After writing more than once that I plan to drive my blue beast until the wheels fall off, I am considering other options -- including for Daytona in about five weeks. Reason: Although the wheels have not fallen off, my desire to deal with DRC problems after my extended warranty expires 12/31 has dropped to zero. The last fix, my third, would have cost $4200-4400. That's my dime next time. No thanks.

I realize other suspensions are available, but from what I've read they fail too. Maybe someone can talk me out of this if they know of an aftermarket suspension that works as well as DRC (when it's working!), won't fail within a couple of years, won't cost like DRC when it does fail, and gives an equal or smoother ride.

Short of that, or extended coverage for DRC beyond 12/31 (I'm at 77K mi), I'm considering a change faster than expected.

One candidate is the CTS V, which reportedly started production here in Michigan on Monday. Although the CTS V is priced well below cars that it beats per GM's test time at The Ring, it's still $25-30K more than the car at this link. Performance mods mentioned by the owner (at the link) cost about $700, plus upgraded wheels & tires.

My thinking is something like this: With employee pricing for all, a rebate, and $3K in accumulated purchasing power on my GM (Visa) card, this car will be cheap even if I get a poor trade-in appraisal for the RS 6. GM's 100K mi powertrain warranty is another plus.

Some might ask, will GM be around to honor that warranty? Bankruptcy is possible. But companies don't disappear after bankruptcy; they get restructured. Stockholders can get wiped out, but one would hope a bankruptcy court will look out for things like honoring warranties. To do otherwise hurts the business they are trying to save.

Anyhow, I'd appreciate any thoughts on aftermarket suspensions. I know there are old posts but an update would be useful since hardware wears out over time, i.e. are last year's winners holding up? Thoughts on this car also are welcome, especially if you've driven one or can speak to its Aussie roots.<ul><li><a href="http://www.g8board.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7170">http://www.g8board.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7170</a</li></ul>

So far, no DRC fix has lasted 12 months..
I prefer to let Audi pay for it just to get them back in some small way.
The KW v3's are the best option and I am considering this move just because I am tired of having to think about it all the time and who knows how long KW will make them for our cars the older they get?
Every time I think about trading it in, I realize that whatever I get wont have the looks of performance of this beast.. However, in addition to the Caddy, yesterday I saw a new Pontiac G8 GXP and its quite the looker. Best looking US car in years..and over 400hp v8 for $40 grand..
I'll be test driving this one soon..

Did you see the writeup? Impressive showing at VIR, including passing an RS 6. Owner comments elsewhere on their forum indicate some people have mistaken the front of the Pontiac for a BMW. Both have kidney grille, and the front fender flare on the Aussie is sweet IMO. The back seat is bigger than an RS 6. Luxury suffers in some ways, but the interior looks smart and in other ways the G8 is more up to date. Better air bag protection, for example, plus a year of Onstar.

Anyhow -- I've been asking about the GXP and told it's not due out til the middle of next year. Some orders have been taken, although they have no price and may be more a result of salesman hustle than product availability. But you SAW one, right? Please explain context with as much info as you care to share!<ul><li><a href="http://www.motortrend.com/features/auto_news/2008/112_0806_2009_pontiac_g8_gxp_first_look/index.html">http://www.motortrend.com/features/auto_news/2008/112_0806_2009_pontiac_g8_gxp_first_look/index.html</a</li></ul>

Either that or it was an early test model.. They look similar.. This one was black and really flared wheel arches.. Quad exhaust and a sweet looking ride overall. Being in LA we sometimes get these mule sightings. I'll definately be testing one when available.

the anniversary date. I had the same panic with my car but trade in is just too terrible for what i owe still so i have to suck it up...off CPO warranty July 1 next year.

I've talked to two dealers now; one said the GXP is coming late January or February, the other said April or May. A few have arrived but they apparently are prototypes, for show only. With no price identified, these obviously are not for sale yet.

Sounds like the GXP may have a stiffer suspension, though, so I may go with the GT anyway ... if I make a change. (Still hoping to hear from someone with an extended warranty or DRC solution!)<ul><li><a href="http://media.gm.com/servlet/GatewayServlet?target=http://image.emerald.gm.com/gmnews/viewmonthlyreleasedetail.do?domain=999&amp;docid=45388">http://media.gm.com/servlet/GatewayServlet?target=http://image.emerald.gm.com/gmnews/viewmon

Proving once again it's not the car but the driver. And the driver of the GT and the TT must have been real idiots.

Agreed that some of the the other drivers may have been idiots. But I drove a G8 GT again today and it is one fast mutha in stock form, with 385 lb ft in a car that's 200 lbs lighter and much better balanced than the RS 6.
This is a five year RS 6 owner speaking, Davey. I know what fast feels like. I'm not judging based on five years of driving some vanilla family sedan.

