[s-cars] URS as a track car

[qshipq at aol.com]

 I think many are missing the point, and the posts get lost quickly.  This isn't a debate on what's a good track car (like an oil thread - oooftah), as I understand it, Calvin speaks to taking an UrS, and making it a track car.  "$8-10k into a track car?"...  I know the 5ktq is under that budget for 10 years of track time.  And I also know that quattros can keep up and pass many of the 'accepted' track cars mentioned so far, I've seen just about every one in my 20 years of doing marque events.  

Now, if Calvin says he can do 95% of the work himself, and it's a sunk-cost car, a stripped urS absolutely can be fun, fast, and cheap to run.  And the 'consumables' one sees in a DD, become non issues in a track driven S...  Lat links, control arm bushings, POS, plugs, coil packs.  All of the above become rarely used spares brought to the track, btdt.  Are there potentially faster cars on the track?  Always, but there are more potential faster drivers no matter what machine is on the track.  

We all tend to forget too, that driving at the track what you drive on the street, makes for good education, good unfair advantage, and good comparisons/tempers to tweeking what you drive on the street.  IME, if you have a track quattro, you are less likely to go all out on your street car, because you have properly fulfilled your need for speed where you should.   And you can thoroughly enjoy the street version for being a fantastic road car in almost stock trim.  Read:  take your road car budget, and spend a portion of it on your track car = win.  Hap could be driving a Indy car by now...  :)

For anyone to say the math doesn't add up on a track quattro, means they haven't experienced one of the most under-rated ways to get good cheap track time.  And I know speaking to plenty that have done so, it adds up just fine, add in the ease of driving quattros fast, prepping one is one of the best equalizers to experience/fun factor.


Crap I sat right seat in a turbocharged NSX that got lapped by a prepped first gen clapped out SHO in one run group...  And I use whatever synthetic oil is on sale.

 
Scott J

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Calvin Craig <calvinlc at earthlink.net>
To: docwyte at comcast.net
Cc: s-car-list at audifans.com
Sent: Sat, Nov 20, 2010 11:30 am
Subject: Re: [s-cars] URS as a track car


>if you're going to spend $8-10k on top of the car



I already have the car, but I understand the rest of your logic.  BTW, there is 

a big difference between the B5 sedan's and the B5 avant's as a track car, but 

there are similarities too, i.e. way high cost on consumables :)

--Calvin



  -----Original Message-----

  From: docwyte at comcast.net [mailto:docwyte at comcast.net]

  Sent: Saturday, November 20, 2010 9:23 AM

  To: calvinlc at earthlink.net

  Cc: s-car-list at audifans.com

  Subject: Re: URS as a track car





  I don't see selling your (insert car to sell here) to buy any of the really 

good, cheap track cars.



  Ie:  E36 M3, or a miata, or a E30 325is, or a Porsche 911, 944, etc, etc.



  You need to figure out exactly what you want to do with the car and how much 

you want to spend.  I struggled with this until I sat down with a friend and he 

pretty much peppered me with questions about what I wanted, how I was going to 

use the car, etc, etc.



  I ended up selling my supercharged E46 M3 and buying an UrS as my daily driver 

and a Porsche 944 turbo as a track car.  Turns out the 944 turbo had all kinds 

of issues and I ended up putting an LS1 in it, but it's still a dedicated time 

trial car that I can still drive on the street.



  I owned a stage 3+ B5 S4 avant for a few years and it was a great daily 

driver.  As a track car I found it left quite a bit to be desired.  It was 

extremely heavy and extremely hard on consumables.  I simply couldn't keep 

brakes on it, I torched a set of pads in 1 track weekend.



  The C5 Vette is a very capable car, you can get a C5 Z06 now for under $20k.  

I think you'll be very surprised at how cheap the parts are, consumables will be 

mostly rear tires.  If you're able to get the same size wheel/tire so you can 

rotate them you'll find they'll last a reasonable amount of time.  Brakes are 

stupid cheap.  Motor stuff is incredibly cheap as I've discovered with the LS1 

in my 944.



  While building the UrS is certainly fun and it's a great car, if you're going 

to spend $8-10k on top of the car, it just doesn't make sense unless the journey 

of the project is what you're after.



  BTW, when are you going to run with NASA at HPR?  Look for me, red 944 making 

sounds that a Porsche has no right to be making...