lollll it's always nice seeing a steve pitbull video getting linked to

i live about 20 min from his shop, my E55 has been worked on by him occasionally and i've never had any real complaints about the quality of work or prices... i've also personally worked for him one summer in between semesters making videos for his youtube channel (such as this one), and i can honestly say i've never seen him attempt to be shady or act with bad integrity toward a customers car


the real reason i suspect he has trouble finding good staff that stick around is he's like basically insane, (in the eccentric, endearing kind of way lol) and he cares more about being a hot shot TV personality... also when it comes to some smaller type jobs that aren't projects he's interested in he'll be "too big" for them

anyway he's a good indy shop to bring an old euro car to but be prepared for some antics lol

 

Nice purchase! My mothered ordered one new in 2012 but it was a basket case and got bought back. She then purchased a 2013 760Li which was also a nightmare. Finally landed in a 2015 S600 that is still doing duty at a family vacation house. I loved all of them but the Audi’s rarity made it particularly special no doubt. You’ll never see another one on the road that is for sure.

 

Do these not share parts with the contemporary Bentley version of the W12?

 

What exactly went wrong with hers?

It does and it doesn't, it shares more with the VR6 since the Bentley is forced induction.

 

Subwoofer is curing, I'll reinstall it after 48 hours or more to make sure the binding agent has more than enough time to cure. I hid it in the formal dining room since we nearly never go in there, I really hoping that this works. I used E6000 since that appears to be what the other Audi guys have used to correct this.


I'm hoping to come back to this after Christmas and that everything works when installed.

I absolutely suck at gluing stuff, hopefully I centered it well enough and the bead is even enough. I'm down one of the iron teacups till the adhesive cures since they happen to be the ideal weight and shape to remain in place while providing force on the cover.

I also spent about 5 hours washing/cleaning off the W12, there was a lot of buildup and I needed to use a toothbrush on all the emblems, seals, key cylinders, trim etc to really get it perfectly clean again.

Next step is a full clay, clear bra repair, removal of the rear glass and front side tint for reapplication of the fronts, wheels off cleaning of the wells and rims, and a full interior detail. A friend of mine on the Audi forums is using his extensive connections related to all things W12 to source me some euro market only items as well. I'll be getting Audi exclusive level 3 floor mats trimmed to match my leather, a wood and leather wheel, wood shifter, wood and leather grab handles, and finally valve stems and caps.

That should bring the interior up to a higher overall spec that is more inline with what I like.


All my silvers are cleaned up and parked inside on tenders, 28 cylinders, 17.7L, 1675hp in total.

I am really liking this car but I still think the 460 will always have a place alongside it in my garage.

 

Oh yeah, duh. I was a little slow on that one.

My mom’s car had some serious electric problems. No info would ever store (memory seats, stereo presets, cluster settings) and sometimes modules would get phantom signals and start adjusting things (opening sunroof, tilt mirrors down, recline rear passenger’s seat). I’ve never seen anything like that besides a flood car I’ve been in.

 

Realling hoping you can get all the electrical schematics and dealer level repair manuals for your car.
I like toyota since I can pay a small fee and download EVERYTHING for the car from their website with high quality electrical, parts, repair, etc.
Not sure if anything like that exists for Audi but that would be cool and make a big difference for peeps considering buyingone and DIY their own repairs.

Watched your video posted above, enjoyed it and I see what ya mean.
Think he's been in the business so long he's bored with service since he seems to like "project cars" to expand his offerings.
I could never do that since I hate project jobs that linger around forever... ugh
In-and-out is the kinda jobs I like and I'm in a different field but think it applies to most kind of work.

The "clean room" looks way to far away from the lift bays so that might drive techs crazy and 15 lifts smashed in like that is tight.
Techs like to have room to roll ther tool boxes to the engine bay they are working at so hope that's possible there cuz that would be a deal breaker. Yeah a job cart would help but nobody wants to walk to back of shop to fetch tools all day long. lol

 

I was reading over the 2012 sales brochure and I came to a revelation regarding the soft close doors. I have been judging them incorrectly this entire time, they are not intended to be used the same way as on Lexus and as a result that's why the character of the two systems is so different.

The Lexus intends the system to be used when you are leaving the car aiming toward the goal of unobtrusive silence and to make certain the door closes. That's why it's so sensitive/the second the door touches it closes, the sound of the door when closed is also very subdued and when closed from inside the soft close is not preferred vs just closing the doors with normal pull. The handles are also located further back for more leverage.

The Audi in the dealer literature describes the system as to be used from INSIDE. They use the descriptor of "pull lightly towards yourself" for the door to complete closure and this now makes the distinct "click" denoting the system working makes total sense. It's much easier to tell when this system has taken over closing vs the Lexus system that is near impossible.

The German has a much more overtly quality/expensive door closure sound when you close it from outside the car and it's something that is a way to show off. It would make a sense then to not prioritize the soft closure performance from outside.

I'll make a video showing what I mean

 

When would one need to do this?

 

It's a form of showing off/exerting superiority, it's a quiet subtle way to show off how much more advanced your car is to people who have never seen something like that. Plus it's just nice since you can tell people they never need to slam your doors, show them once and then they just set it closed slowly.

 

With no maintenance done yet since I can't stop driving the stupid thing I'm getting about 18-21 MPG average. I've put about 2k miles on it so far and it's been perfect, I really don't want to drive anything else anymore and I'm considering getting rid of the LSs

I'm curious to see how much it increases when everything is refreshed and working correctly. If I can pull 24 average I'll be extremely happy/pleased since this is already great.

 

I'm OCD, the moment I bought my IS350 I changed all the fluids, although I knew the guy who bought it serviced it regularly. I would highly, highly recommend Amsoil. I know you mentioned you didn't care for Amsoil, but it made a difference. I've had it almost 10K in my Sienna, I'm going to send a sample to two different labs to see if it really lives up to it's 10K change intervals claim

 

You need to get yourself a V12 Mercedes now…and a V12 BMW. lots of choices for MB…can’t remember if the only BMW that came with a 12 is the 7.

Too bad Lexus never made a V12

 

When did I ever say I didn't like it? My truck uses their stuff exclusively and the engine is clearanced for their exact oil lol!

Im using Ravenol for this application, they are one of two places that make the fluid for the TVD and I'm sorta OCD wanting all diffs/TC/TVD fluids being from the same maker.

Trans will use ZF lifeguard 8 since I never deviate from OE fluids for transmissions. Pentosin is the actual maker for the fluid in this case so they are also valid since it's the exact same as buying from Audi.

Coolant will again be Pentosin since they are the actual makers, filters are going to be Hengst since I personally think they are higher quality than MANN/Bosch in terms of construction/materials.

Oil is special, I'm using VW511.00/Porsche C40 spec so I have the absolute best resistance to SAPS/carbon buildup in the intake. Only technical drawback is that here in the states is gas has a bit too much sulfur vs Europe. This was an issue with 504.00 spec since the oil would have shear/gelling failures at the spec 10k miles intervals. That was the source of the early 2000s mass engine failure issues......511 is supposed to address that plus just in general provide superior protection than anything other than 505.01 class oils.

Reguadless I'm changing at 5k as per my usual practices.

 

Maybe I heard this from someone else. My bad!