Discussion
Trev450 said:
No carbon interior or engine bay, although the advert states it has the latter. Driver's seat bolster looks well worn too. It is a lot of car for the money though.
It has the carbon engine cover! Bit of a stretch describing it as carbon engine bay when that's the smallest of the 5 pieces that makes up the bayjakesmith said:
Trev450 said:
No carbon interior or engine bay, although the advert states it has the latter. Driver's seat bolster looks well worn too. It is a lot of car for the money though.
It has the carbon engine cover! Bit of a stretch describing it as carbon engine bay when that's the smallest of the 5 pieces that makes up the bayTrev450 said:
jakesmith said:
Trev450 said:
No carbon interior or engine bay, although the advert states it has the latter. Driver's seat bolster looks well worn too. It is a lot of car for the money though.
It has the carbon engine cover! Bit of a stretch describing it as carbon engine bay when that's the smallest of the 5 pieces that makes up the bay
Palmball said:
This isn't the case on the Gen 2 R8's - there are no physical buttons to select suspension settings outside of the Dynamic Select button (Comfort, Auto, Dynamic and Individual) on the steering wheel.
The actual way to tell if the Gen 2 has any of the Sport Pack options (Sports Exhaust, Dynamic Steering or Magnetic Ride) is to push the Dynamic Select button on the steering wheel until you get to 'Individual' (ignition or engine needs to be on). Then push the '+' button on the steering wheel which then gives you a menu to set your 'Individual' settings. Here you will see up to five different options: Drivetrain, Suspension, Steering, Exhaust and Quattro. Drivetrain and Quattro settings are always present but you will only see the options to change Suspension, Dynamic Steering or Exhaust if the car has those options. If any of those options are not there then it hasn't got the option. A bit of a faff, but it's the only real way to tell from a standstill.
I've had 5 of these Gen 2 R8's, and probably about to get my 6th after a stint in, funnily enough, a couple of McLarens (570S and 720S).
I've had so many because they're fantastic cars; I don't think there's a much better all rounder and they punch well above their price point.
Remember they are all but identical to the Huracan under the skin, with the differences mainly being software and aesthetic. Here's the rub; the R8's software, seats, driving position, technology and refinement are all better than the twice-the-price Huracan; IMO, it's the better road car with only brand / image being the relative negative, if that's important to you.
I've been to the factory in Germany where they make both R8 and Huracan (a personal tour which Audi cheekily charge €250 for) and have seen the under-the-skin similarities with my own eyes; it really makes a mockery of the Huracan's relative price. It is however one of the best factory tours I've had, you get to walk through and see the whole process end to end.
A few pointers to watch out for on R8's which you my find useful;
Fantastic and informative post. Have you suffered any issues with any of yours. The actual way to tell if the Gen 2 has any of the Sport Pack options (Sports Exhaust, Dynamic Steering or Magnetic Ride) is to push the Dynamic Select button on the steering wheel until you get to 'Individual' (ignition or engine needs to be on). Then push the '+' button on the steering wheel which then gives you a menu to set your 'Individual' settings. Here you will see up to five different options: Drivetrain, Suspension, Steering, Exhaust and Quattro. Drivetrain and Quattro settings are always present but you will only see the options to change Suspension, Dynamic Steering or Exhaust if the car has those options. If any of those options are not there then it hasn't got the option. A bit of a faff, but it's the only real way to tell from a standstill.
I've had 5 of these Gen 2 R8's, and probably about to get my 6th after a stint in, funnily enough, a couple of McLarens (570S and 720S).
I've had so many because they're fantastic cars; I don't think there's a much better all rounder and they punch well above their price point.
Remember they are all but identical to the Huracan under the skin, with the differences mainly being software and aesthetic. Here's the rub; the R8's software, seats, driving position, technology and refinement are all better than the twice-the-price Huracan; IMO, it's the better road car with only brand / image being the relative negative, if that's important to you.
I've been to the factory in Germany where they make both R8 and Huracan (a personal tour which Audi cheekily charge €250 for) and have seen the under-the-skin similarities with my own eyes; it really makes a mockery of the Huracan's relative price. It is however one of the best factory tours I've had, you get to walk through and see the whole process end to end.
A few pointers to watch out for on R8's which you my find useful;
- Very early Gen 2 R8's, like the 2015 version from Saxton in this advert, suffer from very poor programming of the magnetic ride at speeds below 10mph. It's effectively like there's no damping so if you go over a speed bump, it boings down the road for a few moments after. It feels like it's broken but that's actually just how they are and above 10mph, it drives perfectly fine. Audi fixed the issue from approximately April 2016 build onwards, so only a few months after release of the car, so you really want a 16 plate car or later to avoid this nasty trait. Even then a 16 plate could have this issue depending on build date so it's worth a test drive....go over a speed bumps and you'll spot it immediately. 67 plate cars almost guaranteed to be fine.
