mhblaw

Why does Audi put the dual clutch tranny in the 2018 A5 and the Tiptronic in the S5? Would think it would be the opposite. Love the DC in my RS5.

JohnEnglish

All the higher spec cars get the ZF 8 speed. The RS6 and RS7 as well as the A8 and S8. It's much smoother at low speeds and can drop down several gears without hanging like the DSG. Yes, it's sequential shifts are a little slower but overall it's a much better transmission. Juat read any of the reviews on it to see all the praise it gets.

Glisse

Not the same dual sequential transmission as you have, which is the high torque / high performance DL501 (also used in the S6/S7, which are at the torque limit of 580Nm, way more than the B9 S5, BTW). The A5 uses a DL382, designed for better fuel economy and smoother low speed ride.

My B9 S5 with ZF8HP replaced my A7 3.0TFSI with a DL501. I still have my B8 S5 with a DL501. I prefer it to the ZF8HP, but I have never been a big fan of torque converter gearboxes. Drove mostly manuals. Others obviously don't mind the "blur" and prefer more smoothness. But it is not a big deal in the scheme of things.

The NA V8 and the DL501 in your RS5 is a magical combination, the low torque@low rpm / high power@high rpm really suits the DL501. Never to be repeated, sadly.

mhblaw

Thanks for the info. Have thought about an '18 S5, but now think will wait for the next RS5, whatever tranny it gets.

Glisse

Absolutely. If they were going to release the RS5 Sportback any time soon, I would have waited, too. It will have the ZF8HP too, but the map should be better for the RS.

hinckley

I haven't stayed close to the RS discussions. Is a RS5 Sportback anticipated?

JohnEnglish

Supposedly pictures were shown at a dealer conference in Europe about a month ago. However, no release date was given. It's assumed that if it does happen it'll be announced after the RS5 cabrio so probably sometime early next year which means it'll show up here late next year or early 2019.