2023 RS3 Track Report

[xeonoex]

I spent the weekend with my new RS3 out at MSR Houston. Took some vids on with a GoPro. I uploaded 3 to YouTube. Unfortunately I ran out of space on the SD card and didn't get the last session, which was my best. I did record the lap times on my phone though.

Here is one of my best laps, and after that, a couple incidents where I had to deal with some oversteer.
There are vids of two more session on my channel with a wider view and less smoothing. Still trying to figure out the best GoPro settings.

This is my 5th track weekend. All of the others were in a 2016 Focus RS, which was stock. This was my third time doing this track in this direction, and first time in the blue group. Definitely not a pro.
My first time at the track ever was this same track and direction. I ended the day with a 2:00 flat lap. Second time with the same config, I got a 1:58. This time in the RS3, I got several laps in the 1:54 and 1:55 range. So much faster and more consistent.

Overall, I loved the car. For how great it is as a daily, it's amazing that it performs this well on the track. It's only 50 more HP on paper, but it feels like much more than the RS. Part of that might be the DCT. I was hitting speeds 10+ MPH faster on the straights, without late braking.
I do think it was more playful than the Focus in terms of balance. It did oversteer some, but very minor. It was pretty balanced, but I feel I actually get more communication through the chassis. Part of that might be the much softer suspension. The Focus's soft setting is much more firm than the RS3's firmest. I also didn't mind the lighter steering.
That moment at 15:25 in the video was the first time I though "Shit, is this gonna be my first spin?". But it wasn't too hard to reel it back in.

I did not have any issues with the car. The tires did get a little slippery as they heated up, but the are the Potenza Sports, so no surprise there. The brakes required a little bit more pedal travel to stop on the second day, but they held up really well in terms of wear. I was also on stock fluid. Different story for the tires though. All of the outside edges of the tread lines started coming off on all four tires. I thought this may be a problem after seeing a Tire Reviews video on YouTube, where there was a similar issue.

In terms of what can be improved:

• Track brake pads would help for sure, but stock did hold up well.
• I'm not a fan of the drilled rotors. The holes filled up with pad material quickly, and there was some vibration under moderate braking after day one, but it went away. I actually had quite a bit of material in the holes before going to the track.
• Better tires. The Potenza Sports drive well, but they wear fast.
• MMI is annoying. I disabled pre sense each time, but you will still see it pop up a lot. I also had it freeze on my randomly. The wireless Android Auto is a little flakey as well. Overall, this has been my one real gripe with the car, but it is not major.
• I thought the car was really balanced in the performance mode. I don't think it needs a rear sway bar as is, but it might help. Maybe a rear bar with a square setup, so the tires can be rotated would be similar.
• The exhaust is too quiet. I wanted to use the paddles to shift, but it is hard to hear the exhaust with all the wind noise, and I didn't want to need to use my eyes for shifts. Oddly, the automatic mode in performance doesn't always hold revs high enough, and it may downshift when getting on the gas out of a corner.
• The seats aren't perfect for the track. They're fine if you can get the seatbelt to lock and stay locked, but mine would usually come lose halfway through a session. If they just had put the holes in for the shoulder straps for a Schroth Quikfit, they would be great. I would love a bucket that kept the power and memory functions, but I don't think that exists. I'll probably just try to find a way to keep the seatbelt locked.
• NapalmEnema made a post asking about a float feeling when going over elevations. The track does have a single small hill, called "The launch". If I went over this on full throttle, some of the wheels would actually lose traction and spin, then land and give a small "boost". It was fun, but probably not good for the car. I didn't have this issue in my other car, but it wasn't as fast and had much stiffer suspension. Maybe stiffer springs might help here? But I wouldn't want to lower my car more than a cm or so, and I really like the stock dampers.

Overall, it was great. It was exactly what I hoped it would be and a little more. For now, the plan is to just find good brake pads and a way to lock the seatbelt. I will probably also go to 18" wheels, and sooner than I thought due to tire wear. I might keep the 19s for a daily tire, and then track the 18s.

