S4 Questions

[Four_Rings]

Hi there

I was wodering, and I realise that this is a bit of an open ended question, but im gonna ask away anyway

I am thinking if buying an S4 Avant, an 53 or 04 plate. and I have found from a few review sites that the manual version has clutch issues, has anyone had this? or hasve any further info about it. it was something i had thought about as 340bhp is a lot of strain to put on a clutch, which is why im really thinking aboutot sourcing one with a tiptronic box.

Also i was wondering if there were any other things to look out for on them,
ad if anyone knows when the cambelt change is? Dont fancy doing a cam belt on a v8 myself to be honest.

Thanks

Stuart

[Four_Rings]

nobody?


surely someone must have something to say. I know im a newbie. but... lol.

bump.

[GFMALAN]

Out of a technical point of view the Tiptronic sounds like the best bet then.

There is so many pros and cons, that it is really difficult to try giving you a answer.

But I would say it depends on a couple of things:

Driving style - If you are the kind of person that like to sit back relax and just get from A - B, then maybe Tiptronic is the answer.
If you like me.. and drive anything from relaxed to aggresive, like to take the car round the track sometimes (just for fun), just enjoy the total driving expierince and use some of that power (just because you can!) then I suggest Manual, you just get a more real feel of the car and everything arround you.
That's why I bought a Audi!!

Fuel Consumption - You can get better km/l on a manual (depend on style again)

Cost of maintenance - I know clutches are expensive, but I got LUK clutch kit for 70% less than the ******** for my Audi. I feel that I'll rather replace my clutch than fix and pay the costs to get the Tiptronic box repaired(there you have to replace fluids and stuff). If you have warr. & Maintenance plan on the car, and selling it before it expire... well then it is really difficult to decide again.


My Audi TDi has now 208 000km on the clock, and till 190 000 my maintenance costs was nearlly nothing. I had to replace a cambelt, waterpump and cleaning my turbo's vanes. I also think I should replace my clutch in the near future. But overall I feel that there is alot less that can go wrong on the manual, and the driving experience is priceless! (A human is just faster than the automatic version!) There were some days in the traffic that i felt i wish i had a Tiptronic box, but that feeling only lasted till it cleared up a bit and shot away like a rocket when I hit the pedal.(with the help of ESP)(just joking)

I can see that one day I would buy a Tipronic, but thats when i'm really getting older (sorry older guys).

Well let us know, All the best!

[paul b]

Hi Stuart
As long as the car is serviced regularly (every 10k or so) and you be sensible with the clutch you should have no worries about that. Some common problems are the MAF, which can cause the car to be quite tentative and make it spit out error codes. Other possible problems are CV joints but again as long as you don't ram it up curbs you should have no problems.
Paul

[aidanjaye]

I have an S4 manual and only problem I have noted is that the change from 1st to second is very abrupt, no mater how you feed in the clutch. I tend to change from first to 3rd to avoid this so if you are doing loads of city driving, opt for the tiptronic.
Not had any concerns with clutch - mine is still on its first with nearly 70000 miles.
As for cambelts....car doesn't have one. Its a camchain. Length of 4.2 engine meant that the cambelts had to be removed in order for the engine to fit in the A4.

[buck22]

Hi

I have has my 03 s4 Avant fro a month and was going to ask if someone had noticed that 1st to 2nd was hard to do slickly. It reminds me of a 911 with a worn dual mass fly wheel but I don’t think the s4 has one ???

Also just given up a 130 tdi (6) which had a high cluch and 90k only full power in 2nd to 3rd would see it slip.

[H18JGM]

Hi,

I've got a '53 plate manual. To be fully honest I find it to be the worst gearbox I've used on a modern perfomance saloon! As mentioned, 1st / 2nd / 3rd up and down changes are notchty and rough, even when taking great care to be smooth. Having said that, once you're above 15mph, you don't need the first 3 gears - 6th will even do you from 25mph to 155mph, no problem!!

Other than that the only 'flaw' I would say is the tepid steering, but you get used to that. If I was buying again, I would have the tiptronic (even though I'm not an auto fan).. Mind you, if I can't get my current starting problem fixed it will soon be my last Audi!

[aidanjaye]

If the truth be told, I started driving the car using 1, 3 and then 5 to prevent the drivetrain shunt...the engine torque went the car was still quick.
Since then I have sold the car for a new Golf GTI and I am very happy although I do miss the overtaking ability of the S4, especially at motorway+ speeds.

[RickT]

Just to add in here a question which was missed.... Cambelt... every 60k..

I would go for a manual box just purely down to my driving choice...

Rick

[aidanjaye]

No cambelt on the S4 version of the 4.2 engine, its a timing chain......and try the manual before choosing it, the first to second is really annoying.