- Bucket seats as fitted to this Saxton car are not very comfortable; their comfort is more akin to the nasty chairs fitted to a Huracan so definitely try before you buy. It's no accident that whilst these 'upgraded' bucket seats are fitted as standard to the Plus (IIRC, they're a £2k+ option on the non-Plus), most people 'downgraded' their Plus to the standard electric 'sport' seats.
- Sports exhaust is mandatory, and not many aftermarket exhausts can beat the standard system for aural 'quality' (although plenty go louder). The good news is that I doubt you'll ever find an R8 V10 Plus without the Sport exhaust option fitted.
- I'm going to be controversial and say that, having owned these R8's with and without Dynamic Steering, I also think this option is mandatory. The press typically deride this option but I think they're wrong; neither option has any real 'feel' like you'd get in a McLaren for instance, but the Dynamic Steering at least gives the R8 a responsive and pointy front end. Without this option, I found the steering had a notable delay, and was generally a bit slow.
Edited by Palmball on Tuesday 31st December 23:29
JimmyConwayNW said:
Fantastic and informative post. Have you suffered any issues with any of yours.
Yeah, they're not infallibal cars and I'm a fussy f*cker so I tend to sniff out anything that's not perfect. But on the whole, they're pretty good.Had a lot of issues with my first two and some of these issues exist on all R8's. What I have managed to do over time is educate myself how to fix almost everything, either myself or to be very clear what I need to ask for, to get a near-perfect car. I've just bought another R8 and it has some of the usual issues; two weeks into ownership, I've dealt with the lot.
The issues I've had, mainly on the earlier cars, that's not typical;
- Fuel pump issues which put my first R8 in limp and running on one bank (on two separate occasions). This is one of he few issues which rendered one of my R8's largely immobile but never happened on any subsequent car
- Exhaust rattle - a TSB exists for this
- Creaky / groaning steering column - took the dealer ages to find this and lubricate the relevant part, and even then I think they were just lucky. Only happened on one of my R8's (my second one, an early-build 2016 car)
- Failure of virtual cockpit - highly unusual and only happened on my first R8
- Peeling paint from wheel arches
- Squeaking front suspension, a bit like a tweeting bird - this occurred on two cars and is one issue which I don't know how to fix because it's almost impossible to replicate to a dealer as it only happens after a long drive - interestingly, someone (I think UK based) has just raised this issue on the R8Talk forum and is getting their dealer to look into it so it'll be interesting to see the outcome
- Doors can sometime rattle; just needs the door card coming off and the window cables padded a bit. R8's are largely rattle free but if you get any it will nearly always be a wire rubbing where it shouldn't. I have no problem removing any parts of the dash, cente console or rear shelf (where all the modules are) so I can sniff out any noises very easily. They're so logically constructed out of very high quality components so R8's are easy to work on in this respect. My R8's don't rattle.
The issues which are more typical:
- Comfort seats always make a plasticky creaky noise. They ALL do it. Fixing it was very difficult for the dealer I got my first R8 from but we got there in the end and I've since learned how to dismantle the seats to fox it for good (it's basically a polystyrene insert in the backrest which rubs on the inside of the seat; I buy a very expensive Krytox-based lubricant and coat the inside of the seat and voila, they stay quiet for good)
- Brakes make a juddery vibration when braking at very slow speeds (<5mph) with steering lock on. Audi have a TSB for this which involves modifying the pads with double sided tape
- Noisy / knocking front suspension, sounding a bit like it has broken drop links. They all do this, there is no fix and it's one part that I reckon is just poor design. Sometimes the noise is exacerbated by the brake pad noise above (they basically rattle in the callipers) so the brake modification improves it to a degree
- Theres a flap under the car, just in front of the N/S rear wheel, behind which sits the TPMS module. This flap is held on very poorly so I managed to (somewhat unluckily) rip it off on two of my cars by driving over a modest amount of standing water through a bend, where the water seemed ti skim the bottom of the car at an unfortunate angle and rip the flap off....in turn shredding the wiring loom to the TPMS sensor. A £1k job to fix. Nowadays, one of the first jobs I do when getting an R8 is to seal up that flap! Interestingly, on 2018MY cars, Audi revised the design of the flap so my situation is probably not as rare as it should be.
- Buzzing generated from engine resonance and coming from a couple of areas: 1. the easy one: the fake vents being the upper side blade - just remove them and insulate with felt and 2. the hard one: various cables that run along the body structure behind the rear quarter panels on either side - these are tricky to find and fix, easiest way is to remove the rear wheel arch liner and just insulate all the cables. Has happened in about 50% of the cars I've had and thankfully not present in the current one as this job is a pain.
