Learning to drive the R

[det09]

Ich empfehle außerdem, das Getriebeöl zu wechseln als von Pug empfohlen. Vor allem, wenn Ihr R gedrückt wird und Sie das LSD wirken lassen. Frisches Öl hält es länger in gutem Zustand.

Emfohlenes Getriebeoel (lt.Werk)

Bestellnummer 1682153580

 

[RCZ-R]

I don't have a draggy. The difference is noticeable in feel.

There is always a price to be paid, it is either the discs or the pads wearing off quicker. Which is it with the EBC?

 

[Kerr]

There is always a price to be paid, it is either the discs or the pads wearing off quicker. Which is it with the EBC?

I've only had them on for a few weeks. It is too early to judge disc wear.

If they are braking harder then I'm fully expecting additional disc wear. I'll try not to press the brake too often.

 

[Claret63]

I had no idea what a Draggy was till I googled it, I may invest in one, looks a tidy bit of kit.

 

[RCZ-R]

I had no idea what a Draggy was till I googled it, I may invest in one, looks a tidy bit of kit.

Yep. Does what it should and quite reliable too. I had mine for over 4 years without any issues.
I have clocked a few cars with it. The fastest so far was a M4 CS from 2020. Lovely engine.

The RCZ R did around 14 sec from 100 to 200 kmh.

 

[Claret63]

Yep. Does what it should and quite reliable too. I had mine for over 4 years without any issues.
I have clocked a few cars with it. The fastest so far was a M4 CS from 2020. Lovely engine.

The RCZ R did around 14 sec from 100 to 200 kmh.

So what did the M4 do? it must have been half the R, standard M4 is rapid.

 

[RCZ-R]

We did constantly flat 9.0 sec with the M4. Two blokes inside, so he'd do a very highish 8,8 or 8,9 sec on his own.
Which is pretty good for a stock M4 and hardly 10k miles on the clock.

I consider the M4 (it is a M4 with CS package, not a true M4 CS) a great granturismo car for the autobahn. More a GT car than a race track car. The suspension is subtle and irons out may imperfections. It feels settled, glued to the asphalt and firm but at the same time it never slams or unsettles the body. BMW knew how to set this car up.
It doesn't feel like a power monster. It is rather kind of soothing the way how it pushes forward and builds up torque. You are calm and certain that in any situation in any gear you'll have enough power to out-accelerate anything you meet on a usual day driving on the autobahns. Maybe I'm spoiled but only cars over 600 bhp feel brutish to me.

The M4 becomes a beast if you do one of those IMHO stupid traffic lights starts with the LC. Then it slams you into the seats and the gear changes are just violent. But he does not use the LC apart from one or two occasions where he wanted to give it a try. He keeps that M4 very clean and on low mileage.

 

[RCZ-R]

I'm off topic here a bit, so mods, tame me if I'm too much off the ridden path...

On other occasion we checked a modified (just an ECU software update to 400 horses, nothing more) bone-stock-boring 2020 A6 55 TFSI. Without mods the car was slow. Just below the usual performance of a RCZ R. This is why you can push so many cars with the R on the autobahn. The R is not only potent on a windy B road but also on a straight up to 150 MPH.

So that modified A6 did a 12.3 sec 100-200 which is very nice. I mean those audis are heavy like a block of lead. You leave it parked in the backyard it starts to sink in the grass.

But the other number is quite striking, its top speed. Pay attention to the screenshot attached and that tiny number to the right side of the ring. It says "279" which is the highest recorded speed we did during that run. That equates to 174 MPH. And it still pulled but we run out of space. It'd do 180-185 easily. Next time we want to break the 300 kmh barrier.

But one thing is very rubbish on those audis, the brakes. Shitty, feeble brakes which cannot take much lower speeds than that. I don't understand why audi and most beemers have such horrible brake systems. They overheat immediately, cannot cope with the car's weight, just useless. My Volvo has a 100s times better brakes than this premium piece of garbage, haha.

 

[Claret63]

I'm off topic here a bit, so mods, tame me if I'm too much off the ridden path...

On other occasion we checked a modified (just an ECU software update to 400 horses, nothing more) bone-stock-boring 2020 A6 55 TFSI. Without mods the car was slow. Just below the usual performance of a RCZ R. This is why you can push so many cars with the R on the autobahn. The R is not only potent on a windy B road but also on a straight up to 150 MPH.

