# TT RS Daily Driver Drone?



## Huey52 (Nov 10, 2010)

Paul Rivera did his usual excellent job of reviewing the TT RS as an "Everyday Exotic" in the Winter edition of Quattro Quarterly and I am therefore intrigued. The one area he didn't address was cabin interior droning, although he did mention more road noise than an S4. Car & Driver pretty much cites the TT RS is unbearable as a daily driver due to engine drone but I have a hard time believing that. So, current owners, how do you find the daily driver environment with respect to engine drone, or anything else you'd care to mention? TIA


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## JohnLZ7W (Nov 23, 2003)

Car and driver are clueless. I get maybe a bit of drone with mine at 2200rpm but I've got the cat bypass pipes and the flapper mod. If it gets a bit obtrusive I just go up or down a gear. This is an insanely good daily driver and highway mile muncher


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## bigstu (Mar 6, 2008)

I have the sport exhaust on my TT-RS and it isn't too loud at all. I love the sound so much, I flapper modded it so it is always wide open, and I still don't think it drones. I don't know how the car and driver guy said it drones, with the flapper closed its really quiet - too quiet for me, it is a sports car after all. I think that test editor was either crazy or just looking for something negative to say about the car to round out his review. That is the only article where the TT-RS sound is mentioned as a negative. Every other review article and owner including me LOVES the sound! 

This is an awesome daily, I don't daily mine but I've taken some long trips in it. This thing eats up the miles, is really smooth/comfortable, and gets great gas mileage. Oh, and its really really fast and fun to drive too!!!


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## bsmack (Oct 16, 2008)

had a mk5 gti before this, and the car is similar if not quieter in sound when just cruising around


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## - Jeremy - (Feb 23, 2006)

JohnLZ7W said:


> Car and driver are clueless. I get maybe a bit of drone with mine at 2200rpm but I've got the cat bypass pipes and the flapper mod. If it gets a bit obtrusive I just go up or down a gear. This is an insanely good daily driver and highway mile muncher


 Heheh. I did the same mods to my sport exhaust. It does drone around 2k under load but it sounds so much better overall. Tunnel hunting is a sport  

It doesn't drone unless you're purposely lugging it at a low RPM. And, honestly, the car is very quiet when cruising at highway speeds (60-80). 

- Jeremy -


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## Marty (Jul 14, 2000)

JohnLZ7W said:


> Car and driver are clueless. I get maybe a bit of drone with mine at 2200rpm but I've got the cat bypass pipes and the flapper mod. If it gets a bit obtrusive I just go up or down a gear. This is an insanely good daily driver and highway mile muncher


 Bypass pipes on a daily driver... :thumbdown: :thumbdown:


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## DrDomm (Feb 16, 2003)

Marty said:


> Bypass pipes on a daily driver...


 :thumbup: :thumbup:


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## Black BeauTTy (Jun 11, 2011)

opcorn:


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## TheSandeman (Jan 12, 2011)

DrDomm said:


> :thumbup: :thumbup:


 domm, got your PM, have a lot of work to be done - ill see if i have some left over of the TT build fund to grab those brakes from you if Tim doesnt want them :thumbup:


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## Marty (Jul 14, 2000)

DrDomm said:


> :thumbup: :thumbup:


 Such an unnecessary source of massive amounts of pollution... instead of making your car have the pollution of 100 cars, how about a muffler or pipe adjust post-cat?


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## JohnLZ7W (Nov 23, 2003)

Marty said:


> Such an unnecessary source of massive amounts of pollution... instead of making your car have the pollution of 100 cars, how about a muffler or pipe adjust post-cat?


 I plant some extra trees every year to offset it.


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## alva8193 (May 13, 2009)

JohnLZ7W said:


> I plant some extra trees every year to offset it.


 hahahaha love it, out of all 7 cars I've owned not one has had cats that is usually the first thing i remove...take that tree huggers!


