Audi: a4 mods most bang 4 the buck?

On Sat, 21 Feb 2004 14:15:54 -0800, "dave smith" <net>
wrote:
 

chip

"dave smith" <net> wrote in message
news:com... 
the most 

Chip.

Cheers,

Pete

In article <com>,
daytripper <com> wrote:
 

WAIT!

Which model A4 is it?

If you have the 1.8T then yea - chip all the way...

But if you have the non turbo 3.0 6, then the chip isnt that great. At
most it gives you a little better throttle response...

On the 3.0L it might be after market exhaust, or better suspension.

Good luck,

Adam

"dave smith" <net> wrote in message news:<com>...
 

Unless you already have at least three under your belt, driver
schools.

Audi Club NA offers good ones, although I personally think the BMW CCA
club schools are better in some subtle ways. Shop around.
--
C.R. Krieger
ACNA, BMW CCA instructor

hey mr. geiger oh sorry he's the guy that designed the "alien" , kreiger,
r u implying that i have less than adequet driving skills? correct me if im
taking your post as an insult. but the post is a question of modifications
of the car, not the driver. and 4 your information im 30 and have been
driving since i was 14. my first sports cars were irocs and 5.0 mustangs
then a 86 corvette. as i became older and a bit wiser i came to the
realization that american cars for the most part are junk. this can be
argued and flamed but im sure you agree the japs and germans have got it
over us yankees when it comes to auto engineering. i then had a stock 90
300zx naturally aspirated 5spd and regulary beat 5 liter mustangs of the
same year/s. im not saying im a mario andretti or anything but i can hold my
own. not saying that a good driving school would not be beneficial but that
brings us again to the post. my next cars were bmws, (am i redeemed?) 92
325, 94 325, and finally a 95 m3 which i can say was overall the best pure
sport car i've ever owned, the 300z a close second. i had mainly bolt on
mods, dinan air intake, strut brace, came across a larger maf from a 7
series which i adapted with the help of some plumbing supplys from lowes,
yes im a good fabricator. and a turner chip. estorial blue black gut
beautiful car, r-title unfortunatly but that didn't bother me. but
unfortunatly i live in northeast pa and we have some nasty winters and with
limited cash available a second winter car was not possible. so i traded it
in on a 99 a4 1.8t quattro tiptronic auto. which i can honestly say is the
best combination of sport and practicality i have ever owned. its winter
here now and im running bridgestone blizzacks on the stock rims and i can go
up steeper hills than some suvs! it dosen't have the raw power and handling
of the m3 but i still love the car, i just want to add a little more pep and
stiffen up the suspension a bit. i admit i am a newbie to audis and a
turbocharged car in particular but im learning. i had to have the frame
pulled on the m3 and it needed a door and a quarter, so i stripped the car
down to a shell almost and put it back together including the entire
interior, glass, driveshaft exhaust and fuel tank. gimme an old 3 series in
a box of parts and i can put it back together with my eyes closed. i just
had the unfortunate experience of a hit and run while the car was parked, i
ended up replacing the rear passenger door, it could have been repaired but
i got a complete door for $350 in the same color of the car so i just bolted
it on. this was my first endevor into taking apart the interior it was
necessary to gain access to the bolts which secure the door to the pillar.
after making some shims and splicing the vacume line for the lock i got it
back together and looks like nothing ever happened. the bmw's were
definately more user friendly and easier to dissasemble but getting back to
the subject i've decided on a bypass valve, cold air intake, and i guess
from what im hearing "chip" but from what i've heard it is not more less a
chip replacement but removing the ecu and sending it out to be reprogrammed,
correct me if im wrong. so there you have it. p.s. mr krieger i have a lot
of spare bmw parts laying around, 2 mafs in particular a quite expensive
part from the dealer. let me know if your interested or maybe we could trade
for a few driving lessons?? cheers....


"C.R. Krieger" <com> wrote in message
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"dave smith" <net> wrote in message
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kreiger, 

You may have "adequet" driving skills, but your writing skills can improve a
bit ;-)

My experience on a '98 A4 1.8TQ.

Difference is really obvious if you do the following:

1.- Get a reputable chip - or if you get a repro make sure you keep the
stock program in a safe location.
2.- Stay away from replacing your stock DV valve - unless defective. I
compared stock to 710N and stock provides way more boost in my car - now
apparently this is different with the latest 1.8Ts.
3.- Get a J N75 - big improvement on smoothness and strength of boost
delivery - no more hesitation when flooring in 5th gear at 2,000 rpm..

