This thing is dope. Outside of that spoiler I totally dig this car. I would have never thought about using an A4 as a track car but man I like the idea of it.
saucyp lol he was half way down the road on outside view and still looking over his shoulder too pull on to the road on inside view,good call until saw your comment that was messing with my head for a second didn’t look right
LOL i drive my S15 1999 around the mountains in Tochigi Japan at night every second night and soft setup is better, stiff body soft suspension is the way to go you have room for error and you can feel the car not the bumps......
I had an S14 all my buddies had stiff coil over suspension and I had Tein shocks and lowering springs and I liked it much more than the stiff setup my friends had. I also never crashed in the mountain because I felt like my car had a big gap between the grip zone and oversteer.
I have apparently been living under a rock because I had no idea Audi made any recent cars with manual transmissions. #mindblown #immediatelytoautotrader
Soft => grip, hard =>predictability ... it’s all about balance between the two. And I agree with the owner, I also have a BRZ and it’s making my life hell - just not the car me. Currently looking into a c63s (other extreme of the spectrum lol).
@@givemeajackson Compared to some other cars, as it straight line speed. I personally rather have a car that handles than I car that goes fast in straight line.
Even the most hardcore Audis still understeer terrible. My friends rs3 really struggled against my meg sport with 100hp less on track. Rapid in a straight line but pushed wide everytime
It has a considerable amount to do with the position of the engine relative to the front wheels. Most audi's the center of the engine is where the struts are.
Soft doesn't always mean grip either. Many things come into play besides rate. Sway bars, brake bias, tire pressures, damper valving, etc all come into play. At the end of the day it comes down to how well does your chassis control body movement both acutely (bumps undulations etc) and transitionally (pitch sensitivity/yaw/weight transfer).
Shikhar Shivam true. On the street I run a H&R front bar which feels good. Most guys that track these (I run a mk1 focus) run a much smaller front bar with a diff and some sidewall up front to overcome understeer. Off the shelf coilover rates work fine.
As an owner of an A4 myself I dig this. Mine's a daily though, may do a stage 1 maybe even 2, but that'll be as far as that goes. I have an 86 as my toy/ track car.
Zack, dude, let the rainX treatment on the windshield do its job. No wipers needed. Love, love, love the design concept of grip w/o the punishing ride. I've often wondered if / how that could be accomplished with a modern WRX STI especially when driving around the mid-Atlantic winter damaged roads where pot-holes, cracks and uneven pavement is the norm. [Edit: glad that you are bringing back wheel well as that helps the curious learn more about these builds directly from the owners.]
@@maxsale2927 Will read up on the Ohlins. Have been wondering about 17" rims with a slightly taller sidewall tire to match the OEM circumference, too. That's assuming that the slightly smaller rims can still play nicely with those big calipers and rotors.
Billeh from the little experience I have, maybe 80mph +. So any reasonably sized track can accommodate that. SOW, Big Willow, Buttonwillow, Laguna Seca, Auto Club (duh), etc....
Whoa they’re making manual Quattro longitudinal engined Audi’s again? :O finally! I thought Audi gave up on fun cars for drivers. Can you get manual Quattro A4s in the uk? A manual A5 Quattro cabrio would be perfection if it exists. For the unaware, the Quattro system in A4 and up use longitudinally mounted engines and proper torsen 4WD systems with rear bias. Unlike most ‘AWD’ cars that are just transverse front wheel drive cars with a haldex to occasionally send some power to the back (golf R, TT, etc). But for ages you haven’t been able to buy a manual torsen Audi, not since the V8 RS4 from last decade. When designed properly the gearbox should be directly under the shifter meaning you can have a proper direct shift linkage like old Imprezas
Great video of a great car. Love seeing Zach struggle to make sense of why the car exists in the way it does. It’s the definition of the worst case scenario with a car guy. Gets nice luxury car and ends up finding a way to make a track car, because why not?
Hey Zach, can you take this channel more seriously, you've done so much video work with Drive and others, make this channel your own and do something great with it. Make it your own buddy👍🏻
Cool car! Love the aero and everything. Now im not knocking your decision but with the price of the TTRS why not just go for an s4? It’s only a few more grand.
Matt Bergeron got them from 034, and i’m positive they make it for the B8 as well. if you’re posting about your build i’d love to follow on IG or Wheelwell, mind sharing a link?
Of course grip doesn't mean stiff. Its literally the opposite. The more you stiffen suspension on any axle, the more you're loading the outside wheel compared to the inside, therefore the less grip you have overall on that axle. Its not rocket science
Wanted to give this a thumbs up but no icon. To the owner don't strip out the interior for a race seat and harness. Keep her as stock as you can. You can get harness bars that attach inside with minimal disruption to the stock fittings.go with that. The sleeper look is much better. The more race you make the car look the attention you'll get from local Leo's. .. who needs that?
