Hey all, my wife and I are considering an 03' RS6 for my new ride (lucky me!) and I had a couple questions about doing upgrades.

I had read somewhere that the tranny doesn't take to upgrades very well? Can anyone confirm this? I was thinking basic power adders, nothing to over the top. I mean, it comes with 450bhp! Thats plenty for a daily, but in my case (and I'm sure just about everyone elses) there is room to better so why not?

Anyway, if someone could help me out I would greatly appreciate it. BTW, I the one were looking at has 42K miles and their asking just under 43K for it. Very, very clean 1 owner car.

 

I had an 03 for about 6 months then I sold it because some kid offered me $7K more then I paid for it. I didn't mod it because it was my daily driver, I only put new shoes on her and tinted the windows, had I kept it I would have added Milltek exhaust, etc. The tranny is decent but I haven't heard of many people doing that many upgrades to worry about the tranny. If my memory suits me correctly my tuner buddy had his dyno'd at 509 at the wheels w/ exhaust, ecu flash by MTM and misc. little parts I can't remember and his held up fine for the year he had it. It's a great car and you'll thoroughly enjoy it. My advice is buy exhaust upon purchase, it really wakes the beast up when you do.

Enjoy in good health.

 

Thanks kre8ive. I was looking at exhaust, ecu, diver valves, and twin CAI. I really like the car and I hope it works out that I can get it.

 

There are a few things you should know about them. #1) The DRC suspension is a huge problem on those cars. Go to Audiworld and you'll see what I'm talking about. They tend to leak and then you'll have to get it fixed which is $$$$$$$$ 2) The tranny is very weak after modding. I think you can upgrade the torque converter to make it more reliable but that's $$$$$$$$$$$$$ 3) The car is very expensive to work on. Let's say you have a bad O2 sensor that needs to get replaced, Audi will quote you 30 hours to do this b/c they have to pull the motor!!! Even cheap indys still charge around $1800 to change an O2 sensor b/c they don't pull the motor but still have to pull the downpipes to get there.

If you do get the RS6 you better get a CPO warranty (I'm not even sure how much that would protect you since they came out in '03) or be prepared to spend a lot of $ or become a certified Audi tech to fix the car yourself

If you have $40 something to spend on a luxury sedan, I'd personally skip the RS6 and get an '04 CPO'd E55. If you really want a fast Audi, get a B5 S4 and throw $10K at it to make it Stage III.

 

I had 2 RS6's both of them modded with Oc.T chips and Milltek exhaust. I put on around 15k miles on each one, never had a hickup. The tranny is weak beyond high HP modding.

Make sure the one you are looking at has the DRC suspension inspected THROUGHLY.
Even after warranty repairs many guys complained the car was to soft and ride height was higher.

Like alot of other cars it had its flaws but a great sedan overall.


Bajo

 

If you buy an RS6 this is what i would do. Put Billstein PSS9 Coilovers. Then i would do Giac Engine and Transmission Chip along with a Milltek Cat Back and Downpipes. I would skip on the CAI and do K&N Performance Filters. I would also do DV's. That set up should be good for 580HP/610lb/tq. Levelten can upgrade your tranny for like 3500 to hold up to 600+hp which is a good idea. Good Luck...

 

What he said. Bilsteins will make all the difference in the world with this car.

 

Man, thats some good info guys. I really appreciate it. My wife and I like the car so much, but I definately will have to have the 1 I want thouroughly inspected. I'm looking to purchase 1 from an Audi dealer and I'm not sure if it has a warranty on it. I will ask though. I don't want to be forking out major $$$$$$$$$$$$ to fix stuff when it can be covered under the extended warranty.

 

GSlider,

I had an '03 RS6 as well. By the time I hit 8k miles, car had been in shop for 6-8 weeks for DRC problems. I loved the car to death, but mine was a nightmare. I never have problems with my cars and treat them all very well, but I dumped it and went back to an E55.

You don't want an RS6 without a warranty - get either Audi CPO or an aftermarket extended one. Don't kid yourself. I've seen the turbos, transmission, DRC, etc go on the car - working on that car is impossible, parts are stupid expensive, and overall you could be in way over your head even with a thorough inspection.

Again, don't kid yourself. I'm not saying don't buy the car, cause it is a great car, just make sure you hedge what you are getting into.

-m