Hi Medders,
Superb choice! You now have an aluminium space-framed, Torsen 4WD, V8 40 Valve, Tiptronic beastie. Nothing comes close! Other V8's in this class may have more bottom end torque but none of them are as sweet once you get to the eliseum zone (3500RPM)
The 'Audi wheel issue' you may be worried about does not apply to the S8 - this used to be a problem with the RS4.
The original RS4 18" wheels were made of a soft alloy compound (deliberately according to Audi AG) which would deform should the tyre wall be compressed fully. Unfortunately this happened frequently with our badly maintained British roads.
Audi UK were brought to issue through the superb efforts of the owners of
www.rs4.org (now offline) and as a result, all owners were provided with free replacement wheels for the life of the car. Another option was available whereby harder compound wheels could be provided but this was a one-off, and if you bent these you were on your own.
The S8 comes with either the 'Avus' style 18" or 'RSTT' style 20" wheels. If you have the nine-spoke 'RSTT' style (as I have) then these are 20". If you definately have 19's then Audi may have put the new A8 wheels on yours. I would pull them up on this since the 20's are wider and UK models have the superb Michelin Pilot Sport tyre. This has a stiffer sidewall than the Pirelli P-Zero Rosso and several other makes and offers much better protection to your inner rim.
At the end of the day, any car with an ultra low profile tyre / wheel combination is prone to wheel-bending with extreme use, but the S8 ones will withstand small potholes and general road crap. I still avoid potholes as I'm sure we all do - I am mentally scarred from my RS4 days!
Things to check on your S8:
Lift the drivers-side under mat and check it is dry - there is a drain tube connection for the aircon condensate which can come undone. This submerges the multi plug for the second lambda probes - the ECU then gets kind of confused
Check the speed warning and cruise control - the two are linked and can sometimes play up
If you have any creaks or clicks from the dashboard check whether the windscreen has been replaced - if the wrong glue has been used it will cause stress and noise.
The boot light is illuminated when a mercury tilt switch makes a circuit. The mercury switch can get a heart attack and either stay open or closed circuit. One way drains your battery . . .
Thats all I can think of at the moment. Enjoy /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/groovy.gif
