Survey: B8/B8.5 S4 driver experience (track)

[dp04A4]

It seems that a number of people track their S4s (perhaps other cars as well) on the forum. It would be interesting and revealing to know the kind of experiences people have. i.e. when you started driving on the track, how many days you have participated (a weekend event would mean 2 days), do you race? (SCCA, BMW CCA, PCA?), what tracks have you driven?

The mic is on...

[raudiace4]

Uhh you're gonna make westwest explode in his pants.

[S!Lver_S4]

What's a good track to go to for a first timer?... SoCal (Santa Barbara) closer the better. Would like to go when some other Audi guys go.

[Mike@PureMS]

Closest track to you would be Buttonwillow. ACNA is having an event there in November. Perfect chance for you to head out!

[canieat]

Any tracks around nyc/tri-state area for a first timer?

[KRS Aaron]

I'm going into my second year of racing my M3 with SCCA in the T3 class. I won Cen-div last season. I was in a Spec Miata for 5 years before that and did a bunch of Audi Club events before that. I had a 450+ hp TT that wad my gateway to racing and my Spec Miata. I am a member at Autobahn in Joliet so I started racing in the members series and then moved to SCCA and NASA. My team won the endurance championship at Autobahn and won many races with NASA in their endurance series and many podiums in their sprint series. SCCA was much tougher competition in SM but I did have some podiums and top 10 finishes. The M3 has been a great car and learning tool. Hopefully it will be my gateway into some pro racing. I have raced at Autobahn, Blackhawk Farms, Road America and Gingerman. I have also done a DE at Daytona and will be adding Mid Ohio, Grattan and Laguna Seca to the list this year for races in the SCCA Majors Tout and Runoffs.

I have only done recon laps in my S4 to show a friend around the track and then do some lead follow. It's not bad handling wise but the brakes are really not track worthy in stock form. If I was doing any type of event in my Audi I would upgrade the brakes for safety and leave everything else alone. As for beginner tracks, with any Audi Club event around the US they are going to start you with a very structured program to teach you how to drive on a track so where you choose to start should be based on where your club holds events and the caliber of their instructors. My wife, father, brother in law and sister have also done Audi Club events and all learned a lot from them. The Chicago Audi club is very strong with their instructor pool and stronger with the camaraderie and overall spirit. I race in SCCA with one of the dealer owners from the area and he is a huge supporter of the club as are the local tuners. We regularly have people from all over the US attend our events so all are encouraged to show up.

[shadycrew31]

Uhh you're gonna make westwest explode in his pants.

[dp04A4]

Any tracks around nyc/tri-state area for a first timer?

A number of tracks are within a few hours of drive from NYC. Lime Rock Park, Monticello Raceway, Jersey Motorsport Park, Poconos Raceway. A bit further north, there is Watkins Glen. All all excellent tracks except Poconos due to bumpiness. The best way to get started if you want to drive your S4 is to attend an Audi Club event...you would feel more at ease because there will be many Audis of similar performance level in your run group. It makes learning a bit less intimidating in the beginning.

[dp04A4]

Uhh you're gonna make westwest explode in his pants.

Apparently, west is too busy learning all about engine braking at the moment

[levinsje]

I have my first track event this weekend.
My 2014 S4 is a stock daily driver but I am taking my 2001 Porsche 996 turbo to a PCA DE event at the Carolina Motorsports Park.

[isles1]

A number of tracks are within a few hours of drive from NYC. Lime Rock Park, Monticello Raceway, Jersey Motorsport Park, Poconos Raceway. A bit further north, there is Watkins Glen. All all excellent tracks except Poconos due to bumpiness. The best way to get started if you want to drive your S4 is to attend an Audi Club event...you would feel more at ease because there will be many Audis of similar performance level in your run group. It makes learning a bit less intimidating in the beginning.

Other than the "lip" on transition from the North infield course back to the tri-oval just before NASCAR Turn 2, what part of Pocono do you consider bumpy? I believe the entire infield was repaved and widened last year. I am running at Pocono again this May, so I guess I'll see if anything has changed.

I have only driven Monticello during Porsche and Cadillac sponsored/run events. It is a great track but is otherwise limited to members. I would be curious to know if there are any groups that have a Monticello event on its 2014 calendar.

People rave about Watkins Glen and Lime Rock. I am running Lime Rock in this Fall; I cannot fit Watkins Glen in this year.

[Shaman]

Just don't launch the car into the air over the hill at the Rock. ;)

[BirdmanQ5]

Took my Q5 for a track day, that was a lot of fun but I likely won't do it with the S4 as I'm kinda hoping for a long relationship with this one. Just hoping I can ditch the soundaktor for AWE or Milltek Valvesonic, that will keep me happy :)

Definitely good to hit the track and get to really know your car at least once

[dp04A4]

Other than the "lip" on transition from the North infield course back to the tri-oval just before NASCAR Turn 2, what part of Pocono do you consider bumpy? I believe the entire infield was repaved and widened last year. I am running at Pocono again this May, so I guess I'll see if anything has changed.

