S4 sees track time! Road course mini review

this is a great colour with dark wheels. Is it Quartz Grey? Was this colour cancelled after the tsunami in Japan? It’s awesome but I hardly ever see any. I’ve seen maybe two. There are a good half a dozen on AR (primetime might be the most famous one).

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-nIwV0swL3QE/VGN2B-bDeOI/AAAAAAAADuM/zkSiPPNaRvs/s720/audi_S4_summit1.jpg

I have probably about 1000 road miles and 2 track days under that setup. I do think it’s a step up in performance. The reason I got the 2piece rotors (they are OEM size) is to mitigate rotor cracking/warping. My friend who does lots of HPDE events has told me horror stories of his one piece rotors cracking after just 2 track days (he runs in the HPDE level3 group). And one story where some guy’s rotors literally exploded. According to ECS, they are also directionally vaned, so I hope there is a slight reduction in temps compared to stock. Aesthetics-wise, they look pretty good. I do wish that they also offered them in slotted only.

Unsure about longevity, as I run a street performance pad opposed to the more abrasive track pads. Now about the HPS 5.0s. I run the 5.0s in the front and regular HPS in the back. It’s funny, in normal everyday driving, if I get squeal, it’s from the rears. Compared to stock, there is somewhat less initial bite, so they may not be for you if that’s what you want to preserve. But the pedal feel is more linear, so I think modulation is better. The braking force is very proportional to the amount of pedal travel and feels more consistent. At optimum temps, if you are braking hard, with my Hankook Ventus and dry road conditions, you will overwhelm traction and the ABS will kick in. I think they will complement race compound tires nicely.

With my setup: SS lines, ECS 2piece rotors, HPS 5.0 pads, motul 600, I was encountering brake fade towards the end of the session.

(more to follow)

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And as i was learning the track/car and finally started to push alittle harder.

If i was going to be serious about tracking the s4, i would definitely get brake ducting done, and probably move to the BBK.

I will be most likely be building a track specific car. I am looking seriously at a 2004 A4 that I am gonna gut the interior and put in a 1/2cage, race seat, harness and wheel. The 2010 S4 sits at 4000lbs, and i can feel its heft in the corners, and it eats rotors/pads.

The A4 i am looking at has pretty sorted engine with the AWE turbo and GIAC tune. It puts down alittle more HP than my Stg 1 B8, and it will be at least 1000lbs lighter.

it is indeed quartz gray, with gunmetal vmr 710s

scratches and dirt/dust doesn’t really show up. while i do wash and detail my own cars, i like that i can go alittle longer in between washes.

i also like the meteor gray as well. i’m pretty happy with the stance right now.

Same here. I barely ever wash mine. It is Avus Silver. In the summer, maybe 5 times.

http://audirevolution.net/addons/albums/images/611266829.jpg

nice RS4. love the fender flares on RSs. If Audi ever offers the RS4 again the US, I’d buy it in a heartbeat.

Btw, I’m lowered about an inch front and rear on Bilstein PSS10 coilovers, and SPC control arms.

Thanks for the input!

You mention ABS - I can get ABS to kick in on stock pads also. However, are you meaning to state that the HPS 5.0 are more difficult to modulate, and ABS can come in more unexpectedly, or it can be triggered with less effort?

My issue with stock pads is that initial bite is not the best (for my preferences), and the bite is not proportional to pedal force. There isn’t much bite after you get like 65% into the pedal. Between 65 and 100%, you are only getting what feels like 80% return in bite (vague description is vague, i know :D). Have you tried the old HP+? I wonder how the new HPS 5.0 compare with those. HP+ were noisey, and were only good to like 1000f temps. HPS 5.0 are good to 1200f, but who knows what bite is like at those temps.

i feel like with the ABS /VSC enabled, you can engage the ABS (under dry pavement conditions) earlier with my setup. I am assuming what I am feeling is that the braking forces is overwhelming my tire grip. I am running hankook ventus evo2s…which are a good street tire. I’d like to try a set of heatcycled toyo R888s next. I think they will complement the setup now.

i’ve abandoned the B5/B6 A4 idea for now. I am still browsing for decent track prepped 944s or E36s.