Having traded a 2002 allroad 2.7T for a 2003 Saab 95 Aero wagon in June I'm thinking of switching back. The Saab is a nice car with some nice features; cooled seats, comfortable seats, weather band radio, slide out cargo floor and good gas mileage(28/30 mpg at 70/75mph). No problems in 24,000 miles, but I hate FWD.

My 2002 allroad had a hesitation in accelerating from a standing stop. Does the 4.2 have this problem?

Any other reasons to buy the 4.2 over the 2.7T? I do like the single color paint options on the 4.2 as well.

I am also considering finding a low mileage 2002 or 2003 S6. I don't really need the allraod suspension. Any thoughts on this idea.

Thanks. Looking forward to getting back in a Audi.

 

I can not comment on the 2.7. However, I have owned a 4.2 since the beginning of the year. I do not feel any lag at all, and I am comming off of a 745i. The 4.2 pulls hard and sounds great doing it. At 1500 miles I have averaged 17.0 mpg and 34 mph. Love this car. Good luck! Greg

 

Hello,

I wonder if your hesitation was due to tip lag? The 6 speed probably does not have the hesitation you are referring to.

If you are looking at a 4.2 Tip, you will likely experience the same hesitation as this seems to be present in all of VAG's (Audi, VW, etc.) products.

If you haven't done so, test drive a 6 speed.

Good luck!
Gavin

 

03 ar 2.7t 6 speed no heistation at all, before or after chip

 

I chose the S6 as my second mountain worthy vehicle mainly because of the TIP lag with my 2001 ar. Both my wife and I need awd and love the handling of these Audi's. My S6 (also TIP) shows none of the 2001 lag plus has a more stable suspension at the expense of low (fixed) clearance. BTW I'm convinced that the ar lag is not turbo related since it happens from a standstill long before the turbo can kick in. I'm still not sure why Audi hasn't provided a new chip that would fix the ar but suspect it has to do with the cost of a full recall that such a new chip would precipitate.

One consideration re the S6, or 4.2 ar, is what altitude do you drive. Most of my driving is 4500-7300 ft and the S6 non-turbo 4.2's 340hp decreases by at least 20-25% yielding something more like 255-270hp while the ar's turbo maintains its 240 hp at altitude.

FWIW my S6 has been much more reliable than my ar ever was.

 

Not to take this topic in another direction but I thought I should try to define the lags before it got out of hand...

Okay fellas we have covered this point (lag) in detail. Here are the lags, choose the one that fits you:


TIP lag: I'm crusing along and decide to manually shift my tranny... it takes 2 seconds to engage a gear.

Turbo Lag: I'm idling at a stop and decide to race the Z28 next to me... I punch it and the car launches hard and then really kicks *** a moment later

BTL (Brake-Throttle-Lag) I'm slowing to a stop and just as I come to a rest I nail the throttle but the car won't move/moves really slow/turbos don't spool and I'm almost killed by cross traffic.

And for those about to argue that "s mode" on the tranny some how magically fixes these... wrong answer.


The TIP lag can be mitigated with a GIAC TIPCHIP. This makes a nice change and the shift speeds are very acceptable then.

Turbo lag is really not an issue for these cars. The spool fine and make great torque down low...

The most disturbing lag is BTL due to the consequences of not being able to move the car quickly. Many on this forum have had some near death experiences and one member got Audi to buy his car back (with an attorneys help). This BTL syndrome is actually programmed into the car's ECU and cannot be excised with tranny modules or GIAC chips or any other voodoo because its integrated with many vehicle systems. The 6 speed doesn't have it. Because the brainiacs at Audi thought that AUTO drivers were too stupid and they might push the throttle to the floor instead of the brake (wouldn't want 60 Minutes to do a story on that one), they figure that people who have clutches wouldn't need such a "feature". I have not driven a 4.2 much to know if they have removed this "safety feature". I have met several owners who are in denial about their Audi not being perfect... oh well it's still a hell of a car.

 

no desire to shift gears manually.

 

No problem at all. Best performance in "S" mode.

 

There are letters from Audi tiptronic owners, including an S6, and these authors state that the tip lag effect they are feeling is "dangerous."

The technician, Uncle John, says that he believes the situation IS NOT NORMAL -- and that the dealers and AoA's stance that "they all do it" is simply because they do not know how to fix it, yet.

I do not know if this has been rectified in the 4.2 allroad or the 6spd tip (I have heard with respect to the 6spd tip, it HAS NOT).

The CVT and DSG transmissions apparently have no such issues, but perhaps this is to be expected.

I understand your reluctance to shift -- but it would appear that the current tips, with the experience and anecdotes noted still have lag; my personal experience is that the lag was NOT dangerous but my reaction to my tip equipped cars was to floor the accelerator when the car did not respond in "real time" which of course generally caused the car to LUNGE with reckeless abandon -- I have the coffee stains to prove it.

At this point, I would ONLY go with the stick or do as suggested above, get the chip and hope.

 

If you want to go that route drop me a line at bdavis at guaranteedweather dot com A close friend has a well maitained 2002 S6 with all options that he will be selling shortly as he ordered a Cayenne. He is the original owner and has taken very good care of it. I nearly bought it myself, but wanted the AR suspension as I do a lot of back country camping/mountain biking and liked the additional clearance. He is up near Portland, Oregon.