The B8.5 Audi S4 Is a Supercharged And Underrated Daily Drivable RS4 Alternative
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 ส.ค. 2021
- In today's video we are looking at one of Audi's most unusual creations. The B8.5 generation of S4, which was powered by a 3L supercharged V6. Highly unusual for the brand, they have not done anything similar since - nor did they before!
Very popular in the tuning market, how does the car actually drive in standard guise?
#Audi #S4 #B8
Want to see your car on the channel? Email me on talk@jayemm.com
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/ @jayemmoncars - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
I bought one 6 months ago and they're bloody brilliant cars. Did a trip of well over 1000 miles to Scotland and back with 4 people aboard and a boot full of luggage and food and still got an average of 36mpg with a mix of motorway and back roads. Mine is totally standard at the moment just like this, but a few simple and relatively cheap tweaks can transform them into the car that they are absolutely capable of being. An upgraded rear anti roll bar really helps with the handling, a simple stage 1 map will unleash that engines potential. The cooling can easily be solved with a upgraded charge cooler. They are just a little quiet as standard, but there's so many exhaust options for these that it's a very easy problem to solve. Easy to gain a bit more supercharger whine too with simple intake tweaks. Nice to see a good honest review, great video as always Jay 👍
I remember how much Chris Harris loved this car
I remember how his was the filthiest, most beat-up example imaginable. Covered in mud and scrapes externally, and dog hair internally.
Remapped it's and it was on par with an rs4
@@Birmingham_racing that was getting on 10 years ago and was a revo map that wasn’t the most aggressive. The tuning tech has come on so much in that time that a car with a modern map will destroy an rs4
@@richardharrold9736 yeah, it’d had a hard life. I remember that car in his vids beating the RS4.
DAMN IT! One thing I love about JayEmm is he reviews anything and everything. Most the time, he's the only person who's reviewed a certain car on YT as the scope is so broad. Not many videos on these and I've just reviewed one of these myself and currently editing it now I have to compete with one of the best in the biz when it drops :(
I would think you'll benefit rather than be competing with this one. When yours lands it'll probably get recommended to me by TH-cam simply because I watched this one already.
@@RandomShart I could never compete with JayEmm. He's essentially my role model and inspired my style of reviews.
My videos landed if you want to take a look! No one can say James' review influenced my review as I drove it before this video dropped 🤣
Haha! I'll check yours out as well!
@@devell5040 thanks for taking the time to do so 👊🤣
Love my manual B8, have a TDI tuning box on it. Owned it 4 years and has never put a foot wrong.
Mods and perfecting factory shortcomings really makes the 3.0T become a beast on the streets. Both the supercharged and turbo revision.
Love the matching baby seat. Pure class 👍
Got the b8.5 S4 avant with sport diff (2015 CREC engine). I wanted it to be a sleeper. So debadged it, have lowered it a tick, upgraded the brakes to porsche macan (bolt on). Then MRC stage 2 and it's an absolute beast. Not taken it to a dyno but I suspect it's around 460-470 (advertised 480 some make 490 but questionable). I really don't rag it, haven't even launched it!! With the tune I've not felt any heat sink when having a prelongue country side burn around. Out on the road I'm keeping up/beating cars 3-4 times the price of mine!!!
The tune was night and day and best bang for buck 100%, yes my arches aren't as wide and I don't have honeycomb grill. But my car is an A4 avant to the untrained eye and certainly not as desirable to those pesky thieves.
Then the trump card is I can shift loads of gear in the back, endless tip runs, bags of cement the lot. :))))))))))))
Always wanted the RS4 but I'm now on my 3rd year with the S4 and still not sure if the b9 takes my fancy!!
CREC engine has supercharger clutch slip problem, i prefer the older engine for tunability and more aftermarket parts.
@M Power thats a load of bs lots with over 120,000 kms that have never had those issues
I randomly stumbled upon this channel, and Im quite glad I did. You and this channel reminds me a Lot of old school Top Gear. In all the best ways! Cheers!
Great review as ever. Love our de-badged b8.5 S4 Avant.
I had an B8 A4 3.2, thought it was great.
So much so I went to a B8.5 RS4, total hoot. S4 is a fantastic middle ground and you can do so much with that engine for not silly money. Great cars all round.
