Bianca White Phase 2 Gti6 Track & Fast Road Car

[Chr1sch]

Thanks Sam - i've been in regular contact with the guys at Satchell Engineering and there is a new boot being sorted as we speak. Thats the only issue as it stands and its not a big one in my eyes. I'm more daunted by the hole cutting lol

[Chr1sch]

So...Update time, christ its been bloody ages!

Well after what seems like an eternity progress at last - Rallye Aux kit fitted & all of the aircon pipes etc all removed, along with the compressor etc...

I also stripped out all of the carpet & sound deadening which has made it very very raw, but kind of fun and it was an amazing amount of weight reduction (particularly the rear seats carpet and the bulk head sound deadening

And much more importantly, it was a real pain of a job by all accounts but my Satchshift (from Satchell Engineering) is in, and I can confirm, utterly utterly brilliant! - Incredibly short throw, lovely high position near the steering wheel (i can change smoothly from 2nd to 3rd at 7krpm i dont even loose 1k rpm between changes, so its still at 6k and really pulling after changing gear - it is just brilliant)





As you will see I also bought a fire extinguisher as the tunnel does get very very hot after a reasonable drive so I can only imagine it could get pretty damn hot on track...

On the down side, I have found rather a lot of rust in the passenger wing and the floor on both passenger & driver foot wells (in the corners and running along the sill) so some serious welding is on the horizon i guess :-(

That said it is still so much fun to drive, so agile, lively, direct and engaging - such great cars!

[7057sam]

Shifter looks great,yeah I've heard from 2 others there a bugger to fit.

Did get it on the group buy ??

Done many trackdays lately?

[Chr1sch]

Shifter looks great,yeah I've heard from 2 others there a bugger to fit.

Did get it on the group buy ??

Done many trackdays lately?

Haha yeah it was a bugger but worth every penny, it's utterly epic! (For a track day car, it's not damped at all so pretty hardcore for a
Daily...)

There aren't any group buys as the volumes are low anyway, that said its comfortably worth the cash, fitting however has basically cost me the same again so it's not cheap

Off to Donnington soon all being well, I have an awful 'clonk' from the front left to sort first and not a clue what is causing it :-(

[Chr1sch]

Well its been a few weeks since i stripped it out, loving the 'rawness' of the car now, really feels like a proper little sports car now..

That said it looked a bit crappy and with wet shoes was truthfully lethal, so i've added a set of tailored front mats which i've attached down (taking inspiration from my dads Westfield) with industrial velcro which has worked amazingly well.

I've also trunked all of the interior cabling which looks a hell of a lot nicer but also protects the wires during a spirited drive...

[Matt-Rallye]

Just read this through, Love what you've done with the car and cant believe i havent seen it about if your only based in worcester!

Had a satchshift in my last 106 gti and cannot sing enough praises for how positive the gearchange feels

[Piggy]

Does look sweet this.

I need to do something about the lethal footwells when they wet too!!

[Matt-Rallye]

Does look sweet this.

I need to do something about the lethal footwells when they wet too!!

I know sounds daft, but try the rolls of grippy tape for skateboards.

[Chr1sch]

Someone else suggested grip tape - just not very pleasant to put your feet on - honestly i prefer it with a couple of mats, they dont weigh much and equally cushion the heel nicely...

So I had a full replacement set of richw bearings fitted to the existing setup which has been on the car for I'd estimate 20k miles and what a transformation! Holy crap, I mean in all dimensions, turn in, tram lining, complete lack of knocking, it's easily the best money I've spent so far in terms of impact

In other news I had the gearbox oil replaced and that has made the shift far smoother, particularly second which is useful given the speed of shift now with the Satchshift

Love this little car, just gets better and better to drive!

[Chr1sch]

Totally chuffed, thanks to Eddy aka Chris on the gti6 forum I bagged a set of 16" Pro Race 1.2's and had them powder coated White - a lot of people like the Turini's and I did but always wanted these not just for looks but weight advantage too...needless to say I bloody love them :-)









Centre caps are coming...

[cully]

ha ha its you i commented to on FB

[7057sam]

Look really good mate

Is that standard ride height?

