B8 S4 Ownership

[MattS5]

Adrian E said:

Most likely, I’d speak to garage you bought the car from and see if they’re happy to cover the cost of having it looked at locally. Not sure what a dealer would charge for the job - can’t imagine it’s extortionate

I've had to have my current B8.5 S5 re-calibrated after some other work was completed (Thermostat I think from memory) and it was around £200.
So annoying because I never even use the automatic cruise control.

[Gad-Westy]

MattS5 said:

Adrian E said:

Most likely, I’d speak to garage you bought the car from and see if they’re happy to cover the cost of having it looked at locally. Not sure what a dealer would charge for the job - can’t imagine it’s extortionate

I've had to have my current B8.5 S5 re-calibrated after some other work was completed (Thermostat I think from memory) and it was around £200.
So annoying because I never even use the automatic cruise control.

Cheers. The supplying garage is looking into it. I need to let them have a choice in how it's addressed if it's done under warranty but they're pretty local to me anyway so there is a reasonable chance they'd be speaking to the same specialist. I need it sorting though as I use CC constantly. Never used ACC so I'll see how I get on with that once sorted. Frustrating that CC doesn't just work anyway in the absence of ACC.

[Gad-Westy]

MattS5 said:

HiAsAKite said:

Gad-Westy said:

....stuff about his new S4....

Looks lovely.

Sports diff and adaptive cruise!
Be interested to know what yours is putting out.. presume 420+ (i think a remap alone without pulley gets you to c 400bhp)

If it's a pulley and a remap, you should be near 470-480bhp.

My B8 S5 was around 480 with the Revo pulley and stage 1 map

I don't think my car feels like it could be at that sort of power. It does feel quick but I think at those numbers it would feel like an absolute rocket. I'm not too bothered about actual output as long as it's running healthily and it's that latter part that makes me tempted to have it checked rather than going off blind faith. One thing I really don't like is how quickly it changes up even when gear selector is over in manual mode. It seems to change up at 6k which means it's almost always changed up before I've even thought about it, which kind of spoils manual mode. I obviously just need to recalibrate a bit there as our BMW has a 7000rpm red line and my Lotus is nearer 8500. I understand the Revo map also does some magic with the gearbox to raise the shift point which does appeal assuming it doesn't come at a dramatic cost in terms of reliability.

[Adrian E]

Gad-Westy said:

Cheers. The supplying garage is looking into it. I need to let them have a choice in how it's addressed if it's done under warranty but they're pretty local to me anyway so there is a reasonable chance they'd be speaking to the same specialist. I need it sorting though as I use CC constantly. Never used ACC so I'll see how I get on with that once sorted. Frustrating that CC doesn't just work anyway in the absence of ACC.

I wanted ACC on mine, but it was SO rarely specced that you were limiting yourself to a tiny pool of vehicles. I missed a lovely S5 Sportback in sprint blue with ACC as I was the 2nd person on the day the ad launched to ring wanting to reserve it.....

I have ACC on my Golf GTI 7 PP and I find I use it quite a lot on the motorway, but it does have its idiosyncrasies. If someone pulls into a gap that the ACC has been maintaining to the car in front it can take a little while to register and drop back - at times it can get uncomfortably close such that you want to override it. On balance it's useful for me and the type of driving I do - just don't expect it to be effectively 'fully autonomous' but more an upgrade on regular cruise control in terms of ease of use.

IIRC the ACC on the S4 has light up LEDs in the instrument cluster around the speedometer to show the set speed

[silentbrown]

Gad-Westy said:

... It seems to change up at 6k which means it's almost always changed up before I've even thought about it, which kind of spoils manual mode. I obviously just need to recalibrate a bit there as our BMW has a 7000rpm red line and my Lotus is nearer 8500. I understand the Revo map also does some magic with the gearbox to raise the shift point which does appeal assuming it doesn't come at a dramatic cost in terms of reliability.

The DSG box needs to be remapped to raise the shift points. The ECU map can't do that.

[catso]

Gad-Westy said:

I understand the Revo map also does some magic with the gearbox to raise the shift point which does appeal assuming it doesn't come at a dramatic cost in terms of reliability.

