Important Mechanical Differences between B8 and B8.5

[jtravis]

I've had my heart set on a b8.5 6MT with sports diff and have been ready to buy for the past few weeks, but can't seem to find just the right one. (There are never more than 14 or 15 for sale in the whole country each week, haha)

I did come across a great deal on a fairly local 2012 (b8) 6MT with sports diff (non adaptive suspension, which is nice)

Other than the annoyance of not having bluetooth media connection on the mmi, what major (or minor) mechanical differences are there that might effect drive-ability, enjoyment, reliability and longevity?

I know the DSG was changed, but I'm going manual so that doesn't effect me.

I know the steering is different, I've heard people say they like the hydraulic steering in the b8 better though.

What else should I know about?

[rj124104]

I disagree with hydraulic steering personally. From a comfort and service standpoint it sucks, driving my B8.5 after a week of the B8 the B8.5 feels so much better to me. The control arms on the B8.5 are a bit more robust. You're probably looking at better resell value for the B8.5 as well since it's facelifted. I recommend you drive both before you make a decision.

[rrated]

I worked for Audi during the production of both versions and I have owned 2 B8 6MTs (and a C6) and I mostly disliked the 8.5.

It's a matter of personal preference. Drive them both back to back.

For me the B8 has more character and personality and is a bit more raw and quirky and dynamic. The 8.5 is more polished and refined and scrubbed and smooth and surgical. But it lacks personality and to me feels far less responsive in terms of feel in literally every area.

The performance will be identical and the 8.5 will have more features and likely a slight edge on reliability although probably negligible.

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[jtravis]

rrated: Can you expand on your thoughts a little more? I am a fan of character, responsiveness and "raw". What traits did you like about the b8 over the b8.5? Steering? Set up? Resale value is usually not a thing as I am usually the final owner. What about reliability will give the 8.5 the edge?

[rrated]

There were a surprising number of differences between them despite how much they shared.

The steering feel was a bit numb on both but slightly less bad with the variable rate steering pump. I'm one of those who really liked the hydraulic setup. It doesn't necessarily steer better though. Same with the feel of the clutch. Third gear on the B8 was perhaps not as well synchronized and the transmission had some little quirks that made it a learning curve to shift smoothly.

The MMI system on the B8 is more rudimentary and less polished, the buttons on the climate control were a bit more complex but you got 1-6 for heated seats rather than 1-3.

Lots of little junk.

Internally, the B8.5 motors allegedly got better rings so you were less likely to run into oil consumption issues - I can't verify if that's true or just a rumour. I've personally found the throttle responses and torque curves on both B8s I've owned have been a bit more violent than many of the 8.5s I've driven, not by much and that could just be a function of the smoothness and refinement added to the 8.5 making it feel less wild and more composed.

I think when a platform gets all of its little quirks and issues worked out it just loses some of its character, ya know?

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[jtravis]

I'm coming from a 2006 A4, it had electric over hydraulic steering so I'm used to that. Also didn't have mmi, just regular everything. However the infotainment unit in my wifes 2016 gti is bad ass. lol. and I want something at least close to that.

The better rings is something that I might consider through. I'm going to add a stage 1 tune pretty much right away so throttle response etc will probably be different no matter what.

I'm not a fan of weaker synchros or transmission quirks though, that's enough to scare me away.

[Shuga]

Get the B8.5 You’ll be happy you held out

[rrated]

^^

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[Bartlett]

I'd say it comes down to the steering and facelift.
B8.5 I think has slightly better LPFP?

[tylern012]

I worked for Audi during the production of both versions and I have owned 2 B8 6MTs (and a C6) and I mostly disliked the 8.5.

It's a matter of personal preference. Drive them both back to back.

For me the B8 has more character and personality and is a bit more raw and quirky and dynamic. The 8.5 is more polished and refined and scrubbed and smooth and surgical. But it lacks personality and to me feels far less responsive in terms of feel in literally every area.

The performance will be identical and the 8.5 will have more features and likely a slight edge on reliability although probably negligible.

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I’m the same way, I went from a B8 A4 to a B8.5 S4 and hated it, and now I’m in a B8 S4 and couldn’t be happier. I just love the B8 so much more for the reasons explained above. I have upgraded to a flat bottom wheel and different shifter which are the best parts about the 8.5 and now I have them in my 8 so I’m perfectly happy.


