New Car help selecting?

rwellfair

rwellfair

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Hi all looking into getting a 2000-2005 ish S4 or RS4 , not sure what i should go for whats the main diffrences?!

i hear you can have a mod fitted with a control to re map you car to diffrent levels from stadard to fast ect, wondring weather its true and if i can set to to be better on the fuel day to day and fast and hungry on the weeknds? maybe not!

here are 2 cars iv seen, not many kicking around reali!

2001 Audi RS4 Quattro Avant - Avus Silver - 440bhp | eBay UK

or

Audi S4 Avant Estate S4 Quattro | eBay UK
 
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well the first one is a b5 and i have to say love the look of it the 2nd is a b6 witch is also nice i dont no enough about them to say what one to buy but i think id go for the first one you can get them both re map as far as i no and will make them a bit better on fuel but to be fair if you want hight mpg get a tdi lol there is a few guys on here that will tell you loads to look for mate
 
they reali do hold there price, for around 20K+ can get a new shape rs4! but the older ones look bad.

id love one with all the interior toys, some iv seen look just like my b6 1.8t sline! basic radio set up ect

the blue RS4 is cool but maybe and S4 will be better for weekly driving ? who knows..
 
my mates got a 2001 RS4 and he loves it, its just the service parts that hurt LOTS !! Hes just got new discs and pads all around and he got them cheap @ £650.00 !!! + you'll need shares in shell as there heavy on the GO GO juice.

Saying that i dont think the S4 is gunna be much different. If it was me i'd go for the RS4 as if i got the S4 i'd always be wishing that i'd gone for the RS4....:footy:
 
I expect they'll both offer similar mpg, but the RS4 running costs for parts/servicing etc will be greater. B5 RS4's are indeed great cars, but if you're after all the interior toys then you'd be better off looking for one of the newer models. The variable power remaps are an option, but in honesty you're not really going to see it turn into an economic car by just turning the bosst down!

S/RS cars are a massive commitment, if you're not 100% sure what you're doing you need to sign up to AudiSRS or similar and do LOT'S of research, as if you buy a bad one it will cost you the purchase price again to sort it. And you've admitted yourself you're not a car man when it comes to maintenance.....
 
i intend to research, im looking 6months down the, woudl it not be best to go for a newer one in that case 2006-2007?
 
RS4 here!The 2,7 biturbo engine is one of the most impressive wich audi have ever build and have huge possibilites for tuning,can achieve 700hp easy.
 
As above: the RS4 you've highlighted is the B5 (V6 2.7 TT), the S4 is the next generation, a B6 (4.2 V8).

RS4 is infinitely more mappable. S4 is normally aspirated, so although torque curves can be tweaked, it's only minor tuning that's available.

RS4 is "fun" option: far better power to weight ratio, but is getting a little long in the tooth, so maybe not the best option for a daily driver?

Seriously consider a 1.8T quattro sport (newer shape, newer toys, lighter on fuel and more mappable than a S4).
 
I'm an S4 (B6) owner and I can echo most of the sentiments above.

Both option are quite different cars considering they're the same model running consecutively.

If you're after big power, it's the B5 RS4 you need; having twin turbos you can get a lot of power for relatively little outlay. They are dated though (that's not to say exterior mods can't make them look nice). I'm no expert but I believe they're currently at their lowest value; when the economy picks up, so will their prices - and they hold their value due to the exclusivity.

If you're more into the idea of a fast, modern car, the B6 S4 is what you need. There's very little you can do to increase the power (and what you can do is relatively expensive) but they're more powerful than 95% of cars on the road anyway. I think it costs around a grand for an aftermarket exhaust and remap - that'll give a better torque curve and bring out the V8 burble (and leave M3s behind - although OEM M3s should be slightly quicker on paper, I've driven one and I wasn't impressed - and I kept up with one in my old Impreza WRX, which is definitely slower than my S4).

My engine's standard but it's still very versatile - the V8 has bags of torque so you can pull away from a junction in 4th at the speed of most cars in second; the ease that you can go from 80-140 is ridiculous too.

The newer B7 RS4 (with a slightly different V8) is 2-3 times the price of the B6 S4 but, in my opinion, not 2-3 times better. If you can afford that, it's probably the one to go for (although the FSI V8 brings other issues to consider).

In reference to lostbok's comment about the 1.8T - I'm sure it can be modified into a nippy motor but it'll be nothing compared to the V8 or twin turbo.
 
Agree with Mysik Journeyman above, was in a similar boat and decided on the S4, nicer inside (which is where you are most of the time!!), cheaper to run (although still not cheap!) and as above is as quick as 95% of the cars on the road anyway!!

I will be selling mine in the next couple of months as well should you be interested!! (with matt black wrap or can take it off - red underneath :) ).

Chris
 
thanks lads, i haev a 1.8T 2004 advant, 190bhp, so what could this car gain in mods,maps ect?
 
I'm sure someone with a 1.8T can give more accurate info but small, 4-pot turboed engines can usually make 200-300 BHP without any major internal mods.

You can usually do it in stages too, with each stage costing a couple to a few hundred pounds. As always, it adheres to the laws of diminishing returns so the further you go, the more you have to spend to gain smaller amounts.

There are other important things to consider too - brakes, suspension and powertrain: you don't want more than 200ish BHP through the front wheels (is yours a Quattro?) and there's no point in making it quicker in a straight line if you're gonna crash in corners or up the back of someone. Uprating your brakes can be equivalent to a large increase in BHP (in terms of getting from one point to another quickly).

Coming from an Impreza, it's slightly depressing that I can't make cheap mods to the S4 but I'm not really at a point where I'm used to the power anyway.

I don't have a Miltek exhaust (as many S4s do) but I've heard the exhaust when it was driven into a garage and it sounds a beast.
 
Mystik Journeyman said:
In reference to lostbok's comment about the 1.8T - I'm sure it can be modified into a nippy motor but it'll be nothing compared to the V8 or twin turbo.
Click to expand...

Agreed - a TwinTrubo V6 or a V8 versus a 4-pot, single turbo.... it's a no brainer.... however they're reliable nippy little motors, very upgradable and have far more sensible running costs (e.g. a cambelt + waterpump from Audi is <£500 for a 4-pot, £750 for a V6 TDI and I dread to think what it is for a V8!!).
 
It's a 'lifetime' component but there's no official length of time for 'lifetime' from Audi.

When you do your research you'll see the problem with the 4.2 V8s is that the timing chain tensioners wear due to substandard materials. Mostly this just means a short rattle on cold start (where the oil has drained away). There are owners with low mileage S4s that have had the tensioners changed in warranty but it has made no difference to the noise. The noise can be dampened by using thicker, higher grade oil. I have not heard about a tensioner failing yet.

Be careful if your research takes you to Audizine.com - it's a good resource but it's mostly North American membership have a lot of issues that we don't get in Europe. It's either the extreme temperatures across the continent, different components used, their low grade fuel or a combination of these.

The reason the engine has to be removed is because, for space (you'll know what I mean when you open the bonnet of a B6/B7 S4/RS4), the timing chain is necessary instead of a cambelt and it sits at the back of the engine:

picture.php
 
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