3 days of intense tracking at Tremblant with both the BMW club of Boston and Quebec (long) ...
08-11-2008, 06:13 PM
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3 days of intense tracking at Tremblant with both the BMW club of Boston and Quebec (long) ...
All part of their BAB event (Bimmers Across the Border).
It was a combine HPDE and Club Racing event. On Friday it was mainly open track for the instructors and the racers. Almost 5 hours of track time available! On Saturday and Sunday it was busy. Between 2 students and their runs and the racing going on we only had three 30 minute sessions.
Weather wise we got pretty darn lucky. On Friday we did get some rain but we also had some dry track time. Saturday was rain free and we got a rain shower late on Sunday afternoon when the event was almost over.
One of my students was from the GTA. He came with an E36 M3 race car. I'm sure some of you GTA track junkies know him because he also owns a Ferrari 360 Challenge race car. In any case it was his first time here at Tremblant and I think he loved the track.
Now about my car (three problems to deal with this weekend)...
It's not a secret but since I removed most of the electronics I have had a serious mid throttle problem with lots of hesitation and very rough running. It's as if when part throttle is requested from about 3500 RPM to 4500 RPM the car starts bouncing from on boost to off boost rapidly and making the car extremely hard to drive precisely especially in a corner. It jerks around violently and thus makes it impossible to control properly through a turn. When this happens it sounds and feels like it is backfiring and indeed that's what most people think when they hear it on the track. They have even told me that big flames come out from both exhaust ports. This was very apparent at Calabogie. However at Tremblant I'm almost always on full throttle or off throttle, very little mid throttle position so less of a problem. I'm pretty sure this problem is causing a loss of power too.
Another problem that became apparent since I have the new AIM MXL Pista data logger in place is the IAT. I don't recall seeing my IAT ever going over 45 to maybe 50 degrees Celsius at most with my dual intercooler set up. But now that I see the IAT reading on my Pista I saw temperatures up to 72 C this weekend! That is way too much and I'm pretty sure because of this my power was down too. The R8, some STIs and the GT3s were all pulling on me on the straits. However E46 M3s and a B7 S4 were pretty well matched to my acceleration. We think we know what's causing it and perhaps in the next few weeks we will have a solution, if not this FMIC is coming off and a better design will have to be made and installed. Speaking of the AIM unit, the tech came by for a ride along to program the "in gear" display. After several attempts we got it right and now I can see the proper gear I'm in on the display. We also took some samples of data logging on the track at Tremblant (more on that later).
Finally I installed new Toyo RA1s for this weekend (235/40/17). This tire comes from the factory with an 8/32nd tread depth. That's a lot for an R compound tire. However in full tread it is a very good rain tire and it was suppose to rain all weekend so I decided not to get them shaved. Well as I told you before it was almost totally dry this weekend.
All I can tell you is that fresh RA1s not shaved are a total disaster on a dry track! They are very squirmy and squeal like a pig because of their blocks and you need to wear them out quite a bit before they become better for tracking in the dry. The car was very unstable through corner and especially under hard braking. In certain corners I was exiting 10 to 15 kph slower than a few weeks ago with basically dead RA1s. The car understeered more than usual. My lap times were at least 2 seconds (perhaps more) slower with the new tires! I could not get under the 2 minute mark and I was in disbelief. Considering someone from Toronto (owns a white GT3) last year timed me at ~1:55 (which at the time I found hard to believe) the + 2:00 laps were hard to swallow. I said to myself that perhaps it was a combination of the ECU problems, the high IATs and the tires that were slowing me down but still!
Well on Sunday afternoon in the last run of the day after the RA1s were starting to loose some of their tread depth due to massive scrubbing all weekend, I went out for one last stint to see what could be done. Despite the ECU problems, the very high IATs and still RA1s that were far from being at their peak I pulled off a 1:56.2! That's a whopping 6 to 8 seconds faster than what I could do on Friday morning. Needless to say I was quite happy and now I'm starting to believe in that 1:55. Now assuming I solve my ECU problems (in the works), my high IATs and the RA1s get sticky a sub 1:55 is very possible and using a BF Goodrich R1 or Hoosier R6 could drop those times by another 2 to 3 seconds a lap according to an STI owner that has driven his car with both the Toyo RA1 and BF R1 at this track.
Now back to the AIM Pista... It all started well with the gear shift programming and some downloading of some laps and I thought by the end of the weekend I would have some data to share with you but something went wrong and all the data was either lost or corrupted including that wonderful last stint where I pulled off that 1:56.2. However I will get those samples from the AIM tech (they were downloaded on his computer) and I will try to show them to you later. I can't remember is those samples were done while the track was damp, wet or dry but I do recall him telling me that 1.15Gs were pulled in turn # 8 (carousel) and 1.25 Gs in Namerow. God I can't imagine what this car will do with sticky RA1s let alone a BF R1 or Hoosier R6. I hope we can find a solution to the AIM problem soon.
One more thing, all I can say is the STaSIS/Ohlins Motorsport suspension, the STaSIS/Alcon brake set up are just plain insane. Since my rear Alcon BBK and the Tilton pedals were installed the braking dynamics have improved tremendously. Braking without ABS was a bit of a question mark for me. I was afraid I was taking a step in the wrong direction, but now I cannot believe how much better the car is without it. You cannot believe how incredible this stuff works. The STaSIS TorSen and rear LSD mods make a big difference too. It is all part of a total package that will make any Audi a far superior car!
If anyone on here comes to the September ANCA event at Tremblant they are welcome to come for a ride. However it is at their own risk. One of my ride alongs this weekend lasted about 8 laps before he needed to stop. He was turning into a Martian (green), LOL.
