S8 facelift (how to tell)

[rothwell]

Hi all,

I haven't visited tyresmoke for over 2 years! But I'm back because this place has good Audi knowledge.

Anyway, I thinking of getting an S8 the older model think it's the D2?

My question is how to I tell a pre-facelift from a facelift model?

Is there a definitive way to tell just from looking at the interior or exterior?

[PsYcHe]

Yep...

Couple of simple ones.

1 - Headlights on the FL are a single peice with the indicators.

2 - Headlight washer jets are pop-up

3 - Foglights are at the bottom of bumper instead of built-in to the headlights

And if it's newer than mid-99 then there's a good chance.

[rothwell]

Brilliant. Thanks for the quick response!

Should all facelift S8s come with the 40v engine?

[SINGH]

Yep the facelifts are 40V 360 BHP and the pre facelifts are 32 valve 340 BHP. Make sure you post some pics if you get one.

[rothwell]

I certainly will do!

I think I've just sold my Mercedes S600 to a trader so that will free up the cash to get the S8 with.

I had an A8 4.2 years ago and I loved it. I was only 18 at the time and all my friends had 1.2 fiestas and I was lording it up in the A8! Loved that car, I seem to recall I spent a fair it of money on front suspension and getting the cambelt/tensioners replaced.

When does the S8 40v need its cambelt doing?

MPG wise what does it get? I don't think it will be any better than the S600 even though that has a 6.0 V12 as that has been doing 18mpg average and 22mpg on a run, I recently drove to Koln and from Dunkirk I set the cruise control at 140mph and it still averaged 17.8mpg which is better than a RangeRover 4.4 doing 80mph. Although my memory the A8 I used to have was good on fuel, I went to Interlaken in that from Calais on a single tank which is 560 miles which means it must of averaged about 28mpg?

I'm guessing the insurance on the S8 will sadly be more than the S600 because it's an Audi 'S' car, but shouldn't be that much more.

[IT_S8]

I certainly will do!

I think I've just sold my Mercedes S600 to a trader so that will free up the cash to get the S8 with.

I had an A8 4.2 years ago and I loved it. I was only 18 at the time and all my friends had 1.2 fiestas and I was lording it up in the A8! Loved that car, I seem to recall I spent a fair it of money on front suspension and getting the cambelt/tensioners replaced.

When does the S8 40v need its cambelt doing?

MPG wise what does it get? I don't think it will be any better than the S600 even though that has a 6.0 V12 as that has been doing 18mpg average and 22mpg on a run, I recently drove to Koln and from Dunkirk I set the cruise control at 140mph and it still averaged 17.8mpg which is better than a RangeRover 4.4 doing 80mph. Although my memory the A8 I used to have was good on fuel, I went to Interlaken in that from Calais on a single tank which is 560 miles which means it must of averaged about 28mpg?

I'm guessing the insurance on the S8 will sadly be more than the S600 because it's an Audi 'S' car, but shouldn't be that much more.

The S8 belts are the same as the A8's, every 80,000 miles - Audi also recommend no more than 7 years between belt changes, although this isnt strictly in the service book.

MPG on the S8 is quite bit lower than the A8 due to gear ratios, so expect a max of 22/23 to be on the safe side.... On the plus side, its a heck of a lot qucker

[rothwell]

Ah so the mpg isn't fantastic.

How fast is the S8? What other cars would you compare it to?

I've driven a W210 (1999) Mercedes E55 AMG, I've had a Volvo S80 with the 2.9 bi-turbo remapped to 320bhp, the S600 I've been driving has got 400bhp and massive torque but weighs more than the sun, I've driven a new Impreza STi too.

If it's the same kind of performance as those cars I'll be happy. I'm not a fantastic 'fast' driver so I don't really try to drive fast on country roads, I'm more of a smooth but rapid motorway motorist. I do about 40k per year in my own private car mostly around either the M25 or around Europe.