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Spin140

Spin140

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Made my first trip to the Nurburg at the weekend.

Whilst browsing amongst all the exotic machinery and waiting for the track to be opened I bumped into 'Kris' off here, his S3 looked really at home at the Ring and was one of only 3 I saw on the day, it was great to see an S3 being used for its original intention.

The ring trip was an awesome experience and am already looking at returning early next year :)
 
Got some pics and a video of my lap will try and post them up later this week, Kris had a great 'stealth camera' set up so should have some great footage.

The 335 was pretty competent on the track and excelled on the long journey but I have to admit I'd love to have taken the S3 there.
 
Look forward to seeing the pics mate.
I really REALLY want to do a trip to the 'ring.
 
Did I miss something, Spin140.
Weren't you going for an A5 instead of the 335D?
Or was that someone else.

I get so confused.........nurse, I've wet 'em again.
 
Bowf, read Spins Sig... its got all the answers you need, but wont wipe your *** for you.
 
bowfer said:
Did I miss something, Spin140.
Weren't you going for an A5 instead of the 335D?
Or was that someone else.

I get so confused.........nurse, I've wet 'em again.
Click to expand...

Not a chance mate, I test drove the A5 and 335D back to back and there was no comparison, the 335 handles and looks far better IMO plus it has the twin turbo engine. The 1246 return route to the ring was taken at high speeds with one indicated 160mph plus an average of 95mph - the mpg 42.5 !!

The A5 may have offered more grip but not as much fun or 350bhp once remapped.

I have to say that to date I have been very pleasantly surprised by the whole BMW ownership experience, as a die hard Audi fan I never expected to say that.

Spin
 
I hope to go to the Ring next july when i am taking part in the Mongol Rally.

Never heard of it then look it up. its funny stuff

makes going round the Ring even funnier when you see the kind of cars the rally involves.:laugh:
 
Spin140 said:
I have to say that to date I have been very pleasantly surprised by the whole BMW ownership experience, as a die hard Audi fan I never expected to say that.

Spin
Click to expand...


You coming to our next as.net meet Spin??

Anne_Williams_burned_at_the_stake.JPG
 
So who was it was looking at a 335D, but plumped for an A5...
I didn't imagine it.
Napoleon and Elvis were sitting next to me when I read it, they remember it too.
 
That was PHN80 wasn't it?

But then he went and bought a TT-S!
 
Spin140 said:
Made my first trip to the Nurburg at the weekend.

Whilst browsing amongst all the exotic machinery and waiting for the track to be opened I bumped into 'Kris' off here, his S3 looked really at home at the Ring and was one of only 3 I saw on the day, it was great to see an S3 being used for its original intention.

The ring trip was an awesome experience and am already looking at returning early next year :)
Click to expand...

Hiya Spin, good to see you, just got back myself. Here's a vid of what happend just before we arrived http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=thew4XQOngA&feature=related Despite the buggers leaving diesel for over three quarters of a mile and 6 bends we managed 9.10 with my mates Z4M stuck to my rear bumper encouraging me :). Biggest limitation on the Ring with the S3 was the stock tyres but left most of them there!

One thing for sure is that the new M3 not only beats the S3 it does it with ease. As for GT2/3's ....... get out of their way quick! I'll post some video in the next day or so. Will be planning later this year next years Ring outing so i'll drop you a pm shortly with contact details.

Kris
 
I'd be interested in the next one too mate

That video is crazy!!!
 
bowfer said:
So who was it was looking at a 335D, but plumped for an A5...
I didn't imagine it.
Napoleon and Elvis were sitting next to me when I read it, they remember it too.
Click to expand...

Matt said:
That was PHN80 wasn't it?

But then he went and bought a TT-S!
Click to expand...

