RE: Audi S5: Spotted
Discussion
https://jalopnik.com/here-s-why-the-v8-audi-s4-is-...
No idea why this seems to only apply to the S4, while the S5 has no problem...?
Patrick Bateman said:
How bad is the fuel consumption?
I view around 21/22mpg for a V8 like this as par for the course. Can't be worse than that on average surely?
That sounds about right. Mine is in l/ 100km, and I think 9l/ 100 is about 30mpg. I see that very occasionally on a long downhill motorway run; more realistic is about 18-22mpg. Fortunately petrol's fairly cheap over here. I view around 21/22mpg for a V8 like this as par for the course. Can't be worse than that on average surely?
Sadly I think I may have to trade it in; I'm actually considering a Subara BRZ as a possible replacement. Keep the manual, lose the V8...
Back in 05 my boss at the time had a V8 manual S4 Avant, I presume the same drivetrain - I used it a lot.
It had good grip and could launch from the lights well - this is back when fast Audi’s looked like slow ones with silver wing mirror casings.
But I always thought the gear ratios were shockingly badly judged, 6th especially I remember being very short for what I thought a decent sized V8 should haul.
And the performance from the motor, whilst decent, never really seemed proportional to it’s pitiful range / thirst.
I’d regularly have to drive from Kent to Newcastle. It particularly bugged me that it was the only car I ever used that couldn’t make it there on a tank of fuel. On a cold wet winter night I even remember grabbing the keys to a rather leggy and unloved Saab we had instead, as not only was the ride better and the tyre roar less, but primarily that it would get me there without having to stand outside for 10mins on some god forsaken desolate services forecourt on the northern stretch of the A1 on the wrong side of midnight to feed it more fuel.
He had it less than 2 years and before he sold it he asked if I’d like first refusal. I didn’t make an offer, it wasn’t a car I bonded with much. No one else in the office offered him above the part ex price either so it went back to the supplying dealer.
So yeah, if this is the same but in a less practical shape, then I’m not really a fan I’m afraid.
It had good grip and could launch from the lights well - this is back when fast Audi’s looked like slow ones with silver wing mirror casings.
But I always thought the gear ratios were shockingly badly judged, 6th especially I remember being very short for what I thought a decent sized V8 should haul.
And the performance from the motor, whilst decent, never really seemed proportional to it’s pitiful range / thirst.
I’d regularly have to drive from Kent to Newcastle. It particularly bugged me that it was the only car I ever used that couldn’t make it there on a tank of fuel. On a cold wet winter night I even remember grabbing the keys to a rather leggy and unloved Saab we had instead, as not only was the ride better and the tyre roar less, but primarily that it would get me there without having to stand outside for 10mins on some god forsaken desolate services forecourt on the northern stretch of the A1 on the wrong side of midnight to feed it more fuel.
He had it less than 2 years and before he sold it he asked if I’d like first refusal. I didn’t make an offer, it wasn’t a car I bonded with much. No one else in the office offered him above the part ex price either so it went back to the supplying dealer.
So yeah, if this is the same but in a less practical shape, then I’m not really a fan I’m afraid.
Edited by Plate spinner on Thursday 15th March 07:57
Darren Ford said:
The v6t that replaced these are better in every way, except the sound track.
the replacement was a mechanically supercharged 3.0 v6, not turbo.and while it has better punch at low revs, i'd wager it is even less economical in real life. The detuned 3.0 tfsi version of that engine has a real world average of 21 mpg.
Mr Tidy said:
As much as I think a V8 with a manual gearbox is pretty special, I was on another forum earlier where someone posted a link to a 99K miles E39 M5 up for £9,991.
I know which I'd prefer!
One will cost you a bit to run, whereas the other will probably bankrupt you in a short space of time. I'm sure you can hazard a guess at which one is which I know which I'd prefer!
AmosMoses said:
I bloody love the way these look and sound with that V8. But everyone I have spoken too says they are just a soggy lump to drive.
I suspect some kw coilovers and an alignment would help. Really fancy one of these in a few years.
I really can't see them being that bad. As long as you're not expecting sports car-like dynamics, which you shouldn't be when buying a big, heavy, V8 Audi coupe, then i think they should handle reasonably. A few suspension tweaks, like you said, will definitely help it along and improve the drive.I suspect some kw coilovers and an alignment would help. Really fancy one of these in a few years.
The "Barry-boy" guy that i know, with his "Milly" exhaust, has driven his around Europe several times in relative comfort, hammered it round the Nurburgring for several laps over several days, did a few more road trips here and there, and then drove home again comfortably. Seems like cracking car to do it in.
TimeForAZafira said:
Agree, don't go Barry-ing around with a 'Milly'.
