future

pole position

Those RS2's have some monster lag,......................and yes , the 951 engine is stone age in comparison to the B5 2.7. With the right tune you can run high 20's boost with a couple of step up Borg Warners or Garretts on a basicly stock motor on pump with the addition of rods. It is not uncommon to have 130 mph trapspeeds with high tens/low 11's.

targa72e

I currently own a 2000 S4 and two 944 turbos (as well as a WRX an two 911's). As far as a daily driver the S4 is the best most enjoyable daily driver I have ever had. I generally get tired of a car after two years and am itching to get something else. I have had my S4 for 4 years and am only looking at replacing it because it has 108K and I drive a lot. I live in Colorado and with the altitude a turbo car is a must. My S4 has RS4 turbos (and lots of other mods) and has been chipped for the last 50K. It is very fast , very comfortable and very reliable. The engine is what makes the car. It has almost no turbo lag, tons of torque and will run to readline like freight train. The 4 wheel drive is nice in the winter but probably more important year round when you are trying to get all that power down. The trunk is large and you can put real people in the back seats. If they still offered that engine in a newer S4 i would buy it. I used a 944 turbo for a daily driver for two years as well and there is no comparison. I have done a clutch on my audi (clutch had a small piece that broke and jamed in the clutch was a RS4 made by Sachs same maker as Porsche clutches).
Yes you pull the front of the car off to get the engine out but it is quites easy. Having just pulled the motor in my 944 and replaced it with a 8V 3.0 L (total pain) I would rather do the Audi. Most of the parts are shared among many other Audis and Vw's and are quite resonably priced.
What you really need is a S4 and a 944 tubo

john

badass951

Currently an "00 Audi S4 has timing belt intervals of 104k and an '01 has a 105k interval as stated by the model year 2000 and model year 2001 maintenance charts. Also, when a few of the controls arms went bad you would just replace them all? At the price tag of a few hundred dollars per control arm? Also, if you only had it a year how did you manage to drive 50k miles+? Not to mention the fact that I have never heard of a 2.7T stripping a timing belt. No service bulletins out about this either. These S4s have some issues as some of the others on here have mentioned, but I would not place blame on belt or water pump issues. Any suspension component can wear by 50k driving on harsh roads - the unfortunate thing is the number of controls arms that will require replacement on the S4 as there are more in the design.

pole position

I think most reasonable owners would change the belt around 60-70 k, most service advisors would advise the same . I would do it to any car if I am n ot the original owner. The job is easy plus as you mentioned putting the engine into the service position is a quick no brainer.
The control arms go bad due the rubber seals cracking , I have not been able to find replacement rubber boots so one has to buy new control arms. Can be had in the 5-700 range (full set) and change out easy.

The KO3 don't go bad because of bearing leaks as some one here mentioned, they usually go with excessive boost/chipped and give out their ghost overboosting but i have seen them with 150k miles and still going strong.

If the B5 S4 has had a mature owner who paid attention to service then it will last easy into the 200k range. Beware of some broke kids who beat /boost the **** out of them and skip maintance because the cars can be bought cheap now. Same goes for the 951.

Renn 951

I think you've pretty much summed it all up! Either car can be a nightmare if abused and/or not maintained properly by the PO; and either car will be pretty reliable if maintained properly, although maintenance is expensive if you don't do the work yourself. A PPI should be done for both and common "issues" with both are pretty well documented, so a qualified inspector should know what to look for.

And as far as the daily driver aspect, I'll state again IMHO the S4 with quattro makes a better DD because it's better in more extreme weather conditions.

toddk911

Hey!! You coming back to Calvert?????

toddk911

Excellent point!

Most horror stories with 951 is because of heavy mods/boost/bad tuning or a car that was not maintained from the start.

A well maintained, mostly stock (chip & exhaust/cat) 951 should give very little problems.

MrNasty951

I can say that I've owned a a4 quattro for many years,and it has been a great car...maybe I've been lucky! My old roomate has a 01 s4 and loves it, he purchased it brand new and has done all required maintenance... this is extremely important with these cars. If I remember correctly it was the 2000 s4 that had turbo issues. I will say that maintenance is no joke... you do have to pull the whole core support off the front of the car to access the engine for major repairs, but it really is not as bad as it sounds. It is actually a pretty neat design! But I can also say I have a deep love for 951's they are both great cars just my 2 cents.

