To Sports Diff or Not?

[Rik Smithson]

Hi

Further to my welcome post I wanted to see what people's opinion are regarding the spec of S4 I'm considering.

My wife and myself are selling a Nissan 350Z and a WRX with a view to buying an S4.

My ideal spec would be a B8.5 with sports diff, drive select, B&O, and as much other tech as possible. Trying to bring this in under £25k from a dealer (ideally Audi approved) is pretty tough though!

I still like the pre facelift cars so could go 2011 but the diff and drive select really limits what's out there. My thinking was that the WRX is great in the corners and the diff would make the s4 fun in the twisties.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. The forum looks great and you guys really know your stuff!

Rik

The Porsche isn't mine.


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[xpoweruk]

I have no Sports diff on my S4.
A thicker rear ARB enables me to get the rear when needed.

 

[Rik Smithson]

I have no Sports diff on my S4.
A thicker rear ARB enables me to get the rear when needed.

That's something to think about. I'm planning a REVO stage 1+ in the future so I'm weighing up what options might be preferable.


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[xpoweruk]

Got the revo 1plus on mine.Love it,performance is night and day from stock

 

[Dippy]

Sports diff is great but it is rare. If you are also on a budget then be prepared to buy one without it.

 

[SteveMcB]

I don't know if the sports diff makes a big difference on S4s, they are all no doubt pretty planted anyway, but on the SQ5 plus it makes a noticeable difference. I love the way it pushes the back of the car tighter into corners when you'd be expecting the front to try and drift wide. Even works on the over run, a really clever box of tricks. Every time I drive it on the twisties I find it hard to believe it's an SUV.

 

[Fctaff]

Sports diff stops the under steer

 

[Rik Smithson]

This is helpful, cheers. Any options you wished you'd specced or can't live without? Drive select worth it?


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[Lavis89]

I dont have drive select or the sports diff on mine, haven't put the thicker ARB on yet, but it's definitely on my to do list, i put one on my a3 quattro and it handled so much better, cant wait to do it on this car. I honestly dont think i would ever use drive select if i did have it, i would set it up to however i wanted it and it would probably stay that way which would probably have been everything in dynamic. Those that have sports diff seem to love it, those without seem to make do just fine without it.

 

[Locoblade]

You can feel the diff doing it's thing quite clearly when you're really pushing on in tighter corners (roundabouts etc). I don't notice in higher speed stuff although I guess it may still be doing something but more subtly as I dont know what a non diff car feels like to compare against. If you want an S Tronic though I would personally go for a facelift car without diff over a pre-facelift car with a diff, as the gearboxes got updated in the facelift and they do seem to be a little less prone to mechatronic failures etc.

I managed to get my 42k mile B8.5 S4 with Drive Select, active diff, 3G+ MMI and B&O for under £25k from a Porsche specialist indy dealer this time last year so they do come up at that price occasionally. You do need to be able to spot the buttons on the dash in the adverts and ideally get a view of the rear underside to confirm it has the diff, some adverts don't mention it as many non Audi dealers and private punters don't really know exactly whats on the car or what are desirable options.

In my case I had to sacrifice leather sports seats (not really bothered as the alcantara standard seats are good), non black edition (I got the chrome wrapped and changed the grille) and only boggo 18" wheels but I'd trade those any day for the diff, suspension and upgraded audio. I'm also happy to hear it hasnt depreciated very much in 12 months!

 

[Rik Smithson]

You can feel the diff doing it's thing quite clearly when you're really pushing on in tighter corners (roundabouts etc). I don't notice in higher speed stuff although I guess it may still be doing something but more subtly as I dont know what a non diff car feels like to compare against. If you want an S Tronic though I would personally go for a facelift car without diff over a pre-facelift car with a diff, as the gearboxes got updated in the facelift and they do seem to be a little less prone to mechatronic failures etc.

I managed to get my 42k mile B8.5 S4 with Drive Select, active diff, 3G+ MMI and B&O for under £25k from a Porsche specialist indy dealer this time last year so they do come up at that price occasionally. You do need to be able to spot the buttons on the dash in the adverts and ideally get a view of the rear underside to confirm it has the diff, some adverts don't mention it as many non Audi dealers and private punters don't really know exactly whats on the car or what are desirable options.

In my case I had to sacrifice leather sports seats (not really bothered as the alcantara standard seats are good), non black edition (I got the chrome wrapped and changed the grille) and only boggo 18" wheels but I'd trade those any day for the diff, suspension and upgraded audio. I'm also happy to hear it hasnt depreciated very much in 12 months!

Cheers - that's a big help, I'll keep trawling the web!


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[Rik Smithson]

This is ticking most of the boxes (no sports diff tho)

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[Dippy]

ADS does change the throttle response in dynamic mode and IMO makes a very noticeable improvement over just gearbox in S mode. However it is possible to retrofit ADS (both with and without the button).

