Tails of woe

[s42ski]

Driving to work this Monday morning and needed to stop for a pedestrian quickly on PCH - The driver behind me ( not enough coffee, bad brakes, whatever) decided to introduce himself to my rear bumper. He had his brakes locked so he missed the trunk lid and lights. He mangled the rear valence and popped both exhaust pipes off the hangars and bent up the pipes and mufflers - decided to flat bed the car to the shop at that point. Question - the car has (had?) the standard exhaust, should I replace with enchanced exhaust or something else ? Is that even feasible ?

Looks like the damage is limited to exhaust and the plastic bumper and maybe some supporting elements underneath. (I hope!!)

Mondays

[Bauer]

Sorry to hear....that sucks.

I hope they get it sorted out quickly for you and you get your car back on the road....sounds like the damage was atleast not to the frame...which is good news.

As for the exhaust..it will depend if they will be replacing the whole system....which I don't think they would but maybe....and if they do ...if you can get the shop to order the sounds enhancing and the cost is the same or close, I don't see why not.

Good luck!

[keo]

Best luck to you......thought to reply becasue I got the same situation as you when I first go my rs6 for the first week I got the bumper tear off due to the guy break late and punch underneath the rear bumper. The only serious damage is the exhaust (bend) and the bumper torn. But it will soon be forgotten once you get you car back. My exhaust system was replace with a mtm exhaust. But the enchanced exhaust system was already in order before I got my car. So it will all be personal preference......anything is good as long you have

[JAXRS6]

S42ski, if you're asking whether the enhanced exhaust or something else is better, that's one thing. Personally I have the standard and enjoy its quiet when cruising as well as its "roar" upon juicing. But that's a personal preference. What is yours? Do you want something louder? If so, getting the enhanced is a safe way to do it, since it's an Audi product and warranty coverage won't be affected. On the other hand, if you got Miltek (a popular choice) or some other aftermarket brand, you might get louder still & maybe some extra hp too -- but at the expense of some warranty coverage.

If you're asking an insurance question -- i.e. should I ask my insurance co about upgrading -- then, yes, you should ask. They might not want to cover more than the cost of replacing the standard exhaust, tho, so you might have to cover any difference. If they ask why you want to upgrade, my guess is they want to hear you say you want a better sound -- not more power!

If you're leaning towards enhanced, check to make sure cost is the same (or otherwise) before assuming anything. It sure wasn't the same when the cars were new. Also, you might want to research past posts that compare the two, here and on the RS6 forum at audiworld.com In the past there has been some controversy suggesting there's not much difference between the two sounds. My sales manager, after hearing mine at delivery, said there wasn't much difference between mine and an enhanced version he heard earlier. He said he didn't think the extra $1K (when new) for enhanced was worth it. But he didn't ride in both cars back-to-back, either -- he just heard mine idling & revving in the parking lot -- so his comparison was incomplete at best.

[Bauer]

Jax,

I have heard both at wide open throttle at the track several times and there is a noteable difference.....not night and day but there is one.

cheers,

[Erik]

I'm very sorry to hear the news.

It shoulb be possible to change to the sports exhaust without problems.

"8:29 RS6" did this on his, he put a friends sports exhaust on when my friend upgraded to Miltek.

[s42ski]

Thanks for the updates - I called the other drivers insurance company and asked about changing to the "louder" exhaust since it needed to be replaced, he was going to look into it. He told me it may be decided by what parts Audi has in stock with regards to replacements. If they need to back order from Germany then they said they would replace with what was in stock in US. Otherwise it could be several weeks to get parts from Germany!!!

[Erik]

Originally posted by s42ski
If they need to back order from Germany then they said they would replace with what was in stock in US.

Maybe a tuner can help you?

[JAXRS6]

Originally posted by s42ski
If they need to back order from Germany then they said they would replace with what was in stock in US. Otherwise it could be several weeks to get parts from Germany!!!

If I was you I'd hope there's nothing in stock, so I could get an aftermarket upgrade with no questions asked! That way I'd probably get more hp as well as more sound. But I'd want to hear it before buying -- probably thru a tuner (per Erik) who might hook me up with someone who has the same setup I wanted, so I could see & hear it.

And if AOA has "only" the enhanced version in stock, I'd still benefit from some louder sounds at no extra cost. But I've never seen anything that convinced me the enhanced exhaust has more hp. My understanding is that enhanced sound doesn't necessarily mean a more free-flowing exhaust, which is what allows more hp -- but if I'm wrong, someone out there please correct me!

[Bauer]

I have not seen any numbers proving one has more power then the other.....from what I have read, the sound enhancing is largely hand made by quattroGmbh and the regular is made by a suplier....I maybe totally off here and I can't recall where I read it....I think it was in the quattro quartly when they interviewed the head project manger on the RS6. I will have to go home and see if I can dig it up.

It would be interesting to dyno both to find out.