Dele's Audi S6 5.2 V10 - The Road to Ruin?

Dele's Audi S6 5.2 V10 - The Road to Ruin?

Author
Discussion

dele

Original Poster:

1,270 posts

194 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
Alright team,

Lets not beat around the bush, you don't want my life story or daily routine, you want to know if I've bankrupt myself yet and if you should of bought one of these instead of your new Mondeo TDCi Econobox

Well I cant tell you that yet because this is my first post and I've only had the car three days, so here's a handy summary that I will edit with each update:

Am I facing financial ruin yet?
No! I've sold her

Great, now that's out the way, here is OV58 EOF




You can pick up these now for as low as £10k which is insane, however at that price you will be looking at cars with over 100k miles and (imo) the horribly dated rear lights, double that budget though (like I did) and you'll get a much nicer, later version.

So, if you're still reading and/or having a slow day at work, ill give you my first impressions:

It's probably one of the most comfortable ways to loose your license.

I will of course build upon this but having only done 300 miles of mixed road driving I think more time needs to pass before I start heaping praise upon it or slagging it off

What I will say however is that the way this car goes around corners defies the laws of physics, a 1920kg saloon car should not inspire such confidence, however that confidence is quickly lost when you use the brakes, I'm used too a lot better and I thought Audi would have bestowed much better upon it.

Gearbox?
It is what it is, a 6-speed tiptronic automatic, so yes you have paddles but don't expect this thing to act like the amazing DCT's/DSG's of the current times, its an old box and it feels like it, it will change up for you regardless when you hit the red line. Within a few hours, I got used to it and have kind of come around to it, I think it fits the purpose of being a cruiser and anything else would probably spoil it.

Engine?
Fantastic, I really like it so far - The most surprising part for me is just how much the noise reminds of me of the V8 AMG engines.

Oh and dont buy into the whole "Lamborghini" engine thing because as far as I can tell its all just a bit of a myth, all I can find on the subject for sure is:

"This engine is often, but incorrectly referred to as a derivative of the Gallardo's original 5.0 litre Lamborghini V10, which was also developed under the Volkswagen Group ownership. However, the subsequent 5.2 V10 FSI installed in the Gallardo LP560 and Audi R8 V10 is fundamentally identical to this Audi unit, save for a different crankshaft, dry sump, and engine management systems."

So make of that what you will

Anything else?
Not so far, I think that covers it as far as an initial post goes





Edited by LivewareProblem on Saturday 21st March 21:27

uncle tez

530 posts

151 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
Nice, I've always liked these. I prefer the more understated looks compared to the RS6 and i think the engine sounds great with a little tweaking to the exhaust. I will be following with great interest.

Robert Elise

956 posts

145 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
you're no-nonsense write-up is appreciated.
It has all the bad Audi points, such as the brakes, but the real point of this car is that engine. How does it sound inside? does it make you smile?

User33678888

1,142 posts

137 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
How quick does it feel? don't these only make about 400bhp from that massive engine? Nice car, looks smart. enjoy it

walsh

652 posts

159 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
User33678888 said:
How quick does it feel? don't these only make about 400bhp from that massive engine? Nice car, looks smart. enjoy it
I think they are 444bhp, which is about 85bhp per 1000cc. Quite a high output for an N/a engine IMO.


Whatty

598 posts

181 months

Monday 28th July 2014
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Nice, the epitome of stealth. clap

IanH755

1,861 posts

120 months

Monday 28th July 2014
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It should be around the 430hp mark but, just like the RS4, they suffer from quite bad carbon build up (like most Audi FSI engines do really) which can rob upto 70hp on a bad engine, although the average is about a 40-50hp loss.

I watched your post in the Audi section and was glad you went for it in the end. I tested one before going for the older RS6 and they are very understated cars (which I liked), but the engine is so muted it's difficult to get excited by it. A new exhaust sorts that right out and the V10 howl is fantastic!

y2blade

56,106 posts

215 months

Monday 28th July 2014
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Lovely, following with interest.

dele

Original Poster:

1,270 posts

194 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
User33678888 said:
How quick does it feel? don't these only make about 400bhp from that massive engine? Nice car, looks smart. enjoy it
I'll answer this one as it's the most asked question I've had so far:

It feels about as quick as I think it should be, as another poster in here said it needs to be checked the for FSI carbon build up issue to see how bad it is but its certainly no slouch, the way it shifts when you start going past 100 leptons is quite extraordinary

I think the biggest problem with the S6 is its engine, because its a V10 and people throw about the Lamborghini buzzword they instantly compare it against the BMW M5/M6 with their V10s and the Merc 63 AMGs

I think a better comparison would be to leave the BMW M and AMG cars to the RS6 and look at the S6 as a competitor to the Merc 500's and BMW 550i's etc.

