Well, I finally decided to leave Acura after 8 years with the brand. It was a tough decision to make, but the downsides from my TLX just outweighs the upsides.

I tried to stick with the TLX as long as I can. The biggest issue I have, not surprisingly, is the transmission. The ZF 9 speed has been beaten to death around this forum so I won't really go into it too much. My experience with it has been the same as what some others have experienced; hard upshifts/downshifts during low gears and low speeds were all there. I can only say that I've went forward with the 2018 TLX knowing that Acura improved the performance of transmission and my test drive initially confirmed those improvements. However, during the last 18 months, the behavior of the transmission became worse and worse. It really is a shame for this transmission to ruin what is otherwise a great vehicle with a solid engine. Regardless, I still have hopes for Acura under Jon Ikeda and with the upcoming release of the Type-S variants, Acura may finally have something worthy to compete with the new Germany and Korean models.

But enough of that. After looking at used S4s on the market during the last two months, I finally found one with low miles and great price. Ended up with this 2018 Audi S4 Premium Plus with the black optics package. This is the first sub-5 second vehicle I've owned and the amount of power is intoxicating. The amount of aftermarket support/customization for the B9 generation of A4/S4s is also great. The ZF 8 speed on this vehicle is what every car needs. Amazingly quick shifts for a torque converter automatic with no loss to power between shifts. The tech inside the vehicle is also much much better than the TLX and in my opinion better than the refreshed RDX as well.

There are still many happy owners of the TLX and I hope you continue to enjoy them as it is still a great car. The A-specs still turn my head when I see one on the road.

 

Congrats on your new car, great color. Agree sub 5's is very addicting.

 

Enjoy your new ride!

 

 

Congratulations. The S4 looks good with the black optics package.

 

The S4 is an incredible car, and congrats!!
I actually cross-shopped the S4 when I was looking at the TLX. As the OP says, my test drive of the 2018 TLX did not initially reveal the limitations of the ZF9 and I ended up going with the TLX. Aside from the price advantage, in my area, the Acura dealer is awesome and I have a great relationship with them, while the Audi dealers' service is pretty bad.
Needless to say, Audi si on my radar for the next car in 2 years

 

I seriously mulled over getting a used B8.5 S4 prior to getting my 19 TLX. It really is a great car that I find so much more likable than the 335i/340i.

Hopefully we'll see Ikeda's words manifest in an Acura showroom within the next year or so. In the meantime, enjoy the new S4.

 

Nice choice! So many memners here going to Audi these days!

 

I'm in the same boat here. I had a great relationship with my service adviser at my local Acura dealership. I haven't visited the Audi dealership yet but their reviews seem decent. We shall see...

While I had mostly positive experiences at my Acura dealer, they did royally mess up a simple oil change by failing to tighten the oil drain plug. One 12 hour drive later, I came out to discover all of my engine oil on the ground. Needless to say I was furious. I was lucky that the engine did not completely seize but I was still worried about potential long term issues with the engine after the event. To add some salt to the wound, the dealer offered two free future oil changes..


That oil stain is still there on the driveway...despite some backbreaking scrubbing with oven cleaner to get rid of it.


This was what the plug looked like when I first lifted the car.

 

Aww... That sucks.... Maybe it was a different tech working that day. Your TLX is a beauty!

I have built a great relationship with a little Honda dealer I love. They recently took responsibility for an oil leak that began in their shop, it was likely age related, but they did the repair gave me a loaner free of charge. (More on that below)

I had a ZF-9 Odyssey a couple of weeks ago. It sometimes wouldn't downshift, and first gear fely weird, like excessive revving or minor slippage at parking lot speeds. Like someone riding the clutch, but other than that, I loved it. Gearing really helped juice out straight line power, what a rocket!

 

 

We totally are becoming Audizine here. Welcome to the S4 club. This car is a masterpiece

 

Congratulation and welcome to the club of disappointed ex-Acura owners!!

Beautiful car, the S4 is a real sport sedan...how you like the torque vectoring differential on the car?? It has the new Virtual Cockpit?? Pictures of the interiors?? Do you have the mix Alcantara-leather?? My sister in law is getting one.

Audi has been on a roll for years, always reaching new level of performance and tech, I got my new car two weeks ago and the RS7 made it to the final list of contenders, absolutely fantastic car but in the end I'm super happy with my Caddy...

I almost got this in my driveway (my wife's favorite), intoxicating to drive, Incredibly practical with the hatchback. The Audi sales staff was one of the most professional I ever experienced, at the same level as Lexus......





But I ended up with this










This is how she sings....

 

Well... over on the B9 S4 forums, some dealers are using the wrong spec oil during scheduled service of the S4... A few mad people out there :/

 

 

 

Sad days when Acura owners are leaving Acura for Audi due to reliability.

 

I did see the long post on AudiWorld about that. Wrong oil is still better than no oil. I'm planning to change the oil myself on the S4 since it is fairly simple, just need the right tools. The oil is siphoned from the top and oil filter is located right under the engine cover too. No need to lift the vehicle and mess with the oil drain plug.

I saw a Nardo Grey TT RS in person and it fits the car perfectly. The car has enough character lines to overcome the flat color of paint. On the other hand, Audi started to offer a similar color called Quantum Grey on the '19 S4s and I'm having a hard time liking it. The large flat door panels on the car plus the flat paint just doesn't work very well.


Mine came with the virtual cockpit and the versatility of it cannot be emphasized enough. Having the navigation map right in front of you is much better than on the center infotainment screen. I also have the rotor grey leather interior with anthracite stitching. I was a little hesitant at first about the interior color but it looks much better in person than most pictures show.

 

Very nice! Unless the rumoured Type-S completely knocks my socks off, Audi is where I'm heading. I've only had my 2019 A-spec SH-AWD since May, and I'm kind of bored with it, which has historically not been the case (I bought two 2006 3G TL's over the course of 13 years, with an 09 4G SH-AWD mixed in).

 

 

Mine came with the virtual cockpit and the versatility of it cannot be emphasized enough. Having the navigation map right in front of you is much better than on the center infotainment screen. I also have the rotor grey leather interior with anthracite stitching. I was a little hesitant at first about the interior color but it looks much better in person than most pictures show.





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Fantastic car, love the color, very good pick!! Does the S4 have Brembo brakes?? In 2010 when I was shopping for my new car I still went with the TL SH-AWD 6MT over the S4 of that era but today no freaking way, it would be like showing up with a bottle opener to a gun fight!! LOL
The sports seats are phenomenal, the way to go, do they have ventilation?
Do you know what brand are the ones in the Audi sedans? I cannot find any info on it, the Audi salesman told me that on the RS7 they were neither Recaro or Sparco, in my Caddy I have the Recaros, Alfa Romeo uses Sparco.

I love the Virtual Cockpit!! One of the the favorite features on my CTS-V, so many customization choices.
Did you open her up yet?? What type of tires she came with?? Performance or all season??

Drive judiciously and stay away from speeding tickets!!

 

Fantastic car, love the color, very good pick!! Does the S4 have Brembo brakes?? In 2010 when I was shopping for my new car I still went with the TL SH-AWD 6MT over the S4 of that era but today no freaking way, it would be like showing up with a bottle opener to a gun fight!! LOL
The sports seats are phenomenal, the way to go, do they have ventilation?
Do you know what brand are the ones in the Audi sedans? I cannot find any info on it, the Audi salesman told me that on the RS7 they were neither Recaro or Sparco, in my Caddy I have the Recaros, Alfa Romeo uses Sparco.

I love the Virtual Cockpit!! One of the the favorite features on my CTS-V, so many customization choices.
Did you open her up yet?? What type of tires she came with?? Performance or all season??

Drive judiciously and stay away from speeding tickets!!

 

I have mine set to drive mode like most others right now. Unfortunately, there are not many other useful options to set the button to.

The brakes are Audi OEM 6 piston on the front and 4 piston on the rear. The S sport seats on mine are only heated. You have to get the warm weather package to get the ventilated seats but you lose the diamond stitching in the process.

The car still has the original summer Continental SportContact 6. I'm going to change them out soon, likely with Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3s. I'm not going to track the car and the summer tires are a little overkill for street roads.

 

Audis are nice to lease but no way in hell I would keep it after warranty runs out. They're still having issues with carbon build up in their engines and Audi will tell you this is normal.

 

I need to start a thread called "Moving Back"

 

The TLX has direct injection same as the Audi. The lack of raw fuel passing over the intake valve will lead to it coking up just like every other DI engine regardless of make except those with supplemental port injection like Toyota which "washes" the valve. You can slow it down with a catch can but you can't stop it.

Best check out current reliability ratings before you knock the Audi.

Well things are getting a lot nicer here at least we got in 25 congrats before the first hit piece on someone moving up.

 

Nice S4.

Curious what you got for the A-Spec on the trade.

 

 

Yes, I cannot wait to book my V Performance Academy experience, as a matter of fact thank you for reminding me to check the available dates!

 

The Camaro ZL1 is even more impressive, that 10 speed auto to me is the new benchmark among traditional automatics.

It is also surprisingly comfortable, actually not that much different in the front than the CTS-V, for a significant discount but in the end it imposes too many limitations on practicality, rear seat is a joke and the trunk access is horrendous.

Some new Germans super sedans are faster off the line because of AWD but in the twisties the CTS-V truly shines, I drove them all. The magnetic ride is absolutely fantastic.

 

Congrats on the S4!

The ATS-V is a fun little car. Either the automatic or manual models are just fun to fling around a track. Its only issues are the poor interior (TLX is far superior in that regard IMO) and the back seats are for midgets and small children.

 

Very happy to see the US building world class cars but the M5 & AMG E63S are still the top dog sedans pure stock on a road course. CTS-V is a bit over a second slower at VIR then the AMG which is .2 behind the M5. All three are blisteringly fast & will out run a lot of pure performance two seaters & no 4 door cars are anywhere near close to the fast 3. Pay your money & buy the one you like, they are pretty much interchangeable at the track.

The American that does not get enough credit is the $70,000 Camaro ZL1-1LE the was only .2 slower then a $500,000 2017 FORD GT & 2 full seconds slower then the $1,500,000 Porsche 918 Sypder. The 1955 V8 OHV, cam in block, push rod, Mouse Motor has come a long way through a number of evaluations.

 

The M5 and the AMG E63 are definitely monsters but every track is different and it may advantage a specific car.

A recent Motor Trend comparo (on a track with Randy Pobst), for example, put the CTS-V ahead of the E63 AMG.

Definitely there are tracks where the CTS-V cannot take advantage of its superior power to weight advantage because of it's RWD only layout.....at least power advantage on paper, who knows how many horses the M5 has at the crank for real.

A recent C&D test showed a physical impossibility, an M5 accelerating from 0 all the way to 150 at almost the same pace of a 911 Turbo S (700 pounds lighter, dual clutch transmission, only 20 less horses on paper, more rear weight advantage) either the M5 of the test was way overboosted or they did not know how to launch a 911 Turbo.

Regardless of track performance, and I will never track my V, the CTS-V is simply the better driver when it comes to drving feel and fun in my experience (and it sound better doing so), the other two put out astonishing numbers but they are way more isolated (especially the M5).

 

???

 

Did Randy test the E63 563BHP or E63S 603BHP? M5 lists 600BHP & 553ftlbs Torque 2.8 0-60mph & 10.9 129mph 1/4 mile. Definitely underrated like most BMW cars.

Numbers I ran are from the US version of Germany's Ring at VIR's 4.2 mile grand course. Lightning Laps is a annual pure stock shoot out for new cars. If they get a new TLX by summer to run it will make the October 2019 issue, if not will be next years. IIRC Randy tests at Willow which is a shorter track.

Full history since 2006

Lightning Laps 2006 - 2018

 

Stock M5
Tuned M5
Lots of different tests, standing starts rolls etc most stock vs stock races come out the same. The new M5 is the ultimate sleeper. De-badge it & its a plain 5 series.

 

E63 AMG 603 HP I believe.


People have been getting 0-60 in the low 3s with stock CTS-V and better tires, C&D got as little as 3.6 in a test in 2016...I believe I can put up to 315 rubber in the rear without running into space issues...at the first tire change I will look into it.

Anyway, mine is a 39 months lease, we will see what I will get at the end, maybe the new Camaro if they fix some practicality issues. The new Shelby GT500 look promising as well.

 

I've driven both, and it's just my opinion based on actually touching the interiors. For a better interior than the TLX in a Cadillac, you have to jump into a CTS.

 

Touched both as well no comparison especially with the ATS-V IMHO. Different strokes for different folks!!

 

Only comment looking at the photos beauty is in the eye of the beholder. To me a perfect dash is a 1967 StingRay or 1962 TR3B, so I am out of the which dash is visually nicer. What I would comment on it looks like the V has what I would consider real seats. Nicely bolstered so you stay put which is a seats primary function.

FWIW or not in my intimidate family, daughters, son-in-laws & grand kids the best seats I have used are the Genesis Coupe R-Spec seats.

GT500 is getting a lot of traffic on the Stingray C8 (mid-engine) forum. People wondering how they will stack up against each other. Think for a street car the Bullet is the best of the Mustang/Shelby line.