Blown Drivetrain . . .

[Dark Knight]

I'd been planning a highspeed run for a few months, basically waiting for the right weather, timing, and availability of the certain co-driver I wanted to take along. Finally, it all came together yesterday morning so off we went. The plan, to see just what the car could show on its clock, there were no other instruments involved. My estimate was we'd see just over 190mph. The car has on O.CT engine and tranny chip, it's also not governed.

The car was flawless pulling hard all the way up to 170mph when she begins to slow just a little, but not much. !80mph slows a little more then again at just over 185mph.

Just as we were touching 190mph there was a loud bang (as though a shotgun had gone off) from underneath the car. We didn't panick (one of the main reasons I had waited for the right co-driver, someone that had experience racing at high speeds and wasn't going to freak out if something were to go wrong, which is what was happening now), we both quickly went through mental checklists: what's changed in the car's handling, what engine lights were on, do we have power, what is the situation of our surroundings, etc.

My co-driver immediately and camly talked me over to a safe place on the highway shoulder while I managed the car down from 180+mph. Once stopped we checked the car. Seems something with the drivetrain failed, not the transmission but probably something with the shaft.

Well, after talking with my dealer, the driveshaft is bent and twisted which also damaged some rear brake cabling. They're not covering it under warranty. Friends are telling me to fight AoA/dealer, it should be under warranty, however, my stance is: I'm alive, it was one hell of an item to check off the "crazy things to do while you're alive" list plus I just know it would be a hell of a lenghty messy battle to win because the car is chipped. The cost to repair the outcome of my little "life experience" -- $1575, which I think is dirt cheap, I was expecting to get truly hammered to repair the car.

So, I'm putting it all down to lessons learned: becareful with aftermarket modifications, yes the RS6 is a high performance sports car but it's a heavy one with a weak drivetrain, and I need to find a cheaper addiction other than fast cars!!!

Maybe I should take a look at stamp collecting . . .

[Hy Octane]

Wow! You are one lucky Knight!

I suppose if they know its been chipped you are outta luck.. Did you tell them that it happened at 180 mph? This also usually translates into driver abuse by Audis reckoning..altho one could argue that the car should be able to hit top speed without failing and the only way to do this is to go to a place where you can do this!

But if anything had to go, you got off with the cheapest repair ever!


:rs6kiss:

[DaveyKid]

Man, wish I had church bells as big as yours to do that. Chalk it up to experience, pay the piper for the repair bill and give it another go!!!

[Dark Knight]

Hy Octane -

The more I think about it, you're right, I got real lucky with the repair costs (mainly because I don't have to explain to my wife about dropping a lot of money on a non warranty repair!! That would just lead to a nightmare scenario!).

I didn't tell the dealer what I was doing with the car, if I were in Europe I bet I would've done but for some reason you mention going 100mph or over here in the US and people freak -- especially dealers!! :)

I did tell them the car is chipped. I didn't want to lie, they'd find out easy enough. Besides, I'm taking responsibility for both the decision to chip the car and the decision to go those speeds so I have to own the consequence too.

I agree however, the drivetrain should be able to handle another 50hp over stock and 60 pounds of torque, but whatdaya gonna do.

[JAXRS6]

Originally posted by Hy Octane
Wow! You are one lucky Knight!... if anything had to go, you got off with the cheapest repair ever!

I'll second that!:thumb: And not just because of low expenses from a dramatic problem, but also because no one was hurt from a malfunction at 180+ mph!

I chipped my B5 S4, and before that my A4, but had no problems -- perhaps because I never took either car to its limits & drove in stock mode much of the time. The power from the chip was used for passing, mostly on long trips, and -- in the S4 -- occasional trips to a drag strip. Of course, I sometimes also started fast in street driving, but not every day.

Audi of America is adamant that its warranty will not cover problems caused by aftermarket products of any kind. I have a pic of the AOA memo to dealers on this subject. I'm on the road right now & can't take time for the learning curve required to bring that pic over here, but if you go to the rs6 forum at audiworld.com and look me up (my name there is jatwrite), click on the blue link for my account number, then choose the Picture Poster link & scroll down to find the memo. Click to enlarge.

An OEM who will warranty an aftermarket product is rare, for reasons obvious: The OEM has no control over the quality or performance of aftermarket products. If you made something, would you guarantee it even if it was modified with products made by others?

I've heard of such an arrangement with Abt and Audi in the UK, but warranties there are limited to two years. Personally I prefer having four years.

As for whether or not to let a dealer know if a car has been modified, I'm not inclined to advertise it, but neither would I lie about it. If I lied and they found out -- which would be the likely outcome in this case* -- I would lose all credibility with the dealer for future repair requests & other matters -- not a good thing!
------------------------------------------------
*The RS6 computer records data such as highest speed reached. If it shows 185 on a car that has been factory-limited to 155...need I say more?:revs: :revs: :revs:

[Bauer]

Glad to hear you are ok!! Well 190 is impressive no matter how you chalk it up...especially in a 4 door sedan:0:

Also, agree the driveline is the weakest part of an otherwise great car.