No doubt with the extra 30-40 or so hp and 20 lb ft provided by mods that the VIR driver added, plus his wheel and tire upgrades, he would be competitive with the cars listed.

There's no way to be sure which cars are faster unless the same driver tries them all. That's not gonna happen, so the VIR report and the seat of my pants, combined, tell me this car will do what I want: Be a comfortable, roomy daily driver plus tons of fun, and competitive, at a track...with no warranty worries!

BTW the previous car for the guy who posted the VIR report was a 2005 S4. Two other owners report having had a 911. I'm sure there are more, the point being that while it may have been crazy to consider GM as a source for capable sport sedans in recent years past, that is no longer the case.

neither of which I even remotely believe.

I know they are fast and capable cars and having owned an RS6 myself I know what fast is but my RS6 never stood a chance against my 911TT in stock to stock form and forget about keeping up with a Ford GT. Now the new CTS-V I might believe a bit more.

Here are a couple of excerpts from his post:

"There is nothing like going by a Ford GT, and them having him drift from sight within a lap or two".

"I was able to turn faster times in the G8 than the other two, including the 911 turbo. I was actually able to pass and pull away from the Porsche as not only did the G8 handle better with the summer tires, the extra power on the straights was amazing"!

last week while I was driving the e90 M3. At first glance from the side, it had a look that was similar to the M3 sedan. I thought that was kind of funny. They were very enthusiastic. I didn't let in to my juvenile tendencies and just gave them a thumbs up for picking up a nice ride.

At first I thought, another set of yahoos. But I remember driving my Taurus SHO for years and smoking a LOT of faster cars with it at Sears and Laguna. The American manufacturers can send out a diamond in the rough every now and then. I'm beginning to think the G8 might be one of those cars.

BTW, the M3 with DCT is an excellent replacement for the old e46 M3 and the RS6 (the RS is in Montana and the M3 in Quebec now). Has all the good traits of both. It doesn't have the torque of the RS but is just as quick. But there is one issue. I bought the M-DCT due to my experience with the Audi DSG. Sorry, BMW decided to use its customers for R&amp;D on this one. Two software updates so far, and the tranny still won't downshift properly under threshold braking and has a dangerously long delay (both throttle and transmission) when asked to accelerate after (for example) turning a low speed street corner.

Plus we know the G8 was modded, and we don't know about the 911.

Last December at Daytona I saw one car creeping along the infield shoulder because the driver was so intimidated. A Yugo would have trounced that driver. So maybe some of the VIR drivers he mentioned fell somewhere in between -- confident or capable enough only to go relatively slow.

I'm not looking at the post for evidence that the G8 will beat everyone else except the GT3. I look at it as evidence the G8 may be right for me, for reasons already given i.e. a roomy car that's competitive at a track with no warrany worries -- not to mention a price tailored to tough times.

yet but I'll be at VIR next week and of course I'll have a few cars down at Daytona as well. Would love to see one on the track.

You can get the KW V3's delivered for about $2500 and they Euro guys have been using them for about two years now without problems, unlike the Stasis ($1000 more), and Bilstein PSS9's (no longer produced for the RS6 at the moment).

Audi isn't re-imbursing you for your time and trips to the dealer. I want something a little lower (1")and more reliable. If you just lowered your DRC and later had problems, I'm sure Audi would not warranty it.

You addressed the reliability issue -- thanks! So I went to rs6.com and found more info. For me, an old(er) fart with arthritis, the stock RS 6 is as stiff a ride as I can handle in comfort, especially on crappy Michigan roads. The most recent KW thread over there (linked below) is from a guy who loves the handling of the KWs but complains the ride is "very stiff." So I looked a little father and found a couple of posts where it was recommended that owners experiment with the settings. But no one I saw had settings to recommend for ride comfort, and I didn't see a post from someone content with KW ride quality (I stopped looking after several threads).

So...well, I wish I'd seen your post earlier, cuz late today I decided to get the G8 GT. But I don't do the transaction until tomorrow, so will continue for a while tonight searching for someone saying KWs can be adjusted so they're no stiffer than stock on the RS 6.<ul><li><a href="http://rs6.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16953">http://rs6.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16953</a</li></ul>

Just talked to another board member who said he rode in an RS 6 with the Stasis Olin (sp?) setup, and he thought the ride quality was as good or more compliant than stock -- with improved handling. That sounds great to me and I wouldn't mind paying extra -- but now need info on the reliability of the Stasis setup (and any other observations folks here care to make).

I'll search some more, then come back.

From what I can tell, they are setting them firm but a lot of softer setings available.. In other words, it seems like you can have the best of both worlds..