S4 - B5 to B6/7..?

Post by **tartan_rob** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 1:00 pm

Guys - just thinking about moving and been offered a nice noggy blue saloon with good mileage and good spec for a good price. How do they compare?

I am currently running circa 450bhp and I know it'll be a drop in performance but when the std B6/7 is compared to a B5 stage1 say...?

I'd like to hear from those that have moved and what are the pros/cons and likes/dislikes..?

Thanks,
Rob

Post by **Pete.S** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 2:45 pm

Hi Rob

Mentioned a little of this in another post (S3 or S4), but basically my thoughts are, the B5 is better & more fun when you're not belting it (around town, say) - more responsive to throttle movements at lower revs (felt more torque-y), but get above 5k and the B6 is superior. Standard brakes much better too. Steering also an improvement on the B6 (though still a little dull). And then, of course, there's the V8 soundtrack

Build quality - B6 has been very reliable, but I'm not convinced on the interior materials, eg carpets in the B5 I thought were superb (certainly better quality than the B6). Didn't have Recaros in the B5, but the seats in the B6 are supremely comfortable (I do long motoway runs every week, up to 5 hours at a time, have never been in discomfort, AND I suffer from an occasional bad back).

Post by **tartan_rob** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 2:52 pm

Thanks Pete. I can do approx 500miles per week on motorways but enjoy the spirited drive as well.

Post by **ZeroK66** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 5:20 pm

I looked into things and I was debating S4 or OLD S3...

I decided on the B6 S4... as for the same age/year of S3 I could get an S4 for about £4k more... and for me to upgrade the S3 to similar power was going to cost £5-7k with no way of getting that money back.

I hunted for aaaaages for an S4... I had the filter on Autotrader mileage, year etc etc... that is how I came across my low mileage B5. I took cause of its mileage & price. Nothing could touch it.

I am soooo glad I got the B5. The B6 is heavy, very thirsty on juice & no upgrade path whatsoever. Sad, but true. It does look and sound good... probably rides better too.

Either buy an Evo or a B5 RS4... or an RS6. I dont think you will be happy otherwise.

My 2c

Post by **tartan_rob** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 6:12 pm

But that means you don;t get any of the parts....!

Post by **ZeroK66** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 6:21 pm

shhh!

Post by **nidfix** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 8:14 pm

If you upgraded your B5 up to 450bhp I guess you like the "dragster thrust" of the turbos. So pretty sure you will not like B6/B7 (S4 or even RS4).

The power distribution is different: B5 you have a low rev instant power, B6 is much more like you own 2 cars: normal saloon below 3500rpm and the beast after.
B5 is highly upgradable (a lot of work to have it ok).
B6 stock already has good brakes, direction, decent suspension (still can be improved) and most of all, like almost all NA engine nowadays, no tuner cares investing time to really improve its performances (you can find a mild improvement on low rev torque and limiter removal but don't expect much more whatever people may boast )

It is up to you to try. But honestly I don't expect to see any B5 S4 big fan to go for a B6/B7 S4

Post by **GrahamS4** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 8:31 pm

Sounds like RS6 it is to me.

Post by **tartan_rob** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 11:49 am

The car I've seen has full Miltek exhaust including downs and 200cell cats. I'm thinking, how much power do I need.....?

Post by **MarkB** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 11:55 am

You WILL miss the power

Post by **JohnRet.** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 10:37 pm

This is something I've been thinking about.

I do love turbo cars, but...

...This might sound a bit daft. Isn't the B6 V8 base engine the same as the RS4 V8?....

...So is there not scope for modding there?

Post by **tartan_rob** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 12:00 pm

I have MugelloR's old B6 S4 and I need to be honest, initially I thought the car was a lot slower and still when cruising in 6th I find it slow, but if you use the gears it is a quick car - just not as fast as the turbo beast.

The power delivery is sooooooo different and they can't be tuned for sensible money but the re-learning how to get the best from them is fun and I'm really sorry, but the exhaust note pulls the same smiles as the on-boost acceleration used too. When passing a bus stop etc I can blip the throttle and the whole bus stop turns round to look, that never happened with the B5...

It is different fun, I am not under the bonnet every 10 mins checking I have no air leaks etc. So from that point of view NA motoring is less stressful, I have no cool down period although I do allow the car to cool before switching her off...I am confident the RS4 engine or the RS6 engine could be tailored to fit...but then you are bakc upto the costs and then it becomes cheaper to buy the original car you wanted in the first place.

Just my 2pence worth.

Post by **MugelloR** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 1:39 pm

Tartan_Rob wrote:I have MugelloR's old B6 S4 and I need to be honest, initially I thought the car was a lot slower and still when cruising in 6th I find it slow, but if you use the gears it is a quick car - just not as fast as the turbo beast.

The power delivery is sooooooo different and they can't be tuned for sensible money but the re-learning how to get the best from them is fun and I'm really sorry, but the exhaust note pulls the same smiles as the on-boost acceleration used too. When passing a bus stop etc I can blip the throttle and the whole bus stop turns round to look, that never happened with the B5...

It is different fun, I am not under the bonnet every 10 mins checking I have no air leaks etc. So from that point of view NA motoring is less stressful, I have no cool down period although I do allow the car to cool before switching her off...I am confident the RS4 engine or the RS6 engine could be tailored to fit...but then you are bakc upto the costs and then it becomes cheaper to buy the original car you wanted in the first place.

Just my 2pence worth.

Nice one TR!!!

Post by **JohnRet.** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 4:42 pm

Thanks for that

When you say 'it's not as fast as the turbo beast' do you mean standard or modded?

Because on paper, it's faster am I right?

Thanks

Post by **BlingBling** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 6:30 pm

JohnRet. wrote:Thanks for that

When you say 'it's not as fast as the turbo beast' do you mean standard or modded?

Because on paper, it's faster am I right?

Thanks

On paper and more importantly on the road the standard B6 S4 is quicker than a standard B5 S4 so I'd hazard a guess, modded.

I have noticed over on the B7 RS4 page those with B5 RS4's stating how slower the new incarnation is in comparison tend to have AMD Stage III or the like in their signature

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S4 - B5 to B6/7..?

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