Post
by DavidT » Wed Jun 04, 2003 12:21 am
Thank you again for posting details up folks.
I wanted to get on with some mods but thought I would wait until after the Castle Combe track day, my first with the S4.
Views did not change that much really:
Brakes
Lack feel and wholly inadequate for track use, plus my front discs and pads needed to be replaced anyway.
Suspension
Pretty good overall but too soft. Reasonably balanced front/rear grip with smooth driving but fast turn-in or ambitious throttle use provoke too much understeer. There is also a general ‘disconnected’ feeling. All that said, I think it is a very good setup for road use.
Engine
No complaints, driveable in any gear and the car is not slow. Any mods will wait until warranty expires.
I thoroughly enjoyed CC, but because I planned to do more trackdays, it was time for some upgrades:
Porsche 993TT brakes – went for these because I’ve heard good things about them, lots of people have them and anyway, whoever complained about Porsche brakes ? Also OEM pads can be had for £ 80 and the discs for £ 110 each, so servicing them will be cheaper than some (if not all) of the alternative brake upgrades for the S4
H&R Coilover suspension – Again, they are a known quantity and highly regarded and I particularly liked the ability to adjust height if I do not get it right first time. The car needs to be useable day to day.
AWE Drivetrain stabiliser – Said to make the transmission feel more solid and a relatively cheap mod, so I will have one of those as well.
Tanoga short shifter already fitted
The work was done by AmD and I have no hesitation in recommending them because they provided good advice beforehand, completed the job early and have been very helpful answering questions since.
In terms of driving differences, I didn’t recognise the car on the way home. Now it’s run in, I would say everything is different:
Steering - lighter, more precise and weights up nicely in the corners (although I suspect there was something wrong with the alignment beforehand)
Throttle response – far less slop in the drivetrain and no ‘squat’ in hard acceleration
Brakes – better feel and more progress with immense power
Gear change - shift is lighter and faster than with tanoga alone.
I thought I would wait until I had done a trackday before commenting on handling, so after Aintree on Saturday, here goes:
Much more ‘connected’ feel in the steering, as cornering loads increase I can feel it through the wheel and the loss of grip from the front or rear is obvious when it happens.
Basic understeer characteristics now gone, in other words it does not understeer all the time. Although I would not say it handles like a rear wheel drive car because it is fairly neutral. If you turn in too fast there is understeer and if you use too much throttle mid corner it may be oversteer or four wheel drift. Ideal balance for a four wheel drive car I think and much quicker through the bends than with standard suspension. The dive when braking is also pretty much gone.
The ride comfort is little affected, still fairly compliant, the only major difference is major bumps or ridges in the road, which the standard suspension absorbed now get transferred to the occupants. Overall though, minimum effect, which I find amazing.
The brakes are awesome. I took 5 people out on Saturday and on the first lap they said ‘hmm brakes are really good’ on the third lap at full effect, all but one said a word beginning with ‘f’ when I slowed from 130 to 55 mph. They are also quiet and smooth and give no sense of the work they are doing. Fantastic.
If you have read this far you deserve a medal. Still, I hope it’s of interest to anyone thinking of going in a similar direction. I am delighted with it.
David
