Re: 1996 A4 with 70K plus miles & S4/S6 vs. 1.8/2.8 Q

[John Cunningham <johnc@together.net>]

Richard -

> the 1.8TQs seem to be more reasonably priced, but I don' think they were
> available until 1198, right?

First 'model year' was 1997 (my car) so they should have been available in late
'96.

> They are very rare (used), but they are consistently around $23K with 40K

Yes, not many showing up used yet.  I paid $22k for mine which was pampered
with only 12k mis. and consider it a sweet deal from the shopping I did
(lots).  Big factor is that the first run of leases aren't expiring yet, but
when they do we will doubtless see many more.  I was shopping for a 90Q at
first, and the number of these coming off lease is dwindling, which means we
should start seeing - first a bunch of  2.8 12V A4's, then more of the 1.8T's.

> Have you chipped yours?  If so, what was the hp increase?

Wetterauer chip - 1.0 bar.  Great so far.  It's supposed to take it from 150 to
200ish.  I could believe it, engine is a blast to drive now, was less
interesting before.  There's a number of decent chips out there - this is the
big 1.8T newbie question of course.  I looked around quite a bit, best rep
seems to be from MTM/Hoppen, Wett, TAP (in no order).  Less popular - Garrett,
AutoThority.  Cheap chip is Greedspeed/Neuspeed. I have the famed comparison
article (there's only one, but it's been published in 5 or 6 mags) if you want
a copy, let me know & I'll send it & other info off list.

> Is the 1.8T really much more fun to drive?

(donning Nomex underwear & Kevlar flak jacket, following are purely my
uninformed, unqualified opinions, yes i know i'm an idiot, yes yes yes....)
IMHO Yes, at least chipped.  That 12V 2.8 is not nearly the fun motor that the
5 was, I find it a little boring in whatever car it's in - 90/100/A6/A4.  At
172hp, it's more powerful than the stock 1.8T, but less than a chipped one, and
with slower throttle response.  And the sweet thing about the 1.8T is that they
kept torque up and lag down with the small turbo.  Haven't checked out the 30V,
but it certainly should be a lot better (190hp).  Someone with the 30v will see
this and post opinions I'm sure. I have to disagree with recent posts of the
'I'll never drive a 4cyl, gotta have a 6 or 8' variety.  That's a silly
statement to make - it all depends on the motors in question.  Maybe that's
true for POS Amurican cars... There are a good number of great Japanese 4's
that are better than 6's from the same mfr's.  That's not to say that there
aren't great 6's AT ALL, fer instance, I can hardly imagine not preferring a
sweet BMW 6 to a 4, but then again their old 'e' motors in the 80's were less
spirited... but you just can't make a blanket statement either way.  In this
case, the chipped 1.8T definitely beats the boring 12v 6.  That ought to get me
some heat, better quit while I'm behind.

> Love to hear more about how much you  like it.  I'm also considering a late

Feel free to give me a call if you want, daytime number is below.  Might take a
few tries to hook up since I live in meetings and conference rooms during
daylight hours.

> Anyone out there care to comment on the S4/6 vs. the A4 2.8 or 1.*

S4-S6 is a great car.  Really really nice.  Chip that up to 250-280?  heh
heh...  Sometimes I think I should have looked a little more at them...

JC
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John J Cunningham III           Project Leader / Technical Analyst
                                             Country Home Products
johnc@together.net                            (802) 877-1201 X1242
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