How good is the GTi on a track car ?

P

Phil Robson

Hi guys,

I am wanting a second car to fiddle with :lol: for around 1.5k to 2k, but not just to become a track day car but also my sort of special weekend car (if ya know wat i mean). I only live 15 mins away from Croft and i have made it my ambition to get a car and start attending track days as a few of my mates at work do.

Been thinking of all sorts from saxo vts to rover 200 vi but always come back to wanting/thinking of an Almera GTi.

Just wondering how good the Almera GTi is on the track compared to other cars and what the best worth while mods are to improve the car for track use, remembering that i still want to keep the interior in the car.

Cheers

Phil
 
well i thought mine went well around donnington and that was almost completly standard just a full exhaust system. but now its on coilovers think it will e a lot better.
 
Best bet would be to speal to Rowdy-GTi, his Almera is pretty much a stripped-out track car, but I believe it's still road legal.

--Tommy
 
As beretta93r says, Rowdy would be the bloke to ask about the track days and what the car is like on them as he seems to regularly go. He also started a thread on here about weight saving which you may be interested in if you are going to do it. You'll have to do a search on 'weight saving' or something like that to find it as not sure what section it is in.
 
That would explain why the P11 won the BTCC then! I did wonder why they never used the Almera. I assumed it was too small, but obviously it doesnt handle so well as the P11
 
For the money the GTi will be a very good track car. Buy a phase 1 non bodykitted, no sunroof or A/C as a good light base. Strip it out and Spend about £1200 on engine and suspension and you`ll have a fun car!
 
buy one and dont spend anything on it, just strip it out. it will be loads of fun as standard
 
TropGreenGTi said:
http://www.almeraownersclub.com/newforums/showthread.php?t=12834 ;)

I'm a Rover fan (keep that quiet), but I can't think a 200Vi would be that good an idea, thrashing that delicate engine which tends to do headgaskets regularly, plus the complex variable valve stuff.
Click to expand...

Having just bought a Vi i'd have to disagree about the K series being a "delicate" engine. The only thing that lets it down is the stupidly small cooling system, and the engine not liking getting hot...meaning if something small like a water pump fails you get hot and the engine goes bang :p

That being said, I don't think the Vi brakes are up for much track use, parently they don't like being used harshly like that, tend to fade quite quickly. Also if you were serious bout getting a rover your best bet would be the 200 BRM, same engine as teh BRM but with a torsen differential.
 
`K` series engines are a bag of bollocks. End of. Whats the point in a good engine with a piddly rad and small coooling system. It`s only as strong as the weakest component. My weakest component is probably the gearbox, but until i have another 50hp i wont start to worry.

A well looked after SR20 can stay on the track all day with no overheating. I`ve never had brake fade either.
 
It's not just heat and super quick ramping up of it leading to easy warping with that so-lightweight alu design, although that is a big bad point, the liners can move by themselves as well, which ends up putting dents in the head and their base points, which just makes it worse since water can then get through to the combustion chambers, making the afforementioned happen. Although with circular dents your head'd be damned anyway but still, losing water and it overheating is never nice.
 
Thanks for all your replies, and will probs get an Almera GTi, but wait a couple of months yet then do things to it over winter (thats the plan anyway).

I think your right Rowdy i will be best off getting an early Gti due to less weight to start with etc even though i was fancying a later one.

I will let u guys know how it goes.

Cheers

Phil
 
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