2018 Audi S4 - How important is the S Sport Package and Dynamic Steering ??
05-02-2017, 08:19 AM
#22
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One thing to remember is that handling limits are reached much more quickly in inclement weather. An LSD combined with TV will keep things churning along safely even if you're not at the track or on your favorite B roads pushing the limits of your bravery or the law. I personally prefer to have parts on my car that I'll underuse than have parts not on my car I wish I had.
The fear of eventually replacing parts on a car as an argument against buying a car with them makes no sense to me. Automobile manufacturers build their cars and components to survive normal everyday wear and tear within the limits of expected reason. If you subject your car to abuse brought on by regular track days and non-OEM approved tuning & mods, you can expect those affected parts to wear quicker. I personally track every car I own and have yet to replace a differential or transmission. Yes, brakes and clutches wear quicker, but those are wear items on a car that are being put through extreme conditions that are not part of "normal" driving.
Regarding the fear of the VC breaking: Relax. The technology behind it has been around for years and is proven to be stable and reliable. In fact a screen that displays OBD data will have less wear and tear than analog gauges. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has had cars where the analog gas gauge or odometer either get stuck or quit working altogether on "classic" cars. Yet people still buy cars with them.
My $0.02.
The fear of eventually replacing parts on a car as an argument against buying a car with them makes no sense to me. Automobile manufacturers build their cars and components to survive normal everyday wear and tear within the limits of expected reason. If you subject your car to abuse brought on by regular track days and non-OEM approved tuning & mods, you can expect those affected parts to wear quicker. I personally track every car I own and have yet to replace a differential or transmission. Yes, brakes and clutches wear quicker, but those are wear items on a car that are being put through extreme conditions that are not part of "normal" driving.
Regarding the fear of the VC breaking: Relax. The technology behind it has been around for years and is proven to be stable and reliable. In fact a screen that displays OBD data will have less wear and tear than analog gauges. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has had cars where the analog gas gauge or odometer either get stuck or quit working altogether on "classic" cars. Yet people still buy cars with them.
My $0.02.
05-02-2017, 08:43 AM
#23
AudiWorld Super User
I also wanna dispel this fear of the sport diff braking. I suspect that the dealer who put this bug in your ear has ulterior motives. It's not unheard off for sales people to talk potential customers out of options, because it doesn't fit what they are trying to sell. There have not been any reports of widespread sport diff failures and we have some pretty high mileage cars by now. Remember the SD was first introduced in 2009 or something like that. This current one is the third generation.
One thing to perhaps be aware of is that in the S models, Audi claims the diff fluid is lifetime, however in the RS models it has to be changed every 30k miles or something like that. If you plan to keep the car longer and also tend to drive spirited, I would follow the RS maintenance schedule and have the fluid changed regularly. Just a piece of mind.
One thing to perhaps be aware of is that in the S models, Audi claims the diff fluid is lifetime, however in the RS models it has to be changed every 30k miles or something like that. If you plan to keep the car longer and also tend to drive spirited, I would follow the RS maintenance schedule and have the fluid changed regularly. Just a piece of mind.
Last edited by superswiss; 05-02-2017 at 08:45 AM.
05-02-2017, 10:01 AM
#24
I completely AGREE -- with h2olgd and superswiss. And, to those of you who think I didn't get the TV diff because of a possibility of a repair or replace post 50K miles, I APOLOGIZE.
I said "if the TV diff were an a la carte option (as it was on the B8 S4), I would have gotten it (and god knows why)." I have driven Audis (more than once) with the TV and I could push the car hard enough to "feel" the difference. In my case the difference was about 10% faster through a super sharp curve (my "secret" guilty-pleasure public road).
I have no idea what the costs would be and only cited what my SM said as a point of reference to a fellow audiworld.com poster who was trying to make a decision.
My sales rep did NOT mention the point about the TV diff until AFTER the paper work and money had changed hands -- and recall that I had ordered TWO cars at the same time, one with and one without the sport package.
Also, all throughout this lively and civilized debate/discussion, I have repeatedly agreed with everyone who says "you do what you want to do (and I will congratulate you either way -- even if you go A4 instead of S4 or S4 with or S4 without the sport package option)."
The only opinion I hold and will argue in favor of (for use on the roads in Ohio -- which I have characterized as MOON Craters) is to NOT get the 19" wheels with the 35 series summer only tires since they would soon "get bent" on our totally crappy local, state and Interstate highways. If you want to go for 35 series rubber, why not go "PLUS ZERO" on the 18" wheels which would increase the contact patch and not increase the unsprung weight as much (potentially) as the 19" wheel/tire option which keeps the tread width at 245.
