- 1,410
- Canberra
- Unwired-Eddie
I want to kick Audi's RS
This is the second in the series of tune-up challenges I am working on.
This time we roll out two wild wagons and see if we can get the cheaper of the pair faster than the other for the same price.
The Contenders
Audi RS4 '01 (wagon)
Cost: CR 41,380
Power: 379 HP
Torque: 440.01 Nm
Weight: 1620 kg
Audi RS6 Avant '02 (wagon)
Cost: CR 117,060
Power: 443 HP
Torque: 559.57 Nm
Weight: 1880 kg
Method
Both vehicles were bought from the showroom with 0 km on the odometer. As the most expensive car, the RS6 will be test driven by B-Spec Brett at three seperate locations and the times recorded. B-Spec Brett will then try to beat these times using the cheaper car. Total cost of car and tuning may not exceed the cost of the RS6. TCS and ASM must be set to 0 and B-Spec will be set to 3.
Tracks
Fuji 90's
El Capitan
Midfield
*Apricot Hill
*Seattle reverse
* - Track added due to B-Spec problems (see below)
Results
I knew the RS6 didn't have much hope of holding off the RS4 due to the difference in weight but as you will see, this test nearly turned in to a farce. First to hit the track was the RS6 Avant. Reasonable times all round and nothing to worry about... yet. Fuji - 1'48.273, El Capitan - 2'05.916, Midfield - 1'28.730.
The Audi RS4 '01 now came out to do its thing. First to Fuji 90's track and a 1'48.114 sees it beat the RS6 by a narrow margin and, with the job done here, we head to El Capitan. The result at Fuji had not put me off the test as the same thing had happened when performing the first of the tune-up challenges. However, when the RS4 beat the RS6 on El Capitan with an opening lap of 2'05.300 I began to think the RS6 was never going to be in contention until it lost some weight. The decent power and torque advantage had been destroyed by the lightweight RS4.
Never one to give in just because I have no hope, I backed the RS6 as a winner at Midfield. Little did I know how true that would turn out to be. The RS4 fired a lap time of 1'29.451 before stuffing up on lap 2 and running wide around the banked turn after the tunnel. Getting back on the black stuff, B-Spec Brett completed the rest a the lap without a problem. Lap 3 - identical problem. Again on laps 4, 5 and 6.
I use three flying laps in a row to see the fastest time so the one lap screamer was not enough. I could hardly call this a win to the RS6 just because the opposition is driven by an idiot, so I restarted the laps from scratch. Lap 1 - 1'29.451. Seem familiar? Laps 2 and 3 were both stuffed up on the same corner so I started the lap count again. Lap 1? - you guessed it, 1'29.451. I don't need to give you any hints as to what lap 2 finished like.
That was enough for me and the competition changed venues to Apricot Hill. Starting with the RS4 I let loose B-Spec Brett and found that he was obviously suffering from jet-lag. Not a single clean lap recorded and by now I was wondering what the hell was going on. The RS4 was one of my favorite drives and I knew the 4WD understeer was less than some other cars that B-Spec had no trouble with.
Telling myself that one last track would do before I scrapped the road test, I headed for Seattle reverse. Here B-Spec Brett could at least bounce off the walls and continue if he got out of shape. Luckily for me he kept it clean and reasonably tidy to post a 1'54.664. Now to run the RS6 around the same track. 1'53.757! Finally, the RS6 had won a round but the lead was only minor. Simply fitting semi-racing suspension and lowering the RS4 by 10mm (to 101mm) saw its time drop to 1'53.483.
Conclusion
The RS6 is way too heavy for its own good. The RS4 eats it alive everywhere; accelerating, braking, turning. A quick drive in A-Spec shows the RS4 quite a good drift car too. B-Specing the RS4 is asking for trouble on constant radius corners. The temtation to accelerate early out of corners fools the AI and plunges the Audi head first in to the dust. The RS6 sat on the road much cleaner when driven by B-Spec but it is no sports car (or wagon).
Final figures for the RS4
Cost: CR 48,780
Power: 379 HP
Torque: 440.01 Nm
Weight: 1620 kg
Tuning parts:
semi-racing suspension
This is the second in the series of tune-up challenges I am working on.
