Audi Avant 20V turbo quattro
Smart choice: James Bond in 1987 chose this car in "The Living Daylights" ("Ein Hauch des Todes")
He actually had two Audi in this movie: the 200 20V Sedan turbo Quattro and the 200 20V Avant turbo Quattro: hard to beat, in those times - until today! With the Hohenester-tuning this car was FASTER than any Porsche turbo or Ferrari, in those days!
Another smart choice: If You let Hohenester modify the 200 5-cylinder 20V turbo car/the engine You get one of the fastest/best cars around - still a quarter century later in 2015! Less than 1300kg - more than 400 hp PLUS QUATTRO, 300 km/h!
By the way: I still have the James Bond watch, and part of my clothes were made by the tailor who worked for all JB-movies, Sam's Tailor in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. I fired Sam's later for several reasons and changed to King's Custom Tailors.
Sam's Tailor, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
First and second reason because Sam's also worked for Angela Merkel. Not thrilling. And he worked for Gas-Gerhard Schroeder, the "Genosse der Bosse". Schroeder told journalists he wore 10.000 euro - Brioni-suits and smoked Cohiba-cigars 100 US$ the piece. Well, his "expensive Brioni suits" were cheap from Sam's. So I doubt he smoked really Cohiba's.
Third reason is Sam's made the same mistakes with my suits that You can see in the James-Bond-movies with Daniel Craig. I didn't like that. So I left Sam's and went to ....
King's Custom Tailors, Tsim Sha Tsui East, Hong Kong
In this case I recommend New World Millenium Hotel. But make a good deal on booking and You'll get the Goodies. If You don't negotiate You get a bad deal and they give You a bad room!
NWMH New World Millenium Hotel: Good place, good location, GREAT harbour View! good Restaurants/Bars!
Hong Kong
.... plus harbour views from my room in NWMH New World Millenium Hotel
In Hong Kong they call me "jin dragon", by the way!
1989 Avant Hohenester: 1300 kg, 400 hp, 300 km/h
1990 Porsche turbo: 1470 kg, 320hp, 270 km/h
2000 Porsche turbo: 1560 kg, 420hp, 305 km/h
So it took Porsche 11 years to catch up!
But come on! In 2000 the 2-Seater-"Super-Sports-Car" 911 turbo weighed 260kg's MORE than my 7-Seater-Audi!!! Comprende?
Car sold in 2010
In 2022 there are only 120 registered in Germany: This is one of the best rare cars ever!
(It was not easy to let the car go that I wanted to keep for the rest of my life, but since I can only handle cars with automatic transmission after my motocycle-accident I had to sell it. I decided to let it have it's place here further on. I am happy that the car is in very good hands! It is back on the road, and I'm looking forward to see it running again in a few days.)
I hope to give useful information to those who own or think
about owning the toy.
I DO WELCOME useful information, vice versa :)
Tips in deutsch s.u.
Here it is, finally: The pic I promised for so long,
giving You the perspective You are most likely to see on the road. I will later
show the car in regular configuration as well as with surf-board [wsb] and
two boards [wtsb] on the roof, two boards inside. I will show the parts that
caused the engine to explode.
You'd certainly like this one, too! What You get with an Audi Turbo Quattro
20 V is a car NOBODY suspects of being capable to outrun a Ferrari 328 GT
(S or B) WHILE carrying all Your windsurfing gear, even with the mast on the
roof :) [I can offer the 1991 US-brochure of the car with data file +
comparison-data which is nice :) but takes a few secs to load (430k).
1991 Audi 200 (Avant) Quattro 20 V Turbo (brochure)
] You'll find there: 0-60mph Ferrari Testarossa 6.2 Audi 20 V 6.5
Ferrari 328 GT 6.7. 1/4m Testarossa 14.2 20V 14.9 328 15.0. We are not taking
these numbers too serious :)
And because it is a real permanent four-wheel-drive there is NO chance for
ANY Ferrari when it's a bit slippery, apart from the fact that hardly
anybody takes his Ferrari on snow: the real fun starts when You realize Your
20 V accelerates on snow better than most cars do on dry tarmac. 100+mph
on snow with regular winter tires - =no spikes!- are no problem. Doing
so will hurt Your exhaust-system + the underfloor-panels severely +: at
least. (Be careful:
Braking's a lot harder, then! Do NOT try! Do respect the limitations of Your
driving skills.....and/or physics - whatever comes in first!)
