The Official No Need To Start a New Thread, Thread

[bcrdukes]

Despite all the complaints about LA traffic, I love it.

[AstulzerRZD]

If u like driving in LA you’ll like driving in NY.

Same level of skill/assertiveness/predictability cuz everyone’s an asshole
But if you’re clever with lane and route selection you can beat ETAs by 20-30%

[roastpuff]

Originally Posted by supafamous

Yeah, I'm glad I got an A5 instead of a Camry/Corolla - I get why Americans need a lot more power than the rest of us. You've got to be on it all the time on the highway.

Side note: The EA888 is pretty laggy from a stop in contrast to the K20C. Below 2000 rpm nothing is going on - made those metered on-ramps interesting each time. At first I thought the transmission hadn't gone back into 1st.

Have to be in S/Dynamic, otherwise it's very lazy from a stop IMO. Good for smooth rollout, but not good for LA traffic. When I drove my A4 down there I was slapping it in and out of S constantly to change the throttle map.

[Badhobz]

ohhh maybe automatic zaps the power?

[underscore]

I don't mind most traffic but LA traffic blows because your ETA means nothing. When I left my hotel room last week Maps said it was 40 mins to the rental car dropoff. Get in the car it's 1hr 10. Actual travel time ended up being about 1hr 50 and I missed the checked bag cutoff for my flight and had to take a later one.

Originally Posted by supafamous

Yeah, I'm glad I got an A5 instead of a Camry/Corolla - I get why Americans need a lot more power than the rest of us. You've got to be on it all the time on the highway.

Not really, just chill one lane over from the slow lane and let all the locals freak out in the left lanes.

[supafamous]

Originally Posted by roastpuff

Have to be in S/Dynamic, otherwise it's very lazy from a stop IMO. Good for smooth rollout, but not good for LA traffic. When I drove my A4 down there I was slapping it in and out of S constantly to change the throttle map.

It's interesting to compare Japanese vs German input styles for brake/throttle (generalising using Honda/Acura and VAG). Honda likes higher effort but shorter travel (the TSX has quite a jumpy throttle) while VAG likes lower effort but longer travel. I found the A5 to be very grabby on the brakes at first and too relaxed on the throttle compared to the overly eager Honda approach (the 10 speed auto has a very short 1st gear as well making it seem even more jumpy).

Honda brakes (and Mazda too) generally have too much travel and they rely too much on travel over pressure as well - I much prefer the German way of pressure being the way to control the brakes.

[AstulzerRZD]

Originally Posted by Badhobz

ohhh maybe automatic zaps the power?

I drive an A5 Sportback for about a month, no me gusta.
Going: 7DCT's always in a gear too low unless in Sport mode, needs to spool before passing or starting on a hill. I used launch control a lot.
Stopping: Really unstable on hard braking too, squirms and tugs on steering before it settles.

FWIW, the C63 I drove in LA also needed to be driven in sport mode.
Going: 9GTronic also in too high of a gear & the 4.0T had terribly inconsistent power delivery.
Can't stomp on the kickdown switch either because you need to roll onto the throttle to keep traction.

I sound like a boomer but I really prefer a big NA motor.
Chrysler 5.7/6.4 paired to the ZF8 gearbox is perfection - torque anytime, anywhere in the rev range.

[yray]

enterprise audis are shit

shit tires with probably no maintenance ( oil change sticker was from local maintenance place)

I had an A4 give me understeer at grand canyon junction and the rear diff was making all sorts of weird noise

[supafamous]

Originally Posted by AstulzerRZD

I drive an A5 Sportback for about a month, no me gusta.
Going: 7DCT's always in a gear too low unless in Sport mode, needs to spool before passing or starting on a hill. I used launch control a lot.
Stopping: Really unstable on hard braking too, squirms and tugs on steering before it settles.

As their entry level tier of compact luxury/sport sedan I thought it was fine (the age is showing though and I'm glad a new one is out now) - the DCT doesn't really fit well with the car though and a ZF8 makes a lot more sense. Handling wise it's accurate enough for its class of car but I'd like a little life in the steering while the lane assist drove me a bit nuts (I couldn't figure out how to turn it off and it was getting in my way too much)

OTOH, the rear hatch made it so much more practical for us - my wife noted that as something she really liked, no trouble getting to our luggage and other things. Decent sized room in the back. I wish the new one came in a PHEV/hybrid wagon in NA though as my wife might have been down with it.

