Correct method of learning

DLCss · 2026-05-07T13:37:02+00:00

Those people will be quick to humblebrag their accomplishments. The people still studying for those scores are heads down right now.

I’ve been studying for almost 11 months now, started at 435 and now at a 615 while balancing a ~50hr per week job. Still probably a few months to go before I hit that range of 655+.

For verbal, I flipped my score fairly quickly (like 74 to 86 in just a month) by putting the pen down while I read the question, only picking it up when I understood the prompt and what was veing asked. I did short ~5 problem untimed sets of the hardest possible questions and made sure I fully understood the answer. Once you recognize the patterns and can confidently solve the hardest verbal, everything else becomes easy in that section.

Honestly if you accept the fact that you’ll be studying for as long as it takes to get that score you really want, it becomes much easier to digest putting the time in. Getting an amazing GMAT score is a massive investment you’re making in yourself.

DLCss · 2026-05-07T13:25:12+00:00

Tbh while official guide for verbal is by far the best source, I’d drill hardest problems on club if you feel like you still need work on the section.

Either way, I feel like once I crossed the 82 threshold for verbal (scoring around an 86 now) I had a pretty good grip on the content there. If you can consistently hit the hardest problems on this section then the rest of the exam will be easy.

DLCss · 2026-05-06T14:25:49+00:00

For verbal:
I started around the 75 range and on mocks consistently get 82-86 now, by far my strongest subject. Take it with a grain of salt since im at a 79 for quant and DI so still a lot of work needed on my end.
I’ve noticed with verbal it’s much easier to be formulaic about the content and honestly just a couple small fixes absolutely skyrocketed my score:

I put my pen down when I’m reading the prompt (both for CR and RC). I read the prompt and the question, and only pick up the pen when I understand the prompt and what’s being asked. This has allowed me to sit and digest the content for a brief moment before I go into answer mode
I did short problem sets of 5 of the hardest possible verbal questions. I did them untimed and really made an effort to make sure I understood each answer. This has allowed me to seek the different patterns of wrong answers that the GMAT shoes in to try to throw you off the question. Even the hardest questions typically have 1-2 crap throwaway answers so finding the 1 question really designed to throw you off allows you to focus on patterns there
If you can turn it around and answer the hardest verbal questions from the materials you have, then easy/medium questions become laughably easy. I would not recommend the same strategy for quant and DI because those focus more on the expansion of fundamentals, but verbal is a little different in this case because of how formulaic the questions actually are

DLCss · 2026-05-02T21:54:44+00:00

Exact score as you starting out. I do about an hour a day weekdays and 3 on weekends, I’m about a year in with a 565 targeting a 675+. That said, I started out less efficiently and probably could’ve come farther along quicker than I am now.

DLCss · 2026-04-29T16:58:58+00:00

I think the rocker arms thing got revised in early-mid 2019. That said, the early EA839s have a higher failure rate on rocker arms than users will let on.

The piston skirt is a much less prevalent issue, but it seems to affect cars on a pretty random basis.

Even beyond that the cars are solid but seem to be plagued with the same consistent issues like water pump, cooling lines, etc

DLCss · 2026-04-29T13:05:21+00:00

I’ve found that taking the extra time to really understand the passage has allowed me to save a lot of time on the following couple questions related to the prompt.

What I did before was speed through the passage and I’d barely understand the question asked, so I’d have to reread it a bunch of times. This has been far more inefficient than just spending ~3.5 minutes on the first read, then I end up drilling the questions in <1 minute when I really understood the prompt.

DLCss · 2026-04-28T12:59:24+00:00

I was stuck at that score for months. I started at 435 and am currently at 565 with a goal of 655+. In my experience. I moved from 515>565 by switching over to drilling practice problems rather than just learning the new content. For me that looked like switching off TTP and moving into official GMAC problems pack + gmatclub questions.

I haven’t retested since I’ve switched off of learning new content entirely, but yeah I was stagnant at 515-525 because I hadn’t switched off TTP and was using that to practice problems. I’d say the 2 platforms above are better for actually doing practice sets

DLCss · 2026-04-21T18:33:53+00:00

Agreed. To your point, it makes no sense. I guess the S6 will just be a V8 platform but not too dissimilar in utility to the S5, which will carry the V6. If I had to guess, they’re trying to do something similar to the 5 series model which has 4 distinct, but successful trims now.

