Can the A2 lap the Nurburgring in under 10 minutes..? 'Ring Trip Easter 2007

[driveforward]

Well, it was that time again last Easter weekend, and a group of us decided to take advantage of the Nurburgring being open to the public all weekend and make the annual pilgrimage to the land of great food (Pistenklause), great beer (everywhere!), automotive porn (everywhere!) and the home of the Green Hell set amongst beautiful Rhineland scenery.

This was my A2 TDI's (75) second trip, the last being August 2006. At which time (pre-revo remap) I managed to get the A2 round in a time of 10 minutes 46 seconds - a time I was very pleased with and certainly couldn't have got it round any faster in it's standard form. My personal best 'ring time is 9.46 in my old SEAT Cordoba TDI (set in 2005) - yes, it is weird how there's exactly a 60s difference!

So, the question on your mind is: Does a remap of a 75 diesel mean the A2 can lap the ring in under 10 minutes... Well, I can reveal that with a perfect lap (no yellow flag incidents - read: bike crashes, and no traffic getting in the way or having to get out of the way for other people); an Audi TDI 'city car' CAN indeed go faster than Sabine in a Transit van or Jeremey Clarkeson in a biturbo S-Type Jag diesel. How much under 10 minutes? - Not much! On the absolute edge of what anyone would want to do with their daily driver, I used kerbs left right and centre, had the A2 on 2 wheels at times and ragged the hell out of the 3-pot, but the A2 never ceases to surprise and put in a time of 9 minutes 56 seconds!

Now, at this point I'd like to further trumpet the A2's hidden prowess.. The trip I was on included a couple of Focus ST's, track-prepped MX5, a BMW 325 and a BMW M3 CSL.. To say that people were impressed and surprised by the A2 during passenger rides was an understatement. Heck, I was impressed! With that little bit more power, the standard Quattro GmBH suspension that is awful on the road came alive on track. The car gripped just right (on budget Wanli rubber!), drifted just enough and had very little understeer. Both the M3 CSL driver (awesome machine) and a Golf GTI driver commented on how well hooked up the handling was, they were both very impressed with how the car stayed well planted and gave the driver enough lattitude to chuck it around whilst keeping good balance on track. Plenty of people in the carpark were very interested in the little car having seen it out on track, and I was very pleased indeed with the performance it put in.

Now the negative: Notice there's no plural here, just one MAJOR flaw. You cannot turn off the damn ASR traction crontrol and EBD malarkey. Yes, there's a button, but at speeds above 70KPH it turns itself back on.. On track this is an absolute PITA, especially in the large Karrussel as once half way around, the A2 applies the front brakes and brings the car to a near standstill.. Not good when you have 911's and 924's behind you! Throighout the rest of the lap, it can be ignored, but in the large Karrussel I had to resort to driving around the outside as it was much faster and didn't endanger my A2 and other people's cars through the rediculous automated braking. Yes, I know it's a safety feature, but, why bother with an off switch if the car turns it back on anyway..!!??

Rant over! Overall, an excellent trip, probably my joint best so far - I'll be back there next year, or maybe sooner, but one thing's for sure, I'd like to see if anyone could beat 9.56 in a TDI A2.. All credit to them if they can!

I'm currently posting this from the middle of the Gulf of Mexico :whistle: but upon my return watch out for plenty of photos of my A2 on track, and TWO in-car videos of my A2 lapping the ring :)

Ian

[Darren C]

Sounds to me like you had an excellent trip Ian and gained the respect of some much more powerful car owners in the process!!

Nice to see you got under the 10 minute barrier with the A2 - wonder if Mike's 'Tank' could do the sub 9.46??!! :)

Anyway, enjoy the rest of your holiday - jealous, I should say so!! ;)

Cheers,

Darren

[Aikon]

Superb! Great to see the A2 is so capable! Look forward to seeing your videos.

[Aikon]

Superb! Great to see the A2 is so capable! Look forward to seeing your videos.

[Skipton01]

I've managed 8'02" on the PS2, but never been round the actual 'Ring'.

Once I've got the Milltek fitted and the new suspension, I'd be very tempted to give it a go.

