A6 V8 - notes

[ccohen5@compuserve.com]

About a month since I took delivery, and as I have not seen any 
postings from any owners/drivers other than wow factors, I thout 
the list might be amused or bemused by some observations. It is 
the best standard Audi I have ever driven since the URQ I owned in 
85. It is responsive and its ride is nothing like the ones 
described in Drive and my only test drive. It has Dunlop 8000S on 
17" wheels which are now scrubbed enough to provide for fairly 
predictable handling at what seems to be a non-track limit. There 
is some lean but the steering is fast enough to a little throttle 
oversteer that I once induced. Mostly its neutral or moderate 
understeer at least as much as I have been able to load up the 
front wheels.
     There is no room anywhere in the engine compartment for any 
DIY work. I put in a K40 and a pair of Catz driving lights which 
took some precision customization to accomplish. I also have the 
Alpine Nav system installed which works very well. I dont like the 
Catz - puny and offer so little directional light that they are 
almost useless. But there is no room for anything else. BTW does 
anyone know of a small spot light, not a driving or fog, but spot. 
All the Catz and Pilots I have seen that are small, are drivers 
with a 70/75 deg spread. I am looking for 30 deg.
     I bought some winter wheels and tars! Based on 
receommendations I went with Oz Operas and Mich Arctic Pilots in 
225/55*16. I have tested the fit and they seem to work. Certainly 
clear all on the rear, but I have not turned the front wheels 
because the trannie was in Park while it was on the jack.
     I have found the trannie to have some peculair responses. If 
the revs are low, say below 2K, and you punch the pedal, nothing 
happens for 2/3 secs. If you are stopped and you punch, the 
acceleration is grabby. One has to concentrate on a light touch to 
get a smooth take away. No wheel spinning of course, but neck 
jerking stuff. So if you want to go into a tight corner that needs 
or you want a rapid exit, you should select tiptronic/manual and 
the gear you need. Otherwise when you look for your downshift its 
not going to be there even though at cruise, any quick pedal push 
will produce a quick downshift. presumably if you enter the corner 
carrying enough revs then the request for more power should 
produce the downshift. I guess this si why the Tiptronic makes so 
much sense in that you can drive the car almost like a manual 
without the designers having to spend loads of $ trying to come up 
with fuzzy logic for every slush box alternative. Personally I 
would take a manual 6 speed anytime, but as the US moves to 
gridlock and most of the urban East Coast of the US is already 
there, the opportunity to use a manual shift has all but 
disappeared.
     The lights still bug me. Gott find a way to open the spread 
and raise the dipped reference point. The dealer is brain dead on 
this subject. Has anyone upped their wattage on the QH main beams 
for of a HID lam set yet.
     Hope this is of interest.