I have 3.2 and thinking the same if changing to b8 rs4
Is there much difference in MPG? As the 3.2 looks similar on paper
Had a -99 Imola yellow S4 2.7TT Avant. Tuned from 265hp/400nm to 313/490nm and VMax removed. Yellow Bullett I called it
Great video. Can recommend the B9 (have owned for 3 years, very reluctant to part with her). Love the 8.5 too!
Agreed. Great car. I bought mine new in 2015. And a 100K miles later, two motor mounts have failed. The other day the strut for the hood failed. Not too bad. Been tastefully modding mine with 034 products. In January I will add the 034 stage ECU and TCU tunes. Still luv the car.
I have this engine in the A6 and with a simple map it produced 400hp. It's the way it delivers power that makes it feel deceptively fast ..instant torque right up to redline.
Same here. As nice as the A4 is the A6 is just the more beautiful car and in the end doesn't even weigh more! And tbh I like the torque converter automatic nicer then the DSG especially when you also often drag a trailer.
@@MichaelPanzer I was scared off the dsg , it's not as reliable ..and it's a HUGE bill ...most times more than the value of the car
@@MichaelPanzer and the weight issue is very strange ..the A6 boot is huge ..the whole car is so much bigger but barely 100kg heavier
Very likely thanks to the supercharger giving the low end power. Test drove a S5 and God that thing moved
@@zaink7037 yeah for sure it's the charger..the map really just opens up the top end you don't make any more torque down low
Fun fact, Audi set it up that over 5700 no more pressure is being built, ECU tune fixes it.
Wanted one of these since Chris Harris' video vs the rs4. You are right about the prices!
That review was why I bought mine
Lovely engine and I had one in my '14 S5 Cabrio. But at 19 mpg, we parted ways.
Had Eagle f1 4/5 on the last 3 cars I've had. E61 530i, clio 182, and e46 330i. Brilliant in all weather conditions. Will be fitting them to my Mk5 r32 next.
Awesome car. Keep up the good work.
I have a b8 s4 and steering feel is great! Confident to push the car through corners
I had one in Sedan guise and manual, and it was an awesome thing! Literally, a V8 Jag of the day (non-supercharged), could not keep up from a standing start. Absolute performance bargain.
Nice. I will be getting one at the end of the year, spring the next.
Tune her to 450,,upgrade the shocks and dampers, cold air intake(also gets you the nice charger whine when gunning it!) and said Goodyear Eagles.
Can't wait!
Hi Jay
I own an B8.5 S5 convertible that has been tweaked 480ish BHP, happy for you to do a review on if you are interested. Love the channel.
I must say, people on the comments saying they are pricey to repair. Go to an Indy mechanic. My car has been bulletproof, but is very well maintained. That engine can give so much more power 👍
It's not cheap to get that power though. My old mk5 GTi had around 420bhp and was cheaper to get that to that than to but a decent S4 in the first place
I do love them though, think the wife is leaning towards one as a replacement for her old A4 as she's fed up with being left behind in it 🤣
You sure about that ? Golf 5 gti would need k04, intercooler, s3/golf r injectors, high pressure fuel pump internals, downpipeand probably meth injection to make that power ? This would just need some pulleys an Intercooler and a tune
People are easily scared. I have 2 audis, one is 20 years old and going strong, the other one is going 240.000 miles strong. Know your mechanic(s), get a garage repairs and mechanics that you can trust, and it won't be that bad in bills. Buy yourself an OBD II reader, or better VCDS so you can read the car. Unless you need a cambelt or chain change everything else is more or less straightforward. Vorsprung durch technik, ja?
Congrats on the S5, I have a mate with a similar setup.
My S5 has REVO stage 1+ Ecu and Tcu tune, Forge reduced supercharger pulley, APR Carbon Cold air intake, ECS centre resonator delete.👍 soft limiter removed and speed limiter removed. 0.60 in 4secs dead. REVO charge intercooler next on the list. Had no issues at all
@@jonah9165 yeah but there's a big gap in initial costs to buy the car. Total mods plus engine/dsg tune around the 5k mark but did a lot myself. My gti with just a remap keeps up with std S4's
I'm an owner of a B8.5 S5. A simple remap adds over 100hp. Mainly in the dead spot above 4500 rpm. The reason for that lack of power is the car bleeds boost at the top end to not go past the advertised 330ish hp.
A simple remap reliably gets the car as fast as the RS4/RS5
Yeah, I got APR tuning Stage 2 Plus Ultra on mine, 541 HP and 700 torque, 0-60 in 2.9 seconds
@@SuperEman500 did you do the air filter as well?
