My promised Grattan Report: Longest post I've ever written! :-)
04-28-2003, 09:33 PM
#1
AudiWorld Super User
Thread Starter
My promised Grattan Report: Longest post I've ever written! :-)
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/31455/escapa8_grattan2003_sunrise_driive_to_track.jpg">
>> PaulW driving towards the sun...beautiful weather driving to the track at 7:30AM. Fat bugs on the windshield.
It was tough going to sleep the night before leaving for Grattan. I was psyched, also because I had a pretty good idea about how much fun I was going to have the following three days. I still have vivid memories of driving my car at Mid-Ohio last year. Randy tipped me about it on the forum. I am still thankful he brought it up and shared and contaminated me with his enthusiasm for driving our cars on a track.
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/31455/escapa8_grattan2003_docmusolf_entering_track.jpg">
>> docmusolf entering the track.
A couple of weeks before, my car got its 90K tune up as well as a long due transmission service. The timing belt is something that still needs to be done (soon). I took the car with stock everything. I'd done the same thing at Mid-Ohio and it works just fine when you're a beginner. It also gives you a good idea about what to expect from your car when driving on the street and highway on- and off-ramps.
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/31455/escapa8_grattan2003_ryoung_in_the_lead.jpg">
>> ryoung "in the lead". With the right light and speed the car's matt black wheel spokes became invisible. Very cool!
Before going to another event like Grattan, I'd like add at least a set of track brakes and a harness. Both will enable me to take it to another personal level. With the harness I will be more "one with the car", which will it make it safer to drive and I'll be more in touch with the driving dynamics of the car. Also I won't have my "Brake Pads Worn" light come on before the event is over. That's what happened to me this year but not at Mid-Ohio (?). The brake pads suffered on Grattan, the tires on Mid-Ohio (The tires got a good work out driving laps on a huge parking lot sized autocross course. I really enjoyed doing that as my last step before taking it out on the track for the very first time.).
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/31455/escapa8_grattan2003_worn_brake_pads_symbol.jpg">
>> Worn brake pads indicator. I started the event with about 60% left on the front pads. The front wheels were covered in brake dust versus the rear wheels being still almost clean.
On my drive to Grattan I realized I should have left earlier because I completely mis-predicted the amount of Chicago's Friday afternoon traffic. I was relieved I made it on time for the driver's meeting at the Amerisuites in Grand Rapids. Paul, Randy and Brent were so nice to save a seat for me. After some instructions and introductions by the Audi Club of North America, the club raffled some nice things that were piled up on one of the tables in the hotel's conference room. Besides the Thermos and Wax Sample that everybody received after registering, winning raffle tickets got Paul a nice ACNA duffel bag, a nice ACNA pen and Brent a nice ACNA shirt. Randy was the only one without a winning ticket...
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/31455/escapa8_grattan2003_3_a8s_parked.jpg">
>> While ryoung is on the track the other A8's are cooling off with their hoods opened.
Saturday morning I stopped by Paul's and Randy's hotel and we drove off to the track towards a nice sun rise. Brent came later. The weather that weekend could not have been better I think: 50-60F, sun shine and breezy. I've heard stories that last year the weather was terrible: cold, rain, freezing. Yikes! Some people went home during the event.
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/31455/escapa8_grattan2003_ryoung_clean_engine_bay.jpg">
>> ryoung's pristine S8 engine bay.
At the track we saw all types of Audis except for A6-C5's!? Pretty amazing. None. Zero. We all wondered why. There were also a bunch of Porsches, two Subaru's, a Camaro/TransAm(?), Don's (Randy's brother) Merkur, and some other makes I've forgotten. An instructor I drove a session with in his S8 last year, brought a black Porsche 911 with a huge spoiler to Grattan. It had flames coming out of the exhaust driving on the track. He was one of a series of faces that looked familiar to me. All people at the event were very nice and I really enjoyed the company of Don and his family. I think everybody would agree that the people and the big family feeling are a big part of the fun at the event. Like Paul said, after a couple of event days you can't remember what happened before driving to the event. It's so much fun, time flies, and indeed very intense mentally. Like last year, I was in a daze after the first day. The second day felt a lot better. I hope more A8 owners will try out one of these events. Be warned: I've not yet met an A8 owner that has stopped after one event!
Well, what else to say. It was very nice to drive alongside with my instructor driving his own car, an S6 with license plate AUDIUDO. Very appropriate because he is French and, as you may know, the French don't pronounce the letter "H". You can learn a lot from driving in the passenger seat with your instructor driving his/her own car which of course (s)he is intimately familiar with.
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/31455/escapa8_grattan2003_whisteling_exhausts_tt.jpg">
>> A seriously modified TT with exhausts that whistle when you step on it. According to the owner it's the shape of the exhausts that make this cool magical sound. Looks like 4 little trumpets don't they?
On the way home Paul and I drove on a couple of toll roads. After pulling into separate toll booth lanes at the same time, I was just a little quicker dropping the money in the bucket and put the pedal to the metal. The sound of my roaring V8 traveled freely through his opened window and I was counting on triggering some of the feelings in him he must have had driving on the track that day. He let it rip as well. I perceived it as a pretty even match. A truck in my lane made me slow down and Paul passed me on the right. A little later while he drove in front of me, he opened the sunroof and gave me a hang loose sign. That was funny!
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/31455/escapa8_grattan2003_paulw_exiting.jpg">
>> PaulW exiting the track after a cool down lap.
