2007 D3 S8 three week review (long)
08-22-2006, 03:00 AM
#21
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Compared to the RS 6...
Well, it's been a year and ten months, and 41,000 miles since I had my RS 6, so it's hard to compare directly.
However, I do remember the one thing that I really noticied going from the RS 6 to the W12 was just how much smoother the W12 was.
Obviously no turbo lag, and because the SWB W12 had a lower final drive ratio than the LWB W12, it matched the RS 6 pretty well for acceleration, being slightly faster off the line, then the RS 6 keeping pace or catching up slightly to about 100 mph, but then the W12 starting to find it's legs with the slightly higher torque and higher rev limit, and it's better aerodynamics.
The W12 was also a lot quieter than the RS 6 from start-up to full-bore running. Not only was engine noise much more muted, but the W12 had far superior noise insulation, with much less wind and road noise than the RS 6.
As for handling, well the W12 engine is still a heavy lump, very similar to the RS 6's V8 plus it's turbos and intercoolers, but being a slightly wider engine with a lower centre of gravity, in the slightly longer A8 chassis, the W12 didn't feel as nose-heavy as the RS 6, so understeer was less forthcoming. The W12's air sport suspension also adapts very well to differing conditions, certainly feeling a lot softer than the RS 6, and initially feeling looser on corners, but I soon came to realise that the car was doing a similar thing to DRC with the air springs and electronic damper control, and after some initial roll was detected, the suspension would adjust and dial it out. I came to learn that 'flicking' into a corner faster would make the W12 tighten up and sit flat, while taking a wider bend gently would leave it softer and with slightly more roll allowed before it started to correct, meaning it was possible to drive it in a fast-sporty or fast-progressive manner on demand.
I found the A8 sport seats a lot nicer too, with 14-ways of adjustability, better than the RS 6 sport seats (which you don't get in the US?) for long journeys. I also switched to alcantara/leather, and I'm convinced - cooler in summer, warmer in winter and more grip than leather!
Coming from the W12 to the S8 surprised me. I thought I'd barely notice much difference, given they are the same size, nearly the same weight, and have the same performance figures. However, I was wrong, the S8 feels very different to the SWB W12, so compared to an LWB W12 it will feel like a rocketship!
The S8's suspension is noticably harder when pushing a fast road in dynamic, but somehow the suspension has been tuned to soak up small bumps that the W12 would have passed through while still keeping hard and flat in a corner. Audi have started testing suspension on UK roads, and I believe UK cars are tuned better to our roads now, so US S8s will likely have some small differences in feel.
The S8 has a lighter engine, and it's heavy cam chains and drive gears are mounted at the back, improving weight distribution. Combined with the rear torque bias, this has given the S8 a much more neutral feel than the W12 and the RS 6. Turning in to a corner feels more balanced and you can't feel the front end wanting to push wide through the steering, even though power assistance at speed has been slightly reduced for a heavier and more direct steering feel. Once you start to approach the limits of adhesion, the predictable Audi outcome is understeer, but it's less sudden and far more progressive than the W12 and far superior to the RS 6, and with a dab of lift-off the back end will swing round if provoked.
I can imagine that coming straight from an RS 6 to an S8, it would initally feel slower because there's no turbo surge and so much more refinement, and it wouldn't seem natural to be hanging on to the gears for so long - 7200 rpm is a long way above where an RS 6 driver would be used to changing up at! The suspension would probably feel loose, even in Dynamic, and I think the S8 could be easily passed off as a diluted performance car.
However, that's just it's refined side overwhelming the sense of performance. Give the S8 some time, learn it's behavioural differences to the RS 6 and/or W12, figure out the different torque/gear relationships and where the best performance points are in each gear, adjust to the way the suspension behaves differently and starts to roll in a way DRC doesn't before it flattens out, and adjust to the lack of external noise (just the exhaust, which seems to resonate right under the rear seat!) from wind and tyres, and the S8 will prove itself to be the more capable, more rounded, more <i>polished</i> performer of the three.
On the track at Silverstone, I was trying to drive it like my W12, and using it's mighty torque, and forgetting it's higher rev limits, and a couple of times I will have lost out on performance because of that. If I could go back and do it again now, with the S8 experience I've gained so far, I think I'd do a better job.
The S8 is a great amalgam of what makes the D2 S8, RS 6 and D3 A8 special in their own way; incredible luxury, incredible performance and incredible handling for it's size.
