Brothers.... Lend me your ears.... do I return to the fold?

Dane

Dane

Had an 8L S3, a B5 RS4 now I have a B8 S4
Joined
Nov 11, 2009
Messages
4,081
Reaction score
184
Points
63
Location
Cheltenham
Morning Chaps,

Obviously I'm going to get a fairly biased opinion here, so try and put aside your natural tendency to lean towards an 8L s3 for a minute and share your thoughts with me.

Currently Im travelling about 350 miles a week sometimes 400, at roughly £50 per 150 miles, which needless to say is killing me in the rs4. Even driving it sensibly the best i see is about 22-25 mpg (downhill) and of course driving it sensibly defeats the object all together. (not to mention tyre wear, brake wear etc.)

so I have a tentative offer for the rs4 which is looking like a good deal which will leave me with some good dollar to buy a replacement. Currently Im of the opinion that there are 2 good options.

1. get a diesel
2. get another s3

1. diesel options
A4 3.0tdi S-line quattro avant
A4 2.0tdi S-line quattro avant (I like avants)
MK4 25th Anniversary tdi (with cams changed)
some other boring dull machine.

2. S3!

The decision
Currently the cheapest well spec'd 3.0 tdi is £12k, the very upper limit of my budget. I've found a good looking mk4 25th anni thats had its pd150 chocolate cams replaced, Volkswagen : Golf Anniversary Tdi 150bhp - Black Magic Pearl But its quite expensive, £6k is as far as I'd go with this.

OR

A quick flick through pistonheads reveals some smart s3's for not alot. e.g.
Audi : S3 1.8T QUATTRO - GREY WITH BLACK LEATHER RECAROS + SUNROOF!
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3569536.htm

With a some in the middle that look okish just not as clean and baring in mind I could nearly get 30 mpg out of my s3 before.

So I could save £2-3K and buy an s3 and use the difference to fund petrol for some time.... (and remap it, b5 TIP it, Brembo it etc. etc.)/ do a track car..... :eyebrows:
Or get the anni and save in the long run.... (and remap it, Brembo it etc lol)

Your thoughts please gents, preferably from your most unbiased point of view and of course other useful options are always welcome :)
 
Last edited:
s3dave said:
S3.....;)

Have you seen scoobras one in the classifieds?

being sensible i would go for the mk4 but get some dollar knocked off...
Click to expand...

I have but no rods aaaaaah!
 
If fuel economy is the driving factor, buy the Golf.

My S3 only gets 27mpg when driven sensibly, I'd expect the golf will be almost double that..?
 
Funk_Junky said:
If fuel economy is the driving factor, buy the Golf.

My S3 only gets 27mpg when driven sensibly, I'd expect the golf will be almost double that..?
Click to expand...

Fuel economy certainly is a factor, but basing the decision to buy a car on mpgeee seems so cold lol

I imagine it will return around double the mpg, but it could take around 12-18 months to spend £3k of fuel to break even...
 
Personally I think that grey S3 with a sunroof is an absolute steal if it all checks out ok and runs well. (and isn't CAT D)

£3k compared to the £6,595k Golf Anniversary - and far more fun I reckon! You could reason that it's £3,595 towards the fuel bill.. ;) Plus it looks more modern than the tired mk4 golf design in my opinion. Just my 2pence. :)
 
audi upgrades
That many miles get the Golf - nice looking car and great MPG.

That black S3 looks a bit poorly - smashed bumper and engine management light illumianted on dash. The other is quite high mileage but if serviced right....

I do like that Golf though.
 
s3dave said:
Dont forget diesel prices are going to soar apparently....
Click to expand...

True but its not hard to save money coming from an rs4, I heard a report about how some people could be loosing out thinking theyre saving money with a diesel, whilst looking at my 20 mpg average and thought hmm dont think that will be me lol
 
Perplexer said:
That many miles get the Golf - nice looking car and great MPG.

That black S3 looks a bit poorly - smashed bumper and engine management light illumianted on dash. The other is quite high mileage but if serviced right....

I do like that Golf though.
Click to expand...

Nice one changed for this one.Audi : Audi S3 Quattro, Black (2000), FSH, 110,000 miles
Close to me
perfect interior spec
pre facelift im not really bothered about
 
If it has to be a derv it would be an A4 with Quattro. Engine choice is down to preference, 3.0 is obviously going to be a better drive but heavier on fuel.

