The Red Mist, An RS5 Tale and introduction

A5/S5/RS5
#39

The new lines are finished and installed. I like these far more than the hard lines and they’re super light. Really nice stuff and it’ll make installation cleaner and far, far easier for everyone else. Worth the additional cost if it saves you installation time and frustration.

A few photos of the new hoses.


Even though the hoses have a built-in protective cover, I added another woven protective sheath to both lines which run from the OEM hard lines to the thermostat. They run through tight spaces and while they don’t press up firmly against anything, better safe than sorry. Overkill is good. No zip ties on this one but I secured the sheath with ties on each end and it goes over the end of the aluminum fittings as well.

Lines installed.

You can’t get a clear shot of the shorter lines which connect the OEM hard lines to the thermostat so this is with parts removed.

I’ll be doing more testing tomorrow, driving a lot further which’ll allow me to test hot starts and cool-down times as well as hopefully get the temps up above 80C so I can see the fans doing their job. Once the car is moving at a reasonable speed, the temps drop quickly. I want to see how well the fans bring down the temps when the car isn’t moving or moving at a crawl.

Coolant temps haven’t changed at all which is as-expected. They’re controlled by the ECU adjusted thermostat. A/C works as normal so no issues there either.

#40

More testing. This is a dual graph, one on the top which is rpm (white) and transmission fluid temp (red). With the transmission up to temperature, I accelerate to redline and then slow down to around 10-15mph before coming to a complete stop and idling with no airflow.

The bottom graph mirrors the top, same point in time for each position on the graphed line. The clutch pack temp (yellow) is telling. It’s where a majority of the heat is generated and it take some time to transfer from the clutch packs to the ATF fluid. There’s a natural latency in that heat transfer as well as with the sensors reading the temperatures.

What you notice is the fluid temperature rises a few degrees, maxes out at 80C and then cools down to 79, 78C while the car is idling. The green line is vehicle speed on the bottom graph. That’s the fans kicking in and keeping the fluid temperatures reasonable and dropping the clutch pack temp as well. Without the new cooler, the fluid temps would be at least 100 degrees Celsius (212F) if not higher. I’ve seen them much higher with the OEM cooler. IMO, it’s really the weak link and I honestly wonder why a better system wasn’t designed.

With improved cooling the ECU will always run at a lower temperature than it would with the OEM cooler. As computers get hotter, they slow down and aren’t as efficient in their operation. Same with the one inside the mechatronic.

Had I not come to a stop and continued on, the fluid temps would have stayed around 70 degrees Celsius. And yes, it’s hot out again today. Ambient temps were about 98F, or 37C. I have two more days of hot weather for testing as it looks like a big front is coming through with much needed rain.

A little video teaser, a launch with JHM stage 2 plus ripping through the hills/canyons in Mexico. I shot a ton of video on Monday along with logging data on the transmission cooler.
[video=youtube_share;DafaCWO7-YE]https://youtu.be/DafaCWO7-YE[/video]

A little video teaser, a launch with JHM stage 2 plus ripping through the hills/canyons in Mexico. I shot a ton of video on Monday along with logging data on the transmission cooler.
[video=youtube_share;DafaCWO7-YE]https://youtu.be/DafaCWO7-YE[/video]

#41

Been super busy lately and haven’t made many updates to my car but I did one maintenance item I’d like to share. I changed spark plugs and while it’s not nearly as sexy as Asher’s carbon fiber/interior updates, it made enough of a difference I thought I should mention it. Old plugs looked fine, had about 23K on them.

This time around I thought I’d try the NGK Ruthenium HX plugs. Have to say, my idle is like butter with these plugs and I ran my highest trap speed with them as well. Now you can swap in any new plug and you’ll probably gain 5hp but my idle was never as even as it has been with these plugs. It’s a small thing but I’m impressed. Shop around for them as they can vary in price by quite a bit.

The part number is NGK FR7BHX-S 92400.

#42

What an epic tale. Great detail. Fantastic follow up on everything you’re doing. This is an example of a really solid build. Great work. Thanks for sharing.

1 Like
#43

A few updates coming. Here’s what I have planned in the not too distant future.
-Upper control arm bushings. I’m taking the plunge and will be swapping them to poly bushings. I went with the harder option for less deflection.

I’ve been running an experiment with one poly bushing for a few years now just to see if I could keep them from squeaking (they always do!) and I’ve had good success using Krytox lubricant. So we’re going to try it and see how they do. I currently have a small tear on one of the driver’s side bushings with the passenger’s side having one fairly new bushing and then the poly bushing. The car always seemed to turn better to the left, maybe that’s why. Could just be because I’m an American. The new poly bushings have a lifetime warranty.

-I’ll also be changing out the front pads and going with the Pagid RSC1 brake pads. Pagid offers three different “RSC” pads for different uses and the RSC1 is more gentle on CCB rotors than the OEM pads apparently, with slightly less initial bite and more modulation potential than the OEM pads.

I’ll have a writeup and video on both. I have a few other items in the works but these are the two most pressing.

