s4 or a4 1.8t....thats the question..i was thinking about getting an a4 1.8T or an s4 both with a blown motor and redoing the whole shabam.. i was gonna get an a4 put a gt33 r turbo..cams, headers, copper head, throw the s4 tranny in there valves , cooling..everything just rebuilding it into a monster... so my i got a couple of questions..

me and a buddy of mine are gonna be doing all the work and i can get an s4 blown motor for 2200-3000 and the 1.8t for 1000

questions????

1. would it be easier to get the s4 instead..
2. i have heard the turbos in the s4 are lots of fun to do just some input on that
3. what way would be less of a b*tch to do.
4. which one will give me the most repairs.
5. and which frame is stronger.
6. how much is a s4 tranny new used and at a junkyard???
7. would getting the s4 be cheaper because of the tranny??

 

s4>a4

 

I had an 02 1.8T and the damn thing was so slow it drove me nuts. There was literally nothing on the bottom end. Even my wife said it was slow and was annoyed with it. Just for reference we both previously owned sport bikes, I had a mid 11 second Talon, a Porsche and currently a 350Z. So fast is relitave. With that said the 1.8T was tooo slow for us, it was just gutless.

We traded it in for an 04 S4 with the 4.2L.. I just couldn't imagine messing with a turbo engine anymore when a V8 with lots of power and torque stock is available. I have been in the B5 S4 but they just don't seem as solid as a B6 with the 4.2L. Besdies the sound of that V8 alone is worth it.

1.8T 170hp, 4.2L 340hp. Thats exactly double, and worth every penny.

 

a4 1.8t has a lot of potential and if you are mechanically inclined you can build a beast of a machine for fairly cheap. You could easily push it past 400hp which would blow away a stock 4.2L.

The s4 is more solid of a starting platform then the a4. However, to replace turbos and do work in general is a PITA. s4 owners have a love/hate thing going on most of the time. That being said, you could do very few upgrades to an s4 and still have plenty of power.

The 4.2L is solid. But not much to upgrade unless you go supercharger or something which will be big bucks.

 

If you have the money and want to put up with twice the aggervation and twice the cost of a 1.8t then get the S4.

FWIW a B5 with a chip and exhaust is faster than a B6 or B7 unless your using nitrous or the VF supercharger.

 

I doubt you would see 400hp on the stock block, if you did it would never be as reliable as a 4.2L would. I had the 1.8T and did upgrades, and had a talon with 424whp (11.5 @ 119mph) and they would never "blow away" the 4.2L. Maybe be faster, but the simple fact that it's stock, reliable and naturally aspirated makes all the difference.
nty of power.

No need to upgrade it, 340hp is way more than enough. The S4 is audi's version of an A4 already completely upgraded. Just buy it and drive it.

 

its a 1.8t with the t = turbo = lag

I wont argue about v8 vs turbo 4 cylinder - thats a different question ...

Ive also read a few complaints about the "peepy-ness" of the 4.2L.
However im fairly certain that 400hp on the stock block is not a problem. This is whats posted on this forum:

"How much power can the stock engine take?

Contrary to popular belief the 1.8T's engine does not have forged internals. The pistons are forged Mahle's, but thats it. The limit of a completely stock 1.8T is around 450hp/330ft lbs (with a good tune). After that your gona start snapping rods. Other than that, you dont need to touch anything else. You could swap in new pistons to lower the compression ratio, but the stock piston's have been proven to be able to handle over 700hp. If your gona be taking the engine to over 8k RPM (sometimes 7500RPM) than you'll also want to upgrade the valve springs so you dont float a valve. There are 900+ hp 1.8T's out there."


And the "buy it and drive it" idea is great but in reality cars need to be maintained. Now Im not saying that the 2.7t or 4.2L are bad cars, by any stretch - Im providing another viewpoint.

 

I had a GT3071R B6 1.8T and I probably dropped over 30k in that car with labor and parts alone and it still wasnt perfect. That thing had issues every week. I would go with a B5 S4..over a heavily modified A4 anyday. If you spend about 12k in parts for the S4...you will have a rocket, plus that engine can handle 450 awhp without upgrading rods or pistons. That engine is made to handle that but the A4s engine totally isnt. I had to learn the hardway when I blew a rod thru the block. Needless to say that error of mine right their cost me 9000 bucks. The safer choice is the B5 S4. I wouldnt mess with a B6 or B7 S4. Too heavy and slow. Cant really mod that car too much. B5s are much better and sought after too. You dont see B5s alot which is cool. I really think the A4 will give you more problems than the S4 man. If I could do it all over again..I would have gone with a B5 S4 from day one. Just going from personal experience that modded A4 I had was just a nightmare. It pisses me off to this day that I dropped so much cash on that piece of crap.

 

Once finished i think you will have much more fun in the S4 plus more unique....