thrash

I'm not sure I can live with automatic.

Overall, it felt like a big, fast, facelifted B5 A4. The door skins are "thin" like on the A4. The B7 A4 feels more "sturdy" due to the thicker door panels.

The vacuum door locks were tired in this particular car. A few other minor issues here and there.

I really couldn't get my head around what the car was truly like, because I never knew what the transmission was going to do.. even in tiptronic mode. I never knew what gear I was in.

Also, there doesn't appear to be _any_ room to hang turbo chargers off the engine (not that I'd bother for an S8.. but on a normal A8 i'd be interested). I wonder how the fitment of the RS6 looks? Looks like the V8 manifolds are almost touching the frame rails as-is.

There are DGV 6 speed euro S8 gearboxes on ebay.de for around 1500 euros.

I know that the tozo conversion was quite involved. I'm HOPING that that was because it was retrofitting an entirely different (but easily sourced) transmission.

I don't have access to ETKA/ETOS right now -- mechanically, what euro bits do i need to put on a US S8 for a factory-parts 6 speed? DGV gearbox? Manual-transmission driveshaft? Different rear end or the same? Are the engine codes the same between manual and auto S8s?

Are transmission tunnels the same between manual/auto cars? (On older audis the sheetmetal had different part numbers... ugh)

Anyone thought-through the import-a-DGV-transmission swap route?

mAgnum8

In tiptronic I always know what gear the car is in, it tells you on the dash.

mAgnum8

<ul><li><a href="https://forums.audiworld.com/a8/msgs/177016.phtml">https://forums.audiworld.com/a8/msgs/177016.phtml</a</li></ul>

thrash

Also, you can click twice and "queue" up downchanges, for instance.

The problem is, it's hard to know what gear I am currently in during dynamic driving, and requests to change gear are satisfied "sometime in the future".

mAgnum8

You're talking about spirited driving. Granted, your points are well taken and understood.

Mex77

What S8 did you drive?
Did you even try it in "S" mode?
For how long did you have it?

Maybe, do it again and do it right...!

JMohn

I drove a car with a clutch for a long time before I got the S8. I've only had the car since August, but I'm much more comfortable with it. To me tiptronic is not at all intuitive, especially if you're used to knowing what gear you are in from the "muscle memory" of where the lever is. Keeping a mental note of what gear you're in is all you can do. I haven't taken my car on a track, but I imagine things could get problematic in a hurry if you forget or screw it up.

The 2001 S8s do not have "S-mode" which I hear is the bee's knees, but essentially it's still an automatic, just a more aggressive one. I believe a TCU swap with a newer S8 will enable "S-mode" though.

If you decide to get one and convert it to a 6-speed, you'll have quite a few people here anxiously waiting to see how it turns out, me included.

Good luck with whatever you decide to get.

tozoM8

The S8 is way easier to convert to 6 speed manual then the A8.

thrash

What things need to be changed?

- flywheel
- driveshaft
- final drive?
- front half shafts?
- brake master (see below?)
- ECU?
- front subframe? (i hope not!)
- wiring harnesses
-- tranny wiring for reverse gear
-- ECU&lt;-&gt;TCU
--- is this easier on 2001 cars? (no S-mode)


what things need to be added ?
- pedal bracket &amp; pedal
- cruise control sensor for clutch
- clutch master and slave cylnder
- plumbing for clutch from brake master cyl?
-- does the brake master need to be changed to have a clutch provision (see above)?

tozoM8

flywheel yes
drive shaft not really (needs an extension)
final drive no
front half shafts yes
brake master no
ECU no (needs recoding)
front sub-frame no
wiring harnesses no
tranny wiring for reverse gear yes (easy)
ECU&lt;-&gt;TCU no
is this easier on 2001 cars? no difference

shifter assembly
pedal
clutch safety switch
CC switch CCdump valve
clutch master/slave and clutch line
no