Don't know why, but I always find the section directly after the Karusel the most tricky. It's one thing pushing it on a Playstation, not sure if I'd be that bold in real life!

Great to see that you're keeping the A2 in the limelight, and that you managed to beat Clarkson to boot.

Cheers,

Mike

[driveforward]

Cheers guys, edited my typo when I mentioned the time for the 2nd time - it's 9.56 for my A2 at the 'ring - not 9.46 (that was my Cordy!)

[mjs4x4]

So now at least we know where those Audi engineers developed the Sport suspension - of course, that 'real world' test bed the Nurburgring.

Never mind - they must have had a laugh doing it - and an even bigger one watching all of us Sport owners trying to adapt it to suit what we loosely call 'roads' in this country.


Mike

[jamjia]

How much power has ur re-mapped 75 got now? I would love to see what a 110PS FSI can do around the ring.

[ULP]

Good show Ian

I'm going to the 'ring in September but I will be cruising round as a mobile road-block rather than trying to beat any records - Marie is looking into getting me a trip in the 'ring taxi!

Did you find any more top-end on the Autobahn at all? I would imaging you'd probably see an indicated 120mph max (112-ish in the real world), but did it stretch further...

How much power has ur re-mapped 75 got now? I would love to see what a 110PS FSI can do around the ring.

As the circuit is quite hilly in sections and some tight corners, I would suspect it would be no-quicker than the chipped TDI - the increased torque will make a substantial difference for the derv, you'd only really get it back on the straights so long as you could keep close out of the corners. It'd be an interesting comparrison

[wooly A2]

Can the A2 lap the Nurburgring in under 10 minutes..?
You Bet it can ,
Well done Ian thats a real achievment ,wonder how that time would compare with the lads
that go there all the time from the german A2 owners club .....

That would be A very good time in any car to get under 10 seconds takes some *alls
just been watching Sabine schmitz go around Nurburgring in the Van she can really
drive ,shes amazing to watch .......

I Cant wait to see your video mate .......

But i just had to show you this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vy9VVWX2gSg

Imagine driving all that way then .*?<**.......Classic ......:)

[Smick]

I presume whatever they did to it meant that they can't get it moving again, given all the revving and no movement....

Apparently most insurance policies and rescue services specifically prohibit the Nurburgring. At least, they won't pay for repairs to your car or else pick you up if you crash.

Also, there is a whopping big charge per minute if they have to close it down to deal with your crash.

So I'd imagine those guys feel fairly stupid and broke!

[driveforward]

Good show Ian

I'm going to the 'ring in September but I will be cruising round as a mobile road-block rather than trying to beat any records - Marie is looking into getting me a trip in the 'ring taxi!

Did you find any more top-end on the Autobahn at all? I would imaging you'd probably see an indicated 120mph max (112-ish in the real world), but did it stretch further...

Very interesting Chris, you going over just for the 'ring or as part of a wider holiday?

On the autobahn the top end was GREATLY improved by the remap.. keeping 'pace' witht he CSL and ST's had my A2 hitting 120MPH at full pelt - GPS indicated, the speedo was reading 130ish.. 'giving it beans'! Before the remap the most I'd ever got out of it was 110 GPS - so a decent improvement in top end also :D

[ULP]

Very interesting Chris, you going over just for the 'ring or as part of a wider holiday?

Marie's sister lives in Germany with her hubbie and two kids (he is a squaddie). Normally we fly into Dortmund and hire a car for the 100km drive to Paderborn, but we fancy going for a long week at the end of September - it's my 30th Birthday present and we'll spend a few days travelling to them and pop into the 'ring on the way. Advice on getting there and places to stay (with Marie so there are no 'dodgy' hotels please!) would be most helpful.

We'll then take a few days getting back. I'm not sure how fast I'll travel in the A2 on the Autobahn - normally it's pedal into the firewall (had an Astra 1.6 up to an indicated 200km/h!, only supposed to be able 185km/h flat-out...) but I think I'll stick to 160 clicks in my own car.

The 'ring taxi was in honour of my birthday but I hear it is difficult to book-up. Are you thinking of going over in September at all, if so it might be good to travel together but I think I'll be to slow for you on the drive!

