xlacrosse

My old toys

RS Maniac

I wrote this a while back ;-o) This question is often asked, so kept my 'review' in the archives:

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I love both cars, in much the same way, hence why it is so difficult to part with the ///M5 (and of course the emotional attachment having built her ‘from the ground up’)... My E39 is a long way away from stock form (see siggie below), so my comparison may not be totally in agreement with others, as some of the ‘deficiencies’ people pointed out relative to the RS4 (e.g. shifter, brakes, audio, etc.) have been ‘corrected’ in my case.

Similarities:

Both cars are a wolf in sheep’s clothing. If you like flashy/poser cars and need to get noticed, neither is for you. One reason why I stayed away from the new M3 (let alone that it seems every Tom Dick and Harry have one in my neighborhood). A true car aficionado will know what you are driving, but the punk “I’m all about the bling” driver won’t have a clue. No excessive bulges, creases, air scoops, spoilers, etc., just smooth flowing well integrated lines.

Power output. Both cars in fully stock form dyno 330whp or thereabouts. The RS4s higher crank numbers are eaten up by its AWD system.

Interior – I actually tend to disagree that the RS4’s interior is much more modern than the M5s. In fact, that is what has been critiqued in the magazines when compared to the C63, IS-F and M3. So both are more ‘old-school’. M5’s is much bigger, I don’t bump my knee against the center console, and I love the driver-oriented ****-pit, which seems just now Audi is adopting. And if you add the full leather dash, door trims, alcantara headliner, the ///M feels loads more ‘premium’.

Audio – let’s face it, both suk. Unless you are paying the $8K for the B&O system in the S8, you shouldn’t expect to hear good sound. But luckily this market is overcrowded so solutions are aplenty.

Technology: for the RS4 being 8 yrs younger, I have to say there aren’t much features that are not there in the M5 (short of the card slots). For example, in the ///M I have DVD based NAV (in fact with bird’s eye view/perspective option), i-Pod integration, bluetooth, PDC, TPMS, etc. etc. So things like active cruise control, night vision, rear view camera, heads up display, which seem the norm for most cars these days, never made it to the RS lands.

IMO, both will be ‘classics’. Not Barret-Jackson classics, but very rare and truly appreciated from all aficionados. The RS4 is limited in production (total imported is less than an annual production run of current M3s). I still get a lot of complements from people on the ///M, telling me they continue to like it more than the E60 ///M.

Last but not least, chicks dig both cars, and each make a statement for the driver. They soon realize you have some equipment (talking about mechanical here ;-o) that will dust off 98% of cars on the road, but yet you have chose the ‘power of understatement’.


Differences:

Torque delivery: M5’s curve is flat as Kansas, and going above 4K RPM is almost pointless. With the RS4, while the torque curve is somewhat flat, this car loves high RPM and ‘reeling in’. Lots of people end up going to the 3:45 gears in the ///M, but I find the cogs too short, and high end speed is limited (should you try to get there).

Straight line acceleration: my M5 is heavily modded, but with that caveat it pulls a stock RS4. Not easily, but noticeably. A stock M5 is probably neck and neck until 100mph, after which I recon it will very slowly create a distance as the AWD shows its burden.

Build quality – despite the lavish amounts of leather and alcantara in the ///M, vote goes for the Audi which has been the perennial winner relative to its German (and other) competition.

Braking: no matching the Lambo brakes in the RS4. Stock brakes are among the weakest links in the ///M, but even with my Stoptech BBK the RS4 eclipses the E39 easily (granted, it is slightly lighter, but not a lot as I managed to shave nearly 100 lbs after exhaust, brakes, clutch assembly).

Steering feel – call me old school, but I find the steering on the RS4 way too light for my taste. The Sport button on the ///M stiffens the steering, and when you couple that with the fact that I am running 275 tires all around on the BMW, I get the type of feel and resistance I am truly looking for.

Sound: both cars have an aftermarket exhaust, but sound very different. The ///M is very, deep throat, low-end baritone voice, almost saying “I am prowling the neighborhood to satisfy my blood-thrist”. The RS4 is more high pitch and angry, and seems to get lounder with each rev.

Mod-ability: both are NA engines, hence gains from bolt-ons other than a S/C are really limited. However, the RS4 with its 100hp per liter is pretty much maxed out. ECU flash and downpipes at best give you 20whp, vs. the ///M5 headers alone which give you 30rhp. Add a few quickies such as a cold air intake, full exhaust (which sheds another 80lbs), and software, and you are quickly running at 450 crank. I’ve done all these in succession and have dynoed the car dozens of times, only way to really tell which works as advertized and which doesn’t.

I can go on and on, but you quickly get to see that these cars are probably more similar than different…

UBERS4

I had an '02 Steel Grey ///M Coupe, a E46 330i, and E46 ///M3. I picked up my RS4 a couple weekends ago and it is my first Audi.

morecarl

Add me to the rare car list - 2007 Z4 M Coupe.

ArthurPE

e46 M3, still have it...135k miles...

IbisRS4

Nice rides Xlacrosse. Seems there are a lot of ex-bavarian enthusiasts that have made the switch to the superior product. I park beside a white
e92 M3 that I convinced my collegue to move on but there hasn't been a day where I wished I was getting into "the other white car" instead of the RS4.

xlacrosse

Thanx, but the fact that you own an ibis RS4 .... means your dreaming my dream car :drool:

IbisRS4

Mine too man and Mugello is my second favourite colour. I love that colour in the sun. I feel very lucky to have this car at this point in my life. Never stop dreaming and I could fill a garage full of cars but I'd almost take nothing else for a daily driver.

raptorduck

I did not own an M Coupe, but I do own a 2001 S54 M Roadster now (the version with the 315hp engine). It is my second favorite car of all time.

As you can see from my sig I have owned numerous M cars including the E39 M5. It has been a while since I owned that car, but what I remember most about it and what compares best to the RS4 is the suspension. The M5 had amazing suspension and road feel and the RS4 is even better IMHO. Power of the two (based on feint memory) seemed about the same. Handling goes to the RS4. Looks goes to the RS4 (the M5 was just kind of ugly and boxy). Interior ergos goes to the RS4 and the RS4 Nav is much nicer (not fair to compare really to a 2000 car with 2000 technology). Fit and finish goes to the RS4, though the M5 was very nicely put together.

At the time I had my E39 I also had a W208 CLK430 of the same year. I wanted my E39 to look like my CLK and my CLK to have the power and performance of my M5. So I got rid of both and bought a W208 CLK55 and there you go. Now that is my favorite car of all time.

My RS4 replaced the CLK55 and while it peforms better and is an amazing car built tight like a swiss watch, it ain't as pretty and the ergos not as good and I really miss my CLK55.

RS Maniac

That's of course when DRC isn't leaking, which in many cases is rare ;-o)

Funny, we have similar taste in cars. My M5 replaced this beauty: