B8 S4 Ownership

[Dr G]

Autodoc list dampers from all of these brands for vehicles WITH electronic damping control:



It's likely the Sachs units are OE:



No experience with any of them. I experimented with the Chinesium mag dampers for an old TTS and they simply didn't work, so I'd be skeptical of anything from a weirdo brand actually functioning as intended.

[RoVoFob]

Adrian E said:

Hopefully the plug and play option is cheaper, given you don t need the ECU or wiring. I was looking at the full retrofit, but wanted it to interface with ADS rather than via app. When shock misting stopped being listed as an advisory I stopped worrying about it!

Fingers crossed. Looks like Bilstein B16 DT is plug and plug and available for the S5 Sportback too, but I can’t find anywhere with it available for my car. Doh.

Ah, you had self-healing shocks. Nice.

[RoVoFob]

Dr G said:

Autodoc list dampers from all of these brands for vehicles WITH electronic damping control:



It's likely the Sachs units are OE:



No experience with any of them. I experimented with the Chinesium mag dampers for an old TTS and they simply didn't work, so I'd be skeptical of anything from a weirdo brand actually functioning as intended.

Thanks Dr G.

You’d hope Sachs parts would be decent, as you’ve suggested. Seem about £100 cheaper than the Audi parts…

[Adrian E]

RoVoFob said:

Ah, you had self-healing shocks. Nice.

I'm lead to believe the phrase 'they all do that, sir', although well worn in the past, is very apt for the dampers on most VAG cars over the last 20 years! The suspension still felt OK the last time I drove the car, but that was 18 months ago. They're still factory original with over 100k on them now, with 20" wheels.

[RoVoFob]

Adrian E said:

I'm lead to believe the phrase 'they all do that, sir', although well worn in the past, is very apt for the dampers on most VAG cars over the last 20 years! The suspension still felt OK the last time I drove the car, but that was 18 months ago. They're still factory original with over 100k on them now, with 20" wheels.

Hmm. Mine is a similar age and mileage though adaptive suspension rather than the standard setup. Doesn’t even have anything in the MOT history about the shocks misting. Think it feels pretty good suspension-wise. Just being super pre-emptive here…

Bit better than my 1999 VW Bora, which had absolutely knackered shocks at 60k miles. Tried going over a humpback bridge and the front of the car failed to go over the bridge, as the dampers failed to damp.

[Dr G]

RoVoFob said:

Thanks Dr G.

You d hope Sachs parts would be decent, as you ve suggested. Seem about £100 cheaper than the Audi parts

Being Autodoc if you dump them in your basket (in the mobile app) then wait you'll normally see the price drop. For some reason Mondays seem to be best for that, and 38% normally the biggest discount. There's almost always 2-5% codes around online you can take off as well.

[catso]

Dr G said:

Being Autodoc if you dump them in your basket (in the mobile app) then wait you'll normally see the price drop. For some reason Mondays seem to be best for that, and 38% normally the biggest discount. There's almost always 2-5% codes around online you can take off as well.

I bought some brake parts from Autodoc, looked them up on the PC (much easier than using a phone) but then saw that they were cheaper if I bought them through the phone app.

[Dr G]

Yup, always are. No idea why!

[anyideas]

Soon to be S4 Owner here I'll post some pictures up once its arrived. I've got a 14MY Avant no real spec to speak of, its a black edition but with a comprehensive history and maintenance record.

I'm just looking at wheel options for a set of Winter tyres, Can anyone help and tell me if these wheels would fit a B8.5?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/326764523264?_skw=audi+...

[catso]

anyideas said:

Soon to be S4 Owner here I'll post some pictures up once its arrived. I've got a 14MY Avant no real spec to speak of, its a black edition but with a comprehensive history and maintenance record.

I'm just looking at wheel options for a set of Winter tyres, Can anyone help and tell me if these wheels would fit a B8.5?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/326764523264?_skw=audi+...

I would think an A4 should have the same stud PCD so should fit?

As for tyre size, my S4Avant Black Edition has 19" wheels with 255/35 tyres but the tyre pressure/size sticker in the door shows a couple of 18" options including 245/40/18 M+S.



There is sufficient clearance around the discs for maybe a 17" wheel on the front but, any smaller might not fit?

[silentbrown]

anyideas said:

Soon to be S4 Owner here I'll post some pictures up once its arrived. I've got a 14MY Avant no real spec to speak of, its a black edition but with a comprehensive history and maintenance record.

