I've been autoxing my TA for a couple of years now, I have a full Strano Setup on it now. Here's the issue, I'm having a hard time with "throttle management" seems that I can smoke the rear tires at will and I can't get the car to hook up. One of my buddies suggested that I try and run in 3rd gear instead of 2nd. Anybody ever tried this? Our courses are typically 60-70 mph max. It's not unheard of to bump into the reve limiter in 2nd gear depending on the course layout. Any thoughts? The car has factory 3:42's and a 120K mile torsion with 315 A6's

Run it both ways one day and see what's faster. I ran a course once where we decided we'd be faster in first, even lifting early for corners (which allowed me to not overdrive the corners and get setup properly for the entrance)...we took almost 2 seconds off our time. It sure seemed like we'd be faster hammering for the highest straight line speeds between corners, but we were far faster (than anyone else in our class) once we just left it in first. We didn't start out that way, we just tried it. Same course, same day.

I suspect that's the best way for you to test too. Make a good run the normal/current way, then go try 3rd.

That's my best advice.

Blowing the tires off in 2nd gear with 3.42s shod with 315 A6s?

It sounds more like a worn out diff and not so much "throttle management".

Are you sure you aren't just spooling up the inside tire?

Well, that's part of it. It's by far the worst exiting a right hand corner and only the inside right will loose it. But even in a straight line I can spin both tires pretty much at will. It still has the factory torque arm and Lower control arms FWIW.

Your course is set up next to the beach, right?

Could it just be dirty?


Maybe you should change from A6s to these ...

A neighboring region has a site with asphalt that sheds so much sand it might as well be a beach. It is very important to never, ever, get outside "the line" - especially once the marbles get into the mix.

I agree with Kevin. On the few courses I've run that "required" third gear, it was ALWAYS faster to just stay in second, brake early, hold a tight line, and set up for a fast exit.

I have also run courses that never required leaving first. Naturally, those courses will always be on fresh sealer

The Hoosier is not a drag tire. It has very stiff sidewalls. It may help to lower the pressure to 28 psi or so (whatever you can get away with without chewing up the sidewall). You may also have diff issues.

Regardless, there is no substitute for learning to modulate the throttle smoothly. Running in third will be slooowwwww.

...I think you nailed it here... I am guilty of the same thing though.

That's really funny Mitch! I think I'd have to do more than roll the fenders to fit them! I does get sandy, but we blow it off before the event starts and it's pretty grippy concrete. I run the rears at 30psi, but I'll try and keep dropping them and see how it behaves. I'll stay in 2nd for now. Thanksfor the opinions!

You could up the gear ratio if you wanted to run in 3rd.I would play with the pressure then maybe look at the torque arm.With the stock arm and the upgades you have does anyone else think that a off pinion angle could contribute to this problem?

It's a T2R, right?? (NOT a factory T2?)

Factory T2, with 120K miles

That's at least part of your problem right there (especially on A6es)!!!

On a cold day in PA at the last AX I had my rear tires down to 25psi to try to hook up. I have a new Eaton diff, stock 19mm rear bar, and 2 year old Kumho 710- 315s. Most of our events are 2nd gear affairs, with sometimes an occasional need to downshift to 1st.