MRC Stage 2 S4

MFM

MFM

Registered User
Joined
Jan 14, 2015
Messages
177
Reaction score
68
Points
28
Lately I've been itching to change cars and have ultimately decided between an E92 M3 or B8 S4. I've seen an MRC stage 2 tuned S4 which claims to have 480hp. How accurate is this?

Also, I know people are bound to be biased towards the Audi here but which is the best out of the two to live with as a daily driver? I've always been a BMW fan and drive one at the moment, but miss a car with some proper power. I wouldn't consider a stock S4 so this is purely based on something that is already tuned.

Fuel economy is bound to be better on the 3l than the BMW, but what about running costs and maintenance?

Looking forward to some non biased answers. :D
 
  • Like
Reactions: skiptowncat
485 bhp and nearly 600nm of torque, handles the power well and very sure footed...make sure it get the sports differential if you buy one.
I'm averaging about 23-25mpg mixed motorway/B road peppered with intermittent blasts of lunacy
 
  • Like
Reactions: razza1
It's the perfect daily driver with immense power when you want it. Try and get one with ADS as that makes the world of difference with our crap roads, and then tightens it all up for spirited fun.
Numbers are spot on
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1431072126410035

They should have the dyno graph with it

For me with the Quattro it'll always win over BMW, I've had rear wheel before:
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1431072276674020

And although great in the summer, come winter time the back end just got too lively for my liking
The S4 is a very practical car, and also a bit understated. I think personally the M3 still has a bit of a stigma attached to it as well, and obviously the S4 can be tuned easily and pretty cheaply really.
With stage 2, they'll be some disappointed RS4 drivers when they end up in your rear view ;)
 
Great replies so far, thanks. Fuel economy isn't really a problem as I haven't paid for fuel in the last 12 years. Perks of the job.

What about things going wrong with the engine? How reliable is it with the increase of boost and power? That's quite a bit of power from a stock engine. I've had tuned cars before and ran a Fiat Coupe with 563bhp, but had to get the engine fully forged.
 
1 report of an engine failure over in the usa, apparently he mishifted though and popped the block.

77k on mine now, no issues to report
 
Stage 2 apparently is the limit for the engine, if you want more power you need to uprate internals, but otherwise the engine seems solid and able to cope with the power without issues.

No issues with fuel pump either, no fuelling issues with it, which on my stage 2+ B7 it needed a better pump to cope
 
skiptowncat said:
1 report of an engine failure over in the usa, apparently he mishifted though and popped the block.

77k on mine now, no issues to report
Click to expand...

That's a bit reassuring. What is the auto box like regarding responsiveness if you use it in manual mode?
 
Great fun :D very responsive and quick changes, if you're flooring it you don't need to worry about it bouncing off the rev limiter, it'll change up automatically when it hits the redline (slightly under unless you get the box remapped as well)
 
razza1 said:
Great fun :D very responsive and quick changes, if you're flooring it you don't need to worry about it bouncing off the rev limiter, it'll change up automatically when it hits the redline (slightly under unless you get the box remapped as well)
Click to expand...

Wicked. :D

I think I've already been swayed. Was never really an Audi fan until I bought the wife an A3 recently. Still not sure of the driving position and steering but I'm sure that's something I can get used to.

Is there anything to look out for if I go and view the car? Common faults etc. as I know squat about S4's, let alone tuned. It has 57k on the clock so fairly low mileage.
 
Well that's a bit disappointing. It is the one I was talking about. I wasn't sure about the alloys, as they are the same as the ones on my wife's A3, but seeing the side pic of the car just confirmed I hate them. Also, not having heated seats is a deal breaker for me.

Guess I'll look at finding a better specced one then. Only good thing is the stage 2 its got.

Out of interest, what does a stage 2 cost from MRC if I had to do it myself?
 
If you have the DSG, you will need a gearbox map to raise the Rev limit and optimise the shift points.

Weak points are water pumps and thermostats, both relatively cheap fixes.
There are a few stories of mechatronic failure but it is a very tiny percentage.

Things I would definitely want
1) sports diff
2) supersports seats
3) b&o stereo
4) mmi HDD nav
 
  • Like
Reactions: TahirS
Depends on where the car is I guess, could need brakes doing, plugs maybe which could increase the cost.. The DSG oil change is 40k so shouldn't need that.
Just a £300 odd service as far as I'm aware. Certainly not a reason to sell the car, I bought mine at 58k, now 65k and certainly no crazy service costs have happened. But my plugs were changed when the remap was done and the guy had done the brakes not long before I bought it
 
I thought dsg oil was every 30k?
Add that to spark plugs and a service and you would be around £600
 
I've been looking and it seems not that many people are selling their S4's. And if one becomes available, it gets snapped up in no time. So hard finding the right spec at the right price!

