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Hi,
I based in the north of England. I've worked as an apprentice tech (Mac and Auto Electrician) for VW/Audi some 20+ years ago. I grew up restoring restoring cars with my Dad and I've always had a thing for a petrol v8.

Having sold my remapped 2007 manual c6 2.7Tdi v6 Avant in November I started looking for a c5 RS6. I was looking for a car with lots of history and signs of being well cared for. I found a vehicle with a combination of Audi and Top end Specialist service history, four owners, 125k and black buffalo leather (distressed look) interior. I wish it had a solar sunroof (it has a conventional sunroof) and 19inch wheels (it has Std RS 18" wheels). It has a non-heated multifunction steering wheel which I like because I added a Dension Gatewy Lite to the standard Navigation Plus radio (blaupunkt) system for bluetooth mobile and media player connectivity so steering controls for the audio including telephone is great - with Spotify on your mobile, who needs a multi-disk CD player!

The car has extensive history and all the common faults seem to have been addressed in the last year. Less than 4000miles done in past two years, but maintenance receipts for this time add up to £9k - this made the car stand out. New H&R coilovers; new Audi supplied disks and pads all round; new oil cooler; new suspensions arms; new Conti Extreme Contact tyres; new Gearbox valvebody and all the expected services done on time. Interior is immaculate as is the Avant body.

It was missing the engine under cover and the liquid in the side view and rear view mirrors are drained off. I fell off my chair when Audi gave me a price for the engine under cover and fixings - research based on part numbers reveals that this is a unique part, so I can't resort to ebay.

I've done an oil service (oil+fuel filter) and I've noticed engine oil on the bottom of the gearbox bell-housing, where it meets the rear of the engine block but I can't trace it, it's possibly coming from above (but not sure how) - I will investigate further if it reappears (any thoughts?).

I'm thinking removing the pre-CATs in the downpipes and the MRC stage 2+ remap which includes the Gearbox ECU remap (not sure how stage 1 vs stage 2 remap differs). An MRC health check seems sensible (I gather its mainly an induction system leak test). I expected fuel consumption to be poor on the local runs but 12.5MPG is shocking, and the best I'm able to average is 24MPG - for the thrill I'm not complaining although I drive it very conservatively on the local runs, more so because I wont ever push a cold engine. 19 inch concave wheels seem tempting but I want the car mechanically spotless and optimal before I start with wheels.

I've thought about a coolant and brake fluid flush, plus HEL braided flexi brake hoses for a firmer pedal. Maybe EBC yellow stuff front brake pads at some point for improved bite from cold. I need to find a new interior Auto dip rearview mirror and side view mirror glass on both sides - I considering non-liquid filled standard blue glass for the heated side mirrors (BTW: I have colour coded side view mirrors, not the solid aluminium ones) - but mine is power folding. I'm not sure if a three spoke steering wheel with pedals is more desirable, or more practical given my Dension Bluetooth Gateway.

I've considered the retrofit large display nav radio systems with built in bluetooth from China via eBay - it seems far better value than used RNS-E systems.

I'm constantly worried about potential of gearbox failure so I've got the filter; seals/gaskets and oil ready for a service but I'm not keen on the job so I may have it done at MRC if I do go down to have the remap done.

I'd like some advice on "lifetime" air filters as well. That's all my thoughts on my vehicle and I'd appreciate any advice you can offer. I spend hours on this forum reading - i'm amazed at the about of knowledge and experience here so I hope to gain from that and hopefully I can start contributing as well within a few months.

Cheers,
Zak.

That's a he'll of a first post mate!
Welcome along.
FON.

FON.

Rule 1.

Ever considered using a carriage return to create paragraphs? That was a tough read, my eyes hurt.

Thanks for taking the time to read the post. I've added the carriage returns in sometimes random places to create paragraphs. I didn't intend to write such a long message. I hope to receive some comments and advice about my plans for the vehicle.

Standard sunroof is certainly better. I've bought one to replace the solar roof in my avant, just need to get around to fitting it.

Don't bother with a knockoff Chinese RNS-E, by all accounts it'll drive you insane with non-intuitive and slow OS.

Gut your cats and remap but leave something in your budget for replacement charge coolers.

Keep the 18s for winter or track days and track down a 19" wheel to make the car unique. A lot more options than there used to be.

Now, get some photos up. It's rule 1 of the Internet.

Cheers.. That's sounds like advice from experience.

Where do I post pics?
I haven't been taking pics really. Waiting for warmer days I guess.

No cats.. What about MoT?
What's am I missing?

It sounds like you're missing a friendly MOT man. There's one a minute from my house, real petrol head, he's passed both my CATless RS6 for 2 years running now.

If you open a free photobucket account it will host your photos and facilitate link embedding for most forums. You could also use the attachment function under the attachments tab just below the submit/full editor buttons but it's a bit clunky, like Chunky's mum.

Thanks, I shall post pics soon.. By Sunday at least.

I may have such a petrol head in my vicinity. I'm told pre-cat out makes a very noticeable difference.

Any thoughts on remaps?

Also, I find the understeer hell to deal with these power/torque levels. Any thoughts on that?

The only way to stop understeer on our cars, reverse everywhere.
You could go for Hotchkiss arbs, but the big heavy lump over the front wheels dictates life.

ARBs. What tyres are you running. If you brave, you could perform the 4:1 diff mod, it's been known to work on the B5s.

Conti Extreme Contact Tyres... Not impressed... Or I need to adjust the dampening.

4:1 Ratio.. Will that be a crown wheel and pinion 'swap out'? To both diffs?

Change tyres but you may as well wait for summer.

I'm not sure if anyone has done the 4:1 central diff mod on a C5, I'm about to look into it as I have a 01E manual and the B5 lads swear by it to reduce understeer, or more likely induce oversteer. Parts are just custom washers, then it's just labour and oils.

Welcome Zak, hope you're enjoying your ownership so far.

Bam that 4:1 central diff mod sounds very interesting! Would be nice to be able to get some throttle on without it just pushing the front wide.

It's not as cut and dried but in slip situations it is more rear-bias. It couldn't make the dynamics worse, it's a barge through and through.

http://diffmod.plainbored.com/

By the way.. What is the engine oil capacity? I'm fining figures ranging from 6.5 litres to 9 litres on the Internet.