Just Me

I know that facts are discouraged here, in favor of lively debate, but i thought i'd post my recent experience with preparing my 2002 S6 avant for a 3-day track weekend at VIR.

This is not a track car. i have one of those, but wanted to run the Big Pig sometime. I have -1 tires (245/50-16 ZR); ST coil-overs (not slammed), -1.7 deg camber all around, corner weighted. OK, overkill for the street, but that stuff matters.

Since i planned to drive sedately (for the track), my only real concern was safety. No desire to plow down the back straight at 120, enter the left-hander #14 into the roller coaster and have NO BRAKES!!!!!!!

I installed Stoptech 309 track/street pads (1200 deg MOT) all around, and flushed the fluid with 600 deg dry BP motul clone (also from ST).

A few data points: I drove fairly easy. I did not push for top speed at end of straights. I did not threshold brake. In fact i don't recall engaging ABS. Nonetheless, on 45-50 deg days, after a cool-down lap, my front rotors read 560 deg (F). That's much hotter than my Boxster's brakes get under heavier use. I guess this correlates to 700-900 during the time they are in actual, hard use - this means OEM pads would have melted.

Friction, feel, were great. No fade noted. Brakes did begin to pulsate at hottest times, but this was not rotor warp-age - just molten pad deposits and went away of its own accord.

Unless you are quite the hot shoe and pushing very hard, i heartily recommend this setup. Its great for the street too (I don't remove these pads from my Boxster and run them 365 on the street). At least of you have an S6 or similar with HP-2s or similar, a BBK does not appear to be necessary.

Caliper temps never measured (again, in the paddock after cool-down) much over 300 deg, and rarely that. So it may be that normal ate200 or pentosin or even Castrol GT-LMA might have been OK, but why take a risk? At minimum i'd have fresh ate200 in there (in retrospect would have been fine).

Overall car was surprisingly good on the track. I stayed with an intermediate run group of Track-ready Porsches through the twisties, but was mutilated, despite my biog honkin V8, on the straights. I did down-class myself so as not to be "that guy" holding people up or, worse, become competitive and push too hard in a car i don't really know on the track.

In summary: stock HP-2 calipers are more than adequate for modest track use. Stoptech 309 pads were more than up to the task. Fade was not an issue. Rotor temps did exceed the MOT for most, even good, street pads.

Juts thought this might be useful.

Grant

AnimuS'Avant

Hey Grant, Nice to see that you're getting that honkin' S6 out and haulin' ***. I do one or two track days a year with the Quattro club and I too find that my S4 Avant runs a lot better after a day on the track. Good tip on the Stoptech 309 pads. How much rotor wear did you get?

Is your Boxster a dedicated track car? It must be quite a shock to face all that understeer after driving a Boxster!

best,

Frank

Just Me

Rotor wear: 309s are pretty easy on rotors. I had new rotors a few months before the event, and wear is still barely noticeable - pads are also 3/4+ remaining.

Boxster is a DD, but i am in the process of a track car project.

The difference between the two is pretty stark, but as noted, at least with all the suspension work i did and a fairly smooth driving style, the Big Pig did remarkably well.

Maybe i was just slow :-)

I would guess the S4 avant is better suited to track use - but again, my S6 is pretty far from stock these days, even though my reason for the coilovers etc was merely to replace worn-out suspension (and a broken, as in "in half", rear spring).

Cars are made to be driven. Having it on track taught me what it can really do, and wht happens as the limit approaches.

Is your S4 a B5? B6? B7? (I had a B5 sedan once)

Grant