New B6 S4 Owner with a Few Questions

[Storm33]

Hi All,

I want to start by saying this is my first Audi, and reading these forums helped a lot in my decision to make the move. This place is a great source of information!

I picked up my 2005 S4 with 6-speed manual transmission on Friday morning and drove it from Birmingham, Alabama to Ann Arbor, MI the same day. What a great way to get used to a new car! I had studied the B6 S4's for quite a while and found the "right one" so thought it was worth flying down and driving home. Considering the fact that it is an '05 I knew it wouldn't be perfect, but it's really clean. It drove absolutely great, and I really enjoyed the ease with which it accelerates. It has a couple of very minor blemishes in the paint (I plan to wet-sand and use touch-up paint to get these worked out) and I noticed that the chrome trim around the windows has oxidized.

First question: Has anyone else noticed this oxidation on their chrome trim? Any recommendations to restore?

One of the benefits to a 10-hour trip with a new vehicle is it enables a new owner to bond with his new car. I was able to have a brief "autobahn session" through the hills of Kentucky on the interstate between Bowling Green and Louisville and was I fully impressed with its high-speed handling! I did notice a light vibration at higher speeds that reminded me of when the wheel bearing was starting to go out on my GTI VR6. However, it occurred to me that this could have been the engine speed or something else.

Second question: Has anyone else noticed any sort of light vibration at higher speeds?

One of the challenges with owning a performace vehicle in Michigan is the crappy Michigan roads. They suck! Anyway, I was running errands yesterday I had the windows down and noticed a "clinking" sound when I hit bumps, almost like if a chain had struck the pavement.

Third question: Is this sound familiar to anyone? I'll probably get the vehicle checked out at my local Audi dealer (as I should have before I bought it) just to make sure everything is good to go with this car but thought I'd ask if this is obvious to anyone.

It seems like the clutch is presently holding up very well, but I know the time will come when I have to replace it.

Fourth question: Should I be proactive and replace it before it wears out? Regardless of that answer, should I replace it with an '05 RS4 clutch or something else? Also, what sort of cost should I anticipate for clutch replacement?

My final observation for this post relates to the sound system. My car is equipped with the XM radio option, but my commute is relatively short. I think I can do better than XM if I have my MP3 player hooked up to the head unit.

Final question: Has anyone else hard-wired an auxiliary MP3 adapter to their Audi Symphony / Bose system? If so, what do you recommend?

Thanks to everyone in advance for your answers.

Cheers,

Storm

[1145climber]

Hahahhahahaha I can't really help answer any of your questions... Wow, I'm worthless.

But welcome to the forum! I also have an '05 B6 S4 and I absolutely love itttt, so I'm sure you will too.

[b00st]

yes the oxidation on the chrome trim happens. that chrome trim also happens to be plastic. so probably just replacing it, is the best route. its on my brothers S4 and we tried some different polishes on their hoping that would work....then found out its plastic and that won't work.

when i go over bumps...i hear some noise up front similar to what your hearing. i think its the brakes or suspension...i also hear the same thing in my bro's s4. so to me it would be common.

[RAudi Driver]

I had the rattle over bumps on my S4. It turned out to be the brakes rattling in the calipers. Try going voer the bumps with the brake pedal lightly applied and see if the noise is still present. If it isn't, well then ......

There should be absolutely no vibration in your car at any speed. Both My S4 and the RS4 drive as smooth as silk. Absolutely no vibration at anytime at any speed.

If you have vibration, start with your:

Tires - check pressure and wear

Wheels - check balancing and trueness

suspension - check for wear.

If your tires are worn or wearing, they could be the culprit. I can't say how many times I had a vibration issue that went away when i put on new tires.

As far as your clutch, it's expensive to replace so wait till it has to be replaced to have it done. I don't think that you can put an RS4 clutch in the S4, but i could be wrong. Also, from what i recall, a clutch job from the dealer is somewhere in the neighborhood of $3,500.

BW, there wasn't a 2005 RS4 for the US. They didn't come here until 2006.

[AudiOso]

I've heard $2,500 for a clutch at the dealership. Ouch! That extra grand hurts!

[mus27]

the $2,500 can hurt as well ;) btw..have people seen s4's/rs4's with aftermarket clutch/flywheel installs? I came from a nissan 350z and when my tranny was going in for a replacement (under warranty), the dealership asked me if i wanted to swap my clutch and flywheel at that point since they had the tranny down. I opted to get the Nismo Clutch and Flywheel and it was great. I really didn't notice much difference with the clutch except for the fact that was a little more harder to catch but the lighter flywheel made the car rev like a bike. Just wondering if others have done the same with their S4's?

[Storm33]

Thanks for all of the info, guys. I need to take it into the shop already - brake wear indicator lit up yesterday on the way home from work - so I may see if they can tell me how much life is left in the clutch.

BTW - I found the MP3 player connection; it's going to run about $300 because an extra part is required to accommodate XM. It should be installed by this time next week, along with a hard wire connection for my Passport 8500.

I was kinda bummed that the brakes came up so soon after I bought it, but I'm really going to like this car!

[Storm33]

I have a good update on the brake situation. The car needed new pads all around and new front rotors. The shop wants $995 for everything. I called the dealer I bought the car from and explained the situation, and based on the fact that they had represented the clutch and brakes as having "lots of miles left in them" I was disappointed to be facing a $1000 brake job four days after I bought the car. He apologized for this, explaining their technician had obviously not done a full inspection of this vehicle or they would have replaced the brakes themselves. Therefore, he is picking up the bill on my brake job because he wants me to come back and buy my next car from him too. I feel like this is the right thing for a car dealer to do, but I sure didn't expect it to happen. These guys are awesome!

The other good news is that the technician who is doing the brake job went over the rest of the car and said every other aspect of this car is solid. He said he expected to find trouble with the control arms / CV, etc. but they look great. The clutch is still really strong, too.

So overall this was a really good experience!