This time we roll out two wild wagons and see if we can get the cheaper of the pair faster than the other for the same price.
The Contenders
Audi RS4 '01 (wagon)
Cost: CR 41,380
Power: 379 HP
Torque: 440.01 Nm
Weight: 1620 kg
Audi RS6 Avant '02 (wagon)
Cost: CR 117,060
Power: 443 HP
Torque: 559.57 Nm
Weight: 1880 kg
Method
Both vehicles were bought from the showroom with 0 km on the odometer. As the most expensive car, the RS6 will be test driven by B-Spec Brett at three seperate locations and the times recorded. B-Spec Brett will then try to beat these times using the cheaper car. Total cost of car and tuning may not exceed the cost of the RS6. TCS and ASM must be set to 0 and B-Spec will be set to 3.
Tracks
Fuji 90's
El Capitan
Midfield
*Apricot Hill
*Seattle reverse
* - Track added due to B-Spec problems (see below)
Results
I knew the RS6 didn't have much hope of holding off the RS4 due to the difference in weight but as you will see, this test nearly turned in to a farce. First to hit the track was the RS6 Avant. Reasonable times all round and nothing to worry about... yet. Fuji - 1'48.273, El Capitan - 2'05.916, Midfield - 1'28.730.
The Audi RS4 '01 now came out to do its thing. First to Fuji 90's track and a 1'48.114 sees it beat the RS6 by a narrow margin and, with the job done here, we head to El Capitan. The result at Fuji had not put me off the test as the same thing had happened when performing the first of the tune-up challenges. However, when the RS4 beat the RS6 on El Capitan with an opening lap of 2'05.300 I began to think the RS6 was never going to be in contention until it lost some weight. The decent power and torque advantage had been destroyed by the lightweight RS4.
Never one to give in just because I have no hope, I backed the RS6 as a winner at Midfield. Little did I know how true that would turn out to be. The RS4 fired a lap time of 1'29.451 before stuffing up on lap 2 and running wide around the banked turn after the tunnel. Getting back on the black stuff, B-Spec Brett completed the rest a the lap without a problem. Lap 3 - identical problem. Again on laps 4, 5 and 6.
I use three flying laps in a row to see the fastest time so the one lap screamer was not enough. I could hardly call this a win to the RS6 just because the opposition is driven by an idiot, so I restarted the laps from scratch. Lap 1 - 1'29.451. Seem familiar? Laps 2 and 3 were both stuffed up on the same corner so I started the lap count again. Lap 1? - you guessed it, 1'29.451. I don't need to give you any hints as to what lap 2 finished like.
That was enough for me and the competition changed venues to Apricot Hill. Starting with the RS4 I let loose B-Spec Brett and found that he was obviously suffering from jet-lag. Not a single clean lap recorded and by now I was wondering what the hell was going on. The RS4 was one of my favorite drives and I knew the 4WD understeer was less than some other cars that B-Spec had no trouble with.
Telling myself that one last track would do before I scrapped the road test, I headed for Seattle reverse. Here B-Spec Brett could at least bounce off the walls and continue if he got out of shape. Luckily for me he kept it clean and reasonably tidy to post a 1'54.664. Now to run the RS6 around the same track. 1'53.757! Finally, the RS6 had won a round but the lead was only minor. Simply fitting semi-racing suspension and lowering the RS4 by 10mm (to 101mm) saw its time drop to 1'53.483.
Conclusion
The RS6 is way too heavy for its own good. The RS4 eats it alive everywhere; accelerating, braking, turning. A quick drive in A-Spec shows the RS4 quite a good drift car too. B-Specing the RS4 is asking for trouble on constant radius corners. The temtation to accelerate early out of corners fools the AI and plunges the Audi head first in to the dust. The RS6 sat on the road much cleaner when driven by B-Spec but it is no sports car (or wagon).
Final figures for the RS4
Cost: CR 48,780
Power: 379 HP
Torque: 440.01 Nm
Weight: 1620 kg
Tuning parts:
semi-racing suspension
