B9 S4 Manual Swap

**matt_woj** · 05-13-2018 07:25 PM

I know. I know. I know, A complete waste of money when at the end of the day I could just go buy a BMW M variant with a MT and have similar, if not better, power for a lower premium. But here's the thing, my first car was a B6 A4 which I have now given to my girlfriend (who adores the car along with Audi's heritage). Then there's me, I currently daily a MT B8.5 A4 and am completely in love with the newly designed A4/S4's. If it was up to me, I'd bury myself in an Audi.

So here's my question, would it be more cost effective to purchase an S4 and manual swap it with the offered A4 manual transmission (probably go stage 2 clutch) which of course would be in the ballpark of $17,000 - $23,000 once the original tranny is sold and everything is newly programmed. ORRR, would it be cheaper to purchase a MT A4 and just try my best to replace everything in the car to match an S4....which in my opinion seems kinda ehh. By everything, I mean the alcantara seats, steering wheel, Audi zone lighting, etc, etc, etc. Keep in mind that regardless of the car I choose, I will be tuning it and would prefer to work on the V6 platform instead of the 2.0t which I already have.

Am I forgetting any major components for the manual swap? So far I know I would have to add the pedals, clutch, shifting mechanism, center console trim for the manual, and ecu programming.

(I also have a shop that is willing to take this job, no need to emphasize how no one will do it)

**kstrike155** · 08-13-2018 12:38 PM

So, any progress on this swap? Interested to see if you ever pursued this...

**matt_woj** · 02-23-2021 08:19 AM

@kstrike155

Funny story actually.

The B8.5 turned into a money pit so much so that I ditched Audi and set my sights on the new G80 M3. I even got a job at a local BMW dealer to get the employee lease special but as most toxic relationships go, I ended up going back to Audi and bought a CPO B9 A4 MT w/all the options mentioned above ^^ (flat bottom wheel, alcantara seats, S-Line, Bang & Olufsen, etc) As of now, I'm stage 1 plus w/APR, have installed H&R lowering springs, an ECS Valvetronic exhuast, rear diffuser w/quad tips, IE Intake, among some other miscellaneous things. Guess I'm not leaving Audi anytime soon lmao.

However, I'm still entertaining the idea of throwing a B9 S4 engine in it; I'm a shop foreman now and have a mechanic capable of the job. It's more so swallowing the fact that I'll void my warranty. The only reason I stumbled across this thread was because I'm doing some more research. I thought OP sounded familiar lol.

We'll see what the future holds.

**Morgan1987** · 03-06-2021 07:38 AM

If you have the budget, there is an B9 RS5 engine for sale on ebay right now.... that would an awesome swap...... here is the link:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/17-18-19-AU...4AAOSwaOpeuw1I

**Cvelbar** · 03-13-2023 04:57 AM

Originally Posted by matt_woj

@kstrike155

Funny story actually.

The B8.5 turned into a money pit so much so that I ditched Audi and set my sights on the new G80 M3. I even got a job at a local BMW dealer to get the employee lease special but as most toxic relationships go, I ended up going back to Audi and bought a CPO B9 A4 MT w/all the options mentioned above ^^ (flat bottom wheel, alcantara seats, S-Line, Bang & Olufsen, etc) As of now, I'm stage 1 plus w/APR, have installed H&R lowering springs, an ECS Valvetronic exhuast, rear diffuser w/quad tips, IE Intake, among some other miscellaneous things. Guess I'm not leaving Audi anytime soon lmao.

However, I'm still entertaining the idea of throwing a B9 S4 engine in it; I'm a shop foreman now and have a mechanic capable of the job. It's more so swallowing the fact that I'll void my warranty. The only reason I stumbled across this thread was because I'm doing some more research. I thought OP sounded familiar lol.

We'll see what the future holds.

update.... shoulda got the G80 lol