As a similar gen s5 owner ( pretty much the same car underneath )I can confirm the steering is it’s Achilles heel. It is comfortable and capable though. And once you chip it, it goes as you feel it should have from the outset.
to help with the steering on my s4 I made my own canyon run CR-15, it is essentialy just a square length of aluminium that connects the two top mounts together, it improved the steering by making a bit more responsive
I have the B8 version of this, lightly modded with slightly lowered on uprated springs, a dyno tune on original pulleys so just over 400bhp, manual gearbox, sport diff and most importantly uprated brakes. (B9 S4 brakes to be exact) I have done a front end facelift upgrade as I prefer the look. with just those mild mods it significantly improves the car, I have even had it round Donnington on a track day. I bought it as a daily to save my R35 GTR mileage and it is entertaining enough to make it an actual consideration about which one I want to take out sometimes. More than happy to let you use it as a comparison.
What real world mpg are you getting?
@@andrewhull365 tbh I have never really tried to get good mpg but I am getting around 230-250 miles to a 60l fill up - so 20ish?
Give me both to try as a comparison mate? 😂
You modded in the sport diff?
@@Anon.G No, perhaps just worded badly!
My step dad has the b8.5 s5 supercharged nice to see someone doing something similar
Oh man, I really miss my B8 S4 @Project Racecar have it now, they might let you have a go if you're local, it's circa 500BHP with an MRC tune and supercharger upgrades now (was 340 standard and 440 when I had it remapped by REVO).
Sports diff was an option on the B8 as well as the B8.5, though I didn't have it.
Adaptive dampers were great and made the ride excellent, Auto Hold was also great to stop creeping.
The later B8 is the sweet spot for me, with the S-Tronic that revs to 7K rather than the emissions limited 6.5k in the B8.5 (though with a gearbox map it can be put back to 7k).
V6T Audi saud they used as it's "The principal of turbocharching" typical Audi bumf.
I did about 40k in 3 ears in mine, but then the gearbox mechatronic failed and it needed new clutches (about 100k) but previous owner appeared to have worn the clutch pack out.
Brakes a big weak point on these, as there's no ducted cooling. Have a "spirited" drive and the brakes will start to fade fairly quickly due to the weight and lack of cooling. I did the RS5 front brake upgrade - that was excellent.
The engine in those B8.X cars was just fantastic, and hydraulic steering in the B8 was much better.
I've had the s4 b8.5 salon for 3 years now and it's brilliant , never had any issues and when you was talking about the steering at first you do notice it but quickly get use to it so much that you don't even notice anymore and saying about not having confidence in the front end is rubbish, if a quattro, 4 wheel drive, mine is like its on rails , floor it and it will go wherever you want , I've had the subaru wrx sti as well and the audi feels just as responsive if not better maybe having the right tyres helps like you said but having the right driver also helps
Nice review. I have the 2013 Sedan with Sport Diff, electronically adjustable suspension and dynamic steering. The Sport Diff is actually a torque vectoring differential. It can put up to 10 times more torque to the outside rear wheel than the inside. This helps the car rotate through the corner and all but eliminates understeer until you push it to the limits. I was lucky enough to get invited to a track day at Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell, New Zealand. It was so much fun and I was hugely impressed with the way the car performed. You can really feel the diff working especially when you go through chicanes and it has to change directions very quickly. It's an impressive little sports car and still practical enough to carry friends, get up the ski fields etc. I thought about tuning it but honestly, its plenty fast as a daily driver and I rarely use all of the power unless I'm passing or just accelerating quickly away from an intersection. The response of the engine on a windy road is fantastic and mates to that responsive dual clutch transmission it's very fun to drive. As for the steering, I just put it in dynamic and leave it there. That way the steering is heavy and responsive all the time and you don't get unsettling changes in the weight while you drive.
My dad has the B9 S4 and although it is slightly quicker in a straight line, the turbo lag and slower transmission make it not as satisfying to drive on a windy road. It's still a great car and better in many ways (interior, tech, suspension is a bit more forgiving etc) but I would take the B8.5 for the sheer sharpness of the driving experience.
great ownership review, thanks!
Are these v6’s generally more reliable than the 4.2 v8.
I was going to comment a longer review, but as a B8.5 Avant owner, I completely agree with everything said about that Sports Diff, it truly does eliminate that understeer and I don't feel the need to upgrade the rear anti-roll bar as most people do.
