test drove a 2.7t A6 that felt slow

[golovemd]

Hi guys, just reregistered after many years. I used to own a B5 S4, and decided recently I would like to get back into an Audi. I drove a bit today to check out a few cars at a dealer. Ideally I'd rather buy from a private seller, but that's another story. Anyway, I have never driven a 2.7t A6 until today, and this car felt, well, slow. It did not have any pickup. I could hear the turbo spool a little, just like it sounded in my old S4, but no pickup. I am wondering if this is normal? My 99 Blazer seems to have more pickup then that car did. The dealer was your typical dealer who tried to justify it by saying the engine is a detuned S4 engine, so it's nowhere as fast. It really felt REALLY slow though. Normal or did this car have issues?

[trapped]

hmm. Stock the 2.7t developed 250hp and the car is fairly heavy. I would deffinatly not say that My 00 2.7t was slow, but it was not nearly as fast as it is chipped. I really don't know how slow it was, but if its a tip you should be looking for 0-60 in about 6.5-7 seconds. If its slower than that I would say there is somthing wrong.

[bdmstang]

I know what you're saying...I drove a 2002 S4 after having my 2.7 A6 and the S4 just "felt" slow.....no real power when the turbos spooled up. Not sure what the deal was.

[Overboostin]

a6's are a little detuned than s4's, so thats right. probably just the weight of the car, the transmission and the perception from the car made it feel slow.

[RS6-4dr911]

The points above, while generally correct, (everything I've seen says the S4/A6 2.7T engines are identical) are probably not the issue. I bought one several years ago (off eBay) after reading about how quick they were, but when I got it, it was a complete pig. 0-60 in the 9-10 second range. My Expedition was faster. These cars should easily run in the low 6 sec range 0-60 times, especially the manual, and really come into their own on the highway. Not huge top end power but lots of torque. (http://www.audiworld.com/news/99/a62...review01.shtml Once you look under the hood things get more interesting. The 2.7T A6 shares the same 2.7 liter 250 hp bi-turbo V6 that is found in the Audi S4. The 6-speed transmission and brake system are also the same and the exhaust system is similar as well. Official performance numbers are 0-60 in 6.0 seconds and 14.7 seconds for the quarter mile - only slightly slower than the S4.)

Long story short, one MAF and one loose/broken boost hose later, (the first repaired under a general service bulletin, the second on my dime, but fairly inexpensive) and it got its "scoot" back. Check those items out, along with any other hoses and hose clamps associated with the boost system and I'll bet you find your lost power. Worst case, it's got a turbo problem, ouch.

[golovemd]

The car was a 6 speed. I know seat of the pants feel can sometimes throw you off, but this car definitely did not have that much power. Even my girlfriend, who has not been in an S4 or any Audi said it felt slow. On the way back, I floored my Blazer just to give her a comparison, with a seat of the pants feel from the passengers point of view, and she said the Blazer felt like it had a lot more pickup. I am going to continue searching, but I want to check with you guys before i decide on whether to continue searching for an A6 or if I should look for an S4, since that is what i was previously used to. On a side note, i loved the feel of the A6, interior wise. Felt like a big S4, nicely layed out. I appreciate any help you guys can lend me. I already know to ask whether the TB was done on any car with over say about 70,000 miles.

[golovemd]

Worst case, it's got a turbo problem, ouch.

Well that would be my first worry. I didn't go with that car, in part because they wanted to really give me a low offer on my trade, and secondly, because the owner of the place really turned me off. The brakes had a serious shake and the car pulled hard to the right on braking. The owner said it's just dust on the brakes cause it's been sitting so long. I'll continue looking for another car. If anyone knows of any in the CT/NY/NJ area, can you please send me a pm?

[trapped]

Yeah, consider a few things that I did which made the car feel very very quick for under $700.

Stock the car's turbos only hold about 8psi (what i have been told correct if wrong). When you chip it you get about 18psi which is a lot and when you get to about 3500rpm you can feel thoes turbos kick you in the ass.

After I chipped about a week later it felt laggy, and not quick. Changed the DV's and bam the power was back. Then I installed the K&N filter and the turbo kicks in alittle earlier and sounds better, but no real power diffrence.

Also you have to look at the TBB (throttle body boot) because if that is ripped there will be drastic losses.

[golovemd]

Thanks, some good info there. Good stuff to keep in mind.

RS6-4dr911 - just saw your edit with the link. Thanks. After reading that I know for sure that something was wrong with that car. It may have been something small, like a loose hose, but I will continue to search still. I feel better as I was worried that the A6 would be too underpowered for my tastes after driving that car today.

[R2.7TA6]

our A6 2.7 is definetly not slow, first time I dyno'd the car, everyone screemed mystery chip as my corrected HP numbers are over 210 hp, Audi claims at altitude we should have 25% hp loss, I'm closer to 15%.

[golovemd]

our A6 2.7 is definetly not slow, first time I dyno'd the car, everyone screemed mystery chip as my corrected HP numbers are over 210 hp, Audi claims at altitude we should have 25% hp loss, I'm closer to 15%.

Thank you guys. My drive to check out these cars was almost an hour and a half. The ride back I was upset thinking that I am going to have to look for a different kind of car. I feel so much better now and just have to continue the search.

[FrankA6]

Umm that car has problems, its should be 10 times faster than your Blazer, and my friend has a stock B5 S4 and i dont see where the engine is detuned, it still has 250HP, the car just isn't as nimble and light as the S4, and in my opinion a 2.7T A6 is faster than a 4.2 and it's faster than 90% of the cars you see everyday, only things that compare, are EVO's/350Z's/Mustangs/ ect... but with some help from a chip, ect... that shouldn't be a problem. Plus i drove my friends 350Z and my S-Line pulls much harder...so there had to be a problem.

and btw i would buy a A6 if i where you, and B5 S4 is out of date and looks old, and looks like a cheap car , and the A6 looks better and more classy but thats just me, im not much of a fan of the old B5 body, oh well good luck.

[golovemd]

and btw i would buy a A6 if i where you, and B5 S4 is out of date and looks old, and looks like a cheap car , and the A6 looks better and more classy but thats just me, im not much of a fan of the old B5 body, oh well good luck.

That is definitely a matter of opinion. I do not think the B5 S4 looks old or out of date, and it definitely does not look cheap. I do think the extra room the A6 offers is nice. If I had a choice of that grey maple wood interior trim in an A6, I would opt for that as I think it looks amazing. Looks are always subjective though, as they say, to each his own.

[FrankA6]

i have grey leather with dark maple wood, if thats what you mean?

[trapped]

I really quite like the look of the b5 s4, but I hate the exhaust. I wish there was duel exhaust like the a6. I would personally buy the a6 2.7t, but if your not into mods as stated the 4.2 with that wide body looks sick. If you really want to mod the car, new turbos and fueling can get you almost 500hp after exhaust.

[Gigi]

The A6 is not detuned... it is just a little fatter. However, performance difference is only in the 1/2 sec range.
This car probably had a boost leak, some are easy to fix. Get a PPI done on it. COuld run a conpression test too.
Have had a couple of boost leaks and they will greatly affect the car's performance!

[04A6SLine]

would the problem just be that the car wasn't driven for a month or two???.. bad gas could really kill the car....