Cal Club Autocross Forums

My luck on tire this year hasn't been good. The right front tire of my SK1-FS BMW has a leak somewhere. I'll try to get it fixed before this weekend's event. However, in the event that the tire can't be fixed, and they don't have that tire in stock, I'm thinking about bringing my other car out.

The car is a 2010 Audi S4. SCCA has not listed this car in any of the stock class yet. I've already sent a letter to SEB requesting to have this car classified. Apparently, it's not on the April Fastrak yet. If I do run the Audi this weekend, what stock class should it belong? I'm hoping FS (for the soft index).

According to the rules, all unclassified cars get to run in SS.
If it had a V8 you could use the FS catch-all, but no such luck...

Not sure if this helps you, but I've got a set of V710's mounted on 17x8 5x120 wheels you could borrow. They fit on a e46 3-series, so they'd probably fit the 335. Not sure if that's a stock-legal size for you though...

Vincent Wong wrote:has a leak somewhere

By your statement, I'm assuming a slow leak? Almost any small leak can be fixed. I'm assuming you're your concern is whether a tire shop will fix it or not? I plug tires all the time and have never had a problem. For small sidewall leaks, use stop-leak. It will certainly get you through the weekend and probably last the life of the tire. In any event, it won't lead to sudden loss of pressure.

OT: How do you like the new S4 compared to your 335i? The lease on my brother's 335i is almost up and he's strongly considering the S4 next.

Robert, thanks for the offer, but your V710s will put me in FS. I'm running in SK1. ;)

George, yes it's a slow leak. It started this morning on my way to work. The low warning came on once, then I pulled over, found a gas station to fill it up with air. Then drove about 10 miles, the warning came on again. When I got to work, I checked the tire but didn't see any nail or tear or crack on the tire. I'll go to a tire place during lunch, and hopefully it can be fixed. I don't want to run in SK1 with a SS index.

Greg, that's a tough question. I like the S4 a lot, but I also like the 335i a lot too. What is your brother looking for in the S4? Performance? Speed? Comfort? Or something else? Maybe we can talk more this Sunday. I actually took both cars to AutoClub Speedway last year for my own comparison, and I wrote something about it, here's the link: http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthrea ... 335i.......

Greg Peng wrote:OT: How do you like the new S4 compared to your 335i? The lease on my brother's 335i is almost up and he's strongly considering the S4 next.

In case you're interested, Road and Track did a comparison including both cars in their last issue:
http://www.roadandtrack.com/tests/compa ... -firepower" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Car and Driver did a head-to-head in November last year:
http://tinyurl.com/ygrjuo3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Kurt Rahn wrote: In case you're interested, Road and Track did a comparison including both cars in their last issue:
http://www.roadandtrack.com/tests/compa ... -firepower" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And the author of that article will be at our event this weekend!

Update: Tire is ok, rim is ok, the valve stem was somewhat loose. So when the car was parked or moving at slow speeds, it held air. But when the speed picked up, air escaped from the valve stem.

Max Hayter wrote:

Kurt Rahn wrote: In case you're interested, Road and Track did a comparison including both cars in their last issue:
http://www.roadandtrack.com/tests/compa ... -firepower" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And the author of that article will be at our event this weekend!

Yup. I met him last event. Cool guy.

Vincent Wong wrote:Update: Tire is ok, rim is ok, the valve stem was somewhat loose. So when the car was parked or moving at slow speeds, it held air. But when the speed picked up, air escaped from the valve stem.

cheep fixes = win glad to see it wasn't a major deal!