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[jtravis]

tylern: Have you had any issues with the transmission / 3rd gear as mentioned above in your B8 S4?

[bmoreS4]

B8.5 all the way

A lot of improvements but just the updated exterior is enough for me.


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[Rodizzle]

B8.5 I think has slightly better LPFP?

Actually No , LPFP is much better on the B8s .i haven’t seen a B8s with LPFP issues . Everything else tho Facelift , 3G MMI , PCV and DSG is 100% better


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[XxSullyxX123]

Not to be a total stalker, but a few weeks back ago I saw my
Old car for sale.

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/d...4788/overview/


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[rrated]

Not to be a total stalker, but a few weeks back ago I saw my
Old car for sale.

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/d...4788/overview/


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Nice. I am fully stalking my old cars on vinwiki.

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[XxSullyxX123]

Lol I never heard of that. I literally just ran into it in cars.com while looking for another one. Got bored of my wrangler. Buying DSG this time. That one is 6mt that’s why I posted it


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[jtravis]

Found a just listed 2013 Prestige with sports diff 6MT. Has 87k on the clock, but I bought my last audi at 127k miles and am driving it to the dealer this morning with 231k miles of me driving like an asshat on it. So I trust the cars. The only catch on this one is it was a trade from Rochester, NY so I'll do a very thorough rusty bolts check. Otherwise it's completely stock with the New York smog inspections every year so the upkeep records and service is meticulous. The best part is that it's only an hour and a half away so I'm headed up to test drive it this morning. I'll let you know how it goes.

[XxSullyxX123]

Nice good luck! I just drive up today to Albany from Westchester NY (2hr15 away not too bad) and traded my rubicon in for a DSG 2016 s4. Happy to be back into the fold, although a convertible monster was fun for a bit


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[Oloung1]

The steering feel was a bit numb on both but slightly less bad with the variable rate steering pump. I'm one of those who really liked the hydraulic setup. It doesn't necessarily steer better though.

so would you say for strictly on rating steering feedback from the car:

b8 dynamic hydraulic steering > b8 hydraulic steering > b8.5 dynamic electromechanical steering > b8.5 electromechanical

[rrated]

The non dynamic steering is poor, but yeah basically

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[audistealth]

Swapping an mmi 3g+ into a B8 is pretty easy. Might want to look into if that's worth it to you.

[Shuga]

Nice. I am fully stalking my old cars on vinwiki.

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Vinwiki should be illegal, giving someone’s license plate and then having them get the vin number isn’t right. If they don’t have the owners consent they shouldn’t be allowed to be put on the website

[rrated]

Vinwiki should be illegal, giving someone’s license plate and then having them get the vin number isn’t right. If they don’t have the owners consent they shouldn’t be allowed to be put on the website

Why? Both things are not personal information and are readily visible to the public

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[tylern012]

tylern: Have you had any issues with the transmission / 3rd gear as mentioned above in your B8 S4?

I have not, to be honest I’m lucky if I drive my car more than 5-6000 miles a year, I’ve been at work for the last 8 weeks and I got home yesterday and it’s raining so my car won’t be coming out until it dries up and I could be going back to work before that happens.


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[audistealth]

tylern: Have you had any issues with the transmission / 3rd gear as mentioned above in your B8 S4?

I haven't and I'm over 100k miles on the stock clutch (thankfully).

[rrated]

I haven't and I'm over 100k miles on the stock clutch (thankfully).

Same here. But if you shift fast into 3rd you can outpace the synchros and feel a little crunchy

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[audistealth]

Same here. But if you shift fast into 3rd you can outpace the synchros and feel a little crunchy

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I usually rev match by not fully lifting off the throttle. Can't say I've noticed that.

[jtravis]

Picked up the car I went to look at. It was super clean, nothing was out of place, leaking, sounding funny etc. I did learn that if you are foot heavy you can burn through a tank of gas, really really really fast.

[audistealth]

Picked up the car I went to look at. It was super clean, nothing was out of place, leaking, sounding funny etc. I did learn that if you are foot heavy you can burn through a tank of gas, really really really fast.

