Automatic B7 S4 regrets?

[M threezy]

I found a B7 S4 Avant with Navi and Auto trans 24k miles for $28.9K Is this a good deal considering todays slumping economy? It went from $34K to $28.9K within 6 months of sitting there.

I am hesitant because of the transmission. Does anyone with an auto S4 regret not getting a manual? It would just make sense in a high performance car like this... For the ones with the tiptronic, do you actually find yourself using the paddles?

[s4_fishingbean]

Yes i regret not getting manual, and yes i use the paddle shifters

[Justincredible]

Drove both got the Auto.

I always use the paddles

The performance is right there in line with the 6 speed manual but you get better gas mileage.

Maintenance wise the Auto is going to suck if you have to service it and power wise there is going to get to a point where the Auto might need to be gone threw. But other then that. The auto is a great way to go

[turbo4s]

I deff do not regret it. Tip is great. Still very fast and enjoy it when sitting on the FDR

[sakimano]

Manual is more fun, and you get far better sounds out of the car, but the tip is not terrible.

There's definitely awful lag on the gear changes at high speeds, but not a big deal really

I drove a TIP for a month (traded with a friend) and bought a manual, but to be honest, I didn't really care what I bought...both are good.

If you hop back to the S4 forum, you'll see lots of guys with B6 manuals are replacing their clutch/flywheel at around 50,000 miles for $2,000. That might help your decision!

btw $29,000 sounds frigging amazing! must be a 2005.5 or a 2006?

Last month I was helping a friend find a low mileage Avant, 2007 or newer. Couldn't find anything under 40. Not even close.

[mutau]

The fact that your are getting an S4 says that you are a sports car enthusiast. If you only have one car, you must get manual...it gives you the best sports driving feel and you can control the length of the gears. If you have another sports car, you should get tiptronic.

I drive a tiptronic B6 S4. My weekend car is a stage 4 STI. As much as I love my STI, the S4 gives me so much comfort in traffic.

[...Mark...]

I'm 32 and have driven manuals all my life til i got my S4. Now that i have a kid it doesn't make sense to have a 2 door sportscar as a garage queen so i went back down to one car. Gone are the days of having an auto DD to drive in Atlanta's shitty ass traffic and having a fun manual ride on the weekend. My commute is only 15 miles but on average it takes me 45 minutes each way. I got my Tiptronic S4 because it was a great tradeoff. To be honest i do miss having a manual on the rare occasions that i am notstuck in traffic, but seeing that that is maybe 25% of time that i am driving the auto was the logical choice.

IMO if i were you and i didn't really need an auto i would hold out for a manual, and if i lived in a smaller town/city i would most definatley still be in a manual.

BTW if i didn't need a auto, i would probably be in a 04+ CTS-V right now. Prior to owning my Audi i had a C5 Z06.

[WinterRunner]

I have an auto, and to be honest.. I sometimes wish it was a stick, but I still enjoy the shit outta this car. It's still amazing, still has alot of balls and so on. I'd say if it's your daily driver and you have a weekend sports car, get the auto, if not grab a stick. I honestly think you wont regret either desicsion.

[nycats4]

NYC = Auto

[FourRingRider]

love my tip-o-tronic... i love the look of the paddle shifters mounted to the steering wheel, and even more the feel when i can effortlessly touch the "-" paddle down for a couple seconds and know i am ready to blast into another dimension...

but seriously i chose it because bumper to bumper traffic here in Jacksonville starts to become satanic @ 4:30 sharp during the week...

[$4c@b]

I drive around the NYC area a lot. When I hit traffic, I just leave my car in 1st gear, let the car in front of me go a few car lengths, maybe 1/2 a block depending on how long the traffic jam is and why (accident, merge, or too many cars) and tap the gas every once in a while. The car behind me usually sees how effective it is, and 'plays along'...and if they don't let them go around and tailgate the person in front of you.

In my FX, I do the same thing and it's auto.

[blur510]

I have tip and love the car, it's my daily driver. But I also have a weekend car.

[...Mark...]

I have tip and love the car, it's my daily driver. But I also have a weekend car.

Lets see the 510..

[nickyreno]

A fast car with an auto tranny is like a 2WD Audi.

