B5 guys? How many stg3 S4's on here?
#1
10-22-2007, 07:46 PM
B5 guys? How many stg3 S4's on here?
Out of curiosity I would like to know how many stage 3 B5 S4's are on here. And if you would share your experience with us as a daily driver, maintenance, reliability, fuel economy, etc... (don't know if stg 3 and fuel economy belong in the same sentence together lol). Pics would be great too.
Thanks in advance.
Regrads,
Andy
Thanks in advance.
Regrads,
Andy
#2
10-23-2007, 09:46 PM
I love my B5 s4 stage III as a daily. Reliability is the only downside. That is not to say you have to replace turbos all the time, but there are little things on the B5 S4's that can be troublesome. Overall, I am not sure there is a daily out there that is more fun, these cars make loads of torque
#3
10-23-2007, 11:54 PM
rs4fast, thanks for the response, I guess there aren't too many b5 guys on here...What kind of reliability issues? Has it ever left you stuck on the side of the road, or just running poor?
Thank you,
Andy
Thank you,
Andy
#5
10-24-2007, 09:48 PM
Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Orange County, CA
Posts: 65
Rep Power: 23 
Hi Andy,
Common perception on these cars is that they are unreliable based on how many people blew the stock turbos on the car and weak vacuum components (like the TBB, BPV's, MAF). Because of that, I think you'll find for that most people here don't have good things to say about the B5 S4 unless you speak to people who still own them.
I don't think a properly turbo-swapped stage 3 would have many reliability issues. Keep in mind, on this car, there are performance upgrades and then there are reinforcement upgrades. By the time you go stage 3, you will have addressed the weak turbos, IC's and fueling (and the TBB & BPV's if you haven't already done so). Probably the most important aspect of going stage 3 is to go with one of the major tuners: ASP, EPL, Vast, AWE. Most of these companies have addressed performance as well as driveability in their tuning software. You can also go with a homebrew setup (which is what I have) but I will tell you now that it requires lots and lots of patience to get the right dialed in and running optimally.
Fuel economy is actually not bad at all provided you stay disciplined and keep a light right foot...on a full tank (~15 gallons) you can get 320-330 miles. At the same time, if you drive it hard, you'll probably get somewhere around 16-17MPG which is still decent considering a properly tuned stage 3 should net you somewhere around 400-450whp.
I've had my car in its current state for some time and don't have any issues. There are numerous stage 3 people with over 100k miles and no problems. However, let me tell you that things such as misfires are a common issue with this car. So if an occasional CEL is going to annoy you, then you probably won't like the car. That's why your most essential tool will be a Vag-Com cable so you can check the car for things such as CEL's and more.
Link to a couple of photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/alg.email/S4
Common perception on these cars is that they are unreliable based on how many people blew the stock turbos on the car and weak vacuum components (like the TBB, BPV's, MAF). Because of that, I think you'll find for that most people here don't have good things to say about the B5 S4 unless you speak to people who still own them.
I don't think a properly turbo-swapped stage 3 would have many reliability issues. Keep in mind, on this car, there are performance upgrades and then there are reinforcement upgrades. By the time you go stage 3, you will have addressed the weak turbos, IC's and fueling (and the TBB & BPV's if you haven't already done so). Probably the most important aspect of going stage 3 is to go with one of the major tuners: ASP, EPL, Vast, AWE. Most of these companies have addressed performance as well as driveability in their tuning software. You can also go with a homebrew setup (which is what I have) but I will tell you now that it requires lots and lots of patience to get the right dialed in and running optimally.
Fuel economy is actually not bad at all provided you stay disciplined and keep a light right foot...on a full tank (~15 gallons) you can get 320-330 miles. At the same time, if you drive it hard, you'll probably get somewhere around 16-17MPG which is still decent considering a properly tuned stage 3 should net you somewhere around 400-450whp.
I've had my car in its current state for some time and don't have any issues. There are numerous stage 3 people with over 100k miles and no problems. However, let me tell you that things such as misfires are a common issue with this car. So if an occasional CEL is going to annoy you, then you probably won't like the car. That's why your most essential tool will be a Vag-Com cable so you can check the car for things such as CEL's and more.
Link to a couple of photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/alg.email/S4
#6
10-25-2007, 11:39 AM
Hi Andy,
Common perception on these cars is that they are unreliable based on how many people blew the stock turbos on the car and weak vacuum components (like the TBB, BPV's, MAF). Because of that, I think you'll find for that most people here don't have good things to say about the B5 S4 unless you speak to people who still own them.
