[Biturbos4] Naughty thought...

[Keman]

> Have any of you ever felt like our S4, even in stock form, is too much
> car (power wise) for daily use? I've been frustrated somewhat since I
> got my S4, that I can't really use its power 90% of the time, due to
> traffic and not wanting dates with cops.

I was able to get on my biturbo S4 10x more than I can on my new V8 S4.
Consider yourself lucky, you get peak torque below 2k rpm so you don't
have to wring the engine out to get going fast... so you don't have to
make a lot of noise nor get into particularly high speeds before the
engine starts to pull hard. I've driven a lot of fast cars in my life, and
I'd have to say the biturbo S4 was the one I felt was easiest to drive
fast and not draw attention to yourself. A Mustang GT in comparison is
about the worst next to say, a Viper or a Corvette. If you're in one of
those and going fast, consider yourself fscked before the cop even looks
at you.

> Lastly, there's the reliability. Replacing those pesky K03s aren't cheap
> by any means, and owning it past warranty is starting to concern me.

I had mine to 96k miles, and at 80k miles I pulled the downpipes and
inspected the turbos .. they had no indication of wear whatsoever. If you
warm up the car and and manage the temps so things don't get too hot when
you shut it down, these turbos can outlast the engine, which can last for
an eternity with it's 2.5L diesel bottom end.

> All this leads me to the Mini Cooper S. I drove one last summer and it
> was fantastic. It's certainly not as fast as a stock S4, but with its

Minicooper S and an S4 differ in multiple worlds and multiple price tiers,
one is almost 2x as expensive as the other. You're comparing apples to
oranges here. If you like light and tossable, don't skip checking out a
Miata. I'd take it's RWD over the Mini S's FWD even with a torsen, any
day. I was just driving a friends Mini S last night, and it was a terrific
car with an outstanding interior. But. It was not an AWD biturbo sedan.

> I only bring up the Mini because it's the only car I like on the market
> right now other than my S4 and CQ, and its within my financial reach.
> So what do you guys think?  I'd like to hear some of your thoughts.

Check these cars out if you haven't: STi, Evo, 350Z. A friend of mine just
picke dup an STi and I gotta say it's a blast to drive but none of these
cars, including the Mini S, are going to save you from the cops if you're
doing 20 over the speed limit. Get thee to a track... :)

- Keman


>
> Quincy
> '01.5 S4
> '90 CQ