MQB Cars are designed from factory with potentially intervening systems when pushing the limits on a track orientated vehicle.
Below is a list of modifications you can do to your vehicle to help better drive, understand and control it - whilst out on track.
Please be aware that all coding performed below is done so at your own risk
MQB Trackcars holds no responsibility for any damage or problems caused from the coding provided.
All coding is provided for educational purposes and is to be carried out at your own discretion.
Recommended Down from 4 to 1
People believe that turning the Brake Booster down can lessen the amount of boost provided from the brake vacuum booster. Therefore making the pedal feel firmer. Set this to whatever feels best for you, however most do turn it down to setting 1.
Recommended Set to Not Activated
Purpose of this is to gently clamp the brakes together when you are not touching them during bad weather. This is to increase braking response and prevent aquaplaning. Road use this is a brilliant safety function. However, on track this isn’t ideal as the brakes grabbing in the wet may cause your pads or fluid to overheat and/or cause scoring on your brake discs.
Recommended Set to Not Activated
Brake Prefill seems to be the opposite reaction to Hydraulic Brake Assistant. Meaning that this is generally reacted upon in cars without Front Assist or any other major emergency safety systems. What this then inturn is meant to do, is judge how quickly you come off the throttle and how quickly you go onto the brakes. The ECU would then request the brake system to ‘prefill’ the brake system pressure and cause the brake pedal to become overly sensitive. Which you obviously do not want on track.
Recommended Set to Not Activated
Engine Drag Torque Control (MSR) is a function integrated in the Traction Control System (TCS). If the accelerator is released or depressed abruptly on slippery surfaces, the drive wheels may experience traction loss. Using sensors in the antilock braking system, the MSR registers the slippage and selectively accelerates to restore stable driving conditions. Meaning with this enabled, you may see unstable and unpredictable traction control response. We therefore recommend turning this off.
Recommended Set to Off
The XDS system pulses the brakes whilst braking to act as though you have a fancy Limited Slip Differential. This is not the case. XDS pulses the brakes and causes extra wear and heat to accumulate on track. Turning this off will have no effect on the eLSD equipped cars or mechanical LSDs equipment from any aftermarket supplier. Road use you can leave this on for extra safety but on track we would suggest to have it turned off.
Recommended Down from 8 to 6
This setting is believed to change the brake bias on cars. Area Motorsport and various other track goers put this setting on 6. Change this and test on your own terms to see if you feel any difference. Brake bias can be important for balance of a car and how you enter a corner or just stop the vehicle in general. It will be especially noticeable with stronger brakes and at higher speed.
Recommended Set to Not Activated
Cars equipped with emergency assist or any safety mechanism in the vehicle, will have probably let you know their existence by having this intervention happen before. This function makes itself known, where if you come up behind a car or an object and you then find that the brake pedal barely moves. This is due to the pressure being immediately built in the braking system to brake faster in ‘an emergency’ scenario. This inconsistency on track may cause a crash. It may also randomly upset the car during fast cornering. For that reason, it is recommended to be turned off.
Recommended Set to Not Activated
The overboost system on the MQB cars is designed so that in-case the driver is purposefully braking hard, but not hard enough for the ABS to intervene, the module will attempt to apply the brakes harder at all corners of the car. This is more so on these vehicles for low coefficient brake pads, such as stock brakes. When you equip bigger brakes or higher coefficient brake pads, this then becomes a problem due to the fact that the car may lock up or cause additional pressure through the brake callipers. Which would effectively cause ABS issues or higher heat through the discs, pads and brake fluid on the vehicle. As well as not to mention cause an inconsistent pedal feel for the driver out on track.
Recommended to Leave Activated
This setting is stated to help deal with knock detection over bumpy roads and surfaces. This can be especially important on DCC cars even if the DCC has been deleted. This information comes from the DCC module and level sensors across the cars chassis. Therefore leaving this setting on should ideally reduce knock whilst also somewhat allowing the car to remain stable if DCC shocks are still equipped.
Recommended Set to Not Activated
This feature is pretty self explanatory. Straight Ahead Brake Stabilization will try to stop the car being upset under braking. This is perfectly okay for road use and on stock brakes. However if you have stronger brakes in any way shape or form, the car will not understand this and panic with its pressure application. This can cause many things such as random brake pressure application on different corners, possibility to lock up a wheel, and cause unintended ABS intervention.
Set to Not Activated
Disabling this allows the car to produce torque and not cut timing based on loss of traction. This is important from low speeds where the ECU may try to cut power/torque and not allow you to fully use the wheels as intended. On track this is important as you dont want to have an inconsistent grip when going into, through and out of corners. Pedal management is more ideal than ECU interference.
Please bare in mind that some cars past 2019 may not have all of the above features and options available to code.
Audi specific cars may also have issues coding some of the above suggested modifications due to their ECU configuration.