Audi Coupe GT

T

Tom Newlon

New member
Hello,

I am looking into converting my 84 GT into a race car and I am looking for insight if it would be worth doing. Also thought about trying to get it classified for Prod. What would it take and how do you get more ponies out of this very underpowered and heavy car. All help would be great!!! Thanks to all.
 
Tom-

Several people have had interests in runing these cars, however many people find that their is a cost barrier and do not actually ever get the cars to the track... From our discussions with other racers the people who have raced them have all been successful in their goals. We (RST Performance Racing) feel that the cars are not overly expensive if you want to run in the top 5 however if you would like to get within the top 3 then you do have to make a little bit more of a contrabution than you might with a VW. The cars are not underpowered however they are very "front" heavy wich makes handling an issue that needs to be dealt with. Their are several things that you can do for little $$ to save $$$$$ on things such as tires. We have had a lot of success with the cars (We race 2 of them in the Northeast). We feel that the longer circuts where you can "let the car run" (Such as Pocono or Watkins Glen)it can be much more successful. Smaller tighter courses such as NHIS are more difficult as the cars do not handle as well as many other ITB cars. Despite New Englands small tracks with tight turns we still finished 2nd and 4th in the NARRC championship and 4th and 5th in the NERRC Championship last year. This year we were able to quallify 1st and second and we had one car go on to win at the season opener without much of a challenge however a coupel of the faster ITB cars did not show.

One of our favorite stories: When we were starting to build the cars we herd over and over that we were nuts to build the cars because they would never be competitive, now many people tell us at every event that Audi's (done correctly) are the car for the class.

If you would like more info either post questions here for all to answer or e-mail us directly at [email protected]

Raymond
RST Performance Racing
www.rstperformance.com
 
Thanks for the insight. I think I will do it and not be one of the people that only talks about it. What would you recommend to do first? I am in the St. Louis region so that means I have to deal with Albin, but at first I just need to get on the track. Anything you can tell me would be great!!! Thanks in advance for the help.

Tom
 
Tom-

For about $1,500-$2,000 you can build a mid pack ITB Audi... Our first season we spent considerably less then that, however the additional things in my $1,500 - $2,000 car make it worth while and cheaper in the long run... (People might argue with this list but hey we did it in the Northeast, which has always had a traditional tough ITB field)

My quick list is this-

CAMBER PLATES- (A must for these cars because the front is so dang heavy... makes tires last 3 weekends rather than 8 laps)

Coil-over suspension- (not needed to run however will help considerably in cornering and tire wear)

Role Cage-

Racing Seat-

Steering wheel- (I can't stand the huge Audi Steering wheels)

Brakes- (Cheep Rotors on the front, with Carbon Fiber brake pads; leave the back alone... it is just hanging on for the ride. We are currently putting in a brake bias to change that but in the beginning you wont need it)

Tires- Get some used ones!!!

That’s all you need to get started (provided the car is in good working order), however that is a limited budget car (midpack with good driving). If you have a little more $$$ then that and want to step it up a notch or two to go a little faster I have a lot of advice for you, especially with suspension. We have gained a lot of experience building these cars over the past few years... We road race them as well as compete in Rally cross and Ice Racing so you might benefit from sending me an e-mail so we can discuss in more detail what we have done to our cars and what we might be able to do for yours!!!

Raymond Blethen
RST Performance Racing
www.rstperformance.com

E-MAIL: [email protected]
 
Any information and help you can provide would be great. Here is my email: [email protected]
I plan on road racing. Would like to go production but the car is not classified yet and I don't know if it would be competitive enough. So IT it is. For the parts you have described I have found stuff at 2bennettaudimotive. If you know what I'm talking about would the suspension program for the Coupe GT be legal in IT? It has adjustable collars etc. Should I put in a Quaffe right away? Like I said I'm new and anything that you can help with would be great. I plan on doing an engine rebuild so what cam etc would you recommend. I have all kinds of question so just start firing away at me. Again thanks for the help and maybe we will meet at the track someday. Heck maybe I could be a branch of your team for the midwest div.

Tom
 
Quick notes-

Cams- not leagal...

Engine re-build, get GCR (General Competition Rules) and check everything... if it doesn't say you can then you can not.

Suspension... As far as I know at this point their are 3 places that build legal IT suspensions for Audi Coupes- 2 Bennett, Shine Racing Services, and us. All are good products in my opinion.

I will e-mail you and we can chat... We have definatly learned a lot over the past 4 years!!!

Raymond-
RST Performance Racing
www.rstperformance.com (Last Updated 5/12/03)
 
Tom ...

You might give Chris Albin a call. I think he's looked at building an ITB Audi, so he may already have some tips/tidbits to share. Who knows? He may even have some parts to sell you.

Kelley Huxtable
DMVR F&C
"PLAY SAFE"
 
Originally posted by KelleyHux:
Tom ...

You might give Chris Albin a call. I think he's looked at building an ITB Audi, so he may already have some tips/tidbits to share. Who knows? He may even have some parts to sell you.

Kelley Huxtable
DMVR F&C
"PLAY SAFE"
Click to expand...

How about a whole car instead?
biggrin.gif




[This message has been edited by OTLimit (edited May 13, 2003).]
 
I haven't received an email yet. Also I went to your website but only the first page works. When I click on enter I get a blank page.
 
You need Microsoft Flash to view our web site... If you scroll down you will see an icon where you can download it. Many of the newer websites require this as animation is becoming more and more of a necessity for a "fancy web page."

Raymond Blethen
RST Performance Racing

PS: e-mailing you now!!!
 
Kelly,

Thanks for the info. I had heard Chris was looking into it but decided not to. I will probably go ahead and do it to have something different out there. After all my main reason to be out there is to have fun!
 
OT,

Does Chris have anything for sale? What ever happened to the Audi idea? I had talked to him a little about it awhile back and never heard how far he got and what made his decision. I crew for Chuck Udell & Bob Eichelberger (FP Midget). I got my 84 Coupe sitting around have decided to use it to go racing for now.
 
Tom,
Officially, no, we don't have anything for sale. However, we are not going forward with the Coupe project, and have two cars that both run and have decent bodies. We have talked about getting them out of the driveway, but with so many weekends out of town recently and two cars to keep prep'ed, it's been hard to even get the grass cut. Call or email him.

Lesley Albin
Blazen Golden Retrievers
Over The Limit Racing

[This message has been edited by OTLimit (edited May 19, 2003).]
 
To anyone:

I was wondering in ITB can I run a different engine and fuel injection in my car if it came with both options. In 84 the coupe came with a 2144cc engine in the early year model and a 2226cc engine in the later year model. The fuel injection also changed from the CIS (K-Jetronic) to CIS-E (KE-Jetronic. Both versions were found in the 84 model. Engine codes were WE (2144cc) and KX (2226cc). Any help would be great. Thanks!!!
 
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