glidar

So far, "because it's there" is the only reason I can find to use fifth. Either I'm accelerating in 1,2,3, or 4, or cruising in 6. I'm sure there are some high-speed mountain twisties perfect for fifth, but for now it's not pulling its (my) weight.

paulroad

I go through all my gears.. all the time.. unless I blow a shift...

4labs

please give details of what you are finding and any concern about the warranty

glidar

I use every gear if I'm accelerating and need the torque. But I have no qualms about skipping a gear or two if I'm transitioning from acceleration to cruising.

DeanNY

You're cruising (quickly) in dense traffic and don't want to downshift every time you want to blow past a "cone". That's what I use it for, anyway.

paulroad

YOu get the feel of the car and know there is a dif in going from 4-6 and from 4-5-6... much more consistent delivery of power/torque.

Its all habit and personal choice... I've been on the highway crusing at 70 and jusr ridding along and I look at my tach and the I realize it still in 4th for 10 minutes.. Quiet Power...

itdoesitallroad

I do the same thing

RMcQ

I often skip it as you describe. But I do use it in many circumstances as well.

paulroad

I can only tell you why I chose APR over the others.

1. Its APR, (Audi Performanc Racing) service is local to me.. 45 minutes from work was the install in Monsey NY.

2. There is no Direct Port for the ar this leveled the field to look at the market. so I then had to look at the options: No on had the program for the ar except GIAC. So my choice was The APR weld in or the GIAC welded socket and their removable chip.. its a big deal to open up your ECU and chastity belt, tamper proof screw replacement and to go back to your stock chip and then reseal it "factory fresh". With APR I have the stock program and 93 oct. I can switch at will via the cruise control button. If I have a true failure, I can get the car to the local APR and re solder in my stock chip.. But that is the extreme worst case scenario.

3. The APR chip.. when you VAG your car, reads to the dealer the same codes as if it were a stock chip. Ad this to the stock program and there is no immedeate giveaway. HOWEVER.. if the dealer has to re-flash you ECU due to a recall. then you have a problem.. you can't reflash the chip as it is encrypted. So this could be a problem. There was a recall for the 03 ar, and I knew about the reflashing. I had the recall done b4 the chip install.

4. APR was not listing their power as just TURBO Boosting nor was it 1.2 Bar like GIAC. APR lists onl 1 Bar AND they also make some tweaks to the fuel, air, timing etc. I even have more power B4 the twins come into play. I also get 1-2 better MPG

After all is said and done, I have a very different acting car and I absolutely love it. Most would think that my car has more get up and go than the new s4 4.2.. (I have a 6 speed)

As I said in the past.. if you drove a GM 4 barrel V8 from the 60's/70's and hit the gas... you woud feel the secondaries open up and WHOA!!! What a rush!! That is what this car is like now. You can drive it easy and its so tame, and then you can give it 3/4 throttle (not full) and WHOA.... Warp 9 Geordy..engage! Even at 70+ you get the rush and a good pull in 6th.

As far as warranty.. you have to be prepared to pay if you want to play, but there are so many people with the 2.7T in their s4's who have not had problems and then there are fools who destroy their cars..

If you are ever near Newark Airport and want to give it a try... let me know.

trg

I shift up through it. For instance, it's handy if you want a little extra zip getting from 85 or thereabouts to somewhere in the triple digits.