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New A4 owner: first impressions, Bentley manual justification, extrakey cost at the dealer,



 
 
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  #1  
Old June 16th 11, 09:21 AM posted to alt.autos.audi
AD[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 423
Default New A4 owner: first impressions, Bentley manual justification, extrakey cost at the dealer,

Hi there,

I finally got ahold of my 2003 A4 Avant 1.8T, it took 3 month to ship
it from NJ/Penn State.

First impressions:

Lots of buttons to dig through: Took me quite a while how to turn the
rear wiper off
when I picked the car from customs yesterday.
The car came without an owner's manual, so I resorted
to buying an owner's manual/maintenance manual combo locally.

I pushed the steering wheel all the way in, but the only way to get my
hands fully extended
was to tilt the seat backwards. Could not find an upright position
with hands fully extended
where I could reach the clutch. I guess I'll have to get used to
porsche-like semi reclined seating.
Not such a big deal.

I'm pondering the want vs. need for Bentley manual giving that I will
be only doing simple
tasks covered in the manual I've bought leaving anything from oil
change onward complexity wise
to the service department to handle. Do advise if my Bentley manual
driven edufication warrants the
cost of the manual, please.

Aside from 15" steel wheels for [studded] winter tires I plan to do
absolutely zero tuning on the car as I see
no need and I'm not a fart-can exhaust kind of guy. The awesome sound
insulation allows
to rip all the way to the redline whenever situation calls for it.

Maybe I'll install a stiffer rear sway bar eventually (if I get the
car to produce any body roll,
so far it's been composed no matter what I threw at it). That would
require way stickier rubber than ContriProContacts so that's not
likely to happen any time soon.

How much did you pay for an extra key in the States, UK, Canada, etc?
(My A4 came with exactly 1 key)

My apologies for removing a 5SP quattro avant from the States: they
must be hard to come by.
Locals share the preference of Americans for automatics while I see no
merit of automatic+turbo combo,
and, besides, in contrast with my previously owned subarus the lever
action is crisp and the throws are short. Awesome job audi. It's a
pleasure to shift.

Thanks.
Ads
  #2  
Old June 18th 11, 11:39 PM posted to alt.autos.audi
D. LaCourse
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 64
Default New A4 owner: first impressions, Bentley manual justification, extra key cost at the dealer,

On 2011-06-16 04:21:37 -0400, AD > said:
>
>
> I pushed the steering wheel all the way in, but the only way to get my
> hands fully extended
> was to tilt the seat backwards. Could not find an upright position
> with hands fully extended
> where I could reach the clutch. I guess I'll have to get used to
> porsche-like semi reclined seating.
> Not such a big deal.
>


Hands fully extended? Ain't no way to drive. Adjust your seat so that
your wrists rest on top of the steering wheel. You may have to adjust
the steering wheel also. With your wrists resting on top of the
steering wheel, your arms will have the *necessary* bend in them when
your hands are at 9 and 3. Read that again - I am not suggesting that
you drive your car with your wrists on top of the steering whell. It
is simply a measuring technique.

I taught cops high speed pursuit driving for a number of years. The
above is the proper technique for best results. With your hands at 9
and 3, you can get out of most situations. With your arms fully
extended, you will not have the dexterity necessary.

Just a hint, AD.

Dave


  #3  
Old June 20th 11, 11:24 AM posted to alt.autos.audi
AD[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 423
Default New A4 owner: first impressions, Bentley manual justification,extra key cost at the dealer,

On Jun 19, 1:39*am, D. LaCourse > wrote:
> On 2011-06-16 04:21:37 -0400, AD > said:
>
>
>
> > I pushed the steering wheel all the way in, but the only way to get my
> > hands fully extended
> > was to tilt the seat backwards. Could not find an upright position
> > with hands fully extended
> > where I could reach the clutch. I guess I'll have to get used to
> > porsche-like semi reclined seating.
> > Not such a big deal.

>
> Hands fully extended? *Ain't no way to drive. *Adjust your seat so that
> your wrists rest on top of the steering wheel. *You may have to adjust
> the steering wheel also. *With your wrists resting on top of the
> steering wheel, your arms will have the *necessary* bend in them when
> your hands are at 9 and 3. *Read that again - I am not suggesting that
> you drive your car with your wrists on top of the steering whell. *It
> is simply a measuring technique.
>
> I taught cops high speed pursuit driving for a number of years. *The
> above is the proper technique for best results. *With your hands at 9
> and 3, you can get out of most situations. *With your arms fully
> extended, you will not have the dexterity necessary.
>

Ok, I prefer 10 & 2 but with the right hand on the shifter most of the
time that leaves 10 o'clock.
I guess my hands do have a slight bend as the adjustment limits don't
allow for as much extension as I'd like despite
the fully recessed steering wheel.

Unrelated: the fuel pictogram lit today and I poured in about 40liters
(about 11 U.S gallons).
Oddly, the fuel gauge indicates about 5/8th to 11/16th of a tank.
Thoughts?