I don't think a properly turbo-swapped stage 3 would have many reliability issues. Keep in mind, on this car, there are performance upgrades and then there are reinforcement upgrades. By the time you go stage 3, you will have addressed the weak turbos, IC's and fueling (and the TBB & BPV's if you haven't already done so). Probably the most important aspect of going stage 3 is to go with one of the major tuners: ASP, EPL, Vast, AWE. Most of these companies have addressed performance as well as driveability in their tuning software. You can also go with a homebrew setup (which is what I have) but I will tell you now that it requires lots and lots of patience to get the right dialed in and running optimally.
Fuel economy is actually not bad at all provided you stay disciplined and keep a light right foot...on a full tank (~15 gallons) you can get 320-330 miles. At the same time, if you drive it hard, you'll probably get somewhere around 16-17MPG which is still decent considering a properly tuned stage 3 should net you somewhere around 400-450whp.
I've had my car in its current state for some time and don't have any issues. There are numerous stage 3 people with over 100k miles and no problems. However, let me tell you that things such as misfires are a common issue with this car. So if an occasional CEL is going to annoy you, then you probably won't like the car. That's why your most essential tool will be a Vag-Com cable so you can check the car for things such as CEL's and more.
Link to a couple of photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/alg.email/S4
Common perception on these cars is that they are unreliable based on how many people blew the stock turbos on the car and weak vacuum components (like the TBB, BPV's, MAF). Because of that, I think you'll find for that most people here don't have good things to say about the B5 S4 unless you speak to people who still own them.
I don't think a properly turbo-swapped stage 3 would have many reliability issues. Keep in mind, on this car, there are performance upgrades and then there are reinforcement upgrades. By the time you go stage 3, you will have addressed the weak turbos, IC's and fueling (and the TBB & BPV's if you haven't already done so). Probably the most important aspect of going stage 3 is to go with one of the major tuners: ASP, EPL, Vast, AWE. Most of these companies have addressed performance as well as driveability in their tuning software. You can also go with a homebrew setup (which is what I have) but I will tell you now that it requires lots and lots of patience to get the right dialed in and running optimally.
Fuel economy is actually not bad at all provided you stay disciplined and keep a light right foot...on a full tank (~15 gallons) you can get 320-330 miles. At the same time, if you drive it hard, you'll probably get somewhere around 16-17MPG which is still decent considering a properly tuned stage 3 should net you somewhere around 400-450whp.
I've had my car in its current state for some time and don't have any issues. There are numerous stage 3 people with over 100k miles and no problems. However, let me tell you that things such as misfires are a common issue with this car. So if an occasional CEL is going to annoy you, then you probably won't like the car. That's why your most essential tool will be a Vag-Com cable so you can check the car for things such as CEL's and more.
Link to a couple of photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/alg.email/S4
Hey man she looks really good. Which homebrew software are you running ?
#7
10-25-2007, 01:35 PM
Also keep in mind B5 S4 were from 2000-2002, only about 13k made and how many of them are actually left.
Trending Topics
#8
10-25-2007, 08:54 PM
Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Orange County, CA
Posts: 65
Rep Power: 23
Thanks bud. I'm currently running the GIAC X-chip. However, I think I will ultimately need custom tuning to get the most out of the K04/RS6 turbos that are on the car.
#9
10-26-2007, 08:44 AM
Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: New York City / Taipei
Posts: 282
Rep Power: 29
I have a 00 stage3 s4 ,150k miles and still running very strong like day one
,I guess I am just lucky compare to those who have reliability issues 
,I guess I am just lucky compare to those who have reliability issues Last edited by nycsurfer; 10-26-2007 at 09:00 AM.
#11
10-26-2007, 09:26 PM
Hi Andy,
Common perception on these cars is that they are unreliable based on how many people blew the stock turbos on the car and weak vacuum components (like the TBB, BPV's, MAF). Because of that, I think you'll find for that most people here don't have good things to say about the B5 S4 unless you speak to people who still own them.
I don't think a properly turbo-swapped stage 3 would have many reliability issues. Keep in mind, on this car, there are performance upgrades and then there are reinforcement upgrades. By the time you go stage 3, you will have addressed the weak turbos, IC's and fueling (and the TBB & BPV's if you haven't already done so). Probably the most important aspect of going stage 3 is to go with one of the major tuners: ASP, EPL, Vast, AWE. Most of these companies have addressed performance as well as driveability in their tuning software. You can also go with a homebrew setup (which is what I have) but I will tell you now that it requires lots and lots of patience to get the right dialed in and running optimally.
