s4sleepin

Hey guys, I took the S8 to a trackday last month at Watkins Glen and it was actually fun. It was everything that you would think it would be, along with being the only S8 there. I have been doing 4-5 trackdays a year for about the past 11 years, I run Intermediate because Advanced people are more crazy than me. The last time I was at the Glen was in a Nissan GT-R so this was a different experience with the exception of driving an automatic.

I ran the S8 in completely stock form, minus tire pressure (I was running 40 PSI hot at all corners, with success). I think I started with lower 30's PSI cold. The Conti's held up well, better than I thought they would.

The Good..
Impressive was the handling believe it or not. I left it in Dynamic mode with traction control off, which I think means "sport" and not totally off. Still feeling heavy, it would take a nice "set" going into a corner. The transmission was also impressive in its decision making. I intervened with the paddles only to find out that leaving it up to the computer yielded better results. Acceleration was fantastic and confident. I was using the "laptimer" and watching the oil temperature closely, the oil temperature remained consistent throughout the day but I did manage to burn 1.25 quarts of it.

The Bad...
The brakes gave it up early and I am not surprised. The pedal started to get soft near the end of the first half-hour session. Being cognizant of the braking issue, I adjusted accordingly and kept it cool on the straight sections to conserve them. By the time I got to the third half-hour session I had to end it early due to the brakes. There were a total of four half-hour sessions, I ended the last two within 15 minutes.

Finally...
The S8 is an amazing vehicle. After driving it hard, the only codes that came up in a VCDS scan were a TPMS code and the electronic differential lock function deactivated do to over temperature. Watkins Glen is a lengthy track with some fast sections, I do not think that the S8 would fare the same at a shorter, more technical track. I did this for fun and I do not plan to track the S8 again. I just wanted to share my experience and if anyone is thinking about it, upgrade the pads and fluid!

Trackday = $365
Passing a few sportscars while your seat massagers on = Priceless

Garycw

Sounds like fun. Thanks for sharing. And yes that sounds "priceless"

audisession

Dayuuuuum

jsilas

Brilliant. I love when people drive their cars hard. I'd love to do a track day in my S6. I suspect I'll have the same braking issues you did. So be it!

ionize

Niiice ! I'm hitting the dragstrip with mine this weekend, will post ET's !

audi40

+1

absent

Looks like you need S8 Plus with CCBs.

Jack88

Now that looks like all kinds of fun.