Aluthman's Intro and Build thread

B7 A4
#1

Since I’m migrating over from AZ, I figured I should introduce myself and give a short and sweet explanation of the build. I bought my A4 back in April of 2013 with 96k miles on it. It was 100% bone stock down to the PCV and paper air filter and she looked pretty damn good for her age.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a129/2fast4sanity/image_zps390ab31b.jpg

To make a long story short, I threw some parts at it.

First some tint:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a129/2fast4sanity/image_zps6073a927.jpg

Then brakes and ST coilovers:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a129/2fast4sanity/image_zps089e1352.jpg

Add some Bi-xenons and new grill:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a129/2fast4sanity/image_zpsca510a02.jpg

JHM goodness:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a129/2fast4sanity/image_zps8be6f781.jpg

B6 Recaros:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a129/2fast4sanity/image_zps7d107651.jpg

Then shit got a little crazy:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a129/2fast4sanity/image_zps07918549.jpg


http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a129/2fast4sanity/image_zps0ec7d28a.jpg


http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a129/2fast4sanity/image_zpsc4b026be.jpg


http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a129/2fast4sanity/clipoff_zpsa0e7e2df.jpg


http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a129/2fast4sanity/image_zps178f3cef.jpg


http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a129/2fast4sanity/image_zps09723666.jpg

Going back in:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a129/2fast4sanity/image_zpsfef40f9c.jpg


http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a129/2fast4sanity/image_zps7730cc95.jpg


http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a129/2fast4sanity/image_zps65e5cc4c.jpg

Done:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a129/2fast4sanity/th_MOV00692_zps84cf6252.jpg


http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a129/2fast4sanity/image_zps13410821.jpg

Dyno place was a bit sketchy. They couldn’t get a tach signal, so I got no torque numbers and they needed more fans. Also, thanks to it being an inertia dyno, I was only able to get to about 20 psi instead of the 23-24 I was actually running on the street. Stay tuned for another dyno run at a more competent facility with a load bearing dyno.

Here’s the car as she sits now with my summer wheels.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a129/2fast4sanity/image_zps4d540086.jpg

#2

Welcome, car looks great.

What turbo and who tuned it?

Don’t bother with another dyno, try and hit up a drag strip if you have one close by.

#3

I’m currently on revision 42 for my tune and it’s running better than ever. Here’s my current mod list:

Engine
RAI K0R-GT turbo
83mm JE forged pistons w/ tool steel wrist pins (9.5:1 CR)
IE forged 144x20 rods w/ rifle drilling
Calico coated main and rod bearings
Ferrea intake and exhaust valves
Ferrea valve spring kit with titanium retainers
Fluidampr
ARP main stud kit
ARP head stud kit
ARP crank bolt
ARP cam tower bolts
IE crank pinning kit
Maestro tuning by me (big thanks to EPY for getting me started though)

Transmission and Drivetrain
Drake’s stage 4 clutch
CM SMFW
ARP flywheel bolts
USP metal slave cylinder w/ SS clutch line
034 street density motor mounts
034 street density transmission mount
Apikol street density rear differential mount
APR snub mount

Fueling
S3 injectors
HPFPugrade stage 1 hpfp
145 bar PRV
RS4 lpfp controller

Exhaust
RAI 3” DP w/ HFC
B&B exhaust

Intake
3 Bar MAP
RAI FMIC
RAI catch can
Custom under headlight CAI with K&N 3” cone filter

Exterior
35% Tint
Blacked out bi-xenons w/ STI water clear lens from Phil
OEM DTM Blackout grill
HRE 545R 18”x8.5” ET34 wheels (summer setup)
ECS smoked front side markers
Debadged

Brakes
AR slotted rotors
Goodridge SS brake lines
Hawk HPS pads

Stereo
Pioneer AVIC-X940BT
Alpine SPR-60C component speakers x4
JL Audio 10W3V3 sub
JL Audio XD700/5 amp
AI sub enclosure

Suspension
ST coilovers
034 street density front strut mounts
034 adjustable upper control arms

Interior
B6 S4 Recaro seats (bladder swap DIY)
Podi electronic boost gauge
Weathertec floor mats

Stuff I have waiting for future install
APR T25 exhaust manifold for when I get around to upgrading my turbo
DTM CF front lip for an eventual DTM conversion
Relak DTM style spoiler (planning on trying a CF overlay

#4

Tuning is being done by me with Eurodyne Maestro.

