Has any S6/S7 owner done a road course track day with stock brake pads and fluid?

[zcd2.7t]

I'm signed up for a track day fundraiser in October (March of Dimes "Drive for Babies" http://driveforbabies.com/ ) at Road America. Though I've done a few track events at RA and LOTS of track events overall, this will be my first track event with my S6. I'm trying to decide whether the stock brake pads and fluid will be enough, or whether I should replace either or both...?

With my former (lowered, tuned) S4, I ran Carbotech pads (XP-10s) and Motul 660 fluid, yet managed to boil the fluid anyway. The S6 is obviously bigger, more powerful and heavier, plus "boat-ier", and less suited to the track as a result. Not sure whether that means I'll need more brakes, or less!

I'd appreciate thoughts/comments from anyone who's actually run an S6/S7 on track. Thx!

[zcd2.7t]

Anyone...?

Anyone...?

Bueller.......?

[Time4Audi]

I have - I wasn't an animal on the track. No issues with proper cool down and smart driving. My car was less than six months old and had about 6,000 miles on it. Fluids were still fresh and passed inspections.

[dab]

I have done multiple in both of my cars without issue.

[zcd2.7t]

...No issues with...smart driving...

Well, that counts me out! ;-)

Thanks for the response - gives me some comfort that I won't go off the end of turn 5 at 100 mph...

[zcd2.7t]

I have done multiple in both of my cars without issue.

Cool - thx.

[cobrario]

I'd change the fluid at least but that's just me, I had RBF 600 put in my car for the 1/2 mile event that got cancelled- ounce of prevention was my logic. Good luck and have fun [up]

[zcd2.7t]

I'd change the fluid at least but that's just me, I had RBF 600 put in my car for the 1/2 mile event that got cancelled- ounce of prevention was my logic. Good luck and have fun [up]

A good point - fluid was changed less than 30 days ago as part of a PM service - I didn't realize until afterwards that I should have brought some Motul 660 or Castrol RBF for them to use...[rolleyes]

[S6Express]

I've never tracked the S6, but I did track my E60 M5. The brakes weren't the issue, the fluid was. It boiled and made the brakes fade badly. The brakes on the S6 are far superior to what came on the M5, so you shouldn't have an issue there. Always upgrade your fluid for track days, no matter what car.

[sciblades]

i swapped to stainless steel lines, also did mutol 660, i ran a nt-01 track tire and did not have any issues with my tires be away that most street tires will get very warm and start to essentially melt off.

the weight of our cars makes it so that the wear items go fast so be aware the brakes will start to fade as you go around

[jstrebel]

I did.. boiled the fluid and wasted a brand new set of albeit not OEM, but disc Italia pads in a single day.. check me SLEEPR7 build thread for pics.. could spoon the pad material out of the wheel.. no good.

I should have known better, with my B6 had fluid, braided lines, and XPS pads.. was bulletproof

[FourRings115]

I have tracked my S6 a couple of times now, but I changed the fluid before my track days to a high temp fluid. If you go to a crazy race grade fluid, it will turn to molasses in the winter time.
But you should definitely upgrade. I did one day at Pocono, with hard braking at the end of a 135mph straight, and never had a problem. I just did a day at Lime Rock, a short course with only about 120-125 top speed, and I was fine with my upgraded fluid even during the long 30 minute sessions. The guy who ran the Lime Rock track day suggested I pit for a short cool down. He daily drives an S4 and had a recent participant in an RS5 whose brakes went squishy. I probably could have skipped the short mid-session cool down. I never lost braking in my S6 with the upgraded fluid.

[Pterwilliger]

I’m watching this thread closely, as I’m also considering tracking my S6 for the first time at an upcoming ACNA event at Dominion Raceway. I’m anxious to see the full effect of the APR tunes and my suspension mods, but was concerned about the brakes. At a minimum, I was going to upgrade the brake fluid. When I tracked my earlier rides - E36 M3 & E46 M3 – upgrading brake fluid was something I always did, but weight is a much bigger issue here with the S6.

[zcd2.7t]

...I never lost braking in my S6 with the upgraded fluid.

Appreciate your comments. One more question - Did you run your stock/OE brake pads during these track events?

