BOUT OF THE MIDDLEWEIGHTS

Ah joy, another Shoot Out under our belts and, yes, that’s a pun on our title fight theme, “Bout of the Middleweights.” We have and will always be huge Audi fans. A while back we took an RS4 out to a dry lake bed and had a BMW driver put it through its paces. The guy pushed the car so hard that he broke the clutch doing dust bunnies at close to 200 mph! I got to ride-along with him before the “malfunction” and nearly soiled my pants multiple times between overwhelming bouts of laughter and screaming. At the time, the RS4 was the true high-water mark for performance sedans. The new M3 sedan had not made it to our shores and the Lexus IS-F was still in-the-womb. A 4-door performance sedan from a luxury brand, whose commercials feature silver balls rolling around the perfect gaps of body panels, hard to imagine, right?

Well like most performance freaks, I was skeptical that Lexus had the huevos to build a performance sedan that would challenge my beloved RS4. So when the car arrived at WebRidesTV HQ, I was stoked to take it out for a quick spin and size it up. That was if I could get past the crowd that had gathered in the parking lot. All the guys were fighting over who got the honors of the first drive. I had to admit, the IS-F looked real good: nice aggressive stance and meaty low-profile rubber wrapped around sweet rims. Even the four fake exhaust pipes were forgivable. After a quick lap around the local office circuit, I thought, holy shit, those sly bastards had done it! The IS-F was a real contender and that exhaust note, at full throttle. It sounds like a panther climbed into the cockpit and ripped my ear off!

There was only one thing left to do… We had to pit the Lexus IS-F against the Audi RS4 in a no-holds-barred Shoot Out. Would the RS4 clean its clock or would the unproven IS-F give the Audi the shocker. Well my friends, it was a clear upset. Lexus does have the “silver balls” after all! We hope you enjoy the video and we want to share all the detailed stats from our data loggers because you car freaks love charts and graphs.

First, the IS-F is more competitively priced in stock, no option trim. Standard features are similar across the board, satellite-based navigation being the most expensive option you can order with either vehicle. Although the brand perception / equity of Lexus has risen quite high, there is definitely a bigger prestige factor in owning the German Audi.

Scorecard
IS-F: 1
RS4: 1

Second, although the IS-F seems to have the upper hand in the powerplant department, with its slightly higher horsepower output and markedly bigger torque figure - which can be attributed to bigger displacement - the RS4 presents the driver with a much flatter and progressive torque curve over its 5.0L Japanese rival. The IS-F’s torque curve is peaky at onset but falls flat on its face as the revs move upward, while the RS4’s curve continues to climb at a smooth and progressive rate, largely due to the magic conjured up by the direct fuel injection FSI system. This system allows for better fuel atomization and efficiency over its port injected brethren and this may have been the saving grace on the road course. When it comes to the transmission, the IS-F’s automatic system works quite well. It was surprisingly crisp and quick in upshifts and the ECU definitely made quick work of rev matching when downshifting. About the only complain in the lower gears was how the tranny seemed to catch 2nd and 1st way too hard during downshifts and seemed rather unrefined. Regardless, having 8 gears assures that the driver is ALWAYS in the right rev range on the track. Audi’s 6-speed manual was very silky. Gears were easy to engage and heel-toe downshifts were easy to execute. But the added weight from the Quattro all wheel drive system and the natural tendency for AWD vehicle to understeer definitely detracted from the track experience. The addition of a thicker / stiffer rear anti-roll bar, a stiffer rear spring and more aggressive rear dampening would work wonders to bring the handling balance closer to neutral. As we discovered in the slalom course, the better balanced RWD system of the IS-F would pay dividends.

Scorecard
IS-F: 2
RS4: 1

Finally, the IS-F comes out ahead in the weight department, weighing nearly 70lbs less. But the significance isn’t this difference. Rather, it’s how that weight is distributed wheel to wheel. Audi took steps with the B7 chassis to bring the weight of the engine closer to the firewall, hopefully generating better fore-aft weight balance. Despite this attempt, however, the RS4 is still a front heavy vehicle which further exacerbates the understeer problem presented by its AWD system. A slightly longer wheelbase, such as that found in the IS-F, would give engineers a few more precious inches to work with further driving the engine away from the front axle. The AWD drive system also adds pounds to the RS4 that the IS-F does not have to deal with. With that being said, if the RS4 was a FR platform it’s safe to assume that it would be a lighter vehicle. But the fact of the matter is that the RS4 is weighed down by a front differential, transfer case and center differential in addition to the usual driveshaft and rear differential found in the IS-F. Although AWD is a Godsend in inclement weather, it didn’t add a marked advantage to the RS4.

Scorecard
IS-F: 3
RS4: 1

In the slalom challenge, Craig Stanton was able to deliver on the promise of the IS-F with a higher G-load and faster trap speed. As alluded to earlier, the front heavy qualities of the RS4 did not allow the vehicle to transition side-to-side as quickly as the IS-F.

The center of gravity on the RS4 seemed higher, pitching the car ever so slightly more side to side. Throw in more significant fore-aft weight transfer and you have a vehicle that’s going to lose its poise far more quickly and harshly in a slalom environment.

More and more, manufacturers are adopting lighter materials to lower the center of gravity in their vehicles. The E46 Euro-spec M3 CSL used a carbon roof, which has also been adopted for the E92 M3. Mitsubishi uses an even lighter aluminum roof in the Lancer Evolution IX MR to the same effect. Audi would be wise to take on this practice in the next iteration of the RS4.

The IS-F also possesses a quicker steering rack @ 13.6:1 over the RS4’s 13.1:1. And ultimate turning circle for the IS-F is 3 feet shorter. Any one wonder why the IS-F felt more crisp?

Scorecard
IS-F: 4
RS4: 1

In the braking department, the RS4 beat out the IS-F. Whereas the IS-F is equipped with a 6-piston calipers up front, the RS4 comes in big with 8-pistons of clamping power. The same system found on the Lamborghini Gallardo. Better distribution of braking pressure across the rotor and two-piece rotors for better heat dissipation led to the RS4’s victory. But one has to wonder whether the extra 2 pistons per corner were added to compensate for the front heavy nature of the Audi.

Scorecard
IS-F: 4
RS4: 2

The last, yet most important, challenge was on the road course. The culmination of each vehicle’s performance characteristics. As you may have already guessed, the IS-F beat out the RS4 in this challenge as well. But aside from sheet elapsed time statistics, it was the IS-F’s fun factor that really shined on the track.

Simply put, the IS-F is a more fun car to drive. With traction & stability control turned off, the IS-F loves to swing its tail out through throttle oversteer. The car rewards you with a fun quotient much higher than the RS4 and that’s what defines a car’s value to a driver at the end of the day.

Although the IS-F won this round of the battle, the RS4 cannot be counted out in the war. The new R8 is a prime example of a neutral, superbly balanced car from Audi. As this is the last model year for the RS4, we can only hope for even more stunning performance from the next iteration.

But until then, the Lexus IS-F rules the roost!

Final Scorecard
IS-F: 5
RS4: 2