New Daily Car - Audi S8

[SVXRide]

what, no pictures of the bumper eating beaver?
-Bill

[Green1995SVX]

It's been about a year and a half since I bought my S8, and I figured I'd post a small review and a bit of what has happened in the last year. First of all, the car has been fantastic! I purchased it with about 130k on the clock. Last week I hit 162k, and it hasn't needed anything except maintenance. Aside from oil changes, I've done the timing belt service ($1000), transmission fluid and filter change. ($250), and I just replaced the tires. It had Continental DWS, which I loved, but they were on backorder and winter is approaching fast, so I am trying Pirelli P Zeros. So far they seem pretty quiet and the car behaves nicely.

This car is incredible on the highway, great in the snow, has amazing performance from the 4.2 Litre 360hp V8, and wow, what an exhaust note!

It has been so good in the snow, and with the all-aluminum body, I'll never have to worry about rust issues.

I like the car so much, that I bought an A6 4.2 Sport which has a 300hp version of the same engine, and has the same ZF 5 Speed automatic (albeit with different gearing). The engine is really shoehorned into the A6, that's for sure!

Just a side note, on the highway I get about 26mpg in the s8, and slightly over 30mpg in the A6. Fantastic numbers for big V8 powered cars!

[benebob]

Mike, just got our best mileage on the XJR. A solid 23.4 showing on the computer (which is about 1 mpg low when you do the calc.). Guess Mercedes doesn't just lie about their speedometer speed. That 23.4 included towing our 2000lbs camper. Now if I could only get that kind of mileage around town I'd be set.

If you decide to take the plung to real snows and real summer tires rather than the all season crap, I've been quite happy with the Kuhmo LEs. They blow everything else out of the water for quiteness on our lovely PA roads, stick nicely, brake much better than the Contis that were on there when we got it. Would expect about 20k out of them. You might have missed out though on good pricing as last time I visited my tire shop they said most of the manufacturers were increasing price by 15-20% starting October 1st.

As for rust, your right aluminum doesn't rust but it does corrode rather badly and is nearly impossible to make right after damage. It will simple corrode from behind the paint just like powdercoat does when it isn't applied to properly prepped surfaces. Then there is the whole thing with steel and aluminum not liking each other which makes all the bolted in areas prime for rot. They still haven't figured out a way to tow with the stuff yet either.

[Green1995SVX]

Originally Posted by benebob

Mike, just got our best mileage on the XJR. A solid 23.4 showing on the computer (which is about 1 mpg low when you do the calc.). Guess Mercedes doesn't just lie about their speedometer speed. That 23.4 included towing our 2000lbs camper. Now if I could only get that kind of mileage around town I'd be set.

If you decide to take the plung to real snows and real summer tires rather than the all season crap, I've been quite happy with the Kuhmo LEs. They blow everything else out of the water for quiteness on our lovely PA roads, stick nicely, brake much better than the Contis that were on there when we got it. Would expect about 20k out of them. You might have missed out though on good pricing as last time I visited my tire shop they said most of the manufacturers were increasing price by 15-20% starting October 1st.

As for rust, your right aluminum doesn't rust but it does corrode rather badly and is nearly impossible to make right after damage. It will simple corrode from behind the paint just like powdercoat does when it isn't applied to properly prepped surfaces. Then there is the whole thing with steel and aluminum not liking each other which makes all the bolted in areas prime for rot. They still haven't figured out a way to tow with the stuff yet either.

Ben-

I've seen aluminum corrosion on fords, but never on Audis. Is it a concern on Jaguars? I figure with the age and mileage on my S8, and not a speck of corrosion anywhere, it's probably not going to start any time soon.

I do have a set of Michelin Pilot sports (summer) and Michelin Pilot Alpins (winter) for my A6. I do most of my driving in that. I do have a nasty commute in the winter. My partner drives the S8 most of the time, and he only works a couple of miles from our house. So, all seasons do the job just fine.

[benebob]

Originally Posted by Green1995SVX

Ben-

I've seen aluminum corrosion on fords, but never on Audis. Is it a concern on Jaguars? I figure with the age and mileage on my S8, and not a speck of corrosion anywhere, it's probably not going to start any time soon.