Each to their own, but for me the standard system is like muffling an opera singer - no point. Id want to know I was driving something special and a free flowing exhaust would do that, and enhance my enjoyment of the car. Its more how you use it, revving it hard for attention is barryish but just burbling along is ok surely?
I very fortunately have a loan of a B7 RS4 at the moment - with a milltek and carbon induction.
It's a lovely car but it's still an A4 with a big v8 - the engine is the entire character of the car. It's a frustration to drive around town though you can't rev it out because it's antisocial and ballistic.it's also not that keen on going slowly. Out on the open road it's fabulous but too capable - and the Aussie police aren't famous for their sense of humour.
If find it very compromised. I'm aiming for an Elise or Exige and a luxe barge or hot hatch for town driving (actually I'd go electric if I had the option over here)
oh and it does sound the nuts when it's up at 8k rpm but at 2k not so much!
I can't imagine this s5 being any less frustrating unless you had a good country commute...
It's a lovely car but it's still an A4 with a big v8 - the engine is the entire character of the car. It's a frustration to drive around town though you can't rev it out because it's antisocial and ballistic.it's also not that keen on going slowly. Out on the open road it's fabulous but too capable - and the Aussie police aren't famous for their sense of humour.
If find it very compromised. I'm aiming for an Elise or Exige and a luxe barge or hot hatch for town driving (actually I'd go electric if I had the option over here)
oh and it does sound the nuts when it's up at 8k rpm but at 2k not so much!
I can't imagine this s5 being any less frustrating unless you had a good country commute...
I love reading these threads, I don't post much but felt I had to with this one.
I have a v8 manual car (not an S5) and knew exactly what I was getting into.
I laugh at most of the comments on here .. buy the 3.0 diesel tiptronic, it's almost as quick and is more fuel efficient
really? Awe man - what was I thinking buying that v8, with the lovely woofle - what I really wanted was a car that sounded like a tractor and went further on a tank of fuel.
It's expensive, no s**t Sherlock. It's a v8. Again, what was I thinking, I'd have expected to get at least 50 around town and why didn't anyone tell me that the road tax was extortionate. What a complete surprise.
Are people really this stupid?
There's this big thing called the interweb. When I want a car, I generally decide what's important to me, noise, fuel economy, do some googling and then go test drive some cars. I buy the one I like.
I'm pretty sure if I'm looking at an S5 because I see the attraction in that v8, and want a manual - I'm going to find out pretty quickly it's got a lovely noise, it's crap on fuel, it's expensive to tax and run and it's not the sharpest handler with a big lump of an engine hanging out past the front axle.
I'm also pretty sure someone then suggesting I should have bought the diesel auto a) isn't helping b) thinks I'm an idiot (may be true) and c) has wasted 2 minutes of my time reading the comment ..
Golf R anyone? I'm sure it's cheaper on PCP, quicker, more fuel efficient, and infinitely more boring but hey that doesn't seem to count with the top trumps game usually played on here ..
I have a v8 manual car (not an S5) and knew exactly what I was getting into.
I laugh at most of the comments on here .. buy the 3.0 diesel tiptronic, it's almost as quick and is more fuel efficient
really? Awe man - what was I thinking buying that v8, with the lovely woofle - what I really wanted was a car that sounded like a tractor and went further on a tank of fuel. It's expensive, no s**t Sherlock. It's a v8. Again, what was I thinking, I'd have expected to get at least 50 around town and why didn't anyone tell me that the road tax was extortionate. What a complete surprise.
Are people really this stupid?
There's this big thing called the interweb. When I want a car, I generally decide what's important to me, noise, fuel economy, do some googling and then go test drive some cars. I buy the one I like.
I'm pretty sure if I'm looking at an S5 because I see the attraction in that v8, and want a manual - I'm going to find out pretty quickly it's got a lovely noise, it's crap on fuel, it's expensive to tax and run and it's not the sharpest handler with a big lump of an engine hanging out past the front axle.
I'm also pretty sure someone then suggesting I should have bought the diesel auto a) isn't helping b) thinks I'm an idiot (may be true) and c) has wasted 2 minutes of my time reading the comment ..
Golf R anyone? I'm sure it's cheaper on PCP, quicker, more fuel efficient, and infinitely more boring but hey that doesn't seem to count with the top trumps game usually played on here ..
Avalyn said:
I love reading these threads, I don't post much but felt I had to with this one.
I have a v8 manual car (not an S5) and knew exactly what I was getting into.
I laugh at most of the comments on here .. buy the 3.0 diesel tiptronic, it's almost as quick and is more fuel efficient really? Awe man - what was I thinking buying that v8, with the lovely woofle - what I really wanted was a car that sounded like a tractor and went further on a tank of fuel.
