The Audi Thread

[PostmanPot]

Dropped my A4 at Auto Service Centre this morning for 120k cam belt and water pump replacement. Got quoted R8874. Still better than Audi's 20k a couple of months back though

Wow, A4 B6, B7, B8?

Must be a pirate part and not OEM?

I'll be doing mine soonish, mostly because of the annoying diesel sound of FSI engines.

 

[Elax]

Wow, A4 B6, B7, B8?

Must be a pirate part and not OEM?

I'll be doing mine soonish, mostly because of the annoying diesel sound of FSI engines.

It's the B6 3 liter V6.

Took it there on Mike's recommendation

 

[DominionZA]

Dropped my A4 at Auto Service Centre this morning for 120k cam belt and water pump replacement. Got quoted R8874. Still better than Audi's 20k a couple of months back though

Wow. That is hectic.

When I got my cam belt service done there 6 or 7 years ago (first A6), I paid around R1.5k. Audi's quote at that time was R8k odd.

Prices have freaking skyrocketed.

 

[RogueTr00per]

"Chipping" or mapping a vehicles ECU involves reprogramming a lot of parameters, like fuel, timing, boost etc. It will improve power and torque and probably improve fuel consumption.

So this is also known as flashing the ECU? Why does Audi not program the ECU in an optimal fashion, to improve power, torque and fuel consumption?

 

[Drifter]

So this is also known as flashing the ECU? Why does Audi not program the ECU in an optimal fashion, to improve power, torque and fuel consumption?

Manufacturers nearly always detune cars a bit. Your car wont gain as much by flashing the ECU if you dont have supporting hardware mods, (intake, downpipe , decat). You gain the most by reprogramming the ECU when you have these fitted.

It usually works in stages:

Stage 1 : Usually just a Intake (CAI) + SW

Stage 2 : Intake, decat + downpipe + intercooler + SW

Stage 3 : All the above plus turbo upgrade.

 

[RogueTr00per]

So do stage 1,2,3 before contemplating ECU reprogramming. What would those set one back, stages 1,2,3?

 

[DominionZA]

There few things in life that are more pleasurable than driving your new car for the first time!!

And the second. And the third. And the ... you get the picture.
Granted, my A5 threw me into serious doubt. Took a while to get over the A6 but I am now though, and love driving this car. It is STILL at the panel beater. Seriously missing her.

Meant in auto.

But yeah, not really interested in manuals any more. Doubt I'd ever buy one again, tbh.

Agreed. Got my first A4 tiptronic about 13 years ago. Never owned a manual again.
Isn't auto kind of the standard in the US with manual (they call it stick) being the exception? Just going on what I hear in movies.

That massive price difference is more due to the fact that it's a quattro drivetrain. Speaking under correction

My A5 is S-Tronic and Quattro. Actually had quattro the last 3 Audi's. Like an auto gearbox, quattro is something hard to let go once used to it.

I had to drive my tazz again on Monday (wife took the Audi for a good cleaning after a day at the beach on Sunday).

Along with all of your "no this and no that", the tazz is a 1.3 engine with NO AIRCON. And weirdly uncomfortable seats (what's up with that?). How did I ever manage to drive that car for almost 12 years without feeling the lack of features, I'll never know.

Well for one thing - it really teaches you appreciation for your Audi.

Some more NO's...
No traction control. I was having a little fun yesterday and went into a nice slide around a corner. Kakked myself a bit. Not used to that.

Driving a multitronic is like driving a speed boat. You floor the throttle, the engine revs rise to a certain point and remain constant while the car/boat speeds up. It's more like an airplane-taking-off constant push in your back, rather than having distinct gear changes interrupting the power.

Thankfully, Audi is retiring the multitronic gearbox. It is the only thing I fear in my car that could bankrupt me or make the car worthless.

My wife's old 2005 A4 had a multritronic box. I did not like it. It had such a long delay on pull off that I often got caught out when trying to cross a road with lots of traffic. My A6 steptronic was instant response, so had problems when I drove her car. Similarly, she nearly wiped my A6 out a few times because she was used to the delay, and the instant response from my car caught her off guard.

Then when she traded it in, she lost R40k on trade-in because of the multitronic. The dealer said they fail around 180k kms so he has to factor in the repair. He said the cost was R80k for a repair and split it with her 50/50. Sigh... Don't know if we were suckered or not, but it made me stay away from multitronic going forward.
Drove a load multitronic A5 a few month's back, and it was a lot better than my wife's A4. So it seems it did improve.

 

[Drifter]

So do stage 1,2,3 before contemplating ECU reprogramming. What would those set one back, stages 1,2,3?

Going stage 3 is hectic, most guys stop at stage 2. As far as costs go, it will add up depending on which car you are talking about. SW is usually around R5K alone, intercooler anything between R5k - R12K , full exhaust easily another R12K. Stage 3 it depends on what kind of turbo upgrade you are doing. You will probably need bigger injectors, uprated fuel pump, stronger clutch and more.

 

[OrbitalDawn]

Agreed. Got my first A4 tiptronic about 13 years ago. Never owned a manual again.
Isn't auto kind of the standard in the US with manual (they call it stick) being the exception? Just going on what I hear in movies.

Yeah, pretty much. I think it's heading that way all over, though, not just the US. My one friend lives in Dubai and he says there you basically don't get manuals, at all. Everything is auto.

