Few basic questions on the B5 S4, from a Volvo driver
10-29-2003, 07:24 AM
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Few basic questions on the B5 S4, from a Volvo driver
Hello, I have been driving a Volvo 850 T-5R for a little over two years now, but have recently been looking to get out of it. Its fast in a straight line, but no matter how much power it makes it still will always have a clunky slush box and the negative handling characteristics of a FWD car. I also feel like I should be getting paid by Volvo for defending the brand so much, but the company could care less about their few performance orientated customers. The two cars I am looking at are the B5 S4 and the (don't hate me) E36 M3. The S4 seems much more attractive to my personal tastes in cars. From what I can tell the interior is far beyond the M3 and just as nice as my T-5R, which had leather/suede/wood. I also like the tunablity option with the turbo engine on the S4 that simply can't be matched by the M3's na inline 6. So my real question is about the Tiptronic model. I have read the reviews about the 6-Speed plenty and that may very well be my first choice, but before I completely disregard the auto I would like to hear a few reports on it. How does it perfom: 0-60, 1/4 mile? How do you shift it manually? Is it strong enough to handle moderate power upgrades? And finally are there any model years or major issues to watch out for when buying one? Thanks for your time.
10-29-2003, 07:44 AM
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few points inside
tunability is a broad term IMO of this car. i am jaded. my turbos blew, even after doing research and hearing mixed reviews on turbos blowing or not. i chipped my car, and about 13k after that, i lost my turbos. i was careful with my car, always cooleed and warmed the car properly.
so i fell like i have to tell you to be careful first, cuz when it happened to me it turned my life upside down.
now that i got that out of the way, i think the s4 is a better overall car comapring to the e36. i was also looking at those when i purchased, but the s4 is a great deal more refined interior wise, and with AWD you have no problems in winter, so i think it is more bang for the buck.
if you buy this car, stay way from this frum, you will want to mod your car, and depending on income that might be a good thing, but if you want to be responsible with money, it is tough to do it here.
if you want to be safe, buy the car and get k04 turbos, they are reliable (way more than k03 stock turbos) and do some research by searching the forum as to which stage 3 kit you would buy. in my opinion AMS has their stuf together, and their dealer achtuning provides second to none customer service. but past that any info you will have to search the archives. it all depends where you want to take this car.
good luck
joe
so i fell like i have to tell you to be careful first, cuz when it happened to me it turned my life upside down.
now that i got that out of the way, i think the s4 is a better overall car comapring to the e36. i was also looking at those when i purchased, but the s4 is a great deal more refined interior wise, and with AWD you have no problems in winter, so i think it is more bang for the buck.
if you buy this car, stay way from this frum, you will want to mod your car, and depending on income that might be a good thing, but if you want to be responsible with money, it is tough to do it here.
if you want to be safe, buy the car and get k04 turbos, they are reliable (way more than k03 stock turbos) and do some research by searching the forum as to which stage 3 kit you would buy. in my opinion AMS has their stuf together, and their dealer achtuning provides second to none customer service. but past that any info you will have to search the archives. it all depends where you want to take this car.
good luck
joe
10-29-2003, 08:52 AM
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I've run mid to low 13s w/ my Tip
unfortunately, on the strip, I only dialed in a 13.6. But that was with the old X chip w/ 91 craptane in 90+ weather.
The mid to lows, I'm guessing, were with 100 octane at the street races. I'm guessing that's what I was running as I was beating WS6s and SSs all night.
The mid to lows, I'm guessing, were with 100 octane at the street races. I'm guessing that's what I was running as I was beating WS6s and SSs all night.
10-29-2003, 09:25 AM
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also for the tranny
the <i>published</i> torque limit of the tranny is ~300lb-ft. Just a chip will put it over that. Granted, there's a safety factor engineered into that published #, but only the engineers know how much. Plus, it's not like once you go over the true limit (say for argument's sake 400lb-ft), and you make 401lb-ft (for example), your tranny suddenly drops out. For the most part, it'd just increase the wear and tear on the tranny. That said, there are a number of Tip's with chips/etc, with no tranny problems. Just something to keep in mind.
As for modding the tranny, I've only heard of one person going through with it and sending their tranny to Level 10 to get it beefed up. Haven't read much since he got it back and was still working out a few (minor?) bugs.
As for modding the tranny, I've only heard of one person going through with it and sending their tranny to Level 10 to get it beefed up. Haven't read much since he got it back and was still working out a few (minor?) bugs.
