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Dynamic Steering for S4, YES or NO??


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With regards the dynamic suspension - I added that for my replacement A4 and am really glad I did. It simply makes the car much more suitable for the wife's uses and mine.

That's interesting.

All the reviews say that the dynamic suspension is great when in all out attack mode and everything is firm, but round town even on the comfort setting it is no where near as compliant as the spring set up.

Chris Harris said that because the S4 still understeers like a good 'un and doesn't feel as dynamic, compared with the competition, you have to enjoy it in a different way, and that means by making it an very fast everyday car that is very comfy when it needs to be, and that is why it is better to sacrifice the extra firmness the active set up brings to make sure it works well for the other 364 days of the year.

So are you saying it makes it better for you, or for her?

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I wish I had DAB.

It's really worth having as I have discovered borrowing an A5 cab with it. Not overly bothered with B&O though, the standard speakers in my Avant sound pretty good.

DAB is brilliant. Currently have B&O in my A5, and would be happy to have it in my next again... S4 Black Edition includes B&O and DAB

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Just specced up an S4 avant and with everything that I would want it is £44k.

My spec here.... DOWNLOAD

The same spec in an RS4 is £60,100.

Also, not completely convinced about the RS4, I actually think the S4 has more appeal to me this time round.

I think I would love the S4 every day, have a feeling the RS4 would always feel it should have been better.

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But aren't all new car prices just silly these days?

No, I think they're just realistic based on the R&D and cost to build. Manufacturers subsidised new car prices for years (and lost huge amounts of money because of it) juts to get "market share" and then BMW started to charge realistic prices for their cars - E92 was the best example of this, and then everyone else started to follow suit.

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That's interesting.

All the reviews say that the dynamic suspension is great when in all out attack mode and everything is firm, but round town even on the comfort setting it is no where near as compliant as the spring set up.

Chris Harris said that because the S4 still understeers like a good 'un and doesn't feel as dynamic, compared with the competition, you have to enjoy it in a different way, and that means by making it an very fast everyday car that is very comfy when it needs to be, and that is why it is better to sacrifice the extra firmness the active set up brings to make sure it works well for the other 364 days of the year.

So are you saying it makes it better for you, or for her?

Just to recap what I've had and got :

[1] A4 Sline with Sports Suspension - Car A

[2] A4 Sline with Dynamic Suspension - Car B

Both had/have 19" wheels.

The Sports suspension is 20mm lower that stock as is the Dynamic.

The S4 has different suspension to the Sline so I can't comment on that. S4 with Dynamic Vs Sline with Dynamic would be same drop but I believe different springs which would be used in part due to the engine weight etc.

In Car A I found the Sports Suspension choppy on poor surfaces but then when pushing on it felt too soft i.e. exactly the opposite of what you want. When I did the test drive I thought it was ok but noted the limitations and thought it would be ok. It's certainly better than the rock hard B6 S4 suspension was!

However the more I drove it the more annoyed I got by it.

When Audi were preparing to build the replacement (for the missing quattro), I test drove A4 Sports suspension and A4 Dynamic back to back and we then added it to the build.

Car B - The Mrs loves the Comfort setting - much more compliant than Sports suspension and since she uses it most this opinion had to be listened to. Additionally when we bought the car my youngest was only a few months old so we didn't want a very firm ride. The aesthetic advantage is you can have softer suspension whilst still being quite low. The Auto mode works well detecting and swapping it's behaviour in real time. The Dynamic setting really firms it up and definately feels more planted. Since the Mrs never pushes on in Comfort mode, the lack of a planted feel doesn't come into play. It's definately more compliant that the Sport Suspension. I

When changing modes it actually feels like the road surface has changed. I only use Dynamic when I'm in the mood to play. It's too firm for everyday. Auto is fine too.

Coz I added SatNav you then also get the option of Individual mode. This doesn't let you adjust the individual settings. It lets you mix the different components e.g. Comfort = soft suspension, relaxed throttle, light steering etc. Individual lets you create a package how you like it e.g. Auto suspension, sensitive throttle, dynamic steering.

I've tweaked the car so that the default mode (i.e. on ignition on) is Individual. I've done this as the car remembers the settings per key. It doesn't remember which mode it was in other than the default one. Therefore when I use my key it's exactly my settings.

It works for us as the car gets varied use. Maybe less so for a single owner. However Audi claim it's modes give it a softer and firmer firm option than the standard suspension. How that relates to an S4 I don't know.

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Cheers for the detailed reply Scotty old bean, appreciated.

That's really interesting. I had an A6 with the dynamic suspension and I thought it was great.

Then read the reviews of the S4 and RS4 and they say to leave off the steering and suspension.

I do think the S4 could be a very good buy, certainly my favourite Audi so far. I actually prefer it to the B7 RS4.

And now with MTM etc. getting 450bhp out of it and 0-60 in 3.5secs it is becoming the ultimate sleeper.

So keeping an eye on used prices.

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Come on then Mark, 2013 Audi S4 Avant S tronic Black Edition in Ibis White with 19" titanium rotors..... whats the full options list

I cannot believe a Nogaro / Sprint / Sepang variant is no longer on the standard colours list

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Black Edition (black grille, black roof bars , privacy glass, flat bottom steering wheel, B&O, AMI, DAB), Silver black Super Sport seats, Drive Select, Damper Ctrl, Sports Diff, Tech Pack Advanced, Mobile Tel w/ Audi Connect, haeted Front Seats, Convenience Pack, hill assist, tyre pressure indicator, rearside airbags, parking advanced, advanced key, panoramic sunroof, power tailgate, adaptive headlight...

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  • 4 weeks later...

Interesting thread. A very highly specified car, with all the 'driver' options, but a considered choice not to go with the dynamic steering. I have read the thread a few times but unless I missing it, what was the reason for not going for it?

I don't have it on mine (or ADS at all) and am happy enough so far. The steering however is most notably detached. Very light at manouvering speeds and nicely weighting up (although the transition is sometimes a little odd), but it does somehow always feel like an artificial weight/resistance rather than actual feel. Nothing I have a problem living with and if I didn't ever drive anything else I would be more oblivious than I am. Driving other cars with 'regular' steering makes it more apparant.

Edited by GrahamS4
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I didn't contribute to some of points raised in this thread about list prices and whether they're worth it or not etc as I was in the middle of trying to order a car myself.

However no-one pays list so in some respects they're irrelevant and saying you lose x amount per month vs list is pointless.

There are some good deals out there if you're prepared to push. I've just secured a smidge under £7.5k off a factory order S5, even if it has taken me about 2 months of badgering them :P

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It's the best deal I have ever managed to get off them. 12% off the car and the options (factory build) and a further £1700 deposit contribution for taking out finance (which can be settled after 1 month).

They effectively matched the drivethedeal quote after a lot of negotiation; when they realised I had no issue at all going to a dealer outside the area, they gave in.

Ironically, drivethedeal was back to 11% last night.

edit - discount in excess of 10% is easy to achieve, I had 2 other verbal offers of 10% and 10.5%, and then there was still the additional £1700 finance contribution to come off.

Edited by Milo
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