W12 Gear Ratios
 

Having had some time to get comfy with my SWB W12 I have realised why there is so much of a difference in economy between the SWB and the LWB. At a certain cruising speed the SWB is turning over at 3000 RPM whereas the LWB I used to have would have been doing around 2100 RPM at the same road speed. This is obviously the reason why the brochure states such wildly different economy figures for the 2 cars, with the SWB being significantly more thirsty than the LWB. I used to get around 22MPG in the LWB, whereas even on a long motorway run in the SWB I cant seem to get above 19! The sound it makes is wonderful though (it has a custom exhaust), and the SWB is far more nimble (for a 2 tonne plus car) and it just feels so much more 'urgent' than the LWB - they really are like 2 completely different cars

Maybe why the SWB W12 was discontinued... Still don't see why they needed it to be so different.

What Dave has neglected to shout and scream about with joy is that the SWB is thus a heck of a lot quicker off the mark than the LWB equivalent. and sportier, and handles better, and and and and......

The noise from this slightly tweaked exhaust is to die for. I'm not sure a V8 rumble will ever feel as satisfying again.

I've always heard it said that it takes 300 bhp in a manual 4wd to break traction on dry tarmac. I've also noted that I've never broken traction in a straight line in a quattro, probably hindered by the auto box.

Both Dave and I have witnessed this beast scrubbing rubber at set off - This really puts the linear power delivery into perspective. This isnt a fault with ESP, its just raw power.

Yes, Amars RS6 is fecking quick and will beat a W12 hands down, but until the turbos spin up its just 8 cylinders, and you can feel the W12 lift off quicker. Really you can.

In sports mode, the W12 goes rev-tastic and just wants to rip your head off with acceleration. Its mind boggling that the only A8 I've ever driven with an official weight over 2 tonnes is *that* quick.

Tapping the throttle at 90 will see 100 in the blink of an eye, it seems to know no bounds.

I did 500 miles in this car yesterday, with the only annoyance being the massage seats which only massage for 15 mins at a time, requiring the movement of the right arm to press the button again. The refrigerated drinks, acres of cow trim, handfree phone, comfort seats, sunroof, adaptive cruise, auto wipers and oooodles of power just soaked up the motorways.

If money were no object, I'd buy a fleet of these today and run them for ever.

But, here in Yorkshire, where money doesnt grow on the trees, a W12 isnt in my sights still. Yes, the SWB is better than I ever dreamed, but it doesnt change the fact that the engines are hopelessly complicated and cost more to keep going than Her Majesties Navy fleet.

And then theres the fuel.

Even if you could afford the fuel, can you afford to stop every 300 miles to spend 10 minutes filling it up? A sensible motorway run reels in a fraction over 20 mpg, with it dropping into high teens the second you indicate off the slip road.

A typical B road journey will be lucky to see mid teens if you're driving it like it urges you to, and if you drive it gently, what was the point?

Yes, you could LPG it (which in itself is a feat of using 2 6 cylinder conversions and hoping for the best), but its not like the engine bay is blessed with room for this little additions. Adding the LPG makes maintenance even more combersome, and cylinder choice is not what it would be with the fridge eating away at boot space.

The extra weight of the engines prematurely wears the front suspension, hubs and bearings, along with double the regular number of engine ECU's, cats and lambda sensors makes for really expensive motoring if anything goes wrong.

Even the gearbox uses a W12 specific fluid which is significantly more expensive than other D3's

You'd think that driving a high spec W12 D3 is just like driving any other high spec D3, but with more power. Well, its not. Its like raising the bar, and realising that every other D3 out there is actually a comprimise. Its like driving a Subaru Impreza sport, knowing theres a turbo version, or the 150bhp TT knowing theres a 225bhp version that really moves.

Its like the whole D3 platform was designed to generate, deliver and handle all this power, and using it for any lesser engine is just a waste...

The W12 SWB is an engineering masterpiece, and I encourage everyone to find someone to borrow one from, just be very wary of actually buying one to run daily... ;)

I've not driven a D3 S8 yet, but I'd love to. I'm struggling a bit to understand what the S8 can deliver differently to this perfect looking package......... I cant afford to run either, so its highly irrelevant, but if any D3 S8 owner dare bring their motor to a meet, expect me to be pining for a test drive.... :D

If you are ever in Berkshire or Chippenham....
 

You are welcome to a drive by D3 S8.

I live in RG42 3UA and work in SN14 0WT, feel free to ask.

Cheers

Richard

Or I could test it on his behalf as I'm so local!! Ahemmmm lol. +++

Swindon to Chippenham is only 25 miles
 

If your interested, drop me a pm.

Richard

Thanks Richard will do, we'll definitely catch up for a mini meet soon +++

i get 22 mpg on a run from my SWB W12 and almost always on short runs get 18-19 mpg not sure if this difference is because of the new engine and that there is no wear or weather its just luck or what but im not too far from that figure on every drive,

Oh and very nice right up IT +++

and david with regards to the gearing, the SWB shares the same gear box as the V10 S8 and as you say the LWB has a different box, so although the W12 came out before the D3 S8 they must have just used the W12 box in the S8, would love to drive a LWB though, because i offen wandered if i made the right choice in getting the SWB instead of the LWB that i was looking for to begin with ?

correct me if im wrong of course +++

The S8 is pretty much all those things, but sharper and feels more sporty. Compare the SLine model to the SE model with all the toys.

Both cars, are just awesome. I just wished the S8 had twin turbos.

The new D4 one will have :D. So your wish will come true very soon!