It's expensive, no s**t Sherlock. It's a v8. Again, what was I thinking, I'd have expected to get at least 50 around town and why didn't anyone tell me that the road tax was extortionate. What a complete surprise.
Are people really this stupid?
There's this big thing called the interweb. When I want a car, I generally decide what's important to me, noise, fuel economy, do some googling and then go test drive some cars. I buy the one I like.
I'm pretty sure if I'm looking at an S5 because I see the attraction in that v8, and want a manual - I'm going to find out pretty quickly it's got a lovely noise, it's crap on fuel, it's expensive to tax and run and it's not the sharpest handler with a big lump of an engine hanging out past the front axle.
I'm also pretty sure someone then suggesting I should have bought the diesel auto a) isn't helping b) thinks I'm an idiot (may be true) and c) has wasted 2 minutes of my time reading the comment ..
Golf R anyone? I'm sure it's cheaper on PCP, quicker, more fuel efficient, and infinitely more boring but hey that doesn't seem to count with the top trumps game usually played on here ..
Fair enough sausage.....................I have a v8 manual car (not an S5) and knew exactly what I was getting into.
I laugh at most of the comments on here .. buy the 3.0 diesel tiptronic, it's almost as quick and is more fuel efficient
really? Awe man - what was I thinking buying that v8, with the lovely woofle - what I really wanted was a car that sounded like a tractor and went further on a tank of fuel. It's expensive, no s**t Sherlock. It's a v8. Again, what was I thinking, I'd have expected to get at least 50 around town and why didn't anyone tell me that the road tax was extortionate. What a complete surprise.
Are people really this stupid?
There's this big thing called the interweb. When I want a car, I generally decide what's important to me, noise, fuel economy, do some googling and then go test drive some cars. I buy the one I like.
I'm pretty sure if I'm looking at an S5 because I see the attraction in that v8, and want a manual - I'm going to find out pretty quickly it's got a lovely noise, it's crap on fuel, it's expensive to tax and run and it's not the sharpest handler with a big lump of an engine hanging out past the front axle.
I'm also pretty sure someone then suggesting I should have bought the diesel auto a) isn't helping b) thinks I'm an idiot (may be true) and c) has wasted 2 minutes of my time reading the comment ..
Golf R anyone? I'm sure it's cheaper on PCP, quicker, more fuel efficient, and infinitely more boring but hey that doesn't seem to count with the top trumps game usually played on here ..
bluesierra said:
Dale487 said:
I think I prefer an S4 Avant manual but they're so far & few between beggars can't be choosers.
Also, they have the chain tensioner issue (plastic chain guides that degrade) that need the entire front of the car to be removed and the engine out to repair. For some reason, the S5 doesn't. I've got one of these, and it is a great cruiser. Understated on the outside, comfortable on the inside, and when you start it up, or drop down a gear or two on the road, it just puts a smile on your face.
silentbrown said:
https://jalopnik.com/here-s-why-the-v8-audi-s4-is-...
No idea why this seems to only apply to the S4, while the S5 has no problem...?
The FSI engines don't suffer from timing failure like the B6 and B7 S4s. Some of the timing guides in the FSI engines are metal-backed which stops them snapping but I've no idea if they actually fixed the cause of the problem rather than just the symptom (lack of oil pressure causing the hydraulic tensioners to let the chains flap about for a second or two).
They put timing chains in these engines so they could fit in a smaller engine bay. They also put the system at the back to fit the ancillaries in place. Because of this the engine needs to come out for the timing service.
The FSI V8s aren't bulletproof but they're an upgrade on the non-FSI ones (FSI leading to carbon build-up, for example).
I've got a B6 S4 and I've just had the timing service done. I used some of the metal-backed RS4 guides for longevity.
These V8 Audis can be tame cruisers (standard form) or you can set them up so they're a bit more lively (minor mods) or so the V8 dominates the journey. I chose the latter with a non-res cat-back and gutted pre-cats.
I've heard quite a few people who have gone from a B6/B7 to a B8 S4 (same model as this S5 but with a supercharged V6) say it just feels like a fast A4 and they miss the V8.
Avalyn said:
I love reading these threads, I don't post much but felt I had to with this one.
I have a v8 manual car (not an S5) and knew exactly what I was getting into.
I laugh at most of the comments on here .. buy the 3.0 diesel tiptronic, it's almost as quick and is more fuel efficient really? Awe man - what was I thinking buying that v8, with the lovely woofle - what I really wanted was a car that sounded like a tractor and went further on a tank of fuel.
It's expensive, no s**t Sherlock. It's a v8. Again, what was I thinking, I'd have expected to get at least 50 around town and why didn't anyone tell me that the road tax was extortionate. What a complete surprise.
