Newbie question Short shifter & shift precision

[Jani]

Hi,

bought an Avus RS4 2001 a month back, having followed the car and discussions from rs4.org-days. Finally you could say. The car is stock, apart from quattro brakes, and 84 kkm now, fully loaded except sunroof. It is a wonderful car, amazing looks, and quite comfortable. Makes me smile, and other people turn green, so it's doing it's job

Still amazing how the common issues do need improvement. I had an RS2 with mtm380PS, 570 Nm, and RS4 feels slow, at least under 5k rpm. It won't be stock for long, I need my torque fix, so chip plus some exhaust is on the cards. Will test Revo, but as a long term MTM customer I'm thinking of that too. It's just expensive.

The actual questions are about short shifts: the throw is long and light, and worst of all unprecise. Do short shifters make it more precise, or is it just shorter?

I've already missed a gearshift, something that never happened with the RS2. Nothing too serious, 2-3 became 2-5. Just that I never had that problem, so I think it's the shift that needs improvement, not just the driver

I'm considering tanoga and UUC, just wondering how they work in Finnish winter with snow and -25 C, has anyone got experience with real winter conditions (Alps, Sweden?) Ice, stickyness in cold and rust are the issues I'm concerned with.

[JohnW]

I have no experience of the UUC, but can report the Tanoga is a superb piece of kit, and is very easy to fit.
The lever throw is much shorter (first time wife drove it she complained it wouldn't go into gear, but it already was ! ).
The only time I found shifting a problem was if I tried to really rush it to 3rd, and then I might get 5th as I pushed it across the gate. It was much better if I didn't push it sideways across the gate and just let the centring springs do their job.

The tanoga is machined from alloy I think, but it looks to be anodised, so not likely to corrode. The actual ball part of the shifter is unchanged, as you only swap the lever part itself. Therefore it shouldn't be any more susceptible to cold conditions.

Hope that helps.

Cheers,
John.

[Jani]

Thanks for the answer John. Any other listers with memories or experience of shift quality or accuracy pre/post short shifter

Another question, how to recognise if suspension is GmbH or stock? Can I do it by measuring rear ARB, or possibly height from ground to front wheelarch, or how to distinguish the springs? Suspension seems quite nice, comfortable but it does corner better than RS2, less roll. Haven't explored on-limit yet. Steering is better than I expected, and even with quite worn Rossos it doesn't tramline, compared to RS2 at least. And there is less lag, which was the major downside of RS2.

I'm also wondering if someone has an accurate outside temp display, thought 03/2001 would have the changed position, but it still shows high readings when standing or moving slowly.

Sorry, I know this is sort of FAQ, but I couldn't find the answers from past messages. Help is appreciated.

[dog]

I have the Tanoga SS and it is really nice. (just got the Tanoge flywheel, waiting to be fitted) The service is excellent not just the product.
You can pick the stock suspension as there is understeer and tilting around turns. GMBH drives like a GO kart. goes where you point does not tilt and no understeer at all. supposed to be 2 cm lower too.

[romario]

I have the UUC one fitted at max reduction in shift length. I too found the standard gearbox pretty poor, especially as my only other 3 pedal motor is a Honda S2000 which has an incredible shift quality to it.
Good news is the UUC is so so much better, increase in shift noise in the interior but otherwise I found precision increased and I quickly felt more in sync with the car rather than fighting it during gearchanges.
Got the feeling there isn't a duff quickshifter out there, I went UUC as I found it could be supplied and fitted soonest.
Enjoy, will watch which mods you make, I'm planning to go for H&R suspension and brake mods on John's (RS4John) recommendation very soon, then exhaust and remap.

[Jani]

Thanks for the answers. A friend with an RS4 has the UUC fitted, maybe I'll test first what it feels like, and then decide between UUC and Tanoga.

Quattro suspension is on the "wait list", even with 15 mm drop it might become difficult to use on the roads -at least in winter. Will track the car first with stock suspension to see how it works.

[DaveP]

Stock suspension feels wallowy on the track, too much body roll - I've just had the H+R stuff fitted, and have to say it's improved the car dramatically.

Gives so much more confidence, and gives you access to more of the power more of the time...

[Willy-RS4]

Hi Jani, glad to see more people with RS4 in Finland. I travelled to Turku from Moscow couple of times, great jorney. Im using Bilstein PSS9 and it also VERY comfortable in winter times too because u could rise the car for about 2cm from standart, and in summer times, I lower it for about 3cm. Im using B&M short shifter, not best, but better than standart.

[Jani]

Thought I'd update on this: fitted a Tanoga shifter. At first it made the shift feel a little notchy, throw was nice, a lot shorter and with more feel due to added weight.

Now after a couple of weeks I'm used to it, and very happy with the shift. Like it should have been from the factory.

[jukkan]

Changed the UUC to Tanoga last week and WOW! Tanoga really is much better! Now I am happy with the shifting...