Front wheel drive is hopeless. A tuned derv with FWD is just going to be ****.

Not to mention the A4 is a far better built car than a mk4 golf.

Having driven an RS4 how can you even consider buying a FWD mk4 golf diesel!
 
Wow, given your budget dude, I'd be SERIOUSLY tempetd to buy Mikes IHI car, a grand on rods, and £500 on tarting it up a bit, and have the car you were always trying to build previously..... for just £6500, and pocket the rest of the cash for fuel.

Driven sensibly off boost it'll see as good a fuel economy as your old car, and comming from a 466bhp RS4 I can't see you ever being truly happy with a 280bhp st2 S3, it'll always be a massive backwards step.
 
Wow, given your budget dude, I'd be SERIOUSLY tempetd to buy Mikes IHI car, a grand on rods, and £500 on tarting it up a bit, and have the car you were always trying to build previously..... for just £6500, and pocket the rest of the cash for fuel.

Driven sensibly off boost it'll see as good a fuel economy as your old car, and comming from a 466bhp RS4 I can't see you ever being truly happy with a 280bhp st2 S3, it'll always be a massive backwards step.
 
I found that the s3 on the motorway is pretty good! If your doing motorway miles then stick with the s3! If it's in town then golf! Just make sure you feel good about the car too!
 
P/ex for my S3?

Having not been on here for a while I didn't even know you'd bought an RS4 - just saw your ad on SRS a minute ago!
Your RS4 looks mean.
 
Lol not turning this into a closable thread ;)

You are quite right prawny I was trying not to look really. Lol
 
aragorn said:
Front wheel drive is hopeless. A tuned derv with FWD is just going to be ****.
Click to expand...

I have a friend with a 260bhp 1.9tdi Ibiza, FWD, open diff, normal road tyres did a 13.1 1/4mile at Pod. 2nd gear launch is just better,1st is pointless :p
 
Just a thought, there is a Mk5 Golf Diesel 4motion for sale on ed38 for under 8k, would something like that be of consideration?
 
Id be tempted by a 2.0 tdi avant... Or a good alternative is a 330d bimmer. Then a track car aswell if that's what your into
 
Jason.s said:
I have a friend with a 260bhp 1.9tdi Ibiza, FWD, open diff, normal road tyres did a 13.1 1/4mile at Pod. 2nd gear launch is just better,1st is pointless :p
Click to expand...

Every time i get in a FWD car now, it just leaves me screaming at the dashboard.

Over Xmas i helped a mate move house, and ended up driving his dads Vectra 1.8. His dad beforehand mentioned that i'd like driving it as it had sticky tyres on (which it did) and that it gripped well. That didnt seem to stop me wheel spinning (along with the nasty hop that comes with it) off nearly every roundabout and junction in aberdeen. Even with his mum in the car and me trying to drive sensibly, more wheelspin/hop and her scowling at me for driving their car like that.

Same thing in mums A4 (remapped 1.8T), any time i tried to pull off briskly or give it full beans it'd light up the wheels because i dared move the wheel from centre or happened to meet a slight undulation in the road surface or a drain cover to help it along.

With quattro, it just works. If i want to give it full throttle into a roundabout or out of a t junction, i give it full throttle, and it just goes. If i hit an undulation or greasy patch when driving down a streight road giving it the beans, nothing happens, it just keeps accellerating.
 
Aye agree with you. Wish i could have afforded the time and price to get a quattro before i bought mine but i was desperate and in 09 they werent really going for 1300 and below. My first gear is fairly useless and second near enough too when its this cold and wet. Even in second at like 4k so like 30-40mph put your foot down it spins up. Doesnt help my T1-Rs are bald on the inside edge i guess. Got some Conti`s going on tomorrow though.
 
Yeh, same deal when we baught our FWD (the one mum now has). I wanted a quattro and couldnt afford it. Knowing the car was always a stop gap i laid down a rule that any mods i made had to be removable/transferable to the new car. Anything that was specific to a FWD model wasnt allowed.