So that modified A6 did a 12.3 sec 100-200 which is very nice. I mean those audis are heavy like a block of lead. You leave it parked in the backyard it starts to sink in the grass.

But the other number is quite striking, its top speed. Pay attention to the screenshot attached and that tiny number to the right side of the ring. It says "279" which is the highest recorded speed we did during that run. That equates to 174 MPH. And it still pulled but we run out of space. It'd do 180-185 easily. Next time we want to break the 300 kmh barrier.

But one thing is very rubbish on those audis, the brakes. Shitty, feeble brakes which cannot take much lower speeds than that. I don't understand why audi and most beemers have such horrible brake systems. They overheat immediately, cannot cope with the car's weight, just useless. My Volvo has a 100s times better brakes than this premium piece of garbage, haha.

Wow I am enjoying your post so much, real world experience instead of the crap we in the UK read on PistonHeads on a daily basis week in week out.

Having run and modified a Monaro for 15 years with 550 bhp (flywheel) I feel now I certainly went of the ridden path… heat soak being a big problem with a charger in a valley, thus always pulling timing.

TBH I always wanted an M4 or Porsche 911 (997) and although I could easily afford to buy, the maintenance and servicing I could not, therefore I decided not to go down that path.

Audi, we currently have a TT for one of our daily drivers, it’s dull compared to the R and feels so heavy when driving, definitely due to the Quattro system amongst other things.

Anyway back to learning to drive the R, it feels faster in all aspects than my previous other weekend car, one thing I noticed whilst on my 5am drive on a private road this weekend was the sheer brutality of this engine wanting to pull me from 120mph towards the max, it is truly a race engine in my view, yes it’s not a M car but this car has me totally hooked, and I am beginning to appreciate the real meaning of weight in relation to bhp.

 

[RCZ-R]

Thank you, I enjoy this thread as well. Let's keep it alive.

Monaro is such a cool car! I'd love to have a ride in one of those.
Having this power at the rear wheels sends smokes of joy into the air, haha.

Oh, so you can directly compare the R to a TT?
I did that too. The TT is disappointing in a direct comparison with the R. The R feels like a stingy hornet or like an overdriven puppy, jumping left and right always ready to change its direction. Very pointy and eager to follow the impulses of the steering wheels.
Compared to that the TT feels heavy, sluggish and clunky. There is a hesitance between steering impulses and the car's movement. Also I had the feeling it drags a bit of heavy metal underneath, somewhere, which can be felt all the time while riding.
The suspension was subtle but crashy over bumps.
I haven't tried the latest incarnation of the TT. But I did drive extensively the 2020 Audi RS3 which is the same platform (?). The RS3 felt fine, but a bit boring (apart from that 5 pot engine which is cool). Still it was a huge improvement over the previous understeery generations.

So, back to the R.
I loved the way I could rush my R over B roads and let the rear dance at the corner's exit. She did that swing with her arse, just few inches while the tyres just started to squeak. But this "dance of the arse" added some nice drama to a proper run. Add to it the exhaust sound (mind, my was starting to get loudish after over 150k miles) and it was such a blast with her to run down all those B roads.
I had a "ring run" around my area providing me over 100 miles of finest B roads. At a Saturday evening when most people already sat in front of their tellys, I had the roads to my own. Beautiful.
Honestly I only had more/similar fun on B roads in a Fiesta ST (old and new version).

 

[Claret63]

Thank you, I enjoy this thread as well. Let's keep it alive.

Monaro is such a cool car! I'd love to have a ride in one of those.
Having this power at the rear wheels sends smokes of joy into the air, haha.

Oh, so you can directly compare the R to a TT?
I did that too. The TT is disappointing in a direct comparison with the R. The R feels like a stingy hornet or like an overdriven puppy, jumping left and right always ready to change its direction. Very pointy and eager to follow the impulses of the steering wheels.
Compared to that the TT feels heavy, sluggish and clunky. There is a hesitance between steering impulses and the car's movement. Also I had the feeling it drags a bit of heavy metal underneath, somewhere, which can be felt all the time while riding.
The suspension was subtle but crashy over bumps.
I haven't tried the latest incarnation of the TT. But I did drive extensively the 2020 Audi RS3 which is the same platform (?). The RS3 felt fine, but a bit boring (apart from that 5 pot engine which is cool). Still it was a huge improvement over the previous understeery generations.