[Chr1sch]

Haha Hi Paul :-)

Sam, it's on Bilstein B8's with Eibach springs, however since i properly stripped it out the ride height has obv increased, ideally I'd like the back to come down a bit...

[G6 NRB]

Looks the business. Really like the Talbot/Rallye stripes on the front - very cool

[adam b]

I use grip tape in mine and works really well.

Why have you kept the airbag ecu and all the wiring if you have no airbags?

[Chr1sch]

Thanks guys

Regarding the ecu for airbags, I'm still running normal seatbelts until I get a cage so need it for the belt tensioners...plus it still has the passenger airbag in there too...

[Chr1sch]

Hi Gents,

Thought i'd share a little write up on the open pit lane track day @ Bedford Autodrome on Monday...

So with 2 little ones and a hectic life/job etc it came to Sunday night and 12 hours before we are due to convoy down to what was forecasted to be a sunny (or what actually transpired to be rainy) Bedfordshire I started 'preparing' the car...

Tyre pressures, coolant, oil, brakes, - all present & topped up, a good wash & polish and we are ready for the off!

04:30am - Alarm goes off...***** that is early (and I normally get up at 5:30am) but christ that was early

05:10am - Convoy assembled (Stage 3 Focus ST, A very tasty stripped out Leon Cupra with the biggest brakes you have ever seen, and a Cosworth honed, stupidly fast and setup Astra Coupe Turbo) - so yes I was at least 130bhp short...



Remarkably we arrived at Bedford at 07:45am with time to drool over a carpark full of M3's, 400bhp Mk3 Fiesta's, and an Octave VRS with a cone filter poking through the bonnet ?! Sadly its really wet, NOT what the bloody BBC reliably told us but it would certainly add to the entertainment value for spectators

09:00am - Briefing done, 89db at 4500 rpm with Cat was a surprisingly high readout (more than any of the cars in convoy...)

09:30am - On track for siting lap, now i've done Bedford before, it was always reassuringly open and 'safe' but the new additions have added a new and much needed element of complexity and it is a great circuit. It is still REALLY wet and the back of the 306 has already informed me it would like to overtake the front if at all possible!

10:00am - Track open, sit back, watch the nutters get their steam blown off, M4 comes spinning past the pits, and I boldly state "i've never spun here and don't plan to today...."

10:30am - We're off, car feels fantastic, the Satchshift has transformed how the car performs, you really feel the gears through the gearstick, tarmac through the wheel and the chassis through the buckets, its massively engaging and tactile - if bloody loud without any sound deadening.

Anyway, 1st lap out, its wet still, feels good but tyres not warming up that quickly, over confidence, caffeine, and early start all together result in the inevitable, right in front of the bloody pits!!!

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vnBrylw5N8E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

It felt like I'd smashed something, temporarily it wouldnt move (or at least it felt like it...) In hindsight i'm annoyed with myself, just crap driving, cold tyres, wet, turned in off throttle but that is why i love Bedford, brushed off, cleaned up and out we went to continue the day

https://youtu.be/vnBrylw5N8E

So the rest of the day went without a hitch, the car, firstly it dried up (hallelujah!) i mean what a car, for a cheap and cheerful track car it was exceptional, with a real minority of cars lapping faster (with the exception of a tuned Megane 260 (thoroughly nice bloke), a handful of bonkers Caterhams, the M4 and a Supercharged Monaro)

Despite a 130bhp short fall, on a fast open track, my little 162k mile, 18 year old 306 gallantly marched around and around the track, using 2 tanks of fuel, and overtaking all of the cars that we came down with, along with loads of Evo's, Impreza's, 911's, C63's and one extremely well driven and v fast Scirocco...

Here are a few clips with the other cars metioned, some of which I am well and truly in overdrive mode but hell that is part of the fun!

https://youtu.be/p7S5TMZi9Ks

https://youtu.be/hPkTiVnUZ9Y

https://youtu.be/ncROLN2VkYI

2 tanks of Super Unleaded later and she was a tad dirty (those wheels were white....)



For anyone considering a 306 as a track day car, getting on track, or heading to Bedford, I cannot recommend all 3 opportunities, an utterly brilliant, exhausting, and exhilarating day in equal measure, bring on the next!

