Clayton's Tornado Red GTI..

[cpcpeter]

How does your Lupo pass MOT with the side lamps removed?

[CLAYTONJONES]

Another very successful Nürburgring trip last weekend! I’d go as far as saying my best trip over there so far. Me and the missus took both our cars this time, I managed 17 laps and she done 14 laps on her first time driving the track! 1100 miles each without a single issue to either car. I only done one lap on my own, every other lap I took someone new out in the car, which Is all part of the fun for me, people experiencing a car most of the time they haven’t before. Everyone was surprised that’s for sure!  

The Lupo felt so good with its fresh engine, having the oil pressure and temp gauge now is definitely a great addition to keep an eye on things. The missus Polo was fantastic too, I took it for a lap myself and it’s really made me want more power though lol. It’s 240bhp and 290ft/lb so it just has way more pull out of every corner and the uphill sections. But with the current engine it’s not that simple to get any more power now, reliably anyway. Never been to into engine conversion too much but if it was you, what engine would you swap into the Lupo? I’d have to keep it NA too. First thing that comes to my mind is K20.

I’ll leave some pictures from the trip below :)

[cpcpeter]

Nice!  Glad to hear the engine is behaving itself.  Always nerve racking for the first few hundred miles.  I've just replaced the cylinder head on mine (port/polish/match with catcams) and it ran 0.2 bar oil pressure on idle!!  Thankfully had my oil pressure gauge beep at me and turned out the head was designed for (or at least accommodated for) non VVT so had to plug up an oil gallery to get the pressure back up.  Maxes out at around 4.5 bar with hot oil now - is that what you're getting Clayton?

I'd say a good N/A conversion would be something Honda, like you say K20 can get to 240hp.  That would be a blast.  Or you could try doing a motorcycle engine swap and that way you can get sequential style box.

Just finished install of the Coolerworx shifter - wow, what a difference, it was worth every penny!  4th to 5th can sometimes be a little tricky, even adjusted properly, but overall a massive transformation. Just the engine remap to do next... Tried to book Wayne at Chipwizards but he's rammed so I've got a tuner lined up here in Scotland... fingers crossed I get anywhere near as good as your figures..!

[CLAYTONJONES]

17 minutes ago, cpcpeter said:

Nice!  Glad to hear the engine is behaving itself.  Always nerve racking for the first few hundred miles.  I've just replaced the cylinder head on mine (port/polish/match with catcams) and it ran 0.2 bar oil pressure on idle!!  Thankfully had my oil pressure gauge beep at me and turned out the head was designed for (or at least accommodated for) non VVT so had to plug up an oil gallery to get the pressure back up.  Maxes out at around 4.5 bar with hot oil now - is that what you're getting Clayton?

I'd say a good N/A conversion would be something Honda, like you say K20 can get to 240hp.  That would be a blast.  Or you could try doing a motorcycle engine swap and that way you can get sequential style box.

Just finished install of the Coolerworx shifter - wow, what a difference, it was worth every penny!  4th to 5th can sometimes be a little tricky, even adjusted properly, but overall a massive transformation. Just the engine remap to do next... Tried to book Wayne at Chipwizards but he's rammed so I've got a tuner lined up here in Scotland... fingers crossed I get anywhere near as good as your figures..!

Yeah it was definitely nerve racking, everytime I got to the corner the engine let go last time I got nervous😂 Mine runs around 45psi hot and Sullys is a tiny bit higher, I’m not sure what that is in bar. 
 

K20 is the first engine that comes to mind but also is getting common in engine swaps, obviously for good reason though. I’d just like some where around 220-230bhp.

 

Yep Coolerworx is a big transformation, I’ve never had any issues with 4th to 5th though. Wayne is a busy man I know👎🏼 Hopefully your guy is just as good!

 

 

[cpcpeter]

Bit over 3 bar then for you, but I've got brand new cylinder head, cam carrier and cams so it's probably pushing up the pressure over worn ones (mines over 60psi at maximum).  To be fair I don't think the little Lupo's chassis will be too comfortable with much more power anyway.  I'd keep it with the same engine and use the money on something else if I were you.  Or wait until at least your current engine expires which forces you to do a transplant for something tastier.