Also, one of the reasons for my concern is that Road America is a, long, FAST track with 2 long straights, both of which are followed by 90 degree corners. I don't know for certain what speed I'll see on the main straight, but 135 mph is virtually guaranteed and 145 might even be possible... [eek] [o_o]

[FourRings115]

Yes Road America has some damn fast long straight sections. Depending on your track session length, ambient temps, and your own experience out there (if you feel any squishiness in the brake pedal) you may want to pit briefly and do a quick cool down halfway through your session. But the brake fluid is more important than the brake pads. I have done two track days on the same set of OE pads but upgraded high temp fluid with no problems.

[zcd2.7t]

...I have done two track days on the same set of OE pads but upgraded high temp fluid with no problems.

Good to know. It will be my second HPDE at Road America, and maybe my 20th overall, so I more or less know what to expect...

[FourRings115]

Have fun! Very jealous!

[moonlights4]

Good to know. It will be my second HPDE at Road America, and maybe my 20th overall, so I more or less know what to expect...

I need to do that when my 3 kids (all 6yo and under) get a bit older and I can actually get away for a few days to myself! Sounds like it would be a blast.


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[zcd2.7t]

...Sounds like it would be a blast...

Track days (HPDEs) are a blast indeed, but be careful, because once the needle goes in the first time, the habit is hard to break... [up]

[zcd2.7t]

Update: couldn't find any SS brake lines to fit my car, so will be replacing the fluid with Castrol SRF and hoping for the best. [up][race]

[dannybear]

Tracked my S6 many times. One track is very hard on brakes ( two long straights 230km/hr to 90km/hr each) and no fade in 10 consecutive hard laps. Original Pads are brilliant for road pads. However they will feel differently after the track day and may be noisy.
Didn't have an issue with the brake fluid the first time but do recommend replace it with a high spec fluid.
You will kill the inside of your road tyres in the very inside if you go very hard. They will look fine but check the inside shoulder of the two fronts. It also feathers the blocks so you get a little more road noise after.
Now I use a set of R spec tyres on a 2nd set of rims and the difference is unbelievable. I also change the front pads for track days. I had the S6 backing plates sent to the manufacturer of racing pads for a national racing class to place the race compound onto a S6 brake plate. There is no way any other brake pad will perform as well on a track for our cars. Now that they have copied the backing plate they can sell these pads. It takes me 1hr to change 4 wheels and front pads for track days. Small price to pay to get unbelievable performance.
2.5 tanks of fuel later and it's hard to not be smiling

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[roddyc]

Just finished a two day HPDE with my S7 and everything held up great although the track I was on was not particularly fast (and neither was I). Changed fluid to fresh Motul 5.1 and stuck with the stock pads, and experienced zero fade the entire weekend although I went through a decent amount of pad (would guess maybe 4mm).

[zcd2.7t]

...You will kill the inside of your road tyres in the very inside if you go very hard. They will look fine but check the inside shoulder of the two fronts. It also feathers the blocks so you get a little more road noise after.
Now I use a set of R spec tyres on a 2nd set of rims and the difference is unbelievable...

Hey - thanks for your input! I'm surprised to hear that the INSIDE edges of the front tires suffer - on my past cars, it was always the outside edge that took the beating. Do you recall what tire pressure you were running? Also, which tires were your OEMs?

R-compounds on an S6?? Hardcore, man... I wouldn't have even really considered that, simply because of the overall relative softness of the suspension, but if the car can take advantage of the grip, that's cool. I've said it before - I've been less keen on tracking this car than I was on my lowered, tuned, suspended, braked B8 S4 - that thing was FAST on the track, and idiot-proof. I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised by the S6 out there...

[dannybear]

The inside edge suffers from hard braking. on this track it has 2 long straights with hard corners at the end - 230km/hr to 90km/hr HARD (like a child jumped in front of you). The car dances nicely and can sometimes feel the ABS. You will spin out more from how hard a car can really brake than the speed we we all give it a squert on the roads every now and then. Its almost the inside shoulder that wears more than the inside tread.

The R Spec tyres massively make the car feel sharper when turning. (much harder sidewalls). Grip is improved cornering. Accelereating out of corners is never an issue for traction, more how soon you can power down without understeering. Being a heavy car it will understeer on sweeping bends on road tyres if pushed hard. The road tyres were Pirelli P Zero. The track tyres are hard to get in 20inch (which we need to get over the front brake calipers). I have Conti R Specs as my only option. Road tyres i ran at approx 40PSi all round. R Spec are about 26PSI.

when you come in for a break down turn the car off straight away and dont engage the hand brake.

