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Hi guys

New here!! Looking to buy an S4 I currently have a Boxster S (puts on flame suit )

I'm selling the porsche because i need something a bit more practical....

S4s seem excellent value for money, reliable tunable practical etc etc. My question is this...my friends and I are soon taking our annual pilgrimage to the Nurburgring, my buddies own E36 and E46 M3s and one has Porsche 911 (964 variant). Last year I had a BMW M Coupe (breadvan) so it was the fastest on the autobahns (only just though).

How much will I need to tune a standard S4 to keep up on the autobahns/ back roads? Will an MRC remap plus gutted pre cat be enough?? I'm thinking I still may struggle.

I'll thrash them when we get there but dont want to be the rear gunner on the way.....

You lot seem very informed, can you give me an idea?

Thanks in advance...

buy an rs4 lol

Been to the ring myself but not in my S4 unfortunately,went there in my mates R34 skyline,wicked fun. Have a look on www.fastsaloons.com,click on compare and race to see how the S4 does against C36/43.Nothing in it on paper but once MRC have their way, ur cooking.

RE Power - gutted pre-cats BEFORE your trip to MRC and providing your engine and Turbo's are in good nick a single re-map will happily squeeze all those cars.

I had an E36M3 Evo, the S4 is quicker. My mate has an E46 M3, very similiar but S4 much quicker in low revs and loads more torque (if its wet or damp you'll make the BMW's look stupid). Not sure about Porsche but only the very quick one's have managed to embarrass me.

you might want H&R suspension and arb's if you want to go round corners I recon a standard M3 would give more confidence than the standard s4 setup which is pants

kies4 wrote:you might want H&R suspension and arb's if you want to go round corners I recon a standard M3 would give more confidence than the standard s4 setup which is pants

I was thinking that. An E46 M3 will eat an S4 on standard suspension through the corners. I'd expect a chipped S4 to be similar in a straight line.

brakes, (I run porsche 993TT brakes on mine) and castrol srf brake fluid, then suspension (h&r coilovers on mine), then remap (revo here which I'm very happy with, others rate MRC), and then antiroll bars.

http://badger.ing.me.uk/andy_nurburg.jpg was me last year...going 18th-20th august this year, can't wait

Excellent - cheers guys, yeah i know i need to get the Brakes/ suspension sorted too.

So in a straight line if I gut the precats and pay a visit to MRC then i'll be sorted.

so will that produce around 320-330 bhp?? The e46 M3 pushes 343bhp how can the S4 be faster bearing in mind 4wd power train losses???

- i'm thinking rolling starts not off the line where i know 4wd is advantageous

One word really... TORQUE

I believe the M3 puts out about 270 lb.ft, an MRC tuned S4 will be 400 lb.ft
You may also need to upgrade the exhaust to achieve that though.

You'll eat them on the Autobahn's but position will be reversed on the ring.

thats basically midrange only though up top will be similar

I was runing 328bhp and 412ib/ft (according to AMD)

my pals 996 c2 had no trouble losing me in 3rd gear from the same speed
they are only 320bhp(ish) and 280ib/ft(ish).

lets see what happens when MRC get it back to me with 460bhp

dinner time I hope

kies4 wrote:I was runing 328bhp and 412ib/ft (according to AMD)

my pals 996 c2 had no trouble losing me in 3rd gear from the same speed
they are only 320bhp(ish) and 280ib/ft(ish).

lets see what happens when MRC get it back to me with 460bhp

dinner time I hope

Exactly - torque is irrelevant if the correct revs are dialed in - sure torque helps out of corners and gives you more driveablility but my old Integra R had bugger all torque yet was pretty quick in a line once in the vtec zone.

I dont see how an S4 with 4wd powertrain losses would live with an M3 of the same power....surely the m3 would pull away?? as in the case of the 996 above.

Anyone here raced one??

spencerj wrote:Exactly - torque is irrelevant if the correct revs are dialed in - sure torque helps out of corners and gives you more driveablility but my old Integra R had bugger all torque yet was pretty quick in a line once in the vtec zone.

I dont see how an S4 with 4wd powertrain losses would live with an M3 of the same power....surely the m3 would pull away?? as in the case of the 996 above.

Try telling that to the M3 driver my S4 beat (and that was before the MRC remap!) Admittedly it was a new Cabriolet (don't know how much heavier they are than the saloon), but even so my car feels so much quicker after the remap it should have no trouble despatching an M3 in a straight line.

droberts wrote:

spencerj wrote:Exactly - torque is irrelevant if the correct revs are dialed in - sure torque helps out of corners and gives you more driveablility but my old Integra R had bugger all torque yet was pretty quick in a line once in the vtec zone.

I dont see how an S4 with 4wd powertrain losses would live with an M3 of the same power....surely the m3 would pull away?? as in the case of the 996 above.

Try telling that to the M3 driver my S4 beat (and that was before the MRC remap!) Admittedly it was a new Cabriolet (don't know how much heavier they are than the saloon), but even so my car feels so much quicker after the remap it should have no trouble despatching an M3 in a straight line.

droberts, are you saying your standard B5 S4 was faster than an E46 M3 Cab ?

I've not driven a cab, but I reckon it will be marginally slower than the coupe and a lot faster through the gears than a standard S4.

droberts wrote:

spencerj wrote:Exactly - torque is irrelevant if the correct revs are dialed in - sure torque helps out of corners and gives you more driveablility but my old Integra R had bugger all torque yet was pretty quick in a line once in the vtec zone.

I dont see how an S4 with 4wd powertrain losses would live with an M3 of the same power....surely the m3 would pull away?? as in the case of the 996 above.

Try telling that to the M3 driver my S4 beat (and that was before the MRC remap!) Admittedly it was a new Cabriolet (don't know how much heavier they are than the saloon), but even so my car feels so much quicker after the remap it should have no trouble despatching an M3 in a straight line.

Sorry mate but there is no way your standard 265bhp S4 beat a 343bhp E46 M3 in in Cab format the M3 would sonly be about 25kg heavier than an S4 - cab adds 100kg onto M3 Coupe weight....

It doesnt make sense - have you considered that you were racing and he was just driving??