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## TheSandeman (Jan 12, 2011)

alva8193 said:


> hahahaha love it, out of all 7 cars I've owned not one has had cats that is usually the first thing i remove...take that tree huggers!


 im one of those too! pre cats and reg cats are both removed :laugh: thanks to the tune i pass inspection :laugh:


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## JohnLZ7W (Nov 23, 2003)

I'll leave the primary cats in place, don't want the smell. But the secondary cats are primarily to meet emissions requirements for cold starts


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## tdi-bart (Feb 10, 2011)

you put in these ones? i am thinking about it, i love the sports exhaust nobody makes anything aftermarket which sounds better if you ask me, i was the deep purrrrrr i wonder if these pipes maintain that but louder? i am already pretty happy about how the stock sound is with the cats in tunnels it is pretty damn loud lol 

these are the ones near the engine, why are they called secondary not primary?


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## - Jeremy - (Feb 23, 2006)

tdi-bart said:


> you put in these ones? i am thinking about it, i love the sports exhaust nobody makes anything aftermarket which sounds better if you ask me, i was the deep purrrrrr i wonder if these pipes maintain that but louder? i am already pretty happy about how the stock sound is with the cats in tunnels it is pretty damn loud lol
> 
> these are the ones near the engine, why are they called secondary not primary?


 These are the pipes that John and I have installed. The primary cat is huge and is basically attached directly to the exhaust outlet of the turbo. These are the secondary cats that sit underneath the car. The primary cat is responsible for the elimination of greenhouse gases while the secondary cats eliminate NOx. I'm a bit of a treehugger, but I'm also a petrolhead so this is a philosophical middle ground for me. 

The removal of the secondary cats makes the exhaust sound quite a bit deeper. I meant to take a before/after video but I've got a 4 month old son and don't have much free time on my hands these days. What I like most is that it adds the pops and burbles that are non-existant on the stock sport exhaust. And it sounds downright glorious at high RPMs. It sounds much more "raw" than the stock sport exhaust. I'll have to order a GoPro or something and take a video. 

- Jeremy -


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## YYC Dubber (Jun 23, 2011)

bsmack said:


> had a mk5 gti before this, and the car is similar if not quieter in sound when just cruising around


 
I too was worried about this: 

_A Temperamental Maniac 

Put this Audi on a boring stretch of straight road and it will make its discontent known—loudly. The large wheels hum, the exhaust drones, and the engine buzzes. It managed a respectable 69 decibels at 70 mph, but it was 69 decibels of pure annoyance. 

It might not be the easiest car to live with on a freeway, but take the TT RS to a twisted road and it suddenly becomes very easy to live with. Come to think of it, 911 Turbos are pretty noisy too. Apparently making one go backwards doesn’t make it any quieter..._ 

I own a Mk5 GTi at APR stage 2+ now and the only time I find it to be loud is due to my loud winter tires... great in the snow, but I think I will go with some Nokia's since there really good on dry highway as well....


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## YYC Dubber (Jun 23, 2011)

- Jeremy - said:


> Heheh. I did the same mods to my sport exhaust. It does drone around 2k under load but it sounds so much better overall. Tunnel hunting is a sport
> 
> It doesn't drone unless you're purposely lugging it at a low RPM. And, honestly, the car is very quiet when cruising at highway speeds (60-80).
> 
> - Jeremy -


 Does this specific 2k drone change depending on 'S button" setting.... from how i understand non s mode flapper activates around 4k.....


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## YYC Dubber (Jun 23, 2011)

Huey52 said:


> Paul Rivera did his usual excellent job of reviewing the TT RS as an "Everyday Exotic" in the Winter edition of Quattro Quarterly and I am therefore intrigued. The one area he didn't address was cabin interior droning, although he did mention more road noise than an S4. Car & Driver pretty much cites the TT RS is unbearable as a daily driver due to engine drone but I have a hard time believing that. So, current owners, how do you find the daily driver environment with respect to engine drone, or anything else you'd care to mention? TIA


 do you have a link to this story, Huey52?


