So do you bog it down a little or rev up the previous gear?

 

My S4 cost about $1500 to do the 80k service and about $1200 of that was timing belt and about $700 of that was labor alone! Audi/VW will always be harder to work on, more expensive to mod and maintain. I will stick with American as my DD for sure!

On a side note, I paid $1100 for a cat back exhaust for my S4. It was one of the more expensive ones but the "cheaper" ones ran about $800. Catback for my LS1 was like $400 lol.

 

ChevySS, did you ever replace the plugs?..... Over $60 just for 4 plugs and then they have to pull the engine to replace (kidding, kind of).

They are great cars, but you better plan on paying dearly to own one.

 

They were supposed to replace the plugs in the 80k service while they had everything torn apart for the timing belt, but they didn't. Since I had the B5 S4 it was twin turbo, meaning if the turbo's went out you literally had to pull the engine to replace them. That meant either days of hard labor yourself trying not to royally screw things up or thousands of dollars in labor for someone else to do it.

German cars are crazy to maintain. VW's are a little cheaper for the most part but still.

Not to mention the fact that there is zero room in the engine bay to work with! No room front, back, left, right, forward, or backwards. Nothing! lol

200 Audi S4



2008 HHR SS

 

i have gli w/few minor mods but to compete w/wrx or srt4 it needs turbo upgrade. other then that german cars are nice.

 

And the Germans make good stuff:

 

I try not to bog it down too much, so I guess add in a few extra rpm before the upshift. It's a feel for me, depends on the terrain. With the low end torque this vehicle has, and no extra weight or passengers, the first two gears feel overly aggresive for daily (non hotrod) driving. I can climb even the steepest hills in third, unless starting from a dead stop..obviously. So I try to avoid 2nd. If i reach city speeds in third, why not head straight to fifth. I shift less, and get better mileage. Thats a no lose i think.

 

I keep it in third at city speeds (35mph). If you need acceleration at that speed, you will not find it in fifth. I know it's as easy as a down shift, but what if you need it and don't have the time to downshift.