New S4 (B6) owner

[touring]

I've just purchased a 2005 S4 Avant, and now I'm looking to make a few sesnsible upgrades, and would welcome any advice or 1st hand experience.

Firstly, I intend to firm up the suspension and I'm considering Eibach springs and upgraded ARBs.

questions:
Is the additional cost associated with Hodgkiss ARBs worth the investment compared to RS4 (B7) ARBs?

If I fit Eibach springs and lower the car, say 25mm, will the geometry need to be reset in order to avoid uneven tyre wear?


Secondly, I intend to get the chip upgraded and I'm minded to go with a live mapping - possibly MRC? as they are within 50 miles of my home - however, I'm more than happy to hear alternative suggestions....

Finally, I may upgrade the exhaust, although I feel this is a bit like opening Pandora's box!, so......, should I play safe and buy a Milltek? and if so, resonated or non resonated???, or are the lower cost alternatives such as MIJ just as good?, and does the exhaust upgrade need to be carried out simultaneously with the chip upgrade? or am I simply wasting money having them done independently?

Apologies for the myriad of questions - I'm just keen to get the car right ASAP.

Thanks in advance

David

[xyber]

Hotchkis RS4 ARBs are brilliant on the S4, I've got them with KWv3s and for such I lump if a car it feels surprisingly nimble

[1781cc]

defo get a miltek non-res if you want a really sporty sound. best to do it with chip and panel and if you can, get it done at MRC.

I make a thread on here a while back about my experiences with this setup and dyno plots.

[BlingBling]

Any FULL exhaust upgrade and a chip wil be better than the stock set up. I catback and a chip ain't worth the money. It is all or nothing. I have a full MIJ system, remap and the RS4 ARB and it the car fels a lot more active.

[kidyamlo]

Currently I have OE RS4 rear ARB (OE A4/S4 up-front). Had the full Hotchkis RS4 kit front and rear up until last week but swapped it out temporarily for the aforementioned set-up as the rear bushings had split and the back-end felt... fuzzy. The kit makes a difference with the rear ARB on the "stiffest" setting, even over the OE RS4 rear, but at the end of the day you've still got a lot of mass ahead of the axle. Worth doing though.

I also have KW V3s but wouldn't choose them again as they squeak like buggery when cold. One word of caution, and probably stating the bleeding obvious... but if you stiffen everything up to the max in one shot it won't take long for your car to start developing squeaks and rattles that will slowly drive you mad... although I'm sure this depends on the age of the car and how it's been treated up until that point etc.

Also have Milltek resonated cat-back and there is slight boom if you hunt for it, but overall note isn't that intrusive inside the cabin unless you give it some beans, which I guess is when you want it. So non-intrusive that I can still hear the rattles over it

Car isn't mapped.