Before I had those mods done I felt ashamed of my 1.8T low performance. Now
the car feels decent.

If I wanted bigger gains, I'd go the K03 sport turbo route, maybe K04 and
reprogramming. Of course, you can get nearly as many HP as your wallet
wishes for with this engine.

As far as brakes, a few kind people here suggested using the A8's OEM
rotors, which I'm considering when I have to change mine, especially as
they'll probably be cheaper and better than many combinations.

My two cents.

JP Roberts

"dave smith" <net> escribió en el mensaje
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"dave smith" <net> wrote in message news:<com>...
 

It's 'Krieger' (German) and no, I'm not implying your skills are less
than adequate. I'm suggesting that they might be less than *optimum*.
As an enthusiast and club instructor, I firmly believe that no one
should be modifying any car one normally drives unless and until one
can demonstrate the skill to safely and reliably exceed the car's
limits. Sure; you can probably safely handle more acceleration, but
what happens when you gotta *turn*?
 

I'm sure you are. A lot of guys have been insulted. At the same
time, a few have taken my advice. Ask *them* if they're still
insulted. A few have proven to already have the background I suggest
and they fully understand why I suggest it.
 

Understood. However, you wanted the "most bang 4 the buck". That's
driver school. Everybody who's been through at least one knows why.
Among other things, long after the A4 is gone, you'll still have the
knowledge and skills you acquired while driving it.
 

I was 37 when I finally got into my first school and it was a total
revelation. You know how some Christians get 'born again'? That's
what a good driver school will do for a 'good' driver. You'll
suddenly realize how lousy you were up to that time; how many things
you could do better; how many things you're just flat out doing wrong.
 

Yeah; and I drove old Hemis, Chrysler 300 letter cars, and assorted
other Mopar B Blocks followed by years of Toyotas, Audi Quattros, and
BMWs. *What* you drive has no bearing on *how well* you drive it.
I've told the story of 'The Corvette Brothers' here in Usenet before.
A couple of 'Vette club members who'd gotten a pretty good reputation
among their peers (who apparently didn't place a lot of emphasis on
*education*) and who came to a BMW (Audi?) club school at Blackhawk
Farms Raceway in Illinois where I was helping out. I got assigned to
the one with the '72 454 5-speed. He was absolutely clueless about
how to get around a race track in that car. It took quite awhile to
get through to him, but we finally did. I hear he's improved a lot
since.
 

Mario isn't known for drag racing. He *is* known for getting bunted
off the Esses at Mid Ohio by Bobby Rahal in an IROC race Mario was
*sure* he was going to win - at least up until overconfidence, a
slightly 'open' line, and a driver who knew that track well got the
better of him.
 

After you can *drive* them, sure.
 

Had you known and listened to some of the people I know, you might not
have bothered with the intake mods before seeing that the head can
flow more. You can slap all kinds of expensive or low-cost fabricated
stuff on the *outside* of a BMW engine without having much effect. As
for the strut brace, well, you're new here. You haven't seen my
lengthy exchanges with the guys who were absolutely convinced that,
because they'd spent all that money on a shiny accessory, it *had to*
make a difference in the car's handling. No one has yet shared any
data from instrumented tests showing *how*, although I've asked
frequently. Not that they're useless; but you have to have skills
like Hans Stück to realize the benefits.
 

Not quite as nasty as the lake effect snows in northeast Ohio where I
grew up.
 

The very first thing to stiffen up the suspension would be 'dump the
Blizzaks'. I've been there. The biggest influence on your suspension
will be tires, not springs, shocks, antiroll bars, or strut braces.
It's why there haven't been Blizzaks on *any* of my cars in several
years. This is the stuff you'd already know from a good driver
school.
 

I'm wondering about the theoretical effect of a cold air intake for
air that's going to get passed through a *hot* exhaust-driven turbo
and then ... doesn't the A4 have an intercooler? If you knew more
about physics and chemistry than about auto parts, you'd be wondering,
too.
 

So do I, but nothing as new as an E36; and your MAFs won't do much
good on a 3.5l E28.

 

If you have a matched pair of Webers for my 3.0 Bavaria, I'd talk
trade. Otherwise, like everyone else, you gotta pay for it. In your
location, you have two of the best tracks you can find for schools:
Watkins Glen and Lime Rock. I've driven both and enjoyed them
immensely. So should you.
--
C.R. Krieger
(Been there; done that)