Gringo185

I loved my SVT Lightning but it wasn't doing well in the NC winter weather. So I sold it to my brother and bought a 2001 S4. I've only ever owned American cars so I wasn't really sure to expect. But this thing is awesome.

It's a 6-speed with 75k miles. Box stock to boot (as far as I can tell).













Even came with the original window sticker:





Quick question:

-When I first drive off in the morning, my breaks are VERY hard and feel as though they have almost no stopping power . 5-10 minutes into the drive they soften up and stop great. Is there an issue? Or does the car's power brake system need to warm up before operating properly?

Thanks for the info.

donromani

No, there shouldn't be anything like a warm-up period for the brakes. It might be the pad material but you should check your fluid level and make sure the vacuum system components are all sealed - the brakes are vacuum assisted.

thejulex

Check the brake booster vacuum connector, it fairly frequently fails on aged S4s.

jumpnofear

Wow, that is my car just 63,000 miles younger. Same color, add ons & price. I bought it new and still love it. Still stock as well. Congrats.

I'm with Donromani, there should not be any warm up for brakes. Mine always feel the same unless there are really hot and then there is some fade but that is it.

jamesdmanley

yep same thing happened on mine. check all the lines from the brake booster. culprit is probably the check valve. i epoxied mine back together and bought a replacement i've yet to install

hodan

No warm up for brakes.

Couple of tips as well:

Make sure the oil temp needle moves before you get into the the turbos, at a minimum.

After driving hard, don't turn the key off until the fan quits running, gotta let those turbos cool off.

Unless you're just gonna go with bigger turbos and want to clean oil out of everything.

You've got a great looking s4! Makes me miss 2003 when i bought mine.

Gringo185

Thanks for the compliments and info. I'm having it checked out tomorrow by a guy that specializes in Audi/VW.

As far as mods go, I'm looking into a tune, exhaust, intake, FMIC, suspension and wheels for starters.

donromani

I see you're in NC - if you're in the vicinity of Apex I recommend Peak Automotive. They're right by the cary automall and they do excellent work, fair price, great bunch of guys. Tell them Roman recommended you and you can all have a good laugh. (I'm kind of known for the mechanical disasters I bring to them to fix )

Pete@ECSTuning

Very nice looking S! Sounds like you'll have a good start for mods. Make sure you have everything up to date maintenance wise before you mod her.

Also us S4 guys shy away from FMIC's they usually require cutting the front bumper to get them to fit correctly and dont perform as well.

I'd suggest sticking with the factory design when it comes to upgrading the intercoolers.

Many company's offer larger/thicker upgrades which perform much better then a FMIC with tons of long drawn out piping, which will cause a loss of a few PSI while boosting.

Factory RS4 intercoolers are a less expensive alternative if you're on a budget!

I have built you a custom link below with some aftermarket parts below.

Click HERE to view.


Let me know if you have any questions.

Pete

hodan

I agree with Pete. Also, don't start shopping for blow off valves. You've got a great tuner car, just not like most of the other turbo cars you may be familiar with.