Apparently most insurance policies and rescue services specifically prohibit the Nurburgring. At least, they won't pay for repairs to your car or else pick you up if you crash.

Insurance policies don't cover you for any track activity at all! You need trackday insurance or balls of steel - you'd be amazed how many accidents happen within 20 metres of the entrance to 'trackday' race circuits :)

[driveforward]

Chris - will have a chat to you when I return..

I've been editing the vidoes over the last few days.. hopefully I'll have them ready to upload upon my return :)

[andyman]

I'm looking for ward to seeing those(cue envy).

[driveforward]

A2 Nurburgring Update:

I hope to get a load of photos up this week, with videos following over the next few weeks..

I've had a chance to crunch some numbers now I'm back and have calculated that over the entire weekend, including 15 maximum pasty attack laps, my A2 averaged 46.11 MPG :D

Also worth mentioning is how my A2 started the weekend stating the next service would be in 21000 miles, but after a long weekend of very spirited driving and 1400 miles, it now wants servicing in 29300 miles :yes: A2's obviously enjoy being ragged to hell and back!!

Ian

[wooly A2]

Hey Ian
Cant wait to see the pics and i expect You tube will be getting hammered when we get the vids ........:)

[driveforward]

Right folks, here's a nice selection of images from this years trip, showing my A2 in action!

Enjoy!

http://www.a2oc.net/gallery/files/2/5/9/0/0.jpg

http://www.a2oc.net/gallery/files/2/5/9/0/1.jpg

http://www.a2oc.net/gallery/files/2/5/9/0/2.jpg

http://www.a2oc.net/gallery/files/2/5/9/0/3.jpg

[driveforward]

http://www.a2oc.net/gallery/files/2/5/9/0/4.jpg

http://www.a2oc.net/gallery/files/2/5/9/0/5.jpg

http://www.a2oc.net/gallery/files/2/5/9/0/7.jpg

http://www.a2oc.net/gallery/files/2/5/9/0/6.jpg

[driveforward]

http://www.a2oc.net/gallery/files/2/5/9/0/8.jpg

http://www.a2oc.net/gallery/files/2/5/9/0/9.jpg

http://www.a2oc.net/gallery/files/2/5/9/0/11.jpg

..and my trophy gained on last years trip: (!)
http://www.a2oc.net/gallery/files/2/5/9/0/10.jpg

[Skipton01]

One word: Nice!

Can't help thinking that the shot of just you and the bike (not the one with the background spectators) makes the A2 seem tiny, either that or the biker is about 8 feet tall!

One day, I'll get to the Nurburgring, but until then, I'll keep practising on the PS2.

Cheers,

Mike

[manhattan$]

Looks like you had a great time there!

I must say that bodykit is growing on me, especialy with those wheels!

[Darren C]

Some really great pictures amongst that collection Ian, I especially like the rear end shot of the car on the right hand curve. :)

Being one of those that just happens to quite like the body kit; I think the enhanced and aggressive look that it gives the car, feels even more at home on the race track.

Looks like it was an enjoyable and worthwhile experience, perhaps something that I may aspire to emulate one day... :p

[manhattan$]

Your A2 looks like it stuck to the tarmac like s**t clings to a blanket! :D


What sort of lap times did the focus ST's and M3's do?

[wooly A2]

Hey Ian
You know what i think
all i can say is Wow and im extremely Jealous
i will get over there one of these days .....Great Pics ....:)

[wooly A2]

One word: Nice!

One day, I'll get to the Nurburgring, but until then, I'll keep practising on the PS2.

Cheers,

MikeHey Mike the PS2 is for pups LOL !!!!
Get yourself GTR2 or rFactor on PC if you want a full racesim of the Nordscliefe ....

[Skipton01]

Hey Mike the ps2 is for pups LOL !!!!
Get yourself GTR2 or rFactor if you want a full racesim on pc ....
But do either of those programs include the A2? If not, then I'm not budging (although I wish they did a TDi version - the BMW 1-series diesel is a hoot, on the PS2 at least!).

