[Kolyan2k]

I know I will need to change cars soon so S4 crossed my mind, mostly B8.5 I think but maybe B9. What do you think? Any owners here?

[jpl500]

Soon but not yet. I'll be doing the opposite.

The B8 S4 was a great car. I currently have 110k miles on a 2012 with only a front left wheel bearing that went bad for stuff outside regular maintenance. It has been extremely reliable. The car is a great highway cruiser and is very fast. I routinely averaged 21-22 mpg over my ownership. The seats are awesome but it's like driving a really fast couch. It's two tons and some owners will tell you about all the things that can be done to improve handling but physics wins with this car. I want something more nimble.

For point of reference my other cars are/were and 1980 911 with 3.6 liter transplant, a Lotus Elise, and currently an E46 M3 in addition to the S4. So you can see I prefer the smaller, more agile car.

If there is anything else I can relay just ask.

[Kolyan2k]

Originally Posted by jpl500

Soon but not yet. I'll be doing the opposite.

The B8 S4 was a great car. I currently have 110k miles on a 2012 with only a front left wheel bearing that went bad for stuff outside regular maintenance. It has been extremely reliable. The car is a great highway cruiser and is very fast. I routinely averaged 21-22 mpg over my ownership. The seats are awesome but it's like driving a really fast couch. It's two tons and some owners will tell you about all the things that can be done to improve handling but physics wins with this car. I want something more nimble.

For point of reference my other cars are/were and 1980 911 with 3.6 liter transplant, a Lotus Elise, and currently an E46 M3 in addition to the S4. So you can see I prefer the smaller, more agile car.

If there is anything else I can relay just ask.

Is yours tuned? Sport differential?

[r0nd3L]

Maybe I'm wrong to judge based on a short test drive, but I was not a fan of B8.5 DSG. I had high expectations and everything seemed right on paper, but car just did not feel very special. Was disappointed in DSG response as well, especially compared to Golf R, strange? Can definitely feel the weight of the car.

Bought my M235i 6SP instead and love it!

[jpl500]

Originally Posted by Kolyan2k

Is yours tuned? Sport differential?

No not tuned nor sport diff. I drove one with the sport diff and it makes a difference but not enough to offset the nose heavy two ton nature of the car. It's my daily and all my tuning/mod $ goes toward the M3. For a daily it's plenty fast without the tune.

I echo the comment above about the DSG with a couple caveats. When accelerating it shifts plenty fast in sport mode in my opinion. It is very herky-jerky when downshifting from 2-1 and sometimes from takeoff in 1st. There also seems to be a randomness to the shifts sometimes. I haven't driven the Golf so I can't comment.

With snow tires and the quattro I drive in all weather without incident. It is very competent in nasty conditions.

[jpl500]

Originally Posted by Kolyan2k

I know I will need to change cars soon so S4 crossed my mind, mostly B8.5 I think but maybe B9. What do you think? Any owners here?

Have not driven the B9. You should check out the Audi forums if you haven't already. Most of the B8/B8.5 aren't big fans but those that bought the B9 seem to like it. All lament the lack of tuning solutions so far for that model.

[Kolyan2k]

Thanks. I do like RWD layout and my M235i, I just don't see any other options. I don't want another BMW, so that left me with ISF or B8.5 S4....would probably want Prestige with sport diff and dynamic steering (I read steering rack on those is from RS5)

[jpl500]

Originally Posted by Kolyan2k

Thanks. I do like RWD layout and my M235i, I just don't see any other options. I don't want another BMW, so that left me with ISF or B8.5 S4....would probably want Prestige with sport diff and dynamic steering (I read steering rack on those is from RS5)

What about the S3? Lighter, more tuning options.

[p912guy]

Just curious, why are you replacing your M235i, and why not another BMW? My wife loves her Audi Q5 3.0 TSI, in fact we were driving home from the theater downtown the other night and completely out of the blue she says "I really love my car" and she's not a car person at all. That said, if I could work it out, I'd trade her Q5 for the new X3 40Mi in a heartbeat, but I really want to stay married, so that's not happening.

[Kolyan2k]

Originally Posted by jpl500

What about the S3? Lighter, more tuning options.

Too small

[Kolyan2k]

Originally Posted by p912guy

Just curious, why are you replacing your M235i, and why not another BMW? My wife loves her Audi Q5 3.0 TSI, in fact we were driving home from the theater downtown the other night and completely out of the blue she says "I really love my car" and she's not a car person at all. That said, if I could work it out, I'd trade her Q5 for the new X3 40Mi in a heartbeat, but I really want to stay married, so that's not happening.

Need 4 doors, will have a kid soon and M235 will work for some time I guess but it will definitely need to be replaced. I am just tired of BMWs, want a change. I probably wouldn't mind the newer generation of M3s but reliability on those scares me. I read S4s are pretty reliable in general

[jdgamble]

I had a 2012 S4. I really liked the car, but as stated above, it was heavy and it feels like it. I had the sport diff, and the handling was very good, but it kindof lacked excitement. I ended up selling it and got a GTI. Honestly, the GTI was one of the most entertaining cars I have ever driven. Have you considered a VW? I eventually sold that too, cuz I go through cars like socks, but I owned that longer than any car in the previous 10 years.

