B8.5 S4 Avant Ownership/Project Thread

[Quail]

Hey guys; after a BMW hiatus, I'm back in an Audi, and thrilled to be so.

My previous car was an F30 335D which was a devastatingly capable all-rounder, but definitely didn't feel "special" to drive.

I flirted with the idea of an S7, which would've bankrupted me, and an E92 M3, which seemed to have some expensive-sounding issues that ultimately scared me away.

After lots of deliberation, I settled on the B8.5 S4 Avant, which seemed to meet the majority of my requirements!

Now I've had a couple of weeks with the car, I'm very happy indeed. I'm trying not to put too many miles on it, so only using it when I have the itch to go for a drive (which is every day, to be fair). The fact it absolutely guzzles fuel is helping me to be sensible.

On to the photos:

First impressions are very positive; it really is quick out the box, despite hiding it's speed very well. I was unimpressed with the DSG box until I accidentally stumbled on sport mode!

Despite the Pilot Sports it has a tendency to push outwards on tighter corners, so I am considering an upgraded rear ARB to try and tighten it up a bit. The previous owner also fitted horrible cheap pads which are covering the car in dust, so those need to be swapped out for some Brembos ASAP.

Trying my hardest to keep the car as stock as possible, except for some very minor tweaks/upgrades, as I've been neglecting the long term project below.

Thanks guys; happy to be back in Club Audi!

 

[DieselJake]

Nice! Loving the S4 and Silvia, if you've been doing bits and bobs to the S14 I bet the S4 will soon have a couple quid on mods (unfortunately for the bank account haha I always get a new car and say I won't mod this one).

What are you running in the S14? Manual turbo one's should only increase in value, my friend has an auto N/A one which I'm not a big fan of but even that was bought for 1k a good few years ago and now they go for about three or so times that. I'd love another old turbo Jap car but I killed my last one by fitting a magnetic sump plug which fell out and drained all the oil plus regardless of this the car was pretty much held together with cable ties and love haha really miss it though.

 

[Quail]

What are you running in the S14? Manual turbo one's should only increase in value, my friend has an auto N/A one which I'm not a big fan of but even that was bought for 1k a good few years ago and now they go for about three or so times that. I'd love another old turbo Jap car but I killed my last one by fitting a magnetic sump plug which fell out and drained all the oil plus regardless of this the car was pretty much held together with cable ties and love haha really miss it though.

Thanks! The S14a is a turbo manual, and you're right, prices are definitely on the increase slowly but surely.

I bought the car standard when I was 19 (now 30), so seen them go from obscurity, to extreme popularity, to becoming quite rare. It's definitely tricky to find one that hasn't been ruined or crashed.

I've had it so long that I've forgotten some of the changes made early on, but the modifications are very modest - the usual boost, breathing and cooling mods, some custom interior work, Brembo brakes and sticky tyres. At ~275hp, RWD and <1300kg, it's a lot of fun without being completely scary. It's useless in the wet.

With modifications I've certainly become more conservative with age, so any changes made to the S4 will be reversible and visually insignificant!

A couple more snaps of the old Nissan:

 

[Bristle Hound]

Hey guys; after a BMW hiatus, I'm back in an Audi, and thrilled to be so.

My previous car was an F30 335D which was a devastatingly capable all-rounder, but definitely didn't feel "special" to drive.

I flirted with the idea of an S7, which would've bankrupted me, and an E92 M3, which seemed to have some expensive-sounding issues that ultimately scared me away.

After lots of deliberation, I settled on the B8.5 S4 Avant, which seemed to meet the majority of my requirements!

Now I've had a couple of weeks with the car, I'm very happy indeed. I'm trying not to put too many miles on it, so only using it when I have the itch to go for a drive (which is every day, to be fair). The fact it absolutely guzzles fuel is helping me to be sensible.

On to the photos:

First impressions are very positive; it really is quick out the box, despite hiding it's speed very well. I was unimpressed with the DSG box until I accidentally stumbled on sport mode!

Despite the Pilot Sports it has a tendency to push outwards on tighter corners, so I am considering an upgraded rear ARB to try and tighten it up a bit. The previous owner also fitted horrible cheap pads which are covering the car in dust, so those need to be swapped out for some Brembos ASAP.

Trying my hardest to keep the car as stock as possible, except for some very minor tweaks/upgrades, as I've been neglecting the long term project below.

Thanks guys; happy to be back in Club Audi!

@Quail - Great looking cars mate
Had an ibis white B8 A4 before my S4. Such an easy colour to keep clean IMHO
That Nissan is proper retro cool !

 

[usmanrrana82]

Nice cars there. I have had brembo pads on a different car and they're just as messy tbh. I suggest you stick to stocks or go EBC if you want to spend more.

Sent from my SM-G928F using Tapatalk

 

[Hear-Vier]

Read somewhere that Akebono brake pads are less dusty.

 

[Quail]

@Quail - Great looking cars mate
Had an ibis white B8 A4 before my S4. Such an easy colour to keep clean IMHO
That Nissan is proper retro cool !

Thanks! Agreed, Ibis White seems pretty low maintenance, even with the wet weather. The black cars I've owned were infinitely worse!

