R8

[fastaussie]

So does your wife like the R8, or an Nsx swapped with a motor from a mini van?:biggrin:

ooh, you'll cop some flak for that!

i don't have a wife mate, so i have a doubley happy life...

 

[nis350]

I suppose you can make any car go fast if you spent enough money on it. Comparison like this is common with any cars. I recalled seeing threads posted on Prime about MR2 vs NSX. Very similar arguments where xyz can be done to the MR2 to outperform the NSX, but it is still an MR2 at the end of the day.

As a personal preference, I would never dump tons of money to 'modernize' any cars as I prefer originals, I'd rather use it for another toy like an R8 or 991.

Or you could continue to chase a faded out dream from the 90's and sink almost half a mortgage into a car to impress dudes. That is the comparison as I see it. Sure you could have a old Nsx smoke a new super car. Hell, if you search YouTube you can also see a 900 hp E39 turbo bmw race a Bugatti and win. It's all a matter of if you have little man syndrome or not. Be the fastest scrappiest guy in the fastest car. Or be the laid back one driving more comfortably and not look like your 18 years old...

 

[BB]

In my opinion, the cars are not analogous. The R8 is a GT car. Easier to drive, more comfortable, faster, but heavier and more damped driver response. It would be a difficult choice between the two because they are very different cars.

^^^ This is what I have long thought. Yet most forum members keep insisting that the R8 represents the evolution and spiritual successor of the NSX. Prior to the R8's release Audi was saying the company wanted to provide an "Audi 911". There was no talk of Audi's future sports car being a Ferrari alternative as was clearly the goal of the original NSX.

I believe the NSX was designed to be like a Ferrari with Honda comfort, reliability, and ergonomics engineered in. Whereas the R8 was designed to be the ultimate extension of the Audi product line-- a brand known mostly for its luxury performance sedans. The result is a car that's more GT like. You can observe this difference in intent by how Honda was often criticized for how the NSX seemed like it didn't belong in Honda's product line up. Nobody ever said this about the R8.

You can also see this same difference in the two brand's less expensive sports cars. The S2000 is the more hard edged sports car while the Audi TT seems more like the sports car interpretation of an Audi sedan. None of Honda's sports car products could truly be seen as a logical upgrade for a sedan owner who only needs 2 seats, but all of Audi's sports car products could possibly be an upgrade for a sedan owner.

Audi's bias towards designing the R8 to feel like a sports car take on their sedan line can even be seen in the car's height. Just look at the picture below. Relative to the NSX the high riding R8 has a very sedan like profile. Guess which one most women will like getting in and out of more? This weekend my wife rode in my NSX and while getting in she accidentally banged her head and then proceeded to complain about how the car's roof is too low. I have no doubt she would like riding in an R8 more.

 

[fastaussie]

2000. I had money down 5 months before they came in.

look what just found it's way into the back of my truck last evening...

 

[arista5]

I was very fortunate and was able to spend a few thousand miles with one... was very comfortable and overall was a great car. was also a manual do that helped with the enjoyment. that special clink of the gated shifter...

me pulled over (obligatory pic with the cop that just wrote you for XXX in a XX)

and cruising in the middle of the country...

 

[Jinks]

I was very fortunate and was able to spend a few thousand miles with one... was very comfortable and overall was a great car. was also a manual do that helped with the enjoyment. that special clink of the gated shifter...

me pulled over (obligatory pic with the cop that just wrote you for XXX in a XX)

and cruising in the middle of the country...

Lol. That's funny. Was it a v10 or a v8? Also, does Wyoming hire police officers from freshman year? Jeez that cop looks rookie!

 

[Yawwn]

Based on the three slats in the front, as well as the sideblades not flaring out, it's a V8.

 

[fastaussie]

and the V10 always has a small, subtle badge on the side of the quarter panel aft of the wheel well
stating it's a "V10"...

 

[EuroBoutique]

I have had 3 R8's over the years and love my NSX too ~ questions feel free to ask away

Both are great cars - one is more suitable as a DD than the other but both are great cars in their own right and classics IMO.

 

[ozone]

I picked one up a couple months ago. 2012 V10 6MT

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[EuroBoutique]

I picked one up a couple months ago. 2012 V10 6MT

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Nice that is the "unicorn" combo for the R8 - MUST be a 6MT plus you got a white car, very nice.

If you ever get tired of the stock steering wheel - we are a vendor on R8talk too - check out our line of carbon parts for the R8!

This is my interior:

 

[nis350]

how reliable are they (v8 & v10)? What is the annual maintenance cost like? Are there any expensive common issues with either version?

I have had 3 R8's over the years and love my NSX too ~ questions feel free to ask away

Both are great cars - one is more suitable as a DD than the other but both are great cars in their own right and classics IMO.

 

[ozone]

Nice that is the "unicorn" combo for the R8 - MUST be a 6MT plus you got a white car, very nice.

If you ever get tired of the stock steering wheel - we are a vendor on R8talk too - check out our line of carbon parts for the R8!

This is my interior:

Thanks. That's a very nice looking interior especially with all the CF.

 

[EuroBoutique]

how reliable are they (v8 & v10)? What is the annual maintenance cost like? Are there any expensive common issues with either version?

There are no real major issues with the car in terms of the motors or electrical. Seems like the biggest culprit with these cars is the mag ride suspension. They have been known to leak for no specific reason. Some cars rack up 20k+ with no issues while some fail at super low miles even in stock cars. My 2010 had a leak in 2 of them at 5100 miles. My 2011 had an issue with 1 shock and was covered under the Audi warranty. This is why I never wanted to lower those cars. You can be sure they would most likely deny the warranty if you put lowering springs on.

 

[fastaussie]

how reliable are they (v8 & v10)? What is the annual maintenance cost like? Are there any expensive common issues with either version?

many people have asked that question many times. and the answer is simply, superbly reliable. indestructible drivetrains, great electronics and everything else. as has been mentioned before, the shocks seem to be the only problem with R8's.

and maintenance is also very minimal and very reasonable. the R8 is the modern day (original) NSX, except with fewer issues...

 

[synth19]

What do folks do when the shocks fail? Replace or go with full coilovers?

 

[nis350]

There are no real major issues with the car in terms of the motors or electrical. Seems like the biggest culprit with these cars is the mag ride suspension. They have been known to leak for no specific reason. Some cars rack up 20k+ with no issues while some fail at super low miles even in stock cars. My 2010 had a leak in 2 of them at 5100 miles. My 2011 had an issue with 1 shock and was covered under the Audi warranty. This is why I never wanted to lower those cars. You can be sure they would most likely deny the warranty if you put lowering springs on.

- - - Updated - - -

Just read up a bit about the mag ride suspension. It is very expensive to replace. I suppose it can be replaced with conventional shocks, but with some sort of dash warning light staying on.

Did Audi ever improve/redesign the replacement shocks or they are just as bad?

There are no real major issues with the car in terms of the motors or electrical. Seems like the biggest culprit with these cars is the mag ride suspension. They have been known to leak for no specific reason. Some cars rack up 20k+ with no issues while some fail at super low miles even in stock cars. My 2010 had a leak in 2 of them at 5100 miles. My 2011 had an issue with 1 shock and was covered under the Audi warranty. This is why I never wanted to lower those cars. You can be sure they would most likely deny the warranty if you put lowering springs on.

 

[EuroBoutique]

What do folks do when the shocks fail? Replace or go with full coilovers?

In our cases where the car is covered under warranty, we chose to replace with OEM part. Given the OEM part is roughly $2k give or take plus labor, if the car is out of warranty it makes sense to go with aftermarket coils if we had go down that route. An R8 that is lowered looks absolutely amazing and aggressive! We never tracked our cars so not sure what is the best choice for track use....

 

[nis350]

were the replacement oem shocks any better?

As for as aftermarket coils, are they just the conventional type? Any idea of parts and labor cost?

In our cases where the car is covered under warranty, we chose to replace with OEM part. Given the OEM part is roughly $2k give or take plus labor, if the car is out of warranty it makes sense to go with aftermarket coils if we had go down that route. An R8 that is lowered looks absolutely amazing and aggressive! We never tracked our cars so not sure what is the best choice for track use....

 

[Yawwn]

When I had my R8, I recall that there was a concern for carbon build-up in the intake manifolds for the V8 version. Lots of documentation online from RS4 owners who have had this problem (same V8 engine in the R8 as in the RS4).

 

[B-E-A-S-T]

R-Tronic transmissions have a lot of documented issues. The Gen1 V8's have a hesitation under acceleration issue, some say electronics and others say due to carbon build up. The other big one I read was A/C issues where the whole unit has to be replaced. The Mag Shocks are just the most frequent issue and apparently when you replace them with coilovers the comfort in city driving suffers greatly...


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