Nurburgring trip

B6/7 S4/RS4
#1

I could write a very long story about all the things that went wrong in the process of driving 1700 miles and prepping the car (as in fact I did on the UK site) but I’d rather just share the good bit that was the actual trackday. Once everything was sorted the car didn’t really miss a beat for 100 miles of being either full throttle or hard on the brakes.

I will say that I cracked 2 of my wheels in Belarus and Poland (on smooth roads with no potholes no less!) and only had 2 days to find suitable replacements. I ended up with a used (though very expensive to get) set of OZ Ultraleggeras, which I always liked anyway so a small silver lining there. I may have them done in anthracite in winter as the paint has a few scuffs here and there.

I put on new aftermarket brake discs the day before, with proper vanes, and together with fresh upgraded fluid and Carbotech XP10s I had zero fade even when I did multiple laps in a row. I did however have issues with a soft pedal and a lack of bite and feel from the brakes. It started after the fluid and disc change and I suspect a slight cock-up of my mechanic because it simply feels like there’s air in there somewhere but it won’t come out with bleeding. I ended up having to use a lot of pedal pressure and I never experienced any real “bite” from the brakes. Still I could get into the ABS with the R compound tires if I pressed hard enough so it was driveable. Just not confidence inspiring so I was braking a bit early in places.

All laps had some traffic, but the car held its own. Some 911 GT3s were faster than me, some weren’t. It’s still a heavy family sedan from 2007 anyway. Next time I will consider putting light buckets in it as the comfort seats aren’t exactly track friendly. Ambient temps were low around with a high of 10 degrees C so oil temp was no issue with highs of 126-127C. The engine ran strong and thanks to good fuel and low temps I noticed no performance degradation whatsoever as the lap went on.

The fastest lap (8:06 BTG) happened with a pretty heavy passenger on board and can be watched here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0ROivKuO7U (the first lap isn’t as interesting) As far as I can tell this is the fastest lap of an RS4 on the Ring on YouTube by a considerable margin but I wanted sub-8 and it didn’t happen. Optimal sectors added up to only 7:53 so it’s well possible for the future. This were my first Ring laps in over 5 years and the first with this car on any track.

A solo lap was recorded as well but it was the first lap at full speed of the day and a bit careful in places plus traffic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKh2Se5L1x0

I also had my buddy record a few passes on his phone as I was getting good feedback on the noise from the JHM exhaust :smiley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_ILuW2eW20 (the last bit on the straight was about 160 MPH)

Finally, some pics.

http://www.greenringer.net/DN14/DN14_A.jpg

http://www.greenringer.net/DN14/DN14_B.jpg

http://www.greenringer.net/DN14/DN14_C.jpg

http://www.greenringer.net/DN14/DN14_D.jpg

http://www.greenringer.net/DN14/2.jpg

http://www.greenringer.net/DN14/3.jpg

http://www.greenringer.net/DN14/4.jpg

#2

Great track pics!

#3

Looked fun pretty good time. Breaking 8 would have been cool for sure! Car looks great!

#4

Wow JC thats crazy 1700 miles and then a good run on the ring is great. The photos are all great. I know 8 anything isnt too bad

#5

that was fanfuckingtastic

the 160mph flyby was nuts
the car looks and sounds epic
the driving is intense and earns much respect

All around what a post. +karma.

p.s. wtf was up with that Mk2? He was on your bumper at 250kmh like it was no big deal. Insanely fast golf.

#6

Nige’s Golf is legendary :smiley:

There is a video of him behind me on the straight on his youtube and he chased a 991 GT3 RS driven by a pro for the rest of the lap (he did lack a bit of straight line speed for that).

It weighs nothing, has aero and over 300hp. Only gearing kept him from overtaking on the long straight.

#7

I’ve lost count of the miles now but the car is now with me in the south of France another 1000 or so from where I started. In a couple days I drive it to Milan where it will spend a few days in the airport parking lot then back to Belgium for a well deserved rest. I’m adding 10% to the car’s mileage in a month ;D

It does need a bit of love - ordered a flywheel as it’s the last thing I haven’t changed yet and the car feels like it needs it. My front braked are terribly annoying particularly pulling into posh hotels. Since the front stainless lines went on the pads are always slightly rubbing the disc for some reason. Also dependent on steering lock, it can’t be right.

