My AutoX journey

[xXDavidCXx]

AutoX abrupt changes in braking and lateral forces and rotating the car really heats up the tires…. Especially if running fun runs back to back.

Brakes get much hotter at the track vs Autox from my experience.

And XDS heats up the front tires bad.

 

[mrmatto]

And XDS heats up the front tires bad.

I have only run one event with XDS set to high, but I did not measure any abnormal heating in the front compared to the medium or low setting. Honestly the car felt really good, and without the e-diff, it’s all I have

My guess is most the heat is going into the brakes and hubs. Surely will shorten the life there…

Gonna run it on high again this weekend and see how it goes. Maybe I’ll switch to medium on one run to compare.

 

[xXDavidCXx]

I have only run one event with XDS set to high, but I did not measure any abnormal heating in the front compared to the medium or low setting. Honestly the car felt really good, and without the e-diff, it’s all I have

My guess is most the heat is going into the brakes and hubs. Surely will shorten the life there…

Gonna run it on high again this weekend and see how it goes. Maybe I’ll switch to medium on one run to compare.

Yeah, e-diff is a real autocross killer.

That heat from the brakes and hubs will make it to the tires.

 

[GTIfan99]

Yeah, e-diff is a real autocross killer.

That heat from the brakes and hubs will make it to the tires.

It does. I've autocrossed both a non pp and pp GTI. The front tires would really heat up. Got so hot one event in the 18 S, we melted the center caps.

To be fair, I had 2 to 4 drivers in the car every event.

 

[mrmatto]

I’m curious to see how it does at the FIRM tomorrow. At the Daytona kart track, I had no issues with the high setting and it performed great. But the course was ~45 sec so that’s kinda short. With a longer course I might see more heating.

To be fair, I had 2 to 4 drivers in the car every event.

Dirty girl!

 

[GTIfan99]

I’m curious to see how it does at the FIRM tomorrow. At the Daytona kart track, I had no issues with the high setting and it performed great. But the course was ~45 sec so that’s kinda short. With a longer course I might see more heating.


Dirty girl!

The 18 was nicknamed the German Bukkake Car.

 

[mrmatto]

No issues with XDS high at the FIRM today with ~60-65 sec laps. Of course the heats were quite big so there was plenty of time before runs for things to cool down. That being said, not sure I noticed a difference between high and medium. With a stage 1 tune and no LSD, there’s no magic setting to fix that.

Also might have some engine mounts going. Idling next to a 2019, his engine was pretty steady and I could see mine vibrating noticeably more. I don’t feel it inside, but something to watch. Perhaps related to my clunking noises.

 

[GTIfan99]

No issues with XDS high at the FIRM today with ~60-65 sec laps. Of course the heats were quite big so there was plenty of time before runs for things to cool down. That being said, not sure I noticed a difference between high and medium. With a stage 1 tune and no LSD, there’s no magic setting to fix that.

Also might have some engine mounts going. Idling next to a 2019, his engine was pretty steady and I could see mine vibrating noticeably more. I don’t feel it inside, but something to watch. Perhaps related to my clunking noises.

I have a weird clunking noise now too.

 

[mrmatto]

I have a weird clunking noise now too.

I know it sucks, but the universe was determined to help you install that intercooler…

 

[IES99]

Yeah, that's why I drove up to the Roebling Road event in April. A lot of miles though.

Hoping to do another Apex driving school later this year, if they offer it. That was really amazing because it's the entire day, you have 10x the seat time, and you have a national championship driver with you most of the time.

I just put the dsg in sport and concentrate on steering and braking

 

[mrmatto]

I haven’t updated this thread in a while. I’ve gone from being total newbie to cruising along with a really nice setup that to me feels perfectly balanced across street and course.

Current setup:

• 255/40r17 V730 tires on 17x8.5 wheels (I would be remiss if I didn’t thank and credit @GTIfan99 here for loaning me these wheels so I could get into the 200tw tire game.)
• Eurosport camber mounts up front
• Koni Special Actives all around
• 25mm RSB
• Front upper strut bar
• Rear hatch brace
• APR Stage 1 91 low torque tune
• APR DSG tune
• CTS FMIC (may convert to a bicooler)
• BMS catch can
• EBC Yellows F, EBC Reds R
• Camber: -1.6°F/1.6°R
• Toe: 0° all around

With the addition of 200tw tires, I am cruising. I’ve pulled seconds from my time and am playing with some of the better drivers now. I still have a ways to go to catch up, but for a non-PP, I gotta say she’s keeping up pretty good. The car feels perfect to me. It’s super neutral and balanced. Goes where I point it. I can get some oversteer if I want it, but it’s never a surprise.

(In fact, I had a fun situation at my last event with a really fast right turn in third gear. My line was off so I let off the throttle a bit and as expected the rear started to come around, I got pointed how I wanted, then I just powered out with a little drift. Felt natural, easy, controlled.)

My goals this year:
(1) Don’t change anything with the car’s dynamics unless it breaks or simply isn’t working.
(2) Drive the shit out of my current setup and learn it to death.

Knowing my setup and owning the control of my car is the name of the game. To that end, I’m on track to drive 4 events Mar-Apr

The only issue I’m having with the car right now is sometimes these new tires are overpowering the PCV under hard braking and turning and the catch can isn’t doing enough to stop oil entry into the intake tract. I’m going to try a newer revision PCV and see if that helps. If not, I will need to try a different catch can system.

Cheers

 

[krs]

I’ve added seconds to my time and am playing with some of the better drivers now.

Hopefully you've dropped seconds from your time, not adding time.

I like your goals, drive more, learn what you have, and go from there. I built my car before I fully knew what would work or wouldn't work good in autox. Fortunately for me it all seems to compliment each other, and it's me that needs more seat time.

 

[mrmatto]

Hopefully you've dropped seconds from your time, not adding time.

LMAO. Editing…

 

[mrmatto]

I like your goals, drive more, learn what you have, and go from there. I built my car before I fully knew what would work or wouldn't work good in autox. Fortunately for me it all seems to compliment each other, and it's me that needs more seat time.

What really clicked for me was when I saw practically stock GS GTIs bigly beating STH builds. I was like damn I need to spend more time learning the car, instead of making changes every other event and having to relearn the car.

 

[MonkeyMD]

What really clicked for me was when I saw practically stock GS GTIs bigly beating STH builds. I was like damn I need to spend more time learning the car, instead of making changes every other event and having to relearn the car.

I can totally relate to this.