Time to make my RS6 a beast - some guidance woudl be appreciated

[KfabR8]

Hello to the board, new guy here. (I hate being a newbie! Oh well...)

I've been informed that this is the place to come for those of us that want to make our beloved RS6's a bit more beastly.

Right now mine is bone stock and I'm wanting to do a full face lift. It will be entirely street oriented - no track time at all. Urban Assault Vehicle. (UAV)

So, where to start?

I've done a lot of searching on this board, Audizine, Audi Forums & Audi World, so please don't tell me go use the search function (yea, yea, someone will tell the Newbie "Hey dumbass, there's a search button, use it!").

I'm attempting to get as much info from the members of this board that have the experience I'm looking for into one place so I can weigh all the options and make a, hopefully intelligent, decision on the mods to do. I'll take the info and put it on a web page as I do the work - to share w/anyone else that may be in my present shoes (uh - flip flops. I don't like shoes)

I'm totally new to the idea of screwing around with my on road vehicle. Never stepped over that line. I'm totally capable of doing the work, as I design, fabricate, build and race my own stuff for the off road world. I just don't know where to start for the street stuff? I'm clueless.

Engine: Chip, maybe exhaust
I'm hearing that the GIAC works well - and it includes the tranny system also, which needs to be addressed.
What other chips are available, what do they offer, what sort of gains, do they manage the tranny too?

Exhaust - Milltek seems to be one that pops up fairly often.
Who else and what are the gains?

What sort of turbo issues can I start to expect? I have 37K on my RS - most of them have been fairly agressive (why have an RS and drive like a weenie?).

Suspension: Shocks, springs roll bar upgrade
The DRC (Demon Riddled Catastrophy) system is down for the third time - it's time for it to do it's Elvis impersonation and leave the building.

I keep reading about Eibach SSSP9 (SSP9? - somethign with s's and p's) and rumors of an SSSP10. Some seem to like them, some not so much. Is it that the system requires a bit of tinkering with to get set up correctly? - those that are not happy, haven't taken the time and effort to do it? -hell, that's 90% of off road. Suspension's fun and easy!

So what are the pro's & con's of the Eibach systems?

Who else is making suspension components for the RS6?

What about springs? Do the shocks come with them? What rate are people using? What rate is the car set up with from Audi?

A stiffer rate spring w/less preload would yield a softer initial ride (road ride), but stiffen up more quickly for aggressive driving. Has anyone tried that? If so, what sort of results have been seen?

How about roll bars? Who makes them, what adjustabilities are offered, etc.

Interior: Move on up to an RNS-E setup. (Does this still work w/XM radio?)
After doing some research on this and a couple other boards, I believe I've found an RNS-E kit that will drop right in. That part should be easy.

Wheels: Probably put my R8's rims on it if they'll fit and then stick winter sneakers on the stock RS6 rims.

I haven't been able to find out if the rims off the R8 (19x8.5 38mm offset & 19x10.5 40mm offset - I believe) will fit the RS6. Would there be an issue with running different width rims front/rear on the RS? Should I look for a second set of front R8 rims to put on the back of the RS?

Switching to a 19, I want to make sure that I end up with the same outer diameter as the stock 18 RS wheels. So, what sizes are you guys running in either a Michelin or Bridgestone on a 19" rim?

I'll take any advise that you guys want to share would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[DuckWingDuck]

Welcome once again! Here are some thoughts....

Engine: You've got a couple choices here, being that I'm in Irvine and my service advisor knows Garrett personally, I am leaning heavily towards GIAC but FWIW, it doesn't seem like GIAC gets a whole lot of love on the boards, there's a tuner out of Australia called DNA that someone on here has. Quite a number have gone with the MTM tune but Revo also gets a lot of love for its versatility though I am told that these days, everybody offers a "selector", i.e. the ability to change the ECU mapping program. An important component if you do go with an ECU upgrade is to also get an update to the TCU (Transmission Control Unit) for remapping to handle the increased power. Hell, quite a few have gotten the TCU upgrade without the ECU and reported very positive results. Gains across all the various vendors from what I can gather all seem to be very comparable.

Exhaust: As you mention Milltek is pretty much the most popular one but Hy Octane went with a local guy (http://www.labreemotorsports.com/) and it sounds absolutely amazing! Vid here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_GYHpj8cT0

Turbo: Most have not reported a problem with theirs, in fact, there are more people talking about getting their transmission swapped than turbo replaced though just recently we've had two turbo leaking, my own service advisor told me that mine is starting to show a little bit of leakage so it probably won't be long before I have my turbos replaced (I'm at 60K).

