Project A4

[ScottyB]

Well it's that time kids. the racing season is gradually getting colder, holidays will soon be upon us, and the hoarding of parts for next spring's track season begins. time for me to start building my car up for autocross and track days! i want to get an early start so i'm going to be making some changes soon, and i thought i'd dedicate a thread to it for those interested and as a guide if anyone has an audi or other german car. i also want you opinions! many of you are far more knowledgable in this area than me, so your wisdom is appreciated. so far this thread will simply be about kicking off my project, so if you are expecting me to be balls deep in A4 engine parts already then you'll be dissapointed.

my goal with the A4 is to have a daily driver capable of being well suited to autocross and reliable as a fun track car every now and then. i also want to keep my car as stock in appearance as possible, not only because i like the sleeper effect, but i also want to avoid hassle if i ever choose to sell the car for some unknown reason. my funds will prohibit me from spending a huge amount of time in HPDE's, which is for the best anyhow as i have enough on my plate in other aspects of life.

some may ask, why not save the money in mods for this car and simply save up for a dedicated track car? basically it comes down to 3 major things: (A) i want on track, bad, like real bad and i can't wait (B) i feel that i have enough maturity to start out slow so my risk of wadding up the car is less © i love my car and i will enjoy making it faster, and then justifying those modification by pushing the car on track and pushing my own skill to utilize those changes in any environment i encounter. the A4 has alot of potential to be fast, so i don't think it's a lost cause at all.

so, onto the mods. there are about 5 weak points that the A4 stumbles upon when it comes to serious enthusiast driving. i plan to remedy these poor qualities in order of importance to reliable enthusiastic driving:

1 - brakes
2 - heat
3 - grip, especially power-on understeer
4 - top end power
5 - safety

there is a reason safety is less of a priority right now, and that is because (as pointed out in Hunter's thread on a cage) in order to totally deck the car out for track work, i'd need fixed seats, harnesses, and a cage, which would defeat my purpose of keeping the utility of the A4 as a 4 person sedan. eventually, though, i will add the serious safety gear as my skill and speed increase.

back to the list. i have no desire to experience brake fade, no matter what venue it may be in. for that reason, i'm going to be upgrading not only the pads, but the rotors as well. now, i'd love to go nuts and get the "stage XXXX" alcon brake kit with 2 peice 14 inch floating rotors, but i'd rather not blow all my budget on the front brakes, thanks . i also want more heat capacity than the stock rotors will allow for. for this reason, i'm going to go with a well concieved, but still budget conscious kit from ECS Tuning, a popular tuning group specializing in VAG cars.

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this kit utilizes ALL stock OEM audi products (although rotors are made by zimmerman, who supplies replacement products for audi) so it is durable and more budget conscious. the TT carriers will pull the caliper out from the rotor a bit to fit the larger and thicker A8 rotors. of course, pads will be added in addition to this kit, most likely Ferodo DS 2500. this pad is highly recommended by those who track the A4 so i will go with their recomendations. this brake upgrade will add some unsprung weight, but i intend to remedy that with some lighter track wheels in time.

again i'd like to hear advice/opinions. this is all i have to bore you with right now, but this project will be under way soon.