Acura should have made the TLX a direct competitor to the A5 rather than the overweight, slow weirdo they made with a tiny back seat. The TLX meets no particular requirement from a luxury/sports sedan customer - it's huge on the outside, not practical on the inside, fat, not particularly fast, and only handles decent.

[AstulzerRZD]

Mine had 900 miles on it & were on the standard German OE tier MB/Audi love: https://continentaltire.com/tires/procontact-rx

[AstulzerRZD]

Originally Posted by supafamous

As their entry level tier of compact luxury/sport sedan I thought it was fine (the age is showing though and I'm glad a new one is out now) - the DCT doesn't really fit well with the car though and a ZF8 makes a lot more sense. Handling wise it's accurate enough for its class of car but I'd like a little life in the steering while the lane assist drove me a bit nuts (I couldn't figure out how to turn it off and it was getting in my way too much)

OTOH, the rear hatch made it so much more practical for us - my wife noted that as something she really liked, no trouble getting to our luggage and other things. Decent sized room in the back. I wish the new one came in a PHEV/hybrid wagon in NA though as my wife might have been down with it.

Acura should have made the TLX a direct competitor to the A5 rather than the overweight, slow weirdo they made with a tiny back seat. The TLX meets no particular requirement from a luxury/sports sedan customer - it's huge on the outside, not practical on the inside, fat, not particularly fast, and only handles decent.

I just can't imagine braking from 250kmh on autobahn in the brand new A5 sportback w/ sport package I was driving because it felt plenty unstable when full braking from 140kmh.

[roastpuff]

Originally Posted by Badhobz

ohhh maybe automatic zaps the power?

It's just the programming - super relaxed in Normal/Comfort, need to really dip into the throttle to get the car to wake up. Good for not upsetting the passengers.

Originally Posted by AstulzerRZD

I drive an A5 Sportback for about a month, no me gusta.
Going: 7DCT's always in a gear too low unless in Sport mode, needs to spool before passing or starting on a hill. I used launch control a lot.
Stopping: Really unstable on hard braking too, squirms and tugs on steering before it settles.

FWIW, the C63 I drove in LA also needed to be driven in sport mode.
Going: 9GTronic also in too high of a gear & the 4.0T had terribly inconsistent power delivery.
Can't stomp on the kickdown switch either because you need to roll onto the throttle to keep traction.

I sound like a boomer but I really prefer a big NA motor.
Chrysler 5.7/6.4 paired to the ZF8 gearbox is perfection - torque anytime, anywhere in the rev range.

The programming of the regular A cars and the DSG doesn't mesh. They want the engine to be at as low RPM as possible to save fuel, and the transmissions to be highest possible gear to save fuel. It ends up with the engine lugging at highway cruise speeds (it sits at like 1500RPM) causing weird drivetrain vibrations to occur, and the transmission will need to downshift for any sort of speed change to occur without taking a lifetime.

Unstable under braking is not what I have found, might be an alignment or tire issue? The A4 has survived Mission and VIMC, and never given me anything less than full confidence on the brakes. Stock pads/rotors/fluid and "sport package" tires (Continental SportContact 6 which are basically premium ECS2's.)

Originally Posted by yray

enterprise audis are shit

shit tires with probably no maintenance ( oil change sticker was from local maintenance place)

I had an A4 give me understeer at grand canyon junction and the rear diff was making all sorts of weird noise

Understeer is normal for Audis kekw.

Originally Posted by supafamous

As their entry level tier of compact luxury/sport sedan I thought it was fine (the age is showing though and I'm glad a new one is out now) - the DCT doesn't really fit well with the car though and a ZF8 makes a lot more sense. Handling wise it's accurate enough for its class of car but I'd like a little life in the steering while the lane assist drove me a bit nuts (I couldn't figure out how to turn it off and it was getting in my way too much)

OTOH, the rear hatch made it so much more practical for us - my wife noted that as something she really liked, no trouble getting to our luggage and other things. Decent sized room in the back. I wish the new one came in a PHEV/hybrid wagon in NA though as my wife might have been down with it.

Lane assist button is on the end of the signal stalk.

Originally Posted by AstulzerRZD

Mine had 900 miles on it & were on the standard German OE tier MB/Audi love: https://continentaltire.com/tires/procontact-rx

Originally Posted by AstulzerRZD

I just can't imagine braking from 250kmh on autobahn in the brand new A5 sportback w/ sport package I was driving because it felt plenty unstable when full braking from 140kmh.

If it's not the SC6 or equivalent summer tire then it wasn't "sport package" - might just be S line or whatever. The Audi sport pack comes with summer tires as standard.

