a sandwich plate and just delete the stock oil to coolant exchanger instead.

 

[Redslaya]

Why not toss the Anxiety Port in the glove box? It's not necessary to watch it all the time.

Best thing i ever did with both my Subarus. i was always watching it like a hawk, just on the street, and every moment of feedback knock was a full code red " SOMETHING IS WRONG!". Best thing my father ever told me with that car was "throw that thing in the glovebox and drive the car". Guess what? never blew up.

As far as the mk7 goes, @DerHase can confirm these cars can go weekends on track fighting for their life pulling ALL the timing and be fine. Thats what mine did until we discovered the heat soak issues.

 

[Sgnl05]

thanks guys, I feel a lot better. Signed up for my next HPDE on 1/20!

 

[FlyingNugget]

Have been competing in mine for years. 10+ track days per year pushing it to the limit and not one issue. Have seen dozens of people do the same with no issues. Of course, pay to play anyway. Mine is my dedicated track car, so if it blows up or gets into a fender bender with the wall it's fine.

 

[JPB WORLDWIDE]

I agree with everything above. Don’t go crazy with big turbos or anything, be prepared and trust the car will work. First step in becoming a good track driver. Have fun!!