[CLAYTONJONES]

5 minutes ago, cpcpeter said:

Bit over 3 bar then for you, but I've got brand new cylinder head, cam carrier and cams so it's probably pushing up the pressure over worn ones (mines over 60psi at maximum).  To be fair I don't think the little Lupo's chassis will be too comfortable with much more power anyway.  I'd keep it with the same engine and use the money on something else if I were you.  Or wait until at least your current engine expires which forces you to do a transplant for something tastier.

Yeah more than likely why!

 

Mine could definitely handle another 50bhp I’d say especially if it was NA. Yeah I said to the other day I’d either spend it on another car or when/if the engine let go again

[cpcpeter]

Didn’t want to steal too much of your thread but that was my GTi remapped on a Dyno Dynamics and got a hair under 160hp with 135 lb/ft from 2200 all the way to 6450. Was hoping a little more so not sure if my cylinder head guy was that good (was a shot in the dark to be fair) or I’m running a Dbilas intake. It was designed in mind for the 1.4 but will obvs fit the 1.6. I had it port matched both ends just in case. I expect the head could have maybe done better. Tuner thought the Catcams did a good job of keeping the torque so flat all the way through. Drives very well though have to say AND it’s kept a 200-cell cat. And I agree Clayton, I reckon 50bhp more would be just the sweet spot! But I’m stopping there power wise now otherwise the engine bay will be just a money pit!

[CLAYTONJONES]

This has probably been the longest I haven’t updated this. Been pretty busy with life and holidays. 

Still got a few things done to the Lupo recently. My missus recently got herself a set of Red Pole Positions for her car, so I thought it would be rude not to try one in the Lupo to see what it looks like. I love the way it looks with the doors open looking in, but not 100% sure when looking for outside. The difference in Red sets my OCD off. I’ll probably stick to Black. Whilst the seats were out I noticed the backs had started to get a bit scuffed from when the car is packed full for Nürburgring trips, I got the polisher out, now they look as good as new!

I then had a new spoiler painted as the standard one had started to bubble, very common problem. Fitted this with a brand new 3rd brake light which is a rare part in itself.

Up next was a trackday at Cadwell park, the car was faultless! Had so much fun chasing my mate round in his 182 track car, he was surprised that’s for sure. They were pretty much identical.

I’ve also decided to put the bumper caps back on for a bit of a change, I forgot how clean it looks with them, I’ll leave a picture below with and without, let me know what you prefer. 

And the most exciting purchase, I finally managed to hold of a set of ATS DTC’s in 4x100 only! As far as I’m aware one of only two sets in the UK. So happy to get them after searching for years, not on the car yet though. They came with some AD08RS fitted, I’m not a fan of the new compound so I removed them and fitted some Michelin PS3’s, the best road tyre in 15”. Some picture below!

 

[cpcpeter]

Black seats all the way. 

[tchouki85]

Hi, I'm a fan of your little Lupo GTI, it's great, I'm currently redoing a Lupo GTI spoiler for my little 1.4tdi and I allow myself to ask you something behind the two stop there's a little  black part, could you tell me the dimensions of this one please because on my spoiler this part is missing

you see on the two photos this black part, because since it is not found, I think to redo one in Teflon

[cpcpeter]

No-one is going to reply to you here chap. Best to make a separate thread on your questions.

[CLAYTONJONES]

Found some time over the weekend to get the wheels on, safe to say I couldn’t be happier with how they look!

a1 host

[tchouki85]

the aluminum rims are superb very good choice🥰

[CLAYTONJONES]

Latest little addition to the Lupo is the Cargo net and bar from
JC Clubsport. I am really pleased with how it looks, it fills a void in the back of the car and completes the clubsport look I think!

[CLAYTONJONES]

Latest little update on the Lupo is I’ve swapped out the steel Recaro sidemounts for some Recaro Aluminium sidemounts, whilst I was at it I also made the seat based out of T3 Aluminium as well to save a bit more weight. In total I managed to lose 16kg which is more than I thought I would, very close to sub 900kg now!

