audirb

One of my 3 cars is a 2004 S4 cab which I have enjoyed. I'm ready to retire my 2001 X5 4.4 (which replaced a 1998 540), so here are the questions.

1. What is the latest information on the rear bias (60/40 rear/front) quattro? Is this just for the S and RS cars or will they migrate to the A6, if so when and how will I know if my car has it?

2. Can you special order the Amaretto/Brown walnut (with Oyster Gray BTW) with the sline package, if so how much more might this cost?

3. I guess I need to just go find one to look at; but does the black headliner that comes with the Amaretto make the interior seem too confining?

4. Any way to defeat the very annoying seat belt bell? I always wear my seat belt but there are enough times when I'm in park waiting and I don't want to hear it (and it drives my wife nuts).

5. Is the paddle steering wheel very useful; does it get in the way (either visually or from a tactile standpoint) when you're not using it?

6. Does the very expensive adaptive cruise control work well (I expect to do alot of highway driving)? Does color driver information center come with technology package even if you don't get this cruise control?

Thank you. Roy

Markus_Maximus

#2 - Amaretto no longer available with S-line

stanj

Yes, you can defeat the chime. Yes, color LCD is included with tech even without adaptive cruise.

I ordered adaptive cruise sight unseen, verdict to be heard in ~3 weeks. Same with adaptive air and the paddle shifters. I have seen the paddle shifters on a wheel without wood, and loved it. But I was torn by the fact that I had to get a wooden wheel to get the paddle shifters. I wished that I could get it w/o wood, like in Europe. Oh well.

audirb

Thanks Stan. I'm with you on the wood steering wheel, I didn't realize you get one with the other. Funny, the paddles to me are a sporty option yet the wood is very "unsporty".

How do you defeat the chime? Is it in the "setup" mode of mmi or do you need vag-com?

I'm curious about adaptive air suspension after the Car & Driver review trashed the sport suspension. Have you driven with adaptive air? Are there modes that essentially mimic the sport setup and the standard suspension? If so how do they compare to the suspensions they are emulating?

BTW, did you get the sport seats?

stanj

In order to defeat the chime, you need a VAG tool. The procedure has been described here multiple times, incl. by me (did it to my S4) - I can dig it up but since right now you don't have a car I don't think it would be of much help to you =)

I have never driven an air suspension or radar cruise equipped car, but had to have both. I use cruise control a lot, and the radar should help to use it even more; we'll see. The car is for my wife, and she likes it nice and soft, while this way I can still get a somewhat stiffer setup if needed. The suspension has four settings - Auto, Dynamic, Comfy, and Lift. In Auto it lowers itself at highway speeds while it still should do well on the pathetic 101 pavement on which she commutes every day.

We didn't get the sport seats; my wife is very small and she finds it difficult to get out of, plus the seat cushion is longer than on the normal seats which is uncomfortable for her.

audirb

Thanks again Stan. Actually, I'd like to defeat it on my 2004 S4 Cab (I'd like to get the DRL working too). I'd appreciate it you point me in the right direction (I searched the C6 A6 forum and didn't see it). Is it the same for both B6 S4 and C6 A6?

Is this something the dealer might do or are there some legal issues involved?

stanj

I doubt the dealer will do it for legal reasons. Seat belt stuff is iffy, and in a way I don't blame them for this particular mod. If you know someone with a VAG tool, do this:

Instruments (#17)
Recode (#7)

The value has a format of xxx?x.

? = 0 : no chime
? = 2 : USA old

Some people had success with 0, I did not. I coded mine to 2, means chime sounds for 6 seconds and then it shuts up. Doesn't bother me much. It's the same for the A6.

DRL on your B6:

Option #9 (forgot the name)
Recode (#7)

xxxx?

? : 1 : Rest of the world
? : 2 : Scandinavia
? : 3 : USA
? : 4 : Canada

1 will let you turn on the fogs with only parking lights, no DRL
2 will keep your headlights on all the time.
4 will keep your fog lights as DRL all the time. When you switch on your headlights (via auto or manually), the fogs go off. My friend has it this way so that she doesn't drive around with her Xenons on all the time.

audirb

Good stuff. Is there no DRL option for the B6 that uses the headlight but at a reduced level (isn't this how DRL's typically work?)?

When the A6 DRL option (throught the mmi) is selected, what happens (eg foglights, headlight full intensity, headlight reduced intensity, etc.)?

Thanks again Stan.

stanj

DRL were introduced in Scandinavia an eternity ago, and it's mandated that they be the actual low beams (that's how it used to be until very recently, anyway). Not clear about the law in Canada but let's say that German manufacturers don't care too much about the Canadian market becuase of its small size.

Then people figured out that having DRLs may be a good idea overall. As of October, for instance, it's mandatory even in Germany (even though not enforced, yet). That's when the less bright DRLs came in. In the US, GM came first with the somewhat dimmed high beams until they realized it was stupid because people were driving without lights at night; then they started using super bright turn signals or fog lights (on their trucks). They are sufficiently visible to be DRLs, but don't give enough light to make the driver believe that they have their lights on at night. Wonder when VW will get that point... I guess nobody is looking at the (dark) instrument cluster which would tell them "oh doh you need to turn on your lights". That of course would require people thinking when driving =)

The B7 and C6 cars have pretty much the same headlights - three visible lamps: the turn signal, also used as parking light in the US; the actual Bi-Xenon headlight (one bulb with a filter that's removed for high beams); and the DRL bulb, which also houses a small parking light bulb, which is often incorrectly referred to as "city lights" (it's illegal to use them even in the city as driving lights, except in Italy). Look at my signature picture, shows it clearly. The two things that are on is the parking light and the DRL bulb, with the fogs and main lights off.

The new A8 has pretty much the same setup, just a bit fancier with a LED DRL cluster in the centermost "light", in the V12 and S8 models.

With the B6, you are stuck using either the Nordic or Canadian DRL scheme, and you can't turn it off without a VAG tool either. Again, this is designed to suit these specific markets only, where are clear laws about the light output and it's not an option but rather the law.

I had the fog lights wired up as DRL in my three B5 cars, and am happy that there's finally a real solution.

audirb

So the C6 A6 DRL will just turn on the fog light like the Canadian option for the B6?

BTW, I'm not sure that I have the Bi-Xenon lights (I know have the Xenon) but I'm sure that that will not affect what you're talking about.

Finally, and off topic, since you seem to be a big quattro guy, any ideas about if and when the C6 A6 might get the rear bias system (60/40 rear/front)?

Roy