B6/7 S4 convertible.....good buy?

[Zip]

Fancy a cheap four seater V8 runaround for the summer.

What should I be looking out for?

Thanks,
Zip

[paulrstaylor]

I've got one for just that reason, 4 seat soft to with a V8 and a clutch is perfect for it

That said, they are not without potential issues. mainly timing chain related on the BBK engine, plastic tensioners/sliders that fail and bork the engine = lots on ebay as breakers.

Clutch and DMF can take some stick, but if they fail = £££

I've had three S4s, each has needed a new starter!? Can be done in situ, so not the end of the world.

Usual B6/B7 issues possibly compounded by front end mass, top suspension arms semi-consumable and can be a PITA.

Auxiliary radiators can seep and leak due to corrosion, front end off job.

Oil pressure sensor went last year, changed in situ thanks to my "girlish" hands.

On the soft top the motor tends to fail, easy and inexpensive to have refurbished though as it's just the bushes.

Auto is more of a cruiser than the manual, lower RPM on the motorway. Milltek catback frees up the V8 soundtrack, but the non-resonated can be boomy on the auto (but the manual is okay as you can pick another gear).

Xenon headlights will be rubbish, unless the reflector bowls have been changed - I fitted new projectors and all good now!

Look out for corrosion, mine will get a pair of new wings this year (assuming it doesn't end up on ebay with a borked engine )

[paulrstaylor]

Mine looks like this, when it is clean, which isn't often enough!

[Adrian E]

Only real alternatives are the Merc CLK or BMW 6-series, but depends how critical rear legroom is?

Couple of nice private sale S4s with sensible miles on AT at the moment

[Zip]

I want a manual gearbox...

[paulrstaylor]

In which case, assuming a V8 Manual Soft-top with 4 seats you have to chose from: S4, RS4, BMW 6 Series, M3, or a DB9.

See Here

I'm in two minds about selling mine to be honest, but only because I'm thinking about an RS4 in its place

[1781cc]

Originally Posted by paulrstaylor

I've got one for just that reason, 4 seat soft to with a V8 and a clutch is perfect for it

That said, they are not without potential issues. mainly timing chain related on the BBK engine, plastic tensioners/sliders that fail and bork the engine = lots on ebay as breakers.

Clutch and DMF can take some stick, but if they fail = £££

I've had three S4s, each has needed a new starter!? Can be done in situ, so not the end of the world.

Usual B6/B7 issues possibly compounded by front end mass, top suspension arms semi-consumable and can be a PITA.

Auxiliary radiators can seep and leak due to corrosion, front end off job.

Oil pressure sensor went last year, changed in situ thanks to my "girlish" hands.

On the soft top the motor tends to fail, easy and inexpensive to have refurbished though as it's just the bushes.

Auto is more of a cruiser than the manual, lower RPM on the motorway. Milltek catback frees up the V8 soundtrack, but the non-resonated can be boomy on the auto (but the manual is okay as you can pick another gear).

Xenon headlights will be rubbish, unless the reflector bowls have been changed - I fitted new projectors and all good now!

Look out for corrosion, mine will get a pair of new wings this year (assuming it doesn't end up on ebay with a borked engine )

I've had two B6 S4 Manuals and all of the above is perfect advise.

Only other thing I would add is check for inner front arch rust, broken clips on the armrest cover and the operation of the inlet manifold flap which can stick and cause 4K rpm misfires.

You can also fit Milltek race downpipes that become full decats and will need a remap to bypass the sensors, I did this on my first one and Minhea from MRC logged 371bhp on their dyno. If thats too drastic, you can gut the pre-cats (piggies) and that helps free up a little power for free.

These engines respond well to LPG if thats your thing, I ran one of the two on a BRC system for 2 years, cost peanuts to run and when the donut tank in the spare wheel well ran dry it auto-switched to petrol seamlessly, its essentially a dual fuel. Incidentally, a dual fuel with the piggies gutted passes the MOT with a probe in because it runs cleaner and the cats "look" present but actually are free flowing

Good cars, part of my desire for an S8 was because it was a natural step up from the S4 and to all intents and purposes behaves like a bigger S4 with more refinement.

AudiSRS and RS246 have good dedicated sections on these cars over there.

Finally, timing change rebuild can set you back up to £3K and if you get a good one, the sky is the limit tuning wise but it wont be cheap - JHM in the US are world leaders for this platform and have supercharged several with devastating results.

[Zip]

Couple of questions:

- are they all Bose?
- assume RNS-E is a plug and play upgrade?
- is centre armrest easy retrofit?
- what about cruise?
- do any have memory driver's seat?

ta,
Z

[1781cc]

Originally Posted by Zip

Couple of questions:

- are they all Bose?
- assume RNS-E is a plug and play upgrade?
- is centre armrest easy retrofit?
- what about cruise?
- do any have memory driver's seat?

ta,
Z

I can't answer all with 100% certainty but from things I have looked at:

- All Bose in the S4
- Yes to Plug and play
- No idea
- Cuise might be an option, but was on both of mine for sure
- No memory in drivers seat, recaros are lush though, not sure if they are in all cabs but can be retrofitted from Saloon but you lose the quick access feature, if its just two of you though, sod it

[Adrian E]

Originally Posted by 1781cc

I can't answer all with 100% certainty but from things I have looked at:

- All Bose in the S4
- Yes to Plug and play
- No idea
- Cuise might be an option, but was on both of mine for sure
- No memory in drivers seat, recaros are lush though, not sure if they are in all cabs but can be retrofitted from Saloon but you lose the quick access feature, if its just two of you though, sod it

RNS-E is plug and play as long as the OEM stereo is double DIN - if it's single then there's other changes required to the centre console to move the climate panel down etc. Perfectly doable but more parts required. That's based on some research I did when I was considering an S4 saloon.

Assuming the centre armrest is no different to other Audis of the period, I believe it's a simple retrofit IF you can acquire the parts needed.

Cruise is a fairly simple retrofit - new stalk and some wiring/coding. Used to be a popular retrofit in period.