donp's Audi Logs

Hmmm. Let’s see… I purchased the A6 May 27th… I guess it’s time I post something about it. Yes, I’m a bad Audi owner.

In 10 months I’ve logged about 8,000 miles and [knock on wood] the car has been perfect. Not a singe problem. I of course, have done routine stuff like oil change and tire rotation but otherwise no repairs. Now, that’s not to say I have not done anything to the car. Oh, come now… did you think that was even possible? Here’s what I’ve been up to with it:

- Installed an XM radio (gotta have my XM!)
- Installed H-sport sway bars (this was an excellent mod)
- Replaced the OE BBS RC rims with 4.2 5-spoke polished rims (my alltime fav. on the A6)
- Valentine One hardwire (did this within hours of taking ownership)
- Installed Lidatek LE-30 laser countermeasure
- I have an RSN-D Nav+ radio sitting on my bench waiting to be installed.
- I plan on converting the brake lights to LED based illumination using Luxeon III Star (3 watt LEDS!) and converting the fog lights in the trunk lid to function as brake lights.

Since I’ve owned the car I’ve been nearly rear-ended three times. It’s not my driving style… I don’t tailgate and brake late (thereby surprising drivers behind me) so I’m convinced the brake lights on the A6 are just not visible enough. This conversion should be an eye-opener for traffic behind me.

LED brakelight upgrade forthcoming…

Well folks, I’m sad to say I’ve parted with my S4. I loved the car but I had to sell it for medical reasons and I wanted more room. The nice firm suspension that makes the car such a pleasure when running hard has turned out to be a great source of irratation to a neck injury I had back in 1999. So, no more S4. As a replacement I’ve purchased an immaculate 2000 A6 2.7t. Comments on the A6 forthcoming.

Bye-bye S4… you will be sorely missed.

March. It’s March already! I’m getting old… I can’t believe how quickly time passes. Yes, time for an update.

In my last entry it was time for my 5,000 mile service. Well, now it’s time for my 10k. Car is in for repairs to the rear bumper for minor cosmetic scratches after someone kissed me while stopped in freeway traffic. Grrrr. Should have it back in a few days.

This car as been so perfect I really can’t come up with anything to say (complaints anyway). I drive it and it does what I ask with zero fuss. I never walk away from it annoyed. Fast. Great handling. Great brakes. Fantastic seats. This car was a wise purchase.

In an effort to wake up the cell phone chatting, half-asleep zombie drivers I’ve added a device that flashes the high-mount brake light for 3 seconds when you apply the brakes. I’m amazed how much it has reduced the general public from tailgating. Touch the brake and people immediately notice. You can see it in action here. Highly recommend. Details about the flasher here.

On a humorous note… I’m driving a Gran Prix rental car. A guy in my office apparently saw me coming into the parking garage with it and mentioned it to me in the office. I don’t think he knew it wasn’t my car. He asked how I liked it bla bla bla. I brought up a laundry list of things I didn’t like about it… numb steering, wallowing suspension, non-linear brakes, cheesy interior and power typical of GM that is only good until about 40 mph. It’s a GM ‘mobile… ick. And I questioned what GM was thinking when they decided to put the odometer in the MIDDLE of the dash above the radio. WTF? Does have a decent stereo though.

Well… aaaah… he has one. Dooh. He just sort of stared at me for a few seconds and finally told me I was mental and that it was a great car then babbled for a bit. I just shrugged and said I’d be very happy to surrender the keys when my car gets back from the body shop. He asked what I had and I told him. He rolled his eyes and muttered, “Oh, figures… Euro trash.”

I just laughed and walked away.

I was coming back from errands today and, like usual, I was driving in a rather spirited manner. I like driving this car… and I’m perfectly happy to play all by myself when road conditions permit. Well, apparently this guy in a Firebird (don’t know what kind specifically… late model, with big hood scoops) decided he was going to rain on my parade. I think I really got his attention when he was behind me and I departed from a stop light under full throttle in a big hurry. I could hear him light ‘em up (me being half way across the intersection by then) so I knew he was trying.

I was only doing short blasts up to about 50. Three times, not including the first time he was behind me, he left red lights hard enough for me to hear his tires yet he couldn’t overtake me before I shut down at 50 mph. He was not a happy camper at all. Funny thing is each time he was further and further behind because he was wasting time with wheelspin while I was putting distance on him. The harder he tried the worse he did. Classic.

Finally, he turned left at one of the lights after having to brake hard, tuck in behind me, and get in the left turn lane (I continued straight). I could see his posture in the car… wrist drapped over the top of the steering wheel (hand twitching), leaning right toward the center console and I assume his hand on the shifter with a death grip just waiting for the light to change so he could do the smokey burnout that almost caused him to hit the curb as he tried to make his left. (he showed me, eh?)

He probably should have eaten my lunch (me being a tip and all) so it was just that much more entertaining.

Gotta love the backwards baseball cap crowd.