Suspension: As you've seen first hand, the DRC is quite spectacularly bad and in fact, my most recent road, er.. issue, is more than likely the result of a shoddy DRC (http://pictures.twilightstar.net/v/greg/rs6/tyre). The PSS9 has been reported to have noise (squeaking) concerns and most are staying away from it, common options are Stasis, and KWv3 with the KWV3 being the most popular.

Hotchkis makes a set of sway bars and everyone who's gotten them installed have said very good things about them, http://www.hotchkis.net/p-722-sport-sway-bar-set.aspx

Interior: The RNS-E is the next generation system and will work with XM but you will need to get a new XM module, http://www.navplus.us is the ultimate source of all that kind of information. It's not a hard install and there are several walkthroughs available.

Wheels: Yes, your R8 rims will fit on the RS6. I think there are one or two running around with wider wheels in the back (do a search for nene's new wheels). I am personally running a set of 20" on Bridgestone RE-050A Pole Position and Michelin PS2 are also very highly rated tyres. On my OEM rims, I had a set of Toyo Proxes that I also enjoyed quite a great deal.

As far as websites, nene has a great site where he's documented the changes that he's made to his RS6 at http://www.htms.org

[cornishmoocher]

HI and welcome!

I don't think anyone will argue that one of the main men when it comes to the 6 is the grizzmiester.
Grizz is in the uk and really knows his onions. Always worth asking his advice on anything 6.
I do, its almost stalking!!!!!
Duck advised me to have a natter with him, and now he (grizz not duck!!) has modded my 6 and done all the servicing etc.

Anyhoo, just do it, you wont go far wrong with an MTM map, you have a monster company and R&D programme behind it. I run A custom code map, but dont think they have squirted it over the pond yet. Shame- its awsome!

Cheers buddy- Mooch.

[KfabR8]

Thank you very much!

I'll do some more research on the chips - and I agree, the tranny needs attention, so I'll make sure what ever I end up with addresses it too.

Cool on the turbo info. I'd heard of a couple issues on another site, so I wondered.

I'm really hoping the wheels will fit - even if I end up having to make spacers to correct the offset (if needed) Magnesium spacers would be trick, don't you think? - the stuff's fun to machine.

I've run both the Michelins and Bridgestones (present sneakers) and like them both a lot. The difference between them is really small. The Dunflops that came on the car SUCKED. I'm not wild about the Pirellis on the R8 either. They're just not connected feeling. I'm doing my damndest to make them go away so I can replace them w/better sneakers. If all goes well I won't get much more than 10K out of them.

Here's an example of my web stuff: Installing the Carbon Fiber Kits in an R8

When I did the first part of my CF conversion on the R8, I documented the process. I still have to finish the interior, but I don't have the stuff yet. It's been on back order for a little while.

I'll do the same thing when I get around to doing the RS mods.

[ben916]

Please correct me if I am wrong, but isn't the achilles heal of the RS6 the transmission?!?! You can do all these power mods but the trans is unable to handle the power, or at least not for long.

It has been talked about slightly, there is a company called level 10 on the eastern side of the US that rebuilts the trans for the RS6 to handle 600hp or some crazy number like that...

Good Luck!

Got photos on the website for the RS6?

[DuckWingDuck]

Couple more thoughts....

1. Yes, Grizz is probably one of the authority on the RS6 and if you've frequentedly rs246.com, I'm sure you've come across some of his posts.

2. On the ECU/TCU, I think it ultimately depends on which tuner has a rep in your area who can reflash the control unit. I'm probably courting the wrath of some loyalists here but to be honest, from everything that's been posted on the boards, there will ultimately be very little difference between all the tunes unless you're out there racing.

3. I think with those offsets you're fine. With my 20"s, I'm running +35mm and I've got 12mm spacers all around.

4. Did you buy your RS6 second hand? I wasn't aware that Dunlops were ever OEM tyres. I thought it was always Pirellis?

5. The CF trim on your site looks pretty nice, very good walkthrough.

6. Ben, I don't think anybody on our board has gone through with a Level 10 transmission job, though Fonzie(?) just had his transmission swapped and when my car went into the shop, there was another RS6 in there that was having its transmission swapped. I think that the transmission can handle it but upgrading it won't hurt!

[cornishmoocher]

Mine didn't! But it was going before the tweek. It def is the weak link after the DRC of course

[KfabR8]

I've not been on that forum. I'll go paruse and see.

