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#1
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In Love Again...
I had kinda fallen out of love with my S8 last year, seemed to have a number of issues that made driving it less enjoyable than normal. It probably came to a head during the journey down to Wales for last years annual meet, I had problems with wheel wobble which no amount of balancing seemed to fix, I had problems with severe wobble under braking and I also had a strange noise and separate vibration from those mentioned above at times.
Now some eight months on I seem to have solved all the issues and I have been out driving it the last couple of weekends in an uncharacteristically sunny Scotland. Those of you who attended the Annual Meet in Scotland will appreciate how wonderful the roads and scenery can be. It has reminded me yet again what a wonderful car it is. I know that it is now almost 14 years old and newer models have more “tech” but I really do feel this is one of the finest cars ever made. They are not cheap to run but they are bloody good fun to drive when spot on.... which mine seems to be again
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Audi S8 2002, Black (even the chrome bits) Audi RS6 Avant 2008, Daytona Grey Maserati Granturismo 2008, Metallic Nero Carbonio Audi S8 2015, Daytona Grey Last edited by briang9; 6th March 2016 at 10:15 PM. |
#2
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Glad to hear it Brian - patience is a virtue, which you've clearly got. And a good time of year to fall in love again
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#3
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Great to hear. What was the solution to the wobble problem?
I was reminded how good they are after an awful day on Friday, with over 6 hours driving the S8 (plus an hour test driving a Volvo) , much of it in traffic jams and diabolical weather. I got home surprisingly not stressed or aching thinking that of all the places to be in on a ****ty Friday with traffic hell there were few better.
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2003 D2 FL S8. Irish Green Pearl/Beige. Solar sunroof, auto-dim mirrors, electric rear seat functions, ski hatch retrofit; extended leather. Aftermarket DVB-T, reversing camera and full XCarlink (Bluetooth etc.). 2016 Volvo V40 T5 Cross Country (4WD) with ALL the toys including adaptive cruise etc. etc. Osmium Grey with Blonde/Charcoal leather interior. Polestar performance "optimisation". (A much rarer model than a D2 S8 by the way!) Oh, and a brand new engine at just under 30,000 miles on the factory one! Finally: gone, but not forgotten..... 1998 D2 PF S8. AgateGrey/Platinum. Every option (I think) except electric rear seats, tiptronic steering wheel, ski hatch, towbar & dimming door mirrors. e.g. Cruise control, NavPlus/TV, Bose, GSM, Xenons, Solar roof, Parking sensors, Alcantara/leather everywhere of course. (internal dimming mirror added later) 1998 (very early) Ford Focus 1.8 Zetec; ABS/TCS, Heated screen/mirrors, Aircon, Auto-dim mirror, Leather, Trip computer, Cruise control, OEM Ford SatNav with CD changer. And before that a lot of Rover 800s, a few oddities, a lovely Triumph Dolomite 1850HL with Overdrive and way back in my schooldays an Austin Seven aka Mini 850! |
#4
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I was out on the sunny weekend in my S8 too. We stayed over in Ballachulish and did the 2014 Annual Meet drive again!
There was a lot more snow on the hills, and a lot more sunshine this time around.
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2002 Final Edition S8. Ebony black with Silver Grey leather and myrtle wood trim. Current mods: solar sun roof, 20mm rear spacers, 15 mm on front, red brembo callipers, 6k headlights, rear view camera, engine remap, alloy dash dial rings, alloy navi rings, tt/phaeton pedal upgrade, (and custom matching foot rest) dension ipod interface & parrot hands free kit (both fully hidden), av input, tv in motion switched thro' PF switch in blanking plug right of steering column, Audi 'quattro' sill covers, repositioned centre console switches, radio clock, .Planned mods: auto-dimming rear view mirror, dash cam (as steamship's), fit the ski hatch, refit philips drl's (or maybe not - nope, definitely not - horrible botch!). |
#5
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They are bloody fantastic cars to drive when everything is working perfectly but it's surprising how something like a little vibration or rattle can spoil the enjoyment.
My S8 gets booked into the garage every 2-3 months (I'm due to book it in again very soon in fact) in an attempt to keep on top of any faults and to prevent any new ones occurring, partly because I want to keep the car in good condition, but mainly because even minor faults spoil the driving experience for me. I make a list of repairs and preventative work that needs doing. Once the list is long enough, or a fault becomes more serious or annoying, it gets booked in. The thing is, I hate leaving my car at the garage but it really makes me appreciate it again when I collect it, especially after a couple of days driving around in some awful courtesy car. Driving something else, no matter how new it is, really makes you appreciate how good these cars are.
