HPH

Really? '02,'03 Tip owners, is this true? Amazing if so.

ayap

It depends on the pressure you put on the pedals. I always watch the RPMs and feel that it has shifted to 5th. I know how 4th gear feels at 80 - 90 ... because it does a lot of those engine break ... I didn't feel that on the sports mode. I could feel the engine breaks on lower gear 1st, 2nd, 3rd gear when driving at low speed, because it takes longer for the S mode to shift gears. Just my observation.

RCS 2

Maybe sport mode automatically disables around 80 to allow the overdrive and reengages below 80. I take it from this post that you feel below 80 it holds 4th. That would be a neat feature if that is the case. I did some experimenting with mine a little while ago. I always felt that putting it in 4th raised the shift points. I knew it got rid of or greatly reduced the tip lag. It does raise shift points as well. With the 4th gear selected, shift points at moderate throttle are around 5300 to 5500 rpm. So except for perhaps an automatic shift into 5th above 80 mph, putting the 2001 tip in 4th does do almost everything the newer sport mode does. Clever marketing Audi. Since I have only been above 85 mph twice in 2 years and never above 90, I can live with that.

BostonMarkC

Not true at all. Sport mode holds the gears longer, shifts faster, and uses 5th.

RCS 2

At what speed do you detect a shift to 5th? I have not driven an allroad with the sport shift, but was given an 02 A6 loaner once and could not detect a shift to 5th. Admittedly, I did not have it all that fast and certainly no where near the 80 mph threshold the other poster mentioned.

Actually a simple way to know for sure would be to have it in sport mode and switch to tip mode when cruising about 55 or 60 mph. If it is in 5th, it will so indicate on the read out. I wish I would have thought of this when I had the A6.

Mad AR

in sport mode.

BostonMarkC

but I have seen it running low enough RPMs in S mode to ensure that it's in 5th.

I'll have to check next time I drive it though.