#44

Might as well add my latest videos here too.

#45

Ooooo more video’s can’t wait ! I will be interested in the poly bushes and how you get on fitting them and how easy or not they are to do and what you think of the harder option as in feeling and ride comfort ? Gotta say i do get excited when i see your video’s … maybe i should get out more Oh wait i can’t !! Oh well video’s it will have to be :joy::joy::rofl::rofl:

#46

New powerflex “race” bushings came in a few days back. They’re huge. Going to be tough to get them in.

Here’s a comparison between the Powerflex and the discontinued Whiteline race bushings.
The diameter on the whiteline is about 46.45mm while the Powerflex is about 46.20mm. The length for the whiteline is 40.71mm while the Powerflex is 40.31.

The Whiteline obviously features an outer metal race where the powerflex does not.

Both have waffling on the inside bore where the metal inner bushing sits. This is to retain grease. Otherwise they’d squeak horribly. The Whiteline’s waffling is worn and filled, most likely, with “expired” grease. This was my original reason for replacing the bushings on that side. As an experiment, I left one in with krytox performing lube duties. After almost two years, it’s now starting to squeak.

So…the squeak may be inevitable if the waffling is eventually worn or compressed smooth. l could try washing the center bore of the Whiteline out to see if the voids are indeed filled with old lubricant that’s solidified. But the Powerflex waffling has far greater texture to it since they’re new.

Photos! Whiteline on the left.

Textured surface on the Whiteline’s inner bore.

Textured surface on the Powerflex inner bore.

The textured surface, over time, has left marks on the Whiteline’s inner bushing.

Inner bushings compared. Whiteline’s is larger than the Powerflex.

Given the outer bushing and larger inner bushing, the Whiteline bushings probably deflect less than the Powerflex units. The Whiteline material “seems” about the same as the Powerflex (same harness) but the Whiteline has four holes bored on each side of the poly that does not go all the way through. Probably provides a bit of squish.

I may be cursing when I go to install the Powerflex. We’ll see. I do have a press.

#47

Omg the size of them, there going to be fun to fit lets hope your press is a good strong one ! Looking forward to the video and write up on how it all goes.

#48

They may improve the ride slightly given there’s a little more material. Assembly shouldn’t be a problem if you have a press, just use plenty of lube and I guess you could leave them in hot water for a while before install to make a little more compliant.

#49

Have a press, they recommend soap which does work wonders in more ways than one. They state to start to press them in at an angle and go from there. Sounds easy but I know better at this point. At least I can just keep the car up on the jacks if I run into and issue and have to order parts.

I have a full replacement set of new nuts and bolts ready to go as well thanks to ECS Tuning.

Will start tackling this tomorrow in the a.m. before I have to work the day job. It’s nice to just walk upstairs to the office! Only downside is Shell premium is now very close to $2 a gallon and will likely be well below that in the coming month (oil closed at NEGATIVE $34 USD a barrel today). So no way for me to take advantage of that.

#50

Gave the RS5 some love this week. I’m not driving her nearly as much as I used to but decided it was time to change the oil and install new coils. I’m shy of 70K miles and the coils are original.

Saw no perceived changes in cold start or idle quality but seems to pull a bit better through the rev range. Could totally be a placebo due to not driving as much lately but it’s also hot as hell here and she’s still pulling like a freight train.

Also made the switch to Motul Sport which is a 100% ester-based oil like their 300V motorsports line. Really doesn’t get any better than this. I’ve had it sitting in my garage for a few months as I waited for 5,000 miles to roll around since my last change.

I chose NGK for the coils. They were not the cheapest and weren’t the most expensive but I’ve always had good results with NGK products so there you go.

#51

Would NGK be better than OEM performance wise? I know it’s probably negligible, but still curious. I’m due for some coils too.

#52

As long as the coil’s internal resistance and capacity is the same as the next, there will be no difference in performance. No getting around physics! The differences that come into play are probably long term and based off the quality, presision and specs of the components used.

I boxed up the OEM coils in case I need one in a pinch. They all seemed to be working just fine. I’ll try to measure their internal resistance and see if there’s any degradation.

#53

Let us know how you get on with the Motul Sport and I’ve just ordered the same coils for mine so its good to know someone else who has got these already :blush:

#54

Will do! Already saw less consumption going back to Motul Xcess last oil change vs. Liqui-Moly so expecting it to be much the same in terms of that.

It’s such a small price difference compared to the lesser Motul offerings or other brand’s synthetic offerings. Makes it seem like a no brainer!

#55

Do you find much difference between the 5W30 and 5W40?

#56

Had the dealer do my last oil change and swapped the LiquiMoly out for the OEM, which I think is Castrol? Eitherway, not burning anything now.

#57

You’re going to like it. Like I said previously, mine lasted over 5,000 miles and several hard cruises out in the country. Only burned 1qt after all of that, but by then it’s ready for a change anyway!

#58

I’ve only ever used 5w40. 5w30 wasn’t available in the brands and specific types I was using. Motul would list the 5w30 on their web site but the Xcess and Specific was all 5w40.