What we have here is a 1989 5-seater wagon, which can even be converted into
a 7-seater easily (hard to believe, isn't it?). Worldwide the fastest jeepney! So: If You pass the 328 GTs
with Your six children pressing their noses to the rear windows showing the
Ferrari-rider 6 tongues be prepared to see him spit blood - in ferrari-rosso,
for sure :)))
It's zinced body shows NO sign of rust after ten years! It's
quite luxurious with recycled cow (vulgar: leather)/faked wood interior,
a/c, heated front seats, electric windows/mirrors/doorlocks heated,
anti-lock-brakes (which can be switched off -very important!), differential
lock (switchable), electronic speed control, trip computer, airbag, anti-theft,
procon-ten and so on.
No problem to cover VERY long distances fast and comfortable with 5 persons
and their luggage (even with the surplus on the roof, if You choose to do
so and ...) if You don't get jailed for speeding (for Europe I recommend the
"Valentine One" Euro Version - DM 1500,-). I use to say I can reach any
point in Europe except the frisian or other islands
faster than a Cessna 182, as long as I do not end up in any dungeon :)
It's comfy and quick, and You can look back at
the poor, vanishing in the mirror...
The engine's the 5-cylinder many know from the 100-series where it develops
about 138hp with the usual 2-valves/cylinder-arrangement, as my
now gone (to Russia) previous 100 Avant Quattro did. Audi added 2 more valves
per cylinder, thus making the 20 V(pic 412K), plus
a turbo, resulting in still unsufficient 220 hp - at least this is what many
owners feel. This certainly is the reason why they feel a strong urge to
upgrade. There's quite some of these on the roads with up to about 500 hp,
which leaves most Ferrari's and alikes way behind.
And: Apart from the fact that I blew mine the engine has a very good
reputation in regard of standing-time, even after power-improvement. My
neighbour told me his former 470hp - 20 V just clocked the 100.000 mls in
the hands of the second owner without any problems. Hohenester strongly
recommends to check and replace the crankshaft-bearings after 25.000 mls:
that's all! I drove that car for a short test and liked it a lot. There was
only one severe problem: not enough power.
This IS what YOU think, too. So, what can we do? One step forward might be
the 4.2 ltr Avant V8, which we could have with twin turbos. Again: Ask
Hohenester. The operation is DM 55.000,- (about $ 29.000, $ and price
January 2000), if You already have the car.
With this car You can enter the "autobahn" without checking the mirrors:
There's NOTHING coming up from behind, NOTHING, no Porsche, or whatever.
This is boring You soon. You wish to do something REALLY impressive, so
You HAVE TO SERVE ENOUGH. Then You should place a phone-call to Weineck in
Bad Gandersheim/Germany. They'll park a Cobra at Your door if You only pay.
Thanks to regrettable circumstances (poverty!) this is NOT my garage, not my cars :(
in front of Your door, serving
street-legal (in Germany it's the so called "TUEV", i.e. "Technical
Surveillance Society")
1000 hp (550CID = cubic inches displacement equalizing 13,5ltr Hubraum!) to
the rubber with no NoX-injection, + they can
deliver the stuff for another, then illegal 500 hp WITH NoX-injection , which establishes You
in the 1500 hp-society, where only the happy few can play. This car is NOT an equalizer, it makes
You unequal! I can tell (not
only!) the sound's good: the acceleration is, too. This bitch shoots You to
125 mph (=200 km/h) in 6.5 secs (data 1000 hp) - if You can hold her on the
road, when she tries Your skills - and You can bet Your balls she WILL.