[CLAYTONJONES]

This is one of those things I've wanted to do for a while, since fitting the ompracing strut brace, getting the cap off the expansion tank isn't possible so after seeing how small they are on the MK8 Golf Hybrid I had an idea! Looks so much better, more like the size a Lupo one should be haha! 

[CLAYTONJONES]

Not all that much has been happening lately. I ordered some Silver Project adjustable top mounts to try increase the Castor as Lupo’s come with hardly any from the factory. Upon removal of the KW coilovers I noticed the front right shock had failed, it had depressurised. So I’ve sent the front pair off to Cornering Force to have them rebuilt, typical they had ran out of warranty by a month! But they have done just over 2 years, 20k+ miles and many trackdays and Nürburgring trips so I’m not too bothered. 

[tchouki85]

hello I find your reinforcement bar which connects the 2 shock absorber heads to the top, it is only which brand and where did you buy it please

[cpcpeter]

On 1/27/2023 at 8:57 AM, tchouki85 said:

hello I find your reinforcement bar which connects the 2 shock absorber heads to the top, it is only which brand and where did you buy it please

Hi chap, its from JC clubsport. Was going to get one for myself but it’s cosmetic only I think. No point for my track Lupo. 

[tchouki85]

Thank you

[CLAYTONJONES]

On 1/31/2023 at 9:45 AM, cpcpeter said:

Hi chap, its from JC clubsport. Was going to get one for myself but it’s cosmetic only I think. No point for my track Lupo. 

Yeah only cosmetic, I had a Kbrace that connected the two shock towers and that done nothing so got rid of that.

[CLAYTONJONES]

Couple of nice little upgrades recently that have made a big difference! The first one is something I’ve wanted to sort for quite some time but never found a solution but after the Prescott hill climb with the tight hairpins I was determined to try find a solution. So with these cars on a 195/50/15 tyre, because they have very little castor from the factory, the tyre catches the rear of the wheel arch on 3/4 lock or more. I found out that the MK4 R32 shares the same front rear wishbone bush as the Lupo GTI, which Whiteline makes a castor bush kit for. So I ordered that up hoping it could be a solution, I removed my wishbones and which already had a Powerflex bush fitted to, rather than removing that and having to press the new Whiteline one in, I used the eccentric centre in the Powerflex bush which worked a treat. Got it all fitted back on to the car and instantly noticed the wheel was 15-20mm forward which has sorted out the issue I was having! Then went and had the alignment checked, I now have around 3.2° castor over the factory 1.5°!

The next upgrade is a Polyurethane gearbox mount to match the already upgraded engine side. I’ve been waiting for someone to make this for a long time now and a good friend in Germany has provided the goods. The factory bush is 50 shore vs this is 80 shore so a good chunk stiffer. I was worried at first that it may be a bit to harsh but it wasn’t! There is obviously a bit more vibrations on idle but I can live with that for the extra benefits it gives. Gear changes are sooo much crisper and on/off throttle accelerations feels crisper with no engine swing. 

[Sammjoey]

On 4/26/2021 at 7:27 AM, CLAYTONJONES said:

Went out with a friend who is a photographer a few evenings to get some pictures of the Lupo with a decent sunset. Safe to say these pictures turned out incredible! 

Years later I'm back on Clublupo and I see these pictures again.

[CLAYTONJONES]

Nothing overly exciting has happened to the car as of late, done an evening session at Snetterton recently which was a huge success, the best the car has ever felt for sure.

I’ve just fitted the latest version of the Sprogley Motorsport airbox, this time it’s 3D printed with Carbon infused material so the finish is just incredible.

I also bought another set of wheels, I used to have a set of 15” OZ Ultraleggera’s and I always regretted selling them. Seeing them on my partners car made me want another set so I finally bought my first ever set of brand new wheels! They look amazing, wrapped in Nankang AR1’s ready for a Nürburgring trip on 23rd August for a week :)