Potential upcoming road trip. I have questions.

[BuffaloRS6]

I'm thinking of taking the RS6 on a road trip in about 2 weeks. Round trip is about 1,700 miles. I'm currently @ about 68k miles and I have NOT had the 75k timing belt service yet. I currently have a CEL that came on 2 days ago (Merry Christmas from my RS6 to me). I also am randomly smelling oil from the motor after I shut the car off & get out. I don't smell it after every time I drive, just occasionally. No leaks under the car. I check the oil regularly and it's always @ the proper levels. I don't beat on my car. Always properly warmed up & cooled down. I mentioned this to my mechanic @ Black Forest Motorsport, where I get the car worked on, and he couldn't smell it, nor could he diagnose any potential problem. I'm getting the CEL checked on Wednesday & probably going to have him change the oil while the car is there. What I'd like to know is if it's safe to take the car on a trip that far this when it's close to a very important service interval. Will changing the oil and making sure fluids are @ their proper levels & tires & brakes are all good be enough? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys.

[marklar182]

The smell after you shut off the car and get out could be a leaking prop shaft seal. They like to dribble onto the exhaust after shutoff. Might want to take a look back there at the rear of the trans.

[ben916]

you may want to cover/protect the wheel arches and hood with blue painters tape or 3M clear bra...

[BuffaloRS6]

Thanks! I will check that out on Wednesday when it's in the shop. As far as the clear bra goes - it's a good idea, but my bumper already has some rock chips on it and will need a respray in the spring.

So what's the verdict? Oil change and check all fluids/tires/brakes to make sure they're ok and I should be ok for the trip? Timing belt service can wait until I get back?

[Elevens]

Oil smell could be oil leaking from Valve cover gaskets or Cam and Camchain tensioner seals and slowly dripping onto the Exhaust system. Not an issue for your trip but will have to be addressed sooner or later, if that is what oil smell issue is. The timing belt issues another story. Depending upon when it was last done, I think you are taking a possibly very expensive chance by driving it on such a long Trip. A broken Timing belt can result in severe engine damage. Its your call, It just depends on how long ago it was last done. If its just now due, then you probably have nothing to worry about. If its due 10000 miles ago, then I wouldn't take the chance. Just my opinion........

[BuffaloRS6]

Thanks for the info. I will check the book of service records that I got when I bought the car. I'm almost positive all services were done on time, but I'll double check. The last thing I want to do is be 600+ miles away from home & my shop & have the timing belt break and damage my engine. Talk about a ruining my day! Thanks again.

[ttboost]

I'm sure these belts don't break every 35k miles. I am ALSO sure the Audi engineers have given us (and themselves) a pretty good mileage buffer. I personally would take the trip and not worry about it, just keep the racing and jackassing to a minimum. If you don't have another DD, maybe rent a car for the trip, and have the belt dne while you are away, so as not to have any "downtime"?

[papadoc]

First of all, go to http://www.ross-tech.com and get yourself the cable to diagnose your own CELs. Not expensive and the peace of mind when able to know the reason for the CEL, as well as the ability to check on the performance of you car, makes this a must tool for an RS6 owner. Second, unless the prior owner beat the heck out of the car, you should not have anything to worry about re: the timing belt. As ttboost says, these intervals are set with a LOT of tolerance. I've never seen a post of someone who had a belt fail. If you get the oil changed, and not a bad idea, I'd wait until you put some more miles on the car and then change again when you do the timing belt service. Also, if you haven't had the chance to peruse the forum back a while, you should look at not only the oil but also ACES IV from BND Automotive, at http://www.bndautomotive.com/page/page/901818.htm. Many of us use ACES IV and if you have a chip, you can run higher octane tunes with premium gas without the need to use racing gas in your car. The Quantum Blue oil comes as 7.5w-38, and again many on the board use this rather than other oils. You can do a search of the forum if doubtful, but a call to Brian at BND will be educational if not entertaining! I'm at 116k on my RS6, and wouldn't use anything else...

