Having owned 2 S4's, one of which was chipped, I can say the S4 is one of the easiest cars to drive fast. The S4 does everything with such smoothness and ease that it gives the illusion that it is faster than it really is. The car has incredible torque down low, and with the chip pulls like a V-8. Shifter throws are long and sloppy but otherwise the S4 is an excellent combo of comfort, sport, and luxury. As to which is faster, I think the stock S4 at 5.5-5.6 to sixty probably runs pretty even with a well driven/launched stook. The S4 will definately get off the line faster with the quattro and torque. Chipped S4? At 5.1 or so to sixty dont think our stooks have a chance at this point. Both are great cars and offer great bang for the buck.

 

SS-He must be doing something wrong...a chipped S4 should eat us up. Even with it stock it should be able to keep up with the S2k in a straightline but I dont think it can in the twisties...davepk, krazik and myself took a spirited drive down through big sur about a month ago and a S4 happened to get in between me (i was the last car) and krazik...we were going pretty fast and I am sure the S4 was doing all he could to keep up..he eventually pulled over to let me pass...he stayed with us for about a mile or two. Let me know what the G-tech numbers are...I would be very curious since i will be chipping my S4 when i get it.





Hey silver-

I will get all the nitty gritty details for you. Remeber, that he gained on me immediately (1/2 car length)then lost ground. My car of course is nowhere near stock, and after receiving the N0 suspension I feel like I am putting more power to the ground. Probably my imagination, but this much is true... If the s2k is in the right gear, and at the right
rpm there is not much out there that'll keep up.
A guy in a (supposed) 510hp special edition stillen 300zx (never heard of it) did not believe me when I told him I was'nt boosted. (I hung in there, losing but was there) I showed him our little 2.0 and he wanted to check my trunk for nitrous! Anyway, I think believing your outmatched is probably the first step to losing when 1 to 2 second differences is all driver.

p.s.

I'll try to grab some pics too.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Humanatek
[B]Shoot...yesterday I came up to a stoplight with a 99+ Z28 in front of me.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by viscreal2000
[B]
Hey silver-

I will get all the nitty gritty details for you. Remeber, that he gained on me immediately (1/2 car length)then lost ground. My car of course is nowhere near stock, and after receiving the N0 suspension I feel like I am putting more power to the ground. Probably my imagination, but this much is true... If the s2k is in the right gear, and at the right
rpm

 

Is the LS1 the one with the dual hood scoops? I had one of those behind me once and the S2000 pulled pretty good against him and put a couple car lengths between us (he was riding my fender, someone was in front of me, and when that guy turned I put some space between us).

I suspect though that I got a jump on him since we weren't side by side and I abruptly downshifted and took off. He did catch up, and perhaps out of safety he left a few car lengths? Regardless, I think he was impressed and waved as he passed when I finally had to get into the turning lane... It was a two lane down-hill road too, but he never left the fast lane to pass me. I wasn't surprised then, but I didn't know what to expect from that particular car.

-B

 

Yeah I am sure, I got a good look at the front of his car in my rearview mirror.

HOWEVER I did fail to mention that it was a fairly young kid(17-18 tops) and I believe it was an automatic. I did not expect to pull that much on him and I doubt that I would have if my buddy who owns a 2000 Z28 6spd and I were racing (just havent had the time yet). I suspect this was a case of poor driving technique, lack of confidence and underestimation of the S2000 by the kid.

 

Going back to the Audi S4 issue and everything else being equal:

Audi S4 six-speed manual 3,593-lb / 250 HP= 14.37 lb/HP

Honda S2000 2,750-lb / 240 HP= 11.45 lb/HP

I will take the weight advantage any time as it also helps on handling and braking. Even with a chiped 300HP S4 the Audi is almost equal to the S2K with 11.95 lb per HP.

I know the "unfair" advantage of the Quattro system and the power low down of the V6 twin-turbo but in a rolling start with the S2K close to VTEC or on VTEC the Honda should pull away. From a standing start you really have to rev the S2K not just to get a good launch but to be able to keep that engine in VTEC territory.

I wonder about the aerodynamics. Charlie, did you raced with the top up or down? You loose a lot of straight line acceleration on the S2K with the top down at speeds of more than 50 MPH.

 

I have taken a s4 before, and pulled on him, granted we were both rolling. It sounds like the guy you raced had his chipped.

 

Pepe, don't believe the numbers. Audi has a habit of underrating some of their turbo motors. The first 1.8T in the A4 was rated at 150 hp, but it put nearly 140 to the wheels in several cases. And I've heard of some S4's, on AWD dynos, putting down nearly 240-250 hp to the wheels.

If you think about it, they'd almost have to. While AWD provides a good launch advantage, a stock S4 will still trap at 98-100 mph. If it was only making 250 hp with all that weight there is simply no way it would happen. A typical stock S4 is only a touch slower on the roll than an S2K (above 100 mph it may begin to make up ground since it is more aerodynamic). Think of it another way, a 3400 lbs Mustang GT puts down about 225-230 wheel hp and traps at about 99-100 mph. The S4 weighs 200 lbs more, has larger drivetrain losses and claims to make less hp. So how can it trap at the same speeds as the Mustang?

To me that says that the stock S4 probably puts out more like 270-280 hp. And the chipped cars probably do indeed put out 310-320 hp.

I've had no problem with stock (I assume) S4's on the roll, but it wasn't like I dusted them, just edged away. A chip/exhaust/etc. S4 should accelerate much like an LS1 car, which will put some lengths on you at speed.

UL

 

Also keep in mind that the lb/hp numbers almost don't tell you much as far as acceleration goes. lb/torque, gear ratios, shape of torque curves paint a better picture. And as far as turbos are concerned, the temps make a difference also. As already pointed out, so does drivetrain losses.