I mentioned this elsewhere on the forum, but figured it’s worth a mention here just to keep everything in one place. Near the end of the project, JHM discovered an oil leak coming from the oil cooler, so that needed to be replaced as well, costing us a few more days and bucks, but glad they found it, one less thing to go wrong in the future. They should be wrapping things up within the next couple days hopefully, and I’ll be sure to write a full post-upgrades review as soon as I get a chance! Have to head to europe soon so it might be a little while before I can actually go pick up the car and put a few miles on it.
I’ll probably need to log at least a few days of driving before I can write any worthwhile review, because I’m so used to driving much lower-performance cars in the interim that the S6 is going to feel like a rocket no matter what. Hopefully my memory is good enough to be able to provide a good before/after comparison.
In november, I’ll be going to the JHM-sponsored “Audi night” at the local drag strip, so I can report the track times when that happens, and maybe even convince a fellow Audi guy to shoot a video. In the interim, I’ll try to film some videos of my own. Definitely getting excited! It’s the same feeling I got when the truck unloaded my S6 when I first bought it 
When you getting it back?
Early this week with a little luck
Oh yes!!! Can’t wait to read your report.
Hurry up and get it cannot for your review!
Yes all of us are. I think its a good idea get the car back and take some time to let it settle in.
The track event in november is a great idea. That is a good time to go. Lots of help from the guys at JHM its also a good time of year to get to the track weather wise.
Looking forward to hearing your feelings as well! My work schedule is so nuts for the next couple of weeks that it turns out I won’t be able to make it to a JHM dealer to get a flash done until at LEAST mid September, so hopefully we can have some feedback to help me make my decision on the car.
An unfortunate side-effect of having all this work done at once is that I won’t necessarily be able to attribute any gains to any particular work that was done. This is why CountVohn’s S8 project is such a great addition to this community, because he is installing parts one by one and doing full testing in between to check for gains. So in effect, his comparisons are “A, B, C, D, E, F, & G”, whereas my comparison is just “A & G”. I think both are important to know, because everyone does things differently. CountVohn will certainly not be the only person to do changes gradually over time, and I probably won’t be the only one to knock them all out at once, so it’s good to have examples of both strategies.
That said, the JHM tune is priced very reasonably, and even if there were no performance gains it would be worth it for the reliability aspect alone. They didn’t just focus on HP gains, they put a lot of work into making everything run more healthy. HP gains are really just the added bonus, and I’m sure whatever gains there are will be significant, but like the rest of us I just have no idea what those gains actually are.
I’ll make sure I report any findings that can be attributed to the tune alone, such as any rev limit changes or differences in the trans operation, or other electronic aspects of the car.
Very excited to hear what you have to say. I’m at the point where I’m debating doing the tune alone, tune, pulleys, & intake spacers, or those and the exhaust. Only part I can’t justify currently is the brakes, as they were just done… Other than that, my car’s maintenance is all up to date. Plugs, coils, carbon clean, HPFPs, and other things all done within the last 5,000 miles. I was told as a result, the car is a perfect candidate. Only reason the pulley & spacers aren’t in already was a timing issue. Car ended up coming apart for other reasons in the dealership at the time, and I couldn’t wait on shipping to get them in. Wish I’d had them sitting waiting.
I could tell you what I think, but you probably already know what I’m gonna say ;D
For that reason, if you know you want to do a certain upgrade, but don’t want to install them until the car has to come apart anyways, maybe consider buying them now and just sitting on them until you either have another maintenance issue that warrants gaining access to said part’s location, or for a rainy day when you have a lot of time on your hands.
I’ve considered buying some spare coil packs, spark plugs, maybe an injector or two, and other low-priced known-maintenence items just to keep them on-hand so that when I need them, I don’t have to wait a week. I plan to keep this car for a very, very long time, so it might be worth it.
I wouldn’t wait on the intake spacers though. This is an item that WILL reduce the overall wear-and-tear on your car. Even if you already did a carbon cleaning very recently, I’d still add the spacers ASAP. This is another one of those things where, yes it will increase performance, but more importantly it removes a TON of heat stress and helps everything else last longer.
As an added bonus, it would be cool to take a peak under the IM only a couple thousand miles after a carbon cleaning, just to see exactly how fast (or hopefully, slow) carbon buildup occurs. Most of us only take a peak inside there when we know for sure we’re overdue for a carbon cleaning, so it would be great to see what we’re looking at mid-way between carbon cleanings. Might give us all a better approximation of exactly how often it should be done.
Yeah, the only reason I haven’t just said here’s my credit card, send me everything, is this: My car will likely be for sale in 6 months. I only had planned to keep it until about spring of next year, when I bought it two years ago. So now, it’s a debate of whether to buy everything & keep it longer, or let it go for my next car, which is already lined up for spring (stage 2 B8.5 a friend has built, and I’ve turned wrench on a bit myself… Hard to pass on a car when you know the history and are getting a great price).