I think the B8 handles well anyway. When I decided to move up from my B5 S4 which had several upgrades including coilovers, I was surprised and impressed how much better Audi had made the B8 in stock form (especially the brakes - why the **** were the OEM brakes so bad on the B5???). I did lots of test drives of S4s and S5s and although none were back-to-back I did notice the effect of the sports diff enough that I simply had to have it. Along with the adjustable dampers and even the adjustable ratio steering in dynamic mode I find the handling of my S5 very good indeed.

 

[Craig Norquay]

I'd say if you can find it, go for it!

I have it on mine and had it over in Germany few weeks back for a car show, there was a track at the show (Oschersleben arena) and it was surprising how well it wanted to hold the corners. When you push it, it gives you a weird sensation like the rear end is steering but it's just doing its job and bringing the rear end in more.

I bought a B8, I was skeptical with the S-Tronic issues but I bought Razza1's which had already had the new Mech unit being used in the 8.5 plus dual clutch packs replaced.

I guess if you can find one with a good history then it's maybe worth it?

 

[cyhliu]

I managed to get my 42k mile B8.5 S4 with Drive Select, active diff, 3G+ MMI and B&O for under £25k from a Porsche specialist indy dealer this time last year so they do come up at that price occasionally. You do need to be able to spot the buttons on the dash in the adverts and ideally get a view of the rear underside to confirm it has the diff, some adverts don't mention it as many non Audi dealers and private punters don't really know exactly whats on the car or what are desirable options.

I'm starting to look for a used S4 and prefer the differential too, Locoblade, you mentioned looking out for the buttons on the dash...could you elaborate further? Thanks.


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[Locoblade]

You can't actually tell its got the diff from the dash but if you see the Drive Select button it means it has some ADS features so there's a chance it does. Its this button above the climate controls etc, although on RHD cars the button is on the right hand end of the row, not the left like this image, if thats not there there's no chance of it having the active diff.

With mine for example the independent dealer didnt mention ADS at all but I spotted the button in the advert and then when I looked at the car it had the Diff settings option in the ADS settings. Also looking under the car you can see the active diff gubbins (see the bottom of this Audizine thread to see what to look for)

I'm starting to look for a used S4 and prefer the differential too, Locoblade, you mentioned looking out for the buttons on the dash...could you elaborate further? Thanks.

 

[SteveMcB]

Hit the car settings on the DIS, go to 'set individual' and if if the diff settings pops up on the menu, congrats, you've got a sports diff

It looks different too but you'll have to get your knees dirty!

 

[xpoweruk]

Or alternatively have a look underneath the rear @ the diff

 

[cyhliu]

Thanks chaps, most useful, might try the first two suggestions before getting my hands and knees dirty! Assume the button and the DIS option is equally applicable to the B8 as well as the B8.5?

 

[rizzini7]

Thanks chaps, most useful, might try the first two suggestions before getting my hands and knees dirty! Assume the button and the DIS option is equally applicable to the B8 as well as the B8.5?

Yeah my b8 has the comfort/auto/dynamic/individual buttons and car settings in the mmi


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[ANDYTQ]

I have the full package on my s4,it is really impressive,but i am still thinking of swapping the rear arb to a thicker one to make it even more playful.Mine has also had the mech unit and clutch packs changed but the former owner so hopefully no more issues.

 

[Rik Smithson]

Well, I didn't get a sports diff after all but very happy with my S4

It has quite a nice spec with ADS and Super Sports seats and tech pack high

Really enjoying it, what an engine!




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[rizzini7]

Well, I didn't get a sports diff after all but very happy with my S4

It has quite a nice spec with ADS and Super Sports seats and tech pack high

Really enjoying it, what an engine!




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Good work mate, garage I got mine from. Very helpful chaps
There's a video of yours on their Facebook page

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[S4_V6T]

Well, I didn't get a sports diff after all but very happy with my S4

It has quite a nice spec with ADS and Super Sports seats and tech pack high

Really enjoying it, what an engine!




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Looks good mate and tbh Having had a couple of S4's, one with the SD and one without the SD. Nothing a set of ARB's would not sort out. I really do not miss the SD option at all. Enjoy your car

 

[bigyin]

Looks good mate and tbh Having had a couple of S4's, one with the SD and one without the SD. Nothing a set of ARB's would not sort out. I really do not miss the SD option at all. Enjoy your car

The car without the SD is still a great car, but to say that ARB's compensate for a proper sports diff? No - not a chance!

 

[jdp1962]

The car without the SD is still a great car, but to say that ARB's compensate for a proper sports diff? No - not a chance!

I think this is a pretty accurate summary.