What a day! First road lapping event, and first time doing the 1/4 mile

**S4Per** · 07-13-2013 12:49 AM

Couldn't have asked for a better day! Weather was good, and I took care of two firsts: road course and 1/4 mile. Pacific Raceways was the setting. Road event was excellent...my instructor knows a thing or two about the RS4 (has his own) and on my ride along with him I found out what it's like to drive the car near its limits...wow....amazing what this car can do ('this car' = RS4..he was driving his and I was riding along). Sessions got progressively better as I got more comfortable. Hitting a little over 140 on the front straight was enough for me, though it certainly could've gone a bit more. All in all: learned a ton, and learned I have so much more to learn to drive this car well. Car did excellent all up: Carbotech RP2 pads were awesome, and the power was just there and plentiful. I think a little fine tuning in the upper rpm for part throttle will help in future road events (already spoke with Jason about it and he's on it).

EDIT: here's the video...only did it for one session, and may have missed some of the better pieces.

That was the first half of the day..transition to the evening where the Test & Tune started for a big drag racing weekend. Amazing rigs pulled in with everything from old school dragsters (hitting 7's) to Junior dragsters running the 1/8th (kids driving) to bikes, etc. Lots of folks in for this one. Having never done this before, I was definitely a bit nervous, but managed to get my launch control set and make it up to the tree. First time around, the launch was all a blur :) I didn't focus at all on hitting the light (since I'm not really racing anyone, though someone is next to me) and just wanted to get a solid run in. RPM's turned out to be a bit high, and wayyy too much tire pressure from earlier had me wheel hopping the car off the line, but otherwise it was ok: 12.06 @ 118. Let the car cool for a bit, and felt a bit more confident for the second one. Tire pressure down, rpm on launch down, and I had a reasonable get away (and I couldn't help myself - I tried to time the light, and likely had some beginners luck).

End of the run: 11.95 @ 118.97. That was good enough for me. FYI: the car had everything in it: all seats, etc. Mods listed in my sig are current. All things considered, I think that's a very reasonable result compared to the 11.81 Jason posted with it with back seats and bench removed (and him driving :) ).

EDIT: Here's the 11.95 pass...

In the end, all I can say is: what an awesome day! Love this car :)

Cheers,
Per

**madkimchi** · 07-13-2013 01:26 AM

good stuff! thanks for sharing! i wish i knew about the event. i am local and want to hit the track with my car.

**dufferdude** · 07-13-2013 02:01 AM

Good to hear that you and the car had fun. Hell of a reaction time there too.

How was the track? I've heard and seen that its pretty rough in places. Need new tires?
Are you going to the Ridge on 8-17 & 18? I have to work.

**-Boosted-** · 07-13-2013 02:21 AM

Damn, wish I could have been there but could not get off of work. Glad you had a great time....looking forward to the videos.

**svirk2** · 07-13-2013 04:12 AM

That's fast

**badbluers4** · 07-13-2013 06:00 AM

Good stuff and glad you got out there for both events!!! It's all about the fun and learning in my book.

**AussieDan** · 07-13-2013 07:38 AM

Great result per, glad to hear you're having fun!

**Axel-** · 07-13-2013 07:50 AM

Nicely done! Especially for a first time out.

**Alister** · 07-13-2013 07:52 AM

Nice time S4Per - great work!

**S4Per** · 07-13-2013 12:04 PM

Thanks all! Still grinning this morning :)
Bob - yes, the track is actually pretty beat up. Big wavy bumps just past turn 9, really bad pavement heading into 8, and overall - it could use a makeover. That said, it's a fantastically interesting and technically challenging track.
Bill - was looking for you in the morning, too bad you couldn't make it! Lots of RS4's there though to represent (4-5?). Dave's (running the AMD HP kit) the most ferocious sounding car on the track overall, with French's monster B5 in close second sound wise, but definitely first in overall speed (nice to be 1,000lbs lighter!).

Edit: Tires are OK right now, but they certainly took a beating. Trying to figure out what the next event will be for me; not sure yet. Definitely will do one more though this summer...it'll probably be the Ridge (I hear that track is in excellent shape).

