Hockenheim Ring

[Fast GTO]

Took the Goat to Hockenheim for some nice road racing. Handles like a charm, and as you all know the stock rubber isn't that great and neither are the brakes.

I was running with various models of Porsche and M/Z series BMWs.

This was my first time on a track and I must say, I now understand why brakes are SOOOOO important. Goats stock brakes got a bit mushy after 2 1/2 laps and definantly need uprgraded.

With that said it is very fun and I plan on doing it again. I think the Goats limit is maybe 2 runs per event (you get about 30 minutes on the track at a time).


My best run was 2:30 for a lap and a nicely modded Camaro (Porsche brakes, cam, heads, nitto's front and rear) ran a best of 2:11.

Cool thing was that a lead designer of Porsche was part of the F-Body club I went with. He was driving a company car, GT3.


I was even with a new M3 at one point on a straight away and he walked me....which is why I think it had to be modded in some way either that or my A4 wasn't a match.


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[strapp]

Sounds like a blast. Great pics. Road course racing is entirely too much fun. I did some in my WS6 earlier this year. I look forward to getting the Goat out their next spring.

[Fast GTO]

It was great fun, I am amazed how much of a beating a car goes through doing a road course. I have a new found respect for those porsches...

I had the Porsche guy riding with me on my run to get some pointers on the best line to take etc...

I need to work on taking corners better and knowing when and when not to get aggressive. Fish tailed a few corners and had to ease my way off the course 2-3 times to prevent a bad situation, otherwise great fun.

I want to run this track again when I get my Predator/Custom tune.

[Fast GTO]

Dang, no interest in road racing?

I am actually a little bit on the fence about taking a Goat on the track too often, it would be too expensive in the long run to get this whale to run good times to be competitive.

Obviously the cheapest upgrade is the driver, but in the long run changes would need to be made.

[RedhotGTO]

Dang, no interest in road racing?

I am actually a little bit on the fence about taking a Goat on the track too often, it would be too expensive in the long run to get this whale to run good times to be competitive.

Obviously the cheapest upgrade is the driver, but in the long run changes would need to be made.

VERY Kool

Thanks for sharing your experience and the Pics.

And you are right – this is a great time once in a while. But more then that and you would have to upgrade brakes, springs, sways, and get dedicated wheel/tire combo.

I bet if you just upgraded your brake fluid and pads and got some softer rubber you would knock a bunch of seconds off your times. Our stock rubber sucs - to bad we did not get the KDWs.

I'll be getting the ES100's in the Spring. Can't wait.

.

[ghqman]

Sounds like fun. I went to Mid-Ohio last April/May, and am still debating whether I can afford that again, as it did cost me new brakes and tires, I did about 100 laps.

[DANSLS1]

Dang - laps on a world class race track in a performance car. I think most of us are too jealous to really say much ;)
Thanks for the pics and tales - sounds like craploads of fun!
Dan

[Fast GTO]

Well, maybe I'll get more responses when I post the Nurburg Ring stories and pictures.

;)


BTW it is extremely cheap to run on these tracks.

$50 and you can get a good 1 1/2 hours road time on them.

[Stangar]

I've driven the Nurburgring on several occasions but only in a rental car. Yeah, I know, you have no insurance with a rental car there. 12 Euro a lap (about 12 miles, if remember correctly) You buy your tickets at a machine and put the ticket/card in the device, the gate opens and you're on the track. I should say "racing" but in my slow rental car I was more of a chicane for everyone else. EVERYTHING is out there. Unless you have been there you can't imagine. 4 door station wagons with bicycles on the roof and kids in the back seat being passed by full race Dodge Vipers with over a 100 mph differential closing speed. Motorcycles are in the mix with the cars. The BMW "Taxi" (sponsored by BMW) driven by a pro, is giving (expensive) rides to three passengers. There are some excellent viewing areas to watch, also. Me and a buddy spent 3 hours one afternoon just watching the parade of very fast, fast, and very slow cars go by. Great fun. Track closed down for a couple of hours on several of the trips I've made there so as to rollout the wreckers, ambulances, and clean it all up. This would NEVER be allowed in the US.

[Fast GTO]

I've driven the Nurburgring on several occasions but only in a rental car. Yeah, I know, you have no insurance with a rental car there. 12 Euro a lap (about 12 miles, if remember correctly) You buy your tickets at a machine and put the ticket/card in the device, the gate opens and you're on the track. I should say "racing" but in my slow rental car I was more of a chicane for everyone else. EVERYTHING is out there. Unless you have been there you can't imagine. 4 door station wagons with bicycles on the roof and kids in the back seat being passed by full race Dodge Vipers with over a 100 mph differential closing speed. Motorcycles are in the mix with the cars. The BMW "Taxi" (sponsored by BMW) driven by a pro, is giving (expensive) rides to three passengers. There are some excellent viewing areas to watch, also. Me and a buddy spent 3 hours one afternoon just watching the parade of very fast, fast, and very slow cars go by. Great fun. Track closed down for a couple of hours on several of the trips I've made there so as to rollout the wreckers, ambulances, and clean it all up. This would NEVER be allowed in the US.


Ha ha, those are the stories I was hearing on Sunday from the Porsche guy (happened to be the Auto-X champ or runner up the last 4 years in Europe).

He told a few good stories about the track and how it is fun for him to get in his company porsche and tear that sponsored Viper,that gives out payed rides, a new one.

He also referenced the fact that there are a lot of crashes on that track and the Germans make the person who crashed pay for all the repairs to the track.

Can't wait to get a run on it.


:hail:

[Stangar]

Be careful. Since I was a rolling chicane, I played it safe and just turned on the right turn signal and stayed to the right no matter where I was or where the apex was. (track advisory) We actually saw a large accident that day while watching in this particular viewing area. A 4 door BMW got a little sidewise, overcorrected, went into the guardrail hard and came back across the track where he was center punched by an older Porsche 911. Had that Porsche been a motorcyclist it would have been nasty. By the way, you'll recognize this great viewing area (12 mile long lap) when you are on the track as there will be 200-300 spectators. You can see two really good right turns from this area where people cheer and boo. They usually boo and yell at the guy with the station wagon, bicycles on roof, kids in the backseat. The awe of dead silence for the vehicles with the black rubber/plastic covering the body work. A lot of companies test here. The track has everything from rough patches with low speed corners to you name it. The entrance area is fantastic to just view the numerous and varied machinery. Restaurant also there where you can sit at the open dining area and watch the action. Awwww, . . . the memories.

[Doc GTO]

It was great fun, I am amazed how much of a beating a car goes through doing a road course. I have a new found respect for those porsches...

I had the Porsche guy riding with me on my run to get some pointers on the best line to take etc...

I need to work on taking corners better and knowing when and when not to get aggressive. Fish tailed a few corners and had to ease my way off the course 2-3 times to prevent a bad situation, otherwise great fun.

I want to run this track again when I get my Predator/Custom tune.

Before next event you need to do this as a minimum. Replace stock brake pads with Hawk performance pads and flush and refill with AP551 brake fluid. This will ensure that you have brakes when you need it. This is a cheap way to upgrade the brakes and you will notice a big difference even after 2 or 3 laps!!!