B8 S4 Ownership
Discussion
It's purely for the look - I'm used to them and they actually feel fine to me having come from BMWs on the dreaded run flats (and also Mrs DDs Up! which has a truly awful ride after we specced optional 15s.) If the 18 inch wheel looked a bit nicer (my opinion obviously) I would have kept it quite happily but I just don't like the look of it.
No Sports differential? Interior inlays? Advanced key?
And of course, DSG?!?!!?
The heated seats are ace, standard in the US. As is a fair bit of stuff; I just re-priced the options on mine to be ~8300 in the UK.
I know what you mean about the 18" wheels; they do look a little small. I didn't like the 19"'s on offer here (black pack and the peelers), so I went for the 18" option to get all season tires so I didn't have to faff around with winter tires inside 3 months.
Looking to replace them with RS4 reps at some point.
And of course, DSG?!?!!?
The heated seats are ace, standard in the US. As is a fair bit of stuff; I just re-priced the options on mine to be ~8300 in the UK.
I know what you mean about the 18" wheels; they do look a little small. I didn't like the 19"'s on offer here (black pack and the peelers), so I went for the 18" option to get all season tires so I didn't have to faff around with winter tires inside 3 months.
Looking to replace them with RS4 reps at some point.
DibblyDobbler said:
Glad my choice has met with approval (on this thread - who'd have thought? 
)
Spec is as below (except I have asked them to swap the 19s from my current car for the standard 18s which I don't like)
It is finished in black with 18 inch s line double arm wheels, bi-xenon headlamps & front and rear park assist. The Interior is full black nappa leather, with the ever popular Super Sports Seats which are also heated, Tech Pack High which includes Navigation System, Bluetooth & Audi Music Interface For Ipod connectivity, It also has the greatest sound system introduced by audi, Bang And Olufsen.
Congratulations! Same spec as mine - heated seats + 19" alloys. Lovely cars, purposely didn't want the sports diff as I plan to keep mine for a long time. )Spec is as below (except I have asked them to swap the 19s from my current car for the standard 18s which I don't like)
It is finished in black with 18 inch s line double arm wheels, bi-xenon headlamps & front and rear park assist. The Interior is full black nappa leather, with the ever popular Super Sports Seats which are also heated, Tech Pack High which includes Navigation System, Bluetooth & Audi Music Interface For Ipod connectivity, It also has the greatest sound system introduced by audi, Bang And Olufsen.
Scuffers said:
interesting...
given the choice I would have stuck with the 18" rimms, the 19"s make a noticeable difference to ride... (yes, I must be getting old!)
I agree that difference is huge. I didn't realise how big until I replaced my winter 18" wheels with summer 19" wheels recently. It tracks the road a lot more and is much more crashy... I still prefer the looks of the 19"....given the choice I would have stuck with the 18" rimms, the 19"s make a noticeable difference to ride... (yes, I must be getting old!)
s4tronic said:
I agree that difference is huge. I didn't realise how big until I replaced my winter 18" wheels with summer 19" wheels recently. It tracks the road a lot more and is much more crashy... I still prefer the looks of the 19"....
Even more noticeable when we went from 17" winters...That said, we lost all the tramlining crap on the 19" shod S5 when we went from Pirelli crap to kuhmos (as well as less noise and more grip)
Scuffers said:
Even more noticeable when we went from 17" winters...
That said, we lost all the tramlining crap on the 19" shod S5 when we went from Pirelli crap to kuhmos (as well as less noise and more grip)
I'm on Michelin tyres just now- do you think changing them would improve the situation?That said, we lost all the tramlining crap on the 19" shod S5 when we went from Pirelli crap to kuhmos (as well as less noise and more grip)
jimmyjimjim said:
No Sports differential? Interior inlays? Advanced key?
And of course, DSG?!?!!?
The heated seats are ace, standard in the US. As is a fair bit of stuff; I just re-priced the options on mine to be ~8300 in the UK.
I know what you mean about the 18" wheels; they do look a little small. I didn't like the 19"'s on offer here (black pack and the peelers), so I went for the 18" option to get all season tires so I didn't have to faff around with winter tires inside 3 months.
Looking to replace them with RS4 reps at some point.
Sports Diff - no (not sure I would get much benefit anyway as I drive like Ms Daisy most of the time)And of course, DSG?!?!!?
The heated seats are ace, standard in the US. As is a fair bit of stuff; I just re-priced the options on mine to be ~8300 in the UK.
I know what you mean about the 18" wheels; they do look a little small. I didn't like the 19"'s on offer here (black pack and the peelers), so I went for the 18" option to get all season tires so I didn't have to faff around with winter tires inside 3 months.
Looking to replace them with RS4 reps at some point.
Interior Inlays/Advanced Key - no idea
DSG - yes! mandatory on B8.5 cars over here so no option there
Will get some proper pics up in a week or so
s4tronic said:
Scuffers said:
Even more noticeable when we went from 17" winters...