[kday]

That "ACES IV" stuff looks like snake oil to me.

If you really want to raise your octane without buying race gas, add toluene.

[JSRS6]

That is one of the major ingredients in ACES...

[Jimmy Joe]

Hello Kday, Would it be impolite to suggest for you to read the page http://www.bndautomotive.com/page/page/901818.htm. and then form an opinion?
Aces IV is a lot more than a regular octane booster, as BND products are more than simple lubricants. Give them the benefit of doubt, or better yet,
¿ why don't you try them?.

Respectfully.

Jimmy Joe.

[papadoc]

Kday, as I suggested, just search the forum. There are many here who were as skeptical as you, but once trying ACES IV, changed their opinion. You would have to add way more toluene than 1 ounce for every 6 gallons of gas to achieve an octane boost. There are about 100 RS6 owners who use this, and that is only with word of mouth and forum testimonials. It is particularly useful if you run a chipped car; I don't have experience in a non-chipped state, but run my 100 octane APR tune all the time with this in the tank. We also have a Stasis tuned A4 in the family, also running ACES IV with 100 octane tune, and there is no question of the benefit over stock. I can't comment if you have a non-chipped car, but if you don't what are you waiting for??

[kday]

What's in it? Their web site reads like a site trying to sell me magnets to wrap around my fuel lines. If they can't list what's in it and back it up with a scientific rationale, then it's probably snake oil.

Perhaps I should do some searching to make sure this isn't some long running religious argument I'm stepping into...

[papadoc]

Hey, if you aren't interested in checking this out, then just forget about it. For the third time, search the forum. I have no interest here other than noting my own experience. We are all just trying to enhance the experience of other owners of a great automobile, and since you are new to the group, you'll hopefully realize that the information posted here is only for other's benefit.
In any case, we are getting off topic here. BuffaloRS6, I hope you enjoy your road trip!

[lswing]

papadoc, you work for BND or something? Most of your posts have a lot of pro-BND content. You also post some good content so I usually don't bother saying anything. My car is chipped, I've been running ACES4, it helps a bit it seems, nothing grand though. I would also trust that using Audi spec'd fluids is great, if not as good as, a product that is engineered to have a higher level of quality on the books. I like the ACES4 since my tune is a bit strong for premium it seems, or something else is off, does reduce timing pull a touch, but can't say I'm going to post about it being so grand. Just a few cents...and yes, the RT cable is a must, agreed, you work for them too? Just kidding, the RT cable has saved me multiple times also.

[lswing]

Perhaps I should do some searching to make sure this isn't some long running religious argument I'm stepping into...

Stepping into the Abyss...good luck!

[PixieVC]

papadoc, you work for BND or something? Most of your posts have a lot of pro-BND content. .

I'm sure he doesn't - he's my cardiologist. ;)

[papadoc]

Hey, if I worked for BND I'd be certain it wasn't so darn hard to get the stuff! Sorry, I was just trying to share some info with Buffalo RS6. I watched comments go back and forth about the stuff about 18 months ago from some unbiased and heavy contributors to the forum, including some who clearly know a heck of a lot more about our car then I do, and so I bit and tried it. I posted an oil analysis a while back and that only confirmed the validity of the claims on the oil. But I'll take the hint and cease posting about BND.
And thanks, Pixie...some of these guys should try working on an engine that's still running... ;-)

[MaxRS6]

^The posting of our opinions/feedback on the various products is what makes this site valuable.

We gonna needs some pics/vids of that work on a "running engine" or as you know..."it didn't happen"...LOL
Many of us still have loved ones to share and enjoy due to your profession- Thank you!

[QuattroRS]

I seem to remember your Revo may be running lean. Have you ever fixed that situation?

Aces cannot fix a lean condition. End of story.

For those with properly chipped platforms running the right flash. It is heaven on earth because we can run full out with crappy CA fuel.

Heaven.

