Hrag’s R8: Unspoiled by Soft Edges

Hrag Chanchanian has always been an Audi guy. His 2008 S5 was the machine with which he took the leap into track days. Fast, forgiving, and powerful, he was safe to study lines and earn his spurs with the big coupe, buteven with a set of coilovers, it proved to be a little too porky to really engage Hrag once his skills had been sharpened.

Throughout his novice phase, he’d thought of a suitable successor to the S5. For years, he’d lusted after an R8, but waiting for the right combination of price, color, and configuration took time. During that period, he made sure to do his research and understand what problems he might have to face with his first supercar.

Thankfully, the R8’s not at all an unruly or unreliable car. For all its supercar shape suggests, it shares a lot of well-tested parts from more modest Audis, and that parts-bin personality bodes well for anyone looking to buy a slinky shaped head-turner with relatively easy maintenance. Its 4.2-liter V8 was quite similar to his S5’s engine, which he had learned by working on it himself, and with the exception of some years’ chain guides going out – a serious engine-out job, the R8 was a mostly bulletproof machine.

When his stars finally aligned, Hrag bought this six-speed gated V8 car sight unseen. The previous owner had clearly cared for it, and the first owner, allegedly, had been one of the hosts from Tiny House Nation. Forget Jon Voight’s LeBaron, this Audi had real cache.

It was also one of the interim models from 2012-2015. This facelifted first-gen came with another ten horsepower, a few interior tweaks, as well as an updated MMI system. As far as modifications went, it was basically factory with the exception of a Rev9 exhaust, which didn’t appeal to Hrag at the start.

Aside from the extra volume, it was a wonderfully well-equipped street car. “It was plenty fast, handled well, and the Quattro system helped it feel stable in bad weather. Generally, it was comfortable enough, and the sound system improved the driving experience.”

“The suspension was a great investment – it made me fall in love with the car all over again,” he gushed.

Despite it being a street-oriented supercar, the performance figures had piqued his interest at testing it at Thunderhill Raceway Park. “I was definitely a little sketched out with the price of the car, but owning a mid-engine supercar and not taking it to the track seemed like a crime.”

His fear stemmed from the fact that few owners use them for track work, but after reading about Ahlman Performance on the R8Talk forum, he decided he was fretting more than he should be.

Ahlman, a well-known racing shop with a background in IMSA and Indycar, sold him a set of shocks that would suit the circuit: a set of Ohlins TTXs made slightly softer for occasional street driving.

In order to install these, he had to disable the factory magnetic ride system with some resistors. Some would hesitate before cutting into a supercar, but this worried him less than the prospect of tracking it. “Breaking stuff is part of the process — a rite of passage for any owner. In order to learn about your car and become a better mechanic, you can’t be overly paranoid about screwing something up. Lessons can be cheap or expensive, but they're valuable nonetheless,” he said.

Along with the dampers and the exhaust, he installed larger Girodiscs at both axles, and fitted Carbotech XP12 pads. The final piece of the footwork was wrapping the stock wheels with Nankang AR-1s. Wisely, the 3,500-pound car would put a little more strain on the binders, which would already run hotter with the more aggressive pad compound and the sticky tires, so he installed the factory ducts from a V10-powered R8. That basic mod package, as he learned, was more than enough for dependable stops at speed.

The combination of 430 horsepower sent to all four wheels and a nicely balanced mid-engine chassis can encourage a relatively green driver to push quite hard.”With the nannies on, it’s a fun and forgiving car,” he added. The R8 may be a mid-engine supercar, but it has softer edges than one might assume.

“It’s an incredibly forgiving car that lets you get away with murder. You’re totally safe to hustle the R8 and take liberties with it, but I guess it’'ll bite a total idiot,” he began. “It’s not nervous at all; it’s quite neutral with a tendency to understeer gently, but if you want it to play aggressive, it will — you just need to hustle it.

The driving dynamics have improved hugely with the TTX. It used to have too much body roll on the track, though it wasn’t really noticeable on the street. Now, it’s flatter everywhere, and it edges a little more towards oversteer with an assertive touch. I was able to dial in the TTX at my last open track day and give it that sort of approachable rotation that’s given me some faith in the car, and now I trust it’ll do what I want it to do in slower corners. In fast corners, it’s rock solid.”

“Between all the brake upgrades and 100TW tires, it’s a different animal than stock. It’s night and day; more nimble, capable, and confidence-inspiring,” he waxed.

He’s been satisfied with the car as a whole and sees no need to turn it into something wildly different. Therefore, no stripping or mega-weight reduction on the horizon; instead, he wants to keep it clean and simple. With the exception of some mild aero, the car is just fine as it is. “I want to grow with it,” he stated. “It’s a car I respect, and I recognize that I have a lot to improve as a driver before I consider any real modifications. For now, it’s more than enough.”

Wise words from a brave man. May he continue to enjoy all this car has to offer with minimal headache.