I think I am regretting my spring selection

cossie1600 · 02-01-2014, 06:29 PM

Without removing it and swapping the springs, I can't say for certain what works and what not. The only thing I can say is that the car just wasn't fast with just the coilover. I had to put a front sway bar in the car to get some speed back into the car. Yes I do agree the ability to transfer power to the back makes a huge difference. I was cornering the same speed with just the coilover, but I just couldn't come off the turns.

I had A6s on my car for an autox run. The car felt like crap, but it was over a sec quicker in a 30 sec course. The A6s will always be faster, stock or not stock over street tires.

I didnt take temps from the previous days. I did use a new infrared thermometer (not exactly accurate), tires came off at 160F and 140F after the cool down lap. I should also note this was probably the warmest day I had at Laguna. The December event was about 5-10F cooler.

Track temps are always around 230-270, I never see any drop in power related to oil temp. I have gotten pretty good at pacing myself, plus I had to short shift onto the front straight because the clutch was slipping. I don't have the datalogs from December, but the November and January logs show the car made the same exact power.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shamu

Important to remember that tires and suspension work as a system. A6s with stock suspension wouldn't work well. You need more spring rate to handle grip of A6. Also you do have to go with ridiculously low rear spring rates in the back. I run 1000 lb fronts with my JRZs and 500 lb rears. I still have to put lots of bump in front to keep that front end front diving too much at Laguna Seca when going into braking zones even with 1000 lb springs. I still have my stock Nismo rear bar which is more than enough in back but use big progress bar up front But biggest mistake people make with Z is to go too stiff in rear and not enough spring and bar in the front. You need ability to transfer weight to rear wheels on turn exits.

Also laguna Seca surface can be really bad if we don't have rain to wash off all oils, antifreeze and rubber. It can get progressively slicker during dry season like we have had.

Also what were comparative temps from your run sessions. RS3 doesn't like cool temps. Too stiff rear and suboptimal tire temps and slightly slicker surface would make car tough to put power down on tun exits.

Also did you keep eye on oil temps? I have seen huge power drops when oil goes much higher than 240. Given laguna Seca is power course any drop in hp will tank your lap times. Big reason I went to e85 was to help keep temps lower. Also be careful on Laguna if you don't have baffled oil pan as you will oil stave if you go to stickier tires. I'm likely selling my AM performance pan now that I'm going dry sump.

Finally beware if you go to A6 I can assure you will have ice mode issues. That's rather exciting on a track like Laguna Seca ! In early days with my car never had ice issues with streets or even r888. As soon as A6s and stiffer suspension went on yikes!

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