Went to track w/ my neuspeed rear sway!!

[Peter@VMRWheels]

With my newly installed Neuspeed rear sway bar I purchased from foofighter and new Yokohama AVS Sports (after roasting the conti's in 1 day), I headed back to the track. This time it was Buttonwillow, big track configuration. My car is completely stock, including suspension.

I have to say, Neuspeed did a GREAT job in the R&D of their 21mm sway bar, as the handling was completely neutral especially on high speed corners. I was holding 90mph+ in the S turns with no hint of losing control.

For some reason, the A4 does so much better in high speed corners than in slow speed. I thought I was going to be very unsafe on a track where the average corner is >60mph, but funny thing is, faster cars will pass me up in the straights, and in the slower corners they actually spin out trying to tail me.

In fact, I was having to adjust to a tighter line partially due to the lack of hp. But I end up catching a lot of cars this way as well.

One of the most memorable moments was during a 90mph right hand sweeper, the tires overheated towards the end of the corner and the rear broke loose. Resulting in a 90mph 4 wheel drift. I was afraid that the car might give me a snap back oversteer, so I countersteered very slowly. My passenger was literally screaming. :)

I actually cannot imagine spending the extra $$ for a front sway bar besides the "marketing effect" of having 2 instead of 1.

One of the less remarkable things about the A4 I find, is the fact that it has very weak brakes. I almost overran hairpins several times because the brake pedal would literally DROP to the floor randomly during braking.

Now I'm stuck with a dilemma for my next mods:

Tein Coilovers $1000
GIAC Chip $600

The coilovers will help in corners, the chipping will prevent me from being passed by INTEGRAS AND CIVICS on straights.

But overall, it was still a lot of fun. All you people thinking that your A4's cannot go on tracks should rethink your positions, or at least try it once!

[Quattrophile]

I say you get....If you gonna track the car...
1) Chip
2) Suspension
3) Big Brakes

And maybe later down the road, light wheels and sticky tires.


Nice Supra BTW. DO you still have it?

[bbaudi382]

i would think suspension would be most important...

lighter, wider wheels with low profile tires would help braking, acceleration, handling...right?

but then again i have 0 track experience

[rex_racer]

i would think good brake pads and at the very least better brake fluid would/should be at the top of ure list... then of course suspension =).

[teknik]

ditto rex racer....

the chip is going to make already inadeqaute brakes even worse....

id probably get some S4 brakes first if you are serious about tracking the car

[HyperM3]

Originally posted by rex_racer
i would think good brake pads and at the very least better brake fluid would/should be at the top of ure list... then of course suspension =).

I agree. If nothing else, the pads will make a marked improvement. If you say you are already holding tight lines and catching up in the corners to those that passed you in the straights then you will be able to brake earlier and accellerate out better. Pads are a minimal investment before you get a bigger brake kit. I also suggest stainless brake lines. Better pedal feel and you will be able to use them with the bigger brakes eventually too. Even just upgrading rotors(ie:Zimmerman) as well with the pads still wont break the budget.

So after the couple hundred for that minor improvement I suggest going with the chip. Sounds like you have a very neutral setup with the suspension as it is, get used to it for a while. Theres nothing better than mastering a current suspension configuration, that I learned from auto-x. Even with the chip I doubt you would 'out-drive' it. I would however suggest some R compound tires if you are going to do serious track driving. That will help immensly also.

[Vanimaniac]

Better brake pads definitely if your gonna track it. I haven't upgraded my brakes yet. That's why I don't track it yet!

Chip and suspension are great too. Do em all if you've got the money!

Van

[OOOO]

Originally posted by Quattrophile
I say you get....If you gonna track the car...
1) Chip
2) Suspension
3) Big Brakes

And maybe later down the road, light wheels and sticky tires.


Nice Supra BTW. DO you still have it?

Quattrophile,

SupraRZ's from Fremont originally, maybe you guys can kick it sometime. He NEVER drives that POS Supra though, so it's as good as not having one.

[foofighter]

pads/fluid/ss brake lines cheap immediate upgrades that will help you in the stopping cuz getting more power is only going to tax your braking even more.

[Peter@VMRWheels]

That was basically my consensus because I felt that the weakest link was the suspension. Even with a chip and stock suspension, you won't be able to push it thru the twisties.

With a chip, hondas won't pass you on straights, but if lets say I had a suspension, I'd be able to catch up to you before the end of the next corner.. Plus you'll have a lot of fun braking. Ever watch Initial D? Kind of a stupid analogy but that was exactly what happened!

With the rear sway bar, the wear to front tires was greatly reduced because the car didn't understeer as much.

But I did notice that the freaken brake fluid BOILED after 3 laps. Would upgrading the fluid to Motul prevent this?

OOOO, you are dense as a door knob, all u want to do is go in a straight line with your "chip tuning" nonsense so I have no more hope for you

[HyperM3]

Originally posted by SupraRZ
Would upgrading the fluid to Motul prevent this?

That or any Dot5 Brake fluid will make a big difference. I usually use ATE Super blue/gold.

[rex_racer]

one thing to note about changing ure brake fluid, make sure u use a DOT type fluid unless ure gonna make the car a fultime track car. warranty coverage will not be happy at all if they see a non DOT type fluid such as Super Blue!!! there are plenty of options out there that u can choose from.

here is an old, but very useful link that u should use to help ure choice in brake fluid:

http://www.brickboard.com/FAQ/700-90...Comparison.htm

pads at the very least will also make a huge difference in braking capacity, though if u do not use a high enough quality fluid, u will still boil over due to the increased heat coming off the rotors.

[HyperM3]

Originally posted by rex_racer
one thing to note about changing ure brake fluid, make sure u use a DOT type fluid unless ure gonna make the car a fultime track car. warranty coverage will not be happy at all if they see a non DOT type fluid such as Super Blue!!! there are plenty of options out there that u can choose from.

FYI - super blue and typ 200 are both DOT 4 brake fluids. Ive had my dealership specifically change it with both w/out any problems or warranty voids.

[Peter@VMRWheels]

Do you guys notice a difference in pedal feel on streets after changing the brake fluid? I'm curious because sometimes the brake pedal feels flimsy when trying to do hard stops.

[HyperM3]

You basically only feel a difference after repeated heavy braking. But even at that, the difference is it stays feeling like the first time you push down on the brake pedal, which isnt super firm to begin with. The only way to get a firmer pedal is stainless lines. They make a huge difference and are a cheap and easy mod. You will have to drain the brake fluid while doing that so you might as well upgrade that while youre there.

[Peter@VMRWheels]

one of the only thing I miss about not driving a BMW is BMW brake pedal feel is so awesome.. not sure if its from a superior braking system or just the way its designed.

[rex_racer]

Originally posted by HyperM3
FYI - super blue and typ 200 are both DOT 4 brake fluids. Ive had my dealership specifically change it with both w/out any problems or warranty voids.

phew ok good, i know i've read stories about fluids before, but why can't i remember which fluid it is now argh, oh well stay away from non DOT stuff if u want warranty coverage etc haha.

[Elberoth]

I did a full brake upgrade (brembo racing rotors, SS lines, Ferodo DS2000 pads, Castrol SRF brake fluid) and I can only describe the difference before and after as shocking.

If you are on the bugdet, get the pads first (I cannot recomend Ferodo DS2000 and DS2500 compounds to highly - you can get them from matrix eng.) and some brake fluid like ATE Blue or Motul, which are cheap but good.