Paul C i’m definitely keeping the interior for as long as possible, but by 2020 or 2021 i plan to register non-op and keep her off public roads for good. it’s a fun and unique little project that’s gone too far and we figure might as well take it all the way. we’re currently working a few mock up configurations for chassis mounted aero (including a new 2D wing to mount to chassis). screw it lol
Wonderful build, I don't want to know how much he spent on mods though! The conversation between you two is really good too. Both of you guys knew what to ask and how to respond.
@@Hole_Motorsports You'll be surprised. Cars generate a lot of lift at high speed. Wing might not be as effective in cornering, but it does wonders for straight-line stability. It also keeps the rear from wiggling under hard braking. Drive a car without a wing at 90 mph, then drive the same car with a wing and feel the difference. That's why good suspension companies ask if you're using aero, so they can adjust spring rate and valving to match
Bill Peralta I race an e36 with aero that used to not have aero, I’m well aware of what a GOOD wing and splitter will do for a car. That wing looks inefficient for doing anything but creating drag. If it’s not adding downforce in corners there’s no point of having it.
Seeing all the hate comments makes me think: In your opinion (haters) which are a better or a good car for track use in terms of handling and reliability?
The answer is always Miata ;) If you're serious about becoming a better driver you need seat time, and there isn't a car that has as enjoyable of a chassis to learn with as a Miata along with parts that are readily available and insanely cheap. Lighter weight means you spend less $ on brakes/tires coz they are smaller and take less punishment. That's why it is so popular. Although there are similar alternatives. If you enjoy spending all your $ on tires/brakes and stuff, go ahead and get some really expensive new car. You'll be going faster than the Miata, but you'll get less seat time per dollar, and you won't develop your skills as much. It really depends on your goal. You want to just have some fun every now and then and don't really care about developing skills through consistent seat time, then just run whatever, have fun, who cares? You want to be serious about track time, there are some obvious answers to that question, and it's usually Miata, S2000, FRS, or some other similarly lightweight RWD coupe that has cheap parts. Oh ya, C5 Z06, that's the answer if you want to go faster than 95% of stuff on the track and still not break the bank on the car or tire/brake upkeep. I'm not going to hate on this guy's car just because it's different than my choice. The whole point is to enjoy yourself and have fun, and this is how he's decided he is having fun, which is great. I think it's fantastic to see different stuff, but it's always important for you to sit down and go "what makes the most sense for me and my desires/needs/wants/etc." then you figure it out for yourself, because what other people do may just be the right choice for them and not for you. In life you'll be happier doing what is best for yourself and not what others think is best.
@@jomaha9227 wow, Thank you for your answer brother! I'm looking forward for a track/street car for my own fun and the thing is that's my life as you said and I have to enjoy it with what I think and feel is better for me!!
Ahh that spoiler is killing it for me, too much honda ricer on that spoiler....im sure its a legit carbon fiber and its good brand, but that just looks bad on this car lol.
This is such a coincidence i saw this car at JHM motorsports when i was getting my car tuned and i am now seeing it on TheSmokingTire.... small world lol
It good to hear more confirmation that German car's come with good stock breaks. It might be a VAG thing but I am pretty confident even my in my current wip break fade won't plague me.
Dave Taylor the tow hook is out of laziness, has to go on when on track anyways. the wing helps, i don’t care that it ruins the look or idea of the German car it functions for my needs. but to agree, yes it’s an absolute disaster of a part for the car
@@AHMoss Eh, don't listen to Dave. You are a function over form kinda guy. You know what makes a car fast, and you've done it. Props on taking the road less traveled with your track toy. Screw the haters.
maynardDRIVESfast 80 i appreciate that, it is fair to be with the general consensus and make such comments about a wing on a German car, definitely expected the negatives toward wing, RS4 gauges (which are only visible to me and the only non A4 badge on the car), and the diverter valve spacer
I got that car as a loaner while my A3 was in the shop and man that car is no joke! I would be going 110 and not even notice, the car was so damn quite and the 8 speed DSG was so quick/smooth.
@@roundearthshill248 good point but ask your self when is it enough down force? It's all wheel drive and it needs a good balance between rear down force and front down force. That wing is huge and I think over kill a good lip and a good front splitter would do wonders as well
Try JAYEMM ON CARS - really good car channel. How much better would a track car be if it was light, rather than this? In his situation, if you get the Jetta you sell the A4 and buy an actual track car.
If it were me, I would have bought an RS3 instead of considering the TT RS. Same engine in a four door car. This is pretty bad ass though, it’s interesting to take a basic platform and make it perform.
I have nothing but positive things to say about this mans build, just one question. If you were ready to put down the money on a TTRS, a $65k car, why not get the $50k S4 over the A4? a higher hp platform
Please excuse the dumb question, but is the shifter cables or rods? Is stock cables? I thought I remembered VW used rods at one time and went to cable? I was looking for an older E34, but the A4 looks so interesting, I just hate cable shifters. I'm 67 and haven't had a nice driver in awhile. 8)
