arU4ic

Not many complain about this, and I drive a little harder than most (used to race bikes), the rear-end float on this car has pushed me away. Tired of the mini-panic attacks when I slow (or god-forbid brake) on the high-speed sweepers or need to transition.

I do not want to put 10k into upgrades to compensate for the balance of the car - although a sport diff could make the car sublime.

I'm thinking S4, CPO and then mod the suspension to get a little more out of it.

Thoughts? Flames? Let me have it.

salvadorik

S4? Come on buddy! Have you driven S4? S3 is a lot more fun and is more balanced overall. 034motorsport has pretty much a good solution to rectify a floaty rear end. The rear sway bar and the newly announced rear inserts will do the trick. I am pretty sure about that. That won't be nowhere close to 10K. About $265 sway bar and $105 rear inserts.

I would never make that change to the current generation S4. I would wait until the new B9 S4 comes out.

arU4ic

I just don't see how a sway bar can fix the problems this car has - its the weight balance and crappy Haldex programming IMO.

I will drive a B8 probably tomorrow to test - and I'll really test it - if I get one I'll buy and mod a bit. (S3 is leased).

I am excited about the '18 S4, but it's release timing is uncertain, so why not play with customizing an S4 for a year - not a fan of the new A4 body style either - maybe I love it.

I guess another option is to buy the S3 and mod...

keep talking, I'm listening...

Diztek

Road & Track - "What if we tell you that the Audi S3’s lap renders the 2007 RS4 obsolete? Consider: The 292-hp S3 is but 0.1 second behind the 420-hp RS4 on VIR’s 4.1-mile gantlet, and this despite going 6.9 mph slower down the front straight. Clearly the S3 has higher cornering speeds. If today’s lowliest Audi S-car can match the hottest Audi sedan from 2007, a car that made our resident Porschephile, Tony Quiroga, quip, “This is a car that makes me not want a 911,” then we are definitely in the realm of greatness."

Audi S3 at Lightning Lap 2015 ? Feature ? Car and Driver

salvadorik

I hope you will enjoy an S4 during the test drive. I also hope that S4 wont seem like a pig to you especially after an S3. Yes, the supercharged V6 is awesome. No comparison here to our 2.0T, EA888. It is silky smooth but the problem is more than 50% of this heavy V6 hangs over the front axle. Regardless of the sport diff an S4 tends to noticeably understeer. Yes, S3 got less fancy Quattro system (aka Haldex) but it still is significantly more fun than its brother S4. The main reason is the smaller size and lighter curb weight. With these two major advantages S3 offers a promising platform which an S4 simply cannot offer.

arU4ic

So test drove a 2015 S4 an hour ago - the weight of the S4 and wider stance are really cool, handling was sloppier than the S3 by quite a bit but little or no rear-end roll and the rear diff is such a touch of genius evil, I felt like I was hitting the on-ramp in a corvette or M5 - amazing.

It has a bigger soul, something about being less-perfect, a little sloppy and growly made it a really cool ride.

The lack of the 0-5 mph turbo lag/ 4banger-hanger was enough to shove me over the edge to jump from my S3... but I resisted. Still you with you famiglia... but F&%@ I gotta fix that damn rear-end. I'll get started next week - even in I have to put fracking cinderblocks in the truck.

New summer shoes for sure.

A chip that only gives me 20 more HPs would be perfect too, but let's not go there just yet.

Thanks for being there for my time of crisis, hopefully we avoided the need for an intervention.

arU4ic

Hey Duke, sorry, I meant that to be a new thread. Thanks though, your answer makes sense.

Fixeroh

arU4ic; Great thread and you make valid points. Besides a thicker rear sway, there is another option which has helped me. Brace. I installed an underbody brace from Unibrace and it has reduced rear end twitchiness considerably! Unibrace also offers an X brace that bolts between the rear shock mounts right behind the back seat. I considered that option but feel the handling is OK at this point. Better anyway. I'm still looking at a thicker rear sway for better turn in however. Underbody brace is a quality product and easy install. Immediate results. Less flex. Very noticeable. Really reduced that nervous tendency to step out of line.

sevenpsych

Are you getting this float with or without traction control?

I'm also wondering if the squirrely nature is coming from the faux differential breaking that the car does.

arU4ic

Good thought, it does (in scientific terms) feel like Yaw, but not sure if it's a weight distribution problem (Lift - the rear is so much lighter that it 'floats' behind the car in these higher speed sweepers) or as you describe, because the weight of the car wants to go past the front of the car as the car slows (Yaw) for whatever reason.

Stiffening up body flex will definitely help, I'm sure, but I don't think the problem can really be solved because of the S3's almost 60/40 weight distribution (59/41 really), but maybe cutting down body roll will get me further than I think.