There are not many cars in the world, that fly the keyring-pendant horizontally during
acceleration: This one does!
Talking of Your balls: To stop the gearbox from first perforating these
before ripping them apart completely, they made it explosion-proof, AFTER
they found out that only a NASCAR-gearbox can stand the torque. This leaves
my Yamaha (9 secs) way behind, SIGH, and definitely IS F1-level (5-6 secs!).
So: Stick with the twin-turbo V8 to go to work, for everyday's use, and
take the Cobra if You're in a hurry....or in the mood for the fun :)
Another major advantage:
There's NOTHING in this world that could make Your wife take the keys! She'd
rather fuck the devil. Believe it. YOUR very own car.
Weineck himself does NOT test-drive his product. He either asks his brother, or he asks the customer to come: he does not want to sit in the car in case the tremendous torque explodes the gearbox.
Not enough? Try chewing TNT while inhaling NoX.
Major drawback is bad road-holdin capacity. Easy to outperform This car is american: it only goes straight. It's embarrassing in winding roads, on racetracks.
The 20V's tune-up-friendly. You get value (=power) for a reasonable
amount of money. The first step's probably the ECU-setup. This gives You
about 50 additional horsepower resulting in a 270hp total for just $ 600-700,
in Germany the new chip is DM 1500-2000. Then You might remove the cat and
open the exhaust-system. Your next choice could be a matching
exhaust-manifold, polished and with larger diameter, feeding the turbo from
the Audi RS2 in exchange for the existing one, or even better, a KKK-turbo
that does not have the RS2's poor performance in low revs. In Germany
Hohenester's (Tel. <+49> (0)8458 2319) certainly first choice (he knows a lot about
the 20V) or Digi-Tec (bankrupt now), especially for the
chip. This chip promises +60 hp, and I do believe it. Performance is smooth,
getting hot with increasing revs. This chip puts serious PUSH into Your car!
Turbo-boost goes up to 2.0 bar with it. This ECU reduced fuel consumption by nearly
20%: 18 ltr/100 km before, 16 ltr/100 km after, increasing endurance from 360 km to
over 400 km. The car
accelerates and performs as good as a Porsche Carrera 4 TipTronic 300 hp does
(checked, compared!). Price is DM 1529,10 in August 2000, the price for the
Porsche DM 150.000,-. The
Wetterauer-chip's not as good: +50 hp, perhaps more torque in low revs, but a strange
feeling in the top-speed. Price DM 1590,- in March 2000. The Digi-Tec solution
is better. Digi-Tec also offers 420hp for DM 20.000,-, or up to 580hp for
DM 50.000,-: TEL. Digi-Tec <+49> (0)2363 5660-0, FAX <+49> (0)2363 5660-66.
You might tell them I told You :) After what I saw I think I'd trust them,
too, as I without doubt would trust Hohenester!
I do use and I do recommend the use of a K+N air filter as a replacement (!) of
the original one! You do not change the air-intake with it, You still have
outside-air: sucking the air directly from the engine-compartment means
taking hot (!) air.
You may get the K+N for DM 114,- at D&W in Bochum/Germany, they also offer
good track distance-rings for DM 200,-. D & W
(prices August 2000).
Advantage:
Understatement. Nobody noticing the car will associate it's luxurious and
pretty quick.
Drawbacks:
a) Nobody noticing the car will associate it's pretty quick. So: If You
become visible in somebody's rear mirror You have to convince him You ARE
pretty quick to make him pull to the right lane RAPIDLY by approaching him
VERY FAST.
b) fuel capacity of 70 litres, consumption 18 ltrs/100 km (=60 mls), giving
You an endurance of 360 km (=225 mls) only before running dry.