Even as much as I believe the ONLY reason that can be "rationalized" to get the 19" wheels is because they are beautiful, if not functional; so, I am fine with someone who simply wants the 19" wheels because they're so damn pretty.
Is the TV diff a liability -- maybe; the SM says "something WILL happen out of warranty."
Why would he say that? He has no reason to want to discourage me from getting what I want (and can afford). It is a data point. It is not a game-changer. Or at least it should not be.
There have been posts here that ask "what kind of driver are you" and then lay out a rational argument that concludes (as do I) that most folks won't get a dramatic benefit out of the TV. Even so, everyone here has said, "it's your money, your decision" and I get no whiff that anyone here is an 'I told you so' kind of bloke.
The two folks, h2 and super -- are both "super users" (and I'm not talking about AudiWorld Super Users, even though SuperSwiss certainly is) insofar as their driving habits and skills. h2 tracks his car and super is an RS guy -- both gentlemen would be in the "under 1% crowd" I would imagine; not that being a 1%er is a bad thing, but the "high performance" folks are in favor of the high performance versions is not to be unexpected.
Perhaps the "shopper" (apparently for his first Audi -- in this case an S4) is also a person who would track his car, perhaps he comes from a long history of driving BMW M cars or Mercedes AMG's -- and would, one would imagine, be a candidate for the TV diff and trick shocks (and red calipers), 19" wheels and dynamic steering options.
On the other hand, perhaps h2 and super are "outliers" and may not represent the driving skills, habits and financial ability (or will) of the other 99% to spend freely on RS vehicles or track-days for their cars.
It's all good as far as I'm concerned.
If a shopper wants to turn into a buyer of a MAXED-OUT S4, I say "Welcome!" ("to the machine" -- sorry, seemed a Pink Floyd reference fit here, somehow).
We've all given our opinions, the reasons we have arrived at our opinions and we have done so without name calling . . . "and NOBODY got hurt or killed!"
It looks like we will soon be welcoming another into the Audi owners club -- if he chooses any of the above, as I posted before, someone here will think he made a mistake (and they will probably not venture to print that opinion, I know I wouldn't).
At the price point of most S4's (over $60,000), affordability is unlikely to enter into the criteria. I certainly didn't go with the sport option because it was $2,500. FOR MYSELF, I thought it wasn't worth more than $1,100 for the sport diff, and I didn't have any interest in the bundle.
I said "if the TV diff were an a la carte option (as it was on the B8 S4), I would have gotten it (and god knows why)." I have driven Audis (more than once) with the TV and I could push the car hard enough to "feel" the difference. In my case the difference was about 10% faster through a super sharp curve (my "secret" guilty-pleasure public road).
I have no idea what the costs would be and only cited what my SM said as a point of reference to a fellow audiworld.com poster who was trying to make a decision.
My sales rep did NOT mention the point about the TV diff until AFTER the paper work and money had changed hands -- and recall that I had ordered TWO cars at the same time, one with and one without the sport package.
Also, all throughout this lively and civilized debate/discussion, I have repeatedly agreed with everyone who says "you do what you want to do (and I will congratulate you either way -- even if you go A4 instead of S4 or S4 with or S4 without the sport package option)."
The only opinion I hold and will argue in favor of (for use on the roads in Ohio -- which I have characterized as MOON Craters) is to NOT get the 19" wheels with the 35 series summer only tires since they would soon "get bent" on our totally crappy local, state and Interstate highways. If you want to go for 35 series rubber, why not go "PLUS ZERO" on the 18" wheels which would increase the contact patch and not increase the unsprung weight as much (potentially) as the 19" wheel/tire option which keeps the tread width at 245.
Even as much as I believe the ONLY reason that can be "rationalized" to get the 19" wheels is because they are beautiful, if not functional; so, I am fine with someone who simply wants the 19" wheels because they're so damn pretty.
Is the TV diff a liability -- maybe; the SM says "something WILL happen out of warranty."
Why would he say that? He has no reason to want to discourage me from getting what I want (and can afford). It is a data point. It is not a game-changer. Or at least it should not be.
There have been posts here that ask "what kind of driver are you" and then lay out a rational argument that concludes (as do I) that most folks won't get a dramatic benefit out of the TV. Even so, everyone here has said, "it's your money, your decision" and I get no whiff that anyone here is an 'I told you so' kind of bloke.
The two folks, h2 and super -- are both "super users" (and I'm not talking about AudiWorld Super Users, even though SuperSwiss certainly is) insofar as their driving habits and skills. h2 tracks his car and super is an RS guy -- both gentlemen would be in the "under 1% crowd" I would imagine; not that being a 1%er is a bad thing, but the "high performance" folks are in favor of the high performance versions is not to be unexpected.
