C6 S6 - JHM overhaul

A6 All/ S6 All
#115

Once my car is done and I make it back up there, I will be asking for particulars to what was done as far as tuning. I’m curious, and didn’t ask beforehand, how they go about doing the tuning. With my past performance cars and sport bikes, the tuning was done during extended dyno sessions to adjust fueling and what not, alongside adjusting shift points, etc.

Very nice!

What state was it in? Did it have its face on or off?

I was in Long beach a few days ago and saw one that was essentially identical to mine, except it didn’t have tinted front windows. So there’s 4 now. :smiley:

#116

Ya the face was mostly off at that point, I think they were working on the crank pulley at the time.

I saw one the same as yours (had the newer facelift like yours) a few months back as well, at a gas station. I rolled my window and joked “Nice car!” and it was some middle-aged woman driving it, it took her a minute to figure out that I was in basically the same car. I don’t think she really understood the relevance, it seemed like she probably wasn’t really aware of what kind of car she was driving, it was probably hubby’s or something. That’s literally the only other C6 S6 I’ve ever seen on the road besides my own, and now the other 2 that remain at JHM. I did also see a V10 S8 a while back, that sort of counts.

#117

Get some more seat time Scott!! We need a more in depth review :slight_smile: take a quick road trip and stretch her legs

Plus 1 on the rarity, in the time I owned my previous s6, I saw about 8-9 s6s and s8s, and never the same color way as mine which was silver. Just something about em’ right

#118

funny point about that many S6 cars in one spot.

Here is what you see most people find about the JHM tune.

The actual throttle and power response are razer sharp. The car is more eager to accelerate and to follow your throttle input.

It can take a few days to get used to the low speed throttle imput because now the car isnt detuned the throttle opening is now supported by the camshafts moving where they didnt before. The injection timing is shifted and the fuel is at optiomal ratio to help support acceleration lastly the ignition curve is optiomized to help accelerate the car with the cars overall ability.

Before the car was detuned for the average public now that enthusists own the cars we want the cars to perform like a S model not an A model.

Part throttle and mid range driving is where the car shines but the TQ never falls off in the upper rpms and it just keeps pulling. The car makes more usable power at points you only figure out after you have driven the car for a few days and the car has adapted. You guys are on 91 octane so the fact that you can get any more power out of the car is impressive.

Scott I know this is your thread so Ill sit excited for your review. I just thought it might be helpful to put up how most others would decribe the results of the JHM ECU tune on the S4

#119

Yep you pretty much hit the nail on the head with everything you described. I’m still playing with the car and learning, but I will say overall I’m very happy with the results so far. Sport mode definitely wants me to smash the gas pedal, when I go light on the throttle it’s almost like the car is saying “Come on wuss, drive harder!!!” Drive (regular) mode is much gentler obviously, though it’s quick to start roaring when you hammer the throttle. Shifts are definitely snappier than before, which is great because that was always one of my biggest complaints before. I’ll shoot some video of some 0-60 runs as soon as I can, seems like every time I get the chance there is a cop nearby.

Anyways, so far so good, sorry I haven’t given a better writeup yet, I’m still experimenting! Promise I won’t forget about you guys

#120

Having driven my car for about a week now, I figured I’m about due for a quick report here.

Unfortunately, I still don’t have any numbers or video for you guys, I’m working on it… But for now, I’ll post a little teaser about how the car feels.

As mentioned before, the exhaust (which did not change, it is still the Miltek) sounds way different. It is significantly louder, and has has a much different note than before. Not better or worse, just different. I’ve noticed my car gets a LOT more looks from other drivers than before. In my short week of driving it, I’ve gotten “thumbs up” signals from no less than half a dozen people on the roads, one of them the driver of a Maserati. Passed a Lambo today and pounded the throttle as I flew by, but honestly I didn’t see his reaction ;D

The car is definitely, DEFINITELY faster than before, without question. Good launches are no longer a “roll of the dice” - as I have mentioned before, sometimes when I’d smash the throttle the car would chirp its tires and fly away, and other times it felt bogged down and heavy and not that impressive, for no particular reason. Now, every launch is phenomenal.

This thing really flies… For the first time in a long time, it actually feels like a FAST car. Not a moderately quick car, which it always was… but, a FAST car. As a matter of fact, it’s got so much throttle response now that it’s downright difficult to drive slowly. That’s a good thing! Passing cars on the highway is absolutely insane. My car always had great freeway-speed acceleration (ie, 60mph to 100mph), but it’s completely nuts now. Seriously.

