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Stealthy Frankenfiesta

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Cantrell can't seem to get more the -1 deg camber with my setup. Could be due to my wanting to keep the ride height tall with the coilovers.
Interesting, with stock suspension and bolts -1 deg should be achievable.
I have the SPC camber bolts on the front (top bolts only, not the bottom) and -3 was easily achievable.
My Bilstein PSS are set to the top of the adjustment range and my ground clearance is the same as stock although my wheel gap is a bit less since I have taller tires
 


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meFiSTo

meFiSTo

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Thread Starter #142
Interesting, with stock suspension and bolts -1 deg should be achievable.
I have the SPC camber bolts on the front (top bolts only, not the bottom) and -3 was easily achievable.
My Bilstein PSS are set to the top of the adjustment range and my ground clearance is the same as stock although my wheel gap is a bit less since I have taller tires
Car is back to the shop for a nut and bolt in front of the Audi event next weekend and Colin will take a closer look at what might be blocking the suspension from dialing in more negative camber. I have the H&R camber bolts, which are very similar to the SPC things.

I also have a couple of videos you might find interesting regarding the "double apex" move at The Ridge. I'll post them later. One is from following my friend Pete in his 944 with a chevy engine; the other is from inside his supercharged BRZ.

Update:

Here's the video showing the double-apex move (driving his Chevy V8 powered 944 body):

[video=youtube;4Xx8IC9WLKQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Xx8IC9WLKQ&feature=youtu.be[/video]


Here's a view from inside his supercharged Subaru BRZ.

[video=youtube;SqK5L8vokok]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqK5L8vokok[/video]
 


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Absolutely love this build. If I weren't competing in HS for autocross, I'd be doing really similar mods but then again...my car is just a lease so I can't do much to it. hehehe...

Keep up the good work.
 


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meFiSTo

meFiSTo

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Thread Starter #144
Absolutely love this build. If I weren't competing in HS for autocross, I'd be doing really similar mods but then again...my car is just a lease so I can't do much to it. hehehe...

Keep up the good work.
Thanks, man! Good luck in your autocross fun! I'm really interested now to see what the two mountune upgrades look like. Could be a winter visit to the shop for a big personality adjustment, Woohoo.

Also, [MENTION=997]justinsane[/MENTION]: Turns out Colin's crew was able to get -2.2 left and -2.3 right negative camber in the front (back is what it is, essentially stock). Looking forward to seeing if that translates into a little more mid-turn grip. Unfortunately, Audi does not permit data-logging at their HPDE events. I'll pop a GoPro clone in there, but it won't quite be the same from a diagnostic POV. Sigh.
 


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Also, [MENTION=997]justinsane[/MENTION]: Turns out Colin's crew was able to get -2.2 left and -2.3 right negative camber in the front (back is what it is, essentially stock). Looking forward to seeing if that translates into a little more mid-turn grip. Unfortunately, Audi does not permit data-logging at their HPDE events. I'll pop a GoPro clone in there, but it won't quite be the same from a diagnostic POV. Sigh.
Awesome I wonder what held them back last time. When I ran -3 camber I found the rears couldn't keep up hence why I dialed it back.
My rear tires had massive blue rings on them from overheating, running a fairly low tire pressure
-2.2/-2.3 should be reasonably well balanced [idea]
 


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meFiSTo

meFiSTo

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Thread Starter #146
Not entirely sure what the issue was, but insisting for them to look again helped be more thorough. I think the original installing tech missed the top adjustment slots when the suspension went in. He's no longer there. Colin et al looked at it a little more carefully and figured it out.


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meFiSTo

meFiSTo

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Thread Starter #147
Audi Club NW event at The Ridge 8/20/16

Summary

Date(s): 8/20/16

Location: The Ridge Motorsports Park, Shelton, WA

Group: Audi Club Northwest

Conditions: Very, very hot.

High temps: Morning: Mid 70s to start, to low 90s by noon. Afternoon: Mid to upper 90s.

Fast lap time: Slow; stopped data-logging after second session.

This day was expected to be very hot. It did not disappoint. I quit after the first session in the afternoon; completed three sessions total. This was probably my least satisfying lapping day since 2006. I did take a break from 2011 to 2015, but still, this was not a very enjoyable day for me. It was really too hot and the program was not to my style. I?ll explain in more detail.


Details

The Audi Club NW has built out its educational effort considerably since I last tracked with them in 2005. Without going into specifics, their HPDE program was the most comprehensive instructional initiative that I?ve ever seen delivered by a marque-based car club. It?s really perfect for new HPDE participants. It involved debriefs for all groups after every lapping session.

I?m not going to claim to be an expert driver and, like most non-experts, I can always use coaching (and welcome it). However, after nearly 60 track days, I?m not a beginner. However, since I had not been out with Audi is many years, they treated me like one. What I thought was going to be a single-session checkout ride-along turned out to be a constant tutorial throughout three lapping sessions. It did not help that I was a little loose about hitting apexes, but frankly after a while the constant talking (blue tooth ear bud) did not help.

