RE: 1990's I5 vs v6 motors

["Dan Sinclair" <sinclair@prospro.com>]

Well, I'll throw out my $.02 on the Audi 90 query:

The 10v Inline 5 in my 90 has been a great engine thus far.  With 71,000
miles on the clock it pulls very strong, doesn't burn any oil, and runs
great.  My father drives an Audi 80q with the same engine and has 112,000
miles on the car and again, no complaints.  No major engine repairs to date
on either car - just routine preventative maintenance.

As for the performance envelope of the 10v I5 - unexciting comes to mind,
but with a 5-speed it's actually quite competent.  The 20v will give you a
little extra grunt, but after driving a 20v CQ, I'd say the extra horsepower
will give the illusion of a lighter car, but it will only feel marginally
quicker than the 10v.  Available mods for either car are few and limited.
I've also driven a '93 90CS Automatic, and it too could use some punch.

I second Todd's advice on performance - if you're after real punch,
something of the turbo persuasion is probably your best bet, and you won't
find that in the 80/90 series (not stock anyway...)  For the size/class of
vehicle however, the 80/90 series cars are some of the best built, best
equipped cars on the market.  Great bang for the buck in my opinion.

Dan Sinclair
1988 Audi 90, 71K mi.
Walla Walla, WA
Pics&details: http://131.107.68.28/a4.org/registry/details.asp?car=761

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-quattro@audifans.com [mailto:owner-quattro@audifans.com]On
Behalf Of Todd Young
Sent: Friday, June 25, 1999 6:50 AM
To: John Stanton; quattro@audifans.com
Subject: Re: 1990's I5 vs v6 motors


John Stanton wrote:

> I don't want to start any raves but am in the serious buy mode and
> wanted some opinions regarding the q 90 5 cylinder and 6 cylinder cars.
> The usual power, performance, reliability etc.  I have had two I5
> motored cars and have found it to be bullet proof.

Well, I have the 12valve V6 and it has over 100K on it and it's still
running strong. I regularly use the higher rpms when entering freeways
here in Minneapolis, especially when using the A/C and I can pull away
from most traffic fairly easily. Oil consumption is on the order of 1 to
1.5 quarts per 3-5K miles. The major drawback to the V6 is the lack of
performance mods available.

That said, I'd rather have an early S4/S6 with the 20valve I5 Turbo. There
is much more potential with that motor. If I were in the market for an
even newer Audi, an A4 1.8Turbo Qship would be the car of preference.
Again, due to the proliferation of aftermarket performance mods for that
engine.

--
Todd Young              WAM!NET Inc.
tyoung@wamnet.com       655 Lone Oak Drive, Bldg#A
651-256-5051            Eagan, MN 55121
800-585-1133 ext.5051   http://www.wamnet.com/
'93 Audi 90S(|___\====OOOO====/___|)