That's it for now. Maybe I'll bring up some more stuff later that hasn't already been covered or that just didn't surface in my head tonight.
Hope to see you at a future event!
.
>> PaulW driving towards the sun...beautiful weather driving to the track at 7:30AM. Fat bugs on the windshield.
It was tough going to sleep the night before leaving for Grattan. I was psyched, also because I had a pretty good idea about how much fun I was going to have the following three days. I still have vivid memories of driving my car at Mid-Ohio last year. Randy tipped me about it on the forum. I am still thankful he brought it up and shared and contaminated me with his enthusiasm for driving our cars on a track.
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/31455/escapa8_grattan2003_docmusolf_entering_track.jpg">
>> docmusolf entering the track.
A couple of weeks before, my car got its 90K tune up as well as a long due transmission service. The timing belt is something that still needs to be done (soon). I took the car with stock everything. I'd done the same thing at Mid-Ohio and it works just fine when you're a beginner. It also gives you a good idea about what to expect from your car when driving on the street and highway on- and off-ramps.
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/31455/escapa8_grattan2003_ryoung_in_the_lead.jpg">
>> ryoung "in the lead". With the right light and speed the car's matt black wheel spokes became invisible. Very cool!
Before going to another event like Grattan, I'd like add at least a set of track brakes and a harness. Both will enable me to take it to another personal level. With the harness I will be more "one with the car", which will it make it safer to drive and I'll be more in touch with the driving dynamics of the car. Also I won't have my "Brake Pads Worn" light come on before the event is over. That's what happened to me this year but not at Mid-Ohio (?). The brake pads suffered on Grattan, the tires on Mid-Ohio (The tires got a good work out driving laps on a huge parking lot sized autocross course. I really enjoyed doing that as my last step before taking it out on the track for the very first time.).
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/31455/escapa8_grattan2003_worn_brake_pads_symbol.jpg">
>> Worn brake pads indicator. I started the event with about 60% left on the front pads. The front wheels were covered in brake dust versus the rear wheels being still almost clean.
On my drive to Grattan I realized I should have left earlier because I completely mis-predicted the amount of Chicago's Friday afternoon traffic. I was relieved I made it on time for the driver's meeting at the Amerisuites in Grand Rapids. Paul, Randy and Brent were so nice to save a seat for me. After some instructions and introductions by the Audi Club of North America, the club raffled some nice things that were piled up on one of the tables in the hotel's conference room. Besides the Thermos and Wax Sample that everybody received after registering, winning raffle tickets got Paul a nice ACNA duffel bag, a nice ACNA pen and Brent a nice ACNA shirt. Randy was the only one without a winning ticket...
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/31455/escapa8_grattan2003_3_a8s_parked.jpg">
>> While ryoung is on the track the other A8's are cooling off with their hoods opened.
Saturday morning I stopped by Paul's and Randy's hotel and we drove off to the track towards a nice sun rise. Brent came later. The weather that weekend could not have been better I think: 50-60F, sun shine and breezy. I've heard stories that last year the weather was terrible: cold, rain, freezing. Yikes! Some people went home during the event.
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/31455/escapa8_grattan2003_ryoung_clean_engine_bay.jpg">
>> ryoung's pristine S8 engine bay.
At the track we saw all types of Audis except for A6-C5's!? Pretty amazing. None. Zero. We all wondered why. There were also a bunch of Porsches, two Subaru's, a Camaro/TransAm(?), Don's (Randy's brother) Merkur, and some other makes I've forgotten. An instructor I drove a session with in his S8 last year, brought a black Porsche 911 with a huge spoiler to Grattan. It had flames coming out of the exhaust driving on the track. He was one of a series of faces that looked familiar to me. All people at the event were very nice and I really enjoyed the company of Don and his family. I think everybody would agree that the people and the big family feeling are a big part of the fun at the event. Like Paul said, after a couple of event days you can't remember what happened before driving to the event. It's so much fun, time flies, and indeed very intense mentally. Like last year, I was in a daze after the first day. The second day felt a lot better. I hope more A8 owners will try out one of these events. Be warned: I've not yet met an A8 owner that has stopped after one event!
Well, what else to say. It was very nice to drive alongside with my instructor driving his own car, an S6 with license plate AUDIUDO. Very appropriate because he is French and, as you may know, the French don't pronounce the letter "H". You can learn a lot from driving in the passenger seat with your instructor driving his/her own car which of course (s)he is intimately familiar with.
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/31455/escapa8_grattan2003_whisteling_exhausts_tt.jpg">
>> A seriously modified TT with exhausts that whistle when you step on it. According to the owner it's the shape of the exhausts that make this cool magical sound. Looks like 4 little trumpets don't they?
On the way home Paul and I drove on a couple of toll roads. After pulling into separate toll booth lanes at the same time, I was just a little quicker dropping the money in the bucket and put the pedal to the metal. The sound of my roaring V8 traveled freely through his opened window and I was counting on triggering some of the feelings in him he must have had driving on the track that day. He let it rip as well. I perceived it as a pretty even match. A truck in my lane made me slow down and Paul passed me on the right. A little later while he drove in front of me, he opened the sunroof and gave me a hang loose sign. That was funny!
<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/31455/escapa8_grattan2003_paulw_exiting.jpg">
>> PaulW exiting the track after a cool down lap.
That's it for now. Maybe I'll bring up some more stuff later that hasn't already been covered or that just didn't surface in my head tonight.
Hope to see you at a future event!
.