[Kolyan2k]

Originally Posted by jdgamble

I had a 2012 S4. I really liked the car, but as stated above, it was heavy and it feels like it. I had the sport diff, and the handling was very good, but it kindof lacked excitement. I ended up selling it and got a GTI. Honestly, the GTI was one of the most entertaining cars I have ever driven. Have you considered a VW? I eventually sold that too, cuz I go through cars like socks, but I owned that longer than any car in the previous 10 years.

I looked at Golf R and it looks like a nice car, but I am not a big fan of hatchbacks

I don't think I will be shopping for 100% performance this time, although like I said M3 would be very nice. I wouldn't even mind S8 but it's out of my price range

I only test drove S5 so far, and yes it felt heavy. I will have to drive S4 this time and see if I can live with such a heavy car. ISF is pretty heavy too, but RWD and V8

[blbroo]

Not an S4, but I recently sold a 6MT B8 A4 with a turbo upgrade and water meth injection, along with a lot of other goodies. It was a bit faster than a stock S4, but couldn't near keep up with a stage 2. I sold it with 135,000 miles and never had a failure, other than the front wheel bearings. I think the S4s are pretty bullet proof, outside of wheel bearings and the DSG service.
The audizine forums are really active and a good place to go.

The M235i isn't yet as fast as my A4 was, but is a ton more nimble. With my setup, guys were running mid 12 1/4 miles. The B8 is sort of a hog. I have a couple of friends with B9s and they feel a lot lighter than the previous model. Tunes for the B9 A4 are proving big gains but no one has been able to crack the S4 ECU yet.

The MQB 2.0T cars (GTI, R and S3) respond crazily well to tunes and turbo upgrades. Stock turbo S3s and Rs are running high 11s and turbo kits are pushing them to 600+HP with upgraded internals. It's an amazing motor.

I drove the S3 and R before buying the BMW and prefer the ZF8 to their DSG and prefer our cockpit as well.

[jpl500]

Originally Posted by Kolyan2k

I looked at Golf R and it looks like a nice car, but I am not a big fan of hatchbacks

I don't think I will be shopping for 100% performance this time, although like I said M3 would be very nice. I wouldn't even mind S8 but it's out of my price range

I only test drove S5 so far, and yes it felt heavy. I will have to drive S4 this time and see if I can live with such a heavy car. ISF is pretty heavy too, but RWD and V8

My nephew has the Alfa Giulia. It's pretty quick, handles a lot better than the S4. It looks great. Not sure I'd go for year 1 of the Italian import. My nephew loves his and hasn't had any issues yet. Less expensive than an S4.

[Kolyan2k]

Originally Posted by jpl500

My nephew has the Alfa Giulia. It's pretty quick, handles a lot better than the S4. It looks great. Not sure I'd go for year 1 of the Italian import. My nephew loves his and hasn't had any issues yet. Less expensive than an S4.

As much as I like quadrifoglio, I would rather get M3 in that case. With Alfa I have huge reliability concerns

PS. I am shopping for a used car and with Audi might even consider getting something without warranty. Only if I knew if M3s can last an easy 100k miles without any issues.....

[p912guy]

PS. I am shopping for a used car and with Audi might even consider getting something without warranty. Only if I knew if M3s can last an easy 100k miles without any issues.....

I just don't know how comfortable I'd be buying a used M car. While many, if not most, are probably well cared for, I'd always wonder how much hooliganism happened with it at the hands of the previous owner. For some reason, I think previously owned 230, 240, 330, 340, etc. cars would be less likely to be well used / abused by their previous owners. But that's just me.

[Kolyan2k]

Originally Posted by p912guy

I just don't know how comfortable I'd be buying a used M car. While many, if not most, are probably well cared for, I'd always wonder how much hooliganism happened with it at the hands of the previous owner. For some reason, I think previously owned 230, 240, 330, 340, etc. cars would be less likely to be well used / abused by their previous owners. But that's just me.

I personally don't think I abuse cars, but at the same time I think proper cars are designed to be driven at the limits. That's part of the general reliability. I redlined my S2000 several times per day every day, it was solid as rock when I sold it with 90k
So it's BMW engineering that scares me not the previous owner abuse.

[WolfGTI]

Valid point - however a lot of BMW owners are status / badge whores they lease and do not give a crap about proper maintenance - that scares me way more than the engineering.

Originally Posted by Kolyan2k

I personally don't think I abuse cars, but at the same time I think proper cars are designed to be driven at the limits. That's part of the general reliability. I redlined my S2000 several times per day every day, it was solid as rock when I sold it with 90k
So it's BMW engineering that scares me not the previous owner abuse.

[Kolyan2k]

Originally Posted by WolfGTI

Valid point - however a lot of BMW owners are status / badge whores they lease and do not give a crap about proper maintenance - that scares me way more than the engineering.

I usually buy with low miles (10-30k), there isn't much maintenance aside from oil changes before cars hit 30-40k (and with BMWs it's all free anyway) With higher mileage or especially if car was due for major service, I would definitely want to see the paperwork