Track Day QR

[Avidsurfer]

Heading to Queensland Raceway in the morning for my first track day in the new Passat. Should be an interesting comparison with my mates EVO7 and little tuned up BM. With the Stage1 APR and also DSG tune done this week I'm hoping the extra performance will help keep up with the lighter cars.

I also decided to go with nitrogen in the tyres after reading a number of the posts through the forum. It's going to be pretty cold first thing in the morning and warm up fairly quickly so my tuner suggested the N to avoid possible over-inflation during the day.

Should be a fun morning and a chance to see what the car (me ) are capable of on track!

[Jimi]

Nice! Keep us posted

[Avidsurfer]

Thanks Jimi, will do.

[Scratchyratface]

Bring it along to Lakeside towards the end of September, there are a few spots available.

[Avidsurfer]

Would like to Scratchy, however I'm away for 3 weeks. Will certainly look at future events, thanks.

[Jondalar]

Have fun! As an industrial chemist I've never been able to find a justification for nitrogen that makes sense. Rate of thermal expansion for N2 and O2 is almost identical. I know that aircraft use N2 but I've heard that's just for the removal of moisture which long term can corode the steel reinforcing. What reason did the tuner give?

Cheers,
Karl

[Avidsurfer]

Hi Karl, I wasn't 100% sold on the Nitrogen, however when I explained to Glen that I was concerned about pressure changes he told me the following, or as close to; Pressures can increase considerably from 30 to well over 40 degrees during a 15 minute track session. I'm running the Pirelli's that came on the car and I really don't want to destroy them too much. His business also supplies tires for a number of performance brands and he always suggests Nitrogen if they are commuting daily to Brisbane, again to avoid the increased pressures and "rounding" of the tire, particularly during summer.
Glen has been running track and hill-climb cars for nearly 30 years, so I do take his suggestions seriously. Considering he offered me the gas for free to trial I could hardly knock it back. So I'll check the pressures before and after and let you know what the results are like.
Cheers
Andrew

[Jondalar]

This is an interesting read Should I put nitrogen in my tyres - Definitive answer | Practical Motoring it's really just the water content that causes problem so dry air is just as good as nitrogen. It will be interesting to see your results.
Cheers,
Karl

[Avidsurfer]

Well, that was fun!!!
Learnt quite a few things in a couple of sessions.
1) Road tires take a beating when worked hard and certainly there was a lack of grip after a couple of laps. It does appear that the Nitrogen increases pressure when worked hard. Passenger side (QR hardest worked) went from 35 to 44psi after my fastest run of the morning, otherwise sat around 41-42. Was going to measure the tires on the other cars, however as they both run semi-track may not have been a good comparison.
2) Engine and DSG upgrade both worked really well and whether with or without Traction Control or driven in auto/manual the car did everything I wanted.
3) Weight is not our friend. Passat is a fantastic car for a bit of fun and all life's tasks, however as a competitive, nimble track car it suffers with the extra weight, especially the wagon. One of the other drivers suggested, time to put the baby seat back in, a little cruel!

Also forgot to mention, I had ceramic brake pads put into the front and thought they may not handle the heat and possibly fade, but worked really well and NO dust.

Overall, well worth the run and I've got to say, the DSG tune is pretty special, particularly the launch control, shows what is possible. The car certainly wasn't the slowest on the day, got up to fifth in our group of 10 cars. Might just keep the wagon as a daily run and possibly look for a little track car!

[DR074]

I think the guy with the suggestion, should EAD!