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## YYC Dubber (Jun 23, 2011)

- Jeremy - said:


> These are the pipes that John and I have installed. The primary cat is huge and is basically attached directly to the exhaust outlet of the turbo. These are the secondary cats that sit underneath the car. The primary cat is responsible for the elimination of greenhouse gases while the secondary cats eliminate NOx. I'm a bit of a treehugger, but I'm also a petrolhead so this is a philosophical middle ground for me.
> 
> The removal of the secondary cats makes the exhaust sound quite a bit deeper. I meant to take a before/after video but I've got a 4 month old son and don't have much free time on my hands these days. What I like most is that it adds the pops and burbles that are non-existant on the stock sport exhaust. And it sounds downright glorious at high RPMs. It sounds much more "raw" than the stock sport exhaust. I'll have to order a GoPro or something and take a video.
> 
> - Jeremy -


 
As always Jeremy, great post with quality details! Roughly how much do the pipes set you back? I too feel the OEM Sport SEX-haust sounds amazing and have yet to hear a better aftermarket solution... 

It sounds like the secondary de-cat makes it sound even better! Do you have any details on the flapper mod?


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## TopCarbon (Apr 27, 2011)

If you're concerned about this, maybe get a ride in someone's RS and make your own determination. It's likely that you're within reasonable driving from someone on this forum. There is some droning at lower RPMs but not enough apparantly to even register with most people and you can easily shift or drive right out of that zone. There is also a LOT of transmitted tire noise under some conditions with these Toyos and I've been on a few pavement surfaces that were pretty irritating. That said, both can be eliminated with simple upgrades and it wouldn't be enough to deter me at all. This is such a fantastic car in so many other respects.


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## Huey52 (Nov 10, 2010)

Looks like you have to have an Audi Club NA member number to view back issues, and as it's the latest issue it probably isn't up yet anyway. 

Thanks all for the positive comments. Car & Driver clueless again, but then usually the case. They're so BMW-biased they just can't be objective. 



YYC Dubber said:


> do you have a link to this story, Huey52?


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## JohnLZ7W (Nov 23, 2003)

tdi-bart said:


> you put in these ones? i am thinking about it, i love the sports exhaust nobody makes anything aftermarket which sounds better if you ask me, i was the deep purrrrrr i wonder if these pipes maintain that but louder? i am already pretty happy about how the stock sound is with the cats in tunnels it is pretty damn loud lol
> 
> these are the ones near the engine, why are they called secondary not primary?


 LOL, yes, that's my garage floor  I think it does make the exhaust a bit more raw, more character on the overrun maybe. I can't compare too much because I drove it from the dealer back to home and installed the Milltek pipes the next morning  No odd smells with these installed either.


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## Black BeauTTy (Jun 11, 2011)

Drone? I got your drone right here buddy...:screwy:


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## YYC Dubber (Jun 23, 2011)

TopCarbon said:


> If you're concerned about this, maybe get a ride in someone's RS and make your own determination. It's likely that you're within reasonable driving from someone on this forum. There is some droning at lower RPMs but not enough apparantly to even register with most people and you can easily shift or drive right out of that zone. There is also a LOT of transmitted tire noise under some conditions with these Toyos and I've been on a few pavement surfaces that were pretty irritating. That said, both can be eliminated with simple upgrades and it wouldn't be enough to deter me at all. This is such a fantastic car in so many other respects.


 besides changing tires, has anyone tried sound deadening material around the wheel wells? I know Jason noticed a difference with his TTS when he did his audio install and covered the underfloor with it. 

I'm up here in Canada, I have to fly across the country just to see and put money down on a car... Right now there are approximately 6-10 cars available from coast to coast, most of them in white or black because the dealers panicked and ordered their cars fully loaded without customer orders....


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## Black BeauTTy (Jun 11, 2011)

YYC Dubber said:


> besides changing tires, has anyone tried sound deadening material around the wheel wells? I know Jason noticed a difference with his TTS when he did his audio install and covered the underfloor with it.


 Not yet but it is a good thought. The tire noise is a pain but also surface dependent.


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## JohnLZ7W (Nov 23, 2003)

Black BeauTTy said:


> Not yet but it is a good thought. The tire noise is a pain but also surface dependent.


 I must be deaf from running Direzzas and a 3" turbo back for the past couple of years. The RS with cat delete and flap open all the time sounds like a Cadillac at highway speeds.


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## DrDomm (Feb 16, 2003)

Marty said:


> Such an unnecessary source of massive amounts of pollution... instead of making your car have the pollution of 100 cars, how about a muffler or pipe adjust post-cat?


