Re: stock 4000Q faster than A4?

[Luis Marques <marques@ti.com>]

You won't get any arguments from me, Carter.  To be fair we should say
that a mildly modified 4000q can be faster than a stock A4q.  As they
say, the most important nut in the car is the one behind the steering
wheel.  Fast lap times are probably 60% driver and 40% car.  Even if you
had a bone stock 4kq, if all the other A4 drivers were novices, you
could run circles around them if you knew what you were doing.

Then there is power to weight ratio.  A 4kq weighs about 2700 lbs. plus
maybe 350 lbs for driver and fuel and you get 3050 lbs with a 120hp
engine (that stebro exhaust must give you 5 hp right?) that's roughly a
25.4 weight to power ratio.  An A4 1.8tq weighs in at around 3150, plus
350 lbs for driver and fuel and 150 hp thats a 23.3 w-p ratio.  So the
A4 1.8tq will pull maybe 9% stronger on the straights, but how much time
do you spend on the straights?  Probably as much as you spend in the
turns or even less.  So the apparent power advantage is reduced by
half.  Now, if you factor in the fact that you have done some suspension
mods and are able to take turns faster, then it's not very surprising
that you can keep up with the A4 1.8's and even get passing signals.  A
30V or a chipped 1.8t with 190hp and a w-p ratio of about 19 will pull
much stronger (~30%) in the straights, but if they are slow in the turns
and you are a good driver, you can still lap them.

Now, take the stock A4 and add the sports suspension, or even better,
an  aftermarket one, and chip it, put good tires in it, and put in a
good driver behind the wheel and suddenly it will be much harder to keep
up with them.

Personally, I have an '87 4kq with H&Rs, Boge Turbo Gas shocks, Dunlop
SP8000 195/55-14 tires on the stock wheels, an free flow exhaust and a
mild cam and have a blast lapping not-so-well-driven 911 turbos.  I was 
lapping A4 1.8tq's, 30V's, but as their respective drivers got better,
it became harder to lap them and after they modified their stock soft
suspensions and chipped their cars, it's no contest.  They are faster
than me.  Unless they loose their concentration... or start making
mistakes...  As I said, the most important piece of equipment is the nut
behind the wheel.

Luis Marques
'87 4kq


Kwattro@aol.com wrote:
> 
> 
> Boy - this one is gonna get me crucified...
> 
> So at Limerock, a bunch (about 20) of A4's were in my run group.
> I have an 86 4000CS Quattro.  The engine is stock.  I did the
> suspension, ungraded the brakes (stainless lines, brembo rotors,
> metal master pads....) and augmented the exhaust with the Stebro
> stainless system.  And going out, me and my little 115 hp (or so)
> were able to outdrive nearly all the A4's in my group. Including
> 30v's.  (This is the explanation for my comments about A4's being
> slow....)  None of the cars in my group passed me.  Needless to
> say, it was a large confidence boost as to justification for not
> buying a new car.  Not that A4's aren't nice (I think they're
> awesome) but for about 1/4 the price, I enjoy my car quite nicely. 
> Thank you for this little brag session.  I'm sure that every A4
> driver will be sending me hate mail soon.  :-)  Happy motoring...
> 
> Carter J
> Kwattro@aol.com