RobC

Thanks again to those who helped me determine that my Ecsta V700's were "just getting broken in". Well, I ended up running on my street S03's 'cause the forecast was steady rain the entire day. And steady rain it was from the time I got there at 7AM until about 3PM. Good thing Road Atlanta has decent drainage, but there was enough water that I probably would have gone home if I were on the Ecstas.

I'm sure others have already experienced this, but let me tell you, going fast on the track in the rain is a whole new experience. I think I learned a lot and was glad that I got to do a wet track day, but I don't care to do it again. It sure does teach you how to be smooth, with every move and reaction with the potential to put you off the track and into a wall. I was really amazed with how much traction you actually have in the wet and it gives me a new perspective on what good wet performance tires are all about. It was an eye-opening experience to corner on the verge of slipping while not necessarily going excessively fast.

The Stoptechs and Pagid Orange pads worked pretty good considering all the water. It took a moment for them to dry off and heat back up but the braking power returned quickly.

The high powered RWD C5's, rustangs, etc were all having a heck of a time out there and I was all over them exiting the corners. And 4 wheel drifts are fun!

Two vehicles were totalled today: a Boxter S and WRX. Don't know any details about what happened, but a couple people went home unhappy today. The Boxster was in really bad shape. From the looks of the damage, it must have hit a concrete barrier rear-end first, ripping off the rear wheel and axle and mangling that corner of the car. The wheel was badly bent and also cracked along its circumference. Upon closer inspection there was concrete imbedded into it! Both husband and wife were OK, although they were taken to the hospital for observation.

The S held its own today and the only thing out there that was significantly faster was a modded 996 turbo. The instructors said with the speed he was going he was either really good, or was definitely going to crash. Well, I guess he was really good. Just to give you a perspective on his speed, coming out of turn 7 onto the long back straight I was the last car in a line of 4 at WOT, and the 996 came out of nowhere and passed all 4 of us like we were standing still! And I was running the XR chip today.

Just wanted to share the info since the adrenalin is still running. Thanks for listening.

TRM

and i would like to have one or two again...

i found it enjoyable because you can spend more time on working on your line and keep it at 5/10 or 6/10 and not worry about wrecking.

i was also amazed at how stable and grippy the Audi is in the wet....gives you new found confidence on rainy days.

and with quattro you're still going to be faster than the 2WD peeps.

;-)

RobC

"not worry about wrecking" statement. What I found was that each time around the track the conditions could change from lap to lap, depending on how heavy it was raining, how many cars had just driven over the same spot, etc, etc. In turn 6 I did my braking and turn-in just as I had the whole day, but the rear end suddently kicked out for a butt-pucker moment while I frantically corrected.

But yes, it was a great learning experience and the Audi gets a chance to kick some serious butt with the 2WD cars. I do recommend that everyone try atleast one track day in the rain.

Morgan Conrad

On a wideopen track (no walls) like Thunderhill, rain is a great learning experience. On a more walled in track it's scary.

Silver Streakin'

agreed. I was with TRM at that rain event and that's been the only time that I've spun.

TRM

to not worry about wrecking, i.e., for me at 6/10th.

and able to adjust if there is standing water (which there was) on the line.