WACK

[M threezy]

I am looking into one, it is an 06. I come from driving an E36 M3 stick, and now currently drive an auto Tacoma. I miss driving a stick, but then again, I do commute a lot with traffic and drive in city.

I just don't want to miss that "sports car" feeling by getting a TiP, but it seems many still get that feel from the TiP.

The search continues.

[JMG]

I really don't feel that burdened with a manual in traffic, and I sit through an hour of it every morning and every evening. There are very rare times when I feel like an auto would be a little better but honestly those are few and far between. There are many more times I'm glad I have a manual.

But maybe that's just me. I'm 32 and I have only had 2 automatic cars in my life. My first car, which only lasted a few months, and 6 years ago (2 cars ago). So maybe I'm just used to it.

[tatarin]

I drive in traffic all the time... manual all the way :)

[ChronicTeutonic]

I have the tip and also have another MT car. My opinion is that if you want to rev the engine at the stop light, dump the clutch and burn some rubber or what have you get the MT, outside of that get the Tip.

Driving around town "D" will get you good MPGs. Flip to "S" for the freeway on-ramp, passing or long uphill diving (to hold the revs). Use full tip/paddles when driving in the twisty roads. The tip's torque converter lockup makes the trans feel just like an MT tranny once you're moving forward. The paddles are great since you don't have to take your hands off the wheel to change gears (I don't think I'd enjoy my tip w/o them.)

[stretchS4]

I have a TIP and really like it. I had three cars with the fun one being a 350Z 6speed MT. But like ...Mark... below, I have two little kids now and basically never got a chance to enjoy the 2 door, 2 seater Z. So I decided to dump the Z and my daily (an A4 BTW) and get an TIP S4. I think its great. Dont get me wrong, I do miss reving at stoplights, rev matching, and heal toeing, but I am very pleased with how well the TIP performs. I am learning how to best use the paddles and the manual modes and feel they are very effective.
If I were childless, I would have a 6MT. Thats Me.

[sakimano]

A fast car with an auto tranny is like a 2WD Audi.

WACK

don't get too married to this outlook. I think the world agreed with you 10 years ago, but 5 years from now you'll be hard pressed to find a proper manual (or a reason to own one) when you consider the incredible advances in the dual clutch autoboxes. Amazing stuff.

Many of the fastest cars in the world are already entirely auto (including THE fastest).

[blur510]

Lets see the 510..

lol here u go



was 324whp on 91 octane. Engine rebuilt and raced out since.. will be about 400+ whp on 91 when done..

[...Mark...]

was 324whp on 91 octane. Engine rebuilt and raced out since.. will be about 400+ whp on 91 when done..

Not bad...

[Meradin]

I drive around the NYC area a lot. When I hit traffic, I just leave my car in 1st gear, let the car in front of me go a few car lengths, maybe 1/2 a block depending on how long the traffic jam is and why (accident, merge, or too many cars) and tap the gas every once in a while. The car behind me usually sees how effective it is, and 'plays along'...and if they don't let them go around and tailgate the person in front of you.

In my FX, I do the same thing and it's auto.

This is exactly the way to drive in traffic. I also avoid using my brakes until I need to slow down below 5 mph. Driving automatics because of traffic is a pretty weak excuse. After you drive stick for a number of years you shouldn't even think about shifting even in traffic.

[Meradin]

don't get too married to this outlook. I think the world agreed with you 10 years ago, but 5 years from now you'll be hard pressed to find a proper manual (or a reason to own one) when you consider the incredible advances in the dual clutch autoboxes. Amazing stuff.

Many of the fastest cars in the world are already entirely auto (including THE fastest).

While they might shift automatically they are hardly automatics. Traditional automatic transmissions have torque converters which is their biggest downside causing power loss and reduced fuel economy. Anything that has a clutch or two is considered an automated manual including the Veyron.

[...Mark...]

This is exactly the way to drive in traffic. I also avoid using my brakes until I need to slow down below 5 mph. Driving automatics because of traffic is a pretty weak excuse. After you drive stick for a number of years you shouldn't even think about shifting even in traffic.