It makes a lot more sense then when it comes to expectation and reality

cento16v

86 posts

149 months

Monday 28th July 2014
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Can the inlet valves not be walnut blasted like they do to Minis to decoke them?

ocrx8

868 posts

196 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
Fit a Milltek and you'll be grinning ear to ear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d71R_a3agIo

barryrs

4,389 posts

223 months

Monday 28th July 2014
quotequote all
That YouTube clip has a lot to do with my decision in looking at an S6 which was swiftly followed by a purchase.

Looks good Dele.

With regards to the carbon, I'm on 82k in a 2006 car and my manifold flap and misfire error was crankcase pressure related.

Edited by barryrs on Monday 28th July 22:54

Pentoman

4,814 posts

263 months

Monday 28th July 2014
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Nice. Different.

petrolveins

1,780 posts

173 months

Tuesday 29th July 2014
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Always loved these, though I'm weird and prefer the earlier rear lights. First car to introduce that LED bar in the lower grille, which every 17 year old has copied since frown

Following this with keen interest too!

ciaranthemurph

278 posts

206 months

Tuesday 29th July 2014
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Good purchase. Always liked these as they are so stealthy. Prefer the look of them to the RS6! Will follow with interest.

barryrs

4,389 posts

223 months

Wednesday 30th July 2014
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FYI Dele, I just installed a cheap Bluetooth streaming system but you will need the External AV inputs on your MMI - http://forum.rs246.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=11...

dele

Original Poster:

1,270 posts

194 months

Wednesday 6th August 2014
quotequote all
So, its been 11 days

Am I facing financial ruin yet?
Possibly...


Sunday morning I got into the car and put it into R to leave my driveway

Nothing.

Reverse didn't engage, the car didn't give an error, it just sat in R but let me rev the car as if it was in N, this happened twice before R finally engaged and I could move off the driveway only to put it into D and have it do the same thing to me, nothing

Once it was moving, it didn't give me any more trouble and its been fine for a few days, this morning? it did the same routine.

So lets compile a list of issues shall we:

  • Gearbox temperamental
  • Air-con sounds like an industrial drill on "LO"
  • Drivers headlight flips a coin to decide if its going to come on or not
  • Cigarette lighter doesn't work (ok, a bit pedantic but still, annoying)

I feel perplexed at writing that all out about a 5 year old 42k mile Audi S6

Its like I pulled a model on a night out only to wake up and realise it was that josie cunningham bird


IanH755

1,861 posts

120 months

Wednesday 6th August 2014
quotequote all
Next time it happens take a video for evidence as the dealer won't do anything if there's no error codes. It sounds like the sort of issue the older S6/RS6 suffered from on their older 5HP24A box so I'm surprised your newer 6HP26 is suffering the same, in fact it's the first one I've seen with that issue.

The drivers headlight is a ballast issue and Audi would want £500+ for a new one, however they can be bought from eBay for under £70.

The Aircon sound like the bearings in the compressor are shot but if you did a re-gas/lube it *may* help but if it doesn't then it's a £700 part.

Welcome to Audi S/RS ownership, may the wallet destruction begin!

rix

2,781 posts

190 months

Wednesday 6th August 2014
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Dealer warranty?!

dele

Original Poster:

1,270 posts

194 months

Wednesday 6th August 2014
quotequote all
Warranty only covers 50% of the cost and has to be done at a garage of their choosing, so basically their mate baz in his garage round the corner for as cheap as possible

IanH755 said:
It sounds like the sort of issue the older S6/RS6 suffered from on their older 5HP24A box so I'm surprised your newer 6HP26 is suffering the same, in fact it's the first one I've seen with that issue.
Yeah bit strange, the only google results I've seen have been the exact same problem but in the older 5 speed box


Edited by dele on Wednesday 6th August 08:43