Calling manual gearbox owners.. Just bought R8 and need help pls on niggles

[Fatboy21]

I'm new to this forum and club of R8 owners. Sorry to post such a long question but I've just bought a car and I'm a little anxious and need advice....

It's a 2007 v8 manual with 12k miles. Showroom condition. Kept in heated garage.

Just drove 300 miles bringing it home and showing friends. I have found 3 issues and I wanted to check with people here if there's anything I need to worry about or if thesis normal:

1) I only test drove the q-tronic which i found clunky on traffic so have no experience with the manual before buying. Having never driven a racing gearbox before I don't know what to expect. I find that there is a little crunching of the gears as I go from 2nd to third. You can feel a little feedback at the end of the shift. Is this normal?. I am sure the clutch is depressed fully. What should the gearbox feel like? Also if you hold the gear shifter and take foot off the accelerator, you can feel the stick move back and forth slightly as power is put through the gearbox. My head is saying this is all normal in what is a racebox but I want to check with others.

2) there is a very disconcerting noise when on full lock especially when wet road. I recall this from both test drives but this feels more pronounced on my one. I wonder if this is because on test drive I never did real full lock turn. Why does the car make this sound anyway?

3) between the bumper and the bonnet on the side, there is a styling groove where the different panels meet. On the nearside, it is a couple of millimetres apart. On the offside I can squeeze my little finger in. The bodywork is mint and it does not look like there has ever been any accident damage. The bonnet looks like the hinge is not perfectly aligned. If on another car I would think it was tollerance from manufacture, but I recall a documentary on the R8 where they said the dimensions are checked to ultimate precision with lasers and robots. How could this be out of line? Any thoughts.

I should add that the chap I bought from is a really nice bloke. Total car man. I fully trust him and I am usually a cynical buyer if only for self protection. So either this was done by first owner (Audi demo) or its from manufacture.

Any help appreciated. Thanks.

[zondar]

I think it's common and expected for there to be some binding and additional noise at full lock with these cars.

I can't say much about the other two.

[Fatboy21]

Thanks. Someone has said that this might be the 4wd system on big wheel cars. The back wheels pushing the front wheels forward as they turn. Sounds plausible. I guess I want to know if others suffers with this and how loud

What is your gearbox like?

[zondar]

Oh, I thought you had the "auto."

I don't have the 2->3 concern that you have. The transmission is generally very smooth, but some people do report slight balkiness with various gear changes. For example, 1->2 seems to be mentioned from time time, and I've experienced that myself on multiple cars.

It's totally normal to feel some movement in the stick as the engine moves around in its mounts (e.g., when you let off the gas).

You can relax now.

[maegeri]

My stick moves in 3rd gear and someone posted a poll about that last year and if I remember correctly, about half of the manual owners noticed this. The clunking at full lock has been mentioned as well and I have it too. The spacing on the panels has also been mentioned in previous posts and can be adjusted. Enjoy the car and best wishes.

[Fatboy21]

Thanks so much. Do you happen to have link to those threads. I can't find and would like to read. I would be most grateful if you have a moment to recall. Thanks.

[Fatboy21]

Oh, I thought you had the "auto."

I don't have the 2->3 concern that you have. The transmission is generally very smooth, but some people do report slight balkiness with various gear changes. For example, 1->2 seems to be mentioned from time time, and I've experienced that myself on multiple cars.

It's totally normal to feel some movement in the stick as the engine moves around in its mounts (e.g., when you let off the gas).

You can relax now.

Thanks. I think I need to drive another manual as I have nothing to compare it too. Its the slightest grinding at the end of the shift. As you have had many cars like this, what is normal to you might feel different to me. I'm coming from an slk !!

[visionboy]

the 2 manual r8 I've driven are very smooth and did not experience any grinding. If anything my current r8 has a very slight notch from 1-->2 but barely noticeable.

the wheel shuttering at full turn is normal for these cars. Some may be worse than others.

[eliouno]

I'm new to this forum and club of R8 owners. Sorry to post such a long question but I've just bought a car and I'm a little anxious and need advice....

It's a 2007 v8 manual with 12k miles. Showroom condition. Kept in heated garage.

Just drove 300 miles bringing it home and showing friends. I have found 3 issues and I wanted to check with people here if there's anything I need to worry about or if thesis normal:

1) I only test drove the q-tronic which i found clunky on traffic so have no experience with the manual before buying. Having never driven a racing gearbox before I don't know what to expect. I find that there is a little crunching of the gears as I go from 2nd to third. You can feel a little feedback at the end of the shift. Is this normal?. I am sure the clutch is depressed fully. What should the gearbox feel like? Also if you hold the gear shifter and take foot off the accelerator, you can feel the stick move back and forth slightly as power is put through the gearbox. My head is saying this is all normal in what is a racebox but I want to check with others.

2) there is a very disconcerting noise when on full lock especially when wet road. I recall this from both test drives but this feels more pronounced on my one. I wonder if this is because on test drive I never did real full lock turn. Why does the car make this sound anyway?

3) between the bumper and the bonnet on the side, there is a styling groove where the different panels meet. On the nearside, it is a couple of millimetres apart. On the offside I can squeeze my little finger in. The bodywork is mint and it does not look like there has ever been any accident damage. The bonnet looks like the hinge is not perfectly aligned. If on another car I would think it was tollerance from manufacture, but I recall a documentary on the R8 where they said the dimensions are checked to ultimate precision with lasers and robots. How could this be out of line? Any thoughts.

I should add that the chap I bought from is a really nice bloke. Total car man. I fully trust him and I am usually a cynical buyer if only for self protection. So either this was done by first owner (Audi demo) or its from manufacture.

Any help appreciated. Thanks.

I can only comment on the gearbox as I had what seems like the same problem with the shifter moving once I either pressed or let go of the accelerator. There as a definite movement in the shifter. Audi changed the shifter with no success and suggested a transmission change. Because Audi made an arrangement with me which I am not allowed to disclose, I can say, that if it is the same thing, then it is not normal. Audi admitted as much by their arrangement with me.
When I first reported this on the forum, it was very difficult to explain, and a majority of the responses was that it was normal. However, it is not normal, though after having driven 20,000 KM it does not seem to affect the transmission on the short term.
But it may be a problem later. In either case, if you've driven other cars before, you will know that this is not standard procedure on any car, exotic or not.
Unfortunately, I don't know how to give you the thread about this, but if you check out my posts, it should come out. I posted on this in early or mid summer about june of this year.
Happy to help if you need more info.

[gazza1]

Having used 4 R8 manual boxes since 2008,what your describing is quite normal on the 2nd to 3rd change.

All my manuals have had it to some degree.

Trick is firstly have the linkages at the rear of the box adjusted to make the shift feel like butter.

Second..practice your shift as this particular gear shift needs to "in the slot"for it to be smooth every time.

Thirdly..on the track under hard use the problem is never there.

But most importantly please be relaxed as it does definitely not mean your box is on the way out or it has been abused.

A LITTLE bit of movement in the gear shift with the accelerator I have found in all cars,but nothing unusual or severe.



Noise on full lock is quite normal at very slow speed..such as parking.

Panels can be adjusted by your Audi dealer.