S3 Pics - CH 18" & AP Racing BBK.

warrencox said:
Know what you mean on the Porsche front, they are looking old on the 996, but I have always fancied one as they are amazing drivers car. The S3 feels faster, but less involving. All the 997's at Porsche main dealers (only place I would buy one) are £45k+ and I don't want to spend more than £35k as I'm a tight wad! Cayman S felt equally slow, but a monumentally good drive, so as this was high on the list in my last thoughts of changing, it really needs to be reconsidered (with a Chrono Pack, Nav and 19's).

RS4's are amazing, but one of the few cars I've never driven, so can't wait to try it tomorrow. Long journey of 2.5hrs each way to try it out :sadlike:. Not looking forward to deconstructing the S3 to make it standard if we choose this route. Such a ruination of a great car. May have someone who will buy it as is, so will call them today.

About time Spin got some photos up of his for us.
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Very well put Warren. What do you mean by the S3 being less involving? If I hgh bends with the new ARBs.

Anyway, I wasn't knocking RS4, as for me as an all round car its just fantastic, rock solid build, beautiful cabin, looks gorgeous, practical and quick, just wasn't as quick as I was expecting, its a very very heavy car though. The cayman S sounded sweet though, but no enough power, and if you feel that way from a test drive, how about 6 months + of ownership.

Its a shame really, as a stage II + S3 is a very quick car and you put yourself on a high pedestal, just get an R8 warren :laugh::ninja::wub:
 
N8 said:
Very well put Warren. What do you mean by the S3 being less involving? If I hgh bends with the new ARBs.
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I'm not overly convinced by the lower spec Haldex on these cars, they still feel predominantly front drive and a tad understeery. New ARB's, dampers, springs and Haldex Race controller may be on the cards if the RS4 doesn't tick the right boxes.

N8 said:
Anyway, I wasn't knocking RS4, as for me as an all round car its just fantastic, rock solid build, beautiful cabin, looks gorgeous, practical and quick, just wasn't as quick as I was expecting, its a very very heavy car though. The cayman S sounded sweet though, but no enough power, and if you feel that way from a test drive, how about 6 months + of ownership.
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RS4 has such road presence, and sounds the nuts, but I was so disappointed with the 4.2V8 in the S5 that the RS4 needs to turn in a much better performance to be onto a winner here. I fancy a new car, and I know this as I keep tweaking mine trying to put off the inevitable, but its an easy way to get buckets and OEM 19's! If I get the RS4 it will be Revo'd within the day, so hopefully about 440bhp should be enough to offset weight.

N8 said:
Its a shame really, as a stage II + S3 is a very quick car and you put yourself on a high pedestal, just get an R8 warren :laugh::ninja::wub:
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The S3 is brilliant if a touch over-stressed in Stg2+ mode (we are pushing 100bhp over stock which is nearly 30% over it's factory limits so it does well really). If you generous and well financed guys can have a whip round and raise about £25k I'll go for the R8 thanks!! It's on the cards, but in about 5 years!!
 
warrencox said:
RS4 has such road presence, and sounds the nuts, but I was so disappointed with the 4.2V8 in the S5 that the RS4 needs to turn in a much better performance to be onto a winner here. I fancy a new car, and I know this as I keep tweaking mine trying to put off the inevitable, but its an easy way to get buckets and OEM 19's! If I get the RS4 it will be Revo'd within the day, so hopefully about 440bhp should be enough to offset weight.
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TBH mate if you wernt impressed by the S5, I hazard a guess the RS4 wont do much either, although the RS4 shows numbers of 440, my S4 when mapped was 365, my S3 at the time when had both was 275, but the S4 was slow incomparison to my S3 & I had been taken by TT's & S3's when driving the S4, so although numbers are big mate, I think the weight of the V8 & associated parts namely the car lol, will drag it down interms of feel of power.