My recorded ?best? lap times were 20 seconds slower than my typical times from my prior visit (three weeks prior to this visit). It got to the point that the incessant coaching in my ear really affected my concentration. It?s why I stopped early. It was incredibly distracting and made me wonder why I?d spent $265 to be there. I was happy to pack up and head home. It made me remember why I had stopped driving with Audi club in the first place ten years ago.

While the event?s cost structure was very fair, the number of sessions (one 15 minute session and one 20 minute session in the morning) was way off my prior two visits. With Cantrell, I got 90 minutes of track time in the morning alone -- and completed the better part of six 30 minute sessions that day. I went through 1-1/2 tanks of gas at the Cantrell day. I did not even use half a tank of gas at the Audi event. My tires didn?t even come up to pressure in the first session with Audi.

I like getting coached, but what I really prefer is to get some coaching, then go out and practice on my own in quiet. It allows me to concentrate. I?ll never be a perfect driver and will always dial back a little from all out, but I usually have fun. I did not have one minute of fun at the Audi event. The "checkout" instructor would not get out of the car and would not stop talking. Gack. He was a fine guy and knowledgeable. It just did not work for me.

There were some other peculiarities at this event. There was no conventional "point by" process. Instead drivers used turn signals. Left to indicate passing and right to indicate moving over for passing. They also did not have a formal cool-down lap. VERY odd for 97 deg F temps. And despite trying to compress the sessions, they had the fewest number of a.m. sessions of any event I've ever attended.

What lead to the compressed time for each session? A lot of drivers and a separate run group for instructors. In all, 89 drivers on Saturday. I was in the largest group (intermediate). Because I spent the entire event with an instructor (and driving slower than normal), I spent a lot of time checking mirrors and letting folks by. That was just another distraction. Coupled with the oddball signaling procedure (really only had to worry about doing a right signal though) and the constant stream of directions, well, I drove like terribly. Bleh.


Photos from club photographer Peter Vu:












My car cooling off after the second session:




My lesson from this event: Remember why I like certain groups and don?t like others. Stick with the ones I like.
 


razorlab

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My lesson from this event: Remember why I like certain groups and don?t like others. Stick with the ones I like.
So true, so true. I ventured out of my normal group years back and remember almost getting hit five times in the second session (in advanced / open passing session!), I packed up after that session and went home. The entry fee wasn't worth the danger. That group was horrible, the people where out of control and it was obvious the group was doing nothing to contain it.

Went back to my favorite group and been happy ever since.

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience.
 


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meFiSTo

meFiSTo

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Thread Starter #149
So true, so true. I ventured out of my normal group years back and remember almost getting hit five times in the second session (in advanced / open passing session!), I packed up after that session and went home. The entry fee wasn't worth the danger. That group was horrible, the people where out of control and it was obvious the group was doing nothing to contain it.

Went back to my favorite group and been happy ever since.

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience.
Yeah. I'm a total convert to open passing now, but you have to be with people you trust to be on the ball. Locally, Cantrell is the group I like that runs an open passing policy. Nearly all the drivers are his clients or referrals by his clients. They are all very good drivers. I'm, by far, the slowest, but driving with them allows me to have many mostly open laps, quick mid-turn let bys, and the opportunity to follow some fast drivers through technical parts of the track. I like it. I don't think Audi is unsafe. They just run very crowded groups and their program emphasis makes me drive with less focus. Not my cup of tea.
 


M-Sport fan

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IF you do the Spa gauge(s) (in your 'possible future mods' section), would you use the plate you currently have for the Mishimoto oil cooler lines (does it have extra NPT threaded holes in it??), or some other method/plate??

Also, is the fear of rubbing fenders or bodywork the only reason you are not using the 15x8 1.2s with the 205/50s for TRACK use, but using them for the street with 205/50s is OK?
 


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meFiSTo

meFiSTo

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Thread Starter #151
IF you do the Spa gauge(s) (in your 'possible future mods' section), would you use the plate you currently have for the Mishimoto oil cooler lines (does it have extra NPT threaded holes in it??), or some other method/plate??

Also, is the fear of rubbing fenders or bodywork the only reason you are not using the 15x8 1.2s with the 205/50s for TRACK use, but using them for the street with 205/50s is OK?
Regarding the sandwich plate: I think so, yes. It has two spots for sensor fittings (oil temp and pressure).

Regarding the tires: Well, I have 225/45-15s on there now, which might see use at the track if I go for the mountune big turbo upgrade this winter. TBD. The 205/50-15s on 15x7 rims seem to be working fine given my current setup. I'm not really going all out for low times. More meat, more speed, more braking, more energy transfer, more wear and tear. I'm already getting a little shiny sheen at the top of my transmission fluid. Cantrell does not think it is a worry (suggests some synchro wear), but the last thing i need is a transmission failure. We'll have to keep an eye on what comes out of there when we swap fluids in the spring. Sigh. i should have never mentioned this to my wife when she asked me what I was thinking about while we sipped lattes this a.m. at Starbucks after picking up the car. I told her and it caused a swirl of questions I could not answer.
 