Great vid. It would be nice to see an 8R SQ5 TDI review to see how it compares to something like this.
Hi Jayemm. I was the grinning idiot in the Jaguar XK by the Porsche garage today. Needless to say if you ever revisit the world of affordable GTs you're more than welcome to take it for review. That Audi is also fantastic. I've a b8.5 A5 and it's been flawless for the 70k miles I've had it. Wonderful interior quality and the lines of the coupe are still spot on.
Jag looked good - wish I could have done the journey home in that! Wet motorways not really the place to enjoy a 430
@@JayEmmOnCars I'd happily swap... the scud looks tremendous in person. Made my day as your Jagman XKR review was what convinced me to buy the car. Cheers
@@arkiepoo happy to hear that :) I was returning the Panamera
I really wish they brought the b8.5 s4 avant to the US. 😪 Love the long roof for snowboards and mountain bikes.
Thanks J.
Love the soumd of the supercharger. Want one of those. Do love the S4 Avant.
I have the B8.5 Avant. 501hp. Tremendous value and bang for your buck tuning.
I got this car, pretty much same spec inc the sports diff. I see it as no more than a normal car that’s been pimped. It’s a great long-hauler, great for tip runs etc and it’s ok when driven enthusiastically. The RS4, would be the opposite I suspect; great for the 5% of the time when an open road and solitude allows but perhaps too much for more mundane duties. I previously had the same engine in an A6 3.0 TFSI avant but with a stock diff - and that was the very definition of leary understeer whereas the the torque vectoring eliminates it to almost negligible. But I kind of miss managing the understeer, I find the car too competent, too good at what it does. I’ve popped in a TDI box but it doesn’t do much to be honest and it can trigger limp mode at scary moments I’ve found out. All in all, it’s a daily if you are happy with the cost of tyres and petrol, it’s good without fireworks and to be honest, if you want the fireworks - you need a second car, a 1.8Te estate is unlikely to fill that requirement. The rest, comfort, mpg all great. I find reversing a bit “jolty”, the cabin lets in too much noise, tyre wear is eye-watering, I don’t mind the adaptive steering, adaptive damping is ok and the diff worth the additional expense in my view. Good review, good to hear someone else pointing out similar findings.
Guess you're is stock? I'm APR tuned but have a lil look OK 034 website if you want it to do a lot more ;)
Sounds like you need to invest in a Stage 1 and TCU tune.
B8.5 Avant here, love it. Been reliable other than a water pump. I've upgraded the terrible Audi sound system stereo and added Android auto box but otherwise it's totally stock.
Town it's about 15MPG, motorway 33MPG ish. Love the noise, love the speed, love the understated looks and the practicality. It's very heavy so not exactly a back country lane gem but overall it's a great car.
what did you upgrade? I have a b8. 5 s4 with b&o but I feel like the subwoofer is lacking
@@BROWNMAGIK1 I initially replaced the speakers front and rear with Focal access (components front / coax rear) and disconnected the front centre channel in the dash. It was a small improvement but it was clear the stock amp was not doing a great job driving them. I then added a small 4 channel amp but the problem is that the car's stock amp (mine is 10 speaker Audi sound system) is doing a lot of EQ, so it just sounded wrong.
In the end I added a kicker key 200.4 smart amp using bi amp mode, which is running the tweeter and front mids as two separate channels. This is all detected automatically by the key amp, which has built in EQ and simple one button push and mic to sort out timing / volume etc. Perfect and easy.
It was so good that I decided to up the bass and added the key 500.1 subwoofer amp and a Rockford 10" wedge in the boot (easy to remove when I need boot space). Again this key amp can deal with the factory EQ to deliver really good bass. I prefer clarity rather than booming bass, so the 10" sub works great.
I left the rear speakers connected to the Audi amp as just rear fill and it's faded about 70% to the front. In practice this probably isn't needed if you're just in the front seats but the stock amp is still there so I thought why not use it.
Overall result is amazing clarity of sound and a perfect soundstage without having to mess around with a separate EQ and weeks / months of frustrating tinkering. No coding required as the stock amp remains in place and all controls still working through the MMI and steering wheel. It's not exactly plug and play but it's about as simple as audio upgrades like this can get. I also bought a full harness extension and broke out the required audio wires from that to avoid damaging the stock Audi wiring coming from the stock amp.