#8

You might have a little too much brake fluid in the system. Check the level. Seeing how you’re also having a soft pedal due probably to air in the system, you just need to have a complete flush done.

Awesome videos. What’s a trip without surprises?

#9

In a 1000 mile drive you can hit Germany, Netherlands, France, italy.

I can go to Tennessee…or the Arctic.

/jealousy

#10

Hah! Fair point.

I did wish for a taller sixth gear once or twice on this trip. 100 mph on the highway is well over 4K RPM.

Funny, we’ve stayed in a few places in France including the Four Seasons in Paris and the Four Seasons in Cap Ferrat (No I’m not rich - as journalists we get to stay free for a couple of days at a time) so I’ve handed the car over to a few of their valets. So far I have a 100% “very nice car sir!” record :smiley: They’ve all complimented on it, and they handle Ferraris and Lambos on a daily basis. One guy did say that he might wear a helmet for the noise next time he does a cold start in the underground parking ;D

#11

You might consider a 6th gear such as my .528, which I’ve been running since 2011. My revs went from 3200 to 2200 at 80 mph. There is also a .56 gear available.

#12

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Look fwd to your sub 8 run next time. Heck if you add a supercharger and a few other items you might be able to get down considerably under 8 minutes. Also I love those wheels, when I had a Subaru Legacy gt thOse were one of my dream wheels, I ended up with discountinued pro drive gc05-f I believe, been a few years? They were 18.8 and 18 lbs a wheel which I thought was light and looked pretty good in light gun metal. Looking back I wish I kept the wheels, it’s a shame they discontinued under the prodrive name, I feel the design is still in circulation only under a different name?

I am in Paris through Thursday and then Venice through Sunday and back to Paris to end my quick trip.

Just scrolled through your OG post again, beautifully done and for a heavy old sedan you did pretty good. These cars are a nice mix of soul and real performance ;-). Happy motoring and great driving!

http://s225.photobucket.com/user/boylunching/media/Legacy/IMG_1316.jpg.html

http://s225.photobucket.com/user/boylunching/media/Legacy/IMG_1316.jpg.html

#13

I have a 0.528 sixth gear that I would sell. It works great for fuel economy but I needed the stock sixth gear for certain situations. Plus the RS4 has a 4.11 differential gear ratio instead of the 3.89 in the S4 so it would help the even more.

#14

Awesome post!

Looks like a lot of fun, your car sounds amazing.

#15

Great post! Looks like you had a lot of fun. One day i’ll make a trip to drive the ring…

Car looks and sounds great. Some fantastic driving too!

#16

I’ve got one more unlisted video up if anyone wants to see more - it’s unedited and starts in the car park. It does have more OBD overlay data with RPM, speed and IAT as I rendered it through RaceChrono on my phone.

I also come across a McLaren 570S in this lap, along with a bunch of other cars. It was the last lap of the day, too.

https://youtu.be/mdUG8cvRbug

#17

Nice driving. Looks like a lid of fun! Was the 570 an amateur and not wanting to crash or was he just taking his time. Those cars are extremely fast and light!

#18

I imagine a lack of track knowledge but I expected him to at least be a bit quicker n the straights where he also didn’t really step on it. Just being careful I guess - which is understandable at the end of the day. I wouldn’t want to be the guy to crash my brand new McLaren on the ring either.

#19

for the most part, 50+ year olds can afford mclarens, and they don’t tend to be death defying track junkies. Totally common for a driver’s performance capacity usage at a road course or drag strip to be inversely proportional to the sticker.

#20

JC very nice driving and awesome pictures!
The lap time is impressive! The fastest lap with an RS4 on the ring was 7:58 as is stated on this website https://nurburgringlaptimes.com/lap-times-top-100/ And if I remember one article correctly, that lap was driven by a professional DTM driver. In which case if you’re a professional DTM driver, that wasn’t a good lap-time. ;D

Hope to visit the Green Hell next year after I get some track time on the Redbull & Hungaro ring this year as it’s a bit closer to me.

Question: What wheel setup did you run on track? Are your Ultraleggeras 18 or 19’’?

Sadly we are stuck with a bit smaller courses here in Slovenia.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5581083/rs/Events/20160423%20-%20Track%20day%20(Raceland)/IMG_2339-2.jpg