So it looks like this thing is here to stay......I wasn't at the last ProSolo but from what people are saying the thing kills us on the launch. Not sure what he makes up on the launch but I'm guessing he has the MINI's by 3 or 4 tenths right off the bat.

What's everyone opininon??? Besides the fact that this is a GS car with a great driver in HS.....

Looking forward to the Atwater Pro.....Just hope it doesn't rain.

Stuart

 

It's not necessarily a G Stock car (hard to tell since it's technically a newer discovery). The A4 is definitely a middle ground G Stock, but not the 90.

What you're dealing with is not only a great driver (top national Miata driver for years), but a very smart person when it comes to setup. I can assure you that he's got shocks on the car and has been working hard to dial it in.

Let's move on to your disadvantage. Isn't this fun!? Speaking directly from Pro Solo AWD vs. FWD experience, you're loosing probably exactly what you said, if not more. In STX MINI vs. WRX action, we lost no less than .5 of the line...on each SIDE. That equates to you having to be 1 second better in driving skill if the cars are equal after the launch. Which leads me back to Alan's driving skill...
You've got the worst drive wheels for Pro launches, so it's not really a big surprise.

By the way Keith, at least letting your co-driver beat you by .006 is not too embarrassing

Brian

 

>>It's not necessarily a G Stock car (hard to tell since it's technically a newer discovery). The A4 is definitely a middle ground G Stock, but not the 90.
>>

You might be a singing a different tune if you look up the specs.....Basically the specs are the same as an Audi A4 V6. 172hp, Quattro AWD, Sport suspension, 15x7 wheels.......I guessing around #3200 in autocross trim. Not to mention the fact he gets 3 degrees of negative camber in front!!! 3 degrees!!!

Okay, I'm all for the competition but have to admit this car makes me a little nervous.....Like you said, Alan is a smart guy and great driver. He saw this car was overlooked and wants to add another title to his name......That's okay, but I'll be suprised if this car stays in HS for very long if it can't be beat.

Just my .02

Stuart

 

A couple of things you might consider. Although it has a couple of horsepower advantage in the power/weight ratio, it also has weight, and lots of it. Audi/VW's are notoriously softly sprung even with the sport packages, so he's using every bit of shock he can get.
The part that I don't understand is the -3 degrees of camber! I've never heard of a VW product with lots of camber adjustment, of course I haven't researched it that much.
Either way, I'll wait to pass judgement at Tours and with a full field of top H Stockers. Not to take away from Keith or Abe, I'd just want to see Alan run Mark, Jeff, and Chang as well.

Keep in mind, the WRX was the car to have in D Stock at Pros in 2002, but was never as good in the Tours (where cars truly determine their classification).

Brian

 

>>The part that I don't understand is the -3 degrees of camber! I've never heard of a VW product with lots of camber adjustment, of course I haven't researched it that much

Yeah, I was suprised to hear that.....But talking to Mark Chiles that's what he's getting....

>>Either way, I'll wait to pass judgement at Tours and with a full field of top H Stockers. Not to take away from Keith or Abe, I'd just want to see Alan run Mark, Jeff, and Chang as well.
>>

Don't get me wrong.....He can beat, in fact I know Keith has beaten him at local events in his region. The whole HS/GS class is pretty close at the top.....If you look at the past results you'll see that HS is normally running as fast or faster then GS at most National tours.

>>Keep in mind, the WRX was the car to have in D Stock at Pros in 2002, but was never as good in the Tours (where cars truly determine their classification).
>>

Yeah, I ran a 97 Talon AWD in DS thinking it would be a good car for the class. It was regionally but in the end could never over come the Type R's power to weight ratio awesome handling.......What can I say. Time will tell.


Stuart

 

>>The part that I don't understand is the -3 degrees of camber! I've never heard of a VW product with lots of camber adjustment, of course I haven't researched it that much

Yeah, I was suprised to hear that.....But talking to Mark Chiles that's what he's getting....

>>Either way, I'll wait to pass judgement at Tours and with a full field of top H Stockers. Not to take away from Keith or Abe, I'd just want to see Alan run Mark, Jeff, and Chang as well.
>>

Don't get me wrong.....He can beat, in fact I know Keith has beaten him at local events in his region. The whole HS/GS class is pretty close at the top.....If you look at the past results you'll see that HS is normally running as fast or faster then GS at most National tours.

>>Keep in mind, the WRX was the car to have in D Stock at Pros in 2002, but was never as good in the Tours (where cars truly determine their classification).
>>

Yeah, I ran a 97 Talon AWD in DS thinking it would be a good car for the class. It was regionally but in the end could never over come the Type R's power to weight ratio and awesome handling(almost as good as the MINI).......What can I say. Time will tell.


Stuart

 

As a past VW Driver.... A2 and A3 Chassis cars (golf / jetta) can get a ton of camber using factory autorized crash bolts... The Audi 90 must share that advantage... it is the newer A4 Chassis Golfs/Jettas... that no longer have that advantage... (change in the style of strut used)....

From what I have heard the 90 was launching better than nearly everyone at the pro and that the surface was slick... giveing max AWD advantage.... It might be a GS car but only time will tell....

 

Alan's San Diego HS time would have placed third in GS behind Mark Chiles and on Sunday Dahl had a faster run in HS than Mark did in GS.

At the San B Pro his HS time would have been 2 tnths behind Chiles in second place, just in front of Jeff Jacobs.

