in those images the Audi styling really does mimic the fusion face. That’s hilarious.
I could see going loaded S4 prestige. Gray leather interior, traffic jam assist, dynamic steer, sport diff/ADS package. I like that the prestige has the double pane side windows, which block out all of the noise.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170331/de75df7aba67ca6a80f59413f0d6f880.jpg
ftfy
I suppose the only perfect sounding motor on a 2017 Audi car is the R8 V10. Everything else is turbo. I think they do a great job with the low notes (rumbling) on the V6. Really hard to prejudge since none of us have heard it yet IRL in North America.
But yeah I concede a C63 is going to have a lot more presence. At the same time, I’d probably buy a C43 if I was in the market for that car. I will go test drive it soon, mostly to check out the 9 speed auto.
I still don’t like the stuck on screen that all the big Germans do, makes it look like an after thought. I also agree on the wheel should be behind in the shift selector
R8 V10 is certainly beautiful sound.
what’s in the S4? Thought it too had a 9 speed auto. Or maybe 8.
I’ve heard good audio of an S4. They’re out there already in the hands of testers etc.
There’s a good video of the RS4 testing on the ring and it has that familiar sound of disappointment. The clip I saw the guy just THREW it through a corner. It was insane. You can see how that whole ‘ring lap time’ competition between the makers is getting ridiculous/dangerous.
Far more pertinent and relevant is how the car accelerates in a straight line. Very few of us will corner at 10/10ths but every single one of us will accelerate at 10/10ths a few times a week.
I read a review of an early Panamera 4S that said the 8 speed PDK had a few instances of dangerous lag time for a stop, where the tranny would not grab a gear. Honestly we might be better off with the 8 speed auto.
The roads are so bad in California I honestly want an Allroad even though it is mom jeans.
Yeah, they won’t do it to have the PDK prestige in the Porsche, but I agree. At least it’s the 8 speed in the cayenne for towing.
It’ll probably take a generation or two to get the programming and clutches right on that box.
Saw another RS5 DSG failure at the track this weekend. Audi is protecting us from ourselves. The ZF8 is bulletproof and will have a lower failure rate by an order of magnitude. Don’t resist it.
The tough part about transmissions is trusting them. If it fucks up 1 in 1000 times, I will hate it.
How did it fail? Anything worth taking pictures of?
You do realize that the RS5 transmission has a service interval right? Did the owner do the maintenance?
Is this guy a track junkie like yourself? I would suspect that a few hours or days at the road courses does more wear and tear than normal driving and a hand full of dragstrip passes.
No, just a light and a clunking gearbox that barely scrapes around in first gear. Had to be towed back to LA. Yeah with an RS model it is pay to play. I assume the dealer was supposed to the first service and they’d be on the hook for the 70,000 mile. But it sounds like 65,000 miles to me?
Curious if it had the trans service as well. Might need to beef that up a little bit if it was in tip top shape!
hitting that LSD again west. you should refrain from posting when you’re high
That phrase of pay to play is used as a cop-out because you don’t know in this situation. If the car still has a warranty left then the dealer would still have to honor that. Things may be slightly different on the west coast but around me on the east coast the Audi TFMs could not get away with telling a RS or R8 owner tough shit because they took the car to a track while stock and the maintenance had been done. The clients would sue faster than leaving the building.
By the way, the RS5 requires the transmission fluid to be changed at 15K miles and then every 20K after that. Along with the cooling filter has to be changed at 35K and then every 40K after that. I have started replacing the cooling filter at every fluid change because it is less than $10 and stupidly easy to change.
It’s out of warranty and it’s just a data point. I’m not saying all RS5 transmissions fail. I’m saying Audi generally has issues with transmissions on an otherwise very reliable car. Lots of mechatronics units failures even in 2.0T. I’ve had a fuck ton of 6MT clutch issues. It’s not their strong suit.
If going to ZF8 fixes the transmission reliability issue with Audi, let’s not tell the engineers what we think we want. They may have figured it out for us.
West, I see your perspective, but aren’t you also loving the dsg in your s4? Also there are guys going 10 seconds low 11s on the b8 and b8.5 s4/s5 now, and I would guess that it has a slightly lower version then what’s in the rs5.
Back on your point to engineering, Audi didn’t just figure this out that’s why they put the 8 speeed in the a8 4.0t, 13 s8 and 14 rs7. Its obvious the dsg cannot handle the super high tq and quick hitting turbos with v8s those cars stock and tuned throw out there.
That said I bet if you stay on top of the maint on any year rs5 and equivalent dsg in the later s-tronic in the r8 ty will be ok as long as you don’t completely overheat it or abuse it with no maint.
I’m a huge Porsche fan like you, but there’s a reason that for the heavier cars like the cayenne turbo s with stupid tq (and towing) stuck with the 8 speed. Now they have figured out the magic of the PDK in the 911 but remember how much lighter and less drag that car has, same kinda reason why the very early panamera turbos had issues, they hadn’t done tuend the relaibaiktiy and yes there are limits on that car.
End rant, some people like Manual, some smg, some dsg, some PDK, at the end of the day they all have pros cons and purpose. I’m good with all of them, but yes prefer either a standard auto or a regular manual, unless it’s a car that’s been truly figured out like a late model 991.1 turbo s for all our power…
That really sucks for the owner if the car is out of warranty. For all we know though the fluid could have overheated causing the transmission to go into limp mode and once it cooled off then it is fine. It wouldn’t be the first time and probably will not be the last time that happens. A RS7 guy on here noticed that his car does not like to be hot lapped like he could do with his previous S-tronic B8 S4.
By the way, Audi has issues with their cars all over the place just like the other OEMs. The mechatronics units having issues isn’t surprising. BMW and Mercedes Benz have similar issues too because they still use other companies parts like ZF transmissions. ZF has made a lot of good transmissions and then there are going to be bad ones too - it is all a crap shoot.
Your clutch issues could have been a combination of things like a lack of lubrication on critical areas and then other things. Didn’t I point out to you a while ago that the B8 clutch components (like the throw-out bearing and shift fork) have to be lubricated correctly or else there will be issues? I remember you were having issues with starting the car or something at one point.
I have 6MT. The car starting issues had nothing to do with the fork installation or lubrication. An aftermarket flywheel is machined to different tolerances (there are many variations throughout B8 and B8.5 production). We had to shave down the clutch master to move it closer to the firewall so the clutch pedal fulcrum would yank the plunger further, thereby moving the slave plunger further, which properly moves the flywheel off the disc. I hate myself for even needing to know all of that shit.
PDK for life from now on, in sports cars. For a highway missile like the new S4, ZF8 is great. I loved ZF8 in the 2013 Allroad when I took it on road trip. So damn smooth. OTOH, I hated ZF8 in the 2013 BMW 528i. It’s all about the programming.
Did they use lube? Did they pull the tranny to check? (I can just think of all the jokes for that right now!)
I have never heard of needing to shave down the master cylinder to be done on any other B8 cars ever. Just saying. Can you find any other examples of that being needed?