Working multiple jobs to try to get into a position where I can afford a little more comfortable lifestyle in Vancouver is difficult as of late. Leaves little to no time to work on my own vehicles. I’ve had my new brake pads sitting waiting for me to get around to installing them for 3 months or so now… Along with fluid to flush the system. And since the car is under warranty, everything that HAS been done, has been done at my dealership. This is why I’m so keen to get some real hands-on feedback on how the changes affect the vehicle. If it is a big enough change, it may warrant hanging on to this beauty a little while longer.
Understandable. Well I’ll do my best to let you know what kind of beast this thing has turned into!
I think the next few months will tell the tale of what the V10 has in store. I know the thought of a B8 S4 seems nice but to me its a soul less car. If you like it thats fine but I just dont see to many people crazy over the B8. Ive driven a few S6s now looking to find one. So far I can tell that there is nothing like the V10s.
I went in a ride in CVs car and for me that sold me. I think the allure of the V10 will grow more and more as JHM and the great V10 comunity get a chance to show its stuff.
Still i too am interested in hearing what scott has to say. I know I have said it a few times but his car is a great example of what maybe a great car that has gone a little too long between good maintenance work will result in. I have seen a lot of S6 car that never really got any maintenance and the list of needed work was long. But once you really have these cars dialed in they are such fun.
These Audi V10 blocks (5.0 and 5.2) really are a truly special breed. There’s really nothing else on the road quite like them. Yes, they’re “quirky”, but they are also very refined, and Audi put a TON of engineering into them. I honestly feel that it’s the “best” V10 anyone has made. Maybe not the loudest, maybe not the most powerful, but it’s really well-designed, bulletproof, and adds a touch of style and fun to these cars that only a V10 can add.
I honestly wouldn’t ever consider trading for a different car at this point. I see so, so many S4’s on the road, and sure they’re fast but they just really don’t grab my attention. When I bought my C6, I even considered paying a bit more and getting a newer C7 S6, but I just really don’t like turbos that much. I feel like anyone can strap turbos on a smaller engine and make it fast, that’s not that interesting to me anymore. I wanted a monstrous, gas-guzzling, tons-of-cylinders motor in a big all-wheel-drive luxury German sedan, and there are really only 2 cars like that in existence, the C6 S6 & D3 S8.
The 2 next-closest things are the AMG E63 and the BMW M5. You often hear these 3 cars compared. The comparisons always go the same way: “The AMG and the M5 are undoubtedly a bit faster, but the S6 is by far the most enjoyable to drive”. Also of note, neither the AMG nor the M5 are available in AWD. The S6’s all have quattro. I still remember last winter when I was laughing at an M5 sliding all over the snowy highway before finally pulling over to chain up, while I blissfully flew by in my S6 with just regular all-season tires sipping a nice hot coffee ;D You really can’t beat Audi’s combination of utility and performance.
It seems we parallel one another in this regard. I too was considering a C7 S6, but I kept looking back at the C6. Some of the newer tech, as well as the exterior design of the C7, was drawing me in, but the V10 of the C6 kept whispering in my ear and rubbing my bald head. Then there is that exhaust note. Oh that sexy V10 exhaust note. At full song it makes my testies tingle.
As far as the rivals of the S6, MB has never done anything for me styling-wise, and the BMW, while far more appealing to me than the MB, just didn’t tip the scales.
Everything just kept pointing back at the C6 S6 for what I wanted out of a daily, and this is being fully aware of what I was getting myself into with regard to maintenance, or lack thereof from past owners.
Now, as I watch my JHM invoice continue to rise, I am at least given piece of mind knowing everything is getting sorted out in one go. It’s going to be an expensive first hit, but once dealt with, this thoroughbred is going to come out of the gate tough, and with a new owner that’s keeping it in top shape.
Updated the 2nd post again. Another problem was found - the drivers side motor mount is leaking, and the passenger-side one is completely broken in half. Unfortunately this is not a cheap repair. I’ve gone pretty far over budget as it is, so I asked how critical it is to address this. They said it’s not urgent, but sent a picture of the broken mount, and I decided to just replace that one for now, and I’ll address the driver’s side mount when my wallet has rebounded a little in the future. This shouldn’t affect future maintenance/reliability I wouldn’t think, it just might be transferring more vibration at idle than I’d like. But if it’s less than the vibration I had before, then I’m ok with that, because honestly I didn’t even notice any motor vibration before.
So, probably not getting the car back just yet. Not sure how long this will take to swap out.
Nooooooooo!!!
Ouch! I didnt think engine mounts would be crazy expensive. Are they hard to get access to to swap out?