Keithr726

I have a 04 a6 2.7t. Its the same engine in a larger body. I wanted the extra room for my DD and trip car. I've had it since the very end of may and logged 3,000 miles. Had to do brakes, 1 coil pack, and 1CV. If you can do this stuff yourself it nothing (coilpack $30). My car now has 59,000 miles and all components of the suspention are good with minimal signs of wear. Its a quite comfortable car although my a6 has all the luxury packages and no sport package but the suspention is still perfect for a DD with no excessive roll. Quattro is also pretty awesome. So far I've only tested it in sand and it did great. For the a6s and I assume the S4s the MAFs were updated to a asian unit in 02 or 03 and that stopped the maf failure problem. As mentioned before...the timming belt is time consuming but not difficult by any standard. The bumper is on a hinge and made to swing to the side. It is about the same difficulty level as a 944. As for when to replace it.....audi started saying 105k but that moved down to 85ishk in my 04 manual because there were too many failures. I plan on doing mine around 70k. Its a great car and +1 on a 951 and a 2.7t s4 (or a6).

audiforums.com
audiworld.com
audizine.com

Robby

Love this thread- goes to show how many dif opinions there are & I honestly believe that everyone here is being honest about their experiences.

I've never owned an S4, but have wanted one for a long time & I agree w/several here- I wish they had never dropped the V8 in & had just stuck w/the 2.7L V6TT. I love the 1.8LT 4cyl A4, but the thing is, by the time you drop a new turbo, chips, etc, in it, you're barely over the stock S4 & if you drop chips in an S4, you're hitting over 360lbs/ft TQ!!! The very first chipped S4 I saw was w/Neuspeed chips in a EC issue & they ran a 12.8 1/4 mile. Try that w/a 951 w/out serious boost...

The interior of the S4 is one of the few that I actually like more than a 951. Also, as someone here said- get BOTH! I LOVE the idea if the $ is available. They really are two very different cars. BOTH are great & BOTH can be a MAJOR PITUFA!!!! Hell, my Turbo S has not run in a FULL YEAR!!! I'm about to start looking for another car, as I'm about to give up. Wishing I lived nearer to some people here who might be able to help, but then, IF I got into an S4, I'd probably feel just as stranded, for dif reasons.

Do you like the E36M3? I hate the gearing & interior, & they're tough to get real HP out of w/out forced induction, but other than that- nice car to compare if comparing 4drs, but then 951 is 2dr, so again, very dif cars... 540i is a good car, but really heavy- even more so than S4TT Quattro... I've known a person w/an S4 who did really well w/it- no real probs, etc. Several w/the 1.8L turbo engine in either TT or A4- one had probs, the other did not- it really depends on all kinds of variables.

good luck!!!

reno808

Dude you cant question PMS on AUDI's his daddy ownz a AUDI Dealership so he knowz his sheeeeeeeeeeeet. PMS how your *** after driving 50k in one year?

tone3721

Hey future, Got the hooks on lotus esprit's? Im very interested in the euro's unavailable here.

76 911s

The only thing I find troubling about the S4 is that you really can't get to anything inside the engine bay. Its packed so tight that lots of disassembly is required to fix simple things.

I just installed a set of K04's in my friends S4 this morning - bolting them up was fairly simple, but taking the whole engine out of the car to be able to do so was a real pain. Its amazing how many plastic parts/hoses come out of that little engine bay.

After this ordeal, I feel bad for dragging my feet on installing my Vitesse Stage 2 kit.....

badass951

All of these too tough to get to anything complaints...haha try replacing an after-run coolant pump without removing the intake manifold (it can be done)! Front oxygens sensors, EGT sensors, catalytic converters...there is no need for parts removal other than the engine covers, hose from maf to throttle body pipe, and maybe lay aside the coolant tank.

I am joking btw. It is quite a tight engine bay. I am actually glad to see that a lot of people are aware of this, as I don't think some people believe me when I talk about how hard it can be to do some jobs on Audis.