S4 Avant Newbie

[GDS968]

Newbie here with an S4 Avant in Silver. Been looking at this site for some time before getting my car which is completely standard and ready to be tweeked!!.

Would initially like to live with the standard suspension and brakes for the time being, although is it normal for the front to seem to be higher than the rear!!. Can not however live with the rolling around in the corners so have already ordered an H&R Arb kit for it which will hopefully be going on in the next few days. Can some one let me know where I can get aftermarket drop links from.

Then will look at the best route for a remap. But I gather from previous posts that MRC seem to offer the best and most knowledgeable route?

After that it will be wheels/tyres and a look at suspension/brake upgrade.

Is it worth upgrading the stadard air filter to a K&N jobby even in standard guise?

Any advice welcome.

[jfeb]

Congratulations on buying a great car

I don't think the rear of my 99 Avant is lower than the front. Perhaps your car has had lots of weight in the back at some point, or even has saloon springs on it (Avant springs are stiffer at the rear I believe to cope with the extra 50kg of weight an Avant has)

Contact S4woody on here regarding links. He can put you in touch with the right person
(H&R ARBs are a great, relatively cheap, upgrade)

MRC get the most votes on here for remaps.

K&N filters are an ongoing topic of debate. Some recommend them, others say they increase the risk of contaminating your MAF. Personally, I stick to standard.

[ShaneyB]

Welcome aboard,
I thought mine looked higher at the rear also but I was just drunk at the time. Seriously though, I put some Eibach's on mine which lowered the car 35mm and it has made a noticable difference in looks and ride. It also allows me to scrape my exhaust on all the poxy speed humps around my way at every opportunity.
I also have an MRC remap which is arguably the best £500 you will spend on the car.
Brake upgrade is a must if/when you drive it hard.

[arS4]

Welcome

As above, I'm in the camp of "leave the filter alone"....... I'd put a K&N on my Pug, but not the S4.......

The MRC upgrade is highly rated on here - I'm looking at it next year to be honest

Dan

[DavidT]

First mod for me would be a shortshifter, cheap and you get the benefit each time you change gear

[kevinw]

H + R Arb's will transform the car. MRC map is fantastic - torque all the way. I've ruled out a k+n filter, just in case it plays havoc with the MAF. I am contemplating drilling some holes in the air filter box though. I decided to get my exhaust sorted before custom remap, it made sense to me - others may disagree.

Ref: DavidT 's comment. I would like t get a short shifter, but hearing reports of trouble engaging reverse have put me off. I am tempted though to mod my existing gear lever - if only my hands were not like shovels.

With regards to the brakes, only once have I felt the need for bigger brakes, and that was when Minhea was sat next to me. I dont normally drive that hard on private roads, but that man is a demon.

[Mcdubber1]

Mines sits about 10mm higher at the front but all that will hopefully change this weekend when my Quattro GMBH kit goes on followed by H&R ARB's sometime in the future.

I recently drilled my airbox but still run the standard filter and it gives slightly more induction noise but not much but i now get a pssshh noise from the dv's which i think is quite cool.

Back in 2001 my Avant was remapped by AMD and was dyno'd at 333bhp and also fitted with Porsche 993 brakes so goes and stops well. I've only had the car for three months so i'm not too sure what a standard S4 is like but i know i love them and just wanna make mine better.

[GDS968]

Thanks for the advice guys, will take all comments on board. Not sure about the K & N answers, only queery this as I did this mod to my last car a Porsche 968 and ran it for 3 years without a problem to its MAF, also did the holes in the air box mod as well!

Still will leave alone for the time being, it does seem that the MAF units on the S4 are a weak point for the comments made on many posts.

cheers.