thoughts - stick with C6 or go to C7 S6?

A6 All/ S6 All
#25

will be curious to hear your comparo / contrasto impressions from one to now the other

I’ve driven a stocker and while fast and smooth it didn’t seem to have the torque hit mine does w/ tune and some mods… or the visceral experience. CANNOT beat the look / interior tho, no comparison whatsoever makes the C6 feel cheap and dated honestly. Tho I don’t like the relatively cheap feel of the doors closing / handles.

I’m near a crossroads w/ mine and considering the C7 or RS5 vert… I know, random - I’m weird. Or fixing mine for another year. Have soooo much into it it’s hard to justify more, but also hard to justify not doing it. Ugh 8-/ We’ll see.

Enjoy yours, and congrats!

#26

You’re gonna love it - fantastic car.

#27

so i’ve had the car for a couple days now, haven’t had a chance to do a lot of driving, but i’m certainly not disappointed with the purchase - still figuring out what every button does as the C6’s technology is a bit dated looking back now, but wow, the interior is gorgeous with the diamond stiched seats, carbon fibre trim, B&O speakers rising out of the dash, etc. - i always thought the C6 interior was top notch (which it still is compared to 95% of most cars), but this is just amazing. as for how it drives, the power is just so smooth and effortless…and quiet, whereas with the C6, not so much - although i do miss the sound of the V10 , maybe the V8 sounds as nice but the cabin is so quiet it’s hard to tell. i haven’t played with all the setting too much, ,but have all the suspension, etc. set to dynamic and i’ve been very happy with it, ride isn’t terribly harsh with the 20" wheels, really not much worse than with the 18’s on the C6…anyway, am i happy with my choice, i’d say yes, it’s a fantastic car, do i miss the C6, sure do, almost miss some of the simplicity of the interior - i worry that all these moving interior features (display, speakers, mirrors) will fail at some point and cost a fortune to fix, but we’ll see. i miss the low slung, almost mean look of the C6 (it was lowered obviously), but hey, you have to move on eventually…maybe i’ll pick one up for cheap when my daughter starts driving!

couple questions for the C7 owners regarding winter tires, i’ve always had summer and winter wheel setups for my previous audi’s, and now that winter is a few months down the road i have to think about a winter setup - it seems that 20" wheels offer the least worry in terms of clearance when looking at aftermarket wheels, but 20" snow tires are stupid expensive, so i’d be looking at 19’s - i don’t want to spend a fortune on wheels, tirerack has some decent affordable ones, and because they’ll mount tire for free and i can pick them up for free as well is the best deal, but the ones they have aren’t my first choice, would like maybe something like the rotor style that my wife has for winters on her S4, but they don’t offer them…if you have any suggestions where to look for them, i’d appreciate it, unless i find a decent set in the classifieds. and for tires - what size are you using? i went down a size on the C6 to a 245 instead of 255, has anyone gone with another size, such as a 235? i’m in CT so i’d prefer a beast in the snow and not a performance winter, so options are limited with 19’s…looking at the Conti wintercontacts at the moment in 245/40.

lastly, the age old oil debate, in my old A6 2.7 i used M1 0-40, and in the C6 i used Redline 0-40 - given the specialness of that engine, i felt it deserved a top notch oil…is this V8 deserved of such oil or is M1 sufficient? i don’t put a ton of miles on the car a year so i probably change the oil every 9-12 months, so spending a bit more on Redline doesn’t bother me in the big scheme of things (at least it doesn’t use a full case like the C6!)…and i coincidentally bought a case of it the night before my accident so i have it sitting in the garage anyway, but just curious what everyone else is using…thanks

#28

Congrats -knew you’d be happy with it! :sunglasses:

I put 20” winters on the OEM 20” wheels and got 20” rotor reps from Hartmann through Discount Tire to use as my summer setup. I went with OEM size winter tires (255/35/20) but will go with 245s next time for better bite in the snow.

