R8 V8 vs RS4 - Main engine/trany differences

[Riz]

Does anyone know main difference between R8 engine/transmission and RS4besides dry sump. Does anyone on this board have both cars and can describe performance differences. I'm looking at used 07 RS4 as daily driver.

[randombloke]

you might find this useful:

http://www.automobilemag.com/feature...est/index.html

[Riz]

Thanks - that was good info. Why would dry sump lubrication allow you to use a lightened flywheel?

[Jimk]

I have had the R8 for almost a year now and just sold an 07 RS4. Although it is the same engine it has a completely different character in the R8. In the R8 the engine has quicker throttle response (I always drive in sport mode in both cars) and feels much quicker to rev. The R8 is a much quicker car but not near as friendly as a daily driver. The RS4 sounds great, very fast, handles relatively well and is a bit of a sleeper....hardly get noticed, kind of nice when you do not want the attention the R8 attracts. 6 speed in the RS4 takes a bit of practice to acheive smooth shifts, a bit smoother with sport mode off. In over 2 years of ownership I did not have any reliability issues and the car was driven very enthusiastically. Back seats fold down for Costco/Home depot runs and you can carry 4 people. Very usable car, excellent daily driver. I have a bit of sellers remorse, really needed to reduce the number of vehicles and something had to go.

[smoothy]

Thanks - that was good info. Why would dry sump lubrication allow you to use a lightened flywheel?

Good question. A lower mounted engine permits a smaller flywheel? I'd think it could force the designer to use a smaller flywheel (although if you really wanted to keep the rotational weight for whatever reason, you could make the flywheel thicker or use a heavier metal)

[harrison]

With a dry sump system there is no OILPAN. No oil pan allows a smaller,more compact, lower design...Almost 6 inches in some cases.The oil pump, pick up tube and baffled pan are eliminated with the dry sump. With a dry sump system the oil is held in a separate tank,up high in car. Pump not submersed in oil either. Always has supreme oil pressure at all times.

[gsmps]

Graziano makes the transmission for The R8, not sure what manufacturer does it for the RS4

[smoothy]

With a dry sump system there is no OILPAN. No oil pan allows a smaller,more compact, lower design...Almost 6 inches in some cases.The oil pump, pick up tube and baffled pan are eliminated with the dry sump. With a dry sump system the oil is held in a separate tank,up high in car. Pump not submersed in oil either. Always has supreme oil pressure at all times.

yeah, but what Riz and I are wondering is how that allows you to have a lighter flywheel? I don't know of any direct correlation between the type of oil system and the flywheel weight, other than the fact that cars with dry sumps tend to be sports cars and as part of the overall performance improvements would have a lighter flywheel.

OTOH, maybe the guy that wrote the article simply didn't proofread it.

[LoresonDE]

Thought I would chime in...

The oil pan(dry sump) is not the lowest point in the motor it is the bellhousing(flywheel, pressure plate, clutch assy.)

If they were really trying to get it as low as possible(which is highly possible considering roll center and stuff) decreasing the flywheel diameter is a must...and thus the flywheel gets lighter.

Just a educated idea... haha