Mugello Avant joins the club - All Sorted

[Dxthomas]

Having succumbed to RS ownership last June, i've eventually plucked up the courage to join the club with a first post:

In order to maintain what's left of our childrens savings, I have a daily commuter (Octavia); leaving the RS6 for weekend fun. A good plan, you're probably thinking - except for the fact that my wife and children hate it when we go fast...doh!

74,000 miles on the clock, and a healthy 538 BHP.

A few bad pictures:

I am thrilled with my "investment" (please don't tell the wife the truth!), except for a couple of issues which I would welcome peoples thoughts on. Firstly however, a few words about the car:

Work done by previous owner(s)
Stage 2 remap by MRC - inc. gearbox
Wagner intercoolers
Hotchkis ARB's
Alternator + battery replaced
DRC re-built by Audi
Original gearbox serviced twice by MRC
Miltek exhaust
Dodgy TV fitted

Bits done by me
Alloys refurbished by SWW - very pleased with their service.
Calipers stripped down, painted and re-built with all new seals
MAF's, DV's & N75 replaced
Fuel injectors ultrasonically cleaned and seals replaced
All small bore vacuum lines replaced with silicone tubing
Front discs replaced with Girodisc's and DS2500 pads fitted
Nice new "RS6" mats and SRP racing pedals fitted
Dodgy TV un-fitted (at huge expense), now left with ipod connector


Next post = "issues"

[Dxthomas]

Issue #1
White smoke noticeable from both exhausts. Doesn't appear to create more smoke on revving - infact, is more noticeable on start-up and tick-over. I don't remember the car having always done it - noticed it 3 or 4 months ago. Some symptoms / indicators which may help diagnose:

• Rich smell from exhaust

• exhaust tips look more sooty than i would have expected - albeit this may just be normal?

• the coolant warning light came on for the first time last week, requiring 1l of top-up

• At the same time as the coolant warning light, the a/c intermittently won't budge off ECON mode - blowing warm air through the vents

• the external ambient temperature guage has been pretty bonkers since I purchased the car - often reading 5-10 degrees warmer than it actually is

• car runs and drives perfectly. No start-up problems

Issue #2
The brakes feel rubbish. I'm convinced that there should be way more bite/grab from the brakes - especially at low speed. My Octavia and all other cars i've driven in recent memory have had much, much more instant grab than those on my RS6. We're not talking about track performance here - I'm on about braking at the junction at the end of my cul-de-sac! Some considerations:

• i've noticed this from day one. Recently changing the discs and pads has had minimal affect

• new pads, discs, fluid all done recently - along with full caliper strip and seal replacement

• brakes do work quite well if you press hard enough!

• local garage inspected vacuum boost line - and said it was in good order

Any helpful comments much appreciated.

[pete62]

Welcome and FON!

looks nice and in the fastest colour.

Next post = "issues"

If you have "issues" then you'll fit in real well ,there are plenty on here with issues!

[Dxthomas]

Thanks Pete.

I'll keep my "issues" list strictly car related!

Forgot to mention the best value upgrade to the car (which appeals to my OCD)...Liquid Leather! I love that stuff! It's transformed the old grubby cow skin to some gleaming white, nice-whiffing, prime hide! Don't think it's done much to help with my other "issues" however.

[Rstoney]

Very nice! Same colour combination as mine. Your leather looks in much better condition than mine though! Can't help on the white smoke front but with regards to brakes- mine also feel a bit naff I've changed the fluid and put DS2500 pads on the front and I'm still convinced that the brakes are better on my missus MK5 golf Gti. I'm going to try some braided lines when it goes back up to MRC, but I'm not holding out much hope.

Although, when you do have to really stomp on them they do stop you rather quickly I can assure you. It's just general tootling around town they feel rather "progressive"

[srichards]

When was the cam belt/water pump done last? If the water pump is leaking then it could just be that. There's also the idiot pipe that leaks that is impossible to get to.

In colder weather it will run a bit richer for a bit longer so I'd think the exhaust would end up sootier than normal.

[Shoppinit]

FON

You forgot issue #3: DRC incorrectly recharged.

issue #2: The Octavia has quite grabby brakes. Lots of boggo cars do. Maybe by comparison the RS6 brakes don't feel particularly powerful, but they are. They are nice and progressive and will take a surprising amount of abuse with the OE pads. Or maybe your master cylinder is a bit tired.

issue #1: White smoke is generally not good news. The way you describe it makes me think of head gasket. Or it could be a leaky water jacket on a turbo sending water into the intake. You might want to leave the car to stand for a bit then have a look in the cylinders with a borescope to see if there's any wetness visible. Maybe pressure test the coolant circuit.

