S4 - Am I asking for trouble?

[wombar]

Thanks Matt, I'm really looking for one with under 85,000 miles (that one has 112K on the clock) and a face lift version as well to avoid the manifold problems.

I guess my spec is something like the following:

Blue or Black (definitely not red or white )
Under 85,000 miles
Black Leather interior (definitely not cream)
Facelift car

[MCB]

Keep looking took me a long time to find mine.

[wombar]

Yup, I'm going to be ultra picky if I'm getting an S4. There's no point getting a colour I hate or something which doesn't have the spec I want. Gonna start a new thread to see if anyone knows of that blue S4 on Piston Heads that I mentioned.

[Dippy]

c) using the right oil (fully synthetic)
I haven't decided about the importance of regular oil changes (a good idea but I'm not sure that changing every 5K actually makes the turbos last longer than if it is changed every 10K), and boost levels (as long as they are not 'silly').

Having just been through the pain having to replace the worn camshafts and followers etc, on my RS4, which has been atrributed to the Longlife oil changes. Its been recommended to me to change the oil every 6K miles on the 'hot audis', not just to help prolong the turbo's as is suggested here, but to protect and prolong the engine's major internals.

Out of interest, have you been using 0W30 oil as recommended by Audi?

[spurtle]

Good thread, though I disagree with jfeb's comments: I would recommend the S4 as a daily driver, and although it is suited to enthusiasts (310+ bhp?! no wonder) I think it is an ideal entry-level performance car. You can pick up a great example for £8k, and you will love every minute you spend behind the wheel. Take your time, find one you like, and you'll understand why this is such a popular forum.

Oh, and yes, things do go wrong from time to time: happens to anything with moving parts in my experience. I've been lucky with my S4, and less lucky with other (lesser) cars. High performance does come with a degree of risk from many perspectives (wear & tear, points on your licence, driving beyond your ability) but for my money that risk pays dividends. It's also worth pointing out that Audis are well built and will reward basic care and maintenance: if you're not willing to check fluid levels once in a while then you're more likely to run into trouble. But if you like cars, and you want to own something special, the S4 will not disappoint.

[TopBear]

c) using the right oil (fully synthetic)
I haven't decided about the importance of regular oil changes (a good idea but I'm not sure that changing every 5K actually makes the turbos last longer than if it is changed every 10K), and boost levels (as long as they are not 'silly').

Having just been through the pain having to replace the worn camshafts and followers etc, on my RS4, which has been atrributed to the Longlife oil changes. Its been recommended to me to change the oil every 6K miles on the 'hot audis', not just to help prolong the turbo's as is suggested here, but to protect and prolong the engine's major internals.

Out of interest, have you been using 0W30 oil as recommended by Audi?

I've been checking the engine oil level every fortnight or so since I bought it last September, and it was serviced in November, even since its never needed a drop of oil to be added.

[jfeb]

Good thread, though I disagree with jfeb's comments: I would recommend the S4 as a daily driver,

Don't get me wrong, I used my S4 as a daily driver - 45 mile commute each way. It is just that I don't think it is a car you just drive and never think about outside of annual servicing. You have to really want an S4 to make it worth the "worry" about turbos etc. I maintain that it is an "enthusiasts" car.

[Dippy]

I've been checking the engine oil level every fortnight or so since I bought it last September, and it was serviced in November, even since its never needed a drop of oil to be added.

But have you been using 0W30 oil?

[wombar]

TBH, I think it's really just a case of having all the facts and coming to terms with owning this kind of car (including costs for when things go wrong). I've spoken to a few people, and got to know about the S4 a bit better over the last couple of weeks and I'm becoming more and more convinced that this is the car for me. I don't expect a car that never needs attention(oil changes etc are no problem), I just don't want to be replacing stuff on it every single weekend.

I went to see one yesterday that seemed very overpriced but was a very tidy example with low mileage on it. The owner took me out for a test drive and the S4 is pretty much exactly what I'm looking for. How much louder are the turbos once you've had it remapped? I could barely hear the turbos yesterday(as it was all standard) but one owner has said the turbos are a lot louder once they've been remapped.

