My LCR Since '05 with Static+ Front Air Lift - Project Gone to a New Home.

[James23Parkin]

I think this feeling has come from a few of the more involved and flagship builds being broken or canned
It makes everyone stop throwing money at it as others have recommended parts or given ideas and sit back and review their plans and take another look at 'is it really worth it'
I've had my moment of this just over a year ago as I was very close to just sacking it and buying an RS4, however there weren't as many breaking then and more people giving positive comments which kept me with it
I wouldn't worry about time frames too much, I started on my Quattro conversion over 18 months ago and im no where near ready to cut the floor pan out yet
Best advice is go big or go home, if youre teetering on the edge and not knowing what to do the chances are you wont have the enthusiasm to go all out BT, etc. Leaving you the option of selling up now or keeping as is and not modding much more but enjoying what you currently have
I doubt i'll ever sell this now, ive had it over 6 years now, its almost become a family member so i'm content to fire cash into it

Cheers Tim. Time wouldn't be a factor really if I knew what I wanted to do with it. You have a solid plan... That's what I need I think. I can't let it go because, like you, i've had too much time with it. Definitely agree with 'go big or go home'. I'm at that stage in life where this might be my only realistic chance to throw somethng meaningful at a project. Just need a plan that's gonna keep me interested over an extended period of time. Go big Tim

Hi James. Everyone has there reasons for moving on, be it family, want of new project, persistent problems etc but if as you say it doesn't owe you and you still enjoy it, then my advice would be to keep it and revisit it now and then. Mine is no where near complete or close to where I want it to be, but as you can appreciate you have to prioritise with a young family. If truth be told, I lost my licence due to excessive speeding which was considered dangerous driving so got a fairly hefty ban, but it has stopped my spending sooo much on it (for now), which diverted needed funds to childcare etc. It is so painful seeing it just sat next to my house, but when I look at it from behind, in front, and whilst it looks lonely it reminds me that there is still no other hot hatch car on the road today that looks as good as my Leon Cupra R...and I can totally get why people want to convert to 4x4. Despite it being incomplete and me having no licence, I will not sell or break it but look forward to next year.
Chris

Cheers Chris. I think you've hit a key point... It's still a good looking car with a bit of character. As I've said in your thread mate, I hope next year comes quickly so you can get back to enjoying the car. Did the Jersey government get rid of 99 Ron in the end?

Never thought you would message this James! Kids open your eyes to loads of things don't they.

In all honesty either keep it as it is and just a MINT OEM example ready to be pulled out the garage when they are few and far between or sell up and get something that is obviously niggling at you.

No realistic itch mate. Family life life is brilliant but a bit tiring in the early months. Glad to hear your daughter is doing well. She looked very happy in your new TT. I hope you're enjoying Audi ownership

Forgive me mate, can't be bothered to look back through your thread, have you ever had this mapped? If not, do it! The performance increase will make you happier when deciding what to do.

4wd is a big project and unfortunately something I'd not be able to do, however if you've got the skill and commitment give it some serious thought before selling up, there's so much awesome work gone into this you would really have to vet the new owner

Mine nearly went earlier in the year, before the engine was rebuilt as I really fancied an edition 30.

Whatever you decide mate, good luck with it but make sure you don't regret anything

That's just it Rich, I would regret it. The engine is at 112k (see it did get driven) and whilst it's been well maintained, there's a little play in the turbo wheel, it's on it's original clutch and I feel a remap at this stage would mean trouble. Definitely needs an engine rebuild. I'll refer to your thread for a parts list once I'm there. You must be pleased as punch that you have picked up James' gearbox and LSD? Could an Wavetrac give you what you want for fast road use Vs the major commitment of a Quattro conversion?

My hot hatch does

Err... Mine

 

[worzel]

Lots to be getting on with that's for sure, and now not in any real hurry. Regarding the fuel, they only had 97 which they did get rid of. However there is a handful of garages with petrol head owners that have pooled together and get a tanker or so every few weeks, but at a premium; £1.70 litre, which people will pay.

 

[James23Parkin]

On to the big winter/spring project… It’s all about the brakes right?

Hi all,

It’s been a while since I last posted. The car remains a garage ornament unfortunately as work and family life has been very hectic; away from home for 7 of the last 9 weeks, having just returned from Kenya of all places... I feel a little more content with continuing with the car as a long-term project and the good thing about being away is that you find the time to start plotting…

The other week, I purchased an ECS CF Inlet Manifold cover from a fellow member of SCN as it was going at a good price; there’s absolutely no imperfections in the finish so I’ll probably ditch my CF wrapped DIY one. I’ve also bought a Coolant and battery cover from an S3, along with a TT Slam Panel , with the hope that I can stich the TT Slam Panel with the LCR’s one to give a more OEM fit when using the covers. These will probably be wrapped in CF rather than painted, to ensure durability.