The two kicker amps are so small that they were easily screwed on a piece of MDF, which is bolted to the top to the stock bracket in the boot. I then just took power from the battery under the boot floor. Probably two weekends of work in total and total cost of equipment around £750 (I'm in the UK). The kicker key amps are rarely discounted but the focal speakers were super cheap if you shop around. I also added an Android auto box for around £220, so total spend to modernise this amazing nine year old car and make it sound great was about £1k.
If I want for anything then it could be a little louder than 50 watts per channel (200.4 amp) but everyone else who hears it thinks it's easily loud enough, so it will come down to personal taste. I think if kicker released a 4 channel key smart amp with 75 watts per channel (300.4 maybe), I would buy it and this would then be audio perfection. I could instead add a more powerful amp and feed that into the key amp to use just it as auto EQ but that seems like overkill to me and I just wanted simplicity. I'll just wait until kicker release a more powerful version!
@@BROWNMAGIK1 for you if just the sub is the problem, then try the key 500.1 and a sub of your choice. Then you can simply use the existing sub wires (after the amp) into the kicker key as hi level input. Then speaker wire from the key into your new sub. Simples.
If you don't know already, what tends to happen in a stock audio system is that as the volume is turned up the bass channel is turned down, as there is only so much power to go around. The kicker key will automatically deal with this problem, where a standard amp or new sub will not, unless you can take the signal from before the stock amp, which is typically more difficult and sometimes can cause errors / fault codes with modern cars, so needs more modification of wiring, or it needs expensive fibre optic modules and seperate EQs etc.
I like to return the car to stock before selling on and to take my expensive audio equipment to my next car. This means for me it is better to take signals after they have been processed by the stock amp EQ, which means I need some form of EQ defeat / bass restoration, such as with the key amp.
If you want a lot of thumping bass then maybe consider more powerful amp. Some amps from AudioControl offer similar (usually manual) bass restoration built into their amps and can offer a lot more power, like the LC1.1500. These are quite expensive amps and much bigger than the kicker key, so mounting them might need some more thought.
An alternative is to buy an LC2i from the same company, about £110 and this will control just the bass restoration, then you buy whatever mono sub amp you want. So it will go stock sub wires into LC2i, then LC2i into amp, then amp into new sub. If you are the kind of person that likes to change the bass levels a lot then you're probably going to want to run a separate bass control knob from the new amp to the front of the car. Usually the bass restoration is done at a fixed flat level, so adjusting it using the car controls will distort the restored bass. This goes for the kicker as well but I don't really touch the bass once it is set, so have never bothered with a separate bass knob. I can just tweak in the boot of ever needed.
Hope this helps!
I had this in 2010 was incredible back then…it did like a drink though barely got 200 Miles a tank! The diesel SQ5 I bought after this was a better car with a fantastic sounding engine with loads of torque and gave me 500 miles a tank with V8 burbles
I have a ‘13 S4 Avant, awesome daily driver, dog transport, garden centre and it has smoked 911s round the Nurburgring ! drove it to Brno and back comfy as anything out there. Would highly recommend Revo stage 1 mod as per Chris Harris comparison RS4 v S4. Took the stock 333bhp 325 Ibft to 415bhp 395Ibft it was deliberately factory de tuned to justify RS4 price. Never had an issue just have to watch DSG and change oil regularly,🏎💨
328 bhp stock the v8 was 333 bhp stock
@@Vteccer666 that was on my dyno run🙃🏎💨 and if you want to be a pedant you might want to check your V8 info 😉
Chris Harris beat up one family. And dog. Tuned back 5/6 years ago rs4 performance for £450 remember.
Eh?
@@jarraandyftm Yeah, I thought that too 🤦🏻♂️😂
Really liked this review. I have seen the Chris Harris Version of RS4 vs remapped S4, but then it was just a straight line and no corners were seen that day. When Jay says the steering kind of gives up at that sort of speed, it kind of hints that a remap is not necessary, the S4 is just a polite and more comfortable version of the RS. That said, my dear Jay, regarding the understeer. Stop being polite at accelerating for the sake of looking legal, (turn off the camera) grab it by the scruff of the neck and see what the quattro is all about ;)
Bonus note, I love your timing on the gear shifts on manual cars, and your sound quality. Nothing short of amazing when you can listen to a merc rattle...
Is not his mate he can’t really push it like that. Plus he is not backed by a big company so I imagine the cost of fixing an accident takes a much bigger toll on him and his career
Can you post a video whit only the sound of the car in general, your microphone quality is unbelievable.