Earlier today, I was following a slow driver doing 60mph. I was following at a normal distance, and hit the throttle. I wanted to see how fast my car was going by the time my car was next to hers. Starting at 60mph, closing the 60ft or so gap on her car at full throttle had me at around 100mph. I know that’s not scientific, but sometimes an ear-to-ear grin is all the science you need ;D

This week, maybe tomorrow, I’ll work on some videos. I want to capture a 0-60 run, a 60-100 run, and maybe a flyby from outside the car. I’ll be sure to post them here as soon as I do.

Overall, in a totally unscientific summary of my experience, this work was well worth it. Squeezed a few more years out of the life of my car, while at the same time changing it from a pretty fun car to a downright ridiculous car. More to follow :wink:

#121

:+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3::+1:t3: now we are talking! Sounds like a nice overall improvement! All over the range. Get some videos up man! Great stuff

#122

Great feedback and I think we all know what your talking about. Its a good explination of how the car now reacts.

If you can get video I would love to see that.

As for performance. Dont waste your time on 0-60 or 60-100. Wait a few months and take it to sac raceway when JHM has there race nice. That will be a real test and you can get all the same data in a safe and controlled fashion. Not only that but it wont land you in jail or have your car impounded for trying to get results.

the 1/4 mile is a good tell all and we all know what these cars run stock so that will be a great add.

Over all its great to hear that there is support from JHM that makes these cars have another lease on life with more power and more fun.

#123

And my wait just became that much harder. ;D

#124

My sincerest apologies ;D

Seriously though, I know the feeling… the wait is agonizing, but it’s worth it for 2 good reasons. First, you’ll have a brand new car when it’s done. It won’t even feel familiar to you anymore, it’s that different. Second, and more importantly, the wait is this long because JHM is so diligent about everything. I’m guessing your car had problems you probably didn’t even think to expect, I know mine did. I knew my suspension was a mess, my brakes were shot, that the hoses and such were probably a mess, but JHM really digs in deep to find every single problem. To their credit, their sales team did a fantastic job in identifying seriousness of different issues and helping me prioritize them. I laid out a budget, and asked them to find a good balance between fixing major issues, improving reliability, and increasing performance, and they did exactly that. My car still has a couple minor maintenance issues - I know my other motor mount is in bad shape, my tires have seen better days, etc… but JHM helped calculate how to get the best bang for my buck, so to speak, and I’m really happy with the results. OK honestly I went significantly over-budget in the end, but that is not the fault of JHM, it is the fault of my car having been so poorly maintained for probably its whole life. Now that everything is mostly back to where it should be, I consider it money well spend, no question.

As Justin and others have pointed out, these cars used to be $75k luxury sedans purchased by people who had ZERO interest in cars, they just wanted the status that came with owning one. They probably did the occasional oil change and fixing things as they broke, but I’d wager that almost none of them had ANY real preventative maintenance performed since the day they were delivered. As a result, we can buy them cheap. We just need to know that we aren’t really buying them for the asking price - we must always assume that we will need to invest another 50% into the car to truly get it to where it needs to be. That fact sucks, but like I said, it’s why we can buy these cars so cheap in the first place. And now, these cars are landing in the hands of people who TRULY care about them. For the first time ever, we’re seeing reliability and performance upgrades for these cars that as recently as 2 years ago had zero consumer interest.

#125

My car has 120k miles on the clock, and it’s never been in such good condition. It’s better than the car someone happily paid $75k for 8 years ago. Honestly it’s even better than pretty much any new car anyone would drop down $75k for today. A 4500lb luxury sedan that can take your kids to the snow right after pulling a 13 second 1/4 mile at the drag strip, who can ask for more :slight_smile: Whenever I come across a faster car on the road (Which isn’t often), I think about that. Sure, your sweet brand new Hellcat Challenger is a little faster now, but lets try that again in 6" of snow! Oh ya, and people can get in the backseat without having to fold down the front seats 8)

#126

Sorry I’ve been lagging so bad on posting any useful updates or videos, I swear I’ll get to it! It’s really difficult to find the space on the road to do such a thing, and the free time with which to do it. But…

