hey guys so at the moment i am driveing a 98 2.8 a4 only mods on it are s4 front bumper and coils. i am thinking about selling it and either buying a 1.8t or a 2.7 s4. only thing is i have heard lots of bad things about the turbos in the 1.8's on the other hand i have heard lots of good things to like how easy it is to mod these car and get them to up to the same speed as an S4. i would just like some opinions for 1.8 owners and possibly some of the s4 owners to. thanks for the help.

 

b5 S4 runs about a 13.7 completely stock. To get a 1.8t to run a 13.7 takes some work. You can get them to run a 14.5-14.9 fairly easily with chip/k04...

If i were you I would get the s4 hands down, but of course who wouldnt suggest that? And yes, maintenance on the 1.8 motor will be a lot more extreme compared to the maintenance on your 2.8

 

s4 will be much more expensive to mod and maintain. no to mention gas and insurance. but even an a4 putting out similar numbers to an s4 is completely different. with an a4 it'll feel like the engine is working way harder, but with an s4 it will feel more effortless, there's no replacement for displacement. and with the s4 you start off with better components (stuff like bigger brakes, better suspension, 6 speed, etc...) so if you have the money, the choice should be simple, if you want lots of power but dont have quite enough for an s4, an a4 is the better choice.

 

I thought about selling my 2.8 for a while in order to buy an S4, until I heard how much it costs to replace the turbos in that damn thing! S4's were definitely not made for broke college kids.