The quattro experience (rather long)

[Tom Nas <tnas@euronet.nl>]

Hi all,

Yesterday I went to pick up my 'new' 1987 90q in Friesland, a 110-mile
drive from my home. I traded my 1988 80 1.8S FWD (accident damaged) in on
it, so I took that on the way up there.
I'd removed my stereo and all personal belongings beforehand, so short of
singing myself, I was in for a long, boring drive. When I got onto the
highway, I was being followed by a cop on a motorbike, who then kept
passing me, slowing down so I passed him, then passing me again for the
next ten miles. When he took the first off-ramp I thought I'd lost him, but
he took the next on-ramp and ended up in front of me. Next off-ramp- same
game, but then I took an off-ramp and got rid of him.
Fortunately, after only 40 miles I encountered a group of cars that were
apparently forming some kind of high-speed convoy. While that section of
road is 120 km/h tops, aforementioned group kept up a steady 160. It was
lead by a BMW M5, old guy behind the wheel, his wife reading the paper-
then four Ford Mondeo V6es, a Jaguar XJR (supercharged) and a Passat TDI
110hp. I joined the group and drove in that convoy for about 50 miles.
Fortunately, all the members of the group knew how to drive fast, so there
was no emergency braking for people who suddenly came into the lefthand
lane. It's been a long time since I've driven so fast here, and had so much
fun. When the time came for me to take another road, I just kept this tempo
up. There's not a lot of traffic on the roads in the North, especially on a
Saturday morning, so I even managed to get it to top speed (190) for a bit.
By then, I was beginning to wonder if I should sell this car after all- it
was running great and felt superb.
Leeuwarden came up in 75 minutes (I told you I drove quickly!) and when I
saw my 'new' car waiting, I stopped doubting. What a great car.

The way back was very enjoyable, too. After a few miles, I was thinking
'This car is a lot noisier than my old one', looked at my speedo and saw I
was doing 160. Ooops. Some 60 km/h faster than I thought... When I
encountered a straight, totally empty stretch of road, I decided to floor
it and see what it could do.
Even at 180, there's noticeable acceleration. Its top speed according to
Audi is 206, and sure enough, at 210 it ran out of steam. By that time the
aftermarket suroof had started making very irritating noises, so I let go
and cruised back to 130 (only to see a police car coming the other way.
Phew!)
This car is so fast and stable, that anything below 140 km/h seems
irritatingly slow. Acceleration is not of the 'kick-in-the-back' type, but
just a steady push without any drama. Wow! The I-5 makes a lovely noise,
which becomes turbine-like at high speeds. By the time I'd reached the more
densely-populated middle of the country again, I'd gotten used to 120. When
I reached Zeist and took the off-ramp (which I've been doing in all kinds
of weather and all kinds of cars for the last five years), I noticed that
this quattro thing takes some getting used to- I overcooked it badly, and
was very glad the car has ABS. This doesn't react anything like the FWD or
RWD cars I've been driving...

Anyway, I'm glad I took the plunge (at least for now!), and look forward to
a lot of pleasurable drives in the future. Now I have a rare, quick and
good-looking car.

My car:
1989 90 quattro 10v, B3 or 89-type body, build date 2-87, NG engine
(2309cc, 136 hp), catalysed.
Mileage: 163,000 km.
Exterior: Tizianrot metallic, 15" Ronal R8s with the full centre cap and
wider rim, 195/50 Pirelli P5000 Drago directionals (as new, and wonderful).
Free-standing trunklid spoiler, single foglight rear, twin foglights (OE,
useless) in the front bumper. H4/H1 headlights (superb!) with headlight
washers (which work!). Aftermarket manual glass tilt-slide sunroof with
wind cover, tow hitch (original Westfalia item, expensive and NLA), four
'Audi' mudflaps. Aftermarket remote alarm, not working (batteries in remote
are dead).
Interior: coffee-coloured velour.
Sports seats, height-adjustable driver's seat (goed much lower than in my 80)
ABS, power steering, 'check computer' with German-language warnings
('Bremslicht', seat heaters (not checked yet, way too hot here!), central
locking, map-reading lights (great!) for all passengers, rear seat with
armrest, 'humps' for headrests and ski bag, delayed interior light (when
you have been driving with the lights on, the interior light stays on until
you've locked the car). Audi speakers in th back (separate
woofers/tweeters, headphone jacks with 'speakers off' switch on rear
shelf). Electric/heated mirrors. Quattro on 3rd side windows and in rear
window heater. Green-tinted glass, blue-tinted mirrors. Spare wheel turns
out to be a 14" Ronal with new Goodyear Vector tyre.
No cruise, A/C or electric windows.

The Good:
Car drives beautifully, very straight, and idles very quietly. No strange
feeling in the chassis, not even at high speeds. Coolant temperature stays
on 90-100 C, fan comes on nicely. ABS is superb, no more square tyres on
this one!

The Bad:
It seems to have been part-resprayed many times, but only single panels
have been painted. It really needs a partial respray to get the paint to
match properly.
One ding/scratch in passenger front door. Righthand electric mirror not
working, glass cracked. Different keys for the driver's door and the rest
of the car, none of them original Audi items. Cracked coolant reservoir (on
top), repaired with some glue but leaking slightly again. Trunk light out
of order, as is the engine compartment light and the glovebox light. Tow
hitch's cover over electrics hookup has gone. Alloy wheels have been
inexpertly painted recently, to (unsuccessfully) hide slight kerb damage.
Most switch lights work, except those for seat heaters and electric
mirrors. Recent German import, so license plate does not match build date.
Deja vu: speedo intermittent.

Upgrades planned:
It's already licence-losing fast, and uses enough of our expensive fuel. I
want to put an immobilizer in it and lose the crappy alarm, get a nice OE
sports steering wheel to replace the hideous plastic item (at least my 80
had leather!) and repair anything broken. I'll also budget for a partial
respray and have that dent taken out. Electric windows would be nice, as
would remote central locking.
What can be done about cigarette smoke odour? I feel like I'm driving an
ashtray...

Wanna see it? I've taken pics with my digital camera, which I can send to
you in JPG form.

Well, I'd better emerge from behind this computer and get started on the
car: a stereo would be nice, for instance.

Bye,

Tom

PS No, it hasn't got a name. But what do you think of 'Helga'? ;-)

 _______________________________________________________________________
 Tom Nas                                          Zeist, The Netherlands
 tnas@euronet.nl
 1988 Audi 80 1.8S, mostly Tizianrot metallic, 219,000km
 1987 Audi 90q 2.3E, Tizianrot metallic, 163,000km

    "We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out."
                --Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.