To be honest, most people would't notice half of that list and it's only after having a few that I've learned the nuances and commonalities.
On the whole, they are very robust and largely problem-free cars. As someone who knows my way round a car, I'm pretty impressed just how well constructed the R8 is, and the quality of components is definitely a cut above most other cars.
Edited by Palmball on Monday 27th January 00:42
Palmball said:
Yeah, they're not infallibal cars and I'm a fussy f*cker so I tend to sniff out anything that's not perfect. But on the whole, they're pretty good.
Had a lot of issues with my first two and some of these issues exist on all R8's. What I have managed to do over time is educate myself how to fix almost everything, either myself or to be very clear what I need to ask for, to get a near-perfect car. I've just bought another R8 and it has some of the usual issues; two weeks into ownership, I've dealt with the lot.
The issues I've had, mainly on the earlier cars, that's not typical;
- Fuel pump issues which put my first R8 in limp and running on one bank (on two separate occasions). This is one of he few issues which rendered one of my R8's largely immobile but never happened on any subsequent car
- Exhaust rattle - a TSB exists for this
- Creaky / groaning steering column - took the dealer ages to find this and lubricate the relevant part, and even then I think they were just lucky. Only happened on one of my R8's (my second one, an early-build 2016 car)
- Failure of virtual cockpit - highly unusual and only happened on my first R8
- Peeling paint from wheel arches
- Squeaking front suspension, a bit like a tweeting bird - this occurred on two cars and is one issue which I don't know how to fix because it's almost impossible to replicate to a dealer as it only happens after a long drive - interestingly, someone (I think UK based) has just raised this issue on the R8Talk forum and is getting their dealer to look into it so it'll be interesting to see the outcome
- Doors can sometime rattle; just needs the door card coming off and the window cables padded a bit. R8's are largely rattle free but if you get any it will nearly always be a wire rubbing where it shouldn't. I have no problem removing any parts of the dash, cente console or rear shelf (where all the modules are) so I can sniff out any noises very easily. They're so logically constructed out of very high quality components so R8's are easy to work on in this respect. My R8's don't rattle.
The issues which are more typical:
- Comfort seats always make a plasticky creaky noise. They ALL do it. Fixing it was very difficult for the dealer I got my first R8 from but we got there in the end and I've since learned how to dismantle the seats to fox it for good (it's basically a polystyrene insert in the backrest which rubs on the inside of the seat; I buy a very expensive Krytox-based lubricant and coat the inside of the seat and voila, they stay quiet for good)
- Brakes make a juddery vibration when braking at very slow speeds (<5mph) with steering lock on. Audi have a TSB for this which involves modifying the pads with double sided tape
- Noisy / knocking front suspension, sounding a bit like it has broken drop links. They all do this, there is no fix and it's one part that I reckon is just poor design. Sometimes the noise is exacerbated by the brake pad noise above (they basically rattle in the callipers) so the brake modification improves it to a degree
- Theres a flap under the car, just in front of the N/S rear wheel, behind which sits the TPMS module. This flap is held on very poorly so I managed to (somewhat unluckily) rip it off on two of my cars by driving over a modest amount of standing water through a bend, where the water seemed ti skim the bottom of the car at an unfortunate angle and rip the flap off....in turn shredding the wiring loom to the TPMS sensor. A £1k job to fix. Nowadays, one of the first jobs I do when getting an R8 is to seal up that flap! Interestingly, on 2018MY cars, Audi revised the design of the flap so my situation is probably not as rare as it should be.
- Buzzing generated from engine resonance and coming from a couple of areas: 1. the easy one: the fake vents being the upper side blade - just remove them and insulate with felt and 2. the hard one: various cables that run along the body structure behind the rear quarter panels on either side - these are tricky to find and fix, easiest way is to remove the rear wheel arch liner and just insulate all the cables. Has happened in about 50% of the cars I've had and thankfully not present in the current one as this job is a pain.
To be honest, most people would't notice half of that list and it's only after having a few that I've learned the nuances and commonalities.
On the whole, they are very robust and largely problem-free cars. As someone who knows my way round a car, I'm pretty impressed just how well constructed the R8 is, and the quality of components is definitely a cut above most other cars.
Very nice post mate I have a gen 1 with slightly rattly seat, can you give any more info on how to remedy? As much detail as possible please! Agree they’re solid cars. Pisses all over Porsche for reliability in my experience Had a lot of issues with my first two and some of these issues exist on all R8's. What I have managed to do over time is educate myself how to fix almost everything, either myself or to be very clear what I need to ask for, to get a near-perfect car. I've just bought another R8 and it has some of the usual issues; two weeks into ownership, I've dealt with the lot.