I have a B8.5 sportback and I absolutely love it, remap, intake and resonator delete really transforms the car. They really are highly restricted from the factory.
What mpg are you getting bud?, want one but ideally want to hit over 28 just because of work etc
@Kirby Dan you can easily get 30mpg+ on the motorway cruising at 60mph. I saw as high as 38mpg last week with cruise control set to 100km/h
@@keithburke652 OK thanks a lot!
@@Jordan4601 also if you're curious about performance I have some videos uploaded on my channel of a track day 2 weeks ago.
Got my transmission Ecu remapped the same day and timed it at 4 seconds dead 0-60mph.
Great all round car 👍🏼
APR tuning?
9:26 that lockdown playlist
Going to look at one of these this afternoon as a new daily lol good timing jay
Bought it lads oioiiii
@@BarbecuedPossum how is it bro. I'm looking at a 2013 now with 60k. Any issues on yours
@@joelk7424 Sorry late reply didn't see the notification. They are really good to drive but can cost a lot if you run into DSG issues which are insanely common on these
I had two of these. Both were great cars. I logged over 180,000 km in 2 years on both of them without a hitch. Buy one if you can find one!!!!
Did you have problems like oil consumption or carbon build up?
@@e.demirovic Oil consumption yes however I checked my oil level regularly so it wasn't a problem. Carbon build up no.
@@seinsmeld13 thanks for answering. Did you have the pre-facelift b8 or the b8.5 like this one in the video?
Would totally have one of these with a few subtle mods
Same, if by subtle you mean Stage 2 plus ultra by APR tuning pushing 541 BHP and 700 torque
Sounds rather glorious actually. I would prefer this over any Beemer wagon!.
So you don’t like fun?
This is one of the few Audi's that here in Au doesn't depreciate faster than it's zero to sixty time.
That said you can get one for 20% of it's new price. Audi's hit and miss reliability worries me too much to get one.
I was in the same boat but after doing some research I learned that the 3.0T is a bulletproof engine. The B8.5 fixes the oil burning of the B8. I've put over 60k mi on my used 2014 S4 (at 115k mi total) and the only issue I've had is a headlight that needed to be replaced which was luckily still under the warranty. If you're okay with the maintenance costs I don't think there are many better options for the money.
@@voop00p cheers... great to know about the built proof engine
@@peterlattimore6013 Yup, if you Google "3.0T reliability" you'll see lots of good feedback. Another awesome thing about the B8.5 S4 are the relatively cheap and unobtrusive mods for big power gains. Reliability seems to hold up even after the mods.
Engine is great. Gearbox is the worry normally on these, so go for a facelift model and keep on time with the gearbox oil changes and hope for the best, as I do! Mines at 85k miles now and while I'm the 3rd owner in 9 years, the service history shows it's only needed a water pump and then nothing more than normal serviceable items. So look after it and hopefully it'll look after your wallet.
@@RandomShart would you say these are more reliable than the 4.2 v8 in the b8.5
I have the black edition & love it.
I have the S5 of that gen and I love it
Hello sir, greetings from NJ.. i have noticed that, reviews from Europe are way better that whats around this cost.. i dont know why i feel like I'm missing a part of me sence i have not been to Europe, just yet; any way Thanks for the reviews, they are always very focused on reality and not just lasted illusion of 21st century. Thanks again
Have you done something different with how you are recording the exhaust note on cars, both on this video and the AMG GTS the quality seems better??? 😀
I've owned a 2013 S4 since 2016. Its stage 2 dual pulley never misses a beat even at 140k on the ⏰
I own a S5 B8.5 it’s been remapped and now pushing close to 500bhp…I normally change my car every year or so. I can’t see myself changing this car for a long while. It’s a great car the S5 and S4 are very underrated and the engines are very tuneable. I think part of the reason Audi kept the performance around 330bhp is so it didn’t stand on the RS4/RS5 toes. Mine has the sports diff which seems to make a difference to the handling.
Aftermarket sports differential?
@@SuperEman500 no it’s a factory fitted option, took me a while to find one with it fitted doesn’t seem like it’s something a lot of people choose when new.