(I'll never be able to compute this into mpg, sorry.) As a result
all these Ferraris pass You while You're filling up - just the way they do
in Formula 1! On the other hand: Leaving the gas station You might pass a
drive-shaft on the tarmac before You'll see him
again having pulled to the right, driver and Ferrari smoking and placing
calls with his handy to find a qualified Ferrari-mechanic who can cause a
tremendous bill -again like in F 1 -, while Your Audi's still good to round
the earth. If You ride slower and wish to consume less: why don't You buy
a Golf or sth?
c) NO engines available!!! There are NO new engines, there are NO factory -
overhauled exchange engines! If You need an engine it has to be built from
new single parts, which increases the bill a lot. So: if You plan to blow
the engine (which really is fun, believe me!) be aware to have $ 15.000 in
Your account (on the plus-side, or: the equivalent in credit!), and: at
least! (price in Germany in May 1999, setup took 8 weeks and gave the
dealer's employees a LOT of headaches!). Only choice: get a 20 V turbo sedan
(there's more of these than there are Avants, and they come cheap (I should
have bought a good one for $ 2700, hell knows why I did not!) and give You a
lot more spare-parts, especially the ...
d) ... infamous so called "UFO"-brakes. Audi chose to engineer special
inside-outside ventilated front-brakes intended to increase the friction-area
in the given 15"-wheel to the max plus to improve cooling them. This was
definitely NOT a good idea which may easily be concluded by the fact that
NEVER did anybody sth like this again, which shows they are willing to learn -
on the other hand. These brakes warp, and they often do so quickly!
Well, they do not really warp. What REALLY happens is this (I asked many pros who did not know!): the problem is not bad construction / design of the brake-system. It's the fault of the car-driver. Your fault! Lack of knowledge! Bad manners! Nothing Audi, or Porsche can do.
You understand, please: they drive these cars. the fast Audis, the Porsches sometimes to drive them fast. The few drivers who did that - like me! - had the problem. Because they did not cool down the brakes after a hot ride. When the brakes are really hot You must keep the car moving WITHOUT braking hard, again, for AT LEAST 10 minutes! But You do not do that!
I came home in the night after a full speed-trip of 300 km, and left the motorway for the country-road. First stop with hot brakes was at the entrance of the road, stopping to look for oncoming traffic. Not so good! Really: not good!
Then I floored it again, and I LOVED it, I enjoyed it. This was home-territory, I knew every meter, every corner, and the car was performing GREAT. Then I put in in the garage, with HOT BRAKES and went inside for a drink.
Then the brakes cool down. But the HOT pads glue, bake to the disc. What You have is never "warping": it is hard material the footprint of the brake-pad on the disc. You can verify this with a micrometer-gauge. Do that!
The scenario on my most beloved racetrack, the Nuerburgring Northloop, was the same, lapping 20km long in, let's say: 8 minutes. Minor cars fail. My Audi's though to heavy, too, FLEW thru the lap. Brakes hot! Then You slow down late for the exit. And then there is traffic jam. You have to stop, foot on the brake! Baking pads. If You cannot leave the track moving You kill Your discs. In each lap. For 200euro per piece.
They are
- of course! - EXPENSIVE! Audi changed the complete front axle to that of the
regular 165 hp-2-valve-turbo on a warranty-basis in long-gone times - this was
their next SILLY move: They should have offered installation of the
Porsche-brake instead! In 17" wheels: the setup I chose! Gives You room for BIG Brakes! Would have come cheaper, plus the client would have
got the optimum in brake performance, reliability and standing-time! You
might try to talk them into completing such a conversion now, for nothing :)
There are
several kits available in America and Canada for about US-$ 2300 which last
long, perform really well + they have that red "Porsche-racing-brakes"
-look.
August 2000: I have the Porsche-Biturbo-brakes installed after I nearly
shot myself into the end of a traffic-jam. New Ufo's gave me poor performance,
car severely shaking at the front-axle soon after installing them (so did the
old ones, too!). The red
Porsche-brake's just great: Certainly one of the best, if not the best brake
You can get! I am REALLY HAPPY with it!!! The set is from
mov'it, and it IS FUN to drive: I feel safe,
now! The kit for the front-axle is DM 5200,-, plus installation (easy!) plus
TUEV-registration - mov'it says they make the Biturbo-kit for ANY car!