Indeed but it only costs reliability if you regularly use (abuse?) it.

Mine has a Revo stage 1 map which gives it around 400hp and whilst it doesn't feel that fast, it will hit 60 in around 4.5 seconds but the big thing with S4s is the relentless surge when accelerating from speed, making for effortless overtakes.

I avoided going the full stage 2/pulley upgrade as that obviously adds to load on the engine at all speeds whereas, AIUI the stage 1 doesn't change much and only only adds extra load if and when you use it plus on the stage 1, I can switch back (in seconds) to standard using the SPS module allowing the safe use of 95 octane fuel etc. - something that wouldn't be possible with hardware changes.

That said, I'm frequently eyeing up the next stage which along with other 'minor' mods (exhaust, larger throttle body, intercooler etc.) can reap 500hp and 200mph...

[Gad-Westy]

Adrian E said:

Gad-Westy said:

Cheers. The supplying garage is looking into it. I need to let them have a choice in how it's addressed if it's done under warranty but they're pretty local to me anyway so there is a reasonable chance they'd be speaking to the same specialist. I need it sorting though as I use CC constantly. Never used ACC so I'll see how I get on with that once sorted. Frustrating that CC doesn't just work anyway in the absence of ACC.

I wanted ACC on mine, but it was SO rarely specced that you were limiting yourself to a tiny pool of vehicles. I missed a lovely S5 Sportback in sprint blue with ACC as I was the 2nd person on the day the ad launched to ring wanting to reserve it.....

I have ACC on my Golf GTI 7 PP and I find I use it quite a lot on the motorway, but it does have its idiosyncrasies. If someone pulls into a gap that the ACC has been maintaining to the car in front it can take a little while to register and drop back - at times it can get uncomfortably close such that you want to override it. On balance it's useful for me and the type of driving I do - just don't expect it to be effectively 'fully autonomous' but more an upgrade on regular cruise control in terms of ease of use.

IIRC the ACC on the S4 has light up LEDs in the instrument cluster around the speedometer to show the set speed

Cheers. Just trying to find someone local to do the recalibration now. A couple of specialists I have spoken to can't do it so it may well end up at main dealer. Supplying garage being helpful though so other than inconvenience I should be covered.

[Gad-Westy]

silentbrown said:

The DSG box needs to be remapped to raise the shift points. The ECU map can't do that.

catso said:

Indeed but it only costs reliability if you regularly use (abuse?) it.

Mine has a Revo stage 1 map which gives it around 400hp and whilst it doesn't feel that fast, it will hit 60 in around 4.5 seconds but the big thing with S4s is the relentless surge when accelerating from speed, making for effortless overtakes.

I avoided going the full stage 2/pulley upgrade as that obviously adds to load on the engine at all speeds whereas, AIUI the stage 1 doesn't change much and only only adds extra load if and when you use it plus on the stage 1, I can switch back (in seconds) to standard using the SPS module allowing the safe use of 95 octane fuel etc. - something that wouldn't be possible with hardware changes.

That said, I'm frequently eyeing up the next stage which along with other 'minor' mods (exhaust, larger throttle body, intercooler etc.) can reap 500hp and 200mph...

Cheers both. A little update on this stuff. I contacted the company that remapped it today. The reason I have no dyno chart is that it didn't go on the dyno. They had a remapped an identical car earlier that week (with same pulley) and the previous owner of my car had asked that the same map be applied to my car. I don't know enough about these things to say whether that is good or bad practice though I guess the majority of remaps are totally generic so maybe not such a big deal. It does make me contemplate whether a revo engine map and gearbox map might be a good idea though, albeit an expensive one. I've dropped them a line to ask as my car doesn't have their pulley or air intake so I'd need to know that it would be okay. My other thought is simply to go somewhere else and just get a gearbox map. It seems that it is a very popular offering and all I'm really after is a raised rev limit and removal of auto up-shift in manual mode. I'm not too concerned about clutch clamping pressures or change speeds etc.

Out of interest, can auto up-shift be disabled via VCDS? It would be cheaper than a remap and more useful..... And if you disable auto up-shift only, can you take the car to 7000 rpm in manual mode even if auto modes are unchanged?