And as the others have stated. Papadoc is not a shill.


http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh103/kimmerthy/wholefootinmouth.jpg

papadoc, you work for BND or something? Most of your posts have a lot of pro-BND content. You also post some good content so I usually don't bother saying anything. My car is chipped, I've been running ACES4, it helps a bit it seems, nothing grand though. I would also trust that using Audi spec'd fluids is great, if not as good as, a product that is engineered to have a higher level of quality on the books. I like the ACES4 since my tune is a bit strong for premium it seems, or something else is off, does reduce timing pull a touch, but can't say I'm going to post about it being so grand. Just a few cents...and yes, the RT cable is a must, agreed, you work for them too? Just kidding, the RT cable has saved me multiple times also.

[lswing]

Still have the same issue, have not been able to log due to connection errors, but running the ACES helped a bit, made the car feel a touch more lively, and getting the IC's and hoses redone helped, but still pulled back a bit under open throttle. Agreed that I need to get the tune perfected to really get the most out of the ACES. What's your tune, and performance issue with the standard gas?

I guess we get decent gas up here, 92 without to much ethanol. Not saying the ACES doesn't work, or that their oil is not better, but the promotion of the products for a road trip just seemed a bit odd to me. I would hope you could run the car forever on spec oil and be fine, I think the biggest part is keeping it fresh. Opinions are always good, just wanted to see what your interest was papadoc:)

[QuattroRS]

Without getting into tune brands. My car is not lean under boost at all and with the crappy 91/ethanol mixture it runs just ok. Clear the ecu and running Aces and the same gas I'm able to run not only Stage 1 but Stage 2 without any problems. It is what it is and Papadoc has seen similar results. He used to need 100oct race gas mixture to run the maps he runs with simple 91+Aces. He runs the APR tune and the past results from other members indiicate that APR is one of the better flashes. APR does not run lean.

Good luck with your setup.

[papadoc]

Hey, all good here, no worries. The discussions on this forum have been enlightening over the years, and it's great to see new names popping up. That said, I do miss Dave Hall; I'm sure he would have had some input here! Maybe we can petition Erik to let him back into the forum :-).

[lswing]

Funny, this thread made me think of Dave also, he was always stirring the pot, he really had a lot of good input. It's too easy to let the tempers get the best of us online, thankfully this is a great group with invaluable input. Ok, back to obsessing about the car...

[4everRS]

Call me stupid but I run the 100 tune on APR and no ACES. Runs great. Now, I would NEVER run the 100 tune on the track where I doing a lot of full throttle driving without the right gas or meth or both.

If anyone wants to try it, the real way to test ACES would be to measure the EGT temps with and without ACES, under very similar ambient Temps and humidity. If ACES really works, the EGT temps will be consistently lower.

[QuattroRS]

Why do you say egt will be lower?

Dont you have 93oct up there?

Would it not be better to watch the timing map?


Call me stupid but I run the 100 tune on APR and no ACES. Runs great. Now, I would NEVER run the 100 tune on the track where I doing a lot of full throttle driving without the right gas or meth or both.

If anyone wants to try it, the real way to test ACES would be to measure the EGT temps with and without ACES, under very similar ambient Temps and humidity. If ACES really works, the EGT temps will be consistently lower.

[4everRS]

Really hard to find 93 up here. I've seen it at some towns, but rare. Pisses me off.

Egt's are a big factor in what the ecu does to timing. If they get too hot, timing is pulled. The whole point of the higher octane fuel is to keep egts cooler so more timing can be achieved. ACES says they it does this. Also EGT temps are much more measurable for consistencies sake. You could log both. What you'll probably see that when egts get hot, timing is instantly reduced.

[Aronis]

I had an oil odor as well, and found a small leak at the valve covers. I just tightened down the bolts (after pulling the air cleaner) and the leak was gone. I bought the new valve cover gaskets, now sitting in the drawer, but did not need to go that far. The DIY seems a bit of a pain, but doable....

But, alas, the smell was not from that! So I went on to the next source and I changed my oil and found the drain plug just about finger tight. The oil was dripping from there and spraying on the cat's ....Yes, Audi did the last oil change, D'ooh.....thus my DIY attitude...

Mike