Nice cars there. I have had brembo pads on a different car and they're just as messy tbh. I suggest you stick to stocks or go EBC if you want to spend more.

Read somewhere that Akebono brake pads are less dusty.

Thanks for the heads up - will investigate further before replacing the existing ones.

 

[forty3]

Standard Audi pads are very dusty. I'm thankful for the anthracite wheels as silver wheels would look terrible after just a few miles!

 

[Quail]

Standard Audi pads are very dusty. I'm thankful for the anthracite wheels as silver wheels would look terrible after just a few miles!

I was a bit confused as to why Audi chose "brake dust grey" for the wheels, but now I'm thankful for it!

 

[GarethS4]

Lovely car you have.the urge for stage two will get you shortly ,it is so worth it .roughly 460hp and tons of torque .

 

[Suths]

I have a set of akebonos for sale if anyone is interested. Bought them prior to upgrading the whole front brake setup to brembo 4 pots

Welcome and lovely car btw

 

[damian henry]

I know there expensive but EBC yellow will be my next pads had them on my last car and improved stopping a hell of a a lot.

 

[Quail]

Recently had a fun morning burning V-Power with my cousin. He made me feel a little better about my average MPG.

 

[Bristle Hound]

@Quail - Just out of interest how many gallons to the mile was your mate getting in his Merc ?

 

[Quail]

@Quail - Just out of interest how many gallons to the mile was your mate getting in his Merc ?

To quote him directly:

• Best: 24.3 MPG
  
• Average: 14.1 MPG over 7000 miles
• Worst: 6.1 MPG

Absolutely brutal.

 

[RyanJonS4]

To quote him directly:

• Best: 24.3 MPG
  
• Average: 14.1 MPG over 7000 miles
• Worst: 6.1 MPG

Absolutely brutal.

But that noise though

 

[Quail]

But that noise though

Yep the noise is absolutely awesome. Especially when first firing the car up.

I went out for a Cotswold blast with a friend in his B9 S5. This thing is specced up with EVERYTHING (except memory seats), and is an absolute monster on the road. I was struggling to keep up with it around the twistier sections (really good entry speeds). On the straights, it very slowly walked away from me, but there was barely anything in it.

I much prefer the aesthetics of the B8.5, but both the performance and comfort of the B9 is quite incredible. It also sounds much more aggressive than our relatively quiet cars.

 

[GaryP]

Nice looking car @Quail . What spec does she have? I've been looking ages for 'my perfect' B8.5 S4 Avant and failing miserably - haha. Where did u pick this up from and where advertised? Enjoy!! I'm looking forward to that joy you're getting!

 

[Dippy]

This thing is specced up with EVERYTHING (except memory seats), and is an absolute monster on the road. I was struggling to keep up with it around the twistier sections (really good entry speeds). On the straights, it very slowly walked away from me, but there was barely anything in it.

So I assume it has the sports diff. What about your car?

 

[SeanTFSI]

I am very much jealous of your car! Very nice

 

[Quail]

So the S4's understeer was completely addressed with some fresh tyres. Turns out the old Pilot Sports were older than I had assumed - they degraded horribly over the cold winter. I replaced them with Yokohama Advan Sport V105Ss after finding a cracking deal on them, and I've been very very impressed with them since.

Over Easter we went up to the Highlands for some very spirited driving, and the tyres didn't miss a beat.

I do believe my wheel bearings are on their way out, however. I've noticed a humming between 40-55 mph. Turns out 1000 miles in a weekend, with very bumpy farm tracks and M6 pot holes were a bit too much for the car. I've heard that they usually end up going around 60K anyway, and my car's at 50K, so I'm not too upset. I also need to do the disks and pads - a bitter pill to swallow after the major engine and gearbox service before heading to Scotland!

Nice looking car @Quail . What spec does she have? I've been looking ages for 'my perfect' B8.5 S4 Avant and failing miserably - haha. Where did u pick this up from and where advertised? Enjoy!! I'm looking forward to that joy you're getting!

Thanks Gary! I hawk-eyed AutoTrader and Pistonheads for months, and struck when the iron was hot as soon as this appeared. The car was a few hours north of me, but the dealer was decent (Auto100). They let me test the car unsupervised, which I always appreciate.

I'm not sure of the full-spec - it seems relatively basic (standard seats in leather/alcantara, no sat nav). I bought the car for the drivetrain and aesthetics primarily, so don't mind cutting back on the luxuries.

So I assume it has the sports diff. What about your car?

Yes the S5 has the Sports Diff; having driven it, it's extremely compliant and feels lighter than it is. Extremely confident turn-in - lots of grip. Quite a different car to my S4, which is basic in comparison. My car requires a heavier hand, which isn't neccesarily a bad thing. I'd like to have another run against it now I'm on fresh tyres - they're very closely matched.

I am very much jealous of your car! Very nice

Thanks Sean!

 

[AnthonyW83]

Hi there.

Just joined the forum as this thread popped up in my Google search for S4 Avant’s... Lovely looking motor. Do you still have it? I’ve been toying with a Golf R/S3 for ages now but I really should be the 36 year old I am with two dogs and get an Avant... How you finding the S4 long term?...