@@jc4778 I had the same issue glad I picked up my B8.5 S5 with the sports diff and active dampening 👍🏼 took me ages to find one
Best commuter for my 90 miles daily commute. Mine is a 2010 manual in Imola yellow 😁
The 2015 model years of the S4 and S5 had revised engines, they are known as CREC. My S5 Sportback has the revised engine and the sports diff along with a lot of other desirable options.
the crec was also the clutched supercharger version to save on fuel at motorway speeds
And port injection plus the DI
I have this same car (B8.5). A few mods and I made 437hp on a hot summers day. Having driven a b8 RS4, I'm certain my S4 is substantially quicker.
Probably is. The RS4 is real slow under 4500 rpms.
I own a petrol B9 S4 Avant, average 30mpg overall and 40mpg on a motorway journey. It's a fantastic only car and feels like an evolution not revolution of the 8.5 (this is Audi afterall). The front washes once you start to get towards 8 tenths but how often do you really drive like that? The B9 has a louder exhaust and I haven't noticed the steering issues you note on this one. You can have a poke around at the Morgan tour of you want to decide if it's something worth making s video on.
I own a B9 as well, minus the rattles it’s a great allrounder 👍🏻
the b9 is a beautiful car, the nice benefit for the b8 and b8.5 though is that small modifications to the exhaust, an x pipe for example, can make it sound much better than almost any v6 in audis lineup because it doesnt have a turbo muffling it
@@JAYPCARS don’t tell me Audis rattle as well! Cmon VAG!
@@JAYPCARS cabin rattle?
Not bad fuel economy there. I drove a S5 and blown away from the responsiveness. I'm sure these 3 litre supercharged engines can out perform the RS4 and 5
It's strange not seeing you in a mad shirt.
Perfect daily
Had a black edition version of the s4 avant with the S-Tronic box. Fantastic car, but way too thirsty, averaged 25mpg on a 300 mile motorway run at 65mph with just me in the car! 😂 was expecting it to be slightly better. Considering an A4 3.0 TDI Avant now!
I had similar experiences with mine, rubbish on fuel for the level of performance
I have an A6 C7 2.0TDi quattro avant black edition REVO re-mapped 245hp. My ultimate q car. Not overly fast, but quick enough for my driving roads. Although wouldn’t say no to an RS6, but don’t want a fuel tanker behind me all day long.
Just checked eBay and they are selling there for £25-30K :O
Always preferred Audi's S cars over the RS Models. They're just that bit more refined for daily driving purposes and don't feel like they're going to shake your fillings out if you drive over a cigarette paper. The RS models are insanely, almost comically fast though I will admit.
Could you possibly do a S5 review ??
Good god what horrific exhaust has been put on that?! This sounds so wonderful as standard...
Hey James, thoughts on the new Countach prototype?? I just made a video on it
This car sounds amazing and maybe my favourite fast Audi. Am I crazy ??
Nice review. I've been on the fence of buying one of these for a long time. This review has made my mind up and im gonna pass on it. I love the noise though. Thanks
I had a 2010 B5 Supercharged v6 sedan. I loved it until some road debris clanged my bottom end and it pushed my trans cooler into the mechatronics unit of my trans which wreaked havoc on the trans performance. It was fixed by insurance but it was a 10k job, yikes! IIRC 2013+ had a metal protection cover on the underside to prevent that from happening. I would have killed for an Avant version in the states.
Looks much better the facelift b7. Looks sweet. Like it in the Guards Red equilivant. Wheels are off an older s6. Ooohhhh red and black leather. This is a nice truck. Sorry stationwagon
Hi James, im currently driving the RS4. Quite surprised how close the S4 seems to it based on you review. If you fancy a spin in mine, drop me a msg
Perfect daily.
Nice to see the child's seat compliment the cars upholstery 👍
Thinking of getting this or the f31 340i,paralyzed by the dilemma. I know both engines are reliable but the BMW has a well known ZF8 gearbox
A big solid German estate! that weighs only 200kg more than an focus rs
I owned the poor mans version of this car, the 8.5 2.0 TFSI Black Edition with Quattro. Really good car and had it been an estate I'd likely still have it now. This S4 really is by cup of tea, and for me one of the better styled cars from Audi before it all went a bit "Instagram" popularity contest...
Loved the early RS4, just bonkers. An over powered Estate is a wonderful thing. Merc AMG E55 estate? Oh yes please.
I had a pre facelift manual with sports diff, great long-distance car. But the steering was terrible, would change weighting mid corner.
totally agree! This steering :sob:
Great car this but unfortunately you don't get to own it very long in the UK!!
