Newbie Question - How Easy is your RS4 to Drive?

[Tedders]

Thanks for all the thoughts and comments above. I will get the dealer to check the clutch over when it is in next, but TBH it sounds like I am experiencing the same 1st/2nd gear change situation as a few others - so that's a little reassuring. It's a shame though that the clutch and gear changes are not as instantly accessible as the A5 I drove for a few days. Practice makes perfect!

[PetrolDave]

It's a shame though that the clutch and gear changes are not as instantly accessible as the A5 I drove for a few days. Practice makes perfect!

For me one of the things that makes the RS4 a real drivers car is that you have to work at driving it well.

[Ozrs4]

Just another similar experience, I have no problem with gear changes when taking it easy around town. My biggest hurdle is the launch (just highly spirited take off, not a full on launch), I still occasionally have trouble getting a nice smooth start because I can't really determine the friction point, perhaps it's just too much adrenaline pumping! And yes, changing from 1st to 2nd can sometimes feel very clunky. I would also agree with turning off the ASR helping smoother gear change but often forget to do this unless I'm doing track days. I don't find much difference if S mode is on or not in terms of smooth gear changes. Overall, I must say it's not that hard to drive the RS4.

[Marcus-RS4]

Are people properly switching off the TC by holding it down for 5 secs etc or just pressing it?

[SR71]

I am personally convinced the Motronic 9.1 is screwing with the torque delivery under hard acceleration from a standing start.

Drivers Republic found a similar thing with the C6 RS6 in their recent article.

Switching off one stage of the ESP (i.e., TC) assists shifts...you can always re-select it once you're into 3rd if you don't like the idea of driving around with it off.

"S" mode definitely makes smooth progress more difficult under partial throttle when the road surface is compromised....often the case here in South Wales. You can get into a "pilot induced oscillation" to coin an aviation-related phrase where the only solution is to come right off the throttle because of the relative frequencies involved.

Lastly, what may help is to try and engage the subsequent gear with a tiny bit of throttle i.e., try and "slip" it to engage if if you see what I mean....I do this by modulating the clutch pressure/slowing down the engagement right at the end of the its travel.

Other than that, its a peach to drive.

[SR71]

Marcus,

To de-select the traction control (TC), you only need to press the ESP switch briefly once. The amber light will flash on the instrument cluster.

To totally de-select the ESP, press the switch for ~3 seconds. The amber light will illuminate continuously on the instrument cluster until re-selected on. You now have no TC or "ESP" (of course its not quite that simple) although if you get the car totally out-of-shape, I understand it will still kick-in of its own accord.

FWIW.

[PetrolDave]

To de-select the traction control (TC), you only need to press the ESP switch briefly once. The amber light will flash on the instrument cluster.

For those who want TC to default to off, it might be worth looking at this - http://www.kptechnologies.com/docs/SM20 ... lation.pdf

[svassileou]

Clutch is fine on my car, but gear shift is not the smoothest between 1st and 2nd - I suspect both the ESP and the four wheel drive system might have something to do with this (didn't whoever was running the EVO long-termer comment on this some time back?); on a dry day, I have no qualms about driving without TC and ESP on the understanding that the car needs to be treated with respect (but, then again, my previous car was RWD, no ABS, no TC, no ESP and just under 300 bhp/tonne).

I do find it more difficult to execute smooth gear changes when the S button is pressed but that's more to do with the throttle response sharpness than anything else.

[scoobyc]

Are people properly switching off the TC by holding it down for 5 secs etc or just pressing it?

i'm holding it down for 5 seconds and then when out of town (eg not going to be using 1st or second) pressing it once to turn it back on again

[tweek]

Not sure if this is applicable to RS4's but there is a thread in the B6/B7 S4 forum (Think my S4 is broken) that describes a method of changing the ECU behaviour by dabbing your left foot on the brake so the ECU thinks you're braking and nailing the loud pedal to the carpet approx 1/2 sec after.

Doing this changed the response of my S4 significantly, even the engine note changed . I'm curious if this has the same effect on the RS4?

Pete

[richardofthesun]

Agree with all the comments here, but also, car is just back from a service, and I'm told it had a software update, and the up/down gearchanges are so much smoother than prior to service. Would this be attributed to engine calibration map changes to improve driveability. It is the first time in 18months its been into a garage, so it will only be one of the ECU updates discussed on the forum elsewhere. Did anyone else notice a difference.

[rjkflyer]

Funny you say that - was scrolling thru the message and getting read to volunteer "i am convinced that the 0090 update has made the car smoother on takeoff" but was reluctant until i saw richardofthesuns post.

So, therefore, i too agree re the update, assuming we're both talking 0090.

BTW, the exhaust valve mod is TERRIFIC. I would not have credited that such a simple mod would have been so worthwhile - the additional torque really does show low down, and perhaps I'm combining the merits of 090 and valves as i did one within days of the other.

[sonny]

I too found this when i switched from my BMW to the RS4, at time (buit not all the time) I found it hard to find the bite point and have a easy engage, however I was wearing flip flops!...lol

I also found the car to Kangaroo in slow moving traffic, my friends S5 did this also, but he had an upgarde that eliminated this, so it is possible a ECU issue!