[Project] Starting My Xu5T Build

[mojo1997 0]

I've just been out in this car......bugger me it's quick.

 

Can't remember the last time I was in a car and felt the need to hold onto the door handle.

 

Driving my 6 home after that felt very sedate...................

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

Well after a bit of thought I've decided to make one to the trackday at Cadwell Park on the 9th of September.

Although the car would probably be OK as is, I've decided to make a few alterations in preparation.

 

So thus far I have a standard 1900 oil cooler setup to fit, I looked at doing this before but found it wasn't really needed, however hammering round Cadwell it probably will be needed.

I have also tonight acquired a set of Xsara VTS brakes. The 306 XSI brakes I have at the moment have a quite small pad surface area, although they certainly stop, I think they are more suited to cars still running a servo, which my car is not. However on my shared dedicated trackday car, we have the GTI6 (Xsara VTS) front brake setup with a pedalbox, and the brakes on that are superb. Thanks to M@tt for a special discount price!

Finally I will also get round to altering the 306GTI6 rear anti roll bar I have to fit my 309 rear beam. I have 23mm torsion bars which make the car handle well, but I think the standard 20mm 309 GTI rear ARB is a bit on the small side.

 

So aside from that and a good spanner check round it will be going as it is, quite looking forward to it I must say.

[madspikes 41 1 Cars]

Good to see the old 1.6 is still holding on in there!

 

Did you do any 'running in' of your new engine, or did you just go full beans from the off? Just wondering as mine hits the streets on Tuesday (1st Sepember)

 

Mad.

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

I managed to get a steady 300 or so miles and a couple of oil and filter changes on it before it went to the rolling road for mapping. After that it had full pain!

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

So trackday prep continues, the newly acquired Xsara VTS calipers are soaking in a bucket of de-ox-c solution, I'm amazed at how much crap this stuff gets off the calipers, very impressive indeed.

Next job I tackled whilst I clean the calipers up was the 24mm rear anti roll bar. First off I got a spare 309 standard rear ARB and fitted the endplates in order to get the length. I then cut down the Xsara VTS bar I had at one end, there is not much at all needed to come off for a 309 width beam. With this done I prepped the joint, did a root run with the TIG, then went round with a capping run with the MIG on full power. With this done I then quenched the hot end in oil to cool it at a controlled rate, hopefully this should temper the material meaning it hopefully won't crack.

Fitted it and after a run back from the PSOOC meet tonight I have to say I should have done it weeks ago, it really makes a good difference.

[EdCherry 34 1 Cars]

Have you stripped the calipers to soak, surely this attacks all areas it can reach rather than just the corroded/dirty surfaces? Did think of doing it myself but didnt want to find it didnt work, post up your results when its finished.

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

Nope, it only seems to react with iron oxide, other clean areas are left alone. Plus I've left the hoses and seals in place so nothing getting inside the caliper bores.

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

So done a bit more this afternoon, the caliper carriers have a decent soak in the de-ox-c, so I got them wire brushed off ready.

205T by Tom Fenton, on Flickr

I'm pleased that they have come up well compared to how they usually look.

 

The next task has been the oil cooler. I've found that on the road even with the turbo the oil temps seem to stay sensible, however as a precaution I'm thinking they will get a bit hotter round Cadwell Park. So the ideal solution would be to fit an oil cooler for the trackday, and then remove it again afterwards.

Well I'm lazy and that seems like far too much bother and messy oil everywhere, plus the fact that there is no where easy to mount the cooler in airflow that doesn't require some long spindly brackets. So I've come up with a cunning plan.

 

So first of all can you see it?

205T by Tom Fenton, on Flickr

 

No? Good.

What about now?

205T by Tom Fenton, on Flickr

 

Then add this bit

205T by Tom Fenton, on Flickr

 

The duct sits behind the bumper then ducts that high pressure air from the front of the core to the oil cooler, which fits snugly in the back of the duct.

 

So when in normal road use, number plate fitted, there is no sign of anything untoward.

Then when in full bastard mode round the track, the number plate is removed, which allows air to the oil cooler, and it would be removed anyway to allow more air to the intercooler.

Good eh?

Edited July 24, 2017 by Tom Fenton

[base-1 17]

Tidy!