I would only
Get the s4 b8 as that’s the last manual avant. Sadly it’s not cheap on tax
I did look at these but the potential running costs and insurance i ended up in a golf r wierd comparison but my goal was something quick & practical for around 15-17k with lower then 60k miles on so it wld have some resale in a couple yrs
Im also looking at about 18-20k budget plus 2k on insurance. Is the golf R reliable
as im looking at S3s/ s4/ Golf R / bmw 435i with similar milage
@@joelk7424 i have had it for a year now its on 56k mils no failures to report
James, any chance that you get to have a go in an S2/RS2? Sure, it will be noseheavy etc, but that I5 turbo sound is worth it.
Already done an RS2
Good review. Recently purchased the cheapest one for sale in the country! £8120 at BCA auctions 59 plate 98k miles FASH. Should retail well over £13k. One criticism of review. Clean the car for god sale. Engine bay grimes feet marks on rear of seats etc etc
I went to look at one of these, drove it, was okay. But ended up walking away with a 15 plate W205 C63 estate.
Love one....but I know the repair bills would force me to sell one of the kids
I have one and felt the same way. It's actually been really solid an no worst than my preferred Japanese luxury brands. The engine is probably the best one they ever made (unlike the POS 2.0T) and the rest of the car is well sorted. Awesome value and a great Q car
As far as any difference between electric and electromagnetic power steering, it's basically just two different terms to describe the same system. An electric motor is powered by electromagnets therefore any electric power steering system that utilizes an electric motor, (I'm not aware of one that doesn't), is inherently electromagnetic.
I hate that the us didn't get the wagon got the coupe beautiful car
London farmer by the state of the pedals!!
Apparently the V6 is easily tuned up....cheap RS4 !
Edit....crap i commented before watching the whole video...and you bring up the tune-ability!
Can anyone tell me what these cars are like to own maintenance wise on about a 2011 car with approx 100k plus miles? They look a bargain, but I don't want to buy something that's been neglected or something which will cost silly money to keep tip top
Need the b8.5 S4 avant in the states 😭life isn’t fair
Love from Taiwan 🇹🇼
They used to be much cheaper two years ago. Lock down and all the shortages have driven prices up to mad levels on second hand cars
Boost bleeds off very early on these. A stage 1 regularly sees 400hp which is comfortably what the car is capable of. A lot of people see 500hp from these without a huge amount of work
the B8 looks better than the face lifted B8.5. I drive a manual B8 Avant. the best fuel consumption was 8.6L/100km, otherwise 10.5L/100km is the norm. About the car: ignore the numbers, it's just a joy to drive. Steering offers a great manoeuvrability, you don't feel the size of the car, the seats are great, and you can play with the acceleration as you please. It's fun car to drive! by the way, B8 has pure hydraulic power steering, not electrical
PS: I just got my car tuned to 434PS by REVO. boy, the way it can go here on the Autobahn... now it's monster of a car!
PPS: for those interested in such a car, here's a list of everything that will go bad on this model. the good part is that they are a sort of fix-it-once-for-good problems:
1. timing chain - unavoidable and expensive to fix
2a. clutch master and/or slave cylinder (for manual gearboxes) - cheap repair
2b. mechatronic unit for S-Tronic - I recommend rather going for the manual. the fix is just as expensive as the timing chain
3. water pump and thermostat - change them at around 110.000km no matter what Audi says and you're fine
4. PCV Valve - replace it together with the thermostat, so you don't have to remove the supercharger and bleed the cooling system again
Preventive maintenance:
1. oil changes at around 8000km. use a good full synth 5W-40 oil. I'm on Ravenol VST 5W-40
2. change every 60.000km/5 years all other oils, such as gearbox, differential, steering and torque vectoring servo, and the supercharger's
Want to try my 335d? Just as fast and capable as the S4 , 313bhp and 630nm torque. Stage 1 ECU tune for 250quid and it will beat M3's... And also do 55mpg on a cruise!
I picked this car up a few years ago and its pretty good… until something goes. I went with a B8 so yeah mech unit already went, and control arms, and wheel bearing.
B8.5 might have treated me better. But I still got that hellcat-like whine from the CAI system I put in. The engine is certainly a strong selling point. Just put away like 5k and you’re good.
if youre getting a few year old car with decent performance whilst being relatively heavy you should really expect to replace thinks like the control arms and wheel bearing onc eu start to get over 60,000 miles