[Badhobz]

Does audi have any cars left with a stick shift? its pretty sad cuz i remember they used to have decent stick shift cars like the r or s3/4/5 back in the days

[roastpuff]

Originally Posted by Badhobz

Does audi have any cars left with a stick shift? its pretty sad cuz i remember they used to have decent stick shift cars like the r or s3/4/5 back in the days

Nope, no more sticks now. All are DSG/ZF.

[Badhobz]

thats god damn sad. So the only ones left with VAG is the Porsche Carrera T & GT3 or..... go all the way down to a Jetta GLI

so youre stuck with a stupid beetle, or another beetle sedan.

[BIC_BAWS]

Originally Posted by supafamous

It's interesting to compare Japanese vs German input styles for brake/throttle (generalising using Honda/Acura and VAG). Honda likes higher effort but shorter travel (the TSX has quite a jumpy throttle) while VAG likes lower effort but longer travel. I found the A5 to be very grabby on the brakes at first and too relaxed on the throttle compared to the overly eager Honda approach (the 10 speed auto has a very short 1st gear as well making it seem even more jumpy).

Honda brakes (and Mazda too) generally have too much travel and they rely too much on travel over pressure as well - I much prefer the German way of pressure being the way to control the brakes.

Agreed with all of this. Especially the German way of pressure to control the brakes.

Originally Posted by AstulzerRZD

I drive an A5 Sportback for about a month, no me gusta.
Going: 7DCT's always in a gear too low unless in Sport mode, needs to spool before passing or starting on a hill. I used launch control a lot.
Stopping: Really unstable on hard braking too, squirms and tugs on steering before it settles.

I lost the quote but it seems like most german sedans, auto, are tuned for comfort and you really have to put it in Sport (in BMW terms) or Dynamic (in Audi terms) for it to really have a decent throttle response.

Audi specifically feels like it's in eco mode when it's in comfort The B8.5 S4 that I drove quite frequently has this issue. It always felt like it was in eco mode. S/C noises were appreciated but throttle response in Dynamic is too touchy.

BMW comfort is actually decent, eco-pro is like driving a 4 banger with no torque. The 5er I drive packs a hefty punch, but you do have to get past the kickdown switch for it to downshift 2-3 times first. In sport mode it either holds the gear too high or rarely it's just right and it'll drop 1 gear.

Originally Posted by Badhobz

did they tune the Jetta differently than the GTI for the ea888? i dont find my hitlerbox laggy at all.

I found your hitlerbox laggy af. But you said that if it was any faster you'd have a heart attack LOL.

[Manic!]

Originally Posted by whitev70r

Me thinks it is a blip, a good day to buy Nvidia. You think if US is all crazy about TikTok, they would let Chinese AI come near the NA?

It's open source. I already have it running locally on my laptop, no internet needed. Check the AI thread.

[EvoFire]

Originally Posted by supafamous

Back from 8 days in San Diego and Anaheim and boy, Californians sure drive fast (and their roads sure are poorly designed and poorly maintained). I was doing 90mph in the I-5 HOV lane and the G35 ahead of me was pulling away at a good clip while the Tiguan behind me was closing in steadily on me.

Of the poor road design, I merged onto the HOV lane of I-405 (from the I-5 HOV lane) to get to the airport and I immediately had to cut across 6 lanes of traffic in about 300m in order to make my airport exit (about 10 seconds).

This is what I'm looking at when I merge into I-405 (I'm doing about 75-80mph as I merge); note the lack of signage telling me that I have to cut across 6 lanes to make the exit. There's actually NO signage of any kind till I hit the exit - I was dependent on Apple Maps telling me that was my exit (I also missed this exit last May when I was in Anaheim).


Street view link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/TvK5c4ZYYxcAF7Pt5

And this is the exit I had to make:

Street view link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/BckCfTiYicFhh36c7

This kind of terrible road design is everywhere in California - missing or bad signage, poor road conditions, and a mishmash of exits that can send you every which way. I can't believe people just accept this kind of thing.

Bellevue was just as bad. I was in San Diego a year ago and also thought it was insane.

But, I loved San Diego though. Probably the only place I've seriously considered uprooting from Vancouver and moving to

Originally Posted by supafamous

Funny you mention this but I got hit by a moron in a WRX:



Guy is waiting to make a right turn into my lane/street and as I'm driving by (going about 30mph) he is way too optimistic and comes out too early and clips my rear corner. He was pretty good about things but I hope it doesn't get messy when the insurance claim goes through.



Yeah, I'm glad I got an A5 instead of a Camry/Corolla - I get why Americans need a lot more power than the rest of us. You've got to be on it all the time on the highway.