Just out of interest, how does performance compare to the BMW 330 (~2001 plate) as I went to see one of them about 3 weeks ago which was very nice. The S4 is without a doubt quicker, but by how much?

Anyway, I'm going to keep looking for an S4 that I can get to see during the week as I'm not around for the next few weekends. Will let you know how I get on.

Good thread, though I disagree with jfeb's comments: I would recommend the S4 as a daily driver, and although it is suited to enthusiasts (310+ bhp?! no wonder) I think it is an ideal entry-level performance car. You can pick up a great example for £8k, and you will love every minute you spend behind the wheel. Take your time, find one you like, and you'll understand why this is such a popular forum.

Oh, and yes, things do go wrong from time to time: happens to anything with moving parts in my experience. I've been lucky with my S4, and less lucky with other (lesser) cars. High performance does come with a degree of risk from many perspectives (wear & tear, points on your licence, driving beyond your ability) but for my money that risk pays dividends. It's also worth pointing out that Audis are well built and will reward basic care and maintenance: if you're not willing to check fluid levels once in a while then you're more likely to run into trouble. But if you like cars, and you want to own something special, the S4 will not disappoint.

[TopBear]

I've been checking the engine oil level every fortnight or so since I bought it last September, and it was serviced in November, even since its never needed a drop of oil to be added.

But have you been using 0W30 oil?

I havent used any oil! The car had a full Audi service history prior to me purchasing it, I then had it serviced at Star Performance.
I can only presume Audi used the correct oil before I got the car, and SP put the correct oil in when they serviced it.

[jfeb]

Its significantly faster than a 330.

I have a 530 ( a bit heavier than a 330 admittedly) and it is leagues apart. S4 p1sses all over it from a performance perspective (although the handling/suspension is noticeably better on the 530)

[Dippy]

Wombar,

The turbos should be pretty quiet if they are healthy, irrespective of mapping. With the windows up you should hear nothing, with the windows down you should be able to hear them spooling, but this is quickly drowned out by road/wind noise or other ambient noise. Of course the other main source of engine noise is the exhaust. Whilst I can accept that a remapped car can force more gas through the exhaust than an unmapped one and this theoretically should make it louder, I'd suggest that this is not significant for a given exhaust system and I'd challenge anyone to notice it. If this guy really thinks that remapping alone increases noise then he's either mad, or he's telling you what you want to hear. And I do hope you're not the sort of person who wants an S4 to sound louder as you seem such an intelligent chap (or is it chav? )

When you compare the S4 to a 330 you have consider a few differences. The S4 has 4WD so the transmission losses are significant. So under certain circumstances (such as a sprint) a 330 can feel as fast as a stock S4. However the key advantages that the S4 has is that a simple remap takes it to another level, plus it has sooooo much torque. The 330 is only really quick when the revs are kept up high where the peak torque is. However the S4 has a lot more torque and a wide torque band. So when you have to deal with lots of acceleration through the gears, such as country roads or series of roundabouts, it becomes hard work to stay fast in a 330, but with an S4 it is easy.

The downside of the torque can be a laziness with gearchanges. I often find myself in 5th gear at 30mph, but the car still accelerates well!


TopBear,

If it has a FASH then it will undoubtedly have been using 0W30. According to a German tuner, premature cam wear is attributed not to leaving it too long between oil changes, rather to the use of 0W30 oil. Its one of the reasons I started to use 0W40 oil.

[Matt_H]

With the windows up you should hear nothing, with the windows down you should be able to hear them spooling,

With the windows up I hear a 'ghostly' faint sort of whine - does this mean my turbos are not perfect and on the way out?

[MarkB]

With the windows up you should hear nothing, with the windows down you should be able to hear them spooling,

With the windows up I hear a 'ghostly' faint sort of whine - does this mean my turbos are not perfect and on the way out?

Stop worrying about the turbo's. They will last as long as they are going to last, blow when they feel like it.

Enjoy the car and STOP worrying. Thats my opinion anyways...

[ajsl]

Perhaps it's time for a "I'm enjoying my S4" thread

About the turbos, you can mainly hear them with the windows down - but that's counter productive as if you're hearing the turbos you're being propelled at a fearsome rate of knots forwards (ideally) and the wind shrieking through the open windows will drown it out.