[catso]

Gad-Westy said:

Out of interest, can auto up-shift be disabled via VCDS? It would be cheaper than a remap and more useful..... And if you disable auto up-shift only, can you take the car to 7000 rpm in manual mode even if auto modes are unchanged?

I don't know for sure but I don't think so.

As for Revo engine maps, they don't dyno it either so no actual 'proof' of power, mine is still on standard gearbox mapping.

I did consider MRC for a custom map but I don't think there's much in it for a stage 1 and I rather liked the switchability via the SPS module that only Revo offer.

if I was going to take it any further I'd probably go with MRC as I think if looking for max. power then custom is the way to go and I know they can get 500hp from the V6.

[Gad-Westy]

catso said:

Gad-Westy said:

Out of interest, can auto up-shift be disabled via VCDS? It would be cheaper than a remap and more useful..... And if you disable auto up-shift only, can you take the car to 7000 rpm in manual mode even if auto modes are unchanged?

I don't know for sure but I don't think so.

As for Revo engine maps, they don't dyno it either so no actual 'proof' of power, mine is still on standard gearbox mapping.

I did consider MRC for a custom map but I don't think there's much in it for a stage 1 and I rather liked the switchability via the SPS module that only Revo offer.

if I was going to take it any further I'd probably go with MRC as I think if looking for max. power then custom is the way to go and I know they can get 500hp from the V6.

Oops, didn't spot this reply, sorry. Still pondering on the whole map issue. A locsal remapper can do gearbox but it's tricky to know whether I should pay a bit more and go with Revo option as a known quantity for box or maybe even the engine map too although I'm looking at nearly £1k if I do both which is a lot when the engine has already been mapped! I'm just not convinced that it pulls as hard as it should.

Anyway, the reason I came back to the thread is more mundane I'm afraid. My rear wash wipe just dribbles. No sign of a leak in or around the boot area and I've stuck a pin into both of the rear jets but not a lot happening. This happened before the big freeze as well so don't think it's just a temperature thing. I can hear the pump working but just a very feeble dribble from the jet. Any common issues with this that I can look at?

In other news, it's going to a specialist next week for the cruise calibration. Cannot wait!

[ninjag]

Probably just the washer nozzle is corroded. Happened to mine and I simply replaced it. Very cheap, very easy.

[Gad-Westy]

ninjag said:

Probably just the washer nozzle is corroded. Happened to mine and I simply replaced it. Very cheap, very easy.

Cheers. I tried removing the plastic jets so that just the rusty steel thing underneath was exposed. Like that, I get a good old jet spraying out. The little plastic nozzly thing actually seems clear as I can poke a pin all the way through each outlet and see it come out the other end but for whatever reason with that in place, it's not doing an impressive job. I've ordered a cheapo replacement from ebay for £3 so will try that next.

[ninjag]

Gad-Westy said:

Cheers. I tried removing the plastic jets so that just the rusty steel thing underneath was exposed. Like that, I get a good old jet spraying out. The little plastic nozzly thing actually seems clear as I can poke a pin all the way through each outlet and see it come out the other end but for whatever reason with that in place, it's not doing an impressive job. I've ordered a cheapo replacement from ebay for £3 so will try that next.

That all sounds exactly the same as me. I ordered up a KASturbo Rear Washer Jet from Amazon (I think from memory a genuine Audi one was silly money as usual), part number 8K9955985A for £5.29.

I was a little disappointed with the spray afterwards, it seems to just spray along the wiper rather than cover the rear windscreen, so it takes a few strokes and extra sprays to get the wiper to work the fluid right up the windscreen. Not the end of the world though.

Next thing I'm looking at is replacing the front ones with the superior fan type washer jets. It's literally a plug and play task and fairly cheap.

The fan sprayers from the A6 are apparently compatible, here are the part number that others have confirmed will work: 4G0955987A & 4G0955988A

[Gad-Westy]

ninjag said:

Gad-Westy said:

Cheers. I tried removing the plastic jets so that just the rusty steel thing underneath was exposed. Like that, I get a good old jet spraying out. The little plastic nozzly thing actually seems clear as I can poke a pin all the way through each outlet and see it come out the other end but for whatever reason with that in place, it's not doing an impressive job. I've ordered a cheapo replacement from ebay for £3 so will try that next.