 

[PostmanPot]

So do stage 1,2,3 before contemplating ECU reprogramming. What would those set one back, stages 1,2,3?

In my experience most Audi owners usually do between stage 1 and 2, probably the same for most cars. The common mods on A3/A4s are downpipe and decat.

If I were you I wouldn't bother with anything besides stage 1 software for now. Software will give you a lot of pleasure and you'll be surprised what your 'old' pre-software 1.8T is capable of, without hardware modding in any way.

 

[DominionZA]

Just got my car back from the panel beaters.
Tomorrow is off to Audi Airport for the gearbox. Had no issues on the drive home from the panel beater though. Odd.

One issue though. As I pull away from the panel beater I start adjusting my side mirrors. When I do the left I discover a major crack on my windscreen. 15 to 20cm or so. U-turn and back I go. They say to being it back after Audi are done. FFS. Really!

 

[Elax]

Just got my car back from the panel beaters.
Tomorrow is off to Audi Airport for the gearbox. Had no issues on the drive home from the panel beater though. Odd.

One issue though. As I pull away from the panel beater I start adjusting my side mirrors. When I do the left I discover a major crack on my windscreen. 15 to 20cm or so. U-turn and back I go. They say to being it back after Audi are done. FFS. Really!

Speaking of panel beaters, dodged a visit to one a couple of weeks back when somebody slid into my towbar on a wet road. Either their brakes or tires were there in spirit only. Score one for the permanent towbar

 

[PostmanPot]

Just got my car back from the panel beaters.
Tomorrow is off to Audi Airport for the gearbox. Had no issues on the drive home from the panel beater though. Odd.

One issue though. As I pull away from the panel beater I start adjusting my side mirrors. When I do the left I discover a major crack on my windscreen. 15 to 20cm or so. U-turn and back I go. They say to being it back after Audi are done. FFS. Really!

From one thing to the next! Glad you have her back. Let us know how the job went, paintwork, etc.

 

[DominionZA]

From one thing to the next! Glad you have her back. Let us know how the job went, paintwork, etc.

Ye - I am actually rather p1ssed off right now. Discovered a "dent" in the internal panel of the front left door this AM when dropping the car at Audi Airport.
The door replacement was a good job. I can't fault that. They just screwed up other stuff while doing it.

Now - the question... They had no problem with replacing the windscreen, but said they would just put it though my insurance. Surely that is illegal and affects my premiums? Assume they will also put the replacement of the door panel through my insurance.
I am sending the attached pics to my insurance. Let them take this fight up. And preferably send me to another panel beater.

Getting freaking annoyed now. I just want my car back! And as it was before all this started!

 

[OrbitalDawn]

Hmm, that doesn't sound right, yeah. If they screwed it up, they must fix it. Because as you said, if it goes through your insurance your premiums could be affected, effectively making you pay for their mistake.

 

[SauRoNZA]

S-tronic = DSG = dual clutch automatic
Multitronic = CVT = 'automatic'

I would say it's the other way around and the DSG is the "automatic" since it's got more in common with a manual gearbox.

Also a CVT doesn't really thing at all, it's a purely mechanical device and doesn't have shifts so it doesn't need to think.

It is smoother than the DSG too, at least all the ones I've driven.

 

[PostmanPot]

I would say it's the other way around and the DSG is the "automatic" since it's got more in common with a manual gearbox.

Also a CVT doesn't really thing at all, it's a purely mechanical device and doesn't have shifts so it doesn't need to think.

It is smoother than the DSG too, at least all the ones I've driven.

Then how would you define the faster shifting of DSG? If you look at the rev counter on a DSG vs CVT, DSG shifts faster. Or am I mistaken?

 

[SauRoNZA]

Wow, A4 B6, B7, B8?

Must be a pirate part and not OEM?

I'll be doing mine soonish, mostly because of the annoying diesel sound of FSI engines.

You are on the wrong side of the world but I use Engine Technique in Brackenfell for my car now.

Impeccable work ethic and the owner does all the big jobs himself.

My only gripe is they don't wash the cars when done, which I guess is also a good thing because I trust Very few to do it properly.

 

[SauRoNZA]

Then how would you define the faster shifting of DSG? If you look at the rev counter on a DSG vs CVT, DSG shifts faster. Or am I mistaken?

There is no shift on a CVT, so how can you say it's slower or faster?

You are possibly/probably confusing Tiptronic and Multitronic.

The former is an "old school" gearbox with torque converter instead of a clutch and yes quite slow compared to DSG.

Multitronic is CVT and works like a scooter on a belt/pulley system without any actual gears so there is nothing to change. The car revs up and the speedo catches up to it.

A DSG is actually nothing like an automatic. It's essentially a manual gearbox that uses electronic clutches to change gear for you. The reason it's so fast is that it switches from one clutch to the other when shifting. So if you think of it like a human doing it then the first clutch comes out when pulling away in first and the second goes in for second. When you engage second the clutch for third gear goes in etc.

 

[PostmanPot]

You are on the wrong side of the world but I use Engine Technique in Brackenfell for my car now.

Impeccable work ethic and the owner does all the big jobs himself.

My only gripe is they don't wash the cars when done, which I guess is also a good thing because I trust Very few to do it properly.

I will keep this in mind, thank you. Might be worth the schlep. Can you please tell me what you've done on your GTI and the costs?