Perhaps the "shopper" (apparently for his first Audi -- in this case an S4) is also a person who would track his car, perhaps he comes from a long history of driving BMW M cars or Mercedes AMG's -- and would, one would imagine, be a candidate for the TV diff and trick shocks (and red calipers), 19" wheels and dynamic steering options.
On the other hand, perhaps h2 and super are "outliers" and may not represent the driving skills, habits and financial ability (or will) of the other 99% to spend freely on RS vehicles or track-days for their cars.
It's all good as far as I'm concerned.
If a shopper wants to turn into a buyer of a MAXED-OUT S4, I say "Welcome!" ("to the machine" -- sorry, seemed a Pink Floyd reference fit here, somehow).
We've all given our opinions, the reasons we have arrived at our opinions and we have done so without name calling . . . "and NOBODY got hurt or killed!"
It looks like we will soon be welcoming another into the Audi owners club -- if he chooses any of the above, as I posted before, someone here will think he made a mistake (and they will probably not venture to print that opinion, I know I wouldn't).
At the price point of most S4's (over $60,000), affordability is unlikely to enter into the criteria. I certainly didn't go with the sport option because it was $2,500. FOR MYSELF, I thought it wasn't worth more than $1,100 for the sport diff, and I didn't have any interest in the bundle.
05-02-2017, 12:00 PM
#26
Drive it like you live, is NOT necessarily restricted to cars.
I used to have a radio show and every show I tried to end up with a platitude.
" . . . a remark or statement, especially one with a moral content, that has been used too often to be interesting or thoughtful."
I did so because I thought, at the time, saying something like:
"Waste not, want not!" was my smart-*** way of saying I thought those folks in radio and TV who try - oh-so-hard to come up with some "Deep Thought" were just taking themselves waaayy too seriously.
So, instead of a truly "deep thought" (that really was pretty much asinine), I either recited a "timeless" platitude such as "every cloud has a silver lining" or I made up something that I meant to poke fun at the pomposity of the on-air talent of the era by saying something that sounded like it could be deep but was really inane.
I cracked myself up -- and for those that "got it" it was a public "inside joke" being broadcast in stereo on a Class A Commercial FM channel.
I kind of settled on "drive it like you live" as if that was something so pithy it was worthy of omphaloskepsis. I guess I'll save someone from having to say "huh?" or WTF, by saying, "what I mean is something (something so profound that it is) worthy of navel gazing."
Here's a total rip off, but it was almost always good for a laugh, or maybe (probably) a groan. As I was signing off for the night, I would say:
"Thank you for listening to my show tonight . . . sponsored by Dead Cat Soap, remember, there's a whole dead cat in EVERY bar of dead cat soap."
At the time, the mid 1970's, I was working on a master's degree in communications and being on the radio paid the bills and allowed me to indulge (or over indulge) my totally warped, sometimes sardonic, sometimes slapstick sometimes "fake-deep" sense of humor. One show, I brought in a portable TV, turned on "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" and left the radio station's microphone open and invited my RADIO listeners to watch TV with me. Little did I know, at that time, I was probably breaking the law by "rebroadcasting" a TV show on the radio.
My listeners, many of whom had "cognitive impairment" shall we say (wink, wink, nudge, nudge, know what I mean?) thought it was genius. What did they know, they were, after all, cognitively impaired.
So, that's where "Drive it like you live" came from -- a platitude I made up because I was so sick of the drivel that came out of the mouths of radio and TV "personalities," in their attempt to connect and/or demonstrate depth and/or relevance to the audience.
I really didn't care, my job was to introduce the listener to "Tonto's Expanding Head Band" and "The Bonzo Dog Band" and about 3,000 other groups no one ever got to hear played on the radio. One of my all-time favorites was a group called "Rotary Connection," featuring a singer with one of the most incredible ranges EVER -- her name was Minnie Riperton. Riperton, was an American singer-songwriter best known for her 1975 single "Lovin' You" and her five-octave vocal range. Her work with Rotary Connection was awesome -- especially for those who were cognitively impaired. You'll love this, the song that highlighted her dynamic and tonal range was a little number called "Turn me on," get it, "a little number?" if you have to explain them, they're probably not even cringe worthy. You've got homes, go to them!
Trivia -- Minnie's daughter is much better known: Maya Rudolph (Saturday Night Live and movies and TV shows).
Where was I? Where am I? Thankfully, I'm not cognitively impaired, I've got a new S4 to drive, a bag of Chips Ahoy in the cupboard and some ice-cold milk in the fridge.
Life's good: Drive it like YOU live.
