My review, after a week of ownership

niterydr · 03-07-2009

Some of you know I got a new daily driver, the rest are finding out right now.

After driving the Nissan Sentra as a daily commuter after a year and a half, I decided I needed something with a bit more power. I wanted a vehicle that was comfortable in traffic, had aftermarket support, had a good resale value, and didn't cost me an arm and a leg to purchase.

I also had a limited budget to work in and did not want a large car payment.

I ended up selecting a 2000 Audi A6. It is silver with the black leather interior. The Quattro AWD system is a blast to drive. It has a hint of factory oversteer even if the weight split is 60/40. To engage the oversteer all you have to do is just pick your attack angle and give it some throttle. The car will slide sideways and carry thru the corner easily. Granted, this isn't an all out balls to the walls sports car, but for a daily driver, that level of control is nice.

The 30 valve 2.7L V6 twin turbo is powered by twin K03's. Don't know what a K03 is? Picture your T-25, only smaller and x2. The boost is low (for now), but comes on strong. The 230hp feels strong pulling on to the highway and the 229foot-pounds of torque from 1850rpm makes merging very easy. That much torque down low makes the vehicle suffer in the fuel economy department, as well as the heavy weight of the car. (3660 curb).

The black leather interior is very soft and the wood trim is deep in color. The car still has a sporty feel to the interior without being over the top.

I am really enjoying the HID headlights, the power moonroof and the heated leather seating surfaces (all around). The trunk space is very large and the HVAC system with the temperature controls works great.

Minus a few maintanence items here and there the car is in great shape. I plan on just customizing it to my liking and only upgrading when a stock component fails.

One of the largest drawbacks to this platform is the locked ecu. The motronic ecu is very smart and uses a checksum setup to virtually lock people out of the ecu. There are chipped upgrades available but I'd rather not go that route.

I'll get some pictures up when I find my camera.

**Kracka** · 03-07-2009

I believe Jordan Price (local guy) has everything needed to flash/chip Audi ECU's. Good review though; never thought I'd see the day of Swanny in a luxury car

niterydr · 03-07-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kracka

I believe Jordan Price (local guy) has everything needed to flash/chip Audi ECU's. Good review though; never thought I'd see the day of Swanny in a luxury car

Yeah Jordan is a dealer for GIAC.

FattyBoomBatty · 03-07-2009

Light 'em up if you can.

turbotalon1g · 03-07-2009

lol.
Nice, glad you found something you like. Will have to check it out someday soon.

**Goat Blower** · 03-07-2009

They are nice, and a good value. You might as well put some turbos on your list though, they're known for going around 100k miles. Not always, but a lot. Just a good opportunity to upgrade anyways. You can throw some monster meats on them as well, and if you're really bored, you can graft some 4.2 fender flares on the back and swap out the front fenders. The 4.2's look mean.

awd-drifter · 03-07-2009

those are nice rides. A customer let me drive one around and it was super smooth and fun to ride. pulls nicely.

Swifty1638 · 03-07-2009

the 4.2l we had was flat sexy. I am still pissed I didnt pick it up. Oh well.

Glad you found another boat you are satisfied with man. throw some turbos on that list as hill said, cuz they go..all to often.

-A. Swift

niterydr · 03-07-2009

Yeah I'll do k04's once I have enough side projects done to afford the upgrade...or they kill themselves.
Until then, k03's are perfectly fine for a daily driver.

A//// Guy · 03-07-2009

Sounds like a nice car.

Im converting style to euro slowly! muhaha

Shotgun! · 03-14-2009

Awesome to see you back I'm to the boats sir! I had no idea you would being heading that way with things.

Quote:

Originally Posted by A//// Guy

Sounds like a nice car.

Im converting style to euro slowly! muhaha

No crap!

I wish I would have known! I have been looking very seriously at a 2000 M5 the last two days. I might not be ready for the plunge just yet though.

xveganxcowboyx · 03-15-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shotgun!

I wish I would have known! I have been looking very seriously at a 2000 M5 the last two days. I might not be ready for the plunge just yet though.

Do it! You know, as long as it's low mileage. Those engines aren't the most reliable on the planet.

