Decisions, decisions... help!

[avdh]

It seems that in the next few weeks, the final prices for the RS6 and the options will be available in SA for ordering, and delivery late November/December 2003.

Now I have to make decisions, for which your help would be much appreciated.

1) 19" Wheels - more oversteering?
Looks wise I want them, however I have some concerns regarding understeering.
Every test report I have read for the RS6 with 19" wheels, criticised, to a certain extent, the RS6 for understeering in tight corners.
However, the reports from Car & Driver and Road & Track, which have been done with 18" wheels, do not complain about understeering.
Must I assume that there is more understeering with the 19" wheels than with the 18"?

2) 19" Wheels - Comfort or lack thereof?
There were some complains about lack of comfort with the 19" wheels, specially from TopGear magazine in their December 2002 edition.
Clarkson, also mentioned the suspension was hard in the TopGear BBC2/BBC World TV program, but that he could live with it.
I do like hard suspension. My current S6 has lowered suspension which made it a bit harder than standard and I don’t want the RS6 softer thought.

3) 19" Wheels with Super Sport Suspension (2ME)?
Would that be totally unacceptable? Bearable? I know that someone on the board has that option (I think he is from Switzerland) and that he mentioned the fact that it did improve the handling and had less understeering in tight corners?

4) Sport exhaust - Sound only?
Is this just a pure sound thing, or does it improves by a few kW the performance of the RS6?
Wouldn’t the Miltek RS6 exhaust be a better proposition giving improved sound and performance?

6) Diverter Valves?
Are these the same crap as the ones used in the S3?, which don’t last very long.
Has anyone fitted the Hyperboost DV’s?

5) Prices
In order to check out that Audi South Africa is not ripping us of, could you guys tell me the prices in Euros or US Dollars for the following options

* 19" Wheels
* Super Sport Suspension (2ME) - 2MC is the standard sport suspension which come with the RS6
* Drilled disks (rotors)
* Sport exhaust
* Special colour paint (non standard)

6) Sprint Blue
Is that a standard colour or is it a special colour at extra cost?

Thanks, sorry this is a bit long.

[iconcls]

Originally posted by avdh
5) Prices
In order to check out that Audi South Africa is not ripping us of, could you guys tell me the prices in Euros or US Dollars for the following options

* 19" Wheels
* Super Sport Suspension (2ME) - 2MC is the standard sport suspension which come with the RS6
* Drilled disks (rotors)
* Sport exhaust
* Special colour paint (non standard)

For the US:

19" Wheels: NA
Super Sport Suspension: NA
Drilled disks (rotors): Standard
Sport exhaust: $950
Special colour paint: I was told $2300 US

And I suspect there is a performance gain w/ the "Sound Enhancing Exhaust," but for certification reasons, they posture it as purely cosmetic

[Alex K]

Andre,

19" wheels:
Great looks but very sensitive to dammage and scratches (pot holes, curbs)
In Germany, the premium was 1.600 Euro (incl. 16% tax)

Special order color:
Premium was 2.300 Euro and very nicely done

Can´t comment on the other options as they were not available at the time of ordering

[Benman]

Andre,

i don't think the wheels will make a difference in the under/oversteer, just different opinions of the writers.

yes, there may be a slightly harsher ride with the 19"s

i've heard both the standard and sound enhancing exhaust. not sure about the power but the sound IS better with the sound enhance option. MTM (or others) may give you more power but the factory option comes with warranty.

Good luck

Ben

[avdh]

Thank you Iconls, Alex K and Benman, your input is much appreciated.

But what about all you other RS6.com posters, surely as many of you have a RS6 for some time, you would have something to say? or comment?

Unfortunatlely, there are no RS6's in SA yet, therefore it is very difficult to make decisions on a whim.

[Erik]

This is what I think:

1) Get the 19". They look better and as Benman said it is the opinions of the writers. I'd even go as far to believe you'd get less understeer with the 19".