Cheers,

Mike

[driveforward]

Thanks for the comments guys :o

It certainly did handle well and the budget tyres were top notch so long as they didn't get too warm (not many back-to-back laps!). I really am glad I fitted the kit, works a treat with the wheels - which I love :D

Mike, I have one pic with the biker much closer, but for that reason alone I didn't use it!!

I don't know what times the ST's did as we didn't time, but the M3 CSL was doing about low to mid 8 mins that weekend, he's put in regular sub 8 mins since - he's lucky and now lives in Holland and has a jahrekarte! The 325CI driver did a 9.55 with me passenger-ing (read directing) on only his 4th driven lap. Power is key... ;)

[wooly A2]

But do either of those programs include the A2? If not, then I'm not budging (although I wish they did a TDi version - the BMW 1-series diesel is a hoot, on the PS2 at least!).

Cheers,

Mikenope but you can download the bmw 1 challenge mod from here http://www.rfactorcentral.com/detail.cfm?ID=BMW%201%20Challenge%202006

[Skipton01]

Non-starter then for me - sorry, I'll just have to remain a pup!

Cheers,

Mike

PS, that's enough thread-hijacking for now - sorry Ian!

[wooly A2]

Get yourself GTR2 or rFactor on PC if you want a full racesim of the Nordscliefe ....I Know this is going slightly off topic but you wont be sorry if you purchase this game it has the most accurate simulation of Nordscliefe i have ever seen in a game .......

[driveforward]

That image does look very realistic.. thing is I'm crap at any type of computer game and I use Macs at home :p

[driveforward]

Find yourself 20 mins... Click the link... Enjoy :D

Two laps of the Nurburgring in my A2 TDI.. listen out for the Wanli tyres comments!

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-4369561965444982218

[manhattan$]

What engine was in that octavia? Looks like it got "OWNED" by your little A2 :D

[driveforward]

What engine was in that octavia? Looks like it got "OWNED" by your little A2 :D
Haha.. indeed, we think it was a 2.0 TDI

The second lap (starts at 11 minutes into the video) is a cleaner lap*

*Read: no muppet in an Octavia!

[wooly A2]

I Like it great job Ian .
I cant get over how high the Kerbs are on some corners
How much where the wanli tyres they look very similar to the Dunlop tread .
Did you change your wheels over as well as the tyres ...

I Think i heard laughter in the car a few times was that Nervous Laughter LOL !!!

Im off to see if i can beat your time in rFactor in my Lupo GTi .....


Great choice in Music mate :( LOL !!!!

[driveforward]

I Like it great job Ian .
I cant get over how high the Kerbs are on some corners
How much where the wanli tyres they look very similar to the Dunlop tread .
Did you change your wheels over as well as the tyres ...

I Think i heard laughter in the car a few times was that Nervous Laughter LOL !!!

Im off to see if i can beat your time in rFactor in my Lupo GTi .....


Great choice in Music mate :( LOL !!!!
Cheers Carl..!
Some of the kerbs are really high, I like to use some of the lower ones! The Wanli tyres were £50 fitted each - I already had 2 on the rear and had previously had them fitted to the front and found them to be pretty good for a budget tyre, so decided to go with them on the front to replace my awful in the wet Yoko's. I didn't change the wheels, the RS6's have taken on the kerbs and survived!

There was plenty of laughter in the cockpit, however although not nervous, much was masked by music for political and public broadcast reasons :p

Best of luck, the Loop should beat it.. next year I'll try for real ;)

[Darren C]

Excellent footage Ian - felt like I was in the passenger seat myself; (if only!!).

You drove really well mate; can only imagine what the Octavia driver must have been thinking with your A2 attached to his rear bumper... that is of course until you went passed them, when they probably binned it in disbelief!! :D

Tempted to have a go myself - Yes!! In my own car... mmm!! (Wimp, I know!!). :p

[driveforward]

Tempted to have a go myself - Yes!! In my own car... mmm!! (Wimp, I know!!). :p
Go-on.. you know you want to... ;)

[wooly A2]

Hey Ian where did your video go to ......:)

[driveforward]

It should still be there Carl, however I can't check at work as I've blocked access to all such sites :p

[driveforward]

Following recent comments that the video had disappeared, I hunted around for it. Don't know if the old link works, but this one should:

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-4369561965444982218

Enjoy :D

[Darren C]

Works for me mate!!

