Track - Invalidate R8 Warranty

[marshallwales]

Has anyone else experienced difficulty with Audi Service saying they won't cover service on parts normally covered under warranty because they've tracked the car?
I mean, come on, it's meant to be tracked right!!?
My specific situation is the car has 4,600km on it, been tracked twice, and I called to make an appointment for new brake pads. They told me that if the rotors need to be replaced too they're not covered under warranty because the track days may have over heated them.
Everything I've read indicates the car performs very well out of the box on a track, so I don't think special rotors and brakes should be necessary.
What have you guys experienced?

[Bodhii]

My Audi dealership's R8 specialist guys, the R8 special service manager and their head mechanic, ( he's actually German!), are my biggest track supporters. They adjust my camber settings and replace my brakes with Pagid full competition brakes regularly for free. I have my track tires shipped to them, and they store and mount my tires without fees. They always give me a free loaner car when they are doing all of this free work. They regularly do oil changes and add fluids, and do the required track checks all free.

I do NOT try to get warranty coverage on my car's heavily used parts... like brakes. They seem to understand that I'm pretty knowledgeable and that I accept full responsibilities for the problems that I create when driving hard on the track. These guys are the very very best!

Marshallwales, i know you want a diff answer, but I think your dealership is completely correct in refusing to warranty your brakes. If you had not tracked your car, you would have thousands of miles left. The standard R8's OEM brakes are great. But no OEM brakes are made for track use except a Porsche GTRSR. Anyone who tracks their car should accept the fact that the first thing they sacrifice for that lil adventure, is their brakes and tires, and that they will be the one paying for the replacements.

I'm a long time Porsche guy. My Porsche dealership was always respectful of tracking a car. But they NEVER did anything like my Audi guys. The R8's Audi support is beyond my wildest dreams!!

[marshallwales]

I get the brake pads not being covered, as I would consider those as a wear item, but shouldn't the discs (rotors?) be covered? They market the car as a track car, and even include a devoted section within the manual.
I'm probably more alarmed because the service guy implied that because I've tracked it anything that now goes wrong can be excused by Audi as "track abuse": engine, suspension, dry sump, misc pumps and motors etc...

Tires - yes, break pads - yes. But the rest should be designed to function at track limits if they're going to market it as such and advertise a warranty.

It's pretty sweet that you're getting the service you are! Good for you!

[Bodhii]

If you used up the brake pads down to metal at any part of the pad, the serious heat will have already damaged the rotors considerably. The full competition pads that I use, are much longer lasting, and I do much visual checking of the pads. I do NOT rely on the car's computer monitor system to tell me to check my brakes. Track driving requires much more active participation in checking one's car.

The competition brakes I use, suck for city driving. The slightest touch and you are doing some serious braking! You can develop a very soft touch with them, but its never automatic, nor easy. But they are much longer lasting. But they are great for the track.

Again Marshallwales, I think the Audi guys looked honestly at the rotors and saw real damage. The fast deterioration of the brake pads that actually "protect' the rotors from damage during normal breaking, was certainly due mostly to the track driving. This is a direct relationship. Most R8 drivers who never track their cars, will never ever replace pads or rotors. And no one will ever replace a brake rotor unless it cracked, which is obvious,... or the brake pad was so worn that it allowed way too much heat to damage it. If you had only one cracked rotor, and the others were fine, you would probably have a legit complaint. But if the rotors were warped and heat damaged, it should all be on the driver only.

All race tracks and car clubs require full car inspections before track use. And they all have brake pad inspections required. We all need to take these inspections more seriously... Especially with such a new car as an R8, mechanics tend to assume everything to be perfect without really checking. If you asked your mechanic specifically about your pads before your last track session, then you could hold him at fault. I have the Audi guys do the pre track checks. Then they are already part of the process.

[marshallwales]

Audi rotated the tires and inspected the pads before my last track day and said I had ~50% left on the front pads. I checked them after the day and they were OK. I did another half day event and pulled myself off because the pads were getting thin. Not gone but thin. I left the track to avoid wearing the pads down further.

What are you running for rotors?

Do you know of any intermediate track pads for the R8? By that I mean something that will last longer than the OEM pads, but not quite as hard as the racing pads, so they're still OK for daily driver use too.

[bz888]

Well, IMO, since I track my car frequently, I don't expect Audi to cover Pads, Rotors, Tyres and Clutch. IMO they are friction components so, I understand that I will have to pickup the tab.

HOWEVER, if they ever tell you "the engine or gearbox isn't covered due to track days" then I say BRING HELL upon them and take em them on. Thats GARBAGE and I wouldn't stand for it.

[bz888]

My Audi dealership's R8 specialist guys, the R8 special service manager and their head mechanic, ( he's actually German!), are my biggest track supporters. They adjust my camber settings and replace my brakes with Pagid full competition brakes regularly for free. I have my track tires shipped to them, and they store and mount my tires without fees. They always give me a free loaner car when they are doing all of this free work. They regularly do oil changes and add fluids, and do the required track checks all free.

I do NOT try to get warranty coverage on my car's heavily used parts... like brakes. They seem to understand that I'm pretty knowledgeable and that I accept full responsibilities for the problems that I create when driving hard on the track. These guys are the very very best!

Marshallwales, i know you want a diff answer, but I think your dealership is completely correct in refusing to warranty your brakes. If you had not tracked your car, you would have thousands of miles left. The standard R8's OEM brakes are great. But no OEM brakes are made for track use except a Porsche GTRSR. Anyone who tracks their car should accept the fact that the first thing they sacrifice for that lil adventure, is their brakes and tires, and that they will be the one paying for the replacements.

I'm a long time Porsche guy. My Porsche dealership was always respectful of tracking a car. But they NEVER did anything like my Audi guys. The R8's Audi support is beyond my wildest dreams!!

**** you're a lucky boy!! Although, my R8 guys are very supportive of my track days, I have to pay for my Pre and Post track services!!!

[James Knight]

Rotors/discs are as much consummables as pads or indeed fuel I'm afraid. The R8 is a relatively big and heavy car so you need shorter sessions and long cool down periods to manage the heat - drive a full lap at low speed without touching the brakes. Also leave the car in gear rather than using the brake pedal after a session :up