Hi all I currently have an s14, love it, but I just fancy a change and need some more space (camping and bikes mainly!). I want something with same power really. Ideally slightly better mpg.. not vital. So, I came to the s3... ticks all the box's BUT im not sure if it will just be like a front wheel drive car untill it starts slipping.. with the 14 it feels nice and direct and follows the road. Gear shift feels spot on and stuff. With the s3's I know they arent full time 4wd but like a4 quattro's are. Anuone got ant views on how they drive in comparison? .. ornin comparison to the s14. I dont drift just like a nice fast daily! Any opinions appreciated!
B5 RS4 Go drive one mate I think S3's are a great car for the money, easy enough to tune and get parts for also.
used to drive a 2001 model a fair bit. Was nice enough to drive and fuel. Only ever had one slip up with the rears kicking in when i really didnt want them to, could probably fit a haldex/qauttro controller or something to make it more predictable if you plan on really driving it hard. Quick enough for a small car but theyre very heavy.
Id love an s4 but they seem.to be terrible on fuel and expensive/difficult to repair if things go wrong. .. Yeh I need to go drive a few. Went to go try an s3 near me the otherday but it wasnt there! try again sometime!
A rough B5 RS4 will cost four times more then a good early S3 so that's a bit silly. I went from a really well specced stage 3 S14a to a standard B5 S4. Two total different worlds altogether tbh. I wouldn't recommend a B5 S4 unless you have deep pockets though. Nothing about them is cheap and im averaging 19.5mpg. You can get more, I managed 35mpg taking it easy once but I value my time more then my money so don't do that often. Any major engine work requires an engine drop, especially turbos, which will probably be due soon anyway and even stuff like clutches are expensive. If your willing to spend the cash though theyre well worth it even though theyre a bit more remote then something like a 200, the refinement and build quality make up for it and the low end torque and sheer noise of them is ridiculous. My friend had a MK4 Golf R32. He changed the rear Haldex unit (same running gear as a 6 speed S3) and it completely changed the car. Full bore launches would happily spin all four wheels up and you could feel the car moving power front to rear on throttle. In the wet it would grip really well but if you wanted you could be a bit more aggressive and get it to power over. An early S3 with a remap and an upgraded Haldex unit would be a nice car though. Endless traction, great off the line, good through corners, refined and youll probably still make 30mpg. Just be prepared to change stuff like bushes and the clutch but mild upgrades for these aren't massively expensive and the 20v Turbo is a decent motor!
Yehh a mate at work mentioned those haldex controllers they are about 800 arent they though. The r32's are a fair bit dearer than s3's to be fair. Just out of my price range really! To be honest I keep wondering if its even worth having a quick car on the roads. You barely ever get chance to use it! But then kd end ip with a diesel ford focus, and that thought makes me sick!!
Good job no one has mentioned a rough B5 RS4 then isn't it. I'd say an S3 is the better car bang for buck with more tuning potential then the heavy N/A R32's which really aren't all that fast tbh and the S3 has half decent MPG.
It will im sure, depends what your used to really, a bog standard S14 doesn't feel all that great until played about with, just think of the potential too, its not that difficult to tighten up the handling so its not boring to drive and also not just fit breaking your back every time you hit a cats eye lol. JH motorsport is a good place for Audi tuning, thats who I use for Audi shopping.
Sounds ideal to me! we just talking arb's and stuff..? Yeh a mate has a cupra r looks nice and is quick. Only fwd just sounds gay though!
Again depends what you want out of a car, whats even more gay is an over powered FWD drive car, whats great is a high power 4WD car, check out gatebil lol, obviously an S3 out the box isn't going to be huge fun but has potential for future mods and improvements and some come with great spec, i.e Xenons, Bose hifi, heated leather etc and there not alot of money and it keeps you out of a diesel
^exactly my thoughts and exactly what I want. My nissan is 'stage1' but no chip and it spins ots tits off as soon as I get on boost in 2nd sometimes 3rd! Dread to think what a fwd car with power would be like. The only fwd car iv owned was my first car 1.4 mk3 golf and even that span up! A car that would cruise better would be nice too, gf's sister lives in Plymouth and her parents have just moved to Truro so that means im spending more time up and down the country! Need to sort a test drive!
The first thing you mentioned was a B5 RS4. The Leon Cupra R's are brilliant and have a diff too so don't struggle to put the power down.