[Matt-Rallye]

Fantastic write up Im definitely considering a cheap gti6 track car for next year and watching those videos is really pushing with that idea!

[Chr1sch]

Haha thanks! I can't recommend them highly enough!

Biggest difference over a standard car has to be suspension and brakes, I can stop faster than nearly anyone else :-)

[Chr1sch]

Well the 6 flew through the MOT, and it transpires the old B8's were totally knackered...

So I bagged a new set of B8's on the Fb group, fitted along with new top mounts, and holy cow, the car is utterly transformed, I can see why people rave about the b8/Eibach setup, the ride is amazing, and the car is now silent. (What I thought was a knackered beam noise transpired to be a shot rear damper/bush...)

Also had a Xsara Ph2 rack fitted and turn in is just epic - cannot recommend enough, cannot wait to get it to Silverstone in 3 weeks time, plus I personally think it looks ace on the 1.2's to boot :-)

[cully]

nice write up i hope to have just as many smiles soon
out of interest what tyres are you running on track wet and dry?

cant wait for my first full track day on the 20th feb

[Chr1sch]

Running Federal 595 RSR's my good man, absolutely brilliant for the money although 3 trackdays will be their limit based on wear levels after the last 2...

[roland rat]

Love the price 1.2's mate

[Chr1sch]

Spent some time getting the car ready for Silverstone next week - she's been washed/polished, oil changed etc along with the bits fitter 2 weeks ago - can't wait, and its looking awesome too (in my opinion...)

[7057sam]

Looks mint

Good luck at Silverstone,epic curcuit wish I had the money to do it,maybe one day

[Chr1sch]

Cheers dude,how is yours looking post bump?

[Chr1sch]

So Monday was Silverstone GP day - in short, if you get a chance, just go - what an experience, what a track!

I'm pleased to report all of the bits I added/refreshed (new vts rack & bilstein's etc) were well worth the money, despite being a very wide, long F1 circuit the Pug was utterly brilliant. The agility and ability to put its power down just never ceases to amaze, running rings around the non-race cars in the twisties...

So it was another early start, checking in at 8am for the Newbies briefing, which was truthfully pretty intimidating given that the car park and brief were full of amazing machinery with full on back up teams, trailers etc etc

Nice drive down the M40 with no sound deadening was a joy lol





The sense of occasion and sheer scale of Silverstone when you are down in the pits is something else, and with my own garage area it really was a bloody impressive setup......AND it was only bloody sunny ALL DAY....in Feb! Happy days...



Some nice machinery in the next garage...



Lining up amongst some very tasty kit!



The first few sessions both in the morning and after lunch were predictably terrifying, with loads of cars on track, but it soon cleared after a good 20 min window.

Had some great fun chasing/playing and i'm pleased to report overtaking Clio's....(although a couple of more sorted race one's did leave me for dust...)



The eagle eyed may also notice the cloud of smoke in the above pic from the morning...it transpired I over filled the oil on Sunday and after a good old slide avoiding a static radical, it promptly smoked its t*ts off for about 5 laps - after that we were all good (thank god)

So the good pics...

Tripod!!!



Believe it or not, this is 100mph in 4th...







As you can see, the weather was amazing, dry all day, however that did take its toll on my tyres, particularly where 2 of the corners off the straights are taken at 90 in 4th...

In the morning they got very hot...



At 3pm the front left threw in the towel after 3 track days...



And finally, a nice 17min youtube vid to demonstrate how the lowly 170bhp gti6 can hang on to Stage 3 Focus ST's and Hybrid turbo'd 300+ bhp Astra Coupe Turbo's!

https://youtu.be/bYSQveHD0y8

All in all an amazing day, the car was fantastic, although I really do want a cage and bodies to finish it off nicely. If you still havent taken your '6 out on track, do it - its bloody brilliant

Cheers

Chris

[hovis16]

That astra is quick .........in a straight line, can see him panicking in the turns. Love the tripod side pic too

[ozonehostile]

Brilliant write ups, can't wait to get my 6 out again this year

[Chr1sch]

Yeah the astra has a fully forged cosworth built z20let which is running a light map at 300bhp, could easily handle over 400

It also has a quaiffe LSD although I was underwhelmed with the cornering potential tbh