dpcompt

As a current owner of an '08 S4 avant and considering buying a new S5 as a second car, how important is the sports differential for regular driving? I have owned many high performance cars and can appreciate the benefits of the sports diff on the track.

blinsc

The tangible benefits in "regular driving" are probably pretty minimal, but it's also an $1100 option on a $60k+ car. I'm not saying $1100 isn't a lot of money, but there are probably worse ways to spend it, and if you intend to track the vehicle I would go for it as there are reports of the S5 being prone to understeer without it. I, personally, have never driven an S5 without it, and I would get it again without hesitation simply because of how neutral the S5 felt when I had the car.

Archimedes

Having played around with it on and off on my RS5, I wouldn't buy one without it. It makes the car handle better everywhere and I definitely notice it even just tooling around town. It makes a big difference.

dpcompt

Thanks for your replies

superswiss

The benefits in general are that you can use the throttle to steer the car as in a true RWD car. The other benefits are the lesser known aspects of the sport diff. Those are it's function as a inverted stability control system and yaw damping to stabilize the car. The UK Audi website has a very good summary of the sport diff.

http://www.audi.co.uk/new-cars/a5/s5...ferential.html

BTW, you can't turn it off. Comfort vs. Auto vs. Dynamic simply controls how it prioritizes stability over agility. The SD is always on. But in Comfort mode it's more about stabilty and keeping the car on the intended line where as in Dynamic mode you can really feel the extra rotation it provides.

ayap

Just get it. It makes a big difference in the twisties and when you drive thru a curving road.