I'm just looking at wheel options for a set of Winter tyres, Can anyone help and tell me if these wheels would fit a B8.5?

Wheels should fit fine. Diameter, PCD, bore and offset all look right.

I'm curious how they've already totally killed a set of pirelli tyres datestamped May 2025 though!

[catso]

silentbrown said:

I'm curious how they've already totally killed a set of pirelli tyres datestamped May 2025 though!

Hadn’t noticed the tread (or lack of), looks like they’ve been used for trackdays.

[Dr G]

I’ve a set of 18s at work with good winter tyres on that came off a B8 S4. Can’t remember exactly what the wheels are but they’re some sort of Rota grid copy. I’ve been meaning to eBay them for yonks. Can grab you some pictures and details tomorrow if they might suit you.

[anyideas]

Thank you all for the help on the wheels.

[anyideas]

Dr G said:

I ve a set of 18s at work with good winter tyres on that came off a B8 S4. Can t remember exactly what the wheels are but they re some sort of Rota grid copy. I ve been meaning to eBay them for yonks. Can grab you some pictures and details tomorrow if they might suit you.

Thank you that would be great.

[DonkeyApple]

anyideas said:

Soon to be S4 Owner here I'll post some pictures up once its arrived. I've got a 14MY Avant no real spec to speak of, its a black edition but with a comprehensive history and maintenance record.

I'm just looking at wheel options for a set of Winter tyres, Can anyone help and tell me if these wheels would fit a B8.5?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/326764523264?_skw=audi+...

They look like the ones I put on mine. I dumped the wheels it came with and slung on some 18s that came off a diesel A4 of the same age. Then shod them with all weathers and kept inflating them until the drive was how I wanted.

[anyideas]

Well mine arrived yesterday, a basic Black Edition avant with the paint being the only option. Winter Tyres and Wheels sorted thanks to Dr G. Booked to have this fitted

https://unique-ad.co.uk/product/audi-a4-carplay-bo...

And that’s me sorted.

I use an E-Tron mainly which is great for most things. However in this weather the range drops so I decided to get something else. It needed to be special and practical as it’ll be used to ferry my son and his mates to Football/Cricket/Golf and I think this fits the requirement perfectly.

Just wanted to say a big thanks to everyone who’s contributed onto this chat as it’s really helped.




Pressed into work already. Golf this morning and now off to Brighton FC’s academy in Lancing.

[catso]

anyideas said:

Well mine arrived yesterday, a basic Black Edition avant with the paint being the only option. Winter Tyres and Wheels sorted thanks to Dr G. Booked to have this fitted

https://unique-ad.co.uk/product/audi-a4-carplay-bo...

That's the carplay unit I have in mine, works very well though if using it for any time wirelessly it kills your phone battery so worth plugging in.

Also integrates well with the car's switchgear, the only annoyance is that whilst selecting various carplay features, you will also be selecting car stuff in the background though using the touchscreen does help mitigate and simplify.

Worth adding on the reversing camera whilst fitting it, IIRC it's only an extra £50 - £60.

[anyideas]

catso said:

anyideas said:

Well mine arrived yesterday, a basic Black Edition avant with the paint being the only option. Winter Tyres and Wheels sorted thanks to Dr G. Booked to have this fitted

https://unique-ad.co.uk/product/audi-a4-carplay-bo...

That's the carplay unit I have in mine, works very well though if using it for any time wirelessly it kills your phone battery so worth plugging in.

Also integrates well with the car's switchgear, the only annoyance is that whilst selecting various carplay features, you will also be selecting car stuff in the background though using the touchscreen does help mitigate and simplify.

Worth adding on the reversing camera whilst fitting it, IIRC it's only an extra £50 - £60.

I think it was your experiences you shared on here that confirmed this was the unit to get tbh.

Pleasantly surprised on the MPG indicated after the journey down to the south coast and back.

[catso]

anyideas said:

I think it was your experiences you shared on here that confirmed this was the unit to get tbh.

Pleasantly surprised on the MPG indicated after the journey down to the south coast and back.

You won't be disappointed.

I've never been one for getting the best economy from a car but, on long motorway journeys mine will show around 33mpg. On short, local runs 26mpg, both of which I consider quite reasonable.

7th gear ratio helps with a motorway 'safe' speed of 79mph needing just 2,000 rpm.