desertwinauh

With all the negative feedback from the R-Tronic, surely there must be a market to replace it with the newer S-Tronic?

I just wonder how difficult and how expensive this might be, bearing in mind that the engines haven't changed much, if at all.

I appreciate all responses.

desertwinauh

Some background:
I owned an Aston Vanquish S. Brilliant car, when it worked, not so when it was getting fixed mechanically (which was too often in the end). Brilliant as it was it had an atrocious automated manual system (why couldn't they have just made it with a plain old automatic? Surely if Mercedes AMG could do it, they could have too?)
After another unscheduled problem I was so upset that I sold the Vanquish and got a manual Acura NSX. This was great until I hurt my knee and realized I wouldn't be able to drive a manual comfortably again. So, I am now finalizing a deal for the 2012 R8 V10 in Sepang Blue with the Red nappa leather interior (photos of this to follow in due course).
But, I was thinking aloud to myself, what if we could retro-fit the new S-Tronic into the older R-Tronic cars...

desertwinauh

Here's a photo of my ex-Vanquish that I took picking it up at the dealer the first time:


And here's a few photos of my forthcoming R8

GR8-LIFE

I love the red interior seats in the R8. My preference with the red would be a white exterior but they look good no matter what

I began losing my ability to manipulate the clutch pedal about 3 years ago. What happens is It gets increasingly difficult to work with the clutch pedal after a few minutes of driving and over time, that difficulty worsened. When i bought my 2011 S4, I drove a manual just to feel what the S4 gearbox felt like and it was real nice. But I knew my manual days were coming to an end. So I ordered the s-tronic S4 and I gotta say, I love it. Its fast and smooth. Some dont like the smoothness. I suppose if I were able to drive stick I woud get an R8 in a stick and yes, I will miss roaring through the gears with a manual. But we must deal with the hand we are dealt with in life and I must say, the s-tronic is not a bad hand at all

I have driven 3 R8's in the past 2.5 yeras. 2 of them were r-tronics. One wasnt that bad and my thought was "I think I could get us to this" But the other seemed a bit more quirky and when you are spend this kind of coin, it became a concern. But I am kind of funny that way. Certain things in certain cars bother me. A Lux car cant have rattles but I dont mind that in a sports car. Sports cars must have a predictable gearbox. But thats just me. For others, well, these things dont bother them

I am awaiting the 2014 S-TRONIC But I am in no hurry. I am not going to fight with everyone on getting in line for a 2014 and I am cerainly not going to bow down to dealers just so that I have one (damn, you got me started on n dealers). If I like the stronic then eventually I will consider getting one even if I have to wait unti next year. Or, I just may say screw it and get a great deal on a low mileage 911 Turbo S.


As far as throwing in an s-tronic and yanking out the r-tronic, NFW would I go near that with a 10 foot pole. But I am sure someone will try. Personally, I have spent my share of $$$ on mods and have had my share of problems from some of those mods. No more mods for me in my lifetime. The car I get will have everything I need or I wont get it

Omeletpants

Red and blue? Just don't let an interior designed see you in it

BTW, the white/red combo on the Aston is stunning. Red interior is stunning on the R8

Here is variant of the red that I love. I think this may be an Audi Exclusive with an upcharge

desertwinauh

I have taken the plunge and am now the proud owner of an Audi R8 V10 R-Tronic.

First impressions are that the R-Tronic is nowhere as horrible as the Graziani automated manual on the Vanquish (a brilliant car begging for a proper gearbox - be it a fully automatic or manual as in the manual upgrade as offered by Aston Works).

The car always feels beautifully planted (not far off from the old RS6 ABT I had and reluctantly sold when the dealer's service department started to mess with it. Thankfully, the dealer appears to have improved a lot since then, though time will tell).

Surprisingly, it is far less raucous than I was expecting. In fact, quite refined indeed, which is good so as not wake up the wife, kids, neighbors, dogs and cats in the morning and yet not as stirring as I was expecting. Then again I am still new and am running it with kids gloves for now, building my confidence bit by bit.

This is a lovely car.

gaspasser19

Do yourself a favor and stay away from the S-tronic. I had the pleasure of spending a few hours in the 2014 R8's with S-tronic at Summit Point last Friday at the Audi R8 Driving Experience and it was amazing. It is so smooth compared to the R that it might ruin you for your beautiful car.

Nightscreen

Hi there, my name is Pat, I am from Germany and this is my first posting here. I am driving a A4 Avant S-Line 2008, an R8 V10 2011 with R-tronic and a few non AUDIs.

I allways try to make my cars a bit better performance wise as I take them to the race track from time to time.

As I found out that the S-tronic has a very positive impact an the pure acceleration time I was asking myself the same question as you did.

A few years ago I met this guy in a german sports driver board and he told me that he is developing engineer at audi ag / quattro gmbh and involved in the R8 engine and more.

So I asked him about his oppinion about switching r-tronic to s-tronic.

He said: Its possible, but alot of work and he can only imagin to do this change if he had a crashed R8 plus he could steal al the needed parts from.

If you want to know it more specificly, I can translate his mail to english. But in the end it would be easily a 50k Euro project and alot of stressy hours in the garage.

Well, from my point of view. I just enjoy my R-tronic and maybe one day change the car.

Regards Pat

desertwinauh

Thanks for the response, Pat.
I am living with the R-Tronic and its not so bad at all, though sometimes it gets confused and gives a wrong gear when in the auto under sudden/emergency acceleration conditions. Using the manual its just fine. All still very livable.
So, the best way to upgrade would be to trade it in to the dealer and pay the difference for a new one, though by then I think I will be perfectly happy to keep this one.
By the way, the Sepang blue has been extremely popular among my friends, family and total strangers, it is a beautiful color. I will never buy a boring color (red, silver, black or white) again.
I enclose some more recent photos...
At Zayed University

In the bright winter sunlight

At Emirates Palace