Correct, this was me! ... Originally i test drove both an A5 3.0TDI and 335d. As Spin says....No comparison whatsoever. The 335 in petrol and diesel guise is a true sports coupe. The A5/S5 is a cruiser/GT car really. I'd compare it more to the 6 series than the 3 series coupe.
Anyway, my work commute was cut in half so buying a diesel was pointless. So i then looked into the 335i at length (absolutely awesome car i might add) but unfortunately the sums just weren't adding up. Lease figures were eye watering (nearly £100 a month more than an S5).
So pretty much by accident got to test drive a TTS and loved it to bits, the lease figures were good and my decision was made.....Hopefully i won't regret it!
 
Kris said:
Hiya Spin, good to see you, just got back myself. Here's a vid of what happend just before we arrived http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=thew4XQOngA&feature=related Despite the buggers leaving diesel for over three quarters of a mile and 6 bends we managed 9.10 with my mates Z4M stuck to my rear bumper encouraging me :). Biggest limitation on the Ring with the S3 was the stock tyres but left most of them there!
Click to expand...

I thought the S3 was quicker than the z4m...
 
PNH80 said:
Correct, this was me! ... Originally i test drove both an A5 3.0TDI and 335d. As Spin says....No comparison whatsoever. The 335 in petrol and diesel guise is a true sports coupe. The A5/S5 is a cruiser/GT car really. I'd compare it more to the 6 series than the 3 series coupe.
Anyway, my work commute was cut in half so buying a diesel was pointless. So i then looked into the 335i at length (absolutely awesome car i might add) but unfortunately the sums just weren't adding up. Lease figures were eye watering (nearly £100 a month more than an S5).
So pretty much by accident got to test drive a TTS and loved it to bits, the lease figures were good and my decision was made.....Hopefully i won't regret it!
Click to expand...

You won't regret it mate, if you don't need a rear seat, which you don't, the TTS is a superb choice :)
 
marriedblonde said:
I thought the S3 was quicker than the z4m...
Click to expand...

Under favourable conditions to the quattro ..... damp and leafy ;)

Its the age old you need two identicaly skilled drivers to really tell. We are pretty evenly matched, for example we did a track day in Dubai with hired A3 2.0 TFSI's and on a 2 minute ish track we never saw each other in over an hour. The Z4M is an awsome car with a sound track to match, if we went out in one car i was always happy to jump in his even though he did frighten the life out of me!

We took turns leading and neither car pulled away to any great degree. Even accelerating on the fastest straight we both pulled around 145mph at an even distance. The S3 was on its limits on many bends having to be forced into them to get it round where as the Z4M looked more composed although he did some spectacular drifting at times for fun. All told i would conceed that the Z4M is the faster car although when driving flat out my mate said he could keep up no problem but had nothing left to overtake. Two relativley even matched cars and drivers making an enjoyable 2 days driving.

I'll try and post a vid up later of me trying to stick with the Z4m
 
Sorry Kris, only messing, I couldn't resist I did mean to put a smiley in my post :)

It's always easier to follow when on unfamiliar ground (I'm assuming your both not ring masters!) It'd good to see some video footage, I'm guessing your mate had to work a bit harder round the ring as well?

J.
 
marriedblonde said:
Sorry Kris, only messing, I couldn't resist I did mean to put a smiley in my post :)

It's always easier to follow when on unfamiliar ground (I'm assuming your both not ring masters!) It'd good to see some video footage, I'm guessing your mate had to work a bit harder round the ring as well?

J.
Click to expand...

No probs mate :)

Try this link, let me know if it works ok. I've been having trouble uploading so have had to drop the quality quite a bit.

Neither of us know the track that well but as the laps progressed so did the speed. As you'll see in the vid I did have my work cut out keeping pace with the M but damn was it fun.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/chrstcly/Ring Sept/Medium.wmv
 
Kris said:
It's fun and very adictive, need to try and get the times next year in the sub nines :)
Click to expand...

Fantatsic video Kris makes me feel like I'm back there it could even be used for training the view is so clear !

Plenty of squealing tyre noise in the background, was this predominantly the fronts on the initial understeer or all 4 ?

The S3 sounds pretty damn good too with the miltek emitting a nice gruff rasp under load.