Does anyone know of a good tuner in the Cincinnati area? - great point about the software. There are probably pro's and con's with each one and they're all out to accomplish the same thing, so as long as this stuff's been out (and hopefully upgraded as time goes by), I would imagine that it's all pretty similar.

Got it off the showroom floor in Oct of 02 and, unfortunately it came with Dunflops. I'd have been happier w/Pirellis, but not much.

So you think 12mm spacers (cool, I can use 1/2" plate) will work with the 19x10.5 rears?

How about tire sizes so I end up with the same OAD as stock - guess I need to go search Bridgestone's site and see the specs, eh?

I recall reading an article about the tranny in the car - they went w/the auto as it was able to hold up to the stress. (want to say it came from the 8 series?) The race RS6's were using a heavily modified A4 tranny and they had issues, but not as many as they expected. They were also serviced all the time, so potential problems were resolved before they struck.

I don't know how accurate that is, as it was a long time ago and I'm sure things have changed as they got more time on them.

[cornishmoocher]

Try this one too www.audisrs.com
Both sites similar, members posting on both sites, so a huge amount of info available, in the UK tho. But information knows no bounds!

I do believe Grizz sent some brake duct kits to the states not so long ago, so all things are possible in this techno age!

[DuckWingDuck]

Grizz never got back to us on the shipping and instead I'm having my technician do the mod for me

The transmission of the MTM racer was completely taken out and replaced with a manual for the racing....

On the wheels, I'm pretty sure they'll work but I would wait for more knowledgeable folks to chime in with thoughts as well.

[Fonzie Audi]

I'm have indeed just finished my tranny swap. runnin like butter now - but being much more cautious about slamming the trottle; especially right after waking her up.

ecu/tcu - i personally run APR. very, very happy with performance. also love the lockout feature (saves me grief and $$ at the dealership). i'm sure any major company will make you happy (GIAC, REVO, ect)

exhaust - milltek is nice and very popular, i like the oval tips. mtm sounds good too if you don't mind quad tips. think about cat removal (depending on your local emission reqs) if you want it to get nasty. i have mixed and matched my whole system; and am very happy with the result. (new video will come this weekend)

suspension - everyone has heard this and that about billsteins. i went (with guidance from boostedbora) with KW V3's; and have never regretted it. very satisfied, no problems

lots of pros with experience (grizz, duck, ect) will point you in the right direction. personalizing your beast is great - good luck

[DuckWingDuck]

fonzie, being that you've got a new transmission, gotta treat it like a new car for the first 1k mi.

[Benman]

(yea, yea, someone will tell the Newbie "Hey dumbass, there's a search button, use it!").

As you can tell from the replies, this is hardly AudiWorld.

Big welcome to the forums!

As Ben916 pointed out, the tranny is the achilles heal. One thread that discusses the "Level 10 mod", mixed reviews here (but then, always talk to those that actually did it, versus hearsay):

http://rs6.com/forum/showthread.php?...t=level+tranny

Otherwise MTM tranny TCU as DWD and others already mentioned...

Ben

[DuckWingDuck]

ben, yours is still pretty much a stock unit (except that awesome shark which for some reason, I've ALWAYS missed!) right? Having owned mine for a year, I think I'm going to start slowly adding new toys to it.

[KfabR8]

As you can tell from the replies, this is hardly AudiWorld.

Big welcome to the forums!

Thank you very much! I have to say I really appreciate the warm welcome you guys have given me.

Some places (cough, cough, mentioned above, cough, cough) can be a tad brutal.

[KfabR8]

Quick, stupid question: What do the chips do for top end? Do they eliminate the limiter?

I got to see 160 once out near Vegas - very cool, very stable. It was still pulling quite hard right up to where the system just says "Okay, here's 160 and that's all you're allowed."

I thought that I heard/read somewhere that the European spec cars didn't have the limiter and were close to 180 - 190 mph cars. True?

I'd like to go back out to that road someday...

[DuckWingDuck]

European cars tend to have a soft limiter. Whereas my old school Civic simply cut off the gas at 120mph, my RS6 doesn't really do that. The fastest I've gone is about 175 on the same downhill where my tyre blew out. But back to answer your question, yes, when you rechip the car, the electronic governor goes away.

Nobody's gotten 190mph stock with the governor, most people talk about their governor around 170.

You should come out our way, there are plenty of very fun roads!

[ruxprncd]

Here's a vote for O.CT engine and tranny chip. Have had it for 1.5 years - big power, better shifting, no problems at all.