I do have a set of Michelin Pilot sports (summer) and Michelin Pilot Alpins (winter) for my A6. I do most of my driving in that. I do have a nasty commute in the winter. My partner drives the S8 most of the time, and he only works a couple of miles from our house. So, all seasons do the job just fine.

Funny I've seen it on Audis but not on Jags. Some so bad they look like late 80s GM products. Only a couple areas I've read about it happening on Jags and they are all the same areas so its likely that the area wasn't prepped properly by the factory on the early cars. As they age though and get lots of chips that would be my biggest concern aside from making sure all the steel to aluminum buffer gaskets remain in good shape.

Honestly, I doubt I'll get an aluminum Jag as it doesn't fit my need to haul a trailer on occasion. Will probably stick with the XFR for the next purchase, though Evie could get herself a XK when she's old enough to drive.

[icingdeath88]

Originally Posted by benebob

They still haven't figured out a way to tow with the stuff yet either.

What do you mean? The aluminum is too soft or something? I'm curious now.

[svxcess]

I can't wait for the new Quattro Sport coupe to come out in 2012.

Reminds me of the nostalgic Audi "golden glory days" of the 1980s.


It should be priced close to the R8 I would think.

If you're gonna dream, dream big! And pearl is the perfect color for this beast!


YouTube Video




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[benebob]

Originally Posted by icingdeath88

What do you mean? The aluminum is too soft or something? I'm curious now.

No I'd guess if anything it is too brittle and can't take the constant strain of a hitch as well as steel. Take an aluminum can for an example. You can rip it in two with a little twisting. Doing that with a steel can is much tougher without tools. Not a big deal on a aluminum body on a steel frame but not so good with a unibody structure.

[stevek]

You did very well on the cambelt service, my A8 80,000m service cost £2240. Thankfully during the previous owners time with it! On the damage repair front, I was told that a specialist repairer was essential as no tools would be contaminated with steel.
Lovely car though, just frighteningly dear to run.

[Green1995SVX]

Originally Posted by stevek

You did very well on the cambelt service, my A8 80,000m service cost £2240. Thankfully during the previous owners time with it! On the damage repair front, I was told that a specialist repairer was essential as no tools would be contaminated with steel.
Lovely car though, just frighteningly dear to run.

£2240 is HUGE money for the cambelt service! I'm so glad I don't live in the UK. The service was actually done by LSA-SVX's (a svx network member) service garage. He has all of the necessary tools, and they did an great job.

I really lucked out, too. In fact, I may be the luckiest man alive. The cam belt tensioner failed while I was driving the car, and the belt went totally slack, but never jumped time. The only reason i know it happened, is because the belt was slapping against the inside of the plastic timing cover.

Ben-

I have never seen, nor heard of an aluminum audi with contact corrosion, or any sort for that matter. You know that only the D2, D3, and D4 chassis cars are aluminum, right. (The R8, too.)

[icingdeath88]

Originally Posted by benebob

No I'd guess if anything it is too brittle and can't take the constant strain of a hitch as well as steel. Take an aluminum can for an example. You can rip it in two with a little twisting. Doing that with a steel can is much tougher without tools. Not a big deal on a aluminum body on a steel frame but not so good with a unibody structure.

I figured that was more due to the thickness of the metal more than the type of material. I guess that even though we always think that aluminum is the same strength, but lighter is over-simplifying things. There are different types of strength. Twisting, bending, stretching, snapping, shattering, etc.

Good to know, I'll file that in my wikipedia of a brain under "interesting facts about towing".

[Green1995SVX]

Just a little update. The S8 just ticked over 170k miles, and it's in need of a new transmission. I'm taking it to an A8/S8 specialist in Chicago this weekend. Just a note: the local Audi dealership wanted $12,000 to replace the transmission. Otherwise, everything is going great with it!

[SVX92-97]

$12,000 for a tranny. You could buy a couple of nice svx's for that. Anyway, Great looking Audi. I live near Audi Dealer and saw the S7 model out on a test drive yesterday. Gorgeous vehicle.

[Sean486]

Things like $12,000 trannys are why the Audi resale values are so low.

[wdb]

Time for an STi 6-speed swap