Quote:
Originally Posted by TurboStar
Hello all,
I am new here and I am glad to join this forum. This is my first post and i look forward to being frequently around here. Currenty i own 2 VW's and thanks to my pocket - it has been getting fatter, I am ready to upgrade  .
The question is: S4 or M3??? Stock I am sold on the M3 for sure but how about modded S4?
Honestly speaking I love the M3 way more but on the other side the potential to mod the S4 will be by day and night in terms of $$$ and parts. I know Audi's are at least twice as cheap to mod and upgrade. I am sure that by summer time a chip + exhaust + CAI = ~450HP's at around $2K for the S4 and imagine upgrading the charger!!! Because of not so much of a BMW tuning knowledge, how much money I would need to up my M3 to at least 600WHP? Still i am on 70% for buying an M3 but i just need more feedback.
Now of course some of you would ask why would i want to tune it when the M3 has enough power already but stock just doesnt cut it for me ( i always like to surprise people) and some may say I should have enough money to tune it if i am able to buy a $45-50K car but lets leave those elaborations aside for now. Thanks for your honest feedback. |
Stock for stock, the M3 is clearly a more sinewy drive, back-road banditry being a clear BMW specialty. In that venue, the S4 will have you grinning, while the M3 will have you chuckling, and possibly laughing out loud from time to time.
Are back roads what you mostly do? If so, give more weight to the M3 choice. If not, consider the everyday usability of the S4, plus its ability to be sneaky fast, since you won't have to wind it up to high E over C to get it to go really well.
Advantage M3, although it's not a runaway.
Do you do track days? If so, even more advantage to the M3. The S4 will be willing, while the M3 will be eager.
Do you do a fair amount of driving in inclement weather? If so, some of that M3 advantage disappears over to the S4 plus column.
All in all, though, unless a lot of snow and ice driving is part of your scenario, the M3 will still be an overall "better" ride.
Modified? S4 all the way. Stock, the M3 is traction-limited in first gear (just as the E46 was), and you'll need to deliver a ton more torque to get that extra power, since you can't wind it up much more than stock without having engine parts simultaneously visiting more than one zip code. Result? First gear (and probably second) will be essentially useless, because you won't be able to get the power down. Even with, say, DOT-legal race sneakers, you still won't hook up unless you've warmed the hell out of them first, which is inconvenient, at best.
As an aside, limited traction means the driveline will last longer under duress, which is a plus, even though it feels like a serious minus at the time.
The Audi will take 600 WHP right down the road with no fuss or bother, but remember when you're doing those red-line-and-pop-the-clutch banzai launches, you're eventually going to have driveline parts simultaneously visiting more than one zip code. At a guess, you'll preserve the driveline if you limit your use of full throttle in first gear, and go for it from second gear on up.
Bruce