That all sounds exactly the same as me. I ordered up a KASturbo Rear Washer Jet from Amazon (I think from memory a genuine Audi one was silly money as usual), part number 8K9955985A for £5.29.

I was a little disappointed with the spray afterwards, it seems to just spray along the wiper rather than cover the rear windscreen, so it takes a few strokes and extra sprays to get the wiper to work the fluid right up the windscreen. Not the end of the world though.

Next thing I'm looking at is replacing the front ones with the superior fan type washer jets. It's literally a plug and play task and fairly cheap.

The fan sprayers from the A6 are apparently compatible, here are the part number that others have confirmed will work: 4G0955987A & 4G0955988A

Cheers. New nozzle fitted today. Not quite cured things fully yet but I think the wiper blade itself is partly to blame as it leaving big untouched stripes.

I like the idea of the front fans too. Thanks.

[silentbrown]

Gad-Westy said:

I like the idea of the front fans too. Thanks.

I'm looking to do this mod too. The odd thing is that the left and right nozzles look identical but have different part numbers!

£20 each for genuine heated ones from Amazon, https://www.amazon.co.uk/Audi-Heated-Windshield-Sp...

Random Chinese ones are about half that. Not sure which to get, and haven't annoyed our local main dealer yet...

[Gad-Westy]

silentbrown said:

Gad-Westy said:

I like the idea of the front fans too. Thanks.

I'm looking to do this mod too. The odd thing is that the left and right nozzles look identical but have different part numbers!

£20 each for genuine heated ones from Amazon, https://www.amazon.co.uk/Audi-Heated-Windshield-Sp...

Random Chinese ones are about half that. Not sure which to get, and haven't annoyed our local main dealer yet...

I found some used genuine ones for £20 for the pair. They haven't arrived yet though. I hadn't really appreciated how much better misting ones are but our VW E-UP has them and I drove it today and they do work so much better so I'm looking forward to getting them fitted to the Audi.

Speaking of the Audi, I had the car in at a local VAG specialist for the ACC to be calibrated. It was actually their second attempt at it. The first time they had the car, they found the adjustment bracket to be seized solid and so we had to wait for one to arrive before attempting it again. This time they told me that they had gone through the entire calibration process but the last step would normally have the car say which screws should be adjusted and by how much but that did not happen and they thought the radar unit itself might have had it. So very apologetically, they handed the car back again and said it's going to need a main dealer. But..... the ACC now works. I drove 400 miles in it over the weekend and it seems to behave exactly as you'd expect. So, on the assumption that it isn't quite calibrated right but seems to work anyway, is there actually anything I should worry about here because I'm really tempted to leave it as is.

I've also noticed a very faint, but increasingly persistent knock through the steering during low speed maneuvers. It's not loud and I don't ever hear it when travelling any normal driving speeds. Are there any common issues that are prime suspects for something like that?

[silentbrown]

Gad-Westy said:

I've also noticed a very faint, but increasingly persistent knock through the steering during low speed maneuvers. It's not loud and I don't ever hear it when travelling any normal driving speeds. Are there any common issues that are prime suspects for something like that?

Wheel bearing would be my guess -Worth checking front tyres for damage too. Sounds like a win on the ACC!

[silentbrown]

Replaced the front mats which were looking decidedly tatty at 7+ years..
Found these new - and genuine - 'deep pile' ones on eBay. The pile is so deep that at first I thought they were missing the top of the clicky fittings!

Sadly they say "A4" rather than "S4" though.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/403629777681

[Gad-Westy]

Nice deep shag that ^

Anyone know of a (preferably free) way to see the full build spec of a 2011 S4?

I read some older posts about doing it through the Myaudi app or myaudi.de website but it seems that you now have to be assigned to a local dealer and handover your entire life story before you can access that info and frankly I cannot stand stuff like that!

What are the other less intrusive methods?

[fastgerman]

Avant owners - has anyone checked their boots, under the spare wheel and found water??

I’ve been chasing some rattles and removed everything from the boot incl. spare wheel, jack, etc and found approx 1 pint of water