Are people really this stupid?
There's this big thing called the interweb. When I want a car, I generally decide what's important to me, noise, fuel economy, do some googling and then go test drive some cars. I buy the one I like.
I'm pretty sure if I'm looking at an S5 because I see the attraction in that v8, and want a manual - I'm going to find out pretty quickly it's got a lovely noise, it's crap on fuel, it's expensive to tax and run and it's not the sharpest handler with a big lump of an engine hanging out past the front axle.
I'm also pretty sure someone then suggesting I should have bought the diesel auto a) isn't helping b) thinks I'm an idiot (may be true) and c) has wasted 2 minutes of my time reading the comment ..
Golf R anyone? I'm sure it's cheaper on PCP, quicker, more fuel efficient, and infinitely more boring but hey that doesn't seem to count with the top trumps game usually played on here ..
I was the one commented on the 3.0 TDI instead and I stand by that and I HATE(!) diesel cars! I have a v8 manual car (not an S5) and knew exactly what I was getting into.
I laugh at most of the comments on here .. buy the 3.0 diesel tiptronic, it's almost as quick and is more fuel efficient
really? Awe man - what was I thinking buying that v8, with the lovely woofle - what I really wanted was a car that sounded like a tractor and went further on a tank of fuel. It's expensive, no s**t Sherlock. It's a v8. Again, what was I thinking, I'd have expected to get at least 50 around town and why didn't anyone tell me that the road tax was extortionate. What a complete surprise.
Are people really this stupid?
There's this big thing called the interweb. When I want a car, I generally decide what's important to me, noise, fuel economy, do some googling and then go test drive some cars. I buy the one I like.
I'm pretty sure if I'm looking at an S5 because I see the attraction in that v8, and want a manual - I'm going to find out pretty quickly it's got a lovely noise, it's crap on fuel, it's expensive to tax and run and it's not the sharpest handler with a big lump of an engine hanging out past the front axle.
I'm also pretty sure someone then suggesting I should have bought the diesel auto a) isn't helping b) thinks I'm an idiot (may be true) and c) has wasted 2 minutes of my time reading the comment ..
Golf R anyone? I'm sure it's cheaper on PCP, quicker, more fuel efficient, and infinitely more boring but hey that doesn't seem to count with the top trumps game usually played on here ..
You've not made any point at all. You've just walked right into my original comment "oh it's a V8 and the noise" ...but this S5 doesn't make a particularly good noise (as standard) so where is the up side of it? If you want that buy a Monaro or anything else that has a V8 or, if you want Audi Quattro then an RS4 as I suggested.
As per usual the same people who say "can't believe people are saying but the TDI" when I went on to say there is no reason to - with this car. If you want an S5 fine, buy one. But it's too flawed a car especially one that people buy to be 'flawless' in a way.
I'm with a few other people on here - I haven't personally driven the S5, but the V6 TDi S5 was a very poor drive IMHO. Completely numb steering, heavy at the front so utterly hopeless on tight twisties, tramlined, horrible offset driving position made it uncomforable on a long run, seats looked sporty but offered no lateral support etc etc. Would love to own a V8 before they go the way of the dodo but it definitely won't be one of these.
brakepad said:
I'm with a few other people on here - I haven't personally driven the S5, but the V6 TDi S5 was a very poor drive IMHO. Completely numb steering, heavy at the front so utterly hopeless on tight twisties, tramlined, horrible offset driving position made it uncomforable on a long run, seats looked sporty but offered no lateral support etc etc. Would love to own a V8 before they go the way of the dodo but it definitely won't be one of these.
As has been said before on here, S5’s aren’t really sports cars, hence unsurprising they aren’t that good when you chuck them about. They do however excel at being grand tourers, long journeys, crossing continents, in complete contrast to your post, I actually have one albeit the V6 supercharged facelift one, so am more than a little more qualified to comment on what it is and isn’t good at having also had two A5’s prior to this one. Also please show me one of these Tdi S5’s 
Couple of questions about statements in the article I aren't sure are true.
I'm sure the B8 S4 could be bought with a manual box (I recall it was quicker to 62 than the Stronic because the Stronic had a gear change at 60 and I think it was in a tax group above the Stronic), the B8 S5 SB couldn't. They are the V6s same gen as this V8.
Is the S6 no longer available? It has a V8.
I'm sure the B8 S4 could be bought with a manual box (I recall it was quicker to 62 than the Stronic because the Stronic had a gear change at 60 and I think it was in a tax group above the Stronic), the B8 S5 SB couldn't. They are the V6s same gen as this V8.
Is the S6 no longer available? It has a V8.
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