I'd spend a load on your current S3 or get a facelift SB & tune that big time, but thats me.
 
warrencox said:
Is the right answer N8! Therefore I've just left a message for the sales person at Canterbury to call me back about that grey RS4.

I'm a touch undecided as we have no kids/close family as to whether to go for an RS4 as it seems enormous. I love them, and despite my dislike of Audi dealers I still love the cars.

For the same money I'm torn between the RS4 and a 911 Carrera 4S which is on the Porsche UK site (both circa £35k):

WP0ZZZ99Z5S600157_1.jpg
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This looks like mine which I pick up on saturday,

I have had the same dilema over the last few weeks and have gone away from Audi for awhile, until I remember why I enjoyed my S3 so much.

Gaz
 
gaz m said:
This looks like mine which I pick up on saturday,

I have had the same dilema over the last few weeks and have gone away from Audi for awhile, until I remember why I enjoyed my S3 so much.

Gaz
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Didn't see that coming Gaz, any pics??? (apologies, badly hijacking thread)
 
N8 said:
I think 440bhp is optimistic Warren from RS4, Millteks help but they are £££
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Have a slush fund for a Milltek if necessary so can be done. Vowed it would be code and a filter at tops, but then there is no point ruining the ownership experience.
 
warrencox said:
Have a slush fund for a Milltek if necessary so can be done. Vowed it would be code and a filter at tops, but then there is no point ruining the ownership experience.
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& for my 10k post, Warren, you're far from naive mate, code & filter, pull the other one slim lmfao, thats in the 1st hour let alone 1st month.
 
NHN said:
& for my 10k post, Warren, you're far from naive mate, code & filter, pull the other one slim lmfao, thats in the 1st hour let alone 1st month.
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Congrats on your 10k post Nigel, and to be fair you're absolutely right, I've promised too often I'm going to give up the mods, but factory cars are never good enough, even if they cost £50k new. Mod junkie!
 
Stop talking about codes and modding of RS4, this new car is supposed to save me money not get me at it again ! I drove the S5 and RS4 back to back on Saturady and totally different car, the S5 fely lazy but comfortable, the RS4 offered very similar performance to the tuned S3 but felt strong whilst putting the power down, the handling was in a different league to the S5 and easily as good as my 200 kg lighter S3, no roll or pitch and no understeer, dito Warrens comments in that the RS feels more like a rear wheel driver than the S3 all due to the torsion split I guess.

Please don't turn this into an RS4 versus S3 thread as they are such different cars so not really comparable, it's probably worth mentioning I have no intention of keeping the
RS4 past Xmas unless it totally blows me away from an ownership experience, only time can tell and I'll try and post regular reviews remaining as impartial as possible.

It always best to try a car before you form an opinion, as valuable as the Forums are they can't make the choice for you, we all like different things, I have also read all the comments about the RS4 not making the claimed 414 but trust me its easily as fast as the stage 2 + S3 it just goes about its delivery in a less urgent fashion and feels as if despite the power and speed generated it really isn't about to break into a sweat. If they only make 380 - 390 as some claim I can live with that, alternatively I could just visit an optimistic dyno and use the info for a placebo affect :)

Now how much for the remap and Exhaust......LOL !!
 
Your right about the power delivery, very linear, the S3 "feels" fast as such to speak. Look forward to seeing it and driving it hopefully mart, I was only comparing the power of the 2.
 
Spin140 said:
S
Now how much for the remap and Exhaust......LOL !!
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DP & Cat: £1186 (ex VAT)
Cat back: £675 (ex VAT)
Revo stage 1: £700

£3000 inc VAT :ohmy:

Maybe I don't have a slush fund for quite that much....
 
audi upgrades
Mmmmm may have to keep some of my hardware sale cash aside, "...New exhaust ?!? No Clare I've just found a really good polish...."

Seriously at this stage I have no intention of mapping etc but if we are talking the difference between stage 1 on the S3 and stage 2 + then this is quite a gain !!

