New RS4 owner - too many questions!

[boogerloo]

I have just swapped my M3 for an RS4. I really like the styling and feel of the car and no on here in the UAE really knows what it is so still really enjoying traffic lights exchanges! Would be good to know if there were any other B5 drivers in this part of the world.

The stealer wants to change front pads and discs, which I think look like they have some wear in them still. They want more than £700 for the parts, which looks steep to me. How much should I expect to pay and if I went for aftermarket could anyone recommend a good combo for spirited road driving? I am finding it difficult to find information on the internet about replacement parts.

When I took it in for a service I mentioned that it was suffering from a slight vibration at 130 km/h. It appears they decided to balance the wheels and when I drove away I discovered a reasonable amount of ‘shake' on the wheel at around 90km/h. I took it back to the dealer and they could find nothing wrong. The shake doesn't appear when I am accelerating through, just when I maintain or take my foot off the accelerator at this speed. Any ideas what might be the problem?

I have bills for a performance chip fitted by Audi, this cost circa £1,000. The car is quick but I notice a few deadspot and am slightly disappointed by the take up. I know it is a turbo and has different characteristics to my old M3, but it does not seem to pull as hard. We have an ABT in Abu Dhabi, would it be worthwhile taking it to them?

Any advice for a relative novice would be appreciated.

[dhali]

Wheel shake is probably bent wheel if you have OEM wheels ( B5 RS4s notorious for this!!) As for AUDI performance chip not heard of that before. Have heard good things about ABT . FRONT discs and pads sound about right. Many people ugrade to B7 RS4 brakes.
HTH.

[graemep]

To add to what Dhali said - upgrading the front brakes to the B7 setup (RS6 calipers and RS4 B7 discs) is probably the most cost effective upgrade available at the moment, and is a definate improvement over stock.

[Norrs2]

I have bills for a performance chip fitted by Audi, this cost circa £1,000. The car is quick but I notice a few deadspot and am slightly disappointed by the take up. I know it is a turbo and has different characteristics to my old M3, but it does not seem to pull as hard. We have an ABT in Abu Dhabi, would it be worthwhile taking it to them?

Any advice for a relative novice would be appreciated.

If the car has had a re-map or not, and is producing flat spots, it is likely that all is not well. If you claim that the pick up is not as good as your M3 then there is definately something wrong as a M3 is absolutely no match for a re-mapped RS4 (maybe a bit closer with a standard one which should also be quicker).

[KenM]

Hey Boogerloo... couple of things to look into. Firstly this is by far the best RS4 side out there. Best thing to do is get it onto vag com regarding trying to pin down performance issues. First thing I'd do is a FATS test and check the MAF readings. They are known to degrade over time. Cheap easy fix and can make a big difference. I only had by RS4 for a few months but did a massive amount of research. Do a bit of digging on the site regarding FATS test and MAF readings and you will be able to tell if its on the way out or not. Haven't owned an M3 but I've been in a few on track and a chipped RS4 will leave it IMO.

HTH.

[Rs4Fan]

Congrats on your new car - this is a great forum with lots of valuable advice.

Haven't owned an M3 but I've been in a few on track and a chipped RS4 will leave it IMO. HTH.

I take my RS4 to the track a couple of times a year and the biggest problem with the car is its weight. The tires and brakes simlpy get overwhelmed in comparison to the lighter weight M3. In straight line accelleration, you are correct.