Upper teens mpg? Yep. Can also highway cruise and get 29-33 mpg.

[Snowmonkey]

Vinwiki should be illegal, giving someone’s license plate and then having them get the vin number isn’t right. If they don’t have the owners consent they shouldn’t be allowed to be put on the website

Yeah, it should be illegal to walk up to the windshield and look at the VIN from there too....

Seriously though, there is nothing secret about vehicle VIN numbers. They are literally for display on the outside of the car. Just like a license plate.

[jtravis]

Does anyone know how I can tell if my mmi and maps are upgraded to the latest version?

[tiger5555]

Picked up the car I went to look at. It was super clean, nothing was out of place, leaking, sounding funny etc. I did learn that if you are foot heavy you can burn through a tank of gas, really really really fast.

Yeah, hard not to have a heavy foot with these cars. Really fun to drive. Somewhat fortunate I don't drive a whole lot though I guess.

[Shuga]

Why? Both things are not personal information and are readily visible to the public

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They may be visible to the public but it shouldn’t be posted without the owners consent. Would you like a photos of your kid posted online without your consent? I wouldn’t. Strangers shouldn’t be able to stalk info on vehicles unless it’s something like carfax that gives just enough info

[Shuga]

Yeah, it should be illegal to walk up to the windshield and look at the VIN from there too....

Seriously though, there is nothing secret about vehicle VIN numbers. They are literally for display on the outside of the car. Just like a license plate.

It should be illegal to document a car without the owners consent.

[rrated]

They may be visible to the public but it shouldn’t be posted without the owners consent. Would you like a photos of your kid posted online without your consent? I wouldn’t. Strangers shouldn’t be able to stalk info on vehicles unless it’s something like carfax that gives just enough info

My car is not a human child. Plus if I'm in public and someone takes my picture there's no law against that. Same with my kid. If my kid was famous or something I would probably expect it.

Why are you so afraid of strangers looking at your motorized carriage? They can't tell who it belongs to from the vin or the license plate.

Since vins are an algorithm it can be deduced anyways, it's not your social security number.

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[rrated]

It should be illegal to document a car without the owners consent.

So it should be illegal for Carfax and the manufacturers to keep records on your car unless you think it's okay? That's absurd

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[Snowmonkey]

It should be illegal to document a car without the owners consent.

Can you define "document" and what you think is illegal about it? Its not like vinWiki attaches any actual personal information to the vehicle. All it does is access public government databases to match a registered licence plate with the corresponding vehicle. If the owner of that vehicle has chosen to attach their own personal information to that vehicle, that is their discretion.

Should it also be illegal to take pictures and note interesting things about the outside of peoples houses? Would there be anything illegal about having an app that aggregates interesting houses, including their addresses, based on user uploaded images?

[Shuga]

My car is not a human child. Plus if I'm in public and someone takes my picture there's no law against that. Same with my kid. If my kid was famous or something I would probably expect it.

Why are you so afraid of strangers looking at your motorized carriage? They can't tell who it belongs to from the vin or the license plate.

Since vins are an algorithm it can be deduced anyways, it's not your social security number.

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No your car isn’t your human child... I know there’s no law against it but in my opinion it shouldn’t be allowed.

[Shuga]

So it should be illegal for Carfax and the manufacturers to keep records on your car unless you think it's okay? That's absurd

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Like I said carfax keeps limited info, which is ok, and same thing for the manufacturers. Anything beyond that, they should have to have consent.

[Shuga]

Can you define "document" and what you think is illegal about it? Its not like vinWiki attaches any actual personal information to the vehicle. All it does is access public government databases to match a registered licence plate with the corresponding vehicle. If the owner of that vehicle has chosen to attach their own personal information to that vehicle, that is their discretion.

Should it also be illegal to take pictures and note interesting things about the outside of peoples houses? Would there be anything illegal about having an app that aggregates interesting houses, including their addresses, based on user uploaded images?

I do believe taking photos of people’s homes should be illegal without the owners consent. If someone says “I love the style of your home May I take a pic?” I’d say yes of course. If someone said “I love the style of your home May I take a pic and upload it a public database that includes your address to show others” I’d say No