I'll investigate the residuals on a Milltek for the RS4 and may take the plunge.
 
Spin140 said:
Mmmmm may have to keep some of my hardware sale cash aside, "...New exhaust ?!? No Clare I've just found a really good polish...."

Seriously at this stage I have no intention of mapping etc but if we are talking the difference between stage 1 on the S3 and stage 2 + then this is quite a gain !!

I'll investigate the residuals on a Milltek for the RS4 and may take the plunge.
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You'd have to go SC imo to see that difference, but then I have no RS4 tuning experience, so I might as well keep it hush from now! :ninja::whistle2:
 
I hope your wife is called Clare too, otherwise my wife has got you justifying your new purchases to her too!!

I suppose there is twice as much piping in a V8 engine (hence twice the price), but to me the code is a no brainer, always takes the lethargy away and adds some urgency.

Exhaust will be on back burner for me until March 2011 when bonus pays out - thought it may be £1500, not £2250!!
 
Oh buggar Warren & N8 ! You have both got me interested now, software seems very pricey but very tempting, shall we take bets how long it will take to go for the remap, i told the wife - Clare, that no point remapping a N/A car, looks like I may have been wrong, the standard car did feel perky enough but now thanks to you Guys I will always be thinking What If ?
 
Do sound nice. Wonder if you can do a cat back onto OEM DP, then upgrade the rest later.

Just been reading about RS4's on a range of Audi forums, and the DRC seems to be the weak spot of choice, so will be checking to see if the system has been replaced, and if not whether there is any knocking.

Clare is sounding more bought in to this now, but it MUST be grey and an AVANT, otherwise she'll kick off!!

@ Nige: Shhh, don't tell us that!! Don't want any reasons to talk myself out of it!! Getting about 23mpg out of the S3 across the board, so I'd guess 19 from an RS4?
 
N8 said:
RS4 will be thursty, but if you can afford to run it Warren then no worries.
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As I have a very good mate who runs an independent near us I can afford to run it, just going to check insurance costs as the S3 is only £460 a year. Don't want to be paying a grand plus in my mid 30's. Fuel never bothers me that much as we only do average annual mileage, and half of that is covered by work.
 
I only get 23mpg from my S3 so I'm hoping for 18 - 20, apparently not too bad on a cruise/light throttle. I've just been doing a load of reading up too, it seems all our cars have the odd thing to look out for. The Cat back does mate up to the OEM DP and you get a choice of res or non res and also valved or not so that the sport button the steering wheel can still be active basically opening up the valves for full sound when playing, make sure you press this on your test drive Warren as makes all the difference.

I have decided to get Ben from AVP to look over the one I am buying as he is a real RS4 enthusiast and does many inspections on them, I'll let you know what he has to say as seeing him in the morning for the brakes to be swapped over.

if all is well, cat back milltek non res valved it is then :)
 
Spin140 said:
I have decided to get Ben from AVP to look over the one I am buying as he is a real RS4 enthusiast and does many inspections on them, I'll let you know what he has to say as seeing him in the morning for the brakes to be swapped over.

if all is well, cat back milltek non res valved it is then :)
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Just got my insurance quote, £581, so that's a winner. Be very interested to see what Ben at AVP says. Wish I had a local RS4 expert as my guy can fix VAG stuff but he doesn't know RS4's inside out. May be worth an independent RAC check for extra safety net me thinks.... Thanks for the heads up on the sport button, will be pressing it and seeing what the difference is.

I will probably join you on the valved cat back, and go and see Kev at Revo's new HQ for some code.
 
Ben @ AVP is doin my cousins TT rebuild Mart, mention my name 2moro when your in, it should be finshed this week, that whipped an RS4 in a straight line last time round, should be awesome this time round.
 
Ben will travel if you need him to Warren may be worth investigating the costs and what RAC v AVP offers you, if buying form Audi your 12 month guarantee is pretty much as good as it gets but always worth avoiding problems rather than dealing with them later even if FOC still a royal pain in the A.

