This is where I have a problem with most of the road course instructors.
I try to shift quickly like I do at the drag strip while I am on a road course and they take it as driving aggressively. Like I am trying to push the car and I am racing at a HPDE but I just don’t need to take three to four seconds to change gear. Also heard that I unsettle the car with quick shifts which I think is BS since you change gears before or after the turns anyways.
The money point is interesting to see as well.
it’s not a known bias in the measuring stick…it just happens to be a track that is closer to the core of the earth than almost any other track in the country, thus air is nice and dense for making power.
Google ‘the effects of altitude on the internal combustion engine’ and you’ll feel less confused.
Sacramento is near sea level. Point one.
Sacramento is northern california, so it gets quite cold in winter (near freezing pretty regularly at night). Point two.
Sacramento stays open year round so you can be assured of being able to run with excellent cold, dense air conditions. Point three.
Sacramento runs Wednesday night drags, which aren’t too busy, and are fucking freezing sometimes, so you can not only run in great DA, you can make 22 passes. Point four.
If you compare Sacramento in winter (-1200 feet of DA isn’t absurd) to Castrol Raceway in Edmonton in July (+5000 feet is the norm), you’re looking at a delta of probably 6000 feet of density altitude. That’s the equivalent of seeing your sc car robbed of 18% of power going from Sac to Castrol. Very significant. Approximately 3% per 1000 feet.
It is comical. They’re scared of wearing out synchros so they’re ensuring road course car enthusiasts shift slower than a sloth…resulting in them getting their asses handed to them in actual head to head races…all to ensure their $1500 transmission rebuild happens in year 8 instead of year 5. Nice one.
West does 30 track days a year? That’s about $10,000 to $15,000 in tires , brakes and suspension.
But make sure to shift like a one armed grandmother so you save $100/year on the 3rd gear synchro rebuild fund amortization.
Here’s westwest showing how not to shift…but how to protect those precious synchros!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTq5myI-GQ8
The expected maintenance for 8-10 track days is:
1 brake fluid flush
1 oil change
1 set of tires (currently $1800 for Sport Cup 2)
1 set of brake pads (currently $1000 because Brembo)
My OE dampers actually had quite a bit of life left in them.
After 8 years into it, I might get some timing equipment like a Vbox Sport. Hasn’t really been necessary as I’ve been practicing other things, and changing the car too much between events to have a consistent basis for comparison. I like the way the car is and won’t make any major changes.
You might be the best in the world at shifting but the PDK will always be better than you.
Don’t forget the gas. I go through about a tank/day (four 30 min session), and try to go with some 104 sunnoco race fuel if available, which is like $7/gallon. So that’s an extra $100/day. Not to mention the hotel fees and gas it costs to get there. And registration fees, maybe $150-200/day depending on group and track.
Expensive hobby no doubt, but hard to replicate the thrill. Makes you appreciate a car like this even more, mostly due to how well sorted it is out there.
Gas is costing me $35 per 20 minute session, for the 100 pump. If I fill up at lunchtime and at the end of the day it’s $70 each fill.
Hotels in the middle of nowhere are quite cheap.
What are we arguing again? XD
Drive well + take car/keep car on limit = time savings.
Setup for future corners with the corner you are currently in = time savings.
Trail brake rather than brake in a straight line = time savings.
Shift fast = time savings.
All of the above is awesome.
But I’d argue one thing–shifting like crazy lightning fast all the time on the road course is not the same as shifting lighting fast at the drag strip. You are dealing with much more heat over a much longer prolonged period (30 minutes vs 11 seconds!), and the loads the tranny is dealing with is greater than a drag strip…because you are constantly downshifting and upshifting from a lower gear (more torque multiplication)…vs in drag, you are only upshifting and each shift = less torque multiplier.
Forget the synchros - i blew an entire gearbox just by upshifting 
Sooo while I do shift “quick” on the circuit, I will not muscle it as if it was a drag strip. Guys who race professionally, or race w2w do not care, and you will see some drag style shifting. But these cars are not their DD’s, and they are race cars which get spare parts and rebuilds out the ying yang!
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8By2AEsGAhU
That’s Ayrton Senna shifting slower than Sakimano 
Getting a manual transmission is supposed to be the cheap and simple to repair option. I didn’t realize how weak the S4 clutch was when I bought it. Drag strip practice certainly didn’t help. One of my 1/4 mile runs slipped second gear badly. I bowed out of the game and picked up a JHM flywheel and clutch 3 months later.
Slow shifting is a learned habit for shifting with a dual mass flywheel and whatever else Audi did to slow down the engagement. I really hope I never have to replace the synchros as they were in a different part of the transmission housing that did not look easy to get to. I can learn to shift more quickly.
You addressed none of what I posted and then resorted to a dsg vs me comparison.
That tells me you’re just not equipped for this discussion at all. As we all knew 2 years ago when we watched the first edition of this movie.
As for how fast I do or don’t shift here’s a video for you to enjoy.
Audi RS4 B7 4.2 FSI at the dragstrip - Four 1/4 m…: http://youtu.be/jw_PJ-bT7Ic
Expert level trolling. PDK shall not even be mentioned in the same sentence as that other hack box.
So all I have to do is beat 12.53 at 110 MPH and I’ll be faster than you? Challenge accepted.
this video is the only thing in the entire thread that was worth my time. great video/mic, great sounding v8, and solid times.
that e63 amg was FLYING- didn’t realize they were that quick
West you realize he ran 12.53 with just an exhaust on pump gas, right?
Setting your benchmark with a completely different person platform means nothing.
Being faster than Sakimono at my own pace means everything to me. This is drag racing. Like Tour de France, the moto is “Cheat to Win”. Whenever he acts up I can threaten to race him for pink slips.
American cars really have this 1/4 game on lock. I do worry that a road course tuned American car like the GT350 could upset the conventional wisdom of "use an M3 (or equivalent).
yeah, it was pretty funny how he reeled me back in. He was trapping about 120-121. Not bad for bone stock, full weight, right off the dealership lot. And a babyseat in the back. 11.8 @ 120 all day for him pretty much.
He actually signed up here to discuss it. Just a guy I met that day.
M3 was already in trouble with the mustang GT…then the boss 302 came out
They were dominating continental/pirelli world challenge upon introduction, and then were later saddled with more weight ballasts and even smaller restrictor plates to attempt to even out the field.
This is vs 911s, vantages, m3s etc
Here is some more of that proper piece of detroit iron for you!
In general, dragging gasoline powered cars is a fool’s errand if you want to win. Electric is going to win every time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQkdMw4TVjY
I do see the drag strip as a useful benchmarking tool, provided you run it on the same fuel you normally use. For me I’d want to see if it’s running well on a mix of 91 and pump 100 that I can get at the track. The times that fuel mix puts down are unlikely to blow anyone’s mind.
Again West…reference the drag database and count the cars that have gone very low 12s or high 11s on pump gas…not mix, straight 93 or 94 pump. Auditude actually did it in multiple cars!