B8 S4 Ownership

Author
Discussion

catso

14,771 posts

266 months

Tuesday 3rd January 2017
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Not whilst in warranty and nervous about the gearbox and any possible goodwill, but 520hp with 195mph capability sure is tempting... scratchchin

F40GT346

211 posts

166 months

Wednesday 4th January 2017
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F40GT346 said:
I get that symbol on the dash if the ignition is on and I get out of the car with the key in my pocket - its a key range issue, the symbol clears when I get back in the car. It is to stop you driving off without the key.
Thought about this again - this symbol with a question mark means the key is out of range - so apologies - not sure what the key with a cross means.

theboyfold

10,910 posts

225 months

Wednesday 4th January 2017
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catso said:
Not whilst in warranty and nervous about the gearbox and any possible goodwill, but 520hp with 195mph capability sure is tempting... scratchchin
That is my thinking as well

TomScrut

2,546 posts

87 months

Wednesday 4th January 2017
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theboyfold said:
MRC are now claiming that they can 'tune' the CREC engine. Does anybody know if this is a remap or still a piggy back device?

This video looks tasty... https://vimeo.com/197680340

and this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXZi9PDSTYY

Lots of stuff on their Facebook page as well: https://www.facebook.com/mrctuning
That looks fast! smokin

bungle

1,874 posts

239 months

Wednesday 4th January 2017
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Noticed today my rear wiper isn't squirting any water. (front one fine). Was dark when i got home so didn't have a poke around, but guess it could be crud blocking the holes up, but is it known for (say) pipes to come loose? (which then makes me think where is it leaking water?? eek )

apreading

49 posts

89 months

Thursday 5th January 2017
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The tube to the rear runs through the roof i think. On my old B6, when it got REALLY cold, the water in the tube did very occasionally freeze. Could be that?

Bluesmurff09

336 posts

167 months

Thursday 5th January 2017
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catso said:
Not whilst in warranty and nervous about the gearbox and any possible goodwill, but 520hp with 195mph capability sure is tempting... scratchchin
195mph are you sure? Plus I thought 480bhp was most bhp that could be had form the B8 S4 which is the same engine isñt it?

Mat

catso

14,771 posts

266 months

Thursday 5th January 2017
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Bluesmurff09 said:
catso said:
Not whilst in warranty and nervous about the gearbox and any possible goodwill, but 520hp with 195mph capability sure is tempting... scratchchin
195mph are you sure? Plus I thought 480bhp was most bhp that could be had form the B8 S4 which is the same engine isñt it?

Mat
Just responding to the video as that's what they're showing, seems to require some more parts to get there; exhaust, intakes, pulley plus remap but that's the claim.

Don't know the price but assume it's not unreasonable and so certainly tempting...

Geo22

162 posts

165 months

Thursday 5th January 2017
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Hi All, so I am very much considering buying a B8 S4 but I have a couple of questions so I thought who better to ask than fellow PHers who actually own the cars.

Firstly the seems to not be many cars on the used market(at my price range 20K max) that have the Drive Select option on them I just wondered how much difference this actually makes I've been doing some reading and nearly all reviews have been done on cars with the option so I don't really know if its a must or not.

Secondly the 2 cars that are fairly local to me have a big difference in price I can not seem to work out why?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

The first car is younger 2012 but has more miles and less options but is 3k more expensive. Is this just that the first car is overpriced or does the age make a big difference for the S4, did something change between those years?

Any advice or input is very welcome. Over to you.
Thanks

Adrian E

3,248 posts

175 months

Thursday 5th January 2017
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Geo22 said:
stuff
Hiya

Both cars are pre-facelift - easiest way to tell the difference is front fog shape - round=pre-facelift, rectangular=facelift. Different engines, slightly lower power and softer power delivery on the facelift.

On the 2 you've linked:

Blue one is fairly low spec. Standard half leather seats, optional 19s (quite rare in that style), front parking sensors, tech pack high (HDD nav and AMI with bluetooth phone) and B&O is about it.

Red one is an early enough car that gearbox may be an issue - check if it's been replaced already, as that'd be a big worry removed. Car has tech pack low (you lose the SD card slots in the dash and get a 6 CD changer instead and it's DVD nav instead of HDD), optional 19s (most common style), ADS (but it only mentions dynamic steering so check the menu to see if the quattro sport diff or adaptive damping are present - steering alone isn't worth having), reverse camera (quite rare), B&O, Supersports seats, and most rare of all is ACC (extra round 'fog' light in offside grill), memory seats which also gives auto dimming mirrorsx3 and auto fold on lock, carbon trim which is nice.

The red one is far better value if you don't mind the colour and lower spec tech pack (which still includes AMI in the glovebox and bluetooth phone) and if the gearbox is in good order.

