Track day..

[535dboy]

There were a couple of C7s at Silverstone GP on Monday

Desperately slow on the corners - didn't look like fun although they probably had more fun than the chap binned the RS5 in to the wall on the old pit straight. Big damage that was!

[Markp]

I definitely don't regard mine as a sports car . I love it but it's an über powerful and heavy family / dog /work car. Nor would I ever take it to a track. But each to their own. Not saying I am right. Track away.

[W8PMC]

I reply to 'it's no sports car' with:

The definition of "RS" (RennSport/Racing Sport). These are mind blowingly good cars, i think you lot have fallen to the family wagon disguise lol. These are wolves in sheeps clothes, not a chavved up A4/6

They're no slouch on track and will embarrass a lot of true 'sports cars'. They just happen to be big boned and not anorexic.

Edit: I fear I have overstated things (At least for the C5, the C7 should be massively better) high speed corners it'll stick with most stuff. Tight, low speed corners took a bit more patience though. Tracks days are for fun anyway, you don't have to be pushing 10/10'ths

100% agree with this.

I tracked my C5 RS6 (first car i ever took on track) & my B7 RS4, in fact in my B7 i managed an 8:29 BTG round Nordschleife.

Of course the dynamic or a 2 ton saloon/estate is going to be a little different than a Radical or Caterham & £ for £ it's more fun throwing a £1500 Clio Cup round a track than an RS or M & the outlay is night & day lower, however the big cars are more than capable with a few tweaks of playing on a suitable track (by suitable i mean long, wide with a decent number of straights).

Seems a bit daft not trying it out as where else can you become familiar with the dynamics of your car & push it a little closer its limits?

The costs are a bit of an issue as you'll eat front tyres, front pads & possibly front discs which could make the whole experience a little expensive, but to the point in question, if you pick a decent track & perhaps just upgrade the brake pads & make sure you're on good rubber, you'll have huge fun on track in a C7 RS6.

[feeltheburn]

I reply to 'it's no sports car' with:

The definition of "RS" (RennSport/Racing Sport). These are mind blowingly good cars, i think you lot have fallen to the family wagon disguise lol. These are wolves in sheeps clothes, not a chavved up A4/6

Thanks for that, so I NOW realise that the S in my old Vauxhall SRi {130!} must also have stood for SPORT ergo is was a sports car

It has also helped me to understand that the RSQ3 is not in fact a dilution of the Renn Heritage but also a SPORTs car, after all it is written on it!

[robf]

Ha ha!

As far as i'm concerned, interpreting 'RS' as a qualification of being a sports car is naive, but at least Audi's marketing team can be proud of their work.

I appreciate the C7 has gone along way to address the Audi stereotype of howling understeer, but it's all relative. It's still a long way from being a proper sports car, which is inevitable given it's weight and drivetrain. Surely you should choose a car that shines on track, not one that reveals its flaws? An RS6 is probably the most anti-social car on a trackday too, because it's slow in the corners and then disappears on the straights; infuriating for those in Caterhams and the like.

Track days aren't about being fast , theyr'e about having fun. The RS6 does not have the throttle adjustability, balance and options of a properly sorted car. And i'm not knocking it, because it's not designed to be a track monster - it's meant to be the ultimate all rounder.

I would just recommend renting a car built for the job, frankly. I suspect some haven't actual driven a car outside of the Audi range on track, which gives a very narrow perspective on things.

[W8PMC]

Ha ha!

As far as i'm concerned, interpreting 'RS' as a qualification of being a sports car is naive, but at least Audi's marketing team can be proud of their work.

I appreciate the C7 has gone along way to address the Audi stereotype of howling understeer, but it's all relative. It's still a long way from being a proper sports car, which is inevitable given it's weight and drivetrain. Surely you should choose a car that shines on track, not one that reveals its flaws? An RS6 is probably the most anti-social car on a trackday too, because it's slow in the corners and then disappears on the straights; infuriating for those in Caterhams and the like.

Track days aren't about being fast , theyr'e about having fun. The RS6 does not have the throttle adjustability, balance and options of a properly sorted car. And i'm not knocking it, because it's not designed to be a track monster - it's meant to be the ultimate all rounder.

I would just recommend renting a car built for the job, frankly. I suspect some haven't actual driven a car outside of the Audi range on track, which gives a very narrow perspective on things.

Totally agree with that too, however i do feel on the right track & with the right Track Day company, seeing what one's RS is & isn't capable of isn't a bad idea & like you say you can still have a considerable amount of fun, albeit a different fun than you'd have in say a Clio or Caterham etc.

[Markp]

Good point re RS6s on track days - they are the cars most likely to be missing rear view mirrors
By all means enjoy yourselves but not at the expense of everybody else's enjoyment through the bends.
Although my 6 would easily outdrag both my 996 GT3 and 968 down the straights it would not see which way either had gone after a few laps of Castle Combe - assuming it let them pass through the twisty bits.

[Shinobi675]

That's not the cars fault, that's the driver! At the ring I had a lot of cars do me in the bends, I planned it so that they only held me up a little by backing off slightly and letting them do me on the change and not the apex. Then would catch them on the straights.

[Markp]

That's not the cars fault, that's the driver!

You don't say? And there was me thinking it was the car.

[Andy_W]

There is some funny stuff said on here. Track days have such a mix of cars and drivers ability it is very much the latter that dictates which is the fastest. There will be plenty of slower cars around the bends than a RS6

A track day I went to a few years ago still makes me chuckle. Fastest car on the track, overtaking Lambos, Caterams etc. - a Series 1 Ford Capri.

[Shinobi675]

That's not the cars fault, that's the driver!

You don't say? And there was me thinking it was the car.

Well I'm struggling then to understand what this has to do with an rs6. They could rob a <beep> in an mx5! (Which is a prefect track car!)

Seems like a throw away comment then.

[Markp]

You are over thinking this. It is obviously the combination of human and car that sometimes makes RS6s frustrating to follow. Either one not being able to move far without the other.

The driver wants (understandably) to have fun and push as hard as he or she can. And the car is more than happy to play. But they are ballistically fast down the straights, and comparitively slow through the twisty bits.

Meaning cars that lap faster get stuck behind them in the corners where you can't overtake, and left behind on the straights where they can.

But don't take it personally. I drive a 6 too and not having a dig. Just reflecting my experience.

[SuprSi]

Not totally aimed at you Mark, but it's frustrating when the idea gets perpetuated that you have to be in a 911 GT3 or Lotus, Caterham, stripped out clio whatever to be on track. As long as you're respectful to other drivers there should be no issue.

Whatever, I'm bored of this topic. If you want to go on track, just do it, don't let the track day heros put you off. Just keep in mind about giving the faster cornering cars priority when approaching corners. Take a gopro too

[danilobandeira]

I always go to track days. Original cars i have the best time lap. 0,500s faster than gt3 and 911 turbo


Enviado do meu iPhone usando Tapatalk

[Bit_evl]

I did a little tin top racing when I was young. It was a long time ago ! At the end of the day it can be more satisfying getting the best out of a poor package by being forced to drive the door handles off it.

The RS6 is not exactly alive at the helm like a small light balanced Lotus might be but that just means you have to adjust your expectations and still get its fastest line. If the brakes will suffer then just change your style and drive to it. Show me an air-cooled 911 driver that goes fast into a corner on the brakes and does not have a gravel fetish.

It is always interesting to drive a road car hard on a track to learn the extremes so that you are better equipped when it all goes FUBAR on the road. Let's face it finding the limit on public roads is not going to happen. It would never be my first choice for a full on track day but it's always going to be fun to get a quicker lap time after time.