bldn10

Control Clinic in a few weeks at Memphis Motorsport Park; 2.5 hours of track time. Speed on the long straight will be insurance-limited to 85 or so but the course will be open on the back side and speed could get up to 100. I have close to 18,000 miles on the car including a half dozen autocrosses and "The Tail of the Dragon." I have the H&R/Bilstein lowering setup and will be on OEM Michelins and brake pads. Questions:
1. Will the OEM pads get me through the weekend? Do I need to bleed, change fluid, etc.?
2. What tire pressures work best? Will I have any tire left?
3. Any other suggestions?
Thanks.

gtt

1. I'de replace the pads and have the fluid flushed just to be on the safe side. Better to be well prepped than not. Stock dot 4 should be fine. Don't go into the corners too hot and stomp on the brakes since you'll prbably encounter some fade after a few laps. Go in easy and exit fast.

2) 36/33 w/stock wheels should be good.

3) Have fun and don't crash.

CapEx

TT's do very well on the track. The 225's have great brakes, if you run for 20 minutes at a time you should not experience much brake fade. 180's have lighter brakes and tend to experience some fade. Your OEM pads should be fine as long as they have enough life left in them. I don't know how many corners or elevation changes are at Memphis, you might want to ask how tough it is on brake pads. Bleed the brakes if you have a soft pedal but don't worry about changing the fluid. I add 3 pounds to the front and rear on my 225 using Bridgestone SO-3. I get 6 track events out of the SO-3's, they have treadwear rating 220. The absolute best thing you can do is install a 4 point harness.

Hiding Out

Bleeding the brakes is a good idea. Changing the fluid depends on how long you've had the fluid in the car and the type of fluid that you've been using (Motul Racing 600 loves water!). Bring a spare set of pads if needed.

You'll probably be bringing your car to a pre-event safety inspection anyway, so the tech who'll be looking at the car should catch any imminent brake issues and hopefully be familiar with Memphis Motorsport Park and its toll on brakes.

Raise your tire pressures a bit from daily pressures. The more comfortable you are with the car, the more you'll raise the pressures to keep the tires from rolling over until you can't raise them any higher...at which point, you'll need R-compounds anyway or just keep chewing through street tires.

Have fun!

Roberto

bldn10

as 30!

Hiding Out

Well, the basic idea is to try to get the tire temps nicely balanced across the width of the tread without rolling over onto the sidewall. Street tires are "street" tires though and may get overheated and chunk. If anything, you don't want to get to that point unless you've got another set of tires handy for the drive home.

Honestly, I wouldn't worry too much about the tire pressures. Your instructor(s) will probably let you know pretty quickly if you need to raise them or lower them if they seem out of whack.

Basically, people who drive around the track on street tires with the pressures sky high are pretty much living on the edge!...hehe. Sorry if it didn't come across like that in my prior message.

Roberto

bldn10

I know how to set up a RWD car - I used to race SCCA ITS - I just know little about 4WD and the instructors at the event will know zero. I could instruct if I wanted to but I'd rather drive. I should have time to experiment so perhaps we'll find out. Thanks.

Hiding Out

I'm now really confused (based on your original questions about brake and tire wear)! hehe

I don't know how you like your car to be set-up, but if you prefer a looser rear, raising the rear pressures in relation to the front pressures will help. That's probably the most applicable thing I can think of based on the TT's stock handling characteristics and front-wheel oriented AWD. The Audiworld Motorsports forum has lots of threads on tire pressures and AWD on the track with a number of TT-related posts.

Ummm...Other than that, I think I'm going to defer to your racing experience and personal preferences now.

Roberto