However, I do remember the one thing that I really noticied going from the RS 6 to the W12 was just how much smoother the W12 was.
Obviously no turbo lag, and because the SWB W12 had a lower final drive ratio than the LWB W12, it matched the RS 6 pretty well for acceleration, being slightly faster off the line, then the RS 6 keeping pace or catching up slightly to about 100 mph, but then the W12 starting to find it's legs with the slightly higher torque and higher rev limit, and it's better aerodynamics.
The W12 was also a lot quieter than the RS 6 from start-up to full-bore running. Not only was engine noise much more muted, but the W12 had far superior noise insulation, with much less wind and road noise than the RS 6.
As for handling, well the W12 engine is still a heavy lump, very similar to the RS 6's V8 plus it's turbos and intercoolers, but being a slightly wider engine with a lower centre of gravity, in the slightly longer A8 chassis, the W12 didn't feel as nose-heavy as the RS 6, so understeer was less forthcoming. The W12's air sport suspension also adapts very well to differing conditions, certainly feeling a lot softer than the RS 6, and initially feeling looser on corners, but I soon came to realise that the car was doing a similar thing to DRC with the air springs and electronic damper control, and after some initial roll was detected, the suspension would adjust and dial it out. I came to learn that 'flicking' into a corner faster would make the W12 tighten up and sit flat, while taking a wider bend gently would leave it softer and with slightly more roll allowed before it started to correct, meaning it was possible to drive it in a fast-sporty or fast-progressive manner on demand.
I found the A8 sport seats a lot nicer too, with 14-ways of adjustability, better than the RS 6 sport seats (which you don't get in the US?) for long journeys. I also switched to alcantara/leather, and I'm convinced - cooler in summer, warmer in winter and more grip than leather!
Coming from the W12 to the S8 surprised me. I thought I'd barely notice much difference, given they are the same size, nearly the same weight, and have the same performance figures. However, I was wrong, the S8 feels very different to the SWB W12, so compared to an LWB W12 it will feel like a rocketship!
The S8's suspension is noticably harder when pushing a fast road in dynamic, but somehow the suspension has been tuned to soak up small bumps that the W12 would have passed through while still keeping hard and flat in a corner. Audi have started testing suspension on UK roads, and I believe UK cars are tuned better to our roads now, so US S8s will likely have some small differences in feel.
The S8 has a lighter engine, and it's heavy cam chains and drive gears are mounted at the back, improving weight distribution. Combined with the rear torque bias, this has given the S8 a much more neutral feel than the W12 and the RS 6. Turning in to a corner feels more balanced and you can't feel the front end wanting to push wide through the steering, even though power assistance at speed has been slightly reduced for a heavier and more direct steering feel. Once you start to approach the limits of adhesion, the predictable Audi outcome is understeer, but it's less sudden and far more progressive than the W12 and far superior to the RS 6, and with a dab of lift-off the back end will swing round if provoked.
I can imagine that coming straight from an RS 6 to an S8, it would initally feel slower because there's no turbo surge and so much more refinement, and it wouldn't seem natural to be hanging on to the gears for so long - 7200 rpm is a long way above where an RS 6 driver would be used to changing up at! The suspension would probably feel loose, even in Dynamic, and I think the S8 could be easily passed off as a diluted performance car.
However, that's just it's refined side overwhelming the sense of performance. Give the S8 some time, learn it's behavioural differences to the RS 6 and/or W12, figure out the different torque/gear relationships and where the best performance points are in each gear, adjust to the way the suspension behaves differently and starts to roll in a way DRC doesn't before it flattens out, and adjust to the lack of external noise (just the exhaust, which seems to resonate right under the rear seat!) from wind and tyres, and the S8 will prove itself to be the more capable, more rounded, more <i>polished</i> performer of the three.
On the track at Silverstone, I was trying to drive it like my W12, and using it's mighty torque, and forgetting it's higher rev limits, and a couple of times I will have lost out on performance because of that. If I could go back and do it again now, with the S8 experience I've gained so far, I think I'd do a better job.
The S8 is a great amalgam of what makes the D2 S8, RS 6 and D3 A8 special in their own way; incredible luxury, incredible performance and incredible handling for it's size.
08-24-2006, 06:20 AM
#25
With TheBrit getting 684 Views from this Forum alone means alot of people from various Forums have..
obviously already read it but it would be nice if TheBrit got "main billing" on the main page should he approve it.
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