Anyone considering a trip to the Ring just do it as the whole experience is awesome.
 
Ohhh I will be. It's on my list for next year.
I reckon an S3 trip is in order!
 
Spin140 said:
Fantatsic video Kris makes me feel like I'm back there it could even be used for training the view is so clear !

Plenty of squealing tyre noise in the background, was this predominantly the fronts on the initial understeer or all 4 ?

The S3 sounds pretty damn good too with the miltek emitting a nice gruff rasp under load.

Anyone considering a trip to the Ring just do it as the whole experience is awesome.
Click to expand...

I had to drastically reduce the quality of the video to upload it, the origional is pin sharp but would have took 4 hours to upload! I'll sort you a DVD with a few laps on for you to study for next time :thumbsup:

Squealing started off as understeer but on this particular vid it was mostly all four wheels. Once i got used to some of the bends i just floored it and let the car drift, not the fastest way to lap but it entertained my small mind :)
 
jamiekip said:
Ohhh I will be. It's on my list for next year.
I reckon an S3 trip is in order!
Click to expand...

I'd been meaning to do the Ring for years, thought I'd do a few laps and get it out my system but after getting back from my second trip I'll still be looking forward to a 3rd!
 
Kris said:
No probs mate :)

Try this link, let me know if it works ok. I've been having trouble uploading so have had to drop the quality quite a bit.

Neither of us know the track that well but as the laps progressed so did the speed. As you'll see in the vid I did have my work cut out keeping pace with the M but damn was it fun.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/chrstcly/Ring Sept/Medium.wmv
Click to expand...

Awesome video Kris!

Interesting comparison, looks like the coupe has the legs on you, just, on the straights but you've definately got the advantage through the slower twisty stuff!

It'd be interesting to have the same in car footage from your mate as I get the impression he might have had his work cut out :)

J.
 
marriedblonde said:
Just out of interest how many lap had you done prior to that video'd one?

Is your car standard?

J.
Click to expand...

That was lap 10, the next lap I led and there was one second difference in the lap times although the M was up my *** all the way! My mate asked how many bends I was screaching on and I told him half or so ...... he told me I wasn't trying hard enough as he reckoned he screached on everyone :).

My car has the GIAC hammer map and non resonated Miltek cat back. Stock tyres (Michelin Pilot) and stock suspension.

Next year we will have 2 cameras in one car, front and back and maybe 2 in both cars. Marshalls are pretty keen on cameras so some more stealth work has to be done.
 
is it true that the ring is only available on a sunday and that the rest of the week its a normal one-way road.

mate told me if you overtake on the right you will get arrested by the helicopter police flying overhead
 
Don't believe everything you hear.

The overtaking rule is strictly enforced and rightly so as the ring can be a very dangerous place.

Track is open most evenings from 17:30 to 19:30hrs and all day sunday, during the week it is used for testing and corporate stuff - not as a road.

I would suggest making the next trip open to all, something like Audi Sport Net plus friends - then I can come !!
 
Spin140 said:
Track is open most evenings from 17:30 to 19:30hrs and all day sunday, during the week it is used for testing and corporate stuff - not as a road.
Click to expand...

Track was open 13:30 - 19:30 on the Monday and was less busy than the Sunday so we had a few clearer runs. In the morning while we were waiting the full open track was being used by customers driving the new Nissin GTR.
 
Definitely up for a trip to the ring once the TT-S has got a bit of mileage on the clock. I don't think you get anywhere near the full potential out of a car with driving on public roads so it'd be a good experience.

I'd imagine you learn a LOT about how good you really are as a driver and your limits.
 
Spin140 said:
Is that for when you guys run out of petrol ?!? LOL

I've still got an Audi keyring if that counts ?
Click to expand...


Nice come back :haha:

In all fairness, it would be great to get a group of us over, espeicially with different types of cars - I know i'd really like to see how your 335d goes!

I haven't even got an Audi keyring...
 
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