(I could and perhaps will create a page describing the
ridiculous procedures the german TUEV let me unwillingly witness repeatedly:
Believe me: These "experts" are clowns, nothing else: none of them really
had expertise, each of them had unrealistic fears and a big mouth. If I
should make this page and tell what really happened, they'll feel naked and
hate me.) The brakes require 17"-wheels, in my case from Intra, plus
225/45 ZR 17 tyres. The Audi-wheels have a circle of holes 112/5
(=112 mm/5 holes). This
stays unchanged with the mov'it set. You can keep Your spare-wheel, or
emergency-wheel, but You can only install it at the rear axle, since it is
15" with 215/60 ZR 15, which does not fit any longer at the front axle -
if You believe You
need it. In this case You install it at the rear in case of tyre-damage at
the front axle and take the 17"-wheel from the rear to the front. I have a
circumference of 196.5 cm in both cases. ( I only carry the emergency-wheel,
or none at all).
Ok: Let me admit even the Porsche rotors were not perfekt. They had holes, and these collected the hot dust of the brake-pads and blocked them, baked in. I had to clear the holes with an electric drill every now and then. Nowadays, in 2018, Porsche brakes do not have these holes any more since many years.
Let us talk about BRAKES, in General!
(Added 2018)
I have cars and work on them myself for 50 years now. I NEVER saw a pro, a professional "expert" in any brand dealership, and not in any "free" workshop do proper brake maintenance. Usually these guys have no idea. As usual: race-mechanics often, not always!, know better.
Brakes have two types of calipers: static, with the brake-pads moving inside, or "swimming". There the brake-pads are fixed inside the moving caliper. They chose these because they are cheaper. Today most are the fixed type.
Many mechanics I had to endure even did not know the basics: shriek-prevention. Car-manufacturers often take constructive measures to prevent shrieking. They add thin tin-plates in the back of the brake-pads. But anyway: You should use copper-paste at the piston-backside-of the brake-pads. NOT on the friction-, the rotor-side!!! It has to be copper-paste since there is extreme heat in the brakes (can even boil the brake fluid, create bubbles: pedal goes down to the metal, You lose Your brakes. Slow down, cool, and the brakes recover.
Race-drivers use special heat-resistant brake-pads and heat-resistant brake-fluid, which is hygroscopic, more likely to draw water: which makes things worse. You only need 100 degrees celsius to make water-/steam-bubbles! You must change it often, maybe even after every race. I changed after 6 months.
The race-pads and -fluid do not give better performance, not more friction. They only resist the high temperatures better.
Even upgrading to carbon-brakes does not give shorter brake-distance. They main advantage of these brakes is their low weight, improving road-holding of the wheels, plus better car performance because of significantly lower weight. But even some wealthy drivers consider these as very or to much expensive if You have to change these every now and then (on track-days, f.e.)
These fluids and pads are illegal on the road. Some guys don't care, and if they change often they are fine, of course. Some people think the race pads are difficult, even more noisy in every day use since they need to warm up and tend to abrupt reactions when cold. I cannot share this impression: mine performed well, no problem.
Extreme heat causing malfunction does not only happen in races! And usually it does not happen to the average driver. Can happen to You if You don't know how to drive down a mountain pass, especially with a heavy trailer, and You slow the car by permanently applying the brakes, thus overheating them.
The "fishheads" (yes, this is insulting!), the blokes from the Netherlands, tow their mobile home trailers over the alps to the Mediterranen Sea.
If this happens to You and You do not notice early enough to stop the car You only have two options to survive:
You either find an exit going straight uphill and that stops the car. Smart road-builders install special emergency exits at dangerous slopes downhill, these even stop HEAVY trucks safely. There's gravel, and the car sinks in and stops immediately.
