Went to a local track today to "find the limits" of my 2.7. Since it was my first time out, I kept the ESP on. Here's my impressions:

1. Braking is impressive for such a heavy car. Audi did right by putting on huge calipers/rotors. Hard braking inducing the ABS is stable and confident. Bringing it down from triple digits quickly to set up a turn was easy and uneventful. After a couple of hard laps though, they do begin to fade a bit.

2. At the risk of beating a dead horse, the Conti's road holding abilities stink. They should be OK for winter, but I can't wait to wear 'em out. I'll definitely be buying Hi-Po's for summer and good snow's once the Conti's are done.

3. Throttle lag out of corners is hideous. I'm going to, for now, attribute much of this to the ESP (refusing to "go" until straightened out), but I do believe better mapping can be attained through a chip upgrade (both ECU and Tip). I kept the car in "D" the whole time, and getting a kickdown was tough. You've really got to just jam your foot the the floor, count to 3 until it decides to go, and then power out. Next time I'm going to "Tip" it and turn off ESP now that I'm more comfortable with the car at those extremes and am familiar with the track.

4. Non-sport suspension, while really nice for daily driving, is much too soft for serious maneuvers (O.K, O.K, Duh!) From what I've read, the Eibach spring upgrade is helpful, but coilovers would be better. I'm going to go with the Eibachs since I don't want to compromise daily ride comfort too much. I won't be tracking it more than say 4 times/yr. And if I find that's still not enough, I'll add Bilstein's to the package.

While these comments might sound harsh or diminishing toward the A6, that's not my intentions or feelings at all. Audi has set up the non-sport for ride/comfort and has done a fabulous job. For daily driving, it's silky. On the track, it was admirably stable and confident. No surprises whatsoever. The car is a blast to drive and with a few tweaks (springs, tires, chip) is going to be one HELL of a fine road car. I truly believe that, in this class, the 2.7, with the above mentioned mods/tweaks would be hands down the best available sedan price/performance wise...period! After 5 weeks (1,600 mi), I'm still totally loving this thing and had a blast today with it. Can't wait to start my mods and head back to the track to test the improvements ;-)

P.S.-At the risk of sounding fatherly, I would highly recommend to everyone to try to get some track time in, especially with an instructor (A6 or no A6, Audi or no Audi) This was my first time out, mostly to find my car's limits and capabilites in case I need them while on the road (ie: evasive maneuvers), but also to have fun! I now at least have the knowledge of when my car will "break loose" and can apply that to every day. At the minimum, go find a large parking lot you can use for a skid pad and see where it's going to cut loose. You'll feel safer knowing, I guarantee it.

Sorry for the long post.

Drive safe.<p><img SRC=http://home.earthlink.net/~gstahara/Graphics/Coloraudi.jpg Border=0></a>

'01 2.7T Tiptronic, Luxury, Premium, Bose, CD, Xenons

 

Thanks for the write up! Newbie 101 question: Where do you find a "track?"

 

What was your top speed?

 

<p>>>Muhammad
<a href="http://registry.audiworld.com/audi/registry/details.asp?car=2830">'94 100CS Frontrak</a>
<a href="http://registry.audiworld.com/audi/registry/details.asp?car=5188">'96 A6 Quattro</a>

 

<p><img src="http://www.seansa4page.com/images/miscpics/steveshsig1.gif" border="0">

 

<p><img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/AudiWorldPics/2000/LCPawsig1.jpg">
- Lance (corporate lawyer type turned track time junkie)
"I can't stop apexing"

 

Southern Ohio. Hey, I just sorta answered my own question: "MidOhio." OK, now what, just call them?

 

<p>Wilson
'01 2.7T, Silver/Onyx

 

95 degree left onto a uphill hwy on ramp after a fairly long straight on a relatively untravelled road. The car slid for a good 5' when the esp finally kicked in and shut me down. You'd think that understeer would result in an over correction, but the esp doesn't allow it. Helped that the ramp was uphill and acted like a bank during the turn, adding to my confidence, but nevertheless, it's almost impossible to break that car loose with the esp system.

 

Very cool ! The tip has a lateral g sensor. Tries not to shift while cornering.