A//// Guy · 03-15-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shotgun!

I have been looking very seriously at a 2000 M5 the last two days. I might not be ready for the plunge just yet though.

Look for an 01 and up M5, there were some revisions to the motor. M5 was on my list, awesome cars!

niterydr · 03-15-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shotgun!

Awesome to see you back I'm to the boats sir! I had no idea you would being heading that way with things.

No crap!

I wish I would have known! I have been looking very seriously at a 2000 M5 the last two days. I might not be ready for the plunge just yet though.

You know me and boats. I love them as daily drivers. Plus this thing has so many damn airbags, I figure that idiot that will plow into me wont actually kill me.

Versus the Nissan, where I'd be soup.

This is an awesome daily driver that requires a mechanics touch at times. They are pretty modable but there is a definite line of the proven path and insanity...one I plan on not crossing.

I love the M5's. I was looking at a higher mileage M3 at Sears Imports and this Audi, just didn't want the extra $$ into a daily driver. It is really hard to try to justify a rwd sports car as a commuter car in Minnesota.

**scheides** · 03-07-2009

Jordan is a dealer for EPL, not GIAC. Josh, swing by Imola Motorsport, it just opened in Golden Valley. Kevin Tan (ktan on here) owns it and it is being built out to be a premo place to bring your car for stuff you don't feel like dealing with

I've been around their shop here and there lending a hand, its nice.

I don't think the K03's go out as easily on the A6, there is much more room than on the S4 letting the turbos last longer

At most, I'd consider a chip, maybe exhaust, but its gonna get expensive really fast after that. Intercoolers don't help a bunch on the K03's, but are vital if you go K04 or bigger. It sucks the K04 is 'the' upgrade to get...they're $2200 for a pair and once you push 20psi through them they're maxxed. RS6 turbos are a little over $3k but will do 420whp on pump gas and blow that auto tranny to smitherenes!

http://www.jhmotorsports.com/shop/ca...b9d7737fb34254

Anyways, like I said....chip, maybe exhaust....keep it comfy and simple

I love those cars, very good mix of comfort with a little sport and power. Great DD.

niterydr · 03-07-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by scheides

Jordan is a dealer for EPL, not GIAC. Josh, swing by Imola Motorsport, it just opened in Golden Valley. Kevin Tan (ktan on here) owns it and it is being built out to be a premo place to bring your car for stuff you don't feel like dealing with

I've been around their shop here and there lending a hand, its nice.

I don't think the K03's go out as easily on the A6, there is much more room than on the S4 letting the turbos last longer

At most, I'd consider a chip, maybe exhaust, but its gonna get expensive really fast after that. Intercoolers don't help a bunch on the K03's, but are vital if you go K04 or bigger. It sucks the K04 is 'the' upgrade to get...they're $2200 for a pair and once you push 20psi through them they're maxxed. RS6 turbos are a little over $3k but will do 420whp on pump gas and blow that auto tranny to smitherenes!

http://www.jhmotorsports.com/shop/ca...b9d7737fb34254

Anyways, like I said....chip, maybe exhaust....keep it comfy and simple

I love those cars, very good mix of comfort with a little sport and power. Great DD.

My bad, it is EPL, I don't have access to MNAUDI from home and I was actually looking at chips so GIAC popped into my head.

I wouldn't mind checking out Kevin's shop at some point in time. Wasn't he working with Mo for awhile at Elite before it moved?

I've seen the k04's for a bit cheaper, but not much

. Like I said, don't really want to chip it unless a really good deal comes along. Just can't the $500 they are for a bit more boost and some fuel/timing tweaks. I'd rather put the money into better brakes or suspension.

**Goat Blower** · 03-07-2009

Ouch, I thought $1300 for my FP turbos was a bit steep. You get what you pay for.

**scheides** · 03-08-2009

Kevin was using elite as a space to do work on cars for a while, now he has his own gig

You'd be surprised how damn torquey those things get with a chip, its kinda detarded

rose0529 · 03-08-2009

Sounds like fun!, glad your happy. Any pics?

Speedfreak · 03-08-2009

I'd like to hear your impression/experience after 6-12 months(if you still have it).