If You cannot stop the car You cannot save it. Do not wait until You are dead. Going down (several hundred meters?) into the valley in free fall is NOT FUNNY. I heard of a guy who was lucky: he lost the serpentine road on a mountain pass in Austria and lifted his Porsche onto the stone-wall separating the road from the valley. He sat there high and dry, without falling down, and enjoyed an unobstructed view of the valley 200 meters below him.
Doing nothing and trying to keep the ACCELERATING car on the road will end up with You being to fast to manage the next bend, corner of the road!
You MUST take IMMEDIATE action to save Your life and those who are with You. Meaning: Since You go downhill steeply without brakes You cannot stop the car by turning the engine off, risking to lock Your steering with a wrong move. DO NOT PANIC! Panicking kills!
You steer the car into the stone-wall, uphill side. NOT into the valley. This will cold-mold Your body-tin into an ugly shape, with a bad noise You will not like: but You will thus stop the car. Think about it in cool blood BEFORE a situation arises. And again: DO NOT BLAME ME for a wrong procedure YOU are responsible for. In doubt: ask an expert!
Imagine that the cold deformation and the sound will be MUCH worse if You hit the bottom of the valley after trying in vain to make Your car fly: it will fly. Like a stone flies. With a hard impact hitting the ground. Which will be the last memory You'll ever have. You will remember I told You!
NO mechanic I saw off race-tracks serviced the calipers properly. Should be done every year, at least. I did it with each change of brake-pads. Happened more often.
Taking out the brake-pads You disassemble the calipers, too. Both types, of course. In the static calipers fixed type You make sure the brake-pads glide smoothly inside, back and forth. You clean the calipers, especially where there is contact with the pads, from brake-dust, dirt, and rust (corrosion!).
Then You apply SPECIAL caliper-lube to the contact-areas. NOT and NEVER at the disc, the rotor-side!!! You musy use caliper-lube because other lubrication is not heat-resistant. You especially put the caliper-lube on the two bolts that guide and let glide the brake-pads, in in the holes of the pads where the bolts are inside.
In "swimming" calipers You do essentially the same: You lube the gliding parts, especially the bolts on which the calipers move back and force. AFTER cleaning them, of course.
Thus You will achieve good, reliable brake-force without uneven wear-off.
If You make a silly mistake with Your brakes do not blame me! I am not taking responsibility for what You might do wrong.
Since Your factory-brake-configuration is usually strong enough to block the wheels You cannot add harder grip with better brakes. The only way to effectively improve Your brakes is upsizing of wheels with larger diameter discs. Your car will not have a shorter stop-distance. But the brakes will be more reliable with better heat-resistance, cooling faster. Better cooling improves, too. So You can take out the fog-lights and install hoses that guide more air to the discs. Or You drill big holes in Your front-spoiler/-bumper to do that.
Enlarging Your disks requires expertise. Especially in cars with fwd, front engine weight in front and leight-weight rear (early Honda Civics, SUV's) You see big discs in front and smaller ones in the rear. Sometimes they even install drum-brakes in the rear still nowadays (2017 Toyota Vios, Toyota Fortuner!). I think this is unacceptable. I would NEVER buy these!. In mid-engine Ferraris or Lambos, in Porsches with engine-weight in the back You see equal diameter discs front and rear, since the weight pretends the rear wheels from early blocking. Do not change this balance.
ABS does not let a wheel block. ABS is a stability-system: it gives You better directional stability, safer steering. It does not shorten stop-distance.
A stability-system is a stability-system, too. Since You cannot reduce engine-power, torque on a single wheel modern technology uses the brakes to slow down a wheel individually that is about to lose grip. This adds load and wear to the brakes. Pros sometimes consider this undesirable and switch these off. On a racetrack the wheels are always about to lose grip, and these drivers want 100% control without the car influencing what they want to manage with head, hands and feet. Usually this is not a good idea in everyday-driving.
Then I installed steelflex brake pipes instead of the factory rubber. The rubber flexes, expands a bit under high pressure. The small diameter steelflex gives You a harder, more precise feedback in Your foot on impact. Good race-drivers brake better, short of blocking the wheels, as ABS does. They switch that off. Usually You are not good enough to do that. Special race-ABS is hard to outperform.
