Manual Conversions

[Shoppinit]

The flaw is the engine management and ABS / ESP interaction. This has been the biggest stumbling block and those that have figured out how to do it are keeping stumm for obvious reasons.

[gingertoss]

got that covered, mrc have done it

[mrmule]

So its that simple then....?

[bam_bam]

got that covered, mrc have done it

^ True dat dere.
There's a guy on SRS who is shoe-horning a C5 RS donk into his B5 S4 'loon (I think his handle is "Iceblue" or something). I caught up with him at the 1st ACE Cafe meet and when I asked about his concerns for the ECU, he said it was the least of his worries as there are a few work-arounds available, including MRC's.
After reading about the recent gearbox woes involving Warranty Direct, Malcolm and myself to some extent, I'd hazard that the manual conversion path couldn't be that much more expensive or painful (read: time off the road).
However, I think the real money dissolver will be all the mods and power hikes you'd want to get done considering that:
a) The engine is out already
b) Your gearbox won't implode at first prod of the loud pedal; and
c) You're uninsurable anyways

I do like the idea of Mister Emmanuel but I'll never skip down that golden brick road. For me, the C5 RS is a lazy motor and it’s a lazy drive, thus, the manual destroys its character. Can you imagine being stuck in [London] traffic with it? In an RS4 it makes sense, the manual is part of the high-revving ethos but in the C5 RS… you flip a paddle, ride a wave of torque to obliterate whatever Euro buzz box was in your way and then you flappy the other paddle to continue burbling along in the triples… that same story with a manual just doesn’t gel in my mind.

Rant. Over.

[Shoppinit]

For me, the C5 RS is a lazy motor and it’s a lazy drive, thus, the manual destroys its character ... in the C5 RS… you flip a paddle, ride a wave of torque to obliterate whatever Euro buzz box was in your way and then you flappy the other paddle to continue burbling along in the triples… that same story with a manual just doesn’t gel in my mind.

Nicely said. This pretty much sums up how I feel about the manual conversions, too.

Although I would add that I think the RS6 is great around twisty country roads in 3rd and 4th with an occasional 2nd gear corner.

I would suggest that anyone thinking of going the manual route try an MTM TCU (other brands available) first. For me it transformed the tiptronic experience.

[bam_bam]

I can see why it's a tough decision if your ‘box is going to pop. I'd loved to have a go on an RS6 with three pedals, experience the much raved mechanical boost AND lord it over that motor with cog swapping duties, but, as charming as it is to hold someone else's baby, I'd be looking to hand it back after 20mins (especially after a wastegate accident).
TBF, I think all the manual conversion thoughts passing around in this thread are more to do with imminent 'box failures rather than a change of scenery, that said, I completely agree with Shop in that a TCU tweak will improve the way it drives, without killing its lazy nature.

Someone should start a poll – “why would you go manual?”

[JCviggen]

I think a manual RS6 could be better than you'd think. Even manual it's still a lazy engine and you don't need to shift much once rolling. You can be in 4th or 5th at 1200rpm and get decent pickup when you want to increase speed from there.

Also, I bet it will feel aheckofalot faster and thus you might not want to go back

[bam_bam]