Why are RS6s like barges

[Nordschleife]

DRC was developed originally by Yamaha as an anti-dive system, it requires shock absorbers which may be linked through a cleverly designed central cylinder.
Provided the shocks are suitable for the target car in question, that there is space to fit the system, and the customer has deep enough pockets to finance the development of a system that suits the car in question, it should be easy enough to fit.
I have not driven an RS6 without DRC, so I cannot personally comment on the absolute performance benefits, but the way it prevents nose dive under braking is reputed to cut 1 metre from the stopping distance from 100 kph. I have demonstrated stops from 300kph plus, passengers describe retardation of 10.4 m/s2 (better than 1 G) as incredibly smooth. With this system you get a lot of brake dust on your rear wheels, if you upgrade to a 'proper' system - see pictures on the mov'it web site - http://www.movit.de/
R+C

[Nige_RS4]

IIRC there was an article in Audi driver about an MTM tuned RS6 and a Sported tuned version - both producing similar HP (515'ish). Interestingly, Sportec had disabled the DRC somehow and it was reported that the ride was far too stiff for UK roads (and possibly more suited to track days). If you could find a way to engage/disengage DRC, then you might have a possible solution ??? [img]images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

[ChrisB]

The car is really quite horrible when going through a series of bends at speed on a country road (with good visibility, of course), and I mean at about 120 mph.

Hey Nordschleife,

It's got to be said, at those kind of speeds it does begin to feel a little bit detached from the road, especially if the surface is poor quality with small bumps and dips. I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that the fact that it's not exactly a low-slung car with a low C of G doesn't help here, right? I get the feeling that the lack of body roll due to DRC doesn't really help the driver to feel what's happening underneath either, so I can understand why it's sometimes called 'numb'.

Still, as it's a performance version of a large exec instead of a custom designed performance car, I guess some of this is to be expected?

What kind of level of modifcation are you talking about to improve the turn-in?

[martian]

I spent time on a floating RS6 in Srinigar (Kashmir) for a couple of weeks last Summer. It was actually part of a converted houseboat and rentable. God knows how it got there but it was all stripped out and you could play chess in the front part. I played chess with a bloke from Clapham for about five days on the trot. So barge - houseboat what's the difference.

Too many mushrooms methinks [img]images/graemlins/colours.gif[/img]

[martian]

The car is really quite horrible when going through a series of bends at speed on a country road

No you're completely wrong - negotiating bends at speed is ,apart from brutally fast acceleration, one of the most exhilarating factors of the car. [img]images/graemlins/clap.gif[/img]
I've done 10000 miles in my RS6 and at the 1k mark I would have agreed with you, however the subtleties of handling characteristics only became apparent after about 4 or 5k miles.

[runrowsam]

It's one of those things you get used to as well, as I've found with the various cars I've driven. My old Mini used to oversteer (don't ask me how, I've never heard of another mini that did since they raced against Lotus Cortina's!), which was very scary and unpredictable at first, but after a while I got used to it and absolutely loved it after a while. The BMW I drive now is wallowy and generally horific if you're in a hurry, but as with all these things you have to learn a knack of getting it round a corner. In the BMW it's fast in, nail the brakes, flick the steering to drift it, power on and ooze through the bend. The RS6 is much the same in as much as it may not feel too comfortable flying round corners, with a bit of roll and drift, but after a while you learn how different surfaces, speeds, steering speeds and general car attitudes affect the control of the car. If you could just get into a car and know exactly what to do to get the end result you wanted before you'd even turned they key, where would the ecxitement be? If you want predictability and point-and-go driving, buy an Elise. If you want 5 seats, space for the dog and the ability to cruise at 155 all day long, then burn around like a loony with your pants on fire at the end of a long day, then go for the RS6 [img]images/graemlins/rant.gif[/img]

Rock on
Sam [img]images/graemlins/thumbs.gif[/img]

[Nordschleife]

Martian
I'm not, as you say, "quite wrong", its a matter of experience. The question is always compared to what. My compared to is probably rather more demanding than yours.
Also, in my experience, its easier to press on seriously on the country roads of Bavaria than in leafy Surrey, where so many lanes have hedges and fences and visability on narrow lanes is a problem, there are few hedges in Bavaria and few lanes are sunken, so you can really press on through the twisty bits.
As far as my experience of the RS6 is concerned, I first drove the car in early 2002, I work continuously with RS6 and other development cars and my experience with Audi goes back to the Sport Quattro, so I do know what I am talking about, in this instance.
When I discussed this problem with the development team at quattro GmbH, there was agreement that there is a problem. Further, if you are in Hockenheim right now, ask the Audi race drivers what they think about the suspension characteristics.
Some people will be relieved to know that there are kits available which let you sharpen up the toe-in.
I don't know if you are driving on 18" or 19" wheels, the 19" has noticeably higher cornering capabilities, so weaknesses in the suspension are more clearly exposed.
HTH
R+C

[PP]

Well said [img]images/graemlins/clap.gif[/img]
Horses for Courses, and although I am mainly a BMW fan, I would prefer the RS6 to the M5

[martian]

When I discussed this problem with the development team at quattro GmbH, there was agreement that there is a problem. Further, if you are in Hockenheim right now, ask the Audi race drivers what they think about the suspension characteristics.

R+C

OK I understand what you're saying but you are looking at it from a purely racing perpective- I mean how many RS6s from the total production are going to go near a track let alone be raced? My perspective is surely the one of 99% of other owners who want a family car with supercar performance. Was it designed as a circuit racing car or a road car? I am possibly one of the most experienced RS6 drivers in this country -that's not a boast just a fact- and I think the car does not deserve the slagging off it periodically gets on this board- IMHO anyway [img]images/graemlins/bigwave.gif[/img] [img]images/graemlins/rant.gif[/img]

[Nordschleife]

there was a question about the handling modification. There are some camber plates available which improve turn-in, from a leading tuner over the back fence from the Audi factory in Ingolstadt, you know who I mean.
Also available are additional oil coolers for those of us who drive their cars hard.

Oh, Martian, really as far as the RS6 is concerned, I'm not looking at it from a racing perspective, twisty lanes are quite unlike race circuits, where there are rarely more than two connected corners in sequence (apart from kart tracks, of course).I mentioned the Audi Sport drivers because most of them use the RS6 as one of their road cars and their experience is, therefore, relevent.

R+C

[ChrisB]

There are some camber plates available which improve turn-in, from a leading tuner over the back fence from the Audi factory in Ingolstadt, you know who I mean.

Interesting, thanks.

[jammyhl]

btw - I borrowed the Docklands Audi demonstrator for a weekend (they were desperate to sell it to me), and it had no indication of a 155 limiter on it - in fact it pulled cleanly past 170 on the M11 around 3am Sunday morning (not that I condone speeding etc...) [img]images/graemlins/biggrin3.gif[/img]

[Brooner]

[img]images/graemlins/ban.gif[/img] [img]images/graemlins/ban.gif[/img] [img]images/graemlins/jump.gif[/img]

[martian]

btw - I borrowed the Docklands Audi demonstrator for a weekend -it pulled cleanly past 170

I bet they'll be glad to hear that - [img]images/graemlins/033102bigblink_1_prv.gif[/img]

[ChrisB]

btw - I borrowed the Docklands Audi demonstrator for a weekend -it pulled cleanly past 170

I bet they had already discovered that themselves... [img]images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]