 I doubt removing the secondary cats has the effect ("pollution of 100 cars") you imply. There are plenty other (stock) cars out there far worse than mine. And apparently lawn mowers and yard equipment are far worse. So if you aren't ready to make the Prius move, and haven't fit your lawn mower with a cat, I don't think you should get all critical.

(I won't remove the primary cat, though.)


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## Marty (Jul 14, 2000)

DrDomm said:


> I doubt removing the secondary cats has the effect ("pollution of 100 cars") you imply. There are plenty other (stock) cars out there far worse than mine. And apparently lawn mowers and yard equipment are far worse. So if you aren't ready to make the Prius move, and haven't fit your lawn mower with a cat, I don't think you should get all critical.
> 
> (I won't remove the primary cat, though.)


 By removing your secondary cats, you are increasing emissions from your car every second that you're driving it (whether you're cruising, idling, or goosing it), in exchange for a different sound. That's different from chipping your car, for example, where you are increasing emissions just when you're using the added performance (at full throttle). 

You could get a different sound, for example, with a muffler change instead of an emissions change. 

So I view the mod as a bit selfish: it trades longer term environmental impact to every one else in exchange for personal short-term gain. Folks may view it as silly since it's such a small increment, but it's not that way if everyone jumps on the bandwagon.


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## mageus (Sep 1, 2004)

To answer Huey's original question (ignoring the direction that Dewey and Louie haven taken it), 

- Yes there is a mild drone, noticeable compared to my A5. 
- No, the drone is not bothersome in the least, and doesn't affect the car as a DD. 
- I'm sure any aftermarket exhaust will have a similar, if not louder, sound.


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## Marty (Jul 14, 2000)

mageus said:


> To answer Huey's original question (ignoring the direction that Dewey and Louie haven taken it),
> 
> - Yes there is a mild drone, noticeable compared to my A5.
> - No, the drone is not bothersome in the least, and doesn't affect the car as a DD.
> - I'm sure any aftermarket exhaust will have a similar, if not louder, sound.


 My stock exhaust has been droning a lot more lately. It sounds like the sport flapper is stuck open, because hitting the sport button doesn't change the sound. It's much raspier off-idle.


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## DrDomm (Feb 16, 2003)

Marty said:


> By removing your secondary cats, you are increasing emissions from your car every second that you're driving it (whether you're cruising, idling, or goosing it), in exchange for a different sound. That's different from chipping your car, for example, where you are increasing emissions just when you're using the added performance (at full throttle).
> 
> You could get a different sound, for example, with a muffler change instead of an emissions change.
> 
> So I view the mod as a bit selfish: it trades longer term environmental impact to every one else in exchange for personal short-term gain. Folks may view it as silly since it's such a small increment, but it's not that way if everyone jumps on the bandwagon.


 It's just as selfish to drive a 360hp car to work that really only gets 20mpg in the city, when we could drive a Toyota Prius or similar low hp/high mpg car. It's selfish that people drive pickup trucks and SUVs. And that habit is far more detrimental than the few motorheads who mod their car. 

We all do our selfish part, right? My car will do the NYS emissions test in August. If it fails, I will definitely put those secondary cats back on.

Is there another way to increase the sound of the RS? Maybe. But I have a feeling most aftermarket exhausts will do away with those secondary cats.

Now, does anyone know why the TTRS has those secondary cats, and not the TTS? What are the RS's emissions without them compared to with them? How does this compare to EPA guidelines? 

Marty, I respect your opinion...otherwise I wouldn't even respond...I guess I'm just not convinced that those things are saving the planet.


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## redz9269 (Sep 3, 2011)

Daily drone? What drone....I'm to busy jammin' out to tunes and grinning. 
But that's just me.


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## YYC Dubber (Jun 23, 2011)

redz9269 said:


> Daily drone? What drone....I'm to busy jammin' out to tunes and grinning.
> But that's just me.


 Thats a great looking red RS Redz  

Any more pics?


