Adam, CTs-V is on my list along with scat pack, but then I’ve been eyeing Lifted Tundras, and other shit. But I really need a daily.

Yes, except for the terrible understeering Audi’s face when pushed through a corner. There’s no getting around the engine being so far forward in their cars. The sport diff helps, but doesn’t eliminate it. FWD characteristics in a car that is anything but.

yeah, so?!

Let me state for the record I am a big fan of the S4. Of any S4, for that matter. But let’s not pretend like it is God’s Gift to the automotive world. It does have some inherent short comings, like any vehicle does. I’ve never been one about all out speed... but I am crazy about my corners. And the constant reviews do make me ponder if I’ll ultimately be happy with it. I still need some much needed seat time before I decide one way or another.

Not sure how relevant it is comparing the A3 to the S4, though. Seems like an apples to oranges comparison. For one, the engine is smaller and lighter, making its effects on handling likely lower than an engine with two extra cylinders.

It’s not surprising more and more folk are switching from Acuras to Audis these days... they seem like the natural progression. The Audis are nicer in pretty much every regard and seem to keep the same handling characteristics that Acuras are known for. Audis are the upscale Acuras that Acura never built

That, and they actually have a sport line up. Acura gives you shitty Aspec badges that do nothing for the car besides make it look sporty and people throw their entire paychecks at them...

“springs are 1.3% stiffer”

“OMG this car is a rocket ship now!”

Hey, we are still whoring about Audis in here, so I say it’s fair game!

Not gonna lie... you guys have made me realize that I’m likely being too much of a tool about the handling thing. There’s no such thing as one vehicle that is great at everything. If I want a handling monster, I should just pick up another toy specifically for that. And the more I think of it... I’m far more capable pushing an understeering car than an overtseering one... I grew up driving all FWD cars. I would drive my TL harder through corners than I would my supercharged Miata or Nismo Z.

The S4 would still reign for daily purposes though. Ugh... now why won’t the right color/option package show up for sale?!

I’m starting to even debate the wait to tune thing. It’s increidbly rare for a power train to fail within the warranty period. And if it does, it’s usually a well known design problem that happens across numerous cars. The S4 doesn’t seem to have any of that.

so you wait four or five years for your warranty to expire before tuning... why? If the car still has warranty and fails, it’ll cost you just as much as if the car didn’t have warranty and fails. In essence, you’re fucked either way. I wouldn’t tune a brand new car, but shiiiet, if it’s three years sold, you more than likely don’t need to worry about engine failures. And with that... wouldn’t it be better to put more boost on an engine with lower mileage, as opposed to higher mileage?

We we act like warranty is the end all be all, but really, should it be?

Stage 1 tunes are safe. Stage 2 is a bit more worrisome, but still pretty damn safe. It’s not like guys are beefing up their transmissions or rear diffs and stuff at stage 2. And again, what’s the difference? You rather dump 10k into rebuilding your car when it’s 5+ years old, or doing the same when it’s 2-3 years old? Most would argue putting that kind of money into a car that’s worth even less as it ages is not the best idea. Unless your name is TylerT but I think it’s evident there aren’t a lot of people like that around.

I agree with enjoying the car stock at first... but shit, waiting for or five years isn’t changing anything. It really is a mind fuck thing.

And again... S4 power trains and drive trains seem pretty stout. They aren’t grenading themselves like the STi engines used to. If raising boost is going to cause a failure, it’s going to happen either way and will have to be dealt with in either case anyway.

and you don’t lose your entire warranty. You lose it for whatever has been modified. In this case, yes, engine warranty is gone. There isn’t any evidence to suggest that even a stage 1 tune will cause the drivetrain to fail.