[Jetdriver]

Great review. Remember, the RS3 may only have 50hp more "on paper", but dyno runs I've seen on YouTube for stock 8y are ranging from 400-417whp. The car is definitely under-rated. The Focus RS puts down between 290-310whp. Car and Driver tested the 2017 Focus RS and got 0-60 in 4.5s and 1/4 mile in 13.4 @ 103mph weighing in just under 3,500lb. Granted the RS3 is DCT, which helps acceleration times, but it weighs about 200lb more and C&D tested the 2022 at 3.3s to 60 and the 1/4 in 11.8s @ 117mph. It takes a lot more than 50hp more at the crankshaft on paper to trap 14mph higher. I'd say the 5 cylinder has at least 450hp at the crank.

I suppose someone will start selling slotted rotors for these things soon and I do wish Audi would have offered some bucket seats with their dynamic package.

[A418t81]

Great post. I have been blown away by my 8Y at how much better the handling and vehicle dynamics are than my previous 8V, which I absolutely loved as well. The previous car was much more of a straight line vehicle without heavy modification. The new one feels a lot more like my old F80 M3s out of the box. It is so much more sorted, with turn-in and overall grip hugely improved. Last car had no business being on track while stock, while the new one feels like it would do a pretty good job.

Get a set of catless midpipes. No emissions headaches, easy to install, and with the valves open you can hear the exhaust in the cabin. First mod to my 8Y already.

[xeonoex]

Yep, I definitely think it's underrated from factory. I seemed to be about equal to stock 460 HP mustangs (my dad was driving the orange one), and faster than the older ones. I was hitting about 5mph higher top speeds as well, looking at the telemetry from our cars.

I'm trying to decide what I want to do with the exhaust. I mostly want a little more volume. Particularly in the cabin. I'll probably wait a bit for other people to try things out, haha.

Oh, one weird thing I noticed. In my car, if I push the pedal down all the way gently, I can actually push a little harder, and then get another tiny bit of kinda mushy pedal travel. This happens when the car is off as well. Can anyone with an 8Y tell me if this happens with their car too?

[Vegasgolds]

Yep, I definitely think it's underrated from factory. I seemed to be about equal to stock 460 HP mustangs (my dad was driving the orange one), and faster than the older ones. I was hitting about 5mph higher top speeds as well, looking at the telemetry from our cars.

I'm trying to decide what I want to do with the exhaust. I mostly want a little more volume. Particularly in the cabin. I'll probably wait a bit for other people to try things out, haha.

Oh, one weird thing I noticed. In my car, if I push the pedal down all the way gently, I can actually push a little harder, and then get another tiny bit of kinda mushy pedal travel. This happens when the car is off as well. Can anyone with an 8Y tell me if this happens with their car too?

buy these, you'll get better sound out of your exhaust.

https://www.getunitronic.com/parts/e...sievo-midpipes

[Amirh87]

Sorry for the tangent but on the topic of brakes.

I bought EBC blues, would they fit the 8Y?


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[xeonoex]

buy these, you'll get better sound out of your exhaust.

https://www.getunitronic.com/parts/e...sievo-midpipes

Damn, that is cheap that there isn't much risk. I'll probably try it out.

Sorry for the tangent but on the topic of brakes.

I bought EBC blues, would they fit the 8Y?

If you bought them for the 8V, I do not think so. I haven't been able to confirm, but I think at least the front pads are different. My 8Y has one large Pagid pad. I think the new calipers also don't have the quick brake pad change feature. Pretty sure the pads sizes are completely different for the front.

I think I'm going to try Pagid RSL-29 pads next. I just need to get the right size.

[S3DUDE]

Sorry for the tangent but on the topic of brakes.

I bought EBC blues, would they fit the 8Y?


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I seriously doubt they would fit. I believe that the RS3 8Y uses now a big single pad on each side of the rotor to match the 3 piston per side while the RS3 8V uses 4 piston per side ( small, big, small, big) and it uses 2 brakes pads on each side of the rotor.

[NapalmEnema]

Awesome feedback - we should go track sometime!

[xeonoex]

Awesome feedback - we should go track sometime!

I'm down! I try to do 2-4 weekends a year, and avoid summer.

I took some pics of the pad and tire wear.

Tread depth new is 8/32. Down to about 5 or 6/32 on the inner sides. The outer sides of the tread lines are pretty low from the tire rolling over it seems.

Front

Rear


And pads:

Front

Rear

Honestly impressed with how low the pad wear is, especially for a no noise street pad. The fronts probably have another weekend in them. Maybe a little more for the rears.