1552 v.2 blog #18: VW Mk5 Rabbit 2.5 C2 Turbo

July 23, 2008 - Waterfest

2008-07-23T14:23:00.000-07:00

The Rabbit made the trek to New Jersey's Waterfest event without a hitch.

On the way we actually stopped in VA shop to put on our prototype 330mm x 32mm Alcon 4-piston front big brake kit. Yes, we were so down to the wire in getting these finished that we ran out of time and had to install them on the fly. Well, they work as well as we'd hoped and we're very anxious to test the 355mm version and the 330mm rear kit that goes with it.

We installed the brakes in the morning, drove to NJ's Raceway Park in the afternoon, and proceeded to beat the hell out of them on the facility's short roadcourse. To the point, the Alcons are incredible. We got in about 30 or so laps and each one seemed to have us braking later and later. We cant wait to get the chassis properly set up, because with the power from the C2 turbo kit, the massive grip from those 265-35 tires, and these awesome Alcon brakes, our little Rabbit should prove to be a formidable track car.

The car will remain up north for a few weeks while C2 tweaks it for even more power. Rest assured we'll have a full report upon its return.

June 9, 2008 - Durtydubs

2008-06-09T14:50:00.000-07:00

Finally - a few decent pics of the car with the flares installed.

We drove up to Atlanta for the Durtydubs event. The car and the flares were well received, though we do intend to make a few tweaks to the flares before they get used to make our production molds.

We must say it's mighty nice to be able to stuff 265-sized tires under a Mk5 Rabbit, drive 1500-miles round-trip, and not hear a single rubbing sound.

June 6, 2008 - Last Minute Miracles

2008-06-06T12:34:00.000-07:00

Universal Project Car Rule #1: Getting a project car ready for a show is always a nail-biting last minute affair. Always. Oh, even we veterans still try to plan and threaten our way into a more relaxed approach, but I've yet to hear about anyone successfully pulling it off. Lord knows we haven't.

The main problem is that due to the nature of running a business, your customers have to come first, no matter how important your project car is to the future of your business. As such, shop car work is usually relegated to late night and weekend shifts. Our deadline involves an event in Atlanta that was taking place on June 7. Since C2 is counting on their car to be in their booth, not being done in time is not an option.

Last update you saw the results of cutting the fenders for extra clearance and we told you we tried on the flares and were pleased with the results. That was totally the easy part. Now we needed to come up with a way to physically mount the flares to the car, while keeping in mind the aerodynamic forces involved during speeds of 100+ mph (not that we ever do that, mind you). Doubling the degree of difficulty was the fact that we plan to use these flares to make molds so that we can begin to offer them to the general public. That meant that whatever method we chose for mounting had to be temporary and allow for easy removal. In other words, a couple rolls of 3M double-sided tape wasn't going to do it.

Our body man and helper, Tee, suggested we fabricate aluminum brackets on which the flares could rest and use velcro - yes, velcro - to keep them there. With a number of self-tapping screws mounted to the bottom of each flare and the industrial-strength velcro around the tops, after completing the process with one flare we were confident that these babies weren't coming off no matter how fast we chose to drive (nothing over 70, of course).

Mounting the first flare made the the process for the other three relatively simple. Once done, we mounted up our new BBS RE wheels and Sumitomo tires and admired the results. Everything fit great and the car now had such an aggressive stance we couldn't help but smile. Still, there was lots left to do, such as coating the inner wheel wells, painting the flares, adding inner liners, and making sure we had adequate clearance even with the suspension fully compressed.

Due to leave late Friday night, we finished the car around 8:00pm Friday evening. Rule #1, for sure.

No doubt you noticed we revealed our choice of wheels and tires. More info includes the specs:

- BBS RE forged aluminum wheels size 18x10 ET30, weight approx 20-lb each

- Sumitomo HTR Z II size 265/35-18

We chose the BBS RE due to its lightweight and BBS' stellar motorsport reputation. The fact we're an authorized BBS retailer figured into the decision as well. At around 20-lb each, these REs are very light for such a large wheel. These wheels happen to be a Porsche application size, but since we really had no options in this size and the OE Rabbit 5x112 bolt pattern, we ordered up a set of H&R aluminum 5x112 to 5x130 adapters. Lightweight, hubcentric and strong, these adapters are German TÜV-approved and work beautifully. They also convert our Rabbit to wheel studs and considering the track time in this bunny's future, that's a big plus.

The Sumitomo HTR Z II is a great all-around tire with excellent rain performance - something we'll no doubt appreciate during our soon-to-arrive Florida monsoon season.

Enjoy the pics below and we'll have better renditions along with Durty Fest coverage in our next update.

May 29, 2008 - Making The Cut(s)

2008-05-29T10:32:00.000-07:00

Time to hack up some new sheet metal.

Fender flares do not provide extra room by themselves - they merely cover larger wheels and tires that have been provided extra room. To be able to fit bigger rubber in the first place, it's necessary to get rid of any part of the car body that could potentially interfere during suspension travel.

With our plans to run wide wheels and tires all the way around, we knew from the start that some arch trimming was going to be necessary. Since C2 told us they had no problem with us cutting up their new car we simply got out the cut-off wheel and went to work...

