tightgroup

I am in the market for an *8 D2 I am not convinced of either an A8 or a S8. Each model has their pros and cons. I do have an ego and love power But in Canada its a bit pedantic an A8 is a beautiful car, smooth and has gobs of power to have fun. But the an S8 is a statement and a real one at that. Please chime in and help me out with this.

silverd2

S8 faster accel, rougher ride, lower mpg's, more $$ and harder to find a choice.

A8 still rare and unique, fast enough, smoother ride, better mpg's, cheaper and easier to find a choice of examples to buy.

But, I'm prejudice

I had the budget to buy either and made a conscious choice to get a SWB FL A8...never regretted it...love it.

S8ilver

...and I decided that I had to have the extra power. The S8's ride, to me, isn't rough at all. Definitely rougher than A8, but perfect balance of sport and comfort IMO. However, mine isn't a daily driver. If I were commuting everyday I'd probably had gone for the A8. If I were taking people often it would have been the A8L. I drive on the harder side and it's usually just me in the car. The S8 was the clear choice.

I'm prejudice as well!!!

silverd2

Understood...Mine is my daily driver and has been for almost 9 years now.
I don't have any friends, so I never needed the extra rear seat legroom of the A8L
My back seat is just an extra climate controlled, leather lined trunk.

tightgroup

I just picked up a D2 200* (not sure of year) owner let me have the car for the weekend. Put 100km on it so far.. Ohh my I feel like I am on cloud nine.

The car is an A8L 2003 (but it looks like a 2002) Tons of grunt for city driving, found myself having to curtail my right foot movement, but the handling ohh my I weaved in and out of traffic without any effort. This car can do much much more.

My wife rode in the back without wanting to sit up front, she did not yet want to drive it, (I suspect I am being baited here)

I will be getting an S8 2001 probably next weekend for trial purposes..

If the S8 is a more responsive car than the A8L I might have a real problem on my hands with trying to figure out how to keep both cars.. But till next week.

Again thanks for the information..

twentysevenlitres

You must have good friends, or a trustworthy face!!

I've had my '01 S8 for about 5 months. Love it!

I do have the following observations in my ownership:
It is very rev-happy. Sometimes annoyingly so!
It is very quick, but gets there as much by short gearing and high revs (7000rpm redline in a v8! ), as by the extra engine power (essentially achieved by higher lift cams and engine mapping).
However, by adapting your right foot, you can reel the revs in while still getting good pace - and of course you can always use the tiptronic...
At 60mph, it pulls around 2200rpm and gets just over 10l/100km (24-26mpg's i think), the A8's have a taller diff and should see around 1700rpm and better mpg's.
The recaros are magnificent - there is no other word for them, great seats!
The suspension is just right for me, but I've always owned lowered cars!
Handling is great for such a large car, you go stupidly fast around corners without feeling you're going stupidly fast!
'Adjuster' on this forum reckons a better wheel/tyre combo makes handling even better.
Love the speedo which reduces the speed increments above 60mph - a trait of Audi S-cars.
Most S8's would have come fully-loaded, so should want for nothing. A8's had various option packs.
And of course there's the kudos of the 'S8' badge on the trunk (even if most plebs have no idea what they're looking at!)

Road King

I've owned my '02 S8 for about 8 months now, and while it's not a daily driver, I have managed to put close to 5K miles on the ODO so I've had some decent seat time. Total mileage is ~110K, and the car is aging well, with the only exception being some of the exterior trim pieces.

It's definitely the wonderful driving experience I expected.

Ride height is low (tough to get over some driveway enterances) but the suspension isn't so firm (@ 110K miles anyway) that it's punishing or tiring on longer drives, in fact I drove to Tahoe for the July 4th Holiday weekend 4 hours there, 5 to get home. The S8 was great on the open road, esp. the high altitude mountain passes, and handled very nicely, not as firm as my Subie and definitely not as soft as the Lexus LS.

I wasn't actually shopping for an A8/S8, as I bought this car from a friend who had too many cars, but if I were in the market I'd def. drive the A8 back to back with the S8 to determine if the S8 is too firm/too aggressive or if the A8 is too soft. For me the S8 strikes a very good balance given my other cars.

My biggest gripe with the car is the short gearing. 3000rpm is 77mph in 5th gear, and that's as aggressive as my STi's 6th gear. The S8 could really use another gear and when I first bought it I thought it wasn't shifting into 5th (final drive). Fortunately, my trans. shifts very smoothly and was serviced at about 80K miles. I understand they went shorter on the gearing to pick up acceleration, but it seems counter intuitive for an autobahn cruiser like the S8.

Sean in Norcal
'02 Audi S8
'10 HD Road King
'97 Lexus LS 400
'10 Lexus RX 350
'07 Subaru WRX STi

pocketchange

Get the A8 and a fresh set of Bilsteins and enjoy. Anyone with a used set BTW?

pc

silverd2

Putting Bilsteins on an A8 with stock springs will make for a harsher ride and not improve handling.

Firmer shocks need firmer springs to match.

pocketchange

Sorry about that. Let's add a set of springs to the list.