Side note: The EA888 is pretty laggy from a stop in contrast to the K20C. Below 2000 rpm nothing is going on - made those metered on-ramps interesting each time. At first I thought the transmission hadn't gone back into 1st.

Put it in sport mode.

Originally Posted by BIC_BAWS

Agreed with all of this. Especially the German way of pressure to control the brakes.



I lost the quote but it seems like most german sedans, auto, are tuned for comfort and you really have to put it in Sport (in BMW terms) or Dynamic (in Audi terms) for it to really have a decent throttle response.

Audi specifically feels like it's in eco mode when it's in comfort The B8.5 S4 that I drove quite frequently has this issue. It always felt like it was in eco mode. S/C noises were appreciated but throttle response in Dynamic is too touchy.

BMW comfort is actually decent, eco-pro is like driving a 4 banger with no torque. The 5er I drive packs a hefty punch, but you do have to get past the kickdown switch for it to downshift 2-3 times first. In sport mode it either holds the gear too high or rarely it's just right and it'll drop 1 gear.



I found your hitlerbox laggy af. But you said that if it was any faster you'd have a heart attack LOL.

BMW I've found to be mostly ok. It won't start in eco mode and their standard is mostly fine.

Sport mode in BMW will burn a lot more gas. Watching the fuel consumption gauge, in sport mode the car seems to maintain idle throttle instead of cutting fuel so the injectors are primed, turbos are spooled and ready to go.

[AstulzerRZD]

Originally Posted by BIC_BAWS

I lost the quote but it seems like most german sedans, auto, are tuned for comfort and you really have to put it in Sport (in BMW terms) or Dynamic (in Audi terms) for it to really have a decent throttle response.

Audi's really terrible, the 2.9TT with the ZF8 gearbox is a total lag fest even in an SQ8 where it should be on pretty high load a lot of time.
Mercedes is also doing way too much with their 9 speed.

BMW, Alfa, Chryslers with the ZF8 drive perfectly fine.
Never needed a drive mode on em.

[Badhobz]

Originally Posted by BIC_BAWS

I found your hitlerbox laggy af. But you said that if it was any faster you'd have a heart attack LOL.

Well it’s true. I’m terrified if it’s any faster because that mono piston brake Calipers are kinda shit.

Or maybe because I drive it in such an old man fashion it doesn’t seem laggy at all.

[BIC_BAWS]

Also, this might be an automatic thing, but I found in both the 5er and the S4 (the S4 was worse for this), when you let off throttle it keeps going. Normally, in a manual car, I let off the throttle to slow down (instead of braking). The Audi keeps going LOL. I actually have to press on the brake to slow down enough.

Originally Posted by Badhobz

Well it’s true. I’m terrified if it’s any faster because that mono piston brake Calipers are kinda shit.

Or maybe because I drive it in such an old man fashion it doesn’t seem laggy at all.

I feel like we had a conversation about this. But I don't think it felt undersized. Hard to say, since when I met up with you I had just gotten out of the 5er. Which it would normally have a lot of travel and mushy brake feeling, but this one has APs. And my FK8's brake pedal feels great.

It's always hard to gauge how good your own car's pedal feels. I don't personally think the FK8s brakes feel very strong, but many other people disagree.

[RabidRat]

Originally Posted by Badhobz

aye and there is a lot of broke ass people who drive with zero insurance down there. Be careful, your canadian ass cant sue anyone if they got no insurance.

Can confirm.

10am on a Sunday morning in Santa Clara, I came face to face with a lady driving the wrong way on a highway interchange.

I swerved and narrowly missed her: she still clipped me in the drive-side front fender and door of my s2k.

Did about $5000 of damage. She reeked of pot. Said she just got out of jail, and that she had no insurance.

I had to pay that one out of pocket, since I hadn't bothered with underinsured motorist coverage :/.

[bcrdukes]

Quite the American story! "Just got outta jail and then I got high..."

[RabidRat]

Originally Posted by whitev70r

Wow ... if you're back on the Island to do residency, that means bcrdukes is legit. MBA, impressive! You gonna change the world!

Let's see how Feb pans out. I'll see if I can arrange a work trip to 416 around mid Feb to have a legit excuse to keep the anonymity going ... lol.

Whoa, if this happens, count me in as well!

Can't stay long with the newborn and all, but I'd love to stop by to say hi. Also I haven't seen bcrdukes in I think 20+ years lol

[bcrdukes]

The jerkbag Chinese geezer is looking to come to Toronto when I'm in Vancouver.