M-Sport fan

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Are you going to try the Motul Gear 300, like others on here who track their cars, or stick with the Red Line, Motul, or factory Motorcraft DCT fluid when you change the gearbox fluid??
 


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meFiSTo

meFiSTo

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Thread Starter #153
Are you going to try the Motul Gear 300, like others on here who track their cars, or stick with the Red Line, Motul, or factory Motorcraft DCT fluid when you change the gearbox fluid??
It's a conversation I'll have with Cantrell when it comes time to swap out all the fluids.
 


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meFiSTo

meFiSTo

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Thread Starter #154
After a laid back day at The Ridge with the SCCA kids mid-month, car finally went back to the shop today. The TurboTech Racing (TTR) mounts are coming out and the stock mounts are going back in (plus a couple of winter changes). The Cobb rear mount does enough work keeping things steady for me. While I did love the effect of the TTR mounts at the track, 3 to 4 track events a year do not warrant such a harsh daily drive. I don't like driving it around town with the level of stiffness added by the mounts, so I've avoided driving the car. I hardly drive much anyway, so that car was sitting in the garage between track days this summer. Not what I wanted. If I get the big mountune turbo, I might wind up feeling differently, but I doubt it. Around town and freeway drivability is important to me, really more important than extracting the last bit of control over the car's demeanor at the track. Frankenfiesta might become a little more torque-steery, but it won't be unmanageable with that dogbone installed.

TTR mounts will be going up for sale soon.
 


M-Sport fan

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How do the TRR mounts compare to the [MENTION=952]frankiefiesta[/MENTION] 'filled' mounts as far as NVH and durometer goes, much stiffer, the same,?? [dunno]
 


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meFiSTo

meFiSTo

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Thread Starter #156
No idea whatsoever. I'd guess these to be stiffer, but that is pure speculation.


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After a laid back day at The Ridge with the SCCA kids mid-month, car finally went back to the shop today. The TurboTech Racing (TTR) mounts are coming out and the stock mounts are going back in (plus a couple of winter changes). The Cobb rear mount does enough work keeping things steady for me. While I did love the effect of the TTR mounts at the track, 3 to 4 track events a year do not warrant such a harsh daily drive. I don't like driving it around town with the level of stiffness added by the mounts, so I've avoided driving the car. I hardly drive much anyway, so that car was sitting in the garage between track days this summer. Not what I wanted. If I get the big mountune turbo, I might wind up feeling differently, but I doubt it. Around town and freeway drivability is important to me, really more important than extracting the last bit of control over the car's demeanor at the track. Frankenfiesta might become a little more torque-steery, but it won't be unmanageable with that dogbone installed.

TTR mounts will be going up for sale soon.
I am sorry to hear that. I daily my focus with full TTR mounts and have over 75K miles on her and the mounts do settle and break in nicely. It takes a little time such as anything new, but they do settle. Maybe you should try driving on them a little more?

Just a thought
 


BoostBumps

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[MENTION=952]frankiefiesta[/MENTION] [MENTION=4448]amarweb@sithracing[/MENTION]

*some posts removed / thread cleaned...

Suggestion...Please take discussions regarding the merits of why you believe your motor mounts are more cost effective (without mentioning another forum Vendor) to your own threads...

thank you
 


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[MENTION=952]frankiefiesta[/MENTION] [MENTION=4448]amarweb@sithracing[/MENTION]

*some posts removed / thread cleaned...

Suggestion...Please take discussions regarding the merits of why you believe your motor mounts are more cost effective (without mentioning another forum Vendor) to your own threads...

thank you
That sounds fantastic.

Thanks!

Adam
 


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meFiSTo

meFiSTo

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Thread Starter #160
I am sorry to hear that. I daily my focus with full TTR mounts and have over 75K miles on her and the mounts do settle and break in nicely. It takes a little time such as anything new, but they do settle. Maybe you should try driving on them a little more?

Just a thought
Hah. I think these are great additions for anyone serious about managing power application, but while it matters to me, having a relaxed conversation or listening to a Freakonomics podcast while I'm cruising to a track day is more valuable to me. As far as putting more miles on, well, even if I turn this into my daily driver (which might happen in the future, but is not likely for several years), I won't put that many miles on. It has about 3800 miles on it now (landed here at the house in May 2014). This summer I've put the most miles on it for any 3 month stretch due to track days, and still very low miles. I just don't drive that much (totally a teleworker). My 2004 daily driver Audi wagon has 54,000 miles on it. That includes a fair number of trips to Vancouver and Portland.

So the idea of "driving on them a little more" to settle it out is kind of not practical.

Someone is going to get a decent deal on quality set of engine mounts.
 




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