That was fine for a while, but once the modification itch started, and i realised i was getting to the point that i wanted to start doing things that were FWD specific, we decided it was time and baught the TQS instead. Transferred over the brakes, ICE and some other bits and bobs and sold the FWD to mum.
 
audi upgrades
Dane, I would try and avoid anything VAG 2.0 TDI, they are made out of chocolate! Keep the RS4 for the weekend and buy yourself a cheapo city car like a Corsa, Ford Ka or Smart car for the commute to work!
 
Could say the same about the 1.9 to be honest. Theres higher power 2l tdi`s than 1.9`s out there. On this very forum infact on the 8P side.
 
jojo said:
Dane, I would try and avoid anything VAG 2.0 TDI, they are made out of chocolate! Keep the RS4 for the weekend and buy yourself a cheapo city car like a Corsa, Ford Ka or Smart car for the commute to work!
Click to expand...

I think you have a good point JoJo - my dad had one of these yearssss ago and it was such a lovely comfy diesel cruiser. (1999 Passat Diesel) It was like driving in an armchair. The best bit? You didn't care where you parked it etc as it was worth peanuts.. They're bullet proof honestly - my dad sold his at 180k miles and it was still going strong! 1999 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT 1.9 TDI | eBay Keep the RS4 for the weekend!
 
Another option to consider, keep the RRS4 and buy a cheap £1500 - £2000 diesel for the work commute and then you still have stonking beast of an RS4 which if you sold it I'm sure you would miss it. Failing which I'd go for a good S3 or 2.5 V6 TDi quattro A4
 
Maybe worth considering a 110 TDI, ones before the chocolate camshafts, 8L A3 or Mk4 Golf and then spend some more on a remap, alloys, etc...
 
I know where you guys are coming from, but honest, it sounds like 4wd has just made you lazy....

Sure, you can't use all the power in all weathers with FWD, but I've got 224bhp/265lbft in my daily driver, on budget tyres for winter, and even in the rain, i don't have a problem beyond 1st gear.

Sure, 1st spins up the wheels a lot in the wet, but it's fine in the dry, and 2nd is fairly OK in the wet too.

The throttle isn't digital you know? You are allowed to feed it in gently.....
 
Yeh, its not so much that you become lazy, you just become used to doing things that you simply cant do in a FWD car.

And it usually happens when your not TRYING to drive quickly. If your trying, your generally applying full concentration to feeling for grip, traction etc etc. Whereas this tends to happen when a gap appears in traffic an you think "i'm having that" or you give it a squirt of power to get enough space to merge in etc etc. Or even just pulling away a little too briskly uphill on an offcamber greasy junction.

Ofcourse, if i was driving it every day i'd eventually remember that it simply wont do those things, and stop trying, but thats not really the point. Its the same as getting in some **** slow car and realising you cant overtake anything. Its not good, but you put up with it because thats the only thing you can do when driving that car.

I had FWD hatches for years and never really noticed any major issue. After my driving holiday i jumped streight into a quattro, and since then every FWD car i've driven i've just found it rubbish.
 
I guess that makes sense, and if I'd spent the past few years driving a quattro, I'd feel exactly the same!

I've ALWAYS had lairy little FWD cars, aside from a brief stint in an M3, so I guess I'm just so used to the feel of it.

I get the same complaint from other people with FWD cars though ''it's 200bhp with toyos and it's undriveable'' yet mines 224bhp on budgets and I don't have a problem, so i guess it's all about how you drive.

I imagine a 'point and shoot' car could be pretty awesome though!
 
S3

Or LPG the beast and it will give you slightly better economy?

I hear rollerblades give awesome economy
 
I say get a 1.9tdi quattro or fwd for a daily and leave it stock/comfy. and then get a nice mk2 golf, corrado vr6 or s3 for the weekends/ tracks would be my ideal
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
leand me your ears! (and your headlights!)
Replies
8
Views
911
claudefrog
C
moisty
What's your to do list?
Replies
4
Views
630
Rossbernd
R
I
Do I need to reset the ECU???
Replies
1
Views
926
Masterm8fo
Masterm8fo
I
Return to the Nurburgring!
Replies
23
Views
1K
Scotty
Scotty
Westy
Can anyone in the south east (Herts if possible) lend me some wheels?
Replies
15
Views
1K
Westy
Westy
Top
Back