RE: PH Blog: S express

Author
Discussion

Dave Hedgehog

14,555 posts

204 months

Wednesday 20th June 2012
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vjj said:
Dave Hedgehog said:
interesting, i suspect the S4s low own grunt will be far usable than the RS4s V8 grunt in real world driving

agree but all the electricary nonsense, but luckily you can spec the RS4 without it, to my spec its 61.5k which is not as much as i expected, loaded you can get it to 84k thou!!!

wouldnt agree about the S3 / RS3 thou having just put 4k miles on an S3 it has a real lack of low down grunt, gets totally out of shape on what i would consider moderate braking (feels like each front wheel is going in different directions) the 6 speed DSG is clumsy and dithers occasionally compared to the 7 speed but the amazing thing is the ride is vastly worse getting very close to crashy even thou the S3 rolls like a ship at sea on hard cornering, the 4 pot has very little character as well whilst the i5 wails with soul

trailing throttle oversteer is extremely easy in the S3 thou, very reminiscent of the R32 in placing the car on the road


Edited by Dave Hedgehog on Wednesday 20th June 17:08
Get the revo remap - it changes the car completely
i like my warranty, and after just getting a new car because the old one destroyed the engine with 5k miles on the clock i will stay well clear of mods smile

Superjuiced

257 posts

194 months

Thursday 21st June 2012
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I certainly dont think the s4 is better all rounder than the rs4. I had the b7 I didn't find it felt quick at all, it wasnt the best handling car no real confidence on back roads and I'd never see 30mpg! I would of snapped someone's arm off for the rs!

Dr G

15,175 posts

242 months

Thursday 21st June 2012
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The B7 S4 is not a better car than a B7 RS4 (although the S of this vintage is awesome value for money now).

I've been singing the praises of the B8 S4 for a while now (as have msot of the other resident Audi nerds). It's an awesome package. Also it did better donuts on wet grass than a Nissan 370Z at the Uxbridge auto show tongue out

YorkshireAndy

387 posts

162 months

Thursday 21st June 2012
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I agree on the S3 vs RS3. I got an S3 Sportback Black Edition at the end of last year. Getting the same toys in an RS3 would have been £14k more. The engine sounds better on the RS3, but that was about the only difference I could find assuming you spec the S3 correctly. I also wanted a manual so the RS3 was not an option. Believe it or not the S3 is actually cheaper than an equivalent spec Golf R.

Performance wise as others have stated you can easily and for relatively small money tune the S3 to RS3 performance levels. In fact, for under £2k you can get it up to around 360bhp which is RS3 beating. After that tuning gets expensive as you need to start changing all sorts of components. There are a few people on audisportnet who are running a reliable 450bhp, and in total have spent less than the cost of an RS3.

Cassius81

283 posts

189 months

Thursday 21st June 2012
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Can someone in the know tell me what sort of running costs are associated with a V6T S4? I do about 5-7k miles per year.

Am considering an Avant...

Much obliged.

vjj

592 posts

239 months

Thursday 21st June 2012
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One of the other dads at my daughter's school has a 2010 S4 avant in white AND VERY NICE IT IS TOO - stunning to look at with anthracite wheels

He says he gets about 30 to the gallon on a run and about 23 around town - very good considering he has nearly 350 bhp to play with - he had a V8 S4 before that though, and he does miss the noise but he said overall the V6 is the best car he has had.


Chris Harris

494 posts

153 months

Thursday 21st June 2012
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V6 S4 is a top motor car. Family member has one and it's at 50k miles. Fast, good on fuel, understated and has the sports diff. New RS4 is more desirable, but a used S4 is a real bargain.

va1o

16,032 posts

207 months

Thursday 21st June 2012
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Was the Merc E63 wagon PH also? Saw it parked up on the Friday Service next to the S4 smile

saints400

99 posts

153 months

Thursday 21st June 2012
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I like Dan's article. I have a December 09 B8 S4 Avant with S Tronic transmission without the sports diff & I think it is a great car. Fast & practicle. I have the MTM M-Cantronic upgrade, which makes a reasonable difference over the standard car. Drives well, stops well & goes round corners well. All round good motor.

Jip

103 posts

145 months

Thursday 21st June 2012
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vjj said:
Big Dan the Polishman

We have had from him - TT V6 3.2 Roadster KU57 EDF(wife) - used
S3 Black edition GY60 ***(wife) - new - still have
Q7 TDI S line BJ57 CYX (me) - used
Q7 Tdi S line plus GU12 *** (me) - new still have and will be PX against................A6 Avant TDi Biturbo - reg tbc (me) - new - delivery next week

Chopping in Q7 ' cos some T**t crashed in to the side of it - been repaired by audi but lost love for it - managed to do a swap for the A6 BiTurbo with no money in (Q7 very high spec - over 60k list - A6 54k list, got 5k off the Q7 back in March so I am happy with the deal)
Ah awesome, lot of time for Dan - he's taught me a lot of what I know, decent bloke too. Interesting to see how much more BHP you have from the S3 from just a stage one - having driven every single Audi, for me the S3 is the pick of the range - considering selling my A4 and getting one, definitely got to be a manual though.

That A6 Bi-turbo will be a monster! Sounds like Dan's looking after you as well with that kind of deal.

Basil Hume

1,268 posts

252 months

Thursday 21st June 2012
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Don't overlook the DSG / S-Tronic version of the S3. I was happy enough with mine when I first got it (see my "Garage"), but it's really only after a year of driving it that I fully understand and know how to use the gearbox. You can have every feature of the manual gearbox with DSG if you use it correctly, but still with the advantages of DSG.