**EUROSWAGR** · 07-13-2013 12:47 PM

Per great job at the strip you must be able to drive that thing well! Although most guys think it is just boring because you go in a straight line (which most of them have never been and or are afraid to fail at it) How did you like it? I think it's a rush and then when you actually run good the rush can last for days.

Again, good to see you driving this thing like it should be driven.

We can only wish for DA like you probably had out here in NC the middle of july. It's usually 95+ and 1000% humidity...ya 1000 not 100

**S4Per** · 07-13-2013 01:28 PM

Thanks Euro!
It is a rush and I can definitely see how it can be addicting to run the 1/4. It doesn't seem like you need to keep track of a lot, but getting everything just right in your head so you execute well is definitely a challenge, and it's interesting to learn what happens when trying different rpm's / tire pressure, etc. All in all, it was definitely a blast :) While I'll focus my time and effort on the road course with this car, I won't turn down another opportunity to take it down the strip. And yes...weather was great all day!

**S4Per** · 07-13-2013 01:57 PM

All right...here's one lap at Pacific Raceways with Harry's Lap Timer overlay. Couldn't wind it out on the straightaway with car in front on this lap. Note: our Audi club is very adamant about not disclosing lap times online, hence I've blocked that out. Loved my instructor, btw!

**badbluers4** · 07-13-2013 03:39 PM

Very cool Per!! That looks like a really fun track!! I can kind of get a feel for the acceleration with the blower, but I gotta see some more LOL 110 in the corner was pretty nice. You definitely could have gotten on that Z in the end on the straight. :) good times for sure!!

**S4Per** · 07-13-2013 04:54 PM

Yeah, it's a fun track for sure. Amazing what people who know what they're doing could do on it. People hitting 165mph on that straight (the AMD HP fitted RS4, for example)! and in general flying around the track faster than I can imagine doing at this point. As far as the blower acceleration - - it's awesome, and a world of difference from stock. Even my veteran instructor was walking off contemplating his next mod ;). Endless torque and power!

**dufferdude** · 07-13-2013 04:59 PM

that was fun to watch. I bet the old heart rate was up there too?
Much better then the parade lap i took at sovern.

**S4Per** · 07-13-2013 07:04 PM

Definitely got the adrenaline flowing....pants were still relatively clean at the end of the day :p

**-Boosted-** · 07-13-2013 08:50 PM

Damn, I wish I could have gone....I'm dying to see how my car will do. The last time I was on that track was in 2011 with my GT500. I was hitting 157mph at the end of the straight-away although I would lose a bunch of speed in the corners "drifting" lol....

I am definitely going to make it out at least once this summer. Lets all shoot for The Ridge.

**S4Per** · 07-14-2013 10:53 AM

Originally Posted by madkimchi

good stuff! thanks for sharing! i wish i knew about the event. i am local and want to hit the track with my car.

Are you a member of the Audi club? They do a great job of letting people know about upcoming events.

**S4Per** · 07-14-2013 11:40 AM

Originally Posted by -Boosted-

Lets all shoot for The Ridge.

I'm in. Will do one day only, though...not sure if 17th or 18th yet. Likely the 17th.

**-Boosted-** · 07-14-2013 11:52 AM

Originally Posted by S4Per

I'm in. Will do one day only, though...not sure if 17th or 18th yet. Likely the 17th.

Cool, lets pick a day early so I can make it.

**S4Per** · 07-14-2013 03:15 PM

Here's the 1/4 mile pass. A special thanks to my fan club (Zach) who you can hear at the end of the vid ;)
I think a few beers helped the cheering!

**S4Per** · 07-15-2013 09:52 AM

Originally Posted by -Boosted-

I was hitting 157mph at the end of the straight-away although I would lose a bunch of speed in the corners "drifting" lol....

Yours are bigger than mine, Bill ;)

**-Boosted-** · 07-15-2013 10:10 AM

Originally Posted by S4Per

Yours are bigger than mine, Bill ;)

haha, nah. Different car that I had spent a lot of time behind the wheel of. Knowing that the HP AMD equipped RS went 165 gives me an idea of what the differences are between the GT500 and boosted RS in terms of power/performance.

My guess is your car should be capable of 155 once you get used to it.