Now I just need to show Di what a maniac she went out on track with... LOL!! :D

[wooly A2]

It sure can with the Wanli Tyres Officianardo Scrubbing them Tyres ,
Nice one Ian the one thing that really strikes me about the Nurburgring is
(1) Obviously the amount of corners
(2) The track looks so narrow in places compared to Castle Combe
not so much run off if you happen to make a mistake .......
I Think i would have to give this track a lot more respect .... :D

[driveforward]

Works for me mate!!

Now I just need to show Di what a maniac she went out on track with... LOL!! :D
Lol..! Quoting my mate in the car "You're little more kerb-happy than I am!"

It sure can with the Wanli Tyres Officianardo Scrubbing them Tyres ,
Nice one Ian the one thing that really strikes me about the Nurburgring is
(1) Obviously the amount of corners
(2) The track looks so narrow in places compared to Castle Combe
not so much run off if you happen to make a mistake .......
I Think i would have to give this track a lot more respect .... :D

Yup, lots of corners - but that's where the fun is.. not just going in straight lines! Indeed, in alot of places there is no run-off, just armco.. hence why it's not used for F1 etc anymore

[mytA2]

Tomorrow 26/06/08 I'm heading over to the Nurburgring for my first time. And really can not wait. How am I going to sleep tonight???

I will post experience on here, and maybe a lap time if its not too embarrassing:rolleyes:

Anyone planing to visit the Nurburgring really should check out Ben Lovejoy's website www.nurburgring.org.uk. It is full of useful information and tips, and a link to a webcam.

I have also found it useful watching other peoples experiences on youtube.

[driveforward]

Tomorrow 26/06/08 I'm heading over to the Nurburgring for my first time. And really can not wait. How am I going to sleep tonight???

I will post experience on here, and maybe a lap time if its not too embarrassing:rolleyes:

Anyone planing to visit the Nurburgring really should check out Ben Lovejoy's website www.nurburgring.org.uk. It is full of useful information and tips, and a link to a webcam.

I have also found it useful watching other peoples experiences on youtube.
Hi there, I will be back at the 'ring in my track car (SEAT Arosa 16v - Silver with black roof and roll cage) from Friday 27th until Monday 30th. If you spot me, please pop and say hello - you are welcome to some passenger laps to help get a feel for the place (and, if I do say so myself, 'how it's done' ;) )

Ian

[humps]

Hey mty,

I hope you'll have a great trip! You setup is sweet as it carried so much speed round the corners! Just need to strap yourself in tight and don't let those slippery leather spoil the fun, you nearly chucked me out of the seat yesterday! Have a good one, it will be my turn next year!

[mytA2]

Well what a fantastic time, & Imagine my surprise when I saw a little Seat Arosa sat at park ferme. And elation when I was invited for a few laps. That is one impressive setup you have Driveforward. And a pleasure to spend time with another A2 enthusiast.

I believe that given a clear lap it would be possible to get the A2 1.4 petrol round the ring in under 10mins. Alas I never got to see a clear lap and therefore the best recorded time I achieved was 10:34. I did how ever manage to over take a BMW M3 a 911 and a Fiat Multipla MPV on that lap.

Maybe the most insignificant difference between my experience and driveforwards was rounding the Karussell corner. The car never really had any complains taking this corner and defiantly never slowed down. Its actually quite weird rounding this corner in real life because half way round you have to look out of the 'top left' side of the windscreen to see where you exit the corner. Not something you will ever experience driving on the highway.

I think my most memorable lap was when I chased down a Golf Gti Mk2. It seemed we were both quite evenly matched in power-weight ratio, eg. climbing the hills. But it was in the corners I had the best view of him/her slightly drifting the backend of the Golf. I then knew I was able to carry more speed into the corners. I eventually overtook somewhere near Pflanzgarten.

Hopefully it wont be to long before I go again.

[driveforward]

Glad you had a great time Malc, it was great to meet up and exchange laps :)

Watch out for my trip report (will be linked to from my trackday tour topic) shortly ;)

Ian