[tidypug 5 2 Cars]

Nicely done mate , I'll have to come around and have a nosey.

I was thinking about a very similar idea on mine but to duct air to the intercooler as its right behind the bumper. Instead of using a small cut out I was going to cut a slit all the way along the reg plate recess and build the duct into the back of the bumper. My main worries were, 1- were could I mount the reg plate with out it looking a bit pants, 2- would enough air get ducted to the intercooler and 3- what could I use to make the ducting?

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

Mounting the reg plate somewhere that doesn't look gash is a tricky one, I have considered trying to get one of the "cough" "illegal" small motorbike style ones, as it will not block my intercooler whereas the normal one does mask some of it. However I like keeping the car inconspicuous from the outside which is why I've stuck with the normal plate.

As for will enough air get to the cooler- any ducted air is better than none, especially if you do something similar to what I have done, with a duct fitting tightly to the cooler- this means the air HAS to go through the cooler- like many other things the airflow will take the path of least resistance if you let it- so around/under/over an oil or intercooler rather than through it.

Material wise I've used alloy because I can, I also had some stainless but this would have ended up a heavy lump for what it achieves. If I didn't have the TIG I'd probably think about some 4mm black plastic sheet, which is easy to cut with a jigsaw, and then some light gauge alloy angle to rivet to the plastic to make the duct.

[richsmells 2]

This is a great thread. I read the whole lot again last night as i'm starting to put an engine together. I have a couple of questions which i'd be chuffed if you could answer

 

When you checked the bearing clearances with the plasti-gauge the first time round, was this done with the old bearings or the new ones?

 

Also, whilst using the plasti-gauges, were the big end and main bearing bolts torqued up to standard spec (haynes spec) and how do I check if I can re-use the existing bolts or need new ones?

 

Many thanks. Keep up the good work.

Edited September 2, 2009 by richsmells

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

The clearances are checked with the new shells, the old ones were fooked and went directly in the bin. I did measure the crank journals though and they were in spec, meaning barring any major disasters the bearing clearances should be A OK.

Yes you torque up to spec to use the plastigauge, make sure you spray some duck oil or similar on the surfaces first as otherwise it sticks and is a bugger to get off again.

As for rod bolts, if you are not sure enough to make your own judgement, buy some new ones to be safe. It is not really something I would want to try and descibe via typing, and remember if they do let go the majority of it will be scrap. I only re use big end bolts on my own engines after I've inspected them, on engines I build for others I fit new.

[tom_m 0]

I have considered trying to get one of the "cough" "illegal" small motorbike style ones, as it will not block my intercooler whereas the normal one does mask some of it.

 

I've got one of those and i've not had a problem with it yet, to be fair though the car hasn't move for the last few *ahem* months

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

Last nights pics then

 

First job get the bumper off

205T by Tom Fenton, on Flickr

 

Next cut the holes in the front panel

205T by Tom Fenton, on Flickr

 

New hoses, made by my local hyds place, they had to re use the original ends for the sandwich plate as they are a bit of an oddball, the unions for the cooler end are a standard fitting. Stainless overbraid to look nice!

205T by Tom Fenton, on Flickr

205T by Tom Fenton, on Flickr

 

 

And voila easy as that....NOT! Its all quite busy in there so I had to remove all sorts to do it. Plus with the new pipes the cooler ends up in a different place, meaning I'm now off outside to make another duct.....

205T by Tom Fenton, on Flickr

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

Tonight then

Paint caliper carriers

205T by Tom Fenton, on Flickr

 

Spend hours making duct mk2

205T by Tom Fenton, on Flickr

 

 

Duct mk2 in position. It is secured by the same screws that hold on the no plate. Nice ducted air to cooler!

205T by Tom Fenton, on Flickr

 

The pics don't show it, but I've now extended the cut out right the way across the no plate aperture, behind the plate.

[madspikes 41 1 Cars]

That is total Genius. Its what I call and good engineering solution, simple and effective.

 

Good work that man.

 

Mad.

[DrSarty 90 1 Cars]

Duct mk2 in position. It is secured by the same screws that hold on the no plate. Nice ducted air to cooler!

 

I think it's brilliant as well Tom, but maybe I've missed something.

 

Based on the above, when you go to the track and take the number plate off.....