As for oil, I run Mobil 1, the version that meets VW/Audi’s current standard. Can’t recall the specifics right now…

Enjoy the car - I appear to be one of the few C7 owners that frequents this forum and will be happy to help if I can. :+1:t2:

#29

Congratulations. I have no doubt it is an awesome car.

As for oil, as long as you are using a quality oil (Mobil 1, LiquiMoly, Redline, etc.) with the proper viscosity and it meets Audi/VW specifications, your engine will run great.

The only thing I recommend is to not use the build in oil life monitor for changes. I always go only 3000 miles. The way I see it, it is cheap insurance and will keep your engine running top notch.

#30

I use Motul 8100 Xcess. Recently sent oil w 5k miles of use to Blackstone Labs. Oil numbers came back perfectly fine (w exception of a possible internal coolant leak, that I will monitor).

#31

i probably used to be somewhere in the 5-7k mile range for intervals with redline…i’ll probably stick with it for now seeing as i already have a case of it.
as for winter tires, has anyone gone with 225/45/19’s? that is actually the closest rolling diameter to stock 20’s…if you’re going with studless ice & snow tires and not performance snows, obviously snow traction is the real priority, so does you see any downside to that size? one concern is if that’ll work on an 8.5" wide rim? the 225’s have an XL load rating of 96 vs 98 of the 245’s. it’s also partially a cost issue, looking at Hakka R2’s, they’re like $60 less/tire vs. 245/40, or, roughly $20 more/tire than the 245/40 conti’s i was thinking of getting, same as on my wife’s S4

#32

I ran 245 winters on my B8 S4 which had the same OEM tire size as the S6.

As for 19s, be aware that C7 S6 front brake calipers are ENORMOUS, and many aftermarket wheels won’t fit over them without spacers.

HTH

#33

Redline is good… Keep it thin in the winter due to the turbos. I would send an oil test sample to blackstone when you do the next oil change just to see how the motor is. I would say do a compression test but its hard as hell to get to the plugs to check.

#34

Any pictures you could post of the new car?

#35

Vonbottle -

Since you mentioned Rotor reps, be aware that many of them don’t fit over the S6’s brake calipers, and that even some that do don’t have the “concave” face that makes them look even better.

Hartmann is the only quality wheel provider I’ve found whose offering both fits and looks great.

https://www.hartmannwheels.com/audi-wheels#uid-13

#36

that’s what worries me, getting tires mounted and finding out they hit the calipers - is it an offset issue? i.e., if i were to go the ebay route where they say they fit the S6 (but then there’s like an asterisk saying they can’t guarantee it), can i clear the calipers with spacers? USArim has the rotors for $700 19"x 8.5" ET35 which they say fit (by Hollander, never heard of them), so i suppose worst case if they don’t fit i have to spend a couple hundred on spacers and new lugs and i’m still ahead in terms of costs vs hartmanns…honestly, when had my old A6 2.7 i bought rs6 reps on ebay for like $400 and they were great, ran them for 12 years with no issues (although, i did buy them with the incorrect offset and had to buy 15mm spacers!) anyway, having to get spacers doesn’t bother me too much as i think the stock 20’s could be pushed out a bit, so i’d probably use them year round - really wish they hadn’t changed the hub size from the C6 as i now have two useless sets of 15mm and one set of 20mm spacers, time to start selling all my C6 parts laying around i guess.
trying to post a picture but it keeps saying my upload folder is full, i’ll keep trying

#37

It’s not an offset issue, really - it’s just the massive calipers that limit the wheel choices.

I’m not willing to run spacers, which meant the Hartmanns were my best option.

I buy all my wheels and tires from Discount Tire, giving me recourse if there’s ever an issue. This has been very useful for me in the past, but I understand wanting to save $$$.