Our cars do very well on horsepower tracks with fewer sweeping bends. on open rolling tracks a smaller RS3 (and all the others) would do better. The type of track has alot to do with it. A horsepower track (short corners and straights i use 2.5 tanks of fuel for the day (google Sandown Racetrack Melbourne Australia). On the sweeping track (same top speed on the straights and higher overall average speed i use less than 1 tank for the day and you are soo often feathering the accelerator but still alot of fun "drifting/on the endge" on a corner doing 180km/hr (google Phillip Island racetrack Australia).

[Fast4DR S6]

Not a track car! Fun on the track, but get a track car for the track....

[zcd2.7t]

Not a track car! Fun on the track, but get a track car for the track....

I'm doing an HPDE - track event for street cars, but thanks for the suggestion...(?)

[roddyc]

FWIW, I didn't experience any noticeably abnormal wear on the inside of my brand new MPS4S, but the outside shoulders took a beating. I started at 35 psi all around and the fronts got up to 45 psi hot while rears got to 42 psi. No complaints from me for having it out on the track for the first time aside from the weight and roll; had to scrub off a little more speed going into corner entry than I normally would, but the car put down the power great with the sport differential really helping the car to rotate. Really impressed with the S-Tronic too just leaving it in sport mode; almost always in the right gear and changes were super smooth and never upset the balance of the car. It hides its weight well, but not planning on making a habit of tracking this car.

[FourRings115]

The inside edge suffers from hard braking. on this track it has 2 long straights with hard corners at the end - 230km/hr to 90km/hr HARD (like a child jumped in front of you). The car dances nicely and can sometimes feel the ABS. You will spin out more from how hard a car can really brake than the speed we we all give it a squert on the roads every now and then. Its almost the inside shoulder that wears more than the inside tread.

The R Spec tyres massively make the car feel sharper when turning. (much harder sidewalls). Grip is improved cornering. Accelereating out of corners is never an issue for traction, more how soon you can power down without understeering. Being a heavy car it will understeer on sweeping bends on road tyres if pushed hard. The road tyres were Pirelli P Zero. The track tyres are hard to get in 20inch (which we need to get over the front brake calipers). I have Conti R Specs as my only option. Road tyres i ran at approx 40PSi all round. R Spec are about 26PSI.

when you come in for a break down turn the car off straight away and dont engage the hand brake.

Our cars do very well on horsepower tracks with fewer sweeping bends. on open rolling tracks a smaller RS3 (and all the others) would do better. The type of track has alot to do with it. A horsepower track (short corners and straights i use 2.5 tanks of fuel for the day (google Sandown Racetrack Melbourne Australia). On the sweeping track (same top speed on the straights and higher overall average speed i use less than 1 tank for the day and you are soo often feathering the accelerator but still alot of fun "drifting/on the endge" on a corner doing 180km/hr (google Phillip Island racetrack Australia).

I would disagree with your statement about "turn the car off straight away". For a modern turbocharged engine, letting the car idle after some flogging on the track is recommended. I even pop open the hood to let more hot air out, since the engine bay is quite cramped.

[dannybear]

I would disagree with your statement about "turn the car off straight away". For a modern turbocharged engine, letting the car idle after some flogging on the track is recommended. I even pop open the hood to let more hot air out, since the engine bay is quite cramped.
Sorry that was a typo. Definitely do not turn the car off straight away. And yes I also lift the hood

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[zcd2.7t]

So, I actually left my Wearever Gold semi-metallic pads on the car for this event, not really knowing what to expect. They performed better than I thought they would. LOTS of dust (front wheels are now BLACK instead of gunmetal/anthracite with polished bladesedges), but good stopping power and no issues with pad deposits on the rotors or anything like that. It's actually the first time I've driven home from an HPDE with no extra noises or rumbling from the brakes. Would I recommend these pads for track events in general? No, but they weren't completely out of their element.

As for the fluid, it's hard to say. The brake pedal travel certainly lengthened over the course of the 4 lapping sessions, but I think this may have been due to an incomplete bleeding by the tech when he changed my fluid. I noticed more travel than I'd have preferred as soon as I drove away from the shop, but it seemed a bit better the next morning, and I just ran out of time to have the system re-bled prior to the event...