PlanB

I can tell you that when I was stock I raced a Mustang Bullitt from a dig through 2nd gear and beat him, albeit only by a nose.
I still own a largely stock 94 GT and a stage 2 S4 and it's a night and day improvement in power, and everything else for that matter.

Don't worry about the drive train, worry about everything else, lol. Seriously though, if I was just buying an S4 today, I'd look for a stage 3 (upgraded to K04 turbos) with the basics already done; coilovers, brakes, and maybe intercoolers.

My bottom line: unless you're intent on spending a lot of money and doing everything exactly the way you want, buy a stage 3.

davenew

The only thing you hear of is front axles snapping when dropping the clutch at the dragstrip. I believe the electronic diff lock causes that. I have a defeat switch installed in mine, which is only possible on '00 models without electronic stability control, ecs.