Yes...

I decided to buy a set of Porsche Brembo 18Z 6 pot calipers. I’ve been after a pair for ages and finally a good pair came up at a good price. I’ve bought new genuine Brembo SS bleed nipples, dust caps, SS pad fittings, new seals, and as you can see in the pictures they’ve had new pipes fitted very recently. Over the winter I will have them shot blasted before finally getting to use my DevilBiss spray gun and compressor (Men & their toys) to spray them red, and rebuild them – I’ll stick with the Brembo transfer rather than Porsche, as it’s not a Porsche that they’re going on (unfortunately).

I’ve also bought some 18Z 4 pot rear calipers, but the seller has failed to send them, so I’ve had to go through the Resolution Centre… It had been my plan to fit them on the rear, incorporating the handbrake, etc… If I don’t get them, I’ll stick with the original rear calipers and buy some adapters to allow a bigger disc (312 mm); purely aesthetic at the rear, as I think they would look weedy in comparison to the new front set up - presently 286 mm.

So now the search begins. I’ve been in touch with AKS Tuning to see what they can do regarding adapters and 2-piece discs, as the guys there have done some really nice kits. Yes, it’s the more expensive option (rather than solid discs) but I want the bells and fittings to look pure sexual. If not AKS, it’ll be AP. For the time being, I’m going to stick with the LCR wheel, but a nice Porsche 993 GT3 split rim may used in the future - my wheel of choice. So, overkill it may be but I want to go 370 mm for the disc circumference. I may however be swayed to 365/ 356 mm if wheel fitment becomes an issue – I don’t want to go larger than 18” as the stance is spot on as is. At least I can take my time with it and source the best set up for me.

Honestly, may be the haldex/AWD conversion is one dream too far for me. All the bits remain in my eBay watch list, just in case, but I’d want to do it myself rather than pay someone to do it, and I wouldn’t have the time to actually do it - or the skill probably! With the brakes all done, wheels refurbished again and new exhaust, the car will finally have the body work done. I want the car to be out on the road for April 2015 – good to have a goal

 

[jonjay]

Love the brembos, always use bigger brakes for sure. Probably wont notice much difference with the upgrade to the rears however you should gain a tidy bit more leverage so you may notice a difference.

I would stay well away from a 4wd conversion. Don't waste money on that, I don't think it will be as rewarding as you think once completed.

 

[ReDBull]

Great brakes! Things keep coming along nicely.

 

[Chambers_CUPRA]

Glad to see its staying. Your car and reading your thread made me think twice about getting rid of mine, and the parts I did sell gave me the money to buy some of my wish list to move the project forward.

Glad your happy with the carbon cover will look real smart on yours, weighted a bit to much for my track day project

 

[James23Parkin]

Love the brembos, always use bigger brakes for sure. Probably wont notice much difference with the upgrade to the rears however you should gain a tidy bit more leverage so you may notice a difference.

I would stay well away from a 4wd conversion. Don't waste money on that, I don't think it will be as rewarding as you think once completed.

On reflection, I agree Maz. A good diff and money spent on achieving a nicely performing engine will give me what I want. I just liked the idea of it. James L's car seemed to be a beater with FWD...

Great brakes! Things keep coming along nicely.

Cheers Paul

Glad to see its staying. Your car and reading your thread made me think twice about getting rid of mine, and the parts I did sell gave me the money to buy some of my wish list to move the project forward.

Glad your happy with the carbon cover will look real smart on yours, weighted a bit to much for my track day project

I know mate, it's a real roller coaster owning motors. I couldn't believe it when I read that you decided to keep it. It's such a good car, and another would of taken you a while to get it in the same league. Really glad you stuck with it

In other news, I think I'm verging towards 358 mm x 32 mm discs as apposed to 370 mm. Most likely to go with ECS products as I can get a nice 2-piece 306 mm x 22 mm matching rear set up which would match the fronts We'll see where my searches takes me

 

[James23Parkin]

Who's idea was it to do the brakes...