ContiProContacts are slowly growing on me.
  #4  
Old June 23rd 11, 07:44 AM posted to alt.autos.audi
W Pawlinetz
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1
Default New A4 owner: first impressions, Bentley manual justification, extra key cost at the dealer,

On Sat, 18 Jun 2011 18:39:52 -0400, D. LaCourse >
wrote:

>Hands fully extended? Ain't no way to drive. Adjust your seat so that
>your wrists rest on top of the steering wheel. You may have to adjust
>the steering wheel also. With your wrists resting on top of the
>steering wheel, your arms will have the *necessary* bend in them when
>your hands are at 9 and 3.


Concur. Had the same instructions here and it is valuable advice.

Maybe an additional tip: Also his legs should never be fully straight
when depressing the clutch or any pedal. There should always be a
slightly bent knee.

In the track instructions I received they told us that this gives
extra control and avoids injury when hitting something as people tend
to involuntarily in an emergency hit the pedals with eveything they
have and end up hitting objects witht their leg(s) straight, causing
severe hip and knee injury.

Hope that never comes across though.

Opinions?

Regards

W.
  #5  
Old June 23rd 11, 07:47 PM posted to alt.autos.audi
D. LaCourse
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 64
Default New A4 owner: first impressions, Bentley manual justification, extra key cost at the dealer,

On 2011-06-23 02:44:11 -0400, W Pawlinetz > said:

> On Sat, 18 Jun 2011 18:39:52 -0400, D. LaCourse >
> wrote:
>
>> Hands fully extended? Ain't no way to drive. Adjust your seat so that
>> your wrists rest on top of the steering wheel. You may have to adjust
>> the steering wheel also. With your wrists resting on top of the
>> steering wheel, your arms will have the *necessary* bend in them when
>> your hands are at 9 and 3.

>
> Concur. Had the same instructions here and it is valuable advice.
>
> Maybe an additional tip: Also his legs should never be fully straight
> when depressing the clutch or any pedal. There should always be a
> slightly bent knee.
>
> In the track instructions I received they told us that this gives
> extra control and avoids injury when hitting something as people tend
> to involuntarily in an emergency hit the pedals with eveything they
> have and end up hitting objects witht their leg(s) straight, causing
> severe hip and knee injury.
>
> Hope that never comes across though.
>
> Opinions?
>
> Regards
>
> W.


Right on. And that is what "dead pedals" are for.

Dave


  #6  
Old June 24th 11, 10:20 AM posted to alt.autos.audi
AD[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 423
Default New A4 owner: first impressions, Bentley manual justification,extra key cost at the dealer,

On Jun 23, 9:44*am, W Pawlinetz > wrote:
> On Sat, 18 Jun 2011 18:39:52 -0400, D. LaCourse >
> wrote:
>
> >Hands fully extended? *Ain't no way to drive. *Adjust your seat so that
> >your wrists rest on top of the steering wheel. *You may have to adjust
> >the steering wheel also. *With your wrists resting on top of the
> >steering wheel, your arms will have the *necessary* bend in them when
> >your hands are at 9 and 3.

>
> Concur. Had the same instructions here and it is valuable advice.
>
> Maybe an additional tip: Also his legs should never be fully straight
> when depressing the clutch or any pedal. There should always be a
> slightly bent knee.
>


there is a bend in my knees and elbows. More so in the knees than in
the elbows.
Keep in mind that my (standard) driver's seat cushion is ratcheted up
almost all the way
so it's physically impossible to hyperextend the legs.

the US spec A4 does not have auto mirrors tilting backwards whenever I
shift in reverse,
hence I prefer to sit high up, in particular to see the curb on right
hand side when
parallel parking. In fact I like to have this pure experience without
the sugar coating
of auto adjusting mirrors or, at an extreme, automatic parallel
parking:
fewer electronic gizmos to break this way on an almost 9 y.o. car.

I find the left hand somewhere between 8 and 9 o'clock while cruising
on highway
with an occasional lazy drop to 6 on long boring straights. I suspect
that would be not good
at all in case front airbag would suddenly decide to deploy

the steering wheel is 3-spoke with spokes at 6,9 and 3 (15 that is in
24hr speak)

the right elbow rest is vertical as I don't like it at all on a car
with a manual,
I suppose automatic affictionado have some use for that contraption,
that or the people who frequent drive through and buy drinks there

all in all a very nicely thought out car.
aside from aftermarket steel plates for the oil pan, transmission,
possibly transmission linkage in the rear
(the realities of debris on the local roads and 1SA)
and 15" steel rims for winter tires I stick by my original plan to do
absolutely zero mods to the car

even the thick rear sway bar I most likely won't need at least until i
replace contiprocontacts with
a rubber that matches sport suspension (1BE) a bit better though ABS
and quattro masks
contiprocontact shortcomings in the traction department fairly well
and they don't annoyingly squeal in turns - a pleasant surprise from
an all season grand touring tire,
kudos to Continental or 45 profile for that. maybe they use litigious
squeal compound for taller sidewalls,
i dunno as this is my first 45 profile set ever
 




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