This weekend we had a 2-day SCCA autocross weekend in Packwood (an NT site) and were registered in the Boxster as usual running CS. On Friday it was absolutely storming buckets with 99% chance of rain all weekend, so we said screw it and brought the S4, which is almost completely stock on Continental DSW tires, and ran in DS in the same superclass.
On Saturday it was bone dry and hot and the car was a hoot despite being the exact wrong thing for the tires. Today though it rains rained and holy guacamole...
I got 3rd in the superclass (my first trophy there) and 14th overall of 52! I got done running and told Mrs. J that the Boxster was for sale.
The more I think about it, the more that makes sense. We have the 944 S2 for PCA club events and it's capable of AX and track days if needed and the Q5 e-tron does the DD duties now, so we could totally put 200TW tires on the S4, more aggressive pads, and do the suspension and make it the autocross and track day car. The Boxster's only role left would be time trials, which aren't happening up here nearly frequently enough to justify it (1 per year).
I think I should sell it. I could part out the hardtop, 18x8.5/10 wheels, JRZ shocks, and spares and sell the car stock on 17s and come out pretty good. It had the IMS done at a Porsche dealer (with clutch and replacement transaxle, all with paperwork) and I've done the entire suspension, Konis, brakes, CV axles, etc.
Does it make sense to shuffle the fleet like this?
If you aren't using it, then yes it does make sense. Keep the cars you use and enjoy. It'll free up cash and room for other projects, like maybe that next Javelin.
How much does the A4 weight? I have a line on a 1.8t one for cheep. They have always interested me.
I doubt the Audi will make you smile in daily driving anything like what the Boxster will. Keep the Boxster for grins.
DWNSHFT said:
I doubt the Audi will make you smile in daily driving anything like what the Boxster will. Keep the Boxster for grins.
Well the daily is the Cayenne and we have the 944 S2 for pleasure driving. Also the S4 is a 330hp supercharged V6 that's a tune and pulley away from 450 so it's pretty fun...
Hmm, how much for the boxster with all the stuff to go with it?
In reply to docwyte :
That's the question, isn't it. Boxster prices are all over the map in this market. I have it insured for $15K because that's about what it would cost to replace it with another S 6-speed. To a GRMer I'd sell it for that with the hardtop, JRZs, and spares (headlights, taillights, 17" wheels, wind deflector, cat, etc).
I've never owned a B8 S4, but all of the other Audis I've had (B5 and B6 S4s, C7 S6) have had fundamental similarities in how they drive. They're fun cars up to about 80-90% of the limit, but once you push them beyond that the limitations of the basic platform show up (too much front weight) and they kinda fall apart. I autocrossed both S4s a few times and took the B5 to Laguna Seca once, my conclusion was always that this wasn't their strength and I stuck with my Miata (and later E46 M3) instead.
If you do take the S4 to the track, expect to need a lot of brake upgrades. It's a heavy car with a lot of power.
In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :
Yeah I can see that. It's a noise heavy oinker. Ours does have the Sport Diff, which makes a significant difference, and I've put fixed 4-piston Q5 calipers on it. I'm sure it will need more and end up in Street Mod or something.
RE: time trials, which aren't happening up here nearly frequently enough to justify it (1 per year).
https://www.ongridtrack.com/ogso-pnw
Is this not a 5 round time trials event? ;)
hunter47 said:
RE: time trials, which aren't happening up here nearly frequently enough to justify it (1 per year).
https://www.ongridtrack.com/ogso-pnw
Is this not a 5 round time trials event? ;)
I should say "SCCA Time Trials". I am aware of OnGrid and they run a great program. They are very much the pointy end of the TT/TA stick though, so if I dive into that I'd need to cage the car and get a trailer and go nuts.
In reply to Javelin :
Fair enough. Their "Sport" class seems geared towards the weekend warrior in a street car vs a seasoned vet in a caged and trailered car.