Stuart, if you hadn't coned your first day in San Diego though, you would have been pretty close to the top and Dahl's overall time, yes? I seem to recall consistent 51's with a cone each?

A good measure of Dahl's driving ability is to look also at his codriver's times.

ArmChairAugs

 

I had a 4000 quattro and the rear suspension was adjustable in every which way. My A4, as stated, doesn't have the ability to change camber. My son has a 90Q. I'll have him look at the suspension and report.

 

>>Alan's San Diego HS time would have placed third in GS behind Mark Chiles and on Sunday Dahl had a faster run in HS than Mark did in GS.
>>

>>A good measure of Dahl's driving ability is to look also at his codriver's times.
>>


I agree.......And I'm not trying to discount Alans ability as a driver. I'm only trying to expose what a "real" threat this vehicle could be for HS. After talking to Alan at the San Diego event it looks as if this car will only get quicker as he gets it dialed in. He mentioned the fact that he has a "big" front sway bar on order that should really help the handling and traction.

Stuart

 

Where to start....

The audi is pretty stiffly sprung, it is the sport package, and while it does weigh a lot, it transitions very well. I've driven this car once, before Alan put the shocks on it and it was a handful. It is a whole different driving style than I am used to.

I run against Alan locally and I have never lost by as much as I did at San Berdoo. Alan was getting at least .4 sec per side in the first 60 feet, with the slick surface he probably picked up most of the rest at the turn around. I feel I drove pretty well, but I know I left some time on the course, but not a second on the right and .6 on the left.

Abe (my co-driver) drove great at his first Pro Solo, cutting great lights and driving really well. The course got faster with each run due to the rubber being put down, and he ran second on Sunday morning, picking up enough time to get ahead of me. (can I make some more excuses now?) We should have quite a battle the rest of the year. We just need to get that stupid Audi out of the way.

We'll get another shot at the Atwater Pro, but Alan won't be at the NT. Lets see how many tires we can shread trying to keep up on the launch on a grippy surface.

Keith

 

Alan recently emailed me and wanted to clear up some misconceptions about his Audi 90.

First of all, he has more like -1.5 in the front and only -0.5 in the rear.

Secondly while the 12V V-6 (not a VR-6 BTW, it's a 90 degree) does have
172 hp that's still 18 hp less than the 190 hp put out by the 30 valve
V-6 in the GS A4s like Joe Goeke's.
Stuart's guess of 3200 lbs is pretty close though, it's 3222 lbs according to the scales at the Pro.
Even so it doesn't have the best power to weight ratio in the class,
the Focus 2.3 is better as are the Subaru Imprezza and the Mirage
turbo.

Since Joe's A4 was not a particularly competitive GS car and
his is slower, he says it's hard to say where the car really belongs. I would definitely call it H Stock.

Alan's opinion is that the slick surface at the Pro made the difference more than it would have been normally. If you look at the results you'll see that most of the
AWD and rear-engined cars did well against the front drivers and as Keith mentioned he's usually a lot closer than that at their local events.
I can attest to "slick surface" having pulled FTD in a student's Subaru SVX (all automatics!) at my school the other day where I also drove Z-06's, S2000's, etc. on a very dirty surface. People who frequent dirty lots see this all of the time with Subarus/Audis running the fastest.

Brian

 

Wether the Audi 90CS Quattro is a GS or an HS car is really a mute point.....The fact remains it's an HS car this year and we will all be running against it nationally.

Is it a better car then the MINI for HS? Maybe, I'm not sure....Obvously he's proven it can be competitive. Car classification is a tough thing. Factor in good a driver and it's amazing what can be competitive. Many people would argue that the base MINI is a better GS car then the "S"(Including myself). Does that mean I want the base MINI to be moved to GS. Absolutely not!

I bought the base MINI because at the time I knew it could be competitve in HS. Did Alan buy the Audi 90CS Quattro because he thought it would be a good HS car? Maybe, if he did....More power to him.

Again, I'm only trying to expose the competetion we face in HS and spread a little gossip. That's half the fun, isn't it?

Stuart

 

I'm not too worried about the Audi, it's the other 13 cars that beat me at the SDNT on my home turf, some had cones on all three runs Sat, and still beat me. I feel like the Washington Generals at Tours.

 

Hey Chris

Misery loves company!

BackenderAugs

 

Hey Chris,
>>
>>Misery loves company!
>>
>>BackenderAugs

Misery??? To me misery is the poor sap that sits at home on Sunday and never gets to experience the competition we all love in this sport........

 

Ahh! Good point Stuart.

hey, the new coach has in motion automated satellite feed and I'm siging up for DISH. Next time you're over wofffing down brats and brews you'll be able to watch that Formula One race you wanted!

RVAugs

 

I thought my weekend was expensive, but a new Motorhome- YIKES!

 

>>hey, the new coach has in motion automated satellite feed and I'm siging up for DISH. Next time you're over wofffing down brats and brews you'll be able to watch that Formula One race you wanted!
>>


Awesome!!! I'm looking forward to it....BTW- Since the next race I'll see you at is in my neck of the woods I feel obligated to supply the wine......I've already got your bottle but depending on the group I'll bring more.......You know, we'll be pretty close to the wine country...See you there.

 

Rob and I will be there. Trophy Fodder Racing We're the 90% that makes the top 10% possible.

 

Damn Chris, that's funny!

Big up's to TEAM TROPHY FODDER. Class filler since 2002.

Ed (pround charter TTF member)