Hi guys! I don't own a TT, I own an SLK and I'm NOT looking to start a flame war.<br> There is some information floating around the web that the TT might have some problems with high speed handling. Specifically, I have bee told that the tail end might get very light at the high end of the speedo. Since you people have the car, I was wondering if you could tell me how fast you've driven the it, and if any problems were found.<br>I'm not a cop, and I don't care WERE you went fast, just how fast and what if any problems.<br>Thanks.

 

Watkins Glen has been my favorite race circuit for a number of years. I have raced SSA, GT5 & GT4 at this track, and have had some great close races and memorable wins. So the chance to finish off a long career at The Glen with the ultimate street racer was quite satisfying. Keep in mind that I was allowed out on good behavior, and I didn't want a long ride home with my wife trying to explain why I clipped a guardrail. So let's get into it.<p>Pit out onto the track is at the exit of turn 1, turn 2 is a very fast sweeping uphill with a lot of tire grip generated at turn in, since you are at the bottom of the hill. I expected the TT to roll, but it simply squealed the tires and carved into the corner. I was in third at 5500. Turn 3 is a fast kink, which is easy except for the high Armco, in my GT4 it was a rock of the wheel to get set up, and the TT responded exactly the same (speed being relative, and better than the SSA Mitsu). Just before you crest the hill its quick to 4th, the back straight was quiet just watching the rpm's to see what happened. Forth gear would be the choice, but I erred on caution and went 5th. Top gear was a little light on acceleration, and I hit 115 (+-) before the chicane. With lots of straight, I suspect 130 would be easy. No matter what, the car was still pulling well.<p>The inner loop was intended to control speed, and is always a testosterone check. On the first lap I held the car in close to the curbs waiting for a push, that didn't happened, on the second lap I let off the wheel to free up the car and gained a few hundred rpm's (and a whole lot less tire squeal). Turn 6 & 7 are extremely fast and pushes any car to the limit. It is a sweeping blind downhill that will split to the NASCAR short course, or the road race section. I could really feel the suspension being compressed, and the TT carved a fast gentle sweep, riding on its haunches. My only crisis was the street sweeper at the base of 7. I didn't know he was going to be there, and we both saw the whites of our eyes, while I stomped on the binders. The rear end was about to let go, but there was enough room to turn out of it and the car settled down.<p>Once collected, the entry into the road race boot was a 60 mph left hand corner with a drift out to the right. AGAIN NO OVERSTEER! I tried 2nd & 3rd but it didn't seem to affect the corner speed, but 3rd is more civil. The toe of the boot is a difficult slow right hand uphill that will bog the best of them. This was a solid 2nd to 3rd corner, and to my surprise there was lots of pull, mid-range torque was excellent, and the shift to third didn't kill the power. I suspect this is where a Quattro would be a killer there. At the crest of the hill, I was at 5500 in 3rd, and had to anticipate a shift to 4th before the right hander. The right hand turn 10 is an off camber tight semi-fast corner with slight downhill. This corner should have shown the oversteer, but instead I got a gentle 4 wheel drift, which kept me off the curbing, and pointed up to turn 11. Turn 11 and 12 are the fast off camber turns that bring you back to the short "NASCAR" course On the first lap I got stopped by the clean up crew "boss" who proceeded to lecture me on the dangers of high speed driving. Duh! On the second lap I got a little close to the Armco, so a gentle lift was necessary, I always hated this corner anyway! Turn 13 is an exciting left that makes up for it.<br> <br>Thirteen is a banked fast corner that requires a lot of speed and momentum to overcome the bank and slight climb. The TT took this in third and didn't fight, but again I could have given it more track. The short straight to turn 14 onto the front straight is very fast, and is critical for a final run to the flag. I was able to approach it around 5200 in 3rd and with a little left foot brake and full power. The TT rolled into the apex with a little bit of 4 wheel drift, and once I turned out of the corner, it wound up pretty fast and the quick shift to 4th got it back up to speed. I came up to start/finish at around 100 and set up for lap two. The approach to turn 1 required heavy braking, down to 3rd and a gentle roll to the right. This time I had a lot of tire squeal, and some tension, so I think I might have pushed a little too hard.<p>This takes us back to where we came onto the track from pit out, so except for the street sweeper, everything was similar. In summary, the laps were quite predictable once I gave the TT a little less control and allowed it to drift out of the corner. Under braking there was no heavy nose-diving, and I never felt the anti-locks kick in. I ran tire pressures of 32/29, and there was only a little temperature increases on the pull up the back. I left the ASR on automatic, and only saw the warning light at the uphill of the boot (after fiddling with the ASR switch in a parking lot, I think this might be why I didn't get power on understeer).<p>That sums it up, and I really had a blast for those few minutes. I suggest that if you are interested in trying this, look into the SCCA, EMRA, or some of the local car clubs that sponsor Solo 1 events. These allow you out on the track with minimal risk, and no wheel to wheel combat (sort of…).<p>Tom Blaney<br>

 

I can say without a doubt that the car is rock solid at top speed. I've actually done some very white knuckle moves at 125 or so and it handled like a dream.<p>

 

Thanks for the great post. I'm taking mine to the Glen with the NE Region Quattro Club in July. I've got to get some miles on it first to break it in. I've never had a turbo before, and this car is a hoot! I'm a bit nervous about it. "Shiny side up!" I'll also be running it in SSA with COMSCC (time trials), where I hope I'm competitive.<p>Jack Rich