On March 18th and 19th I had the opportunity to attend Audi Club Golden Gate's "Quattro de Seca" at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. An interesting and unfortunate fact about Laguna is that it has a 92dB sound limit which is measured on the passenger side coming out of turn 5, going up the hill. If you break that limit and are identified you'll receive a black flag...three black flags and you're done for the day. That being said, I wasn't sure my car would pass sound.

I called up the guys at One Stop Race Shop and rented a Spec Miata for the the event in case the S4 didn't pass sound check. Three laps around Laguna yielded 89.5dB the second session of the day. Perfect. After my sound check, I parked the S4 and spent most of of the event in the Miata.

The handful of sessions that I took the S4 out, I was very impressed with the power delivery. The car is able to get up to speed quickly and it continues to deliver predictable power throughout the powerband. With ESP off, the car would easily break traction coming out of a corner. The only issue I had with the car was the brake pad selection, the STaSIS supplied Carbotech Bobcats are definately a street pad; a few high speed stops quickly cooked the pads. The general consensus has been to use either the Ferodo 2500 or 3000s.

This was my first time at Laguna in a car and wow, this track is fun, but I still think I like Thunderhill more. There's something unnerving about cement walls, angry rumble strips, and uneven run off.

Spec Miata Montage

Early session in the the S4

I've had the car for almost a month now and have had the opporutnity to drive the car nearly 2k miles...and guess what, I love this car!

While I've yet to get the car on a dyno, I can tell you that it's substantially more powerful than in stock state (one would hope, right?). There's been lots of speculation regarding the actual gains that a supercharger provides versus a car with bolt ons, while I can't speak towards gains from a supercharger only install I do believe that before anybody should even consider a supercharger, they should have the supporting mods.

Anyhow, I digress.

JHM's lightweight flywheel and crank pulley allow the car to rev freely, this is especially important with the supercharger since you don't really get into the boost until you're around 3k RPMs. Under 3k, the car is completely and totally civilized; once you get past 3k the car just wants to take off. The car pulls quickly up through redline, I'm sure the JHM headers are helping up top.

That brings me to braking: what good is going fast if you can't stop? Boy, can this car stop! We did a few 85mph to 20mph stops back to back...I'm not sure if getting up to 85 was more fun that slowing down! High speed braking requires minimal pedal pressure and the feedback is very linear.

Overall, both myself and those who have driven the car are pleasantly suprised with the overall package.. The car can be daily driven to work and taken to the track on the weekends. Anyhow, regardless if you're driving or a passenger some form of giggling is guaranteed to ensue.

Here's a quick video of my friend and his first time in the hot seat. More to come!

You can click the video for a higher quality version.

Last weekend I paid Thunderhill Raceway a visit with the Audi Club of Golden Gate...wow, what an awesome track! Since my car wasn't ready, I decided to rent a Spec Miata for the weekend. and this was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I was able to refine my braking and vehicle control techniques over the two days at the track. The first day was split 50/50 with the first half was braking and vehicle dynamics mixed up with on track sessions; the second day was entirely track time.

Honestly, I can say I've learned more with seat time in the Miata than I would have in my S4.

My instructor and I.

This was my second session on the track with a Civic spinning out in front of me.

This was my third session on the first day.

Here is my third session on the second day. I shot this video with my 7D and my SD GoPro.

These two videos are of the JHM headers with the GMG resonated midsection, there are no mufflers attached.

This video shows what the car sounds like with only the JHM headers.