Gulfstar44

...and I figured I get her the 2.8 5 speed. I've been over to the A4 board, and many over there like the 1.8T better. Anyone have experience to share about the 2 engines?

markcincinnati

I've had both. Or my wife and I have had both, I should more accurately say.

The A4 w/2.8 and 5spd could have more amenities (power seat, leather, wood dash, etc.)

My gut is that the accelerative differences would probably not be that big of a deal. The 1.8T however is tunable -- practically speaking the 2.8 is not.

A $600 chip will significantly add to the 1.8T's torque -- and will make it easily out accelerate the 2.8 version, get slightly better milage and, overall be better balanced.

Several folks I know have 1.8T's with sport packages (they bought them new that way) plus zero's tires and aftermarket wheels, plus a relatively mild stage one chip, a stick shift and a wing on the rear deck. The cars look sharp, understated but still distinct and via the chip, they go like hell.

The 2.8 can be had with a sport package, too. But it will still lean more to the plush side -- not that this is a bad thing, at all.

If you want to tune -- you really have no choice, 1.8T. If you really don't care about tuning and do want some of the 2.8's amenities -- well a 2.8 A4 sport would be hard to beat.

I like the power seat in the 2.8 -- this may or may not be an issue if the car is generally only driven by one person.

There was no factory leather avail for the 1.8T that year -- but, the vinyl in the A4 1.8T is very nice, and the cloth wasn't bad either (shows pet hairs and is more difficult to clean, however).

If I was buying this for my wife, I'd hope to find a maxed out 1.8T, sport and stick with factory warranty (and the extended Audi advantage/assured) and, unless the price difference between the two was minimal, drive off into the sunset in my new/used 1.8T (and I'd only chip it if stop light dragging is an issue).

itacud

If you plan to chip, the 1.8T would be preferrable. If you plan to leave the car stock, the 2.8 is more comfortable to drive, in my opinion. If you plan to get a tiptronic, I'd consider the 2.8 either way. And there's no transmission penalty, as there is when choosing the 4.2 over the 2.7T.

Nalyd

I drove the V6 Passat for two years and I currently have an A4 2.8 long term loaner while my allroad is in the shop. It's not a bad engine but it needs more torque down low. I've driven automatics and the tranny didn't want to keep the engine above 2500 where it needed to be to have some power. The 5 speed would certainly make it better from a performance standpoint.

I've driven stock and chipped 1.8t's. It's noisier, rougher and has the herky jerky turbo driving experience. The seat of the pants performance in stock mode is just a bit less than the V6 (but more involving). Chipped, the 1.8t outperforms the 2.8.

It depends what kind of experience you are going for. The 2.8 is quieter, smoother, more linear and imparts more of a luxury feel. The 1.8 is more involving, can perform better with tuning and is an engine that a driver will like. When I bought my Passat I wanted luxury so I chose the 2.8. After two years I still loved everything about that car except the engine. I no longer own the Passat. I think that sums it up.

-Dylan

markcincinnati

Not to argue, but there are two A4's here at the office with 1.8T engines and manual tranny's, I have driven both of them and find "virtually" no turbo lag. Don't know if this would hold true with the auto in this car, however.

reardensteel

as noted with other posts, not tunable if that's your desire.

I've been very pleased over all with over 125,000 on the car. I've been through the cam tensioner (sp?) issue and it wasn't cheap. You can probably find info on that on the A4 sites. They may have solved that with the '99s or '99.5s.

Like I said, over all pleased with the car. Recently upgraded to the allroad but kept the A4 for my wife and she's enjoying it.

itacud

and the Turbo Lag is exceptional, and highly noticable! =) We often get a Beetle 1.8T when our allroad is in for service, around 4 times over the past few months. Same engine, same driving characteristics - lag included.

And no, I'm not confusing Turbo lag for the generally low torque produced at low rpm's by a small engine. My Integra's 1.8L engine has little power down low, and an incredibly smooth delivery, untill the VTEC kicks in - but that too is noticable. The Audi 1.8T by contrast, requires a very non-linear application of clutch & throttle to smoothly accellerate from stop.

A full throttle launch, however, will cause a sudden rush to occur after a couple thousand RPM have passed. That's not how a normally aspirated engine would behave.

None of this means the car isn't enjoyable to drive, but the difference in behaviour between it and the bigger non-turbo engine is quite evident.

JBaumgart

My wife drives a '98.5 A4 2.8Q Tip, with Sport Suspension. It's been a great car, now at 53,000 miles. Must say that with performance tires, it handles great. Taking cloverleafs at high speed is not a problem.

I think with the 5 speed the performance would be fine. With the Tip the car feels slow unless you keep the revs above 2500 which means for everyday driving you're better off in Tip mode, which somewhat defeats the purpose of an automatic. That's OK, my wife drives in full auto mode, and doesn't complain. However when she does "borrow" the allroad, she usually comments afterwards about how much "more powerful" it is (I never did tell her about the little chip thing in it). ;-) If your wife cares more about luxury and a smooth ride, I would get the 2.8 - ideally with the sport suspension to go with the 5 speed.

jammin1

the 2.8 has a known prob with valley gaskets and cam tensioner leaks - check for both, and the repair history. otherwise, i had no issues with the same motorin my 99 a6 (traded on 02 AR!). with that said, the 1.8 is fun and more tuneable than the 2.8. me, i'd get the 2.8

LisaPhish

and am LOVING IT. I chose the 1.8 over the 2.8 because it's tuneable... better gas mileage (28-30 MPG!!) and my mechanic told me it was one of Audi's best motors. I thought I'd miss the luxury items such as power seats, but I really don't. I drive the car, most of the time, so all the funky gadgets are just unnecessary, and IMO, there is less to break on my car as result! I sold my Allroad because I needed to downsize, financially, but am very pleased with the A4. I LOVE IT, actually. The Sport Suspension is sooo much fun, and the car handles like a dream.

Best of luck to you!

Cheers! Lisa