The issues I've had, mainly on the earlier cars, that's not typical;
- Fuel pump issues which put my first R8 in limp and running on one bank (on two separate occasions). This is one of he few issues which rendered one of my R8's largely immobile but never happened on any subsequent car
- Exhaust rattle - a TSB exists for this
- Creaky / groaning steering column - took the dealer ages to find this and lubricate the relevant part, and even then I think they were just lucky. Only happened on one of my R8's (my second one, an early-build 2016 car)
- Failure of virtual cockpit - highly unusual and only happened on my first R8
- Peeling paint from wheel arches
- Squeaking front suspension, a bit like a tweeting bird - this occurred on two cars and is one issue which I don't know how to fix because it's almost impossible to replicate to a dealer as it only happens after a long drive - interestingly, someone (I think UK based) has just raised this issue on the R8Talk forum and is getting their dealer to look into it so it'll be interesting to see the outcome
- Doors can sometime rattle; just needs the door card coming off and the window cables padded a bit. R8's are largely rattle free but if you get any it will nearly always be a wire rubbing where it shouldn't. I have no problem removing any parts of the dash, cente console or rear shelf (where all the modules are) so I can sniff out any noises very easily. They're so logically constructed out of very high quality components so R8's are easy to work on in this respect. My R8's don't rattle.
The issues which are more typical:
- Comfort seats always make a plasticky creaky noise. They ALL do it. Fixing it was very difficult for the dealer I got my first R8 from but we got there in the end and I've since learned how to dismantle the seats to fox it for good (it's basically a polystyrene insert in the backrest which rubs on the inside of the seat; I buy a very expensive Krytox-based lubricant and coat the inside of the seat and voila, they stay quiet for good)
- Brakes make a juddery vibration when braking at very slow speeds (<5mph) with steering lock on. Audi have a TSB for this which involves modifying the pads with double sided tape
- Noisy / knocking front suspension, sounding a bit like it has broken drop links. They all do this, there is no fix and it's one part that I reckon is just poor design. Sometimes the noise is exacerbated by the brake pad noise above (they basically rattle in the callipers) so the brake modification improves it to a degree
- Theres a flap under the car, just in front of the N/S rear wheel, behind which sits the TPMS module. This flap is held on very poorly so I managed to (somewhat unluckily) rip it off on two of my cars by driving over a modest amount of standing water through a bend, where the water seemed ti skim the bottom of the car at an unfortunate angle and rip the flap off....in turn shredding the wiring loom to the TPMS sensor. A £1k job to fix. Nowadays, one of the first jobs I do when getting an R8 is to seal up that flap! Interestingly, on 2018MY cars, Audi revised the design of the flap so my situation is probably not as rare as it should be.
- Buzzing generated from engine resonance and coming from a couple of areas: 1. the easy one: the fake vents being the upper side blade - just remove them and insulate with felt and 2. the hard one: various cables that run along the body structure behind the rear quarter panels on either side - these are tricky to find and fix, easiest way is to remove the rear wheel arch liner and just insulate all the cables. Has happened in about 50% of the cars I've had and thankfully not present in the current one as this job is a pain.
To be honest, most people would't notice half of that list and it's only after having a few that I've learned the nuances and commonalities.
On the whole, they are very robust and largely problem-free cars. As someone who knows my way round a car, I'm pretty impressed just how well constructed the R8 is, and the quality of components is definitely a cut above most other cars.
Edited by Palmball on Monday 27th January 00:42
jakesmith said:
Very nice post mate I have a gen 1 with slightly rattly seat, can you give any more info on how to remedy? As much detail as possible please! Agree they’re solid cars. Pisses all over Porsche for reliability in my experience
Is it a rattle or plasticky creaks?From memory, the gen 1 does have quite a few plasticky creaks from the door trims and plastic trims around the base of the seat where the controls are (gen 2 seats are similar).
Krytox is the answer, available in spray and liquid form. Things like door pulls where you feel the plastic creak under pressure of pulling / pushing....get this stuff between the plastic components and it stops creaks for good.
Here’s a couple of links for the product but be prepared, it’s pricey stuff so use sparingly!
Spray:
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2...
Liquid:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264227195333
Also buy some sticky back felt as that’s useful for insulating some parts and wiring.
For the seats you would first need to remove the seats. Four bolts, and then unplug wiring loom (on the gen 2 there’s three block connectors on the floor that simply unplug so I imagine it’s similar on the gen 1). Don’t forget to disconnect the battery after you’ve unbolted the seat (you’ll need power to move the seat if it’s electric) but before you unplug the loom, otherwise you’ll get an airbag warning light when you plug it all back in.
Then it’s a matter of unscrewing all the trims (you’ll need torx and standard bits) and methodically lubricating all the touch points. If you need to get inside the backrest I can’t advise as I think the gen 1 is very different to the gen 2, so maybe worthwhile paying a dealer an hours labour to show you.
Gassing Station | Supercar General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff