No matter how "good" a tiptronic, PDK, SMG, paddle shifters, etc are, there's something fun about doing it the old way...in a world where you increasingly cannot do it the old way.

Hey, I'm sure someone thought throttle by wire was an improvement. :)

That's pretty much the way I see it. If it doesn't have a manual sometimes it feels like you're just pointing the car in the direction you want to go.

It's always bugged me how on most of the autos I drive there's the slightest delay between when I get on the gas and when things get going enough to make the car accelerate.

A rev-limiter doesn't do much to save a motor or tranny from a mistaken 4-to-1 downshift from 100+ mph...

Just sayin'
-Z

I think the smg does a decent job of replacing the real thing in that it is a legitimate manual transmission, it simply has a clutch that is controlled by a computer and automated pump. Otherwise, it has the same characteristics as a conventional manual, plus it will rev match perfectly on every downshift.

That being said, I would greatly prefer if my dad's m3 was a six speed, not an smg. When I get a new car in the next year or two, it will absolutely 100% be a true manual transmission.

I want a car with a PDK (DSG, whatever), with a sprung clutch pedal that is connected-by-wire to the DSG clutch computer. Since the clutches are controlled via proportional hydraulic valves, it is possible to augment them analogously. So proportional control via a pedal, if desired, should be possible, moving the clutch plates linearly as a pedal is moved.

Then, when you don't feel like it, the computer can take over and the clutch pedal could be disabled.

I think that would be fun as hell, to be able to 'dump the clutch on a DSG, off the line, yet let the computer take over the 1-2 shift...

That would be cool. I could drive the backroads and the car could drive for me in traffic.

Depending on year, options, etc. this was a $50,000+ car when new and still worth probably at least $18K or so. Well, it was a week or 2 ago ;) So it's worth too much to walk away from. So you either sell it as is, repair the motor or stick a new motor in. Either way, he's pretty much screwed.

FS: '04 S4 V8 4.2L Engine Only

PS: I'll take the sport seats for my A4 if he wants to part it out (release circling vultures for effect ..... :cool: )

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1270433824.jpg
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http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1270434007.jpg

Pics as promised.....

I was busy as all getup all week, and did not get the motor out until friday afternoon.
It is not as bad as I expected, but there is definately some carnage. I only pulled the left head, as I could see valve train damage as soon as I pulled that valve cover. On this bank every single valve kissed the pistons , all 20 of them . Only 3 of the intakes are severely bent. but judging from the size of the dents in the pistons, they all hit pretty hard, and are probably hurt. Hard to tell from the pics, but the middle intake valve (out of 3) hits the piston near the edge, and it looks as if it has deformed the piston right at the edge. 3 of the 4 exhaust rocker arms have busted right at the roller tip. The outer race split, and all the needle bearings are spread throughout the motor, and the pins are shattered. One of the outer rollers got lodged under a cam lobe, and the rear of the exhaust cam sheared off. The chain wheel is also destroyed. Unfortunately, I must have erased the pics of the cam and chain wheel, will get some more tomorrow
This is going to be a real expensive fix, I have not yet wrote an estimate, but I am guessing they will be better off sourcing another motor. The cams are nearly a grand each, valves at 60 each. the chain wheels are something like 265 each . Ouch.
I really expected to see valves pounded into the head, as he really zinged this thing, hats of to audi , tougher than I would have thought.

sorry , something wacky happened to the pics . I will try to sort them out in the am.

I would imagine that pieces bouncing around in there, would have to do bad things. The more you pull it apart, the uglier it is going to get, dollarwise. The bottom end is probably not that bad, but as you say, it will be cheaper to source a motor out of a crashed one.


No offense meant, but "I have not yet written," sorry

i see the pics just fine. some really cool stuff.

Those are good looking cars.... Glad this particular one is not mine....

There were a few photos that did not load, that showed the dents in the pistons, and the sheared off cam, they are even nastier looking.

My mom drives a 2003 Passat. My dad is an Electrical Engineer who graduated from Purdue University in 1964.

Mom's Passat QUIT DEAD on the highway at 70 mph in North Carolina near Winston-Salem last year. Cause: DAD [electrical engineering degree from Purdue, and heavy-duty REPUBLICAN] failed to register that that the 1.8T in the car has a timing belt and it was overdue for a CHANGE. You see, republicans like my parents DON'T THINK ABOUT THE FUTURE. In fact, they don't think about much at all. Dad thinks about the grass at his various properties around Asheville, NC, but he can't be concerned about his timing belt. That's fine, he's worth millions of dollars so paying $3000 for a smoked head due to the fact that you are so stupid and republican to PAY ATTENTION doesn't bother me.

Anyway, my intelligence came from my mother, not my dad~

N-

Norm theres some sig worthy stuff there bud.... LOL

right. its all about political affiliation. did you take your FAA approved meds, there normy?

also, i read that your daddy (who is your daddy, BTW) was a lawyer.... an engineer republican lawyer. i gotta meet this guy. really.

My father gets up at 0500 and turns on his radio [I'm not kidding] and listens to right-wing crap on some AM station in North Carolina.

He feeds this crap to my mother; what is sad is that she eats what she feeds her. I don't understand how my educated father can believe crap that is the same as big-time wrestling: That is what Fox foists at you every day, by the way.

I don't visit my parents very often. It isn't that they don't want me around, it is more that I don't want to be around THEM. If you were around my neurotic parents for 15 minutes trust me- you'd stay away from them too. None of my relatives go to their house any more!

N!

I'm guessing the quantity or dosage may need adjusting...

So you stay up late at night snorting or eating any meds in sight to get the way YOU are?

Son, I hope that you seek professional help and soon. Especially before your next FAA mandated pee test.

Joe A

PS, was up at 04:30 this morning listening to Fox News. Suppose you are going to say I am a "right wing nut case?"

Hey Normy - take your political drivel out of here.

This is about car carnage, not government carnage.

fastfredracing: I take it that all those scratches in the pictures weren't put there by the engineers.... :eek: It doesn't look as bad as I thought it would be...yet.... !


-Z-man.