If there's a leak in the head-gasket that can cause the problems in the coolant flow which can cause localised heating. If the coolant gets hot enough, the A/C will switch off to protect the engine. It can also cause localised boiling which can push coolant out of the expansion tank. After a run, have a look at the vent channel from the expansion tank to see if any coolant has come out.

You can also check for bubbles coming up in the expansion tank. Obviously, you'll have to do this with the engine relatively cold.

Did I mention FON?

[bam_bam]

FON.

[SuprSi]

Welcome to the forum, the car looks great!

Re brakes: Definitely flush the system with motul RBF660 or ATE super blue, I also changed to HEL braided lines which made the pedel a lot firmer. Those DS2500 pads are awesome but when they're cold you will definitely notice they're less effective as they're a track/race compound, they do seem to suit the car very well though IMO. When they're up to temp though they should be good. I've also got the 380mm girodisc discs and they're pretty awesome, very strong initial bite (with warm pad). You might be onto something with the vacuum line to the brake servo, that'll have a bigger impact that anything else if it's leaking.

[bam_bam]

'Apparently' mounting the master cylinder on something more rigid can firm up the brake feedback.

[Dxthomas]

Although, when you do have to really stomp on them they do stop you rather quickly I can assure you. It's just general tootling around town they feel rather "progressive"

I'm inclined to agree with you...i'd just like some more grab at low speeds. If everything checks out as ok / normal - then i'll live with it. However, for such huge calipers, it's seems odd that they're not super grabby - it's almost like the servo assist is weak.

When was the cam belt/water pump done last? If the water pump is leaking then it could just be that. There's also the idiot pipe that leaks that is impossible to get to.

In colder weather it will run a bit richer for a bit longer so I'd think the exhaust would end up sootier than normal.

The cam belt was done less than 4 yrs / 40,000 miles ago. I think that the water pump was done at the same time - i'll check.

I've just been reading about the "idiot" coolant connector pipe issue. Will get it checked out - coolant top-up and white smoke could be un-related.

FON

You forgot issue #3: DRC incorrectly recharged.

issue #2: The Octavia has quite grabby brakes. Lots of boggo cars do. Maybe by comparison the RS6 brakes don't feel particularly powerful, but they are. They are nice and progressive and will take a surprising amount of abuse with the OE pads. Or maybe your master cylinder is a bit tired.

issue #1: White smoke is generally not good news. The way you describe it makes me think of head gasket. Or it could be a leaky water jacket on a turbo sending water into the intake. You might want to leave the car to stand for a bit then have a look in the cylinders with a borescope to see if there's any wetness visible. Maybe pressure test the coolant circuit.

If there's a leak in the head-gasket that can cause the problems in the coolant flow which can cause localised heating. If the coolant gets hot enough, the A/C will switch off to protect the engine. It can also cause localised boiling which can push coolant out of the expansion tank. After a run, have a look at the vent channel from the expansion tank to see if any coolant has come out.

You can also check for bubbles coming up in the expansion tank. Obviously, you'll have to do this with the engine relatively cold.

Did I mention FON?

Thanks for all your helpful comments Shoppinit. Being particularly dumb when it comes car mechanics - I will take everyones thoughts/ideas to my local garage and let them take a look.

I will have to try and post a video of the white smoke - I guess it could just be normal, and I might be worrying about nothing.


SuperSi, bam-bam & everybody else - thanks for your posts, keem em coming!

[Capt Ric]

Sounds like a very nice car, similar to mine.

Totally agree about the brakes - worst feature of the car.
New discs, Girodisc magic pads, new fluid, braided lines; still little / no initial bite although they do ultimately work if you press hard enough and they are warm.
Feel totally under powered to me.
Much prefer my wife's A3, which is more like the switch feel of hydraulic citroens in the past! (probably a matter of taste) as our Mini Copper S is also more like the RS6 (don't like it's brakes either)

Re the leak, I'm currently having new radiator (& cam belt etc change) at Unit 20, fortunately Warranty Direct today phoned to approve under warranty. Hope yours is something simple or you might want to hide from your wife!

Good luck.

[RoyK]

FON

[IanH755]

FON!

Brakes - I used Zimmerman front discs, Audi RS6+ rears, new OEM fluid and Ferodo DS2500 pads all round and had no brake issues, even after a trackday but that first bit of pedal travel was always less positive than my works Corsa van

[Capt Ric]

Anyone know if it's possible to get more power assist? Bigger servo?
I recall reading an article about Nick Hamilton having a modified racing Audi to help with his disability. Think it might have been AMD Essex running the car.
Thanks