Daytona Speedway event - 4 RS6's

[Benman]

Jatwrite (JAXRS6) was also there and was one of the RS 6s there (Mugello Blue).

Ben

[JAXRS6]

What a great time! I can't recall having more fun with my clothes on.

This was only my second event too, the first being in 2001 at Waterford Hills, Michigan, in my chipped B5 A4 (200 hp). Topped out at 80 mph. It was a fun little track in a fun little car compared to Daytona in a 450 hp RS 6, where even as a rookie I twice hit 140 mph and learned to "cruise" comfortably at 130 around the banked turns. No doubt could add 10 mph if I had more experience, nerve, or both -- the power was there. Suspension and brakes performed flawlessly. I'm stock except for brakes.

I did modify my brakes just before going, after reading many posts here about brakes becoming toast at track events. I needed new front rotors anyway and went stock with those, then added Pagid Blue pads. Also installed stainless steel brake lines all around and used brake fluid with a higher temperature tolerance -- Motul I think, but it's not named on my receipt.

My receipt's write-up also seems to conflict a bit with what I was told over the phone about the final mod: adding Phaeton brake ducts. So before I describe the installation I need to talk to the dealer (Suncoast) that did the work and that won't happen til Monday. Meantime I can tell you the whole thing worked very well: No overheating, no spongy pedal, no loss of braking power, no reason to slow down on the tri-oval despite the relative heat mentioned by others -- until the very end when a couple of odd noises showed up. The advantage of the ducts is that the faster you go, the more cooling they produce -- and there are long stretches of go-fast at Daytona!

Neither of the noises returned while driving 230 mi home at 70 mph. Suncoast agrees the noises probably were heat-related -- Sunday was the hottest day, I think -- and not to bother with the 100 mile round trip to check it out unless noises return.

Diversity of the 150 drivers and their cars was impressive. From as far as Oregon and Quebec, ages ranging from 20s to 70ish, with one of the latter hitting 180 mph in his Carerra GT.

It was a great learning experience for all, including instructors and I'm sure some pros, given that Daytona never had held this kind of event before. The fact that it went incident-free should bode well for a repeat, we who attended hope. Contrasts in performance were striking: The RS6 gave ground to few on the banked tri-oval but suffered on the tighter and flat infield turns, where lighter cars prevailed -- especially as the heat built up and things got greasy for us. But traction on the tri-oval never was an issue, due to it's banking and less need for leaving rubber on the track.

My instructor, a veteran of 200 track events, said at one point as we were cruising at about 130: "I wonder how they go three abreast." I asked what he meant. "NASCAR," he said. "They drive three abreast here at 200 mph, and I just wonder how they do it!" One look at the seemingly narrow track around us made his point obvious. We both gained new respect for NASCAR drivers, who may only turn left but do so at speeds and in conditons requiring mucho cojones.

Even entering Daytona was awesome. I felt like one of the high school basketball players in the scene from "Hoosiers" where they enter the huge Indianapolis field house for the first time and look up, jaws dropped from the mere size of the place. At Daytona the 31 degree banking impresses immediately, in a way that two-dimensional TV coverage and photos can't convey, and the way the two huge grandstands flank the track impresses again -- especially when entering from the orignal narrow tunnel (north end I think). Some cars arrived in pretty pricey digs, i.e. fully enclosed in their own trailer rig, further elevating the aura compared to Waterford Hills. Which, again, is a fun track. But Daytona is legendary and seeing it is to know why.

"I'm running with the big dogs now," I thought upon arriving. By the end I had become a smoother, safer, and faster driver -- in that order -- while learning, having fun and building confidence.

Pro Driver Randy Pobst was there with APR and spoke at the Saturday night dinner. Randy won many races in the RS6, 2003-2004. He immediately started praising the RS6, whereupon I moved towards the front and loaned him my new RS6 baseball cap for a photo. He hammed for me, then went on about how driving tight turns is nice but there's nothing like the massive torque produced by the RS6. He called it one of the best cars he's ever driven and I don't think he mentioned another Audi model.

Bless you Randy! I'm sure some 911 owners were thinking, "Geez, you mean I can have this much fun and a back seat too?"

[Benman]

Jax, awesome write-up. And I agree that Randy is 1st Class.

Ben

[JAXRS6]

Sorry this took so long but it's fairly simple to pass on: The Audi dealer tech used this thread as his guide for the parts and installation of the Phaeton brake ducts, and everything worked out fine -- for him and for me at Daytona:

http://rs6.com/forum/showthread.php?...hlight=PHAETON

Many thanks to skiwi for the thread! The tech must have been impressed, because in past years this particular dealer has not been eager to follow forum advice.

My other mods were Pagid RS4-2 Blue pads on front, stainless steel brake lines (no brand or FP number shown), and racing brake fluid with FP number 1-203-900 (again no brand listed but I think it was Motul). Rear pads & rotors looked OK, so no change was made to prep.

Since I made all three changes at once, it's hard to know which was most important. But I suspect the ducts are especially suited to Daytona, since the faster you go, the more air is forced into brake cooling and the better they work. Most of the distance at Daytona was at triple digits speeds.

I still think about it, and others who hear about it are impressed. Ripping around a three mile tri-oval at 130-140 mph, hard braking, taking the chicane at maybe 90, blast off to 130 again, then to challenges of staying put on the slippery-when-hot infield road course, then back to 130-140 ... and I was the slowest RS6 out there! All in a roomy and stylish AWD sedan still mistaken for new at times that is suited just as well for a night at the opera, hauling home a new ladder, or a comfortable cross country trip.

Considering the price these days -- under $40K in the US, I hear -- is anything better out there?! I've owned mine since new in Aug 03 and, after a brief recent spin on a local rural road where I can, er, reach Daytona speed briefly at 3 a.m., I can't wait to go back to Daytona itself again for tons of such fun without having to worry about "getting caught"!


Question for others who were there: Now that it's been a while, I wonder what you think. Since most or all of you had tracked your RS6s elsewhere before, I wonder how you compare the tracks you've driven. Not overall facilities, necessarily -- just the track. What I loved about Daytona was being able to reach those triple digit speeds on a sustained basis, thanks to the 31 degree banking. I also loved that it did not beat up my car. At 70K mi I still have no rattles and want to keep it that way. The oval was a bit lumpy, but not a lot and I detected zero sharp bumps.

Can you think of another track that meets those criteria as well?