Handling/Cornering S4 vs. M3
08-05-2010, 01:19 PM
#21
AudiWorld Super User
Thank you all for the helpful comments. They are doing a lot to open her mind to the idea that her sensations in the S4 are just different, not indicative of inferior handling in comparison to her M3.
I can't really judge myself because my Avant was my all time favorite car, and I drove her M3 only rarely. She was very possessive about it, I have to say. I was surprised she was willing to give it up when we sold my Avant and her M3 to buy the S4.
I can't really judge myself because my Avant was my all time favorite car, and I drove her M3 only rarely. She was very possessive about it, I have to say. I was surprised she was willing to give it up when we sold my Avant and her M3 to buy the S4.
08-05-2010, 02:18 PM
#22
AudiWorld Senior Member
S4 guys, I need some help here. My wife is from Finland and takes pride in the Finnish nation's over-representation in motor sport. There are only 5 million Finns after all, and there are a quite a few of them in the sport. Anyway, her last two cars were a 1997 M3 and a 2006 M3, both manual transmissions.
Since we no longer need two cars, I got her to test drive a 2010 S4 and she was sold. We bought one with the 7-speed S-tronic and the sport differential and sold her M3 and my A4 Avant.
The problem is lately she is complaining that the S4, even in dynamic mode, doesn't hold the road on the curves and corners like her last M3 did. Everything I read about the S4 and the differential suggested it would be superior in handling. I'm not the right person to judge--I am more into gadgets than cars.
Can I get any help here? Are there other M3 converts that can help convince her that the S4 is the one? Is she not doing something right when she feels it to be unstable in the curves? Is there a custom setting that will make her happy? We don't have the Drive Select package, so that isn't going to be an option.
Any help will be sincerely appreciated..
Since we no longer need two cars, I got her to test drive a 2010 S4 and she was sold. We bought one with the 7-speed S-tronic and the sport differential and sold her M3 and my A4 Avant.
The problem is lately she is complaining that the S4, even in dynamic mode, doesn't hold the road on the curves and corners like her last M3 did. Everything I read about the S4 and the differential suggested it would be superior in handling. I'm not the right person to judge--I am more into gadgets than cars.
Can I get any help here? Are there other M3 converts that can help convince her that the S4 is the one? Is she not doing something right when she feels it to be unstable in the curves? Is there a custom setting that will make her happy? We don't have the Drive Select package, so that isn't going to be an option.
Any help will be sincerely appreciated..
08-05-2010, 04:24 PM
#23
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I wish I had these problems instead of the "why is my cupholder so small" kind of problems...
08-05-2010, 04:34 PM
#24
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Before this discussion goes any further, I think we need pictures. preferably of your wife, but the car will do. I think you need to watch this video.http://www.streetfire.net/video/top-...-m3_644906.htm. Its and oldie but it explains a lot about the differences between the handling and feel of an S4 vs an M3. Just remember that this is an 04 B6 S4 not an B8 which is light years ahead of the B6 S4 in handling especially with the sport dif. The S4 just will feel so much more tame and refined in comparison to the M3 even though it is getting the job done.
08-05-2010, 05:20 PM
#25
AudiWorld Super User
Hah you guys are funny. No, I actually want untainted info from the "horse's mouth" so to speak. I have a wife, and she is lovely, doesn't care about fast, good handling cars, and I like that. She's also a hottie, which helps 
08-05-2010, 06:48 PM
#26
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Wife's response
My wife read this thread over a glass of wine. She says it added 20 years to her life since laughter is good medicine. By popular demand, I am attaching a photo of my fabulous Finn, her M3, and our S4.
Regarding all the helpful comments, she has decided that you all are right that she probably needs to get used to AWD and the other unique features of the S4 with sport differential. By way of explanation, she drove it in June, soon after we bought it, on the Pines-to-Palms Highway in SoCal. If you know that road, perhaps it is no surprise that she felt uncomfortable pushing the car on the S-curves. She knows that her M3 would have been great fun to drive on that road down to Palm Desert. The S4 will probably be at least as much fun next year when she has had more experience with it.
Regarding all the helpful comments, she has decided that you all are right that she probably needs to get used to AWD and the other unique features of the S4 with sport differential. By way of explanation, she drove it in June, soon after we bought it, on the Pines-to-Palms Highway in SoCal. If you know that road, perhaps it is no surprise that she felt uncomfortable pushing the car on the S-curves. She knows that her M3 would have been great fun to drive on that road down to Palm Desert. The S4 will probably be at least as much fun next year when she has had more experience with it.
08-05-2010, 07:55 PM
#27
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curious--- wo was in the navy---you? her? son/daughter?
She will love the car. when i drove my brother's e46, it felt like it sat lower--that might be part of the conflict.
08-05-2010, 08:05 PM
#28
AudiWorld Super User
Great reply and a great lady you have there! She's definitely a keeper (but you knew that).
The S4 is a different animal, she will push it harder and harder over time, learning where it is different than the M3, and appreciate it for what it is and can do - maybe even be able to get it to do more than the M3.
The shot of the car looks amazing, what kind of wax/wash you using there?
The S4 is a different animal, she will push it harder and harder over time, learning where it is different than the M3, and appreciate it for what it is and can do - maybe even be able to get it to do more than the M3.
The shot of the car looks amazing, what kind of wax/wash you using there?
08-05-2010, 09:15 PM
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Navy son
08-05-2010, 09:19 PM
#30
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Wash/wax
Great reply and a great lady you have there! She's definitely a keeper (but you knew that).
The S4 is a different animal, she will push it harder and harder over time, learning where it is different than the M3, and appreciate it for what it is and can do - maybe even be able to get it to do more than the M3.
The shot of the car looks amazing, what kind of wax/wash you using there?
The S4 is a different animal, she will push it harder and harder over time, learning where it is different than the M3, and appreciate it for what it is and can do - maybe even be able to get it to do more than the M3.
The shot of the car looks amazing, what kind of wax/wash you using there?
We use Danny's, a local car care place here in Phoenix. They do a good job. Also, we had the car windows tinted by AutoStyles with a special nanofilm that is amazing in cutting the IR heating of sun in the desert.