Color me interested if you're selling the boxster, though I may want to get into real estate before then. We'll see :)
I'd personally sell the Audi, having a heavy-nosed AWD vehicle myself. It is fun on track but if I have a dedicated track car I'd get something lighter.
Consider the cost of consumables for the S4 versus the boxster.
Captdownshift (Forum Supporter) said:
Consider the cost of consumables for the S4 versus the boxster.
Consider the entire S4 a consumable.
Captdownshift (Forum Supporter) said:
Consider the cost of consumables for the S4 versus the boxster.
That is a huge point. The Boxster is surprisingly cheap to keep on track. Maybe the answer is the Boxster switches to track only duty and the S4 does autocross but not track days?
Captdownshift (Forum Supporter) said:
Consider the cost of consumables for the S4 versus the boxster.
Yeah but the $10-15k from selling the boxster buys a lot of consumables.
dps214 said:
Captdownshift (Forum Supporter) said:
Consider the cost of consumables for the S4 versus the boxster.
Yeah but the $10-15k from selling the boxster buys a lot of consumables.
Have you priced Audi brakes and tires lately? :)
In reply to Javelin :
You have the most expensive part of a Boxster build covered already with the JRZ. Of course everytime you compete in the S4 you really enjoy it. You like what you like. I like my crumby granny sedan.
Also if you haven't used the launch control do it! It's giggly fun.
In reply to AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) :
Manual trans S4, no launch control.
Javelin said:
In reply to AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) :
Manual trans S4, no launch control.
:sad face: Go borrow an RS7 or rent one on Turo and play with the launch control!
codrus (Forum Supporter) said:
dps214 said:
Captdownshift (Forum Supporter) said:
Consider the cost of consumables for the S4 versus the boxster.
Yeah but the $10-15k from selling the boxster buys a lot of consumables.
Have you priced Audi brakes and tires lately? :)
Uhhh...based on wheel size the tires are cheaper, though they won't last as long. Brakes might be a bit more expensive but probably not substantially. Even if the Audi wears everything twice as fast that $10k probably still adds up to at least five seasons of "free" consumables.
I'd sell both the Audi and the Porsche and get a turbo B6-swapped Ford Festiva. 
dps214 said:
Uhhh...based on wheel size the tires are cheaper, though they won't last as long. Brakes might be a bit more expensive but probably not substantially. Even if the Audi wears everything twice as fast that $10k probably still adds up to at least five seasons of "free" consumables.
Well, my on-track experience with an S4 was that one track day went through about $3K worth of tires and brakes. Granted that was a previous generation of the car and could likely have been mitigated by spending some money up front on suspension (it needed a lot more camber) and brake upgrades (stock stuff was woefully inadequate), but I've seen it happen to other cars too. Not all of them, I'm sure it depends a lot on how you drive and what track you go to, but it cured me of wanting to take Audi sedans out on race tracks.
How uh...how did you go through two sets of tires in a single track day? Or did you cook the brakes so hard you had to replace the entire system or something?
To be fair, I'm not suggesting that the audi specifically is the best choice for a track day car, but it's way cheaper than keeping an extra car around just to be used twice a year. Honestly I'd probably sell both and replace them with a more suited car. But this is a decent compromise option that doesn't involve having to buy a car in the current market.
dps214 said:
How uh...how did you go through two sets of tires in a single track day? Or did you cook the brakes so hard you had to replace the entire system or something?
To be fair, I'm not suggesting that the audi specifically is the best choice for a track day car, but it's way cheaper than keeping an extra car around just to be used twice a year. Honestly I'd probably sell both and replace them with a more suited car. But this is a decent compromise option that doesn't involve having to buy a car in the current market.
At the time, the tires on the car were like $350 each and there were no aftermarket brake parts available so they had to come from the dealer. $3K is what I remember, but it was 20 years ago so it might have been $2K. It was definitely significant though.