I have only driven Monticello during Porsche and Cadillac sponsored/run events. It is a great track but is otherwise limited to members. I would be curious to know if there are any groups that have a Monticello event on its 2014 calendar.

People rave about Watkins Glen and Lime Rock. I am running Lime Rock in this Fall; I cannot fit Watkins Glen in this year.

The whole infield section was too narrow and a number of places (which you pointed out) was just way too rough for my liking. I have avoided Poconos like a plague for years. Maybe with the repave, it's much improved, but I am just not fond of oval/infield tracks in general. Doesn't do much for me.

Both LRP and WGI deserve the reputation. They are proper road racing circuits, although they are quite different in character. But both circuits deserve utmost respect from the driver. This is difference between tracks on the East vs West coast. Tracks on the East coast have less run-off area due to the topography compared to some of the tracks on the West coast.

[dp04A4]

Just don't launch the car into the air over the hill at the Rock. ;)

Front tires would definitely get very light if correctly driven over the hill...it's a cool sensation though.

[vwong]

I started with autox back in 1998 with my 98 Prelude. I think I went to every event up to end of 2005, then on and off in 2006 and 2007. Took a break in 2008, and came back in 2009 when I got the BMW. I competed in SCCA SoloII (autox) in my Prelude from 1998 to 2003 and 2005, my Integra in 2002 in a different region, co-drove an S2000 in 2004, my 335i in 2010, my S4 in 2011 and 2012. I won several regional championships (2001 LA region STS class with the Prelude, 2002 SD region STS class with the Integra, 2003 LA region STX class with the Prelude, 2010 LA region SK1 class with the 335i, 2011 LA region SK1 class with the S4) and couple 1st runner up (2002 LA region STX class in the Prelude, 2012 LA region SK1 class in the S4).

For tracks, my first event was in 1999 with my Prelude. I went to couple track events per year until around 2004 when I started going more often. I competed in Redline Time Attack several times, won twice in my class. Some where in 2006 was when I decided to turn my Prelude into a race car for NASA Honda Challenge, but I blew the engine which set me back on my budget. Then my twin girls came along in 2010, so now that race car project is on hold.

[westwest888]

I keep a spreadsheet that I think has most of my track weekends, but it's possible I missed one. In reverse chronological order:

Laguna Seca
Thunderhill
Sonoma
Laguna Seca
Buttonwillow
Thunderhill
Thunderhill
Thunderhill
Sonoma
Thunderhill
Buttonwillow
Laguna Seca
Thunderhill
Sonoma
Buttonwillow
Watkins Glen
VIR
NJMP
Road Atlanta
Summit Point
Summit Point
Summit Point

[vpr80]

I have only done recon laps in my S4 to show a friend around the track and then do some lead follow. It's not bad handling wise but the brakes are really not track worthy in stock form. If I was doing any type of event in my Audi I would upgrade the brakes for safety and leave everything else alone.

Care to elaborate? Front calipers, rotors and pads? Or just calipers and pads? (I assume calipers are a must). 18" or 19" for the track? (To size the calipers).

[KRS Aaron]

Care to elaborate? Front calipers, rotors and pads? Or just calipers and pads? (I assume calipers are a must). 18" or 19" for the track? (To size the calipers).

I would upgrade the pads, fluid and lines but of course you will need a brake bleeder for this. The pedal got mushy very quickly as the brakes and fluid heated up. My approach has been to change a few things at a time to see what improvements can be gained before making dramatic changes. On my M3, the brakes are the stock brakes other than the pads and lines. They are phenomenal and are a testament to the fact that great engineering with minor changes yields very good results. Would I like them to be upgraded to a BBK? Sure, but I have to race what I'm allowed to and I'm impressed. The brakes on my Spec Miata were stock as well except for the pads and lines. This leads me to believe that if I wanted to set up my S4 for track days, making the changes to the brakes I have on my other cars would yield similar results. Now obviously the S4 has weight on both of those cars but the M3 was run at 3500 lbs which is not light by most standards but if the purpose is to learn, then focus on the easy changes to make.

[vpr80]

Thank you!!! I was looking around after I posted this and BBK kits are a sizable investment.

[dp04A4]

I started DE events with BMW CCA in 1992. Over the years, raced mainly in BMW CCA, some SCCA enduro races (13 hr @ VIR) and NASA races. I ran my E30 M3 race car for the most part in addition to E36 325i (enduro races), Honda S2000 and 997 GT3. I have not driven my S4 on track yet, part of me wants to give it a try but I don't want to be disappointed. I took a B7 RS4 onto LRP, I came right back in before completing one lap. I felt like driving a boat.

Here is a list of tracks I have run over the years:

Bridgehampton (long gone sadly)
Lime Rock Park
Poconos (various configurations)
Watkins Glen
NJ Motorsport Park
Monticello
Mont Tremblant
Virginia International Raceway
Summit Point
Road Atlanta (the best track IMO, fast FAST sweepers)
Sebring
Sears Point

I used to keep a spreadsheet of the number of events participated, but stopped doing it after counting over 100 days spent at Lime Rock Park alone.