Ok- I've been on the fence between the A3 and a used B5 S4, and never really thought of getting an A6. All I know for sure is I want to get an Audi and lightly mod it with a ecu flash and possibly an exhaust and call it a day. I always thought the A6 was out of my price range ($28K budget), but was pleasantly surprised that I can afford one. The only thing I see as a problem with the A6 is the scarcity of manual transmissions. Living in L.A., an automatic may be better anyway. I am looking at the above car in the subject line with a Tiptronic tranny. Will I be able to get an apr flash (or something similar)? I am worried how the tranny responds to stage 1 or 2 modding. How would this car stock for stock perform next to a B5 S4? I am 31 and am looking for something mature, yet a blast to drive. Thanks!

 

For the 2.7t engine, you can get an APR chip or the GIAC chip; some people argue which one is better ( I'm sure you can find a thread on that subject). By chipping the 2.7t, you should get about 320 hp and around 370 lbs torque. It's a pretty big step and would require doing some other smaller mods. As for the performance vs a stop B5 S4, although they have the same engine, weight plays a huge factor. Obviously, the S4 is lighter, and in a race would win. An A6 would be a great car if your looking for something fun to drive, especially the 2.7t, i LOVE mine.

 

Thanks for the prompt reply. I guess my main question concerns the tiptonic tranny. Iunderstand it is basically an auto transmission with an option to select gears. How does it hold up to the APR or GIAC ecu reprograming?Is a support mod necessary for the transmission? Thanks again!

 

Yes, the Tip tranny is pretty much an automatic, with the option of an "up/down" shifting method. If its an 04 S-line, it MIGHT have the paddle shifters on the stearing wheel, but im not sure. I, myself, do not have my car chipped, but from what i understand from reading past posts, is if you chip your car, the GIAC Tiptronic Chip (another 500$) is a good idea and reduces shift times from 1 second to .2 of a second. But other than that, people have been saying that the tiptronic transmission holds up pretty well when the car is chipped.

 

There are varying opinions on this subject. Personally I am a little wary of chipping my car because I believe the tip transmission is only rated for around 310 ft/lbs of torque. However, there are many people that have chipped and had no problems. You can search on http://forums.audiworld.com/a6/ in the C5 A6 forum on this. There have been many discussions regarding tranny life after chipping as well as some things you can do to beef up the transmission. I believe itisn't necessarily the transmission that would fail but the torque converter and a company by the name of Level 10 makes an upgrade for the A6 (you can search this too).

However, if you do decide to chip be sure the upgrade the diverter valves (710N'sor Hyperboost are fine)and TBB (Samco or APR bipipe) as well. They are well known weak spots in the intake track when the higher boost pressures of chipping are applied.

Good luck with the search. You won't be disappointed if you decide to get the A6. It's a great car.

 

Thanks! I'll look into level 10.

 

Ok.. already looked at Level 10. I think I have officially been scared away from this car. The Tip seems like a major weak point for mods and 265 ponies just is not enough. Knowing how much you need to spend to support the mods, I would not want to chip this car with the Tip.

 

Ok- So I don't like the tipy but still like the looks and sophistication of the a6. Do they make a manual version of the a6 in the s-line trim (or sport package equivelent)?