Ooo...what to do....

[DaveP]

Be gentle - first post! - wish I'd found this forum a few years ago, but better late than never I guess.

Got a late standard 98 S4, 63K miles...and am going down that 'should I change it' dilema....

Seen a few posts about the options....something like :-

- don't bother changing, spend on brakes/chip/suspension.
- change for an RS4
- change for something else (M3,????)

Any opinions from anyone who's been though this ??

Oh, another quick question...About 4 months ago, some dippy old lady decided to rear end me, insurance replaced the rear bumper but I was told that the original S4 bumper was not made anymore....so they fitted an Audi quattro bumper....anyone know if that's true ??

[wazza]

Hi Dave [img]images/graemlins/bigwave.gif[/img] Welcome to RS246 [img]images/graemlins/thumbs.gif[/img]

Those are the same questions I have been going through myself recently (last six months [img]images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]).

S4 is a great car. Even better when you upgrade those components.
RS4 is the one to have. A chipped S4 comes close to a standard RS4 because of the mountain of torque, but there is still something about the 'wideboy' that I can't put my finger on.
M3? [img]images/graemlins/033102scull_1_prv.gif[/img] Eh, Joshie [img]images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

In the end, I've decided to keep my S4 until the new RS4 comes out [img]images/graemlins/bowdown.gif[/img] [img]images/graemlins/rs4-button.jpg[/img]. (unless I can get a good deal in the meantime [img]images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img])

Good luck. I'm sure any route you go down will be the best option for you [img]images/graemlins/thumbs.gif[/img]

[Golich]

Wise words Paul

I must say I think the rear bumper chat sounds like bull to me. They only stopped making these cars in 2001.

I'd call your local Audi parts or if they were the guys who gave you this info some other Audi parts guys and confirm if this is true. If it is true contact the excellent guys at

http://www.vagparts.com/ to see what the can do.

Anything but an S4 rear bumper is quite frankly unaccepatable in my view.

I'm sure I won't need to wish you good luck

PS Welcome to the site loads of info and a decent bunch on here. - well some of them [img]images/graemlins/033102bigblink_1_prv.gif[/img]

[Dippy]

I agree. Although the factory might have to make the bumper to order, I'm certain that Audi will have committed to provide parts for a number of years.

As to your choice, it's a very personal thing and money is a big factor. Remember that when you mod, you are not going to get that investment back, so you should only really do so if you intend to keep the car for a reasonable amount of time so that you don't mind when it comes to selling. Also consider that insurance can be a hassle for some.

A decent amount of modding for your car (brakes, suspension and RS4 turbos plus misc bits) is going to cost around £10K. This should give you something which should be significantly better than a stock RS4. I wouldn't recommend just doing a chip for your current turbos due to the mileage you have done. Whilst they MAY last, if they don't then you'll have lost £1K, although you might be able to negotiate that off the price of the RS4 turbo mod with the tuner.

I don't think a 'modded S4 vs RS4 vs M3' comparison is as simple as you might imagine because it's not just about peak bhp is it?

[DaveP]

Thanks for the opinions guys, certainly a few things in there thats making me think a bit more...

Going to try and arrange test drives of both - having not been in an RS4 or an M3 yet! Hopefully will have a nice 'gut' feeling about one of them!

I did check the rear bumper thing at the time with my local dealer (Preston Audi) - they said it was right - I probably should have looked into it further at the time [img]images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

[DrB]

Somone hit me from behind about 6 months ago and craked the rear bumper. They payed for a new one. However after coming back to find the car with the new bumper on, I was a little shocked to see that the bumper was different!

The original bumper I had, was convex, fully painted except for a narrow symetrical section in the middle at the base, which was black plastic, unpainted.
The new bumper I have now has a slight lip where the black plastic unpainted bit is.
I looked at a number of rear bumpers on websites here and America, and it appears that both types are seen. I actually prefer the new bumper.

What was your new bumper like?

[daddyjohal]

Somone hit me from behind about 6 months ago and craked the rear bumper. They payed for a new one. However after coming back to find the car with the new bumper on, I was a little shocked to see that the bumper was different!

The original bumper I had, was convex, fully painted except for a narrow symetrical section in the middle at the base, which was black plastic, unpainted.
The new bumper I have now has a slight lip where the black plastic unpainted bit is.
I looked at a number of rear bumpers on websites here and America, and it appears that both types are seen. I actually prefer the new bumper.

What was your new bumper like?

can't comment on the new M3, but i owned an E36 M3 evolution (321BHP) for around a year and wasn't overly impressed with it. My S4 blows it away, not quite as quick but a better all round car by a long way. It was certainly quicker than the Imprezas i had owned before then but it didn't handle too well, the steering was numb and all the real power kicks in after 5000rpm... kinda makes me wonder why i bought it in the first place.

[DaveP]

Hey Mark,

That sounds exactly like my situation...the old bumper kinda curved under where the black bit is...the new one sticks almost straight down.

I actually saw a picture of an S4 in the gallery which had the same bumper on (as my new one)...so I don't feel so bad now! [img]images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

I'll try find some piccies to demonstrate...

[DaveP]

Found some pics...

Here's the one that was on my car before the repair...
Old style

And the newer one..

New Style

[jeffw]

Well...the new one is my car which is the first of the face lift cars....that maybe the difference ?

[DrB]

Yeh, that is it. So the 'new' rear bumper is what they put on the last of the B5 models?

I think its cool anyway.

[jammyhl]

...and theres a difference between the two shots...?

I'm obviously not yet enough of an anorak to see the difference from this angle.. [img]images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

[DaveP]

This shot shows the rear bumper a bit better on the new one.

The difference isn't too obvious cos it's a black car...but the bottom part of the bumper has a kind of lip on it, whereas the old one tucks under..

New one 2

[JohnW]

That car is waaaaayy too dirty for my liking [img]images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/graemlins/thumb.gif[/img]

[jeffw]

[img]images/graemlins/nodder.gif[/img]

You should see it at the moment !