#38

so you’re saying the clear inside diameter of some wheels is less than adequate to clear the calipers? i would imagine many offsets won’t clear them as well as they’re very bulky. i never had an issue running spacers on my C5, but they were a pain to deal with as i only ran them on the summers as they didn’t clear the calipers without them, so then i had to remember to carry stock bolts for the spare in summer, etc…anyway, spacers don’t concern me, but yes i’d rather not deal with them if i don’t have to. i’ll check out discount tire for decent wheels, tirerack doesn’t have rotors for the C7, they do (or did) have them for my wife’s S4 though

#39

regarding oil, i’ve always run 0w-40 without issue, i assume the C7 takes about 9 quarts?

and regarding snow tires, i run 245’s on the S4 and on the old C6, so regarding that, i’d really like to try the Hakka R2’s and any size with a 35-40 aspect ratio costs 50% more than 45+, so, even though 225/45/19 is perfect match in diameter, tirerack said they’d be overloaded, so wondering about 245/45/19’s - diameter is about .6" more than the stock 20" P-zeros i have on now, aside from speedo discrepancy, are there any other downsides? size is about 2.2% off from stock which is within the allowable i believe (3%?), plus the beefier sidewall in winter is a big plus with me. they do have 245/40’s which is a closer match but they’re about $100 more/tire, so at that point i’d probably skip…thoughts?

#40

No, it’s not the diameter of the inside of a wheel that’s the problem, nor is it technically really an offset issue. It’s the shape/configuration of the backs of the spokes and their position relative to the part of the wheel that contacts the hub. A friend even bought wheels that allegedly fit his C7 S6, only to be forced to return them because they actually didn’t fit - the spokes contacted the brake calipers.

BTW - the front brake rotors on the C7 S6 are enormous - 15.6" in diameter. The only source I’ve found for replacement front rotors is Audi. The rears can be purchased from many sources.

A final comment: The OEM pads dust more than any street pad I’ve ever experienced. Believe it or not, “Wearever Gold” semi-metallic pads from Advance Auto Parts (less than $100 total for BOTH axles!) are outstanding replacements. Mine have lasted more than 35,000 miles including a track day at Road America that had me slowing from 140+mph on the front straight dozens of times with no issues… They’re well worth buying for the almost zero dust and excellent overall performance…

#41

For rotors check and see if JHM has any possible options. There performance rotors come in all kinds of sizes and they have a really good selection usually cheaper than OEM and they are performance rotors so you can save a good chunk of weight while picking up a better cooling rotor.

#42

if it is a shape/spoke issue, then in theory it could be an offset issue, no? meaning a set of 10mm spacers lets say, might allow the spokes to clear the calipers? usarim told me that their rotors do fit the S6 with the oem calipers (is there a beefier big brake caliper out there? the oem ones are massive).

as for rotors, i thought my C6 ones were massive at 15.2" (at least you could get aftermarket ones for decent price), but yes these are just enormous at 15.7" i believe? ECS has aftermarket ones but they’re actually more than oem ones. the dealer where i bought the car actually replaced the rear rotors/pads and front pads - was really hoping they’d do the rotors as they’re not cheap, anyway, i had requested prior to purchasing for them to put on ceramic pads if they do replace them - i had just installed adams rotors and ceramic pads on the C6 and they felt great, and no dust to boot - yes those oem pads are just terrible with dust. i looked at JHM and they don’t have rotors for the C7 (or much at all), and as noted no one really carries anything besides oem - adams says they’ll make them, but they’ll be more $$ of course. i ran semi-metallics on my C5 and was very happy with them (metal master i think?), good stopping power, less dust than oem and cheap.

#43

You can call it whatever you want, and try whatever wheels you’d like. I’m not saying that those usarim wheels won’t fit - they might indeed. It’s just that the C7 S6 is relatively rare vehicle, and that people often make assumptions that it’s similar to the A6 in these areas, but it’s not.

Again, I won’t run spacers, so I only considered sources I trusted that offered wheels guaranteed (through Discount Tire) to fit. Everything went smoothly for me…

Best of luck to you and please report back how everything goes…

#44

funny, i went back to usarim website and looked at some other wheels, specifically the 18" rotors - for which the website says fits '07-16 S6 - which i know is wrong, so your skepticism is warranted…so unless they can tell me they’ve fitted the 19’s to an S6 with no problem and/or they’ll pay to return the wheels if they don’t fit, i guess i may have to look elsewhere