Re: S4/S6 vs. 200TQ 20V

[Eliot Lim <eliot@u.washington.edu>]

> The later car also has a better ventilation system (and much better looking
> control panel for it).

i don't know if there were any major changes with the climate control
effectiveness aside from the much more attractive looking controls.
i asked about getting rid of that ugly GM sourced CC control panel
and was told that those in the newer cars are completely different
not just on the face plate but everything behind the scenes as well.

> minor downside:  per Ned, the S4/S6 cannot ultimately be tweaked as high as
> the earlier car--look at the intake plumbing and you'll see why.  otoh, i
> believe his products takes either motor to about the same point right now.
> As for the overboost, just get a chip (Ned's, Jo's, Peter's, etc.) and it's
> not just "over" it's always available.

so do these after market chips all claim to provide continuous 2.15
bars of boost?  (1 + 1.15)

audi claims that the distributorless ignition is important for running such
high boost levels, but it appears from the aftermarket products that perhaps
that was just a conservative measure.

one final comment re: s4/s6 vs. 200TQ20V.  steve powers told me that the 95.5
S6 comes with xenon projector beam headlights.  having seen these in action
on the a8, i would say that these constitute a major difference between the
S6 and the 200TQ.  one could get aftermarket H4's for the 200TQ of course
and a 200TQ full of aftermarket improvements will still come up a lot less
than the still very expensive used S4/S6.

a good place to look for used S4/S6s would be canada.  assuming that canadian
cars can be easily imported here, the prices appear to be quite a bit lower
than in the US.

i think an even better alternative to the S4/S6/200TQ is the a4 1.8T.
state of the art suspension, gorgeous exterior styling, low low price,
gorgeous interior, fold down rear seats and much lower weight. (!!)

and an engine that has practically the same infinite tuning
potential....  why buy a used S4 when the same money will buy the a4
1.8T plus a s***tload of aftermarket tweaks.


eliot