I have H+R distance-rings installed, widening the track by 40 mm. My Audi-dealer
provided these for DM 500,-. You still torque the wheels with 110 nm with these.
D&W Bochum Germany offers such rings for DM 200,- (or more, several kits).
220 DIN hp (=162 kw) at 5700 rpm, 2226 ccm (2.2 ltr)
1560 kg empty, 2110 kg max weight. (When I did 200 km/h ((=125 mph) with
half a ton in it my first front-wheel-driven Audi 100 had wheel-spin on dry
surface! This problem vanishes, too, if You get a Quattro.)
top-speed 138 kts/ 156 mph/ 250 km/h (230 km/h wsb [200 km/h wtsb] did NOT
wipe out the roof-railing + sb's. [There is enough power for more!] Do NOT
try!) After ECU-Setup: I reduce throttle reaching 275 km/h indicated, at
about 6500 rpm (August 2000).
In the meantime the engine break in/run in-phase (600mls/1000km) is finished.
I clocked 174 mph/ 154kts/ 280 km/h several times (indicated,speedometer),
in -I have to admit: friendly conditions (hilldown, long acceleration-run)-
just about the same as with my Yamaha, which by chance is a 20 V, too (4
cylinder*5 valves, 145 hp), but not in need of friendly conditions for the
showdown. The engine's now more than 5000 km old. I know from experience
that the engine's really performing well after a distance of about 6000 mls/
10.000 km. So I can say I'm satisfied as far as the factory-designed output
is concerned.
I do recommend STRONGLY NOT to stress the engine before You have sufficient
oil-temperature!!! And You should give the car the chance to cool down after
a heat: the turbo needs it, and the Ufo's certainly do, too, to prevent
warping. (There might be additional circumstances causing warping.)
I now have a turbo-boost reading of 0.3 bar idle and 0.2 letting the car
slow down in gear with no throttle. Max pressure is 1.6 bar full
throttle (2.0 bar after ECU-setup). The cold engine starts with max oil-pressure,
it's 2 bar idle
when warm, slightly above 4 bar doing 80 mph in fifth with cruise-control.
The usual oil-temperature is slightly below 70 degrees Celsius, stable for
hours, as I just checked with winter-tyres, cruise-control set at 200 km/h
when I went to Austria and back, for skiing.
All figures oem-gauges! There are good analog gauges for turbo-boost and
lambda (mixture) by VDO. They are recommended!
Driving Quattro
In my pre-quattro times I believed that four-wheel-drive is an advantage
only when it's slippery. As You already might have learned Yourself
impression
struck quickly that I should have experienced what I'm talking and thinking
about. In fact my first quattro convinced me within minutes of its superiority
in any conditions. It allows You to round bends quickly that were a problem
with either front- or rear-wheel-drives before. It adds a lot to stability
around fast corners as well as when having to go through a rapid course
correction at high speeds. You can leave the tarmac with two wheels in a
drift applying full throttle without losing control of the car, a situation
which probably means a complete write-off of any other car. I now do
KNOW, that every other transmission-concept is nothing else than an
emergency-solution. Do NOT believe me: try it Yourself! Let Your dealer give
You a Quattro for a test-ride! Alternative offers: Porsche, Lamborghini
Diablo, FORGET the Mercedes. I checked the Porsche: If You want fun, it's a
good bargain.
Ferdinand Piech checked the Diablo, but up to now neither let me know what
he found out nor let me try myself: so I don't know :(
Driving on snow (mud) is pure fun. I cannot recommend publicly to do things
that are widely considered as insane and might be dangerous for others. But
if You are crazy enough to do it I cannot stop You from doing it. Perhaps I
can help You not to hurt anybody including Yourself. Do it only when it's
legal. It might be legal: on a race-track, during a rallye, in a private
parking lot, in a car-test or -exercice area; if in doubt, always ask (the
owner). Do it only if You can afford the damage You might do to Your car. Be
aware that driving on snow in general, with any car can fill Your mudguards
with ice to a degree that seriously affects Your steering-abilities!