I used to live in Poughkeepsie and commuted to West Chester every day for 3 years up until i moved south 3 years ago. Traffic on any of the highways on your side of town pales in comparison to Atlanta traffic. There is no real mass transport system here so everyone drives in a city that is so overpopulated that all of its highways are undergoing expansion projects. Like i said earlier it takes me, on a good day, 45 minutes to go 14-15 miles each way to work, and this is on surface streets in an attempt to avoid traffic on the highway. I and many others in situtuations similar to mine, need an auto. Would we prefer an standard, sure, but its just not practical..

[WinterRunner]

lol here u go



was 324whp on 91 octane. Engine rebuilt and raced out since.. will be about 400+ whp on 91 when done..

SICK car man. I bet thats a blast to sport around town.

[ClarkSJ]

My recently-purchased 2005 B6 S4 is the first automatic tranmission car I have purchased in over 30 years. In that time I have owned exclusively manual transmission cars, including VWs and Audis. I was also concerned about moving to an auto transmission, but in light of what I read here and on other boards about B6 synchros and clutches, I thought it was a wise choice for this car, and esp. for a used one.

So far I am very pleased with the Tip. It is not your grandfather's auto transmission. It is a sophisticated and responsive 6 speed auto mated to a V-8 engine that you can operate in a number of modes-- full auto, sport mode, tip shift by paddles, tip shift by gear selector, tip shift overriding full auto, etc. The paddle shifters really make the tranny fun, and it is so nice to just click down two gears at 70 mph to get a burst of passing power. Launch is not as fun as a manual, but after that you can run through the gears faster than any manual tranny. I added aftermarket paddles (larger) to the car, so that it was easier to shift while steering other than a straight line. As an added bonus, you can use the paddles to run up to higher gears while in full auto earlier than usual, which improves gas mileage over full auto operation.

As far as maintenance, I will change fluid at filter at 60K or so. But other than that I expect it to be trouble-free for a long time.

So far I am pleased. . .

[S-Fore]

Mine is my DD too, and I drive in to NYC everyday. I sometimes wish that I had gotten a MT, but in the end, the little bit of power really is not that big of a difference, IMO, although important to some. Now that gas is down, I tend to keep it in S or just or use the paddles. And, lets be real here, the list of cars that can take a B6/7 S4 is a pretty decent size one.

[Audized]

If you hop back to the S4 forum, you'll see lots of guys with B6 manuals are replacing their clutch/flywheel at around 50,000 miles for $2,000. That might help your decision!

Think of it this way, when you need to replace something in an automatic transmission gearbox, it's more than $2,000.

[sakimano]

Think of it this way, when you need to replace something in an automatic transmission gearbox, it's more than $2,000.

well, let's not play what if...I'm talking about actual happenings here, not speculation or scare tactics.

my point was that the clutches on B6 cars seem to be giving at 50k at an alarming rate. There are at least 4 threads on here this month to that effect.

I haven't seen too many TIP guys saying 'holy shit...my auto tranny just seized at 50k miles'

[sakimano]

While they might shift automatically they are hardly automatics. Traditional automatic transmissions have torque converters which is their biggest downside causing power loss and reduced fuel economy. Anything that has a clutch or two is considered an automated manual including the Veyron.

thanks for the lesson in semantics, but that's (dual/single clutch manumatic or whatever you want to name it) an 'automatic' transmission in the context of this discussion. Also the B6/7 Audi S4 tiptronic (and nearly every single proper automatic car on earth) now outperforms their manual brethren on fuel economy. In the S4 case, it's all the evils you mentioned, yet better on fuel.

manual, to most, means

• stick shift
• clutch pedal

auto to most means

• NO clutch pedal
• automatic mode or wheel mounted gear shift system (buttons/paddles)

Ferrari F1 transmissions...are they manual or automatic? they have automatic mode, yet they also have fully manual (via paddles) mode. They also have NO clutch pedal. They're also spurned by many 'true enthusiasts' like the guy I orginally replied to, who hate the thought of not having total control over the gearbox.

[KiloByte]

Although tiptronic is a decent tranny I think B8 S4's S-Tronic will be the ultimate choice for the best of both worlds.

I drive around the NYC area a lot. When I hit traffic, I just leave my car in 1st gear, let the car in front of me go a few car lengths, maybe 1/2 a block depending on how long the traffic jam is and why (accident, merge, or too many cars) and tap the gas every once in a while. The car behind me usually sees how effective it is, and 'plays along'...and if they don't let them go around and tailgate the person in front of you.