I did however see one with a good spec but it has 100k on the clock. I've never bought cars with a lot of mileage but might consider it. It's stock at the moment so haven't been ragged on a stage 2 setup. What sort of mileage are these engines good for if well maintained?
 
Have you tried the audi website for used s4's...last time I seen it they had 34 s4's
 
Well, just wrote my car off this morning so going to need a new ride and fast. My beemer must have known I was thinking of getting rid of her...

So anyone know of anything that's not in the for sale pages, please let me know.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TahirS
Blimey,are you ok mate?
Have u tried looking at the audi websites?
 
Last edited:
I'm guesing you came out of it relatively unscathed? What are you looking for? As you'll probably know by now, these cars are very spec dependant.
 
bigyin said:
I'm guesing you came out of it relatively unscathed? What are you looking for? As you'll probably know by now, these cars are very spec dependant.
Click to expand...

Yeah I'm fine thanks. Woman stopped dead on the M4 for god knows what reason, van crashed into her and me into the van. Unavoidable really as I'm pretty aware what goes on around me and there was not enough time to get out of it.

Spec wise, I'm looking for an S4 either in black or white with,
1) sports diff
2) supersports seats
3) b&o stereo
4) mmi HDD nav

Plus either 19" Rota's or RS6 alloys.

There was one for sale with exactly this spec, but I was too late.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TahirS
MFM said:
I've been looking and it seems not that many people are selling their S4's. And if one becomes available, it gets snapped up in no time. So hard finding the right spec at the right price!
Click to expand...

I looked for a good spec used S5 sportback for over 6 months without success, and was even looking at S4s at the same time in case I had to compromise (my last car was a B5 S4 avant and I wanted a change so the S5 SB was the best alternative for me). I found that the only decent spec cars were those above £40K on the Audi site, but of course I found that I could buy a brand new very high spec S5 for just over £40K so I did that instead!

Good luck with your search but I am afraid that you are right - you either need to be prepared to search for a while until a good spec one comes up, or be ready to compromise on the spec.
 
Thats a decent spec, I assume you want the Diff with ADS? As it happens you've pretty much described my car there :), well aside from the HDD nav, I have the DVD based nav. Are you looking at B8's or B8.5's? Avant or Saloon?
 
bigyin said:
Thats a decent spec, I assume you want the Diff with ADS? As it happens you've pretty much described my car there :), well aside from the HDD nav, I have the DVD based nav. Are you looking at B8's or B8.5's? Avant or Saloon?
Click to expand...

B8 saloon.

Reason I want an S4 is so I can take it to MRC for a stage two. Although my BMW was very comfortable, it wasn't the worlds fastest thing and I miss the power.
 
  • Like
Reactions: razza1
Sports diff is very rare...there's one on autotrader for 23k in grey with s.diff
 
Dan930 said:
Sports diff is very rare...there's one on autotrader for 23k in grey with s.diff
Click to expand...
There's a black one with all the specs I'm after apart from the alloys for £16.5k, but the mileage is slightly high at 99k. I wouldn't normally mind, but I do a lot of mileage and would prefer something with a little less mileage.
 
I was initially looking for a car with sports diff. There are only a handful of used cars with that option. Even then some of the salesmen are clueless as to what it is. One car was advertised as having it but upon further investigation it turns out it didnt. You will need to read the build sheet or physically examine the car to see it has one. Dont just go by what the salesmen say. One salesman said all S4's have a quattro sports diff, he didnt understand the difference between that and the torqe vectoring diff.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TahirS
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Darren McDonnell
Stage 2 limit. (MRC)
Replies
15
Views
6K
Dippy
Dippy
Dippy
Question to MRC stage 2 S4 owners
Replies
2
Views
1K
Dippy
Dippy
V6_Man
TMU's Glacier White B8.5 S4 - MRC Stage 2
Replies
489
Views
61K
RS5 JON
RS5 JON
Dippy
MRC stage 3 S4 development
Replies
4
Views
4K
V6_Man
V6_Man
S3_Mitch
Strange results from MRC Stage 2 and Gearbox Map
Replies
31
Views
6K
JAAC UK
J
Top
Back