2) Don't worry about the comfort 18" vs. 19"

3) Now this is a tough question to answer.
I like a stiff ride as well, but I also realise that a stiff ride in the US vs. one in EU is very different. How cars are delivered in SA I do not know, I also don't know what kind of roads you have.
If I ordered an RS6 I'd think twice about the sports suspension (regardless of 18" - 19") but I would probably order it anyway.

The Misano Red RS6 Avant that's in many places in RS6.com main page has 19" and sports suspension. It's a very firm ride, but if you enjoy 'track-driving style' (on or off track) I'd recommend it.
That car is owned by RS6-Thomas on the board but he's too busy to be active in the forum. He also drives a lot and has had a few M5s before all with very stiff suspension. He's down in Barcelona Spain at the moment scaring diesel powered SEATs off the road.

4) As far as I know (of what I've heard) the sports exhaust will not increase the sound level outside the car. It's already at the point of what's allowed... The sports exhaust is purely a thing for the driver, if you enjoy the sound of the V8.
Personally I don't really see this equation with the sound levels together but I would only hesitate to that option it if I planned on tuning the car with for instance a MTM exhaust.

6) Sprint Blue. As far as I know sprint blue is not a standard RS6 color so it is extra. I would not hesitate to pay the extra money though.

Finally - Good luck with your purchase!

[avdh]

Thanks Erik

[TheBrit]

Andre, here's my considered reply;

1. I doubt the 19" wheel will understeer more. The difference in reviews is probably more down to the different roads in Europe and the US - Britain certainly has some fun back roads with very tight corners, where the inherent understeer in the RS 6 is evident. Longer, sweeping bends are no problem.

2. I've noticed the RS 6's ride is worst at slow speeds (30mph) around town over rough road surfaces (loose/pitted tarmac as opposed to actual potholes), but at higher speeds on the open road it flows wonderfully and becomes slightly 'bouncy' rather than 'crashy'.

3. No idea - 2ME wasn't available last December. It's better than the S8 for overall roadholding and not much less comfortable, so I'd guess if you like the S6, you'll like the RS 6 with standard suspension.

4. I'd guess the Milltek would be a better performance option as I doubt the Audi sport exhaust makes that much difference to power outputs (otherwise it would need re-certifying for emissions and it would never make it to the US!).

5. Sorry, not sure of UK option prices - check http://www.audi.co.uk for the online configurator.

6. I think the diverters are the usual Bosch ones. Mine will be in for a service in a couple of weeks and i'll be asking the tech to check for ruptured seals. If I find any, I might consider the Hyperboosts.

[avdh]

Thanks Chris

The S6 standard suspension was fine, but although less comfortable I prefer the dropped suspension I have now which is less compliant of small road irregularities, but handles better.

Have your brakes discs been fixed?
You should ask your dealer for drilled discs at no extra cost!

As for the DV's it seems the latest Bosch are a bit better, as we "managed" to do over 8000 km with the lastest one fitted to the S3 and it is still OK.

An easy way to check is while driving at +/- 4000 rpm put you car in nutral and lift you foot off the accelerator at the same time and check by how much the engine RPM climb.
If it's more than 400 to 600 rpm then your DV is gone.
I have never tried that on a automatic turbo car, so it may not work.
Also, with a manual car, if you don't get any rise in RPM, it also means the DV has to be replaced.

[TheBrit]

Hi Andre,

Yes, the discs got changed out at long last - 5 week wait for pads, and I ended up doing slightly over 2000 miles on those cracked discs!

Thanks for the info on the DVs, I'll try that out some time!

Chris.

[Erik]

Originally posted by avdh
1) 19" Wheels - more oversteering?
Looks wise I want them, however I have some concerns regarding understeering.
Must I assume that there is more understeering with the 19" wheels than with the 18"?

I just read a test in a swedish magazine (Teknikens Varld http://www.teknikensvarld.com) about the different performance of 15", 16", 17" and 18".

In all cases except one (I think sports tire 17" vs. 18" in wet) the larger wheel wins.

They didn't test 18" vs. 19" but I beleive that the 19" would be better in most cases performance wise (maybe I'm blinded by the looks?). Otherwise - try 18" R-tires