Quite a bit has happened with the ED25 over the past few months. Firstly, an upgrade to the dashboard. I fitted the lower storage pod to the dashboard (which is part of the storage pack option). As you know, I couldn’t have any options on this car as all were customised and ordered by Audi UK.
It’s not the cheapest retrofit by any stretch considering it’s just a storage hole, but it was somewhere for the first aid kit to go at least. Second hand parts could easily be sourced for this mod.
RHD Part numbers for those interested are:
8W2863075A 6PS - dash panel
8W28579254PK - storage bin
N10549503 - bolt (2 required).
Very neat looking.
Audi first aid kit fits perfectly!
Overall - an easy to fit upgrade that looks great.
During May, I got a phone call to say that the race wheels (black set) with Pirelli Trofeo RS semi-slick tyres we’re ready for me to collect from the dealer. Included with the wheel set was Pirelli’s Track Adrenaline race box. This nifty little device detects the sensors that are installed under the liner of tyres and sends the information to your phone app so that you can monitor tyre pressures and temperatures, as well as review your track telemetry (racing lines, timings, splits etc). I used to race karts in my younger days, and the importance of data when racing is crucial to help you understand where you can gain time etc. so I was eager to try it out.
The box the wheels arrived in was massive!
The stickers didn’t leave any residue when peeled off which was lucky because there were a lot to remove!
The tyres looked really good. They are road legal although Audi made us sign disclaimers that we wouldn’t use these tyres and the race box on the public roads.
The Track Adrenaline kit included the race box, a small Pirelli bag and a letter with instructions.
The car looked properly mean after fitting the new wheels.
The Track Adrenaline was easy to install and set-up.
I booked myself onto a Thruxton track day. I was a last minute entry so it wasn’t too expensive. Also, as it was a Monday, there were few drivers - around 30 in total, and all weren’t on the track at the same time. I kept the car suspension standard (how the car was delivered), and installed the wheels and set-up the race box the day before. A fresh tank of V-power was also put into the car. Next day, I was able to really explore the power of the car and get a feel for the brakes. The car is properly rapid for its size, but what really astounded me were the ceramic brakes. During my race sessions there was not a hint of fade, and stopping performance was excellent. The Trofeo RS tyres became molten and literally turned to glue whilst on track. The weather was very warm, with lots of sunshine too. During the chicanes, the weight of the car was noticeable, but handling-wise, the car is incredible. It’s so tight, and the turn-in is instant with very little body roll. The sports diff at the back makes the car behave like a rear wheel drive car. Initially I drove the car in RS mode (with auto gears), but later on, I used it in manual mode as sometimes the car would kick down for a fraction of a second, before then changing back up to the gear it had been in. Another annoyance was the Audi pre-sense. It popped up on the dashboard at least three times during the day. I wish there was a “track” button that disabled all that kind of stuff along with the silly speed limit bing bongs.
The car was splattered in rubber by the end of the day and when I got home, I treated the car to a deep clean, and when the wheels were swapped back over, I cleaned the arches and suspension components as best as I could. I also fully cleaned the wheels inside and out, before putting them back into their tyre bags.
Let’s get ready to race!
You can see here how sticky the tyres get. Grip level was phenomenal at a warm dry Thruxton.
MPG wasn’t the best around the track - averaged around 9mpg!
Telemetry data from the Track Adrenaline app is good.
You can replay your laps afterwards and see what speed you’re hitting apexes at etc. There are lots of tracks built-in to the race box, not just British courses, but European ones too like Spa, Nogaro and the Nordschleiffe.
Used track tyre versus the road tyre!
Afterwards, I cleaned everything, including the arches etc when the wheels were off again.
Mmmmm……shiny!
Looking good - I prefer these wheels.
I’ve also had the Alpine Stars race gloves arrive. They arrived after the track day annoyingly, but true to their word, Audi UK sent me a pair despite the gloves originally being intended for customers on the continent.
Audi UK emailed me a sizing chart for the gloves. I went with size L as I have quite long fingers. They fit almost perfectly. The gloves are tight to get on, which is what you want, and the finger tips shouldn’t be too floppy.
It turns out they’re just karting gloves after all!
Loving the ED25 merch (probably a little too much)