I just drove my car in the rain for the firs time since the overhaul. It’s absolutely amazing how well the traction control system adapted to all the changes. I don’t know if this was part of the tune or not, but either way, I’m blown away. Soaking wet roads, facing uphill at a stoplight, I mashed the gas when it turned green. Split second of broken traction, followed by a flickering TC light on the dash, and suddenly the tires just grabbed the road and the car pulled as if the streets were bone dry. It was absolutely incredible. If anything, I lost maybe 0.2 seconds off my 0-60 versus a dry weather launch. I’ve never driven a car that could do that. As I slowed down for the next light and other people pulled alongside, they clearly couldn’t believe what they just saw. A family sedan that just ripped it uphill in the rain like it was nothing. Oh, and the exhaust note didn’t hurt with grabbing their attention either :slight_smile:

I’m still having an absolute blast with this car. Often, you get used to the power and the car feels slow again after a while, but that just hasn’t been happening. Plain and simple, this car has way more power than I can possibly use 99% of the time. Very rarely can I mash the gas pedal for more than 2 seconds at a time before I’m going waaaaay to fast for the conditions.

I haven’t tried turning the traction control off and letting loose in the rain yet, but that’s next. I imagine it will be completely freakin’ insane.

#127

A lot of that adaption of the traction system is actually in the tune from what I have seen and been told. The thing that I dont think gets talked about enough is that the JHM tune isnt just a dyno wide open tune. Its a everyday every point of throttle every driving style kind of tune.

It goes WAY beyond just wide open throttle. Not that the wide open throttle results from JHM are not well beyond what other companys tunes offer but there is more to driving then wide open throttle.

The low speed low pedal throttle input is impressive. Getting the V10 to give you power down low and up top all through the rev and pedal range is what i think is impressive.

Great feedback. Im interested in hearing more feedback and for you to hit the track next month. that will give you the chance to really run the car through its range

#128

YESSSSSS!!! So anxious to get my car back lol… I’ll make a post about the trials and tribulations since purchase, extensive shop stay, pics, tune (and eventually exhaust) to come, etc, etc, etc…

#129

Six6 cant wait to hear about your car. Welcome to AR.

#130

Just because this isn’t worth starting a new thread…

When I had my radiator replaced about a month ago, the dumbass local shop that did it put my front end back on too low. I didn’t even know this was possible - but the whole front bumper is prabably 5mm lower than it used to be, as evidenced by the larger gap between it and the hood. Also evidenced by the fact that my car almost always thinks the hood is open, even when it’s securely latched closed. Does anybody know how difficult is is to “loosen” the front end and list it up myself? And what exactly would I need to loosen in order to do that? The “hood open” warning is driving me insane, it commandeers my whole instrument panel display when it’s activated.

#131

WOW scott this sucks. Add this to the list of I didnt even know that was possible. If your ok with it snap a few pix and post them up so we can see exactly what they mounted wrong. From there we can tell you exactly what you need to do to fix it and how long and how much work it would take.

#132

Alignment of the front bumper can be a pain if you’re ocd and want it to look perfect.

There is actually height adjustment options on several of the bumper mounting points (at least there were on the B7 S4). When they pulled the bumper, they probably accidently messed with some of the height mounting adjustments. And then obviously with the front core support it would be easy to have alignment change slightly since the mounting holes allow a little bit of play.

Best bet, if you trust the shop and think they’re capable, let them know and see if they’ll fix it. If not, either spend some time playing around with height to get a fit that is more flush, or learn to live with it lol .

#133

Thanks guys, I’ll play around with it a little later and snap a photo or two. I think it’s the core support, not just the bumper cover. I can’t really learn to live with the “hood open” warnings on my dash, it’s kind of a problem. Unfortunately I really don’t trust my shop to fix it - literally every time they fix something, they break something else. I really don’t want to find out what they’ll break while fixing my front end >:(

My whole area is full of half-ass mechanics. JHM is really the only shop within 2 hours of here that knows what they’re doing. For instance, earlier this week I took my car in to America’s Tire to repair a nail puncture. They worked on the car for like 5 minutes, gave it back to me, and immediately the brake on that corner was making a god-awful “CH CH CH CH CH CH” sound." Wtf… Turns out they rebalanced the wheel even though I didn’t ask them to, and put the lead weights on the wheel in a spot where they were rubbing on the caliper. So frustrating.

#134

Best of luck finding a halfway reliable shop apparently. And I didn’t catch where you’re getting a hood open warning, I thought you just meant visually it appeared open. That is definitely fault of the shop that did the work.