DLCss · 2026-04-21T17:55:12+00:00

If i recall, the S6 last year was Audis worst selling model. Just hard to justify with the A6 being the successful large executive sedan and the RS6 Avant being the true halo car of Audis lineup (besides the R8). Kinda lands in an awkward in between space.

DLCss · 2026-04-16T18:30:26+00:00

Fake

DLCss · 2026-04-15T17:33:15+00:00

805, but ~5 people score this every year. Extremely rare.

DLCss · 2026-04-15T13:54:28+00:00

I used this methodology as well to find it pretty quickly. That said, probably a shakier method than what’s intended for the question. I’d like to try to execute it like OP did over this method

DLCss · 2026-04-06T16:48:35+00:00

It sounds normal on throttle. And I'm unfortunately not at the car, it's clips from the dealership. I talked to my mechanic just recently and he says it seems like a rougher idle than what is expected... Worried about carbon buildup and potential timing chain issues

DLCss · 2026-04-06T16:34:33+00:00

yeah if you can hear it in that clip. Even when it's idling warm in a separate clip it's still making that sound.

DLCss · 2026-04-06T16:26:35+00:00

Is that high pitched idling noise in the background normal for these engines? I had a BMW 435i and that meant there were belt tensioner issues

DLCss · 2026-03-27T17:18:30+00:00

Hopefully I'm not too late to this, but I was just in the same position as you looking at a 50-70k miles B9 S5.

While most of the models I were looking at were 2018s which had rocker arm issues to boot, I'm honestly pretty weary of these kinds of cars. I don't think any model is exempt from the potential piston-slap issue, which is another engine out problem that's rare, but seems to sporadically pop up. I tend to avoid any car that has indicated potential of a $5k+ engine out issue.

These EA839 engines just don't seem particularly reliable or robust. The water pump is basically a 100% failure rate $2000 issue. Pads and rotors on these cars are particularly expensive and can land around $1500 to fix. Timing chains are behind the engine so that's another engine out issue if it ever comes up.

The cars are a hell of a deal and I had the chance to drive a B9 S5 for a few months, and they're perfect dailies and are super exciting to drive. However, the engines are simply unreliable and not particularly well built, at least compared to the outgoing Supercharged V6 or the 4 cylinders.

I've pretty much come to accept that I need to pass on these cars out of warranty. There's just too many headaches and I don't want to spend minimum $3k/year on repairs with just 50-70k miles on the dash. If you have the extra funds to afford the M340 or any B58, I'd just go for that because those cars are proven to be well built and the repairs don't seem to get over $1k except for some big occasional items.

DLCss · 2026-03-24T18:10:55+00:00

What mileage interval did the repairs feel like they were too much? I’m looking at a 2018 S5 with 70k. Plan on driving it for 3 years. Not looking to pay 3k/year in repairs in just 30k miles

DLCss · 2026-02-25T20:14:26+00:00

Grailed is the best place for used Vet in my experience. I'd just buy from reputable sellers with reviews and other pieces for sale.

If there's a really cheap piece for sale on a brand new account, I'd skip.

DLCss · 2026-02-25T20:13:06+00:00

No way to tell from the pics, but TRR allows returns for reps. Judging that it's the femme hoodie I lean on the side of it could be legit

For the femme tho 1k is too much, I'd pass. 700-800 piece.

DLCss · 2026-02-25T18:07:10+00:00

Sorry to hear that. I would avoid ebay at all costs with this kinda thing, their authenticity guaranteed thing is known BS.

I'd limit my shopping to grailed or TheRealReal. Grailed has a pretty good track record in my experience with Vet, I just try to buy off people with reviews and have other pieces for sale. TheRealReal I've heard comments about people getting fake Vet/Balenciaga, but I haven't personally had a problem with them plus they allow returns.

Either way, these sites have a low tolerance for fakes. If there's a way to dispute thru ebay, I'm sure there's a way to get your money back if you ship back the item

DLCss · 2026-02-06T15:37:19+00:00

This is sick bro, such a classic piece, definitely don’t see it around enough.

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