Product testing. What would you guys like to see CSG test?
 

I think this is the best subforum to post this in. Most of you are familiar with us, and our methodology for testing, as well as our tendencies to only use products that work (or we think will work).

What would you guys like to see us test? It's gotta fit within our admittedly low budget, but we want to return to the community as much as we can.

Hopefully, we'll be able to get some manufacturer backing for the things you guys want to see tested.

Free test:
Lap time with pedal dance on and off.

Cheap test:
If brake ducts are enough to "effectively" cool the OEM rotors/pads for 30 or so minute sessions. By effective I mean the rotors won't crack.

i would love to see a back to back test of different tire combinations

Same compound but different width, say 215 vs 255


I also wouldn’t mind an honest analysis of the car being run without it’s OEM swaybars (both front and back)

I believe tire sizes were tested by @CSG Mike and @robispec. They confirmed that running "skinny" (225/45/17) tires will net faster lap times.

but why 225 and not 215... curious minds wnat to know! :) :) :)

but yes i vaguely remember a report on this but i could be wrong i thought there were some variables in there that didn't paint the full picture (either vastly different rims or something similar)

Brake rotor/caliper/pad temperatures on brake ducting vs no brake ducting.

Run one side with ducting and the other without and use color-temp paint so you can record highest temp reached (noted by the color change in the paint). You can also come into the hot pits and have someone else point a infrared heat checker at the various components.

I think the differences between 215 and 225 are neglible. Some tire manufacturers make "wide" 215 tires and some make "narrow" 215 tires. I think CSG was the fastest on 225 RS3 though.

I venture to guess the 225 was in that "Goldilocks Zone" before the combination of power/weight was either too much for skinnier tires and too little for wider tires in which the car realizes a point of diminishing returns.

Also, not all tire sizes are the same even thought they're suppose to be. A 205 Hoosier R6 is the same size as a 225 RA1 or 225 Hankook. The Goodyear Eagle RS was the same way. The 205/50/15 was not only much wider than any other 205 but it's rolling diameter was almost a whole 1" larger!

Easy answer re: OEM pads: No. The surface temp of the pads/rotors spike as you brake, and quickly (within 2 seconds) drop to close to where they were before the brakes were engaged. This is because the heat is seeing a combination of convection, radiation, and conduction. The majority of the spike at the surface is being absorbed via conduction into the rotor and pad, where it is slowly dissipated via convection (brake vanes, air traveling through the area, etc.)

Ducts assist with the dissipation of heat via convection, but doesn't really help at all during the initial heat spike, which is where you will experience fade, as the surface of the brake pad momentarily goes over the pad's maximum operating temperature. As the heat is absorbed into the pad, the surface goes further and further over the MOT for longer periods of time.

We've actually tried 215, and found 225 to almost universally be faster.
@rice_classic: I like the brake duct idea. This would, however, be with our BBK. I've speculated that with ducting, we'd be able to get away with running possibly a XP8/C300 or similar...

Keep the ideas coming!
@SkullWorks: Hurry the fark up.

Oops, I'm not sure what I was thinking when I was typing, lol.

I meant if brake ducts are effective enough to cool OEM rotors with track pads.

225/45's are faster but they go away much more quickly than 245/40's in my experience due to less heat capacity

Rear diffuser with an aftermarket exhaust vs just an exhaust.

As long as you're not FI and/or running slicks, yes. With a faster driver, you'll need Club Racers, XP12, DTC70, RC6, or similar.