Friday, March 19, 2010

Audi S4 B5-series

RSR Styling for the Audi S4 B5
Here’s where the frustration of dealing with recurring S4 mechanical maladies all but disappears. YouTube is full videos that feature turbo S4s committing various acts of horsepower heroics (like the Nurburgring vid posted above), and that’s due to the devout following of Audi owners on the whole. The unassuming styling of the S4 however, combined with the Biturbo’s ease of tuning make it an Audi favorite despite the car’s relatively short North American lifespan. As such, S4 owners have an extremely broad enthusiast community when it comes to technical help, aftermarket tuning, spare parts, or just friendly camaraderie. In fact, there are so many web sites in cyber land devoted to all things Audi that we could never hope to list them all, but we can offer a few suggestions on groups both big and small.

With a membership base approaching 500,000, fourtitude.com is by far the largest web-based Audi forum, though it also includes all the manufacturers under the Audi umbrella, such as Seat and Lamborghini. AudiWorld.com offers news, technical resources, project cars, and a forum of nearly 170,000 members, making it the largest Audi-specific site on the internet. Audizine.com and Audiforums.com also offer impressively-large online memberships, while enthusiasts looking for a quieter, S4-specific outlet can visit s4forum.com , which caters to approximately 3000 registered members. If online chatting and forum hashing isn’t your thing, S4 drivers should at least bookmark s4biturbo.com . Filled with links, technical information, aftermarket suggestions and enough info to tackle any B5 S4 project, this web site is a bible for anyone sporting a turbocharged S4.

Traditional club goers will find their needs met at audiclubna.org , online home of the Audi Club of North America (ACNA.) This official organization maintains a strong membership base and delivers a quarterly newsletter, numerous membership perks, and regular driving events hosted through ACNA chapters across the country, all available for a nominal membership fee.

Watch the video up top to take a hot lap around our favorite German race track behind the wheel of an S4, then drop into the NextAutos Forums to plug your local Audi club, or to share personal stories of S4-related sports-car humiliation.