4kcsq autox experience / question

[nicksimc]

I think that Audi's warnings about the diff locks was mainly due to 
concerns about tire and drivetrain life.  In the dry with one or more diffs 
locked, the tires are forced to 'slip,'  but this means that they are abrading 
as they slip, and removing tread.  Differences in traction from tire to tire 
will effect how much strain is placed on the drivetrain components when 
driven with locked diffs, but locked diffs in the dry _will_ shorten tire 
life.  
The stock drivetrain is supposedly strong enough to handle over 300hp, 
so I wouldn't worry much about that anyway.

Since Audi didn't want to be held accountable for excessive tire wear, they 
warned us not to pull the diffs over a certain speed, then they added an 
automatic disengage because people were leaving the lock on and 
wondering where their tires went.  Electronic disengage or not, the diff 
locks were designed with syncros so that one may pull the lock at 'any' 
speed, but it won't engage until correctly aligned.

I don't know about modulation problems with the diffs locked, I drive with 
the lock in pos 1 a fair amount (dry pavement? in Seattle?) and haven't 
had any problem.  With the lock(s) engaged, more braking power is 
proportioned to the rear, perhaps this is the modulation change you are 
feeling?  Regardless, in an AWD vehicle, you are better off modulating the 
throttle since driving the wheels allows you more control than normal 
braking.   Also, the quattro system is naturally resistant to brake lock.  The 
great advantage Audi had campaigning an 80q in D1 was the fact that they 
could corner deeper and brake later than anyone else, especially 
important because ABS was illegal in D1.

HTH
Matt Nicksic
82 4ks
84 4ksq

>Well, no ax or track experience in my 4kq, but a couple of observations =
>anyways. When I go out to play in the snow, I put it in position 2. The =
>whole driveline gets a lot tighter, even more so than in position 1. In =
>low traction conditions you can kick the tail out and rotate the car =
>nicely, though. My theory of Audi's warnings about low speed only use of 
=
>pos 2, and to a lesser extent pos 1, is that it's the braking that gets =
>interesting. Tough to modulate since the back wheels are forced to spin 
=
>at exactly the same speed in pos 2.
>
>My suggestion is to try it in 2 in lower traction conditions. In the =
>dry, without any extra HP, it will push badly, so pos 0 would likely be =
>better. I can see no advantage to pos 1 (though there may be one!) in a =
>competition environment.
>
>My $0.02CDN.
>
>Cheers,
>Brady Moffatt
>Montreal, Quebec, Canada
>86 4ksq, 283,000km
>72 Datsun 240Z, 180,000 miles
>  ----- Original Message -----=20
>  From: Veetesse=20
>  <snip>
>
>  Any advice by more experienced 4kq drivers?  How do all of you run on 
=
>road race tracks with your track 4kq's? Is it an advantage to put the =
>quattro system in position one? on a dry race track, in the wet?
>
>  Elliott Bavely
>
>  86 4000CS Quattro
>  83 GTI FSP Racey car
>  83 GTI 16V
>  90 VW Cabriolet