Bash Brannigan

211 posts

187 months

Thursday 21st June 2012
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[quote=Dave Hedgehog]interesting, i suspect the S4s low own grunt will be far usable than the RS4s V8 grunt in real world driving

agree but all the electricary nonsense, but luckily you can spec the RS4 without it, to my spec its 61.5k which is not as much as i expected, loaded you can get it to 84k thou!!!

wouldnt agree about the S3 / RS3 thou having just put 4k miles on an S3 it has a real lack of low down grunt, gets totally out of shape on what i would consider moderate braking (feels like each front wheel is going in different directions) the 6 speed DSG is clumsy and dithers occasionally compared to the 7 speed but the amazing thing is the ride is vastly worse getting very close to crashy even thou the S3 rolls like a ship at sea on hard cornering, the 4 pot has very little character as well whilst the i5 wails with soul

trailing throttle oversteer is extremely easy in the S3 thou, very reminiscent of the R32 in placing the car on the road


What other cars did you look at when you got the S3 after the RS? A couple of friends have bought s3s lately and they really do seem to have the market to themselves, aside from the already dated looking 135 coupe.

YorkshireAndy

387 posts

162 months

Thursday 21st June 2012
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Bash Brannigan said:
What other cars did you look at when you got the S3 after the RS? A couple of friends have bought s3s lately and they really do seem to have the market to themselves, aside from the already dated looking 135 coupe.
I know not aimed at me, but when I got my S3 the only alternative seriously considered was a Golf R, which was more expensive for a similar spec for basically the same car.

vjj

592 posts

239 months

Thursday 21st June 2012
quotequote all
Jip said:
Ah awesome, lot of time for Dan - he's taught me a lot of what I know, decent bloke too. Interesting to see how much more BHP you have from the S3 from just a stage one - having driven every single Audi, for me the S3 is the pick of the range - considering selling my A4 and getting one, definitely got to be a manual though.

That A6 Bi-turbo will be a monster! Sounds like Dan's looking after you as well with that kind of deal.
You are right Alex - Big Dan is a top man

They are a decent lot Crawley Audi

I can thoroughly recommend the the S3 - I had the wife's done at Revo HQ.

The only downside is that you HAVE to run on 98 - 95 will make it pink a bit

As for the Biturbo - look for the youtube video of 'Audi A6 3.0 tdi Avant BiTurbo v BMW M550d'

You will be blown away


Edited by vjj on Thursday 21st June 17:59

535dBoy

474 posts

198 months

Thursday 21st June 2012
quotequote all
vjj said:
You are right Alex - Big Dan is a top man

They are a decent lot Crawley Audi

I can thoroughly recommend the the S3 - I had the wife's done at Revo HQ.

The only downside is that you HAVE to run on 98 - 95 will make it pink a bit

As for the Biturbo - look for the youtube video of 'Audi A6 3.0 tdi Avant BiTurbo v BMW M550d'

You will be blown away


Edited by vjj on Thursday 21st June 17:59
Can't find the mentioned video

Crawley Audi lost the plot as far as I was concerned and lost chance to sell me a b8 rs4 because they were too lazy too investigate what was going on with it's existence

Audi should have brought a TT A6 8 years ago when BMW brought out the 535 which is what took me away from Audi (for me, mrs still had a couple)

Jeremy at Crawley was a top chap though

joedesi

107 posts

214 months

Thursday 21st June 2012
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Bought my s4 from the Audi Crawley team. Had a good experience with them.

Mine is also specked with the sports diff and I was shocked at how easily driftable the car is on damp roundabouts. Like others have stated it really is an under rated car which puts out closer to 350bhp standard than what's quoted officially by Audi.

The only thing it really lacks is a more aggressive exhaust sound which can be rectified by various aftermarket companies. Milltek and Awe seem to be favourites with s4 owners.

joedesi

107 posts

214 months

Thursday 21st June 2012
quotequote all
saints400 said:
I like Dan's article. I have a December 09 B8 S4 Avant with S Tronic transmission without the sports diff & I think it is a great car. Fast & practicle. I have the MTM M-Cantronic upgrade, which makes a reasonable difference over the standard car. Drives well, stops well & goes round corners well. All round good motor.
Also considering the MTM upgrade...would you recommend it? Any problems so far?

Bash Brannigan

211 posts

187 months

Thursday 21st June 2012
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YorkshireAndy said:
Bash Brannigan said:
What other cars did you look at when you got the S3 after the RS? A couple of friends have bought s3s lately and they really do seem to have the market to themselves, aside from the already dated looking 135 coupe.
I know not aimed at me, but when I got my S3 the only alternative seriously considered was a Golf R, which was more expensive for a similar spec for basically the same car.
Golfs are insanely expensive! I'm really starting to warm to the S3, I love the way that the A4 looks but the 3 series is more fun to drive for me.

vjj

592 posts

239 months

Friday 22nd June 2012
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535dBoy said:
Can't find the mentioned video

Crawley Audi lost the plot as far as I was concerned and lost chance to sell me a b8 rs4 because they were too lazy too investigate what was going on with it's existence

Audi should have brought a TT A6 8 years ago when BMW brought out the 535 which is what took me away from Audi (for me, mrs still had a couple)

Jeremy at Crawley was a top chap though
just google 'audi A6 Avant tdi Biturbo v BMW 550d' and the first link is to the youtube video

Paul Dishman

4,704 posts

237 months

Friday 22nd June 2012
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joedesi said:
.

Mine is also specked with the sports diff and I was shocked at how easily driftable the car is on damp roundabouts. Like others have stated it really is an under rated car which puts out closer to 350bhp standard than what's quoted officially by Audi.
I've been thinking about getting a S4 Avant to replace my wife's Saab and my Golf Ed 30, but I don't know if I want her drifting it through damp roundabouts. Is there a diff setting that doesn't allow that?