On snow You start at speeds You know You can control. Brake hard, several
times.
Hard does mean: Full power on pedal (Many are not able to do this, for
whatever reason)! Brake with anti-lock deactivated. Check the difference:
It's significant!!! Now You know why it's SO IMPORTANT to be able to
switch the anti-lock OFF (Train hitting the button blind within a fraction
of a second! Train it very often. Never stop training it.). Do NOT forget
to step on the clutch simultaneously: Think of it...and: BANG! with both
feet! Then make the car spin. Do it in both directions. Try four-wheel-drifts
applying power at harmless speeds. Train the "brake-hook": System
deactivated, brake hard, release brake, turn steering-wheel to avoid a
fictitious obstacle. Check acceleration nailing the accelerator to the floor,
i.e. full throttle. If You started for
example doing 30 mph straight on, and You feel after several acceleration/
full-stop-cycles that You feel comfortable with everything You may wish to
inrease speed. Do so in small increments, always braking the lot down in
between. If You do not feel 100% comfortable with what is happening: Stop it!
(This training might save somebody's life in an emergency an unexperienced
driver might fail to master. It might be useful if You train with any
conventional car of Your's, too.) There are instructional trainings offered
by several institutions, including Audi. The safest way of learning is taking
part in one of these! Taking part in such an event might even put You on
the right side-seat in a car driven by Walter Roehrl or other top-pros,
shooting You into the 100 mph area on a common road, on snow. I'm told the
experience is quite unique, even if You've seen one thing or the other
before :)
On flat terrain in rain: same exercises: Brake hard (ABS MUST come into
action, don't be afraid!), same without ABS. Go round in a tight circle:
increase speed (2.gear). You'll experience understeering. Go round short
of understeering, then pedal to the metal (full throttle): With some
exercise You should be able to introduce oversteering, and keep the
car oversteering for as many rounds as You like: find the balance! It's
not cheap, but You'll like it.
Then try dry tarmac: brake as before: pedal to the metal (brake!). Find
out braking distances: on dry tarmac You should have about: 13 meters
from 50 km/h (=31 mls/h), 39 m from 100 km/h (=62 mls/h), 160 m from
200 km/h (=124 mls/h) - in GOOD conditions!!! This is just the brake-distance!!!
In an emergency
You also have reaction-time depending on Your personal abilities and Your
personal state of shock in a given situation!!! This does mean: At 200 km/h
You are eating up 55 meters per second. If Your reaction time is 2 secs
/average is 3 secs!!!) You do need 110 m for the reaction, + 160 m to full
stop = 270 m in total. At 250 km/h the figures are about: 70 m/sec = 140 m
done during reaction, 250 m brake distance = 390 meters: Be sure to have
500 meters in sight and free of obstacles when going at 250 km/h!!!
It might be wise and cheaper to do these exercises with a worn tyre-set
(wet and dry, NOT on snow!) :)
Troubleshooting...
Erfahrungen und Tips (deutsch!)
...problems (english)!
Ergänzende Seite zur Bremse (deutsch!)
I will soon add more information about technical aspects, and so on.
WHATEVER YOU DO WITH OR TO YOUR CAR, YOU DO IT ON YOUR OWN RISK, NOT MINE!
AND: Do NOT sue Audi for YOUR faults. (Killing Your kid IS !YOUR! fault! - I
do refer to that american mother who did so and caused multi-million-$-damage
to the Audi-reputation in US for years without refunding Audi for the damage
she had done.) The information provided in here is solely intended to widen
Your theoretical knowledge. Do NOT try any of the procedures described. Join
an instructor on a race-track if You REALLY wish to learn to react properly!
Perhaps You'd like to visit the Audi S-Org
, where they have a nice and international S-car- as well as
20V-registry, too.
I do recommend Jens' Audi-site
, too, as well as Oliver Wischerath's Audi 100 - Seite
.
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