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## Marty (Jul 14, 2000)

DrDomm said:


> It's just as selfish to drive a 360hp car to work that really only gets 20mpg in the city, when we could drive a Toyota Prius or similar low hp/high mpg car. It's selfish that people drive pickup trucks and SUVs. And that habit is far more detrimental than the few motorheads who mod their car.
> 
> We all do our selfish part, right? My car will do the NYS emissions test in August. If it fails, I will definitely put those secondary cats back on.
> 
> ...


 Fair enough. Though I would argue that the incremental environmental impact from NOx and other unburnt hydrocarbons on a de-catted car is far worse than just additional CO2 from burning additional fuel per mile with a less fuel-efficient vehicle. 

De-catting street cars is just a pet peeve of mine. If it's something that you wouldn't want every car owner doing, then it's probably not a good thing. It's kind of like burning trash for heat.


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## DrDomm (Feb 16, 2003)

Marty said:


> Fair enough. Though I would argue that the incremental environmental impact from NOx and other unburnt hydrocarbons on a de-catted car is far worse than just additional CO2 from burning additional fuel per mile with a less fuel-efficient vehicle.
> 
> De-catting street cars is just a pet peeve of mine. If it's something that you wouldn't want every car owner doing, then it's probably not a good thing. It's kind of like burning trash for heat.


 But these cars still have the main catalytic converter. I don't know why this car has a split system, and how that differs from other cars. My thinking when I ordered the car was that I could get the sport exhaust and remove the secondary cats, or just replace the entire system with an aftermarket one that wouldn't have them anyway. The first option was quicker, and kept the car closer to stock.

BTW, there are companies that burn trash to produce electricity...then consumers convert that to heat (or air conditioning).


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## Marty (Jul 14, 2000)

DrDomm said:


> But these cars still have the main catalytic converter. I don't know why this car has a split system, and how that differs from other cars. My thinking when I ordered the car was that I could get the sport exhaust and remove the secondary cats, or just replace the entire system with an aftermarket one that wouldn't have them anyway. The first option was quicker, and kept the car closer to stock.
> 
> BTW, there are companies that burn trash to produce electricity...then consumers convert that to heat (or air conditioning).


 Understood: removing the cats was a cheap and easy way to your end goal of the sound that you wanted with no significant downside (in your opinion). 

I'd be interested in digging up some more data on exactly how effective secondary cats are and the specific emissions differences. They're certainly not cheap to put in there.


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## JohnLZ7W (Nov 23, 2003)

Marty said:


> Understood: removing the cats was a cheap and easy way to your end goal of the sound that you wanted with no significant downside (in your opinion).
> 
> I'd be interested in digging up some more data on exactly how effective secondary cats are and the specific emissions differences. They're certainly not cheap to put in there.


 
What I had read previously was that the secondary cats were to deal with emissions during cold start operation. Notice the 2.5T does not have any sort of secondary air injection system for cold start emissions. Also there's no O2 sensor after the secondary cats so the ECU is not monitoring their operation for any sort of emissions controls.


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## redz9269 (Sep 3, 2011)

YYC Dubber said:


> Thats a great looking red RS Redz
> 
> Any more pics?


 Photos? But of course, always love to show off my girl! 

It is amazing how different the color looks in early morn, mid day, late afternoon and night. These are late afternoon right before the sun set- color looks much deeper in these. And then there's the fact that she needs a bath desperately but with only 525 miles on it I can't stand to be parked long enough to wash it! 

There's also a pic on Twitter that Audidriven posted of my car - search #TTRS Volcano Red


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## bluesun68 (Feb 1, 2012)

I just spend two days putting over 1,000 miles on the car. There was no drone in this car. The rpm was around 3,000 at around 80 mph. The car was fairly quiet, In fact you could hear wind noise coming from the back seat (from trunk???) over the stereo and tires. I even forgot it was in 5th gear for about 10 minutes and that wasn't noisy either. There was no change in sound at this speed when pressing the sport button, although it did get bumpier.


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## mageus (Sep 1, 2004)

DrDomm said:


> It's just as selfish to drive a 360hp car to work that really only gets 20mpg in the city...