Deep.
See what I did there? I kept on the topic of "S4's"! Whew!
I used to have a radio show and every show I tried to end up with a platitude.
" . . . a remark or statement, especially one with a moral content, that has been used too often to be interesting or thoughtful."
I did so because I thought, at the time, saying something like:
"Waste not, want not!" was my smart-*** way of saying I thought those folks in radio and TV who try - oh-so-hard to come up with some "Deep Thought" were just taking themselves waaayy too seriously.
So, instead of a truly "deep thought" (that really was pretty much asinine), I either recited a "timeless" platitude such as "every cloud has a silver lining" or I made up something that I meant to poke fun at the pomposity of the on-air talent of the era by saying something that sounded like it could be deep but was really inane.
I cracked myself up -- and for those that "got it" it was a public "inside joke" being broadcast in stereo on a Class A Commercial FM channel.
I kind of settled on "drive it like you live" as if that was something so pithy it was worthy of omphaloskepsis. I guess I'll save someone from having to say "huh?" or WTF, by saying, "what I mean is something (something so profound that it is) worthy of navel gazing."
Here's a total rip off, but it was almost always good for a laugh, or maybe (probably) a groan. As I was signing off for the night, I would say:
"Thank you for listening to my show tonight . . . sponsored by Dead Cat Soap, remember, there's a whole dead cat in EVERY bar of dead cat soap."
At the time, the mid 1970's, I was working on a master's degree in communications and being on the radio paid the bills and allowed me to indulge (or over indulge) my totally warped, sometimes sardonic, sometimes slapstick sometimes "fake-deep" sense of humor. One show, I brought in a portable TV, turned on "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" and left the radio station's microphone open and invited my RADIO listeners to watch TV with me. Little did I know, at that time, I was probably breaking the law by "rebroadcasting" a TV show on the radio.
My listeners, many of whom had "cognitive impairment" shall we say (wink, wink, nudge, nudge, know what I mean?) thought it was genius. What did they know, they were, after all, cognitively impaired.
So, that's where "Drive it like you live" came from -- a platitude I made up because I was so sick of the drivel that came out of the mouths of radio and TV "personalities," in their attempt to connect and/or demonstrate depth and/or relevance to the audience.
I really didn't care, my job was to introduce the listener to "Tonto's Expanding Head Band" and "The Bonzo Dog Band" and about 3,000 other groups no one ever got to hear played on the radio. One of my all-time favorites was a group called "Rotary Connection," featuring a singer with one of the most incredible ranges EVER -- her name was Minnie Riperton. Riperton, was an American singer-songwriter best known for her 1975 single "Lovin' You" and her five-octave vocal range. Her work with Rotary Connection was awesome -- especially for those who were cognitively impaired. You'll love this, the song that highlighted her dynamic and tonal range was a little number called "Turn me on," get it, "a little number?" if you have to explain them, they're probably not even cringe worthy. You've got homes, go to them!
Trivia -- Minnie's daughter is much better known: Maya Rudolph (Saturday Night Live and movies and TV shows).
Where was I? Where am I? Thankfully, I'm not cognitively impaired, I've got a new S4 to drive, a bag of Chips Ahoy in the cupboard and some ice-cold milk in the fridge.
Life's good: Drive it like YOU live.
Deep.
See what I did there? I kept on the topic of "S4's"! Whew!
Last edited by markcincinnati; 05-02-2017 at 12:07 PM.
05-02-2017, 02:07 PM
#28
05-10-2017, 05:40 PM
#29
There is nothing to disagree with in the above response.
...
Yet another note. They should both be either Premium Plus or Prestige.
The reason for this note is that the Prestige cars have dual pane front window glass, which changes the intrusion of "noise" in the car; if the car you drive is Prestige and the next car is P+, I would bet that no matter what the Prestige car will "seem" better due to the added isolation from sound.
....
...
Yet another note. They should both be either Premium Plus or Prestige.
The reason for this note is that the Prestige cars have dual pane front window glass, which changes the intrusion of "noise" in the car; if the car you drive is Prestige and the next car is P+, I would bet that no matter what the Prestige car will "seem" better due to the added isolation from sound.
....
05-10-2017, 06:09 PM
#30
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Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Mountain Brook, AL
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Not the windshield. The front door glass.
Go to the builder. Select Prestige. Scroll way down to the interior section in the specs. Look for "Acoustic front side glass". Change selection to Premium. Compare.
My 2013 Prestige S4 does not have this.
Go to the builder. Select Prestige. Scroll way down to the interior section in the specs. Look for "Acoustic front side glass". Change selection to Premium. Compare.
My 2013 Prestige S4 does not have this.