It was a combine HPDE and Club Racing event. On Friday it was mainly open track for the instructors and the racers. Almost 5 hours of track time available! On Saturday and Sunday it was busy. Between 2 students and their runs and the racing going on we only had three 30 minute sessions.
Weather wise we got pretty darn lucky. On Friday we did get some rain but we also had some dry track time. Saturday was rain free and we got a rain shower late on Sunday afternoon when the event was almost over.
One of my students was from the GTA. He came with an E36 M3 race car. I'm sure some of you GTA track junkies know him because he also owns a Ferrari 360 Challenge race car. In any case it was his first time here at Tremblant and I think he loved the track.
Now about my car (three problems to deal with this weekend)...
It's not a secret but since I removed most of the electronics I have had a serious mid throttle problem with lots of hesitation and very rough running. It's as if when part throttle is requested from about 3500 RPM to 4500 RPM the car starts bouncing from on boost to off boost rapidly and making the car extremely hard to drive precisely especially in a corner. It jerks around violently and thus makes it impossible to control properly through a turn. When this happens it sounds and feels like it is backfiring and indeed that's what most people think when they hear it on the track. They have even told me that big flames come out from both exhaust ports. This was very apparent at Calabogie. However at Tremblant I'm almost always on full throttle or off throttle, very little mid throttle position so less of a problem. I'm pretty sure this problem is causing a loss of power too.
Another problem that became apparent since I have the new AIM MXL Pista data logger in place is the IAT. I don't recall seeing my IAT ever going over 45 to maybe 50 degrees Celsius at most with my dual intercooler set up. But now that I see the IAT reading on my Pista I saw temperatures up to 72 C this weekend! That is way too much and I'm pretty sure because of this my power was down too. The R8, some STIs and the GT3s were all pulling on me on the straits. However E46 M3s and a B7 S4 were pretty well matched to my acceleration. We think we know what's causing it and perhaps in the next few weeks we will have a solution, if not this FMIC is coming off and a better design will have to be made and installed. Speaking of the AIM unit, the tech came by for a ride along to program the "in gear" display. After several attempts we got it right and now I can see the proper gear I'm in on the display. We also took some samples of data logging on the track at Tremblant (more on that later).
Finally I installed new Toyo RA1s for this weekend (235/40/17). This tire comes from the factory with an 8/32nd tread depth. That's a lot for an R compound tire. However in full tread it is a very good rain tire and it was suppose to rain all weekend so I decided not to get them shaved. Well as I told you before it was almost totally dry this weekend.
All I can tell you is that fresh RA1s not shaved are a total disaster on a dry track! They are very squirmy and squeal like a pig because of their blocks and you need to wear them out quite a bit before they become better for tracking in the dry. The car was very unstable through corner and especially under hard braking. In certain corners I was exiting 10 to 15 kph slower than a few weeks ago with basically dead RA1s. The car understeered more than usual. My lap times were at least 2 seconds (perhaps more) slower with the new tires! I could not get under the 2 minute mark and I was in disbelief. Considering someone from Toronto (owns a white GT3) last year timed me at ~1:55 (which at the time I found hard to believe) the + 2:00 laps were hard to swallow. I said to myself that perhaps it was a combination of the ECU problems, the high IATs and the tires that were slowing me down but still!
Well on Sunday afternoon in the last run of the day after the RA1s were starting to loose some of their tread depth due to massive scrubbing all weekend, I went out for one last stint to see what could be done. Despite the ECU problems, the very high IATs and still RA1s that were far from being at their peak I pulled off a 1:56.2! That's a whopping 6 to 8 seconds faster than what I could do on Friday morning. Needless to say I was quite happy and now I'm starting to believe in that 1:55. Now assuming I solve my ECU problems (in the works), my high IATs and the RA1s get sticky a sub 1:55 is very possible and using a BF Goodrich R1 or Hoosier R6 could drop those times by another 2 to 3 seconds a lap according to an STI owner that has driven his car with both the Toyo RA1 and BF R1 at this track.
Now back to the AIM Pista... It all started well with the gear shift programming and some downloading of some laps and I thought by the end of the weekend I would have some data to share with you but something went wrong and all the data was either lost or corrupted including that wonderful last stint where I pulled off that 1:56.2. However I will get those samples from the AIM tech (they were downloaded on his computer) and I will try to show them to you later. I can't remember is those samples were done while the track was damp, wet or dry but I do recall him telling me that 1.15Gs were pulled in turn # 8 (carousel) and 1.25 Gs in Namerow. God I can't imagine what this car will do with sticky RA1s let alone a BF R1 or Hoosier R6. I hope we can find a solution to the AIM problem soon.
One more thing, all I can say is the STaSIS/Ohlins Motorsport suspension, the STaSIS/Alcon brake set up are just plain insane. Since my rear Alcon BBK and the Tilton pedals were installed the braking dynamics have improved tremendously. Braking without ABS was a bit of a question mark for me. I was afraid I was taking a step in the wrong direction, but now I cannot believe how much better the car is without it. You cannot believe how incredible this stuff works. The STaSIS TorSen and rear LSD mods make a big difference too. It is all part of a total package that will make any Audi a far superior car!
If anyone on here comes to the September ANCA event at Tremblant they are welcome to come for a ride. However it is at their own risk. One of my ride alongs this weekend lasted about 8 laps before he needed to stop. He was turning into a Martian (green), LOL.
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08-12-2008, 06:22 AM
#9
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Well we are pretty sure it's because it is sitting right up against the AC condensor...
Which then creates a bottle neck for the air to go through. We had to install it that way because of the Caractere bumper on my car.
In any case the AC condensor was going to be removed but I just haven't had the chance yet but now it's urgent.
In any case the AC condensor was going to be removed but I just haven't had the chance yet but now it's urgent.
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