I am on a mission to find/buy an '04 - '05 A4 Ultrasport 3.0 6 speed manual. Based upon countless hours of searching on the Net, I am finding them extremely hard to find. Any tips on sites or search engines that might be a good source of finding what it seeming to be a rare car!

Thanks!

 

I wouldn't take a 3.0 if it was given to me for free. It is the Audi engine with the highest probability of catastrophic engine failure.

 

Also the 1.8T can make just as much power as the 3.0 for less than the price difference between the cars, the timing belt job is less expensive, even modded for more power it gets better fuel economy, the list goes on. Really the only reason to go for the 3.0 vs the 1.8T is if you just absolutely HATE turbo cars or 4-cylinder cars for some reason.

 

I looked at both 1.8Ts and 3.0s before buying a 2003 A4 3.0 MT6 for my daughter. It came with the premium package, cold weather package, Bose, and 17" rim and I consider it very well loaded with accessories and features, on a par with my 2.7T. I did not find many 1.8Ts with the same packages and trim. Performance and mods were never a consideration. It has 85k miles and just had the TB work performed. No complaints, but time will tell on the engine. My 2.7T has 188k miles and still running oem suspension, battery, turbos although I did replace the alternator and clutch/FW.

 

I have driven both a 1.8T and a 2006 3.2 and the difference was night and day regarding the power. I never felt the turbo kick in and it just felt like a 4 cylinder. With that said, I know there are a ton of things one can do to boost the HP of the 1.8. I just like the feel of straight away power off the line but then again I have never driven a modded turbo vehicle before.

Another thing that draws me towards the 6 cylinder is the exhaust sound. After spending a lot of time on Youtube comparing the two motor's modded exhausts, the 3.0/3.2 sounds much deeper, more robust than the 4 cyl.

Fuel economy is key for me as I commute roughly 170 miles a day and do it in my immaculate '90 Miata with 183+K on her getting 33mpg. I can handle 27 - 29mpg, which from what I have read is the range on the 3.0. But if the 1.8T can top that it could be what sends me over the edge to that motor setup. Gas prices are headed for record numbers.......

Thanks again for all the advice and please keep it coming!

 

Well, your experience with the 3.2 wouldn't correlate directly to the 3.0; it has an additional 30 HP over the 3.0 (250 vs 220). The 1.8T has a very small turbo as stock, so it spools up quickly and there is not a sharp transition from off boost to on boost.

If fuel economy is key for you, the 3.0 is not for you. Doing my old 55 miles/day commute, my 1.8T only averaged around 27 MPG. (I'm doing more like 22 miles/day now and averaging more like 25 MPG.) Over longer distances, it'd spend more time highway cruising and probably improve that to 29 or 30. There is no way a 3.0 is going to get close to that. I wouldn't expect better than 25 out of it, and that might be optimistic.

Neither the 3.0 nor the 1.8T is going to get close to the Miata; the A4 is just a much larger, heavier car, and that's truly the key to good gas mileage. The less you weigh, and the better your coefficient of drag, the better your gas mileage. Handling is going to be quite different from your Miata as well; you'll be going from a small, light, rear drive car with near 50/50 weight distribution to a larger, much heavier 4WD car with a significant front weight bias.

My advice remains that the 1.8T is a better choice than the 3.0. If you miss the 3.0's power that much, just put an APR Stage 1 chip (or similar chip from another supplier [GIAC, Revo, etc]) on the 1.8T; that'll boost it from 170 HP up to 209 HP on 91 octane (they say you can get a few more HP if you run 93 octane gas). I seriously doubt you'd be able to tell the difference between the 220 HP 3.0 and 209 HP 1.8T, and the chip will only cost you $500. If you want to go a little farther, their Stage 1+ package includes bigger fuel injectors and makes more like 230 HP, so you'd actually be at slightly more power than the 3.0, and as long as you're off boost (highway cruising), you're getting good gas mileage, and if you need it, the boost (and therefore power) is only a downshift away.

 

The quattro A4 weighs in around 3700 lbs, not much less than the A6. The best my daughter's A4 3.0 MT6 gets on the highway at Michigan's 70 mph speed limit is 25-27 mpg and it is closer to 20 around town. You might inch that up a few mpg by opting for the FWD but avoid the CVT transmission at all costs. On the upside, it is a very comfortable highway vehicle and cruises effortlessly.

 

Thank you ALL! You opened my eyes to a whole new realm of the turbo world. I had always been a heavy big block type with raw BHP!

I have refined my search for a 2005 A4 1.8T Ultrasport 5 speed (6 if I can find one or they even make one) with plans to slowly upgrade over time starting with a chip and exhaust.

I just love the Ultrasport lines and it's beefy body style.

Thanks again for your feedback and this kick **** forum for the wealth of information for a n00b like me!

 

How did you end up with a Miata then? It's pretty much the opposite of "heavy big block," given that it's a small, nimble sports car with a small 4-cylinder engine.

...or does the Miata have an engine transplant?

 

Lol naaaaah, although I did look into the 302 Monster Miata... Mmmmmmmm!

I bought it for cheap as I was a contractor for HP getting paid for mileage and I made a killing getting 35mpg on a 10 gallon tank! When I got hired on full time I got a company vehicle and only drove the tiny car for fun. Now I got a new gig with Locheed and my 160 mile per day commute I need comfort without sacrificing sport!