Tracking advicne needed...please.

[dobos100]

I would like to start tracking my car and need advice on a couple of things:
1.) how do stock brakes preform? how much damage should I expect? (i will switch out the pads)
2.) Harness/Harness bar- where to get one, do I really need it? what brand/type should i consider? (have recaros, without the belt holes)
3.) wheel tire combo - whats a good inexpensive tire/wheel combo (have 19" LMs with kumho's)

05.5 2.0TQTMS, Britalman Exh., Vogtland COs, Apr chip

ThanX Guys

[Quattro]

hey,

1 - stock brakes are good enough depending how aggressive you will be and how much tracking you will be doing. You could upgrade to a performance bads as well to have better stopping power.

2. I dont think you really need to get newer ones than you have, i have seen tons of people track with the stock belts.

3. 17" wheels with high performance tires or something light weight. Real bbs wheels could take the abuse, but why bother? You dont want to damage lms, if they are replica than i would suggest not tracking with them. Just cause you dont know how they would perform if they are cheap quality they could bend or whatnot.

im no expert, but i hope this helps. When you go tracking, let me know ill roll with ya =D

[dobos100]

if you go on speedventures.com you can see the upcoming events.
Im going may 5th to fontana speedway it should cost around $150 and you get 4 sessions of approx 40 min each.
It would be awsome to get a bunch of A4s together that way we could compare setups.

[Phrost]

I would run stock wheels, or else buy a good lightweight 17" set. For tires, pretty much any decent high performance summer tire... Lots of people like Falkens since they work very good and are extremely cheap. People call them "cheater tires" but I'm not sure why lol

www.edgeracing.com for Falken tires, I'm not sure who else sells them...

[INTEGRATION]

if you go on speedventures.com you can see the upcoming events.
Im going may 5th to fontana speedway it should cost around $150 and you get 4 sessions of approx 40 min each.
It would be awsome to get a bunch of A4s together that way we could compare setups.

Speed Ventures! I've worked with them in hosting an event in the past- awesome guys! As for the stock brakes, personally I find them very lacking (and possibly one of the only weaknesses of our cars), personally I want something with more bite. A more aggressive pad would be nice as well as matching that with some larger rotors. I've used a Sparco harness bar in the past with Sabelt harnesses, I don't know if they have an application for our car. There's another member on here who has mounted harnesses without the harness bar (yes, it's safe to do so long as you mount it right. As for wheels are tires I'd personally downgrade to a forged, 1-piece 18inch wheel, lower profile tire but wider.

[edkwok]

Falken Tires 452 are awesome on track for that price.... if you have $$, get R-compound tires

Stock brakes are ok on track, it does have abit fading... but if it is your first track event, no need to modify anything... go there and have fun and learn how your car perform before upgrade anything

[Louis J.]

Since you're just starting out, I would only worry about pads, helmet and wheels/tires. I know nothing about harneses for our cars since I just got mine yesterday. I've been shopping for a cheap AX/DE wheel/tire set and have been looking at Enkei Or52 (18x8.5, ET35 and 21lbs.) with Falken Azenis 615s. It's ~$1,100 for the combo at edgeracing.com. I don't agree that the 452s (300 tread wear rating) would be the best choice for track and I would steer clear of R comps until you have some experience behind you.

[dobos100]

Thank you guys for the advice. Hopefully I see you at the track.

[swoardrider]

Best mod for the track. Lets you concentrate on your driving, not on our shitty seats!

[swoardrider]

Stick with stock brakes. Change out pads with something like Hawks or Carbotechs and race fluid after you burn through the stock pads.
Run your 19's. Burn through 3 sets of street tires on them. If by then if you can still afford to track these damm cars, buy a set of lightweight 18's with something like the new Toyo R888's on them and get yourself a BBK.
If you still can afford to track it after all that, KO4 it!

[johnnybravo!]

Dobos..great to hear that you plan on tracking your A4!! Hope to meet up with you soon at either ButtonWillow or WillowSprings...Learning the 'line', corner exit speed, and braking are the 3 main areas you will be centering your focus for faster lap times. Making sure you do your part in getting your A4 closer to track-worthy status is a good thing.

1. Your B7 brakes should be fine for now provided that, as many will tell ya, you upgrade the brake pads(ie. Porterfield..Carbotech), switch to brake fluid with a higher boiling point( Motul 600 works for me) and ss lines..

2. You dont 'need' the harness/harness bar set-up to start tracking..your stock seatbelts are more than adequate(twist the belt 2-3 times before you buckle up) and your Recaros should do a pretty good job in keepin you planted ..

3. Source the lightest (sub 20 lbs)/strongest set of 17"-18" track wheels that your budget will allow..17"s would be quicker around the track and cheaper to buy... OZ ul's..TR Motorsport Mt1 are a few under $350 ea.. @Tirerack ...Volks or WedsSports are also excellent choices for more $$..all up to u man...
If u get a set of track-dedicated wheels your driving instructor would want you learn the fundamentals on non-r compound tires..Once you 'graduate' to HPDE 3/4/TT or equivalent then seriously consider R-rated tires.
I started tracking with Falken azenis Rt615's(about $140 -150) and now buy used Toyo RA1's & Hoosier R6's for relatively cheap..
I track at least once a month and i can give you much more info n details on what has worked for me..pm me anytime..
Streets of Willow with Redline next Friday for me!!
peace
Johnny Cerveza