You sound quite into this RS4 thing, see how you get on tomorrow be intersted to know.
 
Spin140 said:
Ben will travel if you need him to Warren may be worth investigating the costs and what RAC v AVP offers you, if buying form Audi your 12 month guarantee is pretty much as good as it gets but always worth avoiding problems rather than dealing with them later even if FOC still a royal pain in the A.

You sound quite into this RS4 thing, see how you get on tomorrow be intersted to know.
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Worth knowing about Ben. Warranty aside, I wouldn't trust Audi with a dogs fart, so I would happily pay dollars for peace of mind.

You sparked my interest you ******, and as a 12-18 month option it looks a great buy before I consign myself to neutered mediocrity and a V6 diesel. I really do want an R8, but I think the economy is likely to scupper this by 2013 when mortgage interest rates will be 15% and income tax will be 74%!!!
 
I am supremely confident the RS4 will depreciate slower then my current S3, so as a short term ownership prospect just for the full v8 experience I'm hoping it will be well worth it, then for me it will be something like an Alpina D3 bi-turbo, may just try a TT-RS first, just waiting for these to be out long enough to gain a decent discount, the residuals are amazing on the TT-RS so a great car to take on a PCP if looking for low monthly payments, just need to own my very own V8, if it sounds like the links sod the fuel costs, should be ok with my 8,000 per year.
 
Spin140 said:
should be ok with my 8,000 per year.
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8k in the S3 is about £1700 in fuel, £2400 in the RS4. Call me a sad feck, but I've been working out some running costs for 12 months.

We do 8k personal miles a year (4k for work are paid by my employer), and the comparisons seem to stack up as follows:

RS4: Fuel based on 8k (£2400) / Tyres set of 4 (£1000) / Insurance (£580) / Tax (£420) / Servicing (£???): TOTAL £5k (ish) per year
S3: Fuel based on 8k (£1700) / Tyres set of 4 (£800) / Insurance (£420) / Tax (£220) / Servicing (£350): TOTAL £3.5k per year

So £1500 more a year for the RS4 assuming no big unexpected bills, modifications. If you include PCP costs vs my car the RS4 is about £2300 a year more, so actually based on that it will have to feel pretty special!

I was mentally bargaining for £1500 more, but then I suppose you may suffer less depreciation.
 
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Spin140 said:
I just took for granted that the RS4 was something other people owned with far more money at their disposal than us normal people but at 3 years old it's pretty much a swap for my nearly new S3 and is a very special car to own even if it may be for a short time, I plan to enjoy it whilst I have it, I would never get the opportunity to own a £50+ grand car new and thanks to the legendary Audi build quality driving one at 3 years old is no hardship, everything just feels so right, it's a proper, serious super car in an M&S suit.

Residuals are predicted as being excellent and Dealers can't get enough of them, my monthly payments on a PCP are going to be a little less than on the S3 so I just thought hell why not !?!

The money raised from selling all my hardware can go to the maternity fund (Baby N0.2 due July 1st)and I will still have a fast car to drive around in with no mods required, for such a reckless decision with current fuel prices and taking the age of the car into consideration it actually seems quite practical to do this now.

I admit that I washed the S3 today and looked at it and thought just how much I loved the car and how perfect it is for my requirements but you only get one life, I could always get another S3 not sure I could say the same about an RS4 or equivalent.

Saying goodbye to my perfect spec S3 will be made easier though by putting everything back to standard, its a good car standard, a great car modded. :)
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really, your going to resist the temptation not to put a milltek on ..... i'd have too it must be the law ! good decision though, those RS4's look great.
 
N8 said:
You bought, my car is a due new discs and pads, I'm pondering whether to get the AP discs or another set of my current :ninja:
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yeh dave told me haha! AP FTW

and yes, i did. :wub:
 
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