So, back to the R.
I loved the way I could rush my R over B roads and let the rear dance at the corner's exit. She did that swing with her arse, just few inches while the tyres just started to squeak. But this "dance of the arse" added some nice drama to a proper run. Add to it the exhaust sound (mind, my was starting to get loudish after over 150k miles) and it was such a blast with her to run down all those B roads.
I had a "ring run" around my area providing me over 100 miles of finest B roads. At a Saturday evening when most people already sat in front of their tellys, I had the roads to my own. Beautiful.
Honestly I only had more/similar fun on B roads in a Fiesta ST (old and new version).

Yes the Monaro was fun but only when supercharged, they are slow standard and the standard brakes are awful, most modify as I did updated brakes shocks, clutch etc, fun in a straight line but probably the worst drivers car I have ever had, it’s the sound of that wonderful v8 that keeps you interested.

Wasn’t comparing the TT to the R, just great as a daily really, but not my daily drive my wife‘s also we use for daily duty at weekend, it is a clunky heavy car though and feels similar to the Monaro.

I am still learning with the R and I don’t think I will ever be brave enough to take it to the limit, I lack skilled driving experience, but I am thinking of an advanced driving course.

Meanwhile I feel I learn something new every time I drive the R, there are easier cars to drive but the fact it’s a manual gearbox draws me in, had DSG in a A class Merc we had and I hated it.

 

[RCZ-R]

Taking a driving course is not a bad idea. I did that too. It was more about safety but they put us on a skid pad too. That was a lot of fun!

The R is also very well suited for heel-to-toe driving technique. The pedals are nice levelled and throttle response is quick enough to blip that engine on downshifts. Makes a lot of sense as well as you will save the flywheel and the clutch from premature wear. When you get used to it, you just do it without even thinking. Takes a bit of practice, but pays off dividend.

 

[Pedro]

My brother had an R yrs ago we used to thrash it across the fields best Reliant Robin on the road!!

 

[Dingers]

The RCZ R chassis is fantastic and by far the best handling car I've owned. However I do cringe every time there's a bit of road damage as it really doesn't like those. Nothing wrong with the suspension fitted either, it had new springs last year & passed the MOT no probs. I honestly feel a quality set of aftermarket coilovers could be great on this car - adjustable ride height & damping would go a long way to smoothing out those nasty road surfaces and give you confidence that you're not killing the suspension or tyres. I had BC Racing coilies fitted to my Nissan & the difference was night & day !

 

[Claret63]

The RCZ R chassis is fantastic and by far the best handling car I've owned. However I do cringe every time there's a bit of road damage as it really doesn't like those. Nothing wrong with the suspension fitted either, it had new springs last year & passed the MOT no probs. I honestly feel a quality set of aftermarket coilovers could be great on this car - adjustable ride height & damping would go a long way to smoothing out those nasty road surfaces and give you confidence that you're not killing the suspension or tyres. I had BC Racing coilies fitted to my Nissan & the difference was night & day !

Agree with this, be interesting to hear if anyone has fitted coilovers to their RCZ, for me to consider they would have to be high end though, where you could adjust compression and rebound.

 

[RCZ-R]

I've seen few "dropped" RCZs. But I suspect it was done for looks only. So hardly any feedback on actual improvement of driving characteristics could be expected from that source.

 

[det09]

Habe ein KW-Gewindefahrwerk eingebaut und kann nichts negatives darüber sagen.

 

[Claret63]

I've seen few "dropped" RCZs. But I suspect it was done for looks only. So hardly any feedback on actual improvement of driving characteristics could be expected from that source.

I honestly think the standard suspension would be hard to beat for handling. The R is the only car I have ever had which I have no urge to modify or want too for that matter, it’s race bred through and through when you look deep into the design all over, the headline for me is that rev hungry engine and Alcon brakes.

 

[RCZ-R]

Habe ein KW-Gewindefahrwerk eingebaut und kann nichts negatives darüber sagen.

KW builds excellent suspensions. Was it custom-made for your R?
Looking at the picture it looks like the tyre is rubbing on the liner.

 

[det09]

KW baut hervorragende Fahrwerke. Wurde es speziell für Ihren R angefertigt?
Auf dem Bild sieht es so aus, als würde der Reifen am Liner reiben.

Da reibt und schleift nichts.Ist natürlich für das Auto hergestellt und auch so eingetragen.Höhe am Gewinde und an Kotflügelkante zur Radnabe ist auch eingetragen.
Stahlflex ebenso und die Taroxscheiben auch.
(223 KW auch) ;-))