 

Incidentally I will do this purely for air feed and cooling on my tandem engine builds, i.e. hide the vent behind the number plate. Genius and inventive.

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

Undo screws, remove no plate, put screws back in to (a) hold duct and ( stop me losing them before the no plate needs putting back on!

 

The screws go through the plate, through the bumper, into the duct.

[DrSarty 90 1 Cars]

 

I will defo be doing this. Thanks.

 

A standard mod for me now will be bonnet pins, no slam panel, air venting (your design plus other holes in the front metal panels for engine inlet/cooling and brake cooling) and a really low rad with pull 11" fan on the rear (engine side).

 

Hope you don't mind the copying. Imitation is the highest form of flattery.

[McDude 33]

I'm in absolute awe of your skills Tom; plus a whole lot jealous too.

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

Cheers chaps, the camera must be flattering things I think.

 

Anyway, this afternoon had a GREAT SUCCESS!

 

 

I've FINALLY made the bloody rev counter work. Now before I say any more I would sincerely like to say thanks to everyone who has tried to help with various mods to try, bits to chop, bits to solder. But no matter what I did I had little or no success.

So whilst I was at Emerald on Thursday I layed out 30 bar on one of their tacho drivers, as it worked straight away on the white car. And lo and behold it worked straight away, hurrah at last. There is nothing worse than a dead gauge on a dash, and its saved me a heap of cash, as I was getting very very close to putting a holesaw through the standard one and mounting an Elliot or Stack tacho in the binnacle.

SO to anyone struggling, I can say for certain that this DEFINITELY will drive the standard tacho from an aftermarket ECU tacho pulse.

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

So trackday prep is more or less finished, changed the oil and filter, then set about fitting the new brakes. I had the choice of some standard Ferodo pads or some fairly worn but serviceable DS2500's, as I'm off to Cadwell Park on Weds I decided to fit the 2500's to let them bed in a bit before Cadwell, hopefully there is enough friction material on them (about 5mm) to last half a day, if not I have the standard pads to lob in. The DS2500's are ex my trackday car but it seems a shame not to use them up!

Took it up the road and immediately heard a "tsch tsch tsch" noise, so I think the balance weights are going to need sorting! But other than that they already feel loads better than the 306 XSi stoppers. I think the big difference is that the XSi brakes have a smaller pad area, and so are more suited to a servoed system. My car with a pedal box and although they certainly hauled it up, they were not the most confidence inspiring brakes!

[Tom Fenton 1,541]

I guess its overdue an update here really.

 

Well the Cadwell Park track-half-day went pretty well really, certainly my 1600 engine was by no means embarrassed by the GTI6 boys there. I have to say though its not a patch on my trackday car that has the Mi16 and cage in- I found myself clinging onto the steering wheel to try and hold myself upright/into the seats, where the white car with proper seats and belts lets you get on with the task of driving without worrying about holding yourself in position!

The car did well though, brakes were up to the job, the Paradas did a pretty good job for a road tyre too. I'm glad I fitted the oil cooler though as I think I would have struggled without. The only downside was that about 4 laps flat out saw the water temps getting really quite hot. Not a problem on the road though so I don't envisage any alterations.

 

So since the trackday its been on road duties, went on a run with the PSOOC over to Glossop and on the way back the 3000 mile recon long shaft started knocking, so this has gone back to the factors and I have fitted another, still waiting to hear about refund though.

 

The only job on the cards really is to look into a slight oil leak that has developed. I've a feeling it might be the turbo oil drain, and I've not been 100% happy with it from the start, so this may well be getting revisited and something else made up to sort it out. I may well do this over the winter though, as the weather is going downhill grip is a real problem with the torque I've got on greasy roads, and so when the tax is up at the end of the month I think the 205 will retire for the winter months.

[swordfish210 20]

I had the problem of falling out of the seats when i took my old Volvo 360 around Llandow for the day. The front seats were like a park bench and by the end of the day my chest and shoulder muscles were killing me.

 

To solve the water temps you could try using a higher ratio of anti-freeze in the coolant or some Water Wetter. We used to use this in the Radicals and it brought the temps down by about 5C.

 

Nice work on making it last a trackday, hopefully i'll see it in the flesh sometime.