OOOOWWW-D.....National Tour in Evansville

[vrona@ix.netcom.com (Steven Verona)]

Hello everyone,

I acomplished 2 of my three goals at the National Tour event this past 
weekend.  As you know, this was going to be the first time I had an 
opportunity to race "the man in H stock", Andy Hollis since making a 
few changes to the car (see later).  I had three goals, at this my 9th 
race ever; 1. Win the race. 2. Make Andy nervous for the Nationals. 3. 
Determine the competitveness of the car (before dedicating more 
resources) and my own abilities.

I definately accomplished number 2!  Andy was looking at the car and 
asking me, and anyone else he could find, questions about my experience 
and the car.  Andy found out that I am a rookie and that the car is 
nowhere near sorted yet.  I am sure he will be thinking about that 
pesky Audi from now until the Nationals ;-) I ended up taking second 
place behind Andy, but on Sunday he beat me by only .5 seconds.  I took 
a full second off my time on the last run.  Obviously, I did not reach 
my number one goal, to win.  But second place was pretty good...as far 
as losing goes!

The third goal, to determine competitiveness, was also acomplished.  
Without a doubt, the Quattro is nationally competitive.  I firmly 
beleive that as the car sits today, Andy Hollis could have gone just as 
fast in it as he did in the MX-6.  I was a mere .5 seconds behind on 
Sunday and I missed one apex and downshifted too late at one corner.  
Once I get the car sorted a bit more, I think I could have won even 
with these mistakes.  The car was very fast, for an H stocker.  I would 
have taken 3rd in G stock and Andy would have taken 1st or second...I 
can't remember.

Overall, I think I kicked some major butt.  The OOOOWWW-D attracted as 
much or more attention than any other car there.  Dozens of people came 
over to tell me how good the car looked and sounded. We can all take 
pride in this.  Not only are we all Audi fans, but I could not have 
gotten this far this fast without the group effort put in by the 
quattro list members. I especially want to thank Robert, Jeffrey, and 
Glenn for all their detailed help....Thanks Guys!

I have some major work ahead of me...all the little details that make a 
winning car.  I think I am going to buy a g-analyst to help me sort the 
car since it is hard to judge my success when I win the local and 
regional events by a few seconds.  Does anyone have any experience 
and/or opinions on the g-analyst?

Changes to the car:  In summary, here are the changes that have been 
made to the car.  Those marked with an asterix were done right before 
the Nat. tour event; 1. Koni sport adjustables, full stiff in front and 
90% stiff in rear. 2. K&N filter.  3. BFG R1 tires. 4. Remove AC*  5. 
Replace timing belt and bump timing to max allowable setting* 6. 
Flowmaster 2 chamber exhaust*  7. Richen fuel mixture*  8. Run Max 
negative camber in front and .8 degree in rear. 9. Alisyn oil 10. New 
lifters*.

If anyone wants any details about my setup, I will be happy to share 
them.

I can't wait to start working on the finer points of tuning the car.  I 
will be making the following enhancements over the next two months in 
preparation for the nationals: Replace fuel filter, fuel injectors, 
brake lines, brake pads, suspension bushings, allignment, and replace 
steering wheel.

One more question for everyone:  Is there anyway to adjust the brake 
bias on the car?  The front tires lock up way too early.  When I 
complete a run,the front rotors are hot and the rears are just warm.  I 
know the 4000 has a sping adjustment on the rear..what about the 
Quattro?

Steven Verona