Almost time to trade in the daily driver

[magicmike]

I'm thinking about trading in my 98 Infiniti I30t. I have 2 cars in mind but I'm not really sure which way I should go. I guess I'll have to drive them both before I decide. I was thinking of a 2002 or 2003 audi S4 or a 2003 Infiniti G35 Coupe (like the new Z only better looking )

Have you guys heard anything bad about the S4's, I thought I heard they have head problems. I'm concerned about reliability with that one. The G35 is more money but thats ok.

What do you think??

Thanks in advance,

-Mike

[THAWA]

infiniti is one of my heartthrobs so i say go with the g35, but that's a pretty biased decision :\

[scottzg]

Audi = VW, see thread http://www.bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?t=14900

[DLC]

The I30 was a pretty cool car, and i'd definitely replace it with the G35 in any form. I've got a friend whose father and friend have S4s, and while hey haven't had any big problems, i'd still choose the G35 if i had the choice.

The S4 can make monster horsepower with just a few tweaks because of the parallel turbo setup, and it has AWD. The G35 has the VQ35, one of the best V6 engines in the last several decades. AWD is an option on the 04s, but that's really expensive, and it doesn't sound like it's a necessity.

Oh, and then there's that Car and Driver Ten Best thing...the G35 has been on there the last two years, while the "new" S4 Quattro is making its debut, with V8 power.

[entirelyturbo]

Once I heard about the S4 having its timing chain on the back of the engine, against the firewall (done to make room for the bigger radiator) the word "Saab" suddenly popped in my head for some reason

I say G35 coupe. The Z has more HP, but the G35 handles better according to magazine reviews...

[Gravija]

g35: looks better on the streets, though i haven't seen S4 around

[91White-T]

Definitely G35... 6spd, RWD... cant get much more fun than that... Plus its absolutely beautiful.

[magicmike]

thats pretty interesting, I was thinking the people here would be more inclined to choose the audi just because of the similarities with subies (just the turbo and awd, then the similarities end lol)

-Mike

[FG!!]

S4's have problems. It's been awhile since I looked into it, but I remember the stories being incredibly nightmarish.

G35 is gorgeous.

[evolutionmovement]

I also say G35. The all wheel drive system can't be had with the 6-speed, though, and I think only comes on the sedan if that's a concern. That V6 is an absolute gem of an engine. The Audi has a nicer interior, I guess.

Steve

[georryan]

The S4 can make monster horsepower with just a few tweaks because of the parallel turbo setup, and it has AWD. The G35 has the VQ35, one of the best V6 engines in the last several decades. AWD is an option on the 04s, but that's really expensive, and it doesn't sound like it's a necessity.

Be careful about thinking of audi AWD systems being the same as ours. From what I've read they aren't.

Not all cars advertised as 4 wheel drive are really 4WD. Volkswagen and Audi sell cars advertised as 4WD which, in fact, are not full time 4WD. Cars such as the VW Golf Synchro, 4Motion and Audi A3, S3, TT as well as the Seat Leon (all of which share the same platform and engines) have engine torque sent to the rear wheels only in case front wheel spin is detected. The above mentioned cars use a Haldex type clutch center differential which is only activated when the front wheels spin and always deactivated when braking. Why? Because it's cheaper to manufacture as fitting electronics to a mass produced car is much cheaper than fitting additional mechanical parts. Note that higher class vehicles from the same manufacturer use "real" AWD drivetrains. If you're in the market for a full time 4WD car you might want to avoid such models and go for the real thing.

The article that was found on can be found at:
http://www.rallycars.com/Cars/4wd_turbo_cars.html

Although they don't mention the S4 in the cars above, so it is possable that the S4 has a "real" AWD system.

[ciper]

Couldnt the description of this part time AWD almost fit the non VTD 4eat? I mean the only difference is Volkswagon/Audi has 0-100 most of the time while we have 10-90.

[vrg3]

But if you're only normally applying torque to the front wheels, don't you lose the advantage of initial increased traction? Like, AWD cars push with all 4 wheels so it's twice as hard for engine torque to overcome static friction (i.e. cause wheelspin) than with 2WD cars, right?

Of course, as soon as the wheelspin happens, torque moves around and you'll probably get moving right away anyway, but it'll be reactive rather than proactive.

[georryan]

There is more to the subaru systems as well. My brother was reading somewere that some AWD systems are not good to be used for the rugged conditions of off road (I wish I actually read the article, instead of some sort of second hand, so take it with a grain of salt), but some systems make their systems strong enough on the low end through gearing or whatever for such conditions. Subaru was on that list. It was some article comparing AWD and 4WD systems from SUVs, Trucks, to cars. Like I said, though, I wish I would have seen it myself.

[THAWA]

Isn't the non-vtd 50-50 in first and maybe second(? cant remember)

[magicmike]

ok.........before this thread gets locked can we get back on the subject please I understand that the audi system is not the same as the subi one but my main comparison was a car with 2wd vs awd or 4wd or whatever, just anything with more than 2wd lol

So far from what I'm reading I'm starting lean towards the G35 but feel free to keep expressing your input. Thanks again

-Mike