Fuel economy is actually not bad at all provided you stay disciplined and keep a light right foot...on a full tank (~15 gallons) you can get 320-330 miles. At the same time, if you drive it hard, you'll probably get somewhere around 16-17MPG which is still decent considering a properly tuned stage 3 should net you somewhere around 400-450whp.
I've had my car in its current state for some time and don't have any issues. There are numerous stage 3 people with over 100k miles and no problems. However, let me tell you that things such as misfires are a common issue with this car. So if an occasional CEL is going to annoy you, then you probably won't like the car. That's why your most essential tool will be a Vag-Com cable so you can check the car for things such as CEL's and more.
Link to a couple of photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/alg.email/S4
Common perception on these cars is that they are unreliable based on how many people blew the stock turbos on the car and weak vacuum components (like the TBB, BPV's, MAF). Because of that, I think you'll find for that most people here don't have good things to say about the B5 S4 unless you speak to people who still own them.
I don't think a properly turbo-swapped stage 3 would have many reliability issues. Keep in mind, on this car, there are performance upgrades and then there are reinforcement upgrades. By the time you go stage 3, you will have addressed the weak turbos, IC's and fueling (and the TBB & BPV's if you haven't already done so). Probably the most important aspect of going stage 3 is to go with one of the major tuners: ASP, EPL, Vast, AWE. Most of these companies have addressed performance as well as driveability in their tuning software. You can also go with a homebrew setup (which is what I have) but I will tell you now that it requires lots and lots of patience to get the right dialed in and running optimally.
Fuel economy is actually not bad at all provided you stay disciplined and keep a light right foot...on a full tank (~15 gallons) you can get 320-330 miles. At the same time, if you drive it hard, you'll probably get somewhere around 16-17MPG which is still decent considering a properly tuned stage 3 should net you somewhere around 400-450whp.
I've had my car in its current state for some time and don't have any issues. There are numerous stage 3 people with over 100k miles and no problems. However, let me tell you that things such as misfires are a common issue with this car. So if an occasional CEL is going to annoy you, then you probably won't like the car. That's why your most essential tool will be a Vag-Com cable so you can check the car for things such as CEL's and more.
Link to a couple of photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/alg.email/S4
Thanks for the detailed response. Your car looks really clean. 400-450 awhp is amazing! I wonder how my RS compares to that. I'm pushing about 420+ at the crank, does anyone know what that equals at the wheels?
I've been thinking about picking one up as a daily driver, and trying to decide if it's better to buy a clean stage 3, or a clean stocker and do the uprades myself. I've seen quite a few for sale over on the Zine already stage 3. I would also be interested in doing a full B5 RS4 widebody upgrade, I love that look!
Thanks to everyone for your responses.
-Andy
#12
10-27-2007, 05:17 PM
Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Orange County, CA
Posts: 65
Rep Power: 23
NYC & STR8...way to represent 
I'm wondering if I could trouble either one of you guys to look at a car for me in NJ near the GW bridge? I would greatly appreciate it.
I'm wondering if I could trouble either one of you guys to look at a car for me in NJ near the GW bridge? I would greatly appreciate it.
#13
10-28-2007, 06:00 AM
Out of curiosity I would like to know how many stage 3 B5 S4's are on here. And if you would share your experience with us as a daily driver, maintenance, reliability, fuel economy, etc... (don't know if stg 3 and fuel economy belong in the same sentence together lol). Pics would be great too.
Thanks in advance.
Regrads,
Andy
Thanks in advance.
Regrads,
Andy
#14
10-28-2007, 03:08 PM
I do have a 2001 B5 S4, I really quite happy with my car! I have AWE RS KO4 kit/ autospeed header/ Labree DP/ Neuspeed G2 cat back exhaust/ APR bipipe/ RS4 intercooler/ and RS4 oil cooler. However, the car is quite reliable in general. I only have some problems in broken CV joint boot, and change 10 drop links in the front and leaking water in wiper reservoir. The other problem is misfire. Other than that so far I don't have too many problems. Perhaps, I only have 36k miles on my car. As to fuel economy, it is not very good! You can not expect to get big power and run very few fuel.
I know awe addressed the mis fire and cold start problems with there new software. Give them a call.
#15
10-28-2007, 06:53 PM
My widebody Stage Eleventy S4 here:
(with the 18" BBS Magnesium wheels)
(with the 20" forged Sportec wheels)
(with the 18" BBS Magnesium wheels)
(with the 20" forged Sportec wheels)