First of all, I want to say thanks for all the info you guys provide. I've been shopping for an A41.8t for a few months now and finally got my car last week. What an awesome ride! All that you have been saying is true...and then some!!!I know the archives section is down, so pardon the repetition on some of these questions. First of all, any special considerations for the break-in period? I asked the dealer and he just mentioned varying speeds, but not much about hard driving. Common sense says to take it easy, but as you all know, that is quite hard to do...any thoughts? Secondly, my car is brilliant black(my first black car BTW)and I know there are more things to consider with maintenance. I don't have to deal with much snow, but rain definitely. Are there products that you all prefer over others as far as washing the car and the wheels, especially you fellow brilliant black owners? Thanks for any input..I've looked on Edmunds.com under their "maintanence and repair" and they seem to have alot of good info as well...just thought I'd ask the "experts"

'01 1.8t brilliant/ecru
quattro celebration
sports pkg.
bose
xexon

 

Go to AudiWorld homepage and check under Tech and User Reviews--Good Info!

 

Do you get 17" rim for your sport package?

 

Break in:
Do vary the speeds and RPMs for the first 1000 miles or so. Don't take any long trips where you'll be cruising at the same speed for extended periods of time. And, in my opinion, try to keep the RPMs under 4K or so for the period of break in. No hard launches just yet!

Taking care of a car that won't stay clean on the outside:
I too have brillian black. The first thing that you'll notice is bad brake dust. IMHO, use P21S gel to clean 'em...works great, won't pit the surface of your wheels. For washing, I use a synthetic wool mitt and P21S car shampoo. Also pick up an Absorber, P21S chamois, or so other type of synthetic chamois to dry it...water spots suck. Many people on this board will agree that for polishing and waxing, you can't beat 3M Imperial Hand Glaze (IHG) and One Grand Blitz Wax to keep this car beautiful. I also picked up a Porter-Cable Random Orbital Buffer after seeing the results on Ed P's black car, and it works awesome. Use it to apply the glaze and wax, and use 100% cotton diapers to buff the glaze and wax off.

For the inside:
I use Vinylex for the leatherette, doors, and dash, and Lexol leather cleaner and Lexol leather conditioner for the steering wheel, shift **** and boot, and the parking brake. I like 'em all, but some people feel that they leave a slick feel. These people recommend just some warm water and a little soap. YMMV.

Good luck. Hope this helps. You can find all of this stuff, as well as some great tips, at Car Care Specialties Online.<ul><li><a href="http://www.carcareonline.com">Car Care Specialties Online</a></li></ul>

 

Thanks for all the info. That definitely helps. I checked out the car specialties site and that was very good as well. As far as the 17" rims, my car came with the old sports pkg., 16" rims. It was already in production when I made the deal back in Dec...it did come with the new quattro celebration though. After reading a few posts here, I'm not sure how that worked out that way (celebration, but not the new sports package) Has anyone else encountered this?

 

Glad it helped. You're gonna love the car!