VT98A6

I am a new Audi owner. Never owned one before this one. I just got a 98 Audi A6 Quattro 2.8 w/ tip tronic. I have to say I love the car and picked it up for the right price. It has 183k+, but runs and drive like a champ and was a 2 owner car and had tons of maintenance slips. It has no rust and still has the original paint with next to no scratches at all.

Now to the questions. Where I live it tends to dump snow pretty good when it does. It did so last night. I found out that the car sits a bit to low for being able to get around without plowing and almost getting stuck. So is there any way I can get more ground clearance out of it? I have herd of some guys with b5 A4's using the Allroad suspension. I am not a big fan of airbags as I do a ton of dirt road driving( I live on the side of a mountain lol).

Second question. I have done some reading about maybe doing either a 4.2 swap or 2.7t swap. Are the really plug and play if you have a parts car. Just bolt the engine in with the right harness and plug in ecu, gauge cluster, and key and your pretty much ready to run. I have searched on it, but no one really has a "how to" I can find. I don't really want to hear the just sell it and get one with a 4.2 or 2.7t. I am in this car cheap enough that a swap would actually be cheaper than buying a good a6.

So with that out there I am happy to be part of the forum and I hope to be here a while.

deviantirish

I actually have a B5 Passat 4Motion that I was thinking about putting my old 2.7t in also. But haven't researched it much since I am still working on my A6 2.7t.

If you get a good set of winter tires you should be able to get through the snow. I have seen these get through 12"+ on stock height.

But like you I have seen mainly everyone switching to Allroad bag system for extra clearance. You could try taller side walled tires as long as they clear also.

I have drove my Passat through 8" and never came close to getting stuck. The Quattro system in VW/Audi is amazing.

This will be the first winter with the A6 when I get it back up and running.

clancy

I have been driving an Audi Quattro since 1985. Have had about 9 so far. I live in Colorado at 8300 elevation. They do great, but you are correct they will high center in depth. My opinion, leave the A4 as is. Add tall tall skinny aggressive snow tires and go to another vehicle when the snow is too deep. Or wait until the plow comes. Messing with the basic design parameters that made the car good will make you sorry. Another vehicle that has more clearance designed into it will give you the best of both. And a lot less aggravation/frustration.

VT98A6

Yeah. The only reason I was thinking about swapping the engine is I am kind of a boost addict and also a v8 junkie. So with that said my 2.8 is showing no signs of giving up, but I would like to plan ahead for when it does kick the bucket. So if I am going to be taking it out might as well shove something better in.

Yeah so far its snowed here the past 3 days and its still coming down. I was plowing snow with it this morning. It does very well, but I did almost get high centered a few times. I do like the way the car is, but I defiantly got get about 2-3 inchs of ground clearance. Yeah I thought about tires, but there really isn't room for any taller of a tire. I thought about making some spacers to put on top of the struts to space them out from the body. I have seen tons of people do this to there Subaru's. I am thinking about going this way over swapping in any allroad parts. I know the car will need an alignment after, but it will be interesting to see if all the control arms and ball joints will be capable to handle the lift.

clancy

I know I sound like the old fart that I am, but... Audi has spend a lot of time and engineering and experience and money getting their cars finely tuned. Not just the engine but all components, steering, suspension, transmission, aerodynamics, electronic engine/transmission control, etc. Start changing these things and you may improve one aspect only to negatively impact another. Think inter-dependencies here. The ABS system is connected to the traction control, engine management connected to transmission management, emissions connected to ... change one thing and who knows what else it will affect. Sure it can be done, and is done. You just need to ask yourself whether you are patient enough to work it all out.

As soon as you deviate from standard then the list of available sources to help you decipher the impact of these changes goes down significantly. Point being you are much more on your own to work it out. If you look forward to this then have at it. If you think you can make significant changes to the car, engine, transmission, suspension and make it better with no future fuss or muss, well.... And, if you are a perfectionist and want everything working correctly you are asking for a lot.

In my old age I no longer think I can quickly and easily make things better than original. I think about the cliche that goes "pick your fights" and "go in with your eyes wide open"

Best Wishes

Just Me

1. a standard 2.8 is not low. But if you really want more clearance, over-zine your tires slightly - i run 225/55-16 snows.

2. the 4.2 and 2.7 will likely not work with the lighter-duty auto tranny you have. I don't know if there are ECU changes. if you really want to swap, swap the entire drivetrain.

Grant

SloopJohnB@mac.com

You want a snow car buy a newer AllRoad or put slightly taller skinnier snows on your Audi. They is what they is.