why is the s4 lighter than the s5?
 

i tried searching but 's4' and 's5' was too short

The word length minimum is extrememly annoying and illogical.

The doors and dash. Both have extra bracing, and weigh more for S5 cars.

but they're stiffer right? then it's not necessarily a bad thing...

oh is that it ?
i thought S4 got a smaller gas tank or something

Gas isnt included in the curb weight, so gas tank size has nothing to do with it. But yes, S5's are stiffer. After 4 S5's I wouldnt even own a S4.

word

yeah i owned a series4 (turboII) and now i own my series5 NA, i dont plan on owning another series4...

I own one of each, that way I can praise one and complain about the other, depending on which is broke.

S5's also have things like more anti-sound material, automatic seat belts and so on.

also some minor engine differences, and body mouldings, but who knows if they weighed any different.

I think gas is included in the curb weight of a vehicle. Curb weight is the weight of the vehicle ready to drive, with all fluids and fuel.

I don't think it matters much for this question though, since the difference between S4 and S5 is less than 2 gallons. (16.6 to 18.5)

wow that much differance between s4 and s5 huh? that's crazy! so why wouldn't yall go with an s4 any more?

S5s have those stupid automatic seatbelts, so the motors and extra bracing for those is added weight. Better interior aswell, and dont S5s have the heavy spares and jacks, where as the S4s have the AL spare/jack.

How about a $1,500 '87 TII- thats hard to argue w/ and hard to beat w/ any S5 NA! :)

Seriously, once you begin to get into any serious modifications the differences basically boil down to differences in appearance- that is why you see so many modded S4 TII- w/ the money saved over S5 TII you can often get stand alone engine management, a fresh rebuild and possibly an upgraded turbo...:cool:

not to mention there are a whole lot more S4 turbos...

Well, yes. I think that goes a LONG way toward explaining the price difference between S4 and S5, which was my point- of course.

It is hard to argue the differences melt away once you are over ~300hp level in mods.

Differences in performance, yes. Differences in the interior quality(where you spend most of your time...) as plain as day, and the S4 definately isnt the winner here.

BTW, Ill take this time to mention that Im a proud owner of an 89 TII as well as my 90 GTU :D

I always here people bitch about the seatbelts. Just pull the fuse, problem solved and you will also lose that precious 3oz in weight.

anybody wanna give some numbers? "lighter" is such a vague term.

finally a thread where s5's are praised more than s4's

Chassis stiffness . . . this seems to be a benefit of S5s. How can you tell the difference? I have only driven my S4 and it put my Integra to shame in every way.

While I like the way the S5 lights look better at night.. even if they do look like a Merc Cougar.. I like my s4 interior better than an s5. I like the guages and the warning lights.. I also like the look of the radio surround better even if it might be more prone to breakage. I also hate the S5 auto seatbelts so the s4 is a big winner there. I wish I had door speakes but I can live without them as I still have the stock stereo in there.. I like the way it looks.

What besdies those few things are different on the interior? If you want to talk about quality my s4 is in better shape than almost every s5 I have seen even ones with lower milage..

Only thing I really wish my s4 had was the 8K redline and engine to go with. The biggest difference to me is the painted moldings on the car. I think those look sharp!

If I gave a flying shit about my interior, I'd drive a lexus or bmw. Weight is the enemy to me, s4's are lighter. Function over form, always. Of course there are some things I like about the s5....higher compression, better turbo manifold design, and a real wastegate.

That's not to say I wouldn't drive an s5, far from it. But for the usual price difference I see between the two, it's hard to justify spending the extra cost, especially like bluetII said, once you start modding you won't be able to tell the difference.

This post is cool. People arguing about a car thats nearly the same. But I have to agree w/ the price difference, s4=better deal. But for those who think an s5 is rare and are willing to fork the extra money for alittle extra weight and different materials, thats cool too.

well i owned both, (s4 base, s5 vert) both had there ups and downs. but i can tell you one thing i will never own a s5 vert agian........... next car is going to be a 88se (hopefully)


-Shawn................ S4's rule

lol, I have a 86 SE and a 88 Turbo 2, so Im i have the series 4 covered pretty well, I dont mind them....Buying an FD tho, just to own another RX7

I think you are right on the jack. The jack appears to be steel. The spare on my S4 is the same as the S5 however, both steel. Not all S4 have AL spares (or hoods).

Another difference is the sway bars on the S5 have ball joints on the ends which adds to the better feel when driving and maybe a tiny bit of weight.

They do have more speakers.

Well.....My S5 does not have door speakers. Just the rear strut tower speakers and the under dash speakers. In Canada we got no automatic seat belts in the S5's either so there is that problem gone. :D

Personally, I have ridden in my buddies S4 NA lots, and of course driven my S5 tons. The differences are not noticable to me at all, although I have never driven his car. But I have seen S5's for sale for pretty darn cheap up here. I bought my S5 NA for 2k Canadian, my buddy just bought an S4 NA with 60k km on engine for 2500.

I say go for whatever comes along first for a price that is not unreasonable for what your getting. If you can get a S4 for dirt cheap in wicked shape then go for it, if you can get an S5 in wicked shape for a price your willing to pay then go for it.

i want an aluminum hood. :( anyone know where i can find a brave blue aluminum hood?

Its interesting to note, that the majority of top TII's on this forum, in terms of level and quality of mods, horsepower, and cleanliness seem to be S4's (Blue TII, 1FastT2, BDC etc).

Stock for stock, the S5's may be better, but once pride of ownership kicks in, all bets are off :)

heres some fun fuel for the fire.
my s4 t2 with 20b is 2860lbs with a full tank of gas
my friends 89 gtu is 2700lbs with a half tank of gas

mike