[eph94]

Prior to the clunk, how did the car feel? I'm going to have to live vicariously here as I definitely don't have those kinds of cajones. Did the car feel at all floaty at 160+MPH or did it simply hunker down? I haven't been able to surpass ~125-130MPH at the track and the car is smooth as silk at that point. No drama at all.

Before you give up on fast cars, you need to get the new C6 Z06 when it comes out and let us know how 200MPH feels.

We're truly in a automotive Renaissance right now. It's amazing that even Cadillac, Pontiac, and Chrysler offer up 400+ HP sedans right now.

[Benman]

Originally posted by Dark Knight
The cost to repair the outcome of my little "life experience" -- $1575, which I think is dirt cheap, I was expecting to get truly hammered to repair the car.


WOW,

Dark Knight,
I'd agree with Hy Octane that you were lucky indeed. I would think it close to impossible for something to go wrong at 190mph and the bill end up being LESS than $2,000! Very glad no one was injured and the Beast is OK!:0:

JJV-MA,

I can't speak for Dark Knight, but whenever I've had the Beast at 150+, I thought it felt quite solid. Although I've never touched 190!:D

Ben:addict:

[gjg]

the driveshaft is bent and twisted which also damaged some rear brake cabling. They're not covering it under warranty.

I did tell them the car is chipped. I agree however, the drivetrain should be able to handle another 50hp over stock and 60 pounds of torque, but whatdaya gonna do.

this is imho defective piece (material and/or manufacturing fault), not a failure related to the "chipping" of the car. Should be replaced under warranty and no questions asked, chip or no chip.

i've experienced similar problem with S6 few years back, dealer knew car was tuned by Lehmann to about 390 hp and first reaction by service manager was - "too much power, your fault." After they removed and replaced the drive shaft (24k miles on the car) they did not charge anything - "it should withstand more that what you have there" was the closing statement. And the replacement driver shaft laste for another 164k miles when I sold the car....

It is scary though because some of us on this side of the pond routinely drive anywhere between 140-185 mph and such failure can be fatal.......

If you can let us know what was the poinf of failure I'd be very interested.

George

:deal:

[Dark Knight]

Hi all -

Thanks for all the responses.

To answer the question of how the car felt, it was solid and felt comfortable "up there." While in the 180's the car felt superb, tracked well, no hint of floating at all it was very grounded so Audi certainly did their track/windtunnel testing! The road's imperfections were really amplified as we approached 190, I would say that was the only problem. I'd had the car in the 180's before and have been up at that speed many, many times on track motorcycles but for some reason once we approached 190 it seemed like another level, it was truly eating up road and taking alertness to another level.

Again, I'd like to fight the "no warranty" statement but for what we achieved and the cost of the repair compared to the battle I'd have with AoA I'm going to leave it. I am dissapointed in the drivetrain because I know what broke it, not high speed runs but take offs from a stand still and IMHO the car should widthstand those. It really makes me wonder about staying in an Audi, at least something at the RS6 level. If I do stay at that car performance level a 996 TT maybe the way to go. But for now, I'm looking forward to getting my beast back and just enjoying some relatively sane driving!

Cheers!

[GoFastKindaGuy]

Forget stamp collecting:

First, you have tp take your eyes off the road. Bad idea.

Second, they get sucked out the back window at about 35 mph.

Any that remain get really annoying as they buzz around your head at 90 mph.:revs:

Glad your failure allowed a safe stop. :thumb:

[smeeg]

you=sick
need i say more? 190mph?...jeeze
perhaps this is the correct face doing 190 puke:

[5000S old skool]

Yikes!! you did that here in the states!! thats just about execution on the spot if you get caught! :revs:

[Erik]

Thanks for an interesting story Dark Knight.

Glad to hear you made it and I also like your way of dealing with the warranty.

Also, happy it never happened to myself.

http://www.rs6.com/pics/Various/RS6-315-2.jpg

[Dark Knight]

Thanks, Eric.

Hey, have you heard of any chipped or stock RS6's twisting their driveshaft?

I think it's happening to people but they won't know until the car is under great stress, like at high speed. Really the only way to know would be to lift the car and take a look, which I think would be interesting.

[Klint]

Nuts!! :incar: :MTM:

[gjg]

I think it's happening to people but they won't know until the car is under great stress, like at high speed. Really the only way to know would be to lift the car and take a look, which I think would be interesting.

high speed would not stress the mechanical as much as 1/4 mile or street light racing or ...

otherwise I'd have new drive shaft already ...:applause: