i went to the local audi dealer today to test-drive the A4. im gettign rid of the CL sometime next year so i figured while i was bored i could go have some fun with a car.

Car: 1999 Audi A4
Transmission: 5spd Auto
Engine: doch 1.8 liter 5valves per cylinder
Drivetrain: Quattro all wheel drive
Color: Black
Interior: Tan

ok....... nice car. real stable, handles good for something that has 55-series tires on it. the awd is awesome. try as i might in the rain, i couldnt get it to spin tires even a little bit.>;]
the performance downside of this car.... the slushbox. altho it was with the tiptronic (or whatever the hell it is) option, the manual shifts were kina late and on the mushy side. with the auto the car is also faakin SLOW!!!!!. my 2.2 has more balls than this car. it's a DOG, and the engine is on the buzzy side.
the interior finish is nice with the addition of metallic trim and the red backlit gauges. the leather feels good, heated seats are a definite must-have if it gets cold.
besides the performance aspect i was pleased with the way the car handled and looked, externally and internally.
i think that i would of enjoyed the drive much more with a 5-spd, and i intend on getting nothing less if this will be my replacement for the CL. (a chip, downpipe, exhaust, intake will go a long way on making this car faster)

opinions?

Get the S4 instead. You'll be alot happier.

i'll be a lot poorer too

moving myself to car-talk.

get the upgraded turbo its only like3500 bucks and you will haul ass

chip it

yup..

im kinda woundering what a chip will do to the 2.8

i really want turbo tho >;]

the 2.8 sucks you can make the 1.8 way faster cause of the turbo especially just with a chip and more available engine mods in general

i made a slight departure from Honda and owned a 99.5 A4 1.8T for a couple of years followed by a Passat V6. since you mentioned the A4, i'll drop a few words about it....

if you're looking for a used A4, look for a 99.5 or newer model. the 99.5 was similar to Honda's 2-3 year facelift but it was much more extensive. it included an upgraded suspension that should prevent premature wear of the control arms on the front articulating suspension. (problem area on the A4 and Passats.) the headlights were changed to projector beam units (which had a bluish cutoff that looked like HIDs - just a cool note ) and head light washers & foglights were standard as was a heated drivers door lock and windshield wiper nozzles. i think the heated mirrors were standard but i can't remember for sure - i had the heated seats and they may have come with them. there are no controls for the heated mirrors - they always come on automatically at 41 degrees or lower. you won't know if you have them until it gets cold and you feel them! the interior also received a number of upgrades including a revised center console with better controls and an upgraded stereo (though it was still only a cassette/tuner - you would have to add a CD changer in the trunk - if you do, look up a company called logjam for the Panasonic DP-610 and the Blitz adapter which allows you to use the headunit's built in changer controls). the materials were solid and the cabin was put together well. my A4 was a 1.8T, Front Trak, 5-speed and it hauled! it came standard with "low-speed" traction control which was an electronic locking differential. it was an awesome car. fun to drive. planted on the road. chipping is popular and a mode$t and reliable upgrade to get tons of power out of the engine. just be aware of the control arm issue (on a pre-99.5, see if you can verify the recall was done which installed upgraded control arms with more reliable bushings) and the fact that the various electronic systems might be prone to gremlins. my A4 and Passat both had problems from cruise control cutting out to mysterious starting issues to radios that would start changing channels on their own. also be aware of a fuel system upgrade on Quattro models. it had something to do with one of the three fuel pumps mounted in the "u" shaped tank. make sure the factory recall was performed on it. 2001 and 2001.5 models also continued to add upgrades including a boost in power from 150 to 170 and a CD/cassette stereo in place of the cassette only. the Front Traks were rare and even more so with the 5-speed. IMO, one of the best A4 models out there for the $$ and the power to weight ratio.

if you want to watch your $ for the intial purchase and repairs down the road, i personally would look for a Civic Si coupe. not a streetracer or in the class of the A4, but fun to drive, probably less money up front and i would bet a lot less to maintain. and when you had to make repairs, parts won't be as much.

you might want to browse audiworld.com and vwvortex to get even better acquainted with the A4.

there's my 2 cents and then some

as for audi's....just get a car that is established...meaning, if the A4 was introduced in 97, get a 98 or 99..so the bugs would have been worked out...

for the current A4's, all the 2002 models have coil back + electrical problems...although for the 2003 models, the cars seem almost flawless...i've been researching the audi forums, and found that this has always been the case.

i would get the 1.8t if that's the budget but find a stick! with a simple chip and exhaust the car is great. very little problems and quattro. visit us at www.a4forums.com and ask some questions.

Yea, but add K04 turbos and you're easily in the 12s.

I also drove the 5spd or a 6spd whatever it was back in 2001. It was the new body, Quattro, 1.8T with sports package which is lowered, bigger wheels and tires, etc.

The car handled awesome. But the power was lacking. I would not go from a Maxima to that unless I got the bigger V6. It was dog slow especially on the highway. Otherwise the car was beatiful.

Not without replacing the whole fuel system. The new A4 fuel system is already maxed out. I researched this alot as well before I turned away from it.

I was referring to the S4s...

K04s on an A4 would be crazy lag, atleast thats what I would think.

But regardless, if you upgrade turbos, you should upgrade other parts to keep up with it to make sure it isn't running lean.

check out this link1.8t upgrades
this is a pretty cool site in general
http://www.18turbo.com/

ever since the introduction of the newest model of the A4...it has been tops on my list for "next car"....the 1.8t with a chip and exhaust is a beast..and like the CLS, provides luxury and speed...but the Audi's AWD system is what is drawing me to it...

not to mention, Audi has some of the nicest looking interiors i have every seen in a car.

Not the new A4. Read up.

the new A4 will beat a stock CL-S in every category....unless u can get 260 pounds of torque in a CL-S...




the above is not even with 94 octane...with 94 octane u would see APROX 5 more ponies and a few more pounds of torque.

Stage1+ costs 899 u.s.

faster than a CL-S + AWD + interior quality that is 10 times better than the CL's + more luxuriuos interior + 5 bodykits to choose from

the 2003 A4's have been described as flawless on the audiworld fourms...no problems, and not nearly as many electrical problems as the previuos gen. It also has the best head on collision ratings.

the mod potential is thru the roof..

Amir that's just the beginning of the 1.8T's potential. It wasn't rated one of the top 10 engines for nothing. They're bullet proof. Soon they should have a stage 3 for the 1.8 B6 A4 and it will be crazy. From the 180 hp TT 1.8 they get 296 hp, and 290 ft lbs.

Never drive these cars with Tiptronic unless you have to. They are two completely different cars. I don't understand why people test drive the tiptronic version? unless you can't drive stick.

i most def dont want to get any kind of civic anymore, especailly an SI to drive around all day just because of the name that it carries on the street. call me shallow if you want.

i do like the idea of AWD with a turbo. that is hard to find in a good price-range, and a DSM is out of the question. im growing up a little, and looking for more class and luxury than my car has to offer. i still love the CL, but it might be time for a change next year.

I guess they got around the hurdle of the new a4 fuel system. If that Stage 1 kit comes with fuel injectors, thats good. If not your asking for trouble.

http://forums.audiworld.com/a4gen2/msgs/203759.phtml

Post of a guy with just intake and exhaust and his car is running way to lean already. lol

in my opinion our interior is nicer than the audi but i guess thats just me especially the old a4s

To me the interior was very nice. But it didn't have that SPORTY feeling. The seats were not supportive at all. Just comfy. But still, if I knew these mods were coming out, I might have gotten one.

it does

not many people know how badass them 1.8T motors are... might want to read this article found here:

Dahlback Racing Review...
http://gear.ign.com/articles/357/357116p1.html

it's the VAG-generic 1.8T that deserves the most attention. Anyone remotely familiar with this little four-pot's potential will tell you that it's easy to mod. Forced induction and an ECU with a highly developed sense of self-preservation will do that. But a deeper excursion into the depths of possibilities by Dahlback's engineers revealed that a safe level of tune would be a consistent 420 horsepower coming out of the flywheel, making this engine arguably the world's most tunable baby block. Sure, a DSM's two-liter can be taken further, but a 420bhp 1.8T is not only reasonably reliable, it's also fully streetlegal. In Europe.



also the APR (www.goapr.com) stage 3 kit for the A4 / GTI puts you in the mid 12's for only $3,995

quit hijacking my thread, the 99 A4 is up for discussion.


damn postwhores.





jfwy

Well if the 99 A4 has the 1.8T, it has this potential.

that is a new one

Many automatics, especially Turbos are better than a stick. An A4 with 300+ h.p. and a Tip would be just fine imho. The new RS6 will ONLY come with the Tip.