adg44

By anyone. This "area" of the ECU is something that once it is programmed cannot be changed without replacing the ECU and doing a fresh flash.

adg44

For the rest of the world, you can do 174mph on the steel brakes if you please. It is not a technical requirement that you have ceramics to have the 174mph limiter. It's just that someone who would want the ceramics would likely also want the higher top speed, as they would be more inclined to do track days and possibly utilize that higher speed, so that's why it's grouped together in the US. And the ceramics and steel brakes have the same stopping distance. It's just that the ceramics will keep doing it over and over again without having any fade.

And depending on your location in Germany will also vary how fast you are going on the Autobahn, as the area around Munich now is heavily trafficked and restricted. Unrestricted areas are getting more rare than 10 years ago, but often times I'm going 210km/h with no problem and often times still get passed. 130km/h is supposed to be your recommended speed in these unrestricted areas.

N8!

duhg

If they were not on a dock hold for 9 months, that's what I would have bought (Golf R) instead of the A5 Sportback.

NoMoreBMWs

I like having both Roadside Assist, my CAA/AAA membership paid up and a spare. The only time I've been seriously inconvenienced in 25 years of driving high performance cars I cracked a wheel that was out of stock at BMW USA and had to get one run in from Canada. (And to this day I won't abide 30 profile tires as a result.) Of course a spare wouldn't have reduced my inconvenience one whit. The real joke is run flats because it's often hard to find a matching tire in stock. Twice now I've been in a rental for two or three days waiting on a tire (luckily close to home), and I've only run on run flats for five of the past 25 years.

superswiss

Not having a spare was initially a minor concern. I tend to have bad luck with tires and pick up nails and screws regularly. Had to use road hazard three times over the last five years to replace tires that couldn't be repaired. Yet, having a spare would have made zero difference. The chance of having a blowout so badly that even the mobility kit doesn't let you limp home or to the next tire shop is close to zero. The vast majority of tire damages were slow leaks and I eventually saw the nail/screw long before TPMS went off. For an extra piece of mind I carry a mushroom plug kit since I often hit up the canyons where there is no cell reception, so worst case I can plug the tire on the go instead of spraying that goo into the tire. I've cancelled my AAA membership a long time ago. Once Audi roadside assistance ran out, I got coverage through my insurance for a small fraction of the cost of a AAA membership for two. I've never gotten my moneys worth with AAA.

luv2sleep

Golf R is faster and handles better than an A5 but it looks better than the R.