Hi new member

[bandit]

Hi, just thought i would say hi first, i have come over from m3cutters, and i have sold my 2005 e46 m3, i am now in the process of looking for a RS4, i have driven 2 now and like them a lot, still got a feeling to get a newer e92 m3, but the more i think about it the RS4 will suit me better, so Hi all and any advice would be helpfull thanks.

[ShaneyB]

Hi mate and welcome aboard.

Wise move, particularly in the winter.

Loads of advice on here if you have a search but I'm sure you'll get answers back to you if you post any questions.

Good luck and where are you based?

[amanda1]

Hi, just thought i would say hi first, i have come over from m3cutters, and i have sold my 2005 e46 m3, i am now in the process of looking for a RS4, i have driven 2 now and like them a lot, still got a feeling to get a newer e92 m3, but the more i think about it the RS4 will suit me better, so Hi all and any advice would be helpfull thanks.

Hello bandit,
you will find this a much nicer forum than cutters and a lot of the boys are very knowledgeable on here
Are you after a b5 or b7? GLW with your quest

[Steve_C]

Welcome bandit. Good choice of car but hold out for a good one!

[sonny]

Welcome to RS246 fella

[bandit]

Hi, and thanks for the warm welcome, i will be holding out for a good car or one on here to come up, im looking for a b7, with satnav, bucket seats, bluetooth phone prep, ipod connect would be nice and maybe a sunroof but not a deal breaker, saloon in sprint blue 1st choice and to hight milage , thanks again nearly forgot, im in wiltshire.

[ShaneyB]

I wouldn't worry too much about the iPod connection.

SD cards IMHO are better.

[Steve_C]

I wouldn't worry too much about the iPod connection.

SD cards IMHO are better.

+1, I've got both any never use the Ipod.

[sonny]

Agree ipod connection is rubbish, you can get it retro fitted (oem one) for peanuts.

[bandit]

Thats good to know about ipod, all my music is on my iphone, is it a myth by m3 owners that RS4 B7 only really produce 370 bhp ish as the 2 i drove feel faster than my old e46 m3.

[PJC]

Welcome aboard, good luck with your search.

[sonny]

Thats good to know about ipod, all my music is on my iphone, is it a myth by m3 owners that RS4 B7 only really produce 370 bhp ish as the 2 i drove feel faster than my old e46 m3.

Most will pull a 370 to 390 on the rollers stock, but real road driving will suggest that they are not down on power. If the car is under 360, (normally around 340) then it is more likely a vacuum issue.

Most B7 RS4 that have been modded will produce 440-465ps

[Dutch]

I was in the same boat as you - coming from a e46 M3. I only had the M3 for a few months after buying it off a 'Cutter (I had been a Porsche and Maserati man beforehand) and just couldn't get on the M-Diff (the back end felt like a boat when you were pressing on).

Anyway, on my way to pick up my new motor as we speak. I was looking for about 3 weeks in the end.

My advice (I am sure I will be corrected) but:

There are two types of seats RS Buckets and Recaro Comfort sport seats (which are like the M3s seats) - I would suggest that you look at both before you commit. I loved the buckets, but went for the comfort seats as I figured getting in and out of them on a daily basis (tight squeeze in the garage / car park) would be a bit of a pain and I saw a few which were wearing very badly after only a small number of miles. I'm sure I'll be corrected here, but there was a lot of standard kit thown into the car (and most adverts include them!), common additional options were CD changer or iPod connector, Symphony Audio (BOSE is standard), adaptive lights (illuminate corners when turning), TV (analogue - so will be useless when we all go digital), Sports suspension (10mm lower + a bit stiffer), Bluetooth (tends to come only with multi functional wheel and not flat bottom wheel), rear blinds, privacy glass on Avant, Technology pack - not too sure what this, black optics (black surrounds rather than brushed aluminium effect), fridge in glove box, auto dim mirrors....... You can look at all the options on a pdf which can be downloaded here: http://www.cartype.com/pages/600/audi_rs4__2005

The adaptive dampers - these are prone to failure, Audi will replace (goodwill gesture) if the car has full Audi SH + under 5 years / 75k miles. Otherwise, you are looking at 2k each end. Look for misting / fluid leaking from dampers and listen out for knocking noises. Coil packs are also know to fail and Audi can/do replace these when the car is in for a service (look out for lumpy engine). Check the exhaust valves work (exhaust note should be much louder in Sport) as these are expensive to replace. The alloys are prone to scuffs etc as the wheels protrude - so check these too.

I looked from ones from Auctions right the way through to Audi Dealerships (which is where I'm buying the car from in the end). There are some rough ones out there, but equally there are some lovely examples.

[bandit]

Hi and thanks for all the usefull help, Dutch have you bought your now and what do you think compared to the e46 m3, i have test drove 2 now and one had rs seats in and one had comfort seats, but i will go for the rs bucket seats, as i hated the seats in the m3 and changed them to recaro seats which are like the rs4 buckets and i never got back ach again, would be good to hear your thoughts on the rs4 compared to e46 m3, thanks

[Dutch]

Well, Bandit by the time I started to drive home from the Audi garage yesterday it was rush hour - so I hit the country lanes

It's the first time I've ever driven one other than brief test drives and all I can say is it is simply fantastic. It is so far ahead of the e46 M3. It feels planted, the engine is torquie so you don't need to wring its neck to get upto speed. Where the M3 felt skitish and unstable on the edge (in my opinion), this just feels rock solid. I took a corner quicker than I would have done normally in any car - no problem. A pheasant jumped out at me - heavy braking/ swerve - again no problem. I know it maybe because its new to me, and I've never driven a 4x4 car before other than Land Rovers, but I'm a convert to the Quattro system. And this morning, the roads were wet but I couldn't resist a slight tap of the right foot - acceleration like a c2 911 in the dry.

To sum up the M3 felt like a 3-series which had been souped up - whereas the RS4 feels like a sports car. The only downside is that I'm now skint and it was retunring 15mpg - oh well......