MarTT

<center><img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/20368/bhfarms071402_044.jpg"></center><p>Attended the Blackhawk Farms Audi Driver's School put on by the Chicagoland chapter - great fun. Pictures posted at link below. The event drew about 90 cars - so we split into 6 run groups of 15 each. Naturally the TT owners formed our own corral - all 4 of us! Blackhawk Farms is not far from Rockford, IL on the Wisconsin/Illinois border.<ul><li><a href="http://public.fotki.com/martt/bhfarms/">http://public.fotki.com/martt/bhfarms/</a></li></ul>

HACK THS

Who went?

coasTTal

Did you do the cones?
Did you do the quick lane change?
Did you do the 0-60-0 thing?

What where the times around the track?

I wish I knew about this. I would loved to have gone.

John

MarTT

unless they signed you off to go solo. We did two types of slalom exercises (cones) - the first day we did "single slalom" and the second day we did "double slalom" to really try to get the back end to come around (turn ESP off). It's really hard to get the TT back end to swing around especially in dry conditions.

Yes we did the quick lane change as well - AKA accident avoidance. We did that both days. We did not do the 0-60-0 thing (not sure what that is?). We did a braking exercise to engage and feel the ABS - getting on the brakes later and later on the course to see how quickly we could stop.

All of the Audi club events (national and local) are posted at the Audi Car Club web site. See link. Oh, and I'm not sure what the times were around the track - I never timed myself and did not see anybody who was timing me specifically.<ul><li><a href="http://www.quattroclubusa.org/event/calendar.shtml">http://www.quattroclubusa.org/event/calendar.shtml</a></li></ul>

coasTTal

We did exactly the same thing as you did. The 0-60-0 thing was where you took off as hard as you could and then hit your brakes at the first cone and you were supposed to get a feel for the ABS and how to brake hard but smooth.

I got ~ 60 laps in 4 segments around the 2 mile track. We also did one segment in reverse which helped me understand how to get through some corners better when going the normal way around.

They would never let us go solo.

I found out how to get the back of a TT to dance around on you, even with ESP on. Drive really, really hard into a corner, hit the brakes hard, gun it, but realize you gave it too much power while in the curve and then hit your brakes again. Yes, the back will start to come around and you will feel like a fool. The learnings are, never, never brake in a curve when carrying alot of speed. Too much weight gets shifted forward in what already is a light rearend car. I think a better balanced, front to rear, car could handle this better than the TT. My instructor had a S2000 and he drove just as hard into the corner and over powered and hit his brakes pretty hard but the S2000 just kept going.

On a different note, we got a little rain that day and my TT was passing cars that had passed me during my first learning session.

Was everyone being really tough on their brakes? At Gingerman's it was stinky city. It was strange to be following someone into a corner and they never make it around the corner and run off the track. You almost want to follow.

Enough said. In short, my day at Gingerman's was the most fun one could have just sitting down.

John

MarTT

Was it an Audi club event? There is another event there in mid October that I plan on going to. My instructor drove an A4 with a chip and nice wheels/brakes but could not get it to handle at all like my TT. He had not been in a TT before and was amazed at how much better it handled the track. Blackhawk does not have real long straights (you get up to about 90 mph or so) so although there were a lot of stinky brakes it was nothing like Road America where you get much higher speeds.

My TT was much faster in the curves and just as fast as any other car in my group on the straights. My brakes are stock but held out fine. My front calipers were gray at the beginning but now are a copper/brownish color (I guess because of the heat) and my rotors are pretty scuffed up. Not sure if they'll even back out or not.

coasTTal

It was $250 for the one day. There would be only 10 cars on the track at a time. Most all were Audis, but there was one corvette and one Integra. I did get passed on my first session and that was by the Corvette, Integra, and a really fast S4. The Integra driver had a fast car, but really new the track well. The S4 had been there before and also was chipped and had larger exhaust. The corvette just had lots of power. I think the S4 may have been faster than the Vette.

I kept getting better and smoother throughout the day. I actually found myself casually chatting with the instructor while driving in the drizzle, passing several Audis, including the Integra, before I realized I could probably be pushing the car alot harder.

My first 15 laps I got my Stoptechs going soft on me, despite having new racing pads installed. I suspect that I was boiling the brake fluid since I wasn't getting the burnt pad smell. On subsequent runs as I got smoother and relied a bit less on brakes I never had another problem.

Gingermans has two reasonalbly long straight with one I would guess that I got over 100mph before diving on the brakes.

My biggest suggestion to anyone is to get a copy of the track and try to really understand the track layout and your lines through the corners, where you need alot of speed, medium speed, and your brakes.

My times for the two miles got to 1:50. Obviously one is averaging over 60mph since it is a 2 mile track. I think I could do it in 1:40 after a few more runs. Curves 5 and 6 really are 3 distinct curves that are misleading because you come downhill into 5 and exit 6 going up hill, with a slight transition from 5 to 6. I ran the track backwards and it really helped me get through this section much better.

How much track time did you get at Blackhawk and what was the cost?

MarTT

. . . spread over 2 days. Saturday we did 3 track sessions and Sunday 4. So that was a little over 2 hours total of track time. 20 minutes at a stretch is enough - obviously you don't want to lose any concentration. We were encouraged to find rides with instructors or more experienced drivers to get a better feel for the track. That is very helpful any time you can go out with someone they are usually happy to have you ride along.

The cost was $260 plus $20 for helmet rental (if you need one). Of course add hotel and other misc. expenses.