So, it had been my hope that I could use ECS products to compliment my new calipers - 358 x 32 mm up front and 306 x 22 mm at the rear supported with the relevant caliper carriers. Below are the links to give you an idea what I was thinking...

http://www.ecstuning.com/Volkswagen-Golf_V--2.0T/Braking/ECS_Stage_5/ES7366/

http://www.awesomegti.com/ecs-stage-1-rear-big-brake-kit-drilled-and-grooved-306x22mm-rotors

unfortunately the guys have got back to me and confirmed that they don't sell the discs individually and that the only way that I could have them is if I bought a stage 5 brake kit for £2k. That's a real shame as I love the look of the discs and the rear stage 1 kit would have been an awesome addition straight out of the box

So, what are my options? I'm waiting to hear back from AKS but I think that might lead to a dead end too. I guess the most viable option would be to have AP Racing marry up the LCR bells with the relevant sized rotors. This is going to be expensive May be I should have just bought the ECS stage 5 kit rather than doing what I usually do and have a go and source everything myself...

I'll let you know when I know more, but if anyone has any suggestions regarding quality disc manufacturers, please let me know

 

[Ronin225]

Do your front calipers come with carriers to suit the hubs on our leon?
If they don't they will need some bespoke ones made, also need to find a common size disc that suits them and fits behind the wheel.
Its a good excuse to run 2 piece floating discs then and have the bells machined to suit the easily obtainable rotors
Ideally this needs to go to a brake specialists for some measuring if youre unsure

 

[James23Parkin]

Do your front calipers come with carriers to suit the hubs on our leon?
If they don't they will need some bespoke ones made, also need to find a common size disc that suits them and fits behind the wheel.
Its a good excuse to run 2 piece floating discs then and have the bells machined to suit the easily obtainable rotors
Ideally this needs to go to a brake specialists for some measuring if youre unsure

I can source carriers dependent on the disc size I opt for. However, measurements are readily available on the net so I can have work machine them via the CAD should I wish to go down that route.

Discs wise, you're right. I could get the PCD machined into the bell, if I was to go for a rotor of the RS6/R8 for example. I can go up to 370mm but ideally would like 356/358 mm, like your forge set up. I can buy your discs for £500, but I would like a matching set. I'm on to AP at the moment, so we'll see. At least it's a challenge and I'm learning about brake combos now. I bought a bleeding kit today so like with anything else I can do it myself it's just gonna take time to find the right ones....

 

[Ronin225]

I'd go with a good brand for rotors like AP, if carriers are available may aswell make use of them
Also on the 356mm kit I have now I doubt you'd get much bigger under 18's as there are literally millimetres clearance between caliper and rim

 

[James23Parkin]

I'd go with a good brand for rotors like AP, if carriers are available may aswell make use of them
Also on the 356mm kit I have now I doubt you'd get much bigger under 18's as there are literally millimetres clearance between caliper and rim

Aks's 4pot 370 mm set up would fit, but with a 6 pot, I think you'd be right in saying that it'd be too tight. All the reputable brake kits seem to use AP for the discs. They can do a LCR bell with an RS6 356 mm rotor for the front and a LCR bell and a VW 312 mm rotor for the rear - all grooved and drilled. Could be nice. Just big bucks...

 

[RDS]

Love this motor, everything is done to perfection. Hats off to you sir

 

[Ronin225]

I'd leave the rears for the moment, from what ive read and understand with very little weight in the rear of the car it may have a tendancy to lock up under hard braking
When ive taken mine on track I actually leave the rear wheel in as the rear is very light
Bare in mind even the supercopas used to run 365mm up front but only 254mm on the rear
Also under hard use drilled discs will crack

 

[James23Parkin]

I'd leave the rears for the moment, from what ive read and understand with very little weight in the rear of the car it may have a tendancy to lock up under hard braking
When ive taken mine on track I actually leave the rear wheel in as the rear is very light
Bare in mind even the supercopas used to run 365mm up front but only 254mm on the rear
Also under hard use drilled discs will crack

It's something I'd like to do to the rear. The reviews are fairly balanced when retaining the original single piston caliper. The car is never going to see the track (sorry)

Edit: saying that I won't track the car makes me sound less manly some how....

 

[Ronin225]

Will watch how this turns out with interest

 

[James23Parkin]

Will watch how this turns out with interest

Me too Tim

Love this motor, everything is done to perfection. Hats off to you sir

It far past it's best these days Rich! Some time and money needs to be pumped in to get it back to my high standard - mainly referring to the bodywork... Hope you're well mate? Diff settling in well?

 

[Chambers_CUPRA]

Sure hi-spec or bigbrakes4u do universal/DIY carriers and bells? Maybe worth a look?

 

[RDS]

It far past it's best these days Rich! Some time and money needs to be pumped in to get it back to my high standard - mainly referring to the bodywork... Hope you're well mate? Diff settling in well?

Not to bad mate cheers, you?

Diff went in on Friday but unfortunately I've not had a chance to test it out properly due to work and an alcohol fuelled weekend, I'll be updating my thread with the findings when I get a chance though

 

[ReDBull]

Ring Alex @ AKS. If its doable he'll sort you out.