That said, we lost all the tramlining crap on the 19" shod S5 when we went from Pirelli crap to kuhmos (as well as less noise and more grip)
I'm on Michelin tyres just now- do you think changing them would improve the situation?That said, we lost all the tramlining crap on the 19" shod S5 when we went from Pirelli crap to kuhmos (as well as less noise and more grip)
New S4 is on Continentals, and to be fair, they do not seem to be at all bad both in (dry) grip and tram-lining although they are a little noisier than the Kuhmo's
by far the most horrible were the Pirelli Zero's, (tram-lining and appalling wet grip) then the Dunlop Sport Max's (noisy, not great grip in dry or wet), and Bridgestones (quiet enough bit lacked any real grip and feel).
(Please note I am being picky here, they are all quality tyres, ie. none of them are as bad as budget ditch-finders, but some are clearly better than others)
sagarich said:
lemonslap said:
Lovely cars, purposely didn't want the sports diff as I plan to keep mine for a long time.
What's the reasoning behind this? Do they go pop after 3 years or just need extra service attention?lemonslap said:
The diff works with a friction plate at each drive shaft exit which are electronically controlled to reduce speed, at some point these will wear out and didn't fancy paying £6k plus fitting for a new diff. I have applied the same logic to DSG boxes, hence mine is a manual. No saying I am correct on this , but I plan to own mine for 10 years+ hence my view point.
Your not wrong, the issue with lsds is that to some extent, they are wearing every time you go anything other than straight to some extent, this is why located diffs tend to be not very common on OEM stuff.Other issue is they cause some drag, which in our CO2 obsessed world, is bad for an OEM.
DSG is a little different, wear is very much limited to changes, and they're pretty fast, so the clutches don't get hot.
lemonslap said:
sagarich said:
lemonslap said:
Lovely cars, purposely didn't want the sports diff as I plan to keep mine for a long time.
What's the reasoning behind this? Do they go pop after 3 years or just need extra service attention?Scuffers said:
can't say, it's the only tyre I have not driven one on (yet).
New S4 is on Continentals, and to be fair, they do not seem to be at all bad both in (dry) grip and tram-lining although they are a little noisier than the Kuhmo's
by far the most horrible were the Pirelli Zero's, (tram-lining and appalling wet grip) then the Dunlop Sport Max's (noisy, not great grip in dry or wet), and Bridgestones (quiet enough bit lacked any real grip and feel).
(Please note I am being picky here, they are all quality tyres, ie. none of them are as bad as budget ditch-finders, but some are clearly better than others)
I'm on Dunlops and they were so noisy when I first fitted them I thought the car was broken! I presume you would recommend the Kuhmos Scuffers ?New S4 is on Continentals, and to be fair, they do not seem to be at all bad both in (dry) grip and tram-lining although they are a little noisier than the Kuhmo's
by far the most horrible were the Pirelli Zero's, (tram-lining and appalling wet grip) then the Dunlop Sport Max's (noisy, not great grip in dry or wet), and Bridgestones (quiet enough bit lacked any real grip and feel).
(Please note I am being picky here, they are all quality tyres, ie. none of them are as bad as budget ditch-finders, but some are clearly better than others)
DibblyDobbler said:
I'm on Dunlops and they were so noisy when I first fitted them I thought the car was broken! I presume you would recommend the Kuhmos Scuffers ?
Hate to recommend as such (my experience of all options is limited), but i am very happy with the KU39's (255/35 R19 96 Y), and they are not exactly expensive (£96 a pop).Most impressive bit for me is their wet grip, and total lack of tramlining, which compared to the OEM pirellis,they are a different world.
Only thing i don't know yet is how long they will last.
GetCarter said:
I cannot imagine buying a car and not using it to it's full potential because in 10 years time it might have problem. In 10 years time we may all be dead. Live a little mate :0)
Don't get me wrong the S4 gets used to its full, however I was just looking at long time damage limitation having a vehicle minus sports diff. I have no issue owning a vehicle with a normal LSD, however the sports diff isn't a normal LSD.I do tend to live a bit too much regarding cars... I started a new job last year with a car allowance, turned up first day with a subaru legacy 3.0R Spec B... Everyone else drives BMW 320d's..
Scuffers said:
DibblyDobbler said:
I'm on Dunlops and they were so noisy when I first fitted them I thought the car was broken! I presume you would recommend the Kuhmos Scuffers ?
Hate to recommend as such (my experience of all options is limited), but i am very happy with the KU39's (255/35 R19 96 Y), and they are not exactly expensive (£96 a pop).Most impressive bit for me is their wet grip, and total lack of tramlining, which compared to the OEM pirellis,they are a different world.
Only thing i don't know yet is how long they will last.
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