[s-cars] Introduction

[Calvin & Diana Craig]

Dan,

I went almost the same path you did.  I started out with two 200's, an '89
Avant and a '91 20 Valve Sedan.  I then bought a '92 S4.  The S4 is far and
away a better car in my opinion.  The handling, the seats, the power, etc.
are all in favor of the S4.  The other huge thing is the maintenance.  The
20 valve I had always had something going wrong I had to fix and it was a
pretty low mileage example (96k miles when I got it in '99).  The '89 wagon
has been similar, but not quite as bad.  Also, it had more miles and was
more abused when I got it so I can cut it some slack.  The S4 has been very
low maintenance for the 55k miles we have had it (80-135).  We have only had
to unexpectedly replace a power steering hose, fuel pressure regulator, and
coil packs.  Everything else has been normal maintenance (clutch, brakes,
timing belt, tires, etc.).

The differences in the engine are as follows as best I know.
1) Individual coils for each cylinder rather than the distributor on the
'91.  This allowed for more aggressive timing and boost maps.  Now the coil
packs can be costly when they go, but then again so can the plastic geared
'91 distributor.
2) The boost is much higher in stock form.  The S4 will top out at about 0.4
bar above where the '91 does.
3) I believe the cylinder head was also redesigned.

As far as the model year thing goes, there still isn't a car made today
similar to the '95.5 S6 Avant.  If you are looking for a wagon this is still
probably my favorite wagon ever made.

If you are looking at sedans you may want to consider the trade-offs from
model year to model year.

On the '92 the suspension is stiffer than the other years along with the
rear sway bar.  It also has the metal intercooler and ducting as you
mentioned.  In addition to this I believe it was more user controllable.  By
that I mean it had the locking center differential controlled from the
center console as opposed to the brake controlled EDL on the later models (I
think this is S6 only).  It also had an ability to turn off the anti-lock
braking system.  The '92 was the only model year with the trip computer
still installed as well.

I don't know what year the gauges changed but none of the years are as well
equipped as the 200's were.  The first segment had all the same gauges as
the 200's except they threw out the voltmeter and put in a clock.  The later
years matched the 200's except that this time they had a clock instead of
the oil pressure gauge.

The suspension thing is the biggest difference on the '92s vs. other years.
However, if you are going to modify the suspension this is immaterial.  The
'92 is just right stock for me...the other years are too soft and I would
have to go aftermarket.  This is obviously personal preference though.

There is no way that I can believe that this car has a 51/49 weight
distribution.  The 60/40 sounds right.  Unless the rear decklid is made out
of lead :)

Altogeteher I was totally impressed with the upgrade from a '91 200.  Don't
let the other '91 200 owners fool you, it is not an S-Car and you will be
amazed at the difference, especially the midrange torque in 2nd gear :)

Good Luck!

--Calvin


-----Original Message-----
From: s-car-list-bounces at audifans.com
[mailto:s-car-list-bounces at audifans.com]On Behalf Of Dan Cordon
Sent: Thursday, June 24, 2004 12:13 AM
To: s-car-list at audifans.com
Subject: [s-cars] Introduction


Hey all-

I'm new to the S-car list, and admittedly don't have a real S-car yet.
I'm subscribed to the 'quattro' and '200 20v' lists though. Currently my
two audis are an 87 5kcstq and a 91 200 20v (kind of an S-car, but not
quite).

I'm selling my 5k now, and planning to sell my 200 20v in the future
(not posting this as an ad though) with the intention of getting an
S-car. I'm looking at the 92+ S4 and the S6. But I have several
questions that list members may know answers to.

Was the avant made all the years? Any rough idea how many were produced?
  Do they cost a premium over the regular S4/S6's?

I've seen differing specs on weight distribution for the S4. One site
says it's 51/49, while another claims nearly 60/40. Any idea what the
actual is for the sedan and avant?

I've also heard that only the 92 model S4 had a rear sway bar, and only
the 92-93 S4's had all metal intercoolers. Are there particular years
that are better than others for the S4/S6?

I'm familiar with the Type 44 chassis and its quarks. Are there
particular bugs the S4/S6's are prone to? I got my 200 20v pretty cheap,
but have had to repair about 100 small problems to make it 'fully
functional." Just wondering what to plan on with the S-cars.

And just to check...if I get an RS2 exhaust manifold and turbo for my 91
200 20v, these should bolt on to the S4/S6 as well right? Since my car
also has S4 G60 brakes, my Bira upgrade should swap on as well I think.

Thanks for any information you can share. I love the drivetrain in my
200 20v, but I'm hoping to find a car (avant if possible) that will be
better suited for my needs :o) I look forward to participation on the
list with you all-

--
Dan Cordon
Mechanical Engineer - Engine Research Facility
University of Idaho

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