Prawn and BigAls A3 Track Car

So everyone apart from PT got it :laugh:

Shame on you PT.

Whilst not identical, the principle is very simsr to this idea seen on Adam Morgan's BTCC Mercedes:

 
Prawn when you're bleeding your brakes, once new fluid starts coming through, do you capture this and reuse it if you're chasing some stubborn air bubbles? Or never use what comes out of the brakes even if it's brand new fluid?
 
I'd only ever re-use it if it were coming out looking exactly like it did when it went in at the other end mate. by the time it's that clean you've usually flushed a LOT of fluid through.
 
Prawn said:
I'd only ever re-use it if it were coming out looking exactly like it did when it went in at the other end mate. by the time it's that clean you've usually flushed a LOT of fluid through.
Click to expand...

Okay thanks for the reply mate. One other thing, when you say you cycle the ABS pump, do you have to be pumping fluid through at the same time?

Ie, bleeding one of the callipers with the pressure bleeder whilst you cycle the pump. Or can you just cycle the pump and then connect your pressure bleeder and bleed the system?
 
From my understanding, and the way its always worked for me, you cycle the abs pump 'static'.

As you do it VagCom gives you instructions to press and hold the pedal. You feel it open a valve within the pump electronically, and the pedal drops, then as the pump cycles the pedal pumps back up against your foot.

I then bleed the system, and if there's been any air in the ABS pump it usually pops out in the bleed.
 
Thanks mate! I've never actually done an abs cycle but I'll do it when I get my hoist back and see if any air comes out. My other car has a much stiffer pedal than the Audi and I'm hoping to close the gap a little. Thanks for the help
 
Every time I bleed mine this happens prawn it's so annoying I've found a spirited drive with hard braking getting the abs to kick in helps
 
Master cylinder bleed and car on a level ground is also essential for these chaps. I once bled my brakes on an inclined driveway and couldn't work out why the pedal feel was always **** :laugh:
 
Prawn said:
Master cylinder bleed and car on a level ground is also essential for these chaps. I once bled my brakes on an inclined driveway and couldn't work out why the pedal feel was always **** :laugh:
Click to expand...

I hate bleeding the master cylinder but I bought a cheap spanner and bend it 90 degrees and it made the job so much easier.

Didn't realise that the car had to be flat but that makes sense. Given the way my hoist works the end of the car I'm bleeding (front or back) is higher than the other end by about 1 foot. I'll make sure I have the car level in future.
 
Erikn89nl said:
OI, READ YOUR PM’s! :p
Click to expand...

:laugh: replied. haha.

Been driving the cars lots this week. Feels good.

Was feeling pretty strong last night, fuelling better now with new lambda and altitude sensors, and got the meth running again too.

Was hacking along thinking 'this feels fast' - Went to turn it down to low boost and realised I was already on low boost. WINNER!

Flicked it to high boost and Hampshire went backwards. Was most enjoyable.

:racer:
 
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tumblr_m5f2kof1em1qcv5upo1_500.gif


88mph or there abouts wasn't it? :laugh:
 
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Gonna have to purchase me some lcr rear callipers I thought it was just me that got the nasty band around my rear discs phew, mine also makes a grinding on the rear left after a hard braking session which is realllly annoying can't see any sticking or anything and it subsides after another. Minute of driving do you think it may be the handbrake lines slightly too tight or??
 
Check to see if the handbrake mechs are returning fully mate. I have about 5mm of free play on my hand take before it puts any tension on the cables at all. That way I know if they've stuck as the bite point on the lever changes.
 
That I shall do in a minute would make sense would it to have abit of play thanks for the help as usual dude, not getting notifications hence the Late ish reply damn forum
 
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i hope i can eventually love my car half as much as you love yours lol

any trackdays looking interesting to you yet Mr prawn??
how long until you start spoiler work?
 
Still no trackdays planned Daz.

Looking at rear wing work now. Just need to find some time!

Weather was crap today, so instead of getting the Spanners out, I went for a drive :)







Much to my surprise, I saw Jardos old a3 on the m3!



It still looked awesome, and appeared to still have a full compliment of ex-Prawn performance parts!

After a good 20 mile blast, I met up with this bunch of missfits at Loomies cafe:





After a decent meal and a chat, we went or separate ways.

Weather was rubbish at home sadly. I spent a few minutes knocking up a VERY rough idea for a rear wing bracket:



This is a very rough idea currently, but you can see the idea. I want to have the fixing flush with the surface of the bracket and blended in so they're not visible at all. Just a plate on the surface of the tailgate.



It rained lots, so I watched the F1 for the second time today.

I then did something very unlike me, and cleaned the car thoroughly, even doing the wheels!