 My driving is almost all commuting. I get 30-31mpg freeway, ~26-27mpg average (not counting track days). I think we can feel smug about having the best performance / fuel economy combination of just about any car out there. If someone wants to throw a little emissions with a decat, I raise you (1) set of Prius batteries in a landfill. 



DrDomm said:


> But I have a feeling most aftermarket exhausts will do away with those secondary cats.


 Yeah, APR has been showing off their new exhaust, which sounds great. But, it's funny how the non-decat system doesn't sound that much better than stock. 


Redz, since we're all in a bit of a spicy mood, I'm gonna get all sexist here. If guys call their cars 'she', why don't girls call their cars 'he'? Although, dressed in that murder-me-with-your-heels red, I think your car is definitely a she. 
(BTW, I've always thought of my cars as 'he', so I guess that throws off the average)


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## JohnLZ7W (Nov 23, 2003)

I do not care about drone, I just want this...


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## redz9269 (Sep 3, 2011)

mageus said:


> Redz, since we're all in a bit of a spicy mood, I'm gonna get all sexist here. If guys call their cars 'she', why don't girls call their cars 'he'? Although, dressed in that murder-me-with-your-heels red, I think your car is definitely a she.
> (BTW, I've always thought of my cars as 'he', so I guess that throws off the average)


 Hardly sexist – if anything I probably take a similar view. I'm the first to dis women drivers, hang with the guys discussing cars, drive fast cars (and men I know will admit that I do it well), and call my car, as my friends refer to it, “She” or “Her” in caps. (For the record, calling my car “she” does not reflect preference for either sex – IMO men are the far more interesting and yet less complex of the 2 sexes. But that’s just me. ) 

(Although not delighted to do so my alter ego, when not driving the TT, is a VW Toureg TDI, so even kid/dog hauling vehicle has brass ones. And my kids were hauled around as infants in my previous TTs and will have great stories to tell later.) 

I'll agree that many women do refer to their cars as “he" but then again most aren't driving anything remotely similar to a TTRS. I don’t think that any woman I know thinks of their car as any thing but a car. They are mostly disinterested in them as anything other than a mode of transportation and a method of “keeping up with the Jones” in the case of the Cayenne or Panamera. 

I've always thought that sports cars were "she" because beautiful lines=sexy. Could also be that growing up around race tracks and garages that the guys generally referred to the cars as “she”. 

And since you mentioned color, I don't think “she” or “he” has anything to do with color choice either; black, grays, whites, blues, alike don't detract from that fact that they're gorgeous machines. I think red makes the TT more a female of the high fashion model and colors like say my 2nd color choice, Daytona, are more of the dominatrix variety. (You'll be reconsidering that the next time you look at your Phantom won't you?) Let's face it, these cars beg to go fast, give you a thrill, make body parts tingle and could kill you if not treated right.....Could they be more female? Given a few more minutes I could probably come up with a list of cars ranging from 60’s to present that support my theory as to why most sports cars are “she”. Plus guys love their cars. Probably more likely to admit to wanting to spend time with "her" than "him" eh?  

Btw, even my friend's new Challenger SRT8 392, in all it's black/silver wicked massiveness, I'd still say is female.....perhaps a touch ****-y but female nonetheless - because every time he drives it he claims it tried to kill him 

Long winded, but you asked for it


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## Stevelev (Mar 4, 2004)

^ LIKE


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## DaveTT (Mar 22, 2000)

That sounds bad ass... now I'm questioning if I should delete the Sports exhaust from my order and just get this instead


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## mageus (Sep 1, 2004)

To Redz, 

Yeah, I think 'she' is mainly a legacy term, fostered by the sexy paradigm (think old Ferrari bottle-woman-car ad). I tend to antrhopomorphise things, and my cars have always been one of my best buddies, hence the 'he'. I also think that the 'she' reference means different things to different people - beauty (looks), seduction (curves), masochism (I'm 'riding' her). To each its own, I guess. 
I see the Challenger metaphor. However, a 4-door Charger has to be a he. And then a modern-day Magnum . . . ? 

I still wanna see how many licks it'll take to get past that clearcoat. Good thing I'm not an owl, or crunch! 

Fun chat.


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## Huey52 (Nov 10, 2010)

^ Fun, but does she drone?


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