The life and times of my B7 RS4

[JCviggen]

My problem ads is that the simplest things can be hard to find here in Moscow. I could go out and buy myself a new Rolls Royce within 5 mins (if my VISA card could stretch that far) but at the technical end it's difficult to find the small bits and bobs which I'd have no problem finding back home. I'm just not in the local clique and the language barrier is still an issue.

Heck I struggled pretty hard just to find PS fluid for my '6 the other day.

Never seen any MAF cleaner on a shelf here, but I am generally limited to the car section of the hypermarket nearby.

Typically, cars run better with the MAF signal absent (thereby defaulting to an ecu map designed for this scenario) than with faulty readings being sent. Might give it a try later to see how it goes.

It's going to my mechanic tomorrow until I return on the 15th of Jan, should give him enough time to get the parts in.

[JCviggen]

Well, running MAFless worked, until it didn't. Warmed up the car, drove normal. EPC light stayed off while ESP stayed on. Once warm I drove it a little harder without doing too many revs, still fine. Then right near home I slowly pulled away from an intersection and it went into limp mode worse than usual. Revs were going between 700 and 1500 and it lost several cylinders running very rough, car barely kept moving. I turned it off and restarted it and it idled normal for 10 secs then it again started to break up and went onto 4 pots or so. Plugged the MAF back in, restarted, and finished the last few hundred yards to get home which it did, normally.

Pretty odd all things considered, but I don't think the MAF is the only problem here.

[JCviggen]

So much for buying a "rare" car. Ended up in a bit of a Misano train at the lights. We did exchange honks.

[andyg72]

oh my that red is stunning nearly brought one my self but spent my coin on a black one

[bam_bam]

In Russia, misano red RS4 finds you.

[JCviggen]

oh my that red is stunning nearly brought one my self but spent my coin on a black one

No matter what colour you buy, after owning it for a week or two there's always some that are going to look better Only solution is to buy one of each.

Red has a slight advantage in still looking half decent when dirty, a big plus around here in winter, a car wash is pointless.

[JCviggen]

Just an update - the car is running well after changing back to NGK plugs from Bosch and a SW0090 update.

The 3-8k test was passed in 7.9s (dash chrono) in both directions of the same road. 7.95s with more accurate timing. Ambient +2.5C.

http://www.greenringer.net/various/arth ... EO0089.mp4
http://www.greenringer.net/various/arth ... EO0090.mp4



Just feels slow (well, I'm used to RS6 torque) until the kick happens at 5600, VCDS shows the throttle at only 52.5% until then. The guy who works on my car is a bit of an ECU wizard as well, he'll remove the torque limitation at the next visit.

[PetrolDave]

Just feels slow (well, I'm used to RS6 torque) until the kick happens at 5600, VCDS shows the throttle at only 52.5% until then.

That's what the standard Audi map does... and why MRC remove the limitation.

[RichT128]

I like the wheels personally. Definitely prefer the darker ones with this colour.

I'm not generally a misano fan, but that looks great and I think the wheels are spot on! I had a few problems with my car dropping into limp home mode a while back, main reason was earth faults on the throttle body/ecu from what I remember

[mongo]

Just an update - the car is running well after changing back to NGK plugs from Bosch and a SW0090 update.

I am fairly certain it will be the SW0090 update that solves the hesitation/misfire during cold start on cold days - as per my comment on the other thread. I take it you no longer have these symptoms?

[JCviggen]

I am fairly certain it will be the SW0090 update that solves the hesitation/misfire during cold start on cold days - as per my comment on the other thread. I take it you no longer have these symptoms?

A bit soon to say, it was several degrees warmer, but certainly the driving cold part seems a lot better. Should get colder again in a couple of days, let's see if the misfires stay away altogether.

I need to replace 1 injector as well but it needed to be ordered.

[PetrolDave]

I am fairly certain it will be the SW0090 update that solves the hesitation/misfire during cold start on cold days

That's the main reason 0090 was released, but I've found it also has two other side effects:
- even with the OE exhaust it was slightly louder and much raspier than with 0080
- fuel consumption, for me, suddenly dropped by about 10% after the 0080 to 0090 upgrade

[JCviggen]

Finally got her back yesterday after coming back from holiday.

Car runs well, has a new AC compressor, new starter, fresh oil and NO MORE BLOODY PRECATS.

Sound increase is very nice. Not loud, just more of it without droning.

Performance increase: 3-8K test has dropped from 7.95 to 7.75 which is a considerable change considering it's on a stock map. I'm convinced ditching the precats will net you most of the gains any exhaust will give you as the Audi main cats are excellent and the catback is pretty good too.

[marc1]

How are you finding having the two V8 Audi's together? Do you find one gets parked up and not used most / all of the time or do they have specific roles which means they get used as intended? Also is the room in the C5 noticeably bigger?

[JCviggen]

Hard to say, after owning the RS6 for over 4 years (and getting somewhat fed up with some of its issues) it's only normal to take the car you only just bought and are still getting used to. RS4 is more fun to drive. RS6 is a bit of a blunt and wobbly instrument when compared, but it certainly feels faster when going straight.

I do take the C5 to the supermarket obviously. Yes it has a lot more space. It feels bigger inside and rear legroom is no comparison. But I never sit in the back and neither does anyone else for that matter. The C5 does amaze me with its effortless torque after I've been driving the B7. And with the Supersprint exhaust I find it sounding pretty bloody good, not that much in it between them in terms of sound quality it's just more deep and heavy with the RS6. Like stepping on the tail of an angry dinosaur.

The plan is still for the RS4 to move to Europe eventually when I get a P-car daily next year perhaps. The RS6 may get sold before then, I'm just not looking forward to the process of the actual advertising and selling.