HA, me to, I would rather walk then drive a Ford. I just using it to make a point. Lets use my car, I got it almost a year ago, it had just over 50kmi on it, totally dealer serviced, & taken very well care of. In that time, I've put well over $15k into it. I still have K03's in there, my HP is in the 275whp range. Now my 05 EVO with about $2500 into it, makes 288whp, this is my full corse track toy.

The big question is what 1/4mi time are you looking for? Most well done STG III's do high 11's low 12's. If that is what you want, don't forget to get a well built trans for another $3500

I love my S4, it's a great car, but it's NOT a sports car, it's a GT. It is a sleeper, and does well in daily driving. I come from 13 years owning nothing but BMW's, and this car so far has been a LOT more $$ to maintain then all my old BMW's, there also a PITA to work on. I don't understand why you are hung up on rebuilding the engine. STGIII MPG is high teens.

 

Its not that I'm hung up on rebuilding the engine, was just wondering if it would be valuable to rebuild it, replacing some of the guts. This would only happen if the car had over 100k miles on it. Is the 15k you've invested mainly upgrades, replacements/service, or a mixture of both? As for the tranny, a rebuild is not required for a 6-speed, but for a tip the STG III would tear the tranny apart, mainly due to the amount of torque. But a tranny build would not be the worst idea. I think Stage 10 transmission has parts listed for about 2k or less, I could be wrong.

Personally I would be more than happy to drive around with just a chip, exhaust, downpipes, and intake for awhile and add parts as we go. Even with just a chip I wouldnt complain.

Also the idea for a rebuild came from one of my buddies who has been around professional racing his entire life, mainly working with porsches in the SRF in SCCA series, he just thought it might be a good idea that could reduce future maintenance. Really appreciate all the points you've brought up!

 

im not an s4 guy, but i would imagine that 100k is not enought to have to worry about the bottom end, i'd say rebild the top end, if anything.

if you really want to make a badass s4, ur gonna be dropping almost as much on little maintance thigns as the high dollar turbo's and ic's...

get to know ecstuning.com, they will be ur friend for little things...

try to find used turbo's on craigslist...
coming from a college student, budget is the first thing on my mind... haha

 

Last words on it, the bottom end is super strong, & built very well. There are many STG III cars with well lover 100ikmi on them going very strong. The engine is not really stressed.

As for the trans, the TIP is proven to be stronger, & last longer. However neither last long when dragged, especially STG III. The stock 6-speed, will not handle a dragged STG III. It must be rebuilt with stronger gears. The 2nd gear syncro is a known weak point. The TIP just needs a seal in the TC fixed, as that is the weak part & it's not HP/torque dependent. So far no one has blown up a TIP, just the TC. The L10 stuff has very mixed reviews. But I like the idea of spending $1500 on a VB & TC, then never having to worry about it. The TIPS are geared a little better for drag racing.

 

Don't rebuild the motor, just get a really good custom tune. If you want a drag car Id think EVO/STi are better choices. If you want a classy daily driver thats really fun, then get the S4. I paid 9k and some change for my 01...with a ton of miles.

 

I think you should stay on the forums here for a good two months before buying an S4.

 

Yup, not planning on buying an S4 for another month or two so I'll be here. A guy from AWE told me the complete opposite about the trannys but I would probably trust your opinion over theirs. Well I think the general message I'm getting is not to worry to much about a rebuild, so I won't! Thanks for all the pointers as well.

 

LOL, do you know who you talked to at AWE? They know the trans is a weak point, also next time you talk to AWE ask about the cold start problem on STG III cars.
It's not the trans is going to let go 3 weeks after going STG III. The key is you want to drag the car, in normal driving it will last a lot longer. If you check any of the other Audi boards, you will see a lot of people have to rebuild the trans after STG III. Some in a couple of months, & some a couple of years. There are also people how just have a chip, & get the same problems. There are also some clutch slippage issues with STGIII.

There is a TON of internet myth about the TIP trans being to weak. When it comes down to it, no one has seen or known of one that blew up internally. There seams to be less issues with the TIP in general, and when modded. The torque converter is weak, it's only $500 to get rebuilt.