Using two of Shawn's 19x9.5 HREs with 245/35-19 tires on one side of the Rabbit, we got a good idea of how much trimming would be necessary. The wheels and tires we plan to use are actually wider than the HREs, so we made sure to leave a bit of extra room after cutting. After measuring it was a matter of slowly cutting off the extra metal, making sure not to overheat any part of the panels along the way. The front fenders were relatively simple as far as the procedure was concerned, but the rear arches, with their bonded outer and inner fender panels, took quite a while to trim.

With rear quarter panel strength enhanced by the two bonded panels, once we had trimmed what we needed we took the time to re-weld and seal the open wounds we'd left behind. Before the car is done we plan to fully rust-proof each inner wheel well and reconfigure the fender liners to fit.

We took a moment to tape up the flares and double-check our measurements. Looks like we're ready for some serious wheels and tires.

May 20, 2008 - Spoiler and Fender Flares

2008-05-20T13:52:00.000-07:00

While waiting for fifteen52 clutch, exhaust and brake prototypes, we've been busy getting the car ready for the serious wheel and tire combo we intend to fit to this rather narrow Rabbit.

Many older Golfs and GTIs came from the factory with black plastic flares, and though most styles were mostly cosmetic in nature, we're working with that same retro theme but with our design we're looking to also gain some much needed wheel and tire clearance.

It's not been easy finding materials we can work with, since in addition to using them here we're also looking to make molds of the final pieces and offer them for sale to Mk5 GTI and Rabbit owners.

As you can see, we're almost ready to cut out the fenders and begin mounting the new flares. As soon as our wheels and tires arrive we'll be doing just that.

In this set of pictures you'll also notice a new front spoiler. We're not too fond of the stock Rabbit valence due to the fact it's too shallow and actually has a reverse rake from front to back. Even though it was never meant for this car, we like this item much better and in addition to looking good, it's more functional and able to take the beating it's inevitably going to get. Where did we find it? At our local Porsche dealer, of course, under the front of a 2008 997 Twin Turbo.

Apr 28, 2008 - Eurotuner Coverage

2008-04-28T12:34:00.000-07:00

The May issue of Eurotuner is going to cover the progress of our C2 Motorsports Rabbit 2.5T collaboration. Below you see the first update, and as we go along they'll share our progress with their readers.

Apr 24, 2008 - Engine Cosmetics

2008-04-24T12:08:00.000-07:00

Finally, an update!

It may seem like we've been slacking, but we've been using the Rabbit for R&D on a bunch of new products we hope to launch in the next couple months. This means some pretty unglamorous stuff like disassembling the transmission in order to measure and photograph the clutch, along with the front brakes, shifter assembly, etc.

In the mean time we've taken an opportunity to make the 2.5T engine bay look a little more presentable. The C2 turbo system requires the removal of the massive engine cover that comes on all Rabbit/Jetta 2.5s, and as you can see from the pics here in the Feb 29 entry, that leaves a bunch of parts not really meant to be seen in the first place.

The New Beetle also comes with the 2.5 5-cylinder engine, and since its engine bay is so much smaller than the Rabbit/Jetta, the OE engine cover is smaller as well. We ordered one up from the dealer, trimmed it to fit, painted it black and called it a day. We think it's a tremendous aesthetic improvement, and once we find a proper "T" to place beside the "2.5" numbering, we'll be all set.

Mar 13, 2008 - Videos

2008-03-13T12:22:00.000-07:00

Here are a few videos with sound clips offering a taste of just how mean VW's new 5-cylinder can sound.

Start-Up

Acceleration

Drive-By

In-Car

Feb 29, 2008 - C2 Rabbit 2.5T Is Here

2008-02-29T12:38:00.001-08:00

C2 Motorsports just delivered to fifteen52 their 2.5T Rabbit demo to build up for Waterfest in July, and then later in the year the Eurotuner Grand Prix competition.

While in our possession, we plan to upgrade the Rabbit's chassis to a point where it can fully exploit the 250-whp C2 has already endowed it with. The results will be a fifteen52 line of products you can purchase to do the same with your 2.5 Rabbit or Jetta as well as some substantial advancements to C2's current 2.5T offerings. This will be a C2/1552 collaboration from start to finish.

As a form of indoctrination, last night we took the Rabbit to our local drag strip to see what it is capable of in this early rendition. As our time slip indicates, we took it real easy and only had time for a single run. Since the car still has the stock clutch we took it very easy, since our own 2.5 clutch isn't quite yet in prototype form. Still, the 99-mph trap speed certainly indicates that with a proper sport clutch, some traction, and hopefully Adrian behind the wheel (Brad's a pretty fair road course driver but he's no drag racer), in its current state this car is easily capable of breaking well into the 13-second range.

We'll bring you updates as we build this tame-looking bunny into something Sir Arthur himself would fear (Monty Python reference for you younger folks). We'll tell you right now that performance is our number one goal with this project - if the car also happens to look good as a result, well, just chalk it up the old "form follows function" adage.

Check out that reaction time! 60' ft time!

Wind-smeared number on the window illustrates just how quick this Rabbit is. Right?

New 'alternate' fifteen52 logo. Don't worry, no one knows what it means at first, but after they've read between the lines, so to speak, it all becomes very clear.