Anyone Jumped from E92 M3 to B8 S4?

[ShaneyB]

Hi all,
Considering the switch back to Audi after a stint in the M3 and wondered if anyone had made the same move?

Being an ex B7 RS4 owner I still believe nothing looks quite as good as the B7 - a classic in my eyes - but I like the tuning capapility/cost of the S4.

Any thoughts appreciated and this isn't a definite move, just a tentative enquiry.

Cheers

[Noyjatat]

Well it seems that if you have a spare £1500 after and the V6, a visit to MRC will see you posting 450+ bhp at least with a filter and re-map. Something not to be sneezed at! I am umming and ahhhing about a new V6 S5 myself.

[longdog]

Not that I want to steer you away from this, the best RS/S forum but a lot of yanks seem to move from M3s to S4s and post a lot of comparisons on Audizine.
The S4 is a great car and a fantastic one when spec'd right so I'm sure you'll not be disappointed.

[Hom]

I jumped from a manual E92 M3 with EDC to my current S4, purely because I moved into the sticks and required room in the back for the dogs. I wanted to have some performance with the practicality of an Avant.

Wanted to jump back into an Audi after having an S5 at launch so I did a lot of research at the time looking into the pro's and cons of each Audi model to find the one and of the current fleet they review really well. Test drove a saloon (to get a feel) and then an avant. Both bog standard spec, no drive select or diff. Felt good, although I hated the thin steering wheel (pre facelift). Waited for ages to test a fully specced model with HDD nav, drive select, diff, super sports etc and was sold straight away, the car just felt right for me. Seats really comfortable, great gadgets and could feel the diff pushing me round corners at stupid speed.

I miss the engine noise and at times the presence, but like the S4 because it floats under the radar so to speak (Although as mentioned before I have a sprint blue one so stick out like a sore thumb)

Its obviously slower than the M3, no question, and you will notice it but its still a quick car, felt the same speed as my old 355i coupe.

Fuel economy for me was good in the M3, on par with the S4 at the time - although I was doing really short journeys into work so I averaged 170-180 in the M3 and almost the same in the S4. Since moving this has gone upto 310 average with motorway miles 400. Short start stop journeys kill this car's mpg, so bear that in mind.

I would say test them out with the various specs if you can, I love mine and normally jump cars quite often but this is staying for atleast another 12 months because I cant think of anything that does such a good all round job. Its a great car and for me one of the best of the current Audi cars

[Ian_C]

Well it seems that if you have a spare £3000 after and the V6, a visit to MRC will see you posting 450+ bhp at least with a filter and re-map. Something not to be sneezed at! I am umming and ahhhing about a new V6 S5 myself.

£3000? Forgive me if I'm missing sarcasm here!

£750 gets you their stage one remap including vat, health check, before and after dynos. Kiterals managed 462 bhp on the rollers.
(two threads below this one in the B8 S4 section)
http://mrctuning.com/index.php?option=c ... &Itemid=59

The Supersprint straight through dual centre X pipe (to replace the factory Audi centre boxes) is about £600.
http://www.candrenterprises.co.uk/shop/ ... di-46.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHcdOe8SK6Y

[Doug_S2]

stage2 with hardware (no exhaust) is £1459 inc vat and gets you around 480ps 590nm

supersprint centre section is in stock.

the big difference between a b7 rs4 or m3 going to an S4 is going to be steering feel - so you need to drive one to see if that is going to be an issue for you. Personally it was a shock to me - but the more you drive it, the more you get used to it - the sport diff makes it a tail happy car coming out of corners - which is nice for an out of the box Audi.

[HYFR]

Doug, how does drive select effect steering feel?

The two S4s iv had did not have drive select and i totally concur with the lack of feel on a stocker

Ps. shagga - i told you to get an S4 before u got the M3


480PS for £1400 is ridiculous!

Genuinely makes the RS 4 a joke ... Espcially when you can make the B8 look really good with the right spec

Heck even a brand new Black Edition isnt even that expensive! I ordered a TTRS PLUS today, £50.6k! WTF!!!?! Ridiculous amount of money for such little (and gay) car .... The S4 is SOOOO much (modern) car for not much money

Outside of the R8 it is the best Audi made

[Doug_S2]

I have not really made an effort to drive the S4 in different modes for steering - other than light or heavier i cant say much on that. Putting rollbars on and setting front to stiff gave it more front feel - well more precision - but is not great for balance, and it ruins the grip in the wet. The us guys have a brace that is meant to help but we ahve never tried one.

[Nickyboy]

A lot of talk about awesome BHP gains on the S4. Don't forget the increase in very useable torque. This is where, for me, the S4 with a tune will feel awesome compared to the RS4/5 in terms of straight line acceleration.

Edit: Doug did actually mention the torque.

[DuncS3]

Shagga - what don't you like about the M3?

Dunc

[Ian_C]

supersprint centre section is in stock.

Goodie, make sure you let us know finalised prices for supply only / fitted all inc........ and whether there is any cheeky forum discount / discount when combined with a map!!

[ShaneyB]

Shagga - what don't you like about the M3?

Dunc

Nothing to be honest Dunc. It's a phenomenal piece of kit and feels quicker in a (dry) straight line/long twisty's than a standard B7. It also feels so much more modern. On the flip side you can be gunning it, hit a bad piece of road in anything other than bone dry conditions and traction at the back goes.

My thoughts were to consider an S4, mod it for my craving for power and it has the gadgets and modern feel to boot.

I just have to get my head round the look of it. B7 and E92 look fantastic IMHO.

Doug, am I right that a stage 1 map with filter will get it to around 440ps for £850.00ish?

[MikeFish]

B8 with a wide body kit (arches a la B7), new suspension, big brakes, all the engine mods above, bosh, job done! That'll eat up any RS4.
Get the R badge from an RS4 and stick it after the S4 to make it an S4-R.

If Audi won't make the car I want, I'll make it myself!

[Kiteral]

If we could get the US alukreunz to fit then that might help with steering feel but the dynamic steering really does not give you a clue what's happening up front but the sports diff is great.

I wonder what the diff is between rh drive and lh drive because the spams love that alukreunz thingy !

Must admit the noise is pretty pants in the S4 but then the RS4 b5 wasn't great in the noise stakes (standard) although since the remap am starting to like the noise above 4k rpm, really sounds like a ripsaw

My economy has dropped too

Would the RS4 ARB's fit ?

[ShaneyB]

B8 with a wide body kit (arches a la B7), new suspension, big brakes, all the engine mods above, bosh, job done! That'll eat up any RS4.
Get the R badge from an RS4 and stick it after the S4 to make it an S4-R.

If Audi won't make the car I want, I'll make it myself!

Hmmm,
Cheers but I don't want a visit from Tim Westwood.

I was thinking spacers, wheels and engine mods, possibly suspension at most.

Need to find a good one the right spec and drive it.

Cheers guys.