In my FX, I do the same thing and it's auto.

I don't think you drive in New York enough because you would notice that people who do that stuff tend to get cut off a lot so it's not even worth it. I have a stick shift A4 but I just don't know if I can keep driving it in these conditions much longer.

[Justincredible]

thanks for the lesson in semantics, but that's (dual/single clutch manumatic or whatever you want to name it) an 'automatic' transmission in the context of this discussion. Also the B6/7 Audi S4 tiptronic (and nearly every single proper automatic car on earth) now outperforms their manual brethren on fuel economy. In the S4 case, it's all the evils you mentioned, yet better on fuel..

I second this.

First off the Auto trans in the B6/7 is not a TIPTRONIC it is a MECHATRONIC a new line of automatics. Miles more complicated then the past Tip. the performance is almost in line with the Manual. Look at the performance #'s then look at the gear Ratio.

The 6 speed manual has a final drive of 3.83
The 6 Speed Mectronic has a final drive 3.55

The independent gearing in the trans is close for both the manual and the auto. So give the auto the better final gear ratio and see how the performance stackes up then.

Performance wise. Look at the 1/4 mile times. The Auto can still get a 1.9 60 Foot not too bad for a auto. The 60foot can get better with practice. I don't know if you can ever great the same 60foot performance from a auto but you can definitly close the gap.

Also there is the Gas mileage...hands down the Auto is better on gas. So this is not the auto of old.

To me shifting on the paddles makes the car feel more like a manual but I don't have to go threw all the work of the clutch and full shifting.

Manuals will always make you feel more connected to the car and the performance. the whole Idea of being a big part of the car. You are not going to be able to duplicate that with the Auto. BUT you still get a great sports car feel IMHO

[sakimano]

I bet your German is better than ours! cheers.

And lastly for the grammar police that are bound to step in
I came here from Germany in the 6th grade. I could not read or write a lick of English. I am working to get better. Thanks and sorry. I always try to edit my posts for the best grammar and easiest reading

[nickyreno]

don't get too married to this outlook. I think the world agreed with you 10 years ago, but 5 years from now you'll be hard pressed to find a proper manual (or a reason to own one) when you consider the incredible advances in the dual clutch autoboxes. Amazing stuff.

Many of the fastest cars in the world are already entirely auto (including THE fastest).

True that.

But to him his own. I like my pickups Auto and my cars Manny. I dont say "Lets race!" then click down to the D, to me it's cheating.

But i know what you mean. They are becoming out dated, but that doesn't mean they aren't fun to play with.

[RAudi Driver]

Blur510, where r u located? I love 510's and used to have one back in the day. We all rolled these cars around. I had buddies with 510's, 610's, 510's with rotarys in them. Bring your car out to the Pasadena G2g some night so we can all take a look at it. Absolute beauty!

[Justincredible]

I bet your German is better than ours! cheers.

LOL thanks I would think it might be.

The down side is that it doesn't help me here. My wording in the posts sounds like I would speak it in German. It is still very hard to make some of my points sound American. I have the up most respect for the USA. I took it upon my self to speak without an accent and understand the language. It took me many years to speak and then to read. The grammar for me is the most difficult. Just when I think I have a good grasp.....right, wright, write, rite
if I speak them they all sound the same. but witch one is the proper one. LOL I find my self trying to use different words that I think have just one way to spell them and say them. Just when I think I have it BAM I find out I'm not even close to understanding.

I put that in my sig as and explanation of my issue, not an excuse for it. So I say that out of respect to all that understand the grammar. SORRY

I felt it imperative that I let people know why I don't know where to put the period or the coma or the proper spelling. But in the end I don't need to know how to spell throttle angle in English to explain it.

[oatzel]

i miss blipping the throttle in parking lots, but don't really miss the manaul transmission

[M threezy]

Does anyone have 1/4 times of manual vs TiP?

[Justincredible]

Does anyone have 1/4 times of manual vs TiP?

Stock the 6 speed is said to be (from Audi) 13.7 the Auto is 13.9
You can look for the sticky at the top of the forum with actual results from AZ members.

It is called the 1/4 mile data look in the sticky section

Audizine B6/B7 S4 & RS4 1/4 mile times