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Mark ------------------------------------------------------ 2002 FE S8 Ebony Black Pearl ------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------ Cars Owned: The Tesla Era: 2020 Model S Performance Ludicrous+ (present) (Black, with all black premium interior and carbon fibre décor, 21" sonic carbon twin turbine wheels and FSD capability) The Audi Era: '97 A8 4.2 (Ming Blue) --> '96 A8 4.2 QS (Dark Green) --> '02 FE S8 (present) The Citroen Era: '84 BX 1.6 RS --> '89 BX 1.9 DTR Turbo --> '94 XM 2.0L Turbo --> '96 XM 2.0L Turbo Exclusive --> '00 Xantia Activa 2.0L Turbo The Banger Era: '76 1.2L Lada VAZ-2101 (Ruski Fiat 124) --> '80 1.7L Morris Ital HL, finished in Ermine White and Rust |
#6
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Quote:
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Audi S8 2002, Black (even the chrome bits) Audi RS6 Avant 2008, Daytona Grey Maserati Granturismo 2008, Metallic Nero Carbonio Audi S8 2015, Daytona Grey |
#7
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Glad you got it sorted Brian, its really horrible when you have always enjoyed driving your car then something like that spoils it and you cant get straight to the bottom of it. I think the worsening condition of all of our roads has a lot to do with all these new issues
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Confidence is the feeling you have before you know better . . . . Audi A8 D2 3.7 Quattro Sport 1999 FL - Melange 2nd Place Winner - A8-Freunde Annual German Meet 2012 at Edersee 20" x 9" Bentley GTC Wheels with 385mm W12 Front Discs & Bentley Caliper Covers, Front Lowered on Coilovers, Xenons, Combined DRLs and LED Foglights to modified OEM front fog lamp position, Alcantara/Leather, Full Black Alcantara headlining + pillars and blind shelf, Bespoke Flat Bottomed Sports Steering Wheel, Dark Myrtle Wood, Autodim Mirrors, Bose, Blinds, Digital TV, Ski Hatch, Modified rear exhaust section for extra V8 Burble Audi S8 D2 Final Edition 2002, Avus Silver with Red Leather Interior Tiptronic with Sport mode button, Sony rear entertainment package, Bose sound system, Audi Navigation Plus, 20 inch Final Edition alloys, Full Cat Back Stainless Milltek exhaust, giving a great V8 burble Audi A8L D2 4.2 Petrol with LPG - Ebony Black Audi A8L D4 FL 4.0T Petrol twin turbo - Havana Black Audi A2 1.6 FSi Sport - Dolphin Grey with Votex body kit and Red Leather Interior and some other A8's A8L's and Mercs |
#8
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The D2 A8/S8 is still, by far, the finest Audi ever made in my opinion. I'm jealous of anyone that gets to run one as a daily.
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2009 Audi RS 6 Saloon V10 - 420mm Ceramics, Keyless, Soft Close, Adaptive Cruise, Glass Sunroof, Blinds, Twin Pane & UV, Freeview & DAB, High Beam Assist, MTM bits, Audi Exclusive Bits, MRC, Milltek, GYEF1 ASY2's, Bluetooth streaming music to AMI mod - 753 PS/1021 NM 2016 Audi S3 Saloon, Sepang, S-Tronic - B&O, Tech Pack etc... Company Car 1995 Audi A8 4.2 V8 quattro Sport - Bose, Solar, Blinds |
#9
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Glad to hear it Brian
Had same problem last year, but when the love was back it was back for good
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2006 D3 S8 5.2 V10 Ceramic Brakes, Bang&Olufsen, DTV, DAB, Rear Camera, BT, TPMS, Soft Close, Auto Boot, AMI , 4 Zone AC, Home Link, All Electric Blinds, Fingerprint, Ski Hatch, Black Extended Leather, Heated Sport Seats, Alacantra, Carbon Trim inc Aluminium Pack 2. 2015 A3 S line 1.4 TFSI - for the missus to keep her away from my car. Standard S-line equipment, no extras. 2006 D3 A8 3.7 V8 - SOLD but not forgotten |
#10
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Great to hear Brian, that's a lovely 8 you have, driving it should be a pleasure
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Audi D3 S8 - 2007 - V10. B&O, Phantom Black, black and silver interior, and still completely standard with everything working as it should Audi TT - 2015 - Ultra |
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