S6 vs. M5 vs. XJR comparison in EVO
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S6 vs. M5 vs. XJR comparison in EVO
For those interested, the current issue of EVO magazine from the UK has a 3-way test comapring the UK version of the S6 (5-speed Tiptronic, no 6-speed available) to the Jaguar XJR and the 6-speed BMW M5. As expected, the M5 took high honors with a 5-star rating. The Jag and the S6 got 4 stars each. The S6 is the least powerful and slowest car of the bunch, but it had a very respectable 0-60 time of 5.9 seconds with the slushbox. The British press has slammed the shifting quality of the 6-speed manual tranny in the S6, but I think there's not much point in getting the Tiptronic S6 over the A6 4.2 quattro. The EVO article actually found the performance of the Tiptronic S6 to be significantly better than the A6 4.2Q, but there is little to visually differentiate the two models. True, there is a 40-hp bump, but the torque increase is only about 20 lb-ft. The 6-speed S6 should be capable of doing 0-60 in the low 5's, very fast but still not in M5 category.
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I agree, the S6 seems like a small step up from the 4.2, however...
if it had the RS6 badge it would be a different story. That car would be a beast. 400 hp, for sure and probably not available in the USA. Like others have metioned you can get an additional 20-30hp in a 4.2 with a chip and a freer flowing exhaust. Not too far from S6 territory.
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The S6 has much shorter gearing; a higher final drive is the main difference in acceleration
Isn't there a way that's not prohibitively expensive of changing the final drive. I don't want smaller wheels and tires. With this change, a chip and exhaust the 4.2 with sport package would be very close to the S6.
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If you did the work yourself
If the final drive is 3.89, then you can find 4.11's pretty easily. If it is 4.11, then I don't think that you have any options at all.
Both ways there is a 9 tooth pinion. All you have to swap is the ring gear (35 tooth to 37 tooth). The rear diff is easy to remove, and I think you can swap the front without removing the transmission. If you get old gears, then you should replace the pinion too since they will likely make noise otherwise.
Todd W
Both ways there is a 9 tooth pinion. All you have to swap is the ring gear (35 tooth to 37 tooth). The rear diff is easy to remove, and I think you can swap the front without removing the transmission. If you get old gears, then you should replace the pinion too since they will likely make noise otherwise.
Todd W
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Re: Final Drives: I wouldn't know how. But I'm in NYC and have a place in NJ. I'd like it done. So
anybody interested? The final drive of the 4.2 auto is 2.727:1; for the 2.7T auto it's 3.511:1 and for the 2.8Q auto its 3.409:1. I think they may all be to high numerically - the least change would be 25%. Is there any way to get a final drive around 3.15 or 3.2? If not the 3.409 would be OK. If anyone takes a look at the January 99 Road and Track, you'll see in the comparo between the 4.2, BMW 540i, Jag S V8, Lexus GS 400, Lincoln LS V8 and MB E430. The 4.2 has the longest gearing by far (the E430 is closest).
This car is geared to go 155MPH at 4600 RPM all day long and use less gas than otherwise. My mileage is bad enough (15 MPG, spirited driving, some town some highway) so another 1 or 1.5 MPG doesn't make a difference to me. I WANT MORE ACCELERATION! What can I do?
This car is geared to go 155MPH at 4600 RPM all day long and use less gas than otherwise. My mileage is bad enough (15 MPG, spirited driving, some town some highway) so another 1 or 1.5 MPG doesn't make a difference to me. I WANT MORE ACCELERATION! What can I do?
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Re: If you did the work yourself
European gearing is potentially slightly different from American gearing, but Pablo1 is wrong when he says that the same pinion can be used in two different ratios. For either a hypoid or spiral bevel gearset, the pinion is designed for and has certain attributes that make it able to mesh with only one mating ring gear design, such as pitch angle, face angle, root angle, mounting distance, etc. Even if this were not true, hypoid ring and pinion gearing (and spiral bevel for that matter) are typically manufactured together in mating sets only, are lapped and tested together, and are not interchangeable. My company (the largest independent gear manufacturer in the US, and one of the largest in the world) will not sell a pinion or gear without the mate, and it is never a good idea to try to mate gears that were not manufactured together. Noise, smoothness and gear life would be severely compromised, and you would not be happy with the results (this assumes the same ratio; as stated above, any other ratio would not mesh at all). If for some reason, the lower (numerically) ratio is unavailable, a special ratio set could easily be designed and manufactured, and would not be overly expensive in lots of perhaps 50 to 100 or more at a time. We do this all the time. I design gears, transmissions, axles and other geared devices for a living.
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Need for speed.
Pablo,
If you were looking for acceleration, I still can't figure out why you didn't go with a chipped, 2.7T, 6spd. Eibach springs with struts would of given you the hunkered down feel you're looking for. Alot easier to do then changing drive ratios and cheaper.
If you were looking for acceleration, I still can't figure out why you didn't go with a chipped, 2.7T, 6spd. Eibach springs with struts would of given you the hunkered down feel you're looking for. Alot easier to do then changing drive ratios and cheaper.
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Rick, just for your info...
Thanks for the information from someone "in the biz". In the case of Audi, they do offer complete cogsets and drivelines for sale (or MTM or Quattro GmbH could acquire them) all the way back to the takeoffs and driveshafts so, yes, in most high-end tuning applications both sides of the mate are purchased and installed.
In a high-torque car like this the complementary wear issue is the main reason to replace both sides of any cogset assembly, I've been told by several different tuners.
In a high-torque car like this the complementary wear issue is the main reason to replace both sides of any cogset assembly, I've been told by several different tuners.