Before:



And after:



Then, I completely took leave of all my senses. I cleaned the tailpipe!!!!



I decided at this point that I must be ill, so I sat down, and that's where I am now :laugh:

Good day!
 
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so prawn is there any reason why you have put a smiley face over that gauge???
 
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I will indeed. Close enough to badger you a little if I can't get my running issue sorted before I move anyway!

Given that I've not actually seen the A3 in absolutely YEARS, it'll be good to be able to check it out properly in the metal.
 
I still don't get this forums logic for using sh!t rear brake pads.

Brake bias is like 70/30 to the front
Front discs are bigger
You have huge AP calipers upfront

In no way will having rear pads the same as your front can cause the rear end to rotate round unexpectedly.
Mechanically and physically all the bias is on the fronts as it should be.

Using the same rear pads as fronts would only slow you down quicker
 
I'm not entirely convinced Ant.

With the massive weight reduction, there's very little weight over the rear wheels at all. So much so that with stock sized brakes all round the rears tend to lock too easily when the car is stripped out.

As far as I'm aware, most people racing FWD stuff look for a mildly uprated rear pad that's capable of dealing with additional heat without giving much / any more bite.

The car has run on Mintex 1155 rear pads for the last 3 years, and will probably have something similar on the rear again when we next take it on track.

The car won't see the track again until it's got new discs and pads up front, and I'm currently undecided on what pads I'll be going for. Once what's decided, we can pick a rear pad to suit.

I feel that running the same pad front and rear would be a bad move, as the rear pads would never get up to operating temperature.
 
It would be interesting to know what pads Bill runs on the back of the Ibiza if you're reading at all Mr. B?

I know Garry C is looking at down grading his 256 Lcr rears to 232s in the name of weight....
 
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surely the 70/30 bias would be much more relevant on a factory weight car?
when i stripped my s3 the rear ride height was around 30mm higher than when i started
front had no noticeable change.

actually think sometimes what can i take from the front to put in the back to even it out lol
 
I thought it best not to pester and hoped Bill would find his way here of his own free will :laugh:
 
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No work on Friday due to the bank holiday, so I've decided to nominate today as 'TakeYourTrackCarToWork Wednesday' instead



:racer: :racer: :racer:
 
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Prawn said:
It would be interesting to know what pads Bill runs on the back of the Ibiza if you're reading at all Mr. B?

I know Garry C is looking at down grading his 256 Lcr rears to 232s in the name of weight....
Click to expand...

Pretty sure they are just std pads... he doesn't run much braking effort to the rears at all on the Ibiza

<tuffty/>
 
antwan64og said:
I still don't get this forums logic for using sh!t rear brake pads.

Brake bias is like 70/30 to the front
Front discs are bigger
You have huge AP calipers upfront

In no way will having rear pads the same as your front can cause the rear end to rotate round unexpectedly.
Mechanically and physically all the bias is on the fronts as it should be.

Using the same rear pads as fronts would only slow you down quicker
Click to expand...

presumes traction not limited and does'nt take into account weight transfer to front

std rear disks and pads in badgerwagen for example and rear bias turned down all the way to prevent rear locking


every setup will vary of course
fixed % dont seem relevant to me... (excluding abs cars which do their own thing)
 
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Thanks Bill. I thought that was the case but wanted to be sure.

Do you still run the stock master cylinder? Just with the ABS removed and the MC plumbed direct to front and rear sytems with the bias valve to reduce rear line pressure?

With my ABS system still fully active my bias is still controlled electronically. I'm pretty certain it's reducing the rear braking effort too, because when the controller failed and the EBD was no longer active the rears locked very easily even in road use.
 
Fair play - We use a sub 800kg Pug 205 to rally in (we'll need ballast this year - MSA getting stricter) but then again it does use a hydro lever to get the back end around hair pins :icon thumright:


Your car must surprise a fair few people Nick, I mean its a 16 yr old car thats been updated 3 times since production :audibash:
My 200hp sh!t box of an A3 still seems to surprise plenty :racer::racer:
 
audi upgrades
antwan64og said:
Your car must surprise a fair few people Nick, I mean its a 16 yr old car thats been updated 3 times since production :audibash:
My 200hp sh!t box of an A3 still seems to surprise plenty :racer::racer:
Click to expand...


It does seem to yea :)

It's a funny one, because it's hardly subtle looking these days, so everyone that sees it EXPECTs it to be fast now.

Then they see it go, and they still seem surprised at just how well it goes, despite already expecting it to be half decent.

Took my boss out in it today for a laugh. Utterly hilarious reaction. I wish I'd filmed it!
 
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