In both cases the gearbox service needs to be documented (due at 38k IIRC) and the earlier car needs a careful check for funny gearbox behaviour - they gained a replaceable filter in about 2010 so if it has that it's either a late 2009 or had a new box. Speak to Audi dealer to get confirmation, if you can. With a full main dealer history you'd still get goodwill on the box, but otherwise you're on your own/with the warranty co the dealer uses so make sure it's fully covered

silentbrown

8,793 posts

115 months

Thursday 5th January 2017
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No heated seats on the blue one, either.

LocoBlade

7,621 posts

255 months

Thursday 5th January 2017
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Adrian E said:
Both cars are pre-facelift - easiest way to tell the difference is front fog shape - round=pre-facelift, rectangular=facelift.
.... And the completely different shaped headlights just above them biggrin

FWIW I've just sold my 2012 facelift with full ADS (diff and adaptive suspension), Tech Pack High, B&O etc, just serviced and pretty much new tyres all round for under £20k privately. It didn't have supersport seats and only on 18s but other than that was very good spec, so not sure if I'd spend as much as £20k on a pre facelift unless very high spec and low miles. There was a facelift car at a dealers in Aberdeen before Christmas that was very high spec and only about 40k miles for around £22k.

Geo22

162 posts

165 months

Thursday 5th January 2017
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Wow fast response, thanks for the information. Typically I just called the dealer about the red car and he sold it this morning!

While I agree the blue car does seem expensive for what it is you could argue that having fewer of the more technical options does leave less room for them to go wrong. On a used car that's maybe a safer bet.

The hunt continues thanks for the advice!

Adrian E

3,248 posts

175 months

Thursday 5th January 2017
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I find the headlight differences difficult to spot, especially as the optional directional headlights look different to the standard ones. The fogs are a slam-dunk visually.

Didn't spot the lack of heated seats on the blue one - assumed they were standard, but might be part of a common package? Think our S5 had them as standard, which also comes with Supersports seats as default so may be linked to that? Can't recall without digging through old brochures I don't have with me.

Also worth noting if you start looking at facelifts that the ADS button arrangement changes completely from the row of buttons on the right to a single button that cycles through the modes.

There's definitely not much about at the moment if you're sensitive on spec choice....

bungle

1,874 posts

239 months

Thursday 5th January 2017
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apreading said:
The tube to the rear runs through the roof i think. On my old B6, when it got REALLY cold, the water in the tube did very occasionally freeze. Could be that?
Blimey… surely it shouldn’t freeze unless you went to Siberia???Shouldn't it stay liquid until a VERY low temperature?

silentbrown

8,793 posts

115 months

Thursday 5th January 2017
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bungle said:
Blimey… surely it shouldn’t freeze unless you went to Siberia???Shouldn't it stay liquid until a VERY low temperature?
Depends on the screenwash and concentration. Most supermarket stuff is pretty much just coloured water, with similar freezing point smile (Check out the lidl screenwash thread, for example.)

I got some Morrisons 'concentrated' screenwash while in a hurry. Even undiluted it will freeze at just -4, which is pretty hopeless.

mrdanbartlett

702 posts

216 months

Thursday 5th January 2017
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Bluesmurff09 said:
195mph are you sure? Plus I thought 480bhp was most bhp that could be had form the B8 S4 which is the same engine isñt it?

Mat
My mates Revo rampped S4 did an easy 275kph 3 up. He has had 300kph solo. (186mph). I think 195 would be possible with over 500bhp.

LocoBlade

7,621 posts

255 months

Thursday 5th January 2017
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We must pick out different things in a car then as the headlights look way different to me with their upward sloping lower edge and I've never really twigged that the fogs are different haha. Anyway for clarity however you want to spot it, here's the two front ends, the grille is also a significantly different shape....

Old (B8)


New (B8.5)


Adrian E said:
I find the headlight differences difficult to spot, especially as the optional directional headlights look different to the standard ones. The fogs are a slam-dunk visually.
Edited by LocoBlade on Thursday 5th January 12:54

apreading

49 posts

89 months

Thursday 5th January 2017
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bungle said:
apreading said:
The tube to the rear runs through the roof i think. On my old B6, when it got REALLY cold, the water in the tube did very occasionally freeze. Could be that?
Blimey… surely it shouldn’t freeze unless you went to Siberia???Shouldn't it stay liquid until a VERY low temperature?
Depends on whether you have enough screenwash in the mix as this includes the anti-freeze. Hence why the bottle advises higher concentration in winter than summer.

bungle

1,874 posts

239 months

Thursday 5th January 2017
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Fair point. I've never personally topped it up (as it's never ran out), so I assume the dealer does tops it up when serviced. So it probably got the bare minimum "summer-spec" mix, and it's now freezing mad… Fronts work though (more likely to freeze in a small pipe taking it to the back, away from the heat of the engine?).