Audi B5 RS4

[Leins]

With one thing or another, I've not had a chance to drive the Audi much in the last month or so, but with the good weather yesterday it was time to take it out for a spin across my favourite nearby piece of road (the Wicklow Gap)

Whilst not exactly the sort of route for a relatively heavy estate car, I was keen to see how it ran on the twisties, and I'm more than impressed. No, it won't challenge a hot hatch on these sort of roads, but at the same time it was still a lot of fun, although the size and weight could still be felt of course. I don't mind though, part of the enjoyment is in the idea of an estate car doing very un-estate-like things

Was also joined by a mate in his Zed:

[Leins]

Cheers!

There actually seem to be quite a few B5s for sale at the moment, and not sure how quickly they are selling, so I'd say there are deals to be done. But yes, they are a bit dearer on the whole than a few years ago. Still a lot of car for the money though IMO

[Leins]

JS1500 said:

I definately sold mine too cheap! Though regarding the price of that Imola one, i'm sure any Imola B5 RS4 is 'worth' a good 50% more than another colour.

Would you believe the B5 RS4 is only 70kg heavier than my current V8 Vantage, with its alloy bodywork, alloy chassis and only two seats and 2wd? It was never really the weight of it that bothered me, more that the weight was so far forward. Like you say though, no point comparing it to a modern hot hatch in the twisties, it's just a different animal.

I can certainly appreciate the Imola, just that it wouldn't necessarily be for me. I quite like the subtlety of Avus Silver, as it flies under the radar. Very rare anyone knows what it is over there in Ireland, especially as every other older A4 TDi has "RS4" badges on them

Lynchy1975 said:

Nice write up. I've had my B5 RS4 for ten years now ! Could never get rid. I've got a R26 as the daily car.

Thanks! I'm the same, and feel this is going to be with me for quite a while. Having a hot hatch too is the key for me though, as the two then cover a lot of bases

[Leins]

I agree Dave, but then I kind of feel the same about BMW now too, and to a lesser extent Mercedes. Time moves on I suppose

In saying that, I still don't really view the B5 as a 16 year old car. The fact it's so well screwed together helps in terms of it still feeling modern, but I really believe it to be a classic design too, especially in Avant-form

The other thing is everyone I know who's into their cars asks me when I'm going to modify it with a re-map, a Milltek and some new ARBs. And I know they will probably improve the car. However, I kind of love the fact that it's standard still, so I'm going to hold out for a little while longer

Hmmmm, maybe I need to get an S4 and go to town on it...

[Leins]

Yeah, it's lovely down there, and the roads are great. Takes about 25 minutes for me to get to the start of the Wicklow Gap early on a weekend morning, then stop into Laragh on way back for brekkie

Last time I was there Jeremy Irons was having a morning coffee with his missus. I know he used to have a C4 S4 Avant and likes his cars, but didn't want to cause a Jason Plato-style incident so only said hello!

[Leins]

Gaaahhhh - the rear diff has decided to drop its oil all over the garage floor since last time I drove it!

Tow-truck time!

[Leins]

Thanks folks! Getting picked up on Saturday morning, so should know a bit more after that hopefully. Not sure if I'll be giving it away just yet though, but thanks for the offer

That's great mileage Firebox7, and while I don't use mine too much I can really see the appeal of one as a daily driver

[Leins]

Coker said:

edit: Forgot to say OP, lovely car. Just got me looking in the classifieds. Would definitely like to give one of these a try

Thanks Coker, you definitely should. Not quite as "sophisticated" as the Munich stuff, but I really do find it full of character

Dave Hedgehog said:

how did audi go from making such a stunning looking car into the outright mess of the current a4

Agreed Dave, I had a loan new A4 TDi a couple of months ago which actually looked far more aggressive and shouty to my eyes

[Leins]

So off the B5 went yesterday, but it seems like it's just a seal on the front of the rear diff that's caused it. Will know more early in the week

[Leins]

So only got the B5 back this evening, as it turned out to be an issue with the front extension piece on the rear diff that was causing the seal not to fit properly and leak. And of course Audi don't have any new ones, as it's one on the ever-growing list of NLA parts for the car

However, one of the lads on AudiSRS managed to come to the rescue as he had a spare rear diff from a scrapped RS4. So my car is now finally back home in the garage, and I have a spare diff that hopefully I'll not need to use anytime soon! Really enjoyed the drive back tonight, as I've missed the old girl for the last couple of weeks

The offending part:

[Leins]

Random encounter with an RS5 at the weekend. They do make a good noise!

[Leins]

Yep, it had cracked at one end (due to wear I presume), and so was no longer able to keep everything sealed properly at the other. Audi picked up on this as a slight leak, put in a new seal and it passed their road-test, and stayed in place for a little while

Hence why I brought it to my indy and had to go the used part route as it's now NLA. I'll be sticking with Audi for all the routine servicing, but this parts thing is a bit of a worry going forwards

Edited by Leins on Tuesday 4th October 18:11

[Leins]

Thanks Alex! Yeah, was quite surprised to see it just sitting there, about to drive off as I went past down in Wicklow. There are 3 RS5s that I know of in the country, but not seen one for quite a while

Speaking of which, the only other owner of a B5 RS4 that I know of here sold his a few weeks ago to someone in England, so mine is now the only one I know of in the country. This one is staying put for a while though

[Leins]

I didn't try actually, but that might be a possibility going forwards if I have a similar issue. Luckily quite a number of parts are standard across all the quattro B5s, but the RS4-specific ones are the real worry, and especially if cars stop being broken

I think the RS2 owners have had similar problems for many years too. Just a shame that the might of VAG cannot compete with BMW in this regard

[Leins]

So then, it's hibernation time for the B5. Washed and dried, tyres pumped up, battery on charge and cover thrown over it. Looking forward to the spring already!

[Leins]

Very kind of you indeed

Actually, I'd love to keep it off-SORN so as to be able to use it on crisp dry winters mornings, but our tax system here in Ireland doesn't really make any sense. €379 for 3 months on a 2.7L means I'm not prepared to pay on the off-chance of a quick Sunday spin

In saying that, I'm currently debating the merits of getting something else to sit beside this and the MINi, as it's nearly a year now since I've owned anything NA & RWD. Not in any great rush, but if the right car appears I could be tempted

[Leins]

So the RS4 is back out on the roads for the next while, and just been in for its Irish MOT (aka NCT). Going into Audi for its annual service tomorrow morning, but only for an oil service so fingers crossed it's all good. Got an independent to do a few bits last week (new passenger seat belt and drivers interior door handle spring, as both had gone a bit.. er .. floppy)

Took the old wagon for its first proper drive of the year today, and absolutely loving it. Sweeping A-roads really are the natural habitat for these cars, although it'll be going for a spin down through Germany next month so looking forward to seeing how Autobahns are handled

[Leins]

Service all done, and car got clean bill of health. Must say yet again that Isaac Agnew Audi in Belfast have proven to be excellent

Had a quick look around this too, what a monster

[Leins]

Nice pic Nors!

Yes, I found out since that there are a few other B5 RS4s here, but still to see one out and about on the roads

[Leins]

Ah sure the market in general has gone mad. In saying that, I've no real interest in selling it. It doesn't get a huge amount of use (650 miles since its last annual service, about 300 of which was the return journey ) but when I do I really love it

However, it'll be doing a few miles on the journey to this next month: http://www.eifel-rallye-festival.de/en/home.html Can't wait, and going in convoy with an E36 M3 of similar age