TheBrit

[target01]

I have some questions about your RS6; haven't been able to find any in my area.

Could you please measure the ride height of your RS6?
The size of the oval exhaust tips...height and breadth that is.
Finally, what tyres do you have on your wheels and are do you consider them 'any good'?

Thanks in advance.

P.S. I'm about to receive a new A8 4.2 in October and am going to fit some of the parts of the RS6 to it; wheels, exhaust-system (or just tips), etc.

[TheBrit]

Ride height I'll have to get back to you on - what measurement exactly do you want?

Tips are 5 inch by 3 inch ovals.

Tyres are Continental SportContact2 in 255/35R19 size. They are the Extra Load version (more nylon and rayon bands in the sidewalls I think). They're OK. The car came with Pirelli P Zero Rosso tyres, which were quite grippy (except when it was cold), but very soft. I got 7k miles out of the Zeros, the Contis have done over 10k and only now need changing.

I've never had problems running Contis on my various qiuattros over the years, I'd go with Dunlop SP9000 or SP8000 if I couldn't get Contis ever, and I'd go with Pirellis about last, given the choice. Personal prefernce really.

So, whereabouts are you located?

[target01]

I live in Woking, Surrey.

As for the ride height, I'm looking for the minimum distance from the ground to the bottom of the car (prefereably these distances from both the front and rear of the car). In inches or cm, anything will do :)

I believe the A8 comes with 18inchers with Dunlop SP9000s; they were fairly grippy on the tester I had for a few days, but I've read in Autocar magazine (issue from last month) that the PZero's were the best tyres to use, in terms of wet-and-dry weather grip.
Still, I'll heed your warning; they don't grip that well in the cold...which it tends to be here.

Now, I'm hoping to fit either an RS6 engine or 'simply' (a) new turbo(s) to the car...its certainly big enough to accomodate these mods; I just need time to locate someone who is willing to do it for me.

[TheBrit]

Originally posted by target01
As for the ride height, I'm looking for the minimum distance from the ground to the bottom of the car
I'll see what I can do, although my neighbours will think I'm crazy measuring how far my car sits off the ground! :D

You do realise that suspension tuning for the new A8 is going to be, umm... interesting to say the least. Not sure how much will be possible with that air suspension system, but no doubt some tuner's R&D department is hard at work already...


Originally posted by target01
I believe the A8 comes with 18inchers with Dunlop SP9000s
The A8 I test drove came with SP9000s. I have them a couple of times on the S8, and they were no problems at all. The reason I use Contis a lot is that the shoulders tend to last longer than most other brands for some reason. 7k miles in the RS 6 on the P Zeros left the outer edges of the fronts looking like racing slicks, but there was tread deeper than the marker blocks left in the middle. :confused:

Remember I picked my RS 6 up in mid December. The P Zeros worked OK until I got out on a fast road in the cold, where the road surface was less than pristine, then they would have a nasty habit of breaking traction slightly into corners. Given the RS 6's ESP kicks in deliberately late, this lead to a few scary moments until I got used to it and asjusted my entry speeds into corners. The P Zero is probably a fantastic summer tyre, but be prepared to chuck it away after not many miles - my dealer told me some RS 4 customers had shredded theirs after 5000 miles!


Originally posted by target01
Now, I'm hoping to fit either an RS6 engine or 'simply' (a) new turbo(s) to the car
An RS 6 engine and gearbox in an A8 would be my ideal car I think. If you pull that off, you have to post here and tell us all, and I'll be paying you a visit to have a look!

Chris
P.S. "TheBrit" comes from a running joke on AudiWorld where if anyone said "The Brit blah blah blah", it usually meant me. I'm not claiming exclusivity on Britishness!

[target01]

I dont believe that the suspension is that hard to change, I might (if I cant find another way of lowering and stiffening the suspension i have) have the Sport Suspension fitted.

If there's more tread in the middle, than that means you're tyres were underinflated I think (vice versa if they were overflated). Then again, on the roads here, with superhard tyres the ride suffers and the car begins to crash over the bumps.

As for the engine mod, my lease is for two years, after that i'll consider changing the engine, but until then i might fit a new exhaust system and a new revised engine management program form the new S4 (same engine as A8), altogether it should be good for around 400 bhp.

As for Britishness, I'm Dutch, living here for the second time after having moved around the world for a bit.

[target01]

http://www.qstuning.com/list_for_car.asp?car=rs6


Perhaps you yourself might be interested in tuning the RS6. This website claims 612 hp, or perhaps you value your 3 year warranty :D

[TheBrit]

Originally posted by target01
If there's more tread in the middle, than that means you're tyres were underinflated I think
Only for the first 1000 miles until I checked them and found out the dealer had pumped them up too low at PDI. :rolleyes:

[target01]

Well, it happens. I've had worst happen...they 'fix' radiator leak and then radiator fan fails so I can't put on A/C in a traffic jam.

Ta volvo

By the way, any idea of how high your car rides?

[Erik]

V8 biturbo in an A8...sounds nice!

I heard a (very reliable) story of the M5 V10 engine fitted to the 7-series for testing. :cheers:

[target01]

hehe, the 760 is 'obviously' too weak.

[TheBrit]

Originally posted by target01
By the way, any idea of how high your car rides?
Will get you that as soon as I can - The Beast is in the dealer's overnight tonight - 4 tyres and a 20k service today, and they just need a bit more time tomorrow to do a full wheel alignment for me.

Tonight I play in their A8... :)