[V8] running the numbers

[Bastian Homburg]

Well, when I said "comparable cars" I was referring to the MB M117/M119 
or the BMW M62 engine families. With neither, the manufacturer requires 
scheduled maintenance on the valvetrain related parts. And preventively 
changing the tensioners and chain guides every 125 k miles or so is 
cheap. Very cheap compared with a scheduled timing belt change on the V8 
- an eight+ hour (@ $140 per) procedure that I`ve had to pay for three 
times now (and countless times with all the I5 Audis I`ve had before the 
V8).
My point was that an Audi V8 is more expensive to maintain than a 
contemporary 7-series or S-class - mainly because of outrageous parts 
prices and the way the V8 is built. The timing belt is one example, the 
exotic brake system another.

Oh and to everyone in the US who might wonder about the high numbers: 
They certainly appear a little bloated due to the extremely weak dollar 
exchange rate at the moment. In Euros, it´s not THAT bad.





cobram at juno.com wrote:
> ALL timing chains eventually need service and replacement, some as often
> as every 100K miles.  On cars comparable to the V8Q it is NOT a cheap
> undertaking, and many engines with chains have tensioners which use oil
> pressure and are prone to failure.