#5

Why not just let a pro handle it? Don’t take that the wrong way, but when you take into consideration your time and trial/error plus the possible danger of screwing something up I think it’s a much better idea to let a guy who calibrates for a living handle that part of a build.

I’m the type of guy that is very interested in how everything works, especially the tuning side of the house. I also have a few good books on EFI tuning, but I don’t think I will never self-tune a car. Not because I wouldn’t be confident in myself, but because there are other guys out there that do it as a profession, have years or decades of experience, and have a very proven track record.

#6

I’m doing it myself because I enjoy learning new things. I took it as a personal challenge. I also like being in control of my own tune and not being at the mercy of some random tuning company. If I change out a part, or want to try something new with the tune, it takes 20 minutes to flash the car and $0. It may not be the fastest car in the world, but I’m not trying to win records. I have a pretty quick highly modified car that has been rock solid reliable and runs great. I take a lot of pride in that. Sure, a professional might be able to eek out a few more horsepower, but the cost isn’t worth it to me.

#7

I think it’d be interesting for comparison sale to take your best tune and run it at the strip, and then let a pro tune it and run it at the strip and see how the times compare. For say $500, it’d either be a great bragging opportunity that you matched or beat a tuners time, and if not, you got a great tune significantly faster for not much more than the time you would have otherwise spent and probably get to learn a few tricks of the trade during the process.

Either way, nice build and quite extensive. Hard for me to personally imagine going that deep into an A4, but I’m well versed in how the slippery slope works lol.

#8

That’s an expensive gamble. If someone with similar mods gets a professional tune that would be a significant improvement, maybe I’ll switch. Until then, I’ll keep working with my own.

#9

Have you run it at the strip at all? I’m sure there are some other turbo swap guys out there than have some times posted. And you say it’s expensive, but if you could have a tune for $500 it’s a fraction of what you’ve already invested. And if you’re only getting 85% of what you’ve built/potential, then it’d actually be a damn good return on investment.

And I’m moreso thinking about overall area under the curve and power between shifts. Most people can get decent peak power from a setup, but it’s how it puts the power down and the actual acceleration numbers that are harder to achieve, which is where a strip will tell much more of the truth than a dyno will.

#10

I plan on making it to the strip this summer. I’d have already gone, but the closest strip is in Epping, NH and I’m in southeast CT.

#11

Also, most custom tunes I’ve seen/heard about seem to be in the neighborhood of $1200, not $500.

#12

I think your in the right place if you ever want to reach out for tuning help.

It is amazing to see what some calibrators can do compared to even the big box companies that you see everyone raving about.

#13

First off welcome

Second off this made me laugh pretty hard
“Then shit got a little crazy:”

Third, I agree with the other guys but if you want to tune it, tune it. No big deal. I will bet you a coke though that you aren’t much faster than an off the shelf tuned K03 car from JHM. Will be interesting to see you prove that wrong. Lots of the self tuned cars seem dead set on dyno tuning…i.e. tuning for dyno success…rather than being actually fast. So all the shit you learn from the n3fhomos is from a bunch of guys with slow ass cars because they’re so focused on stuff while other aspects of the tune are dogshit. A couple of guys hinted at it above…there’s being dyno fast, and then there’s being real world fast, and they’re not = unfortunately.

In theory, you should, with a GT on a 2.0T B7, be able to push out what…300-320 whp or so? That should have you running in the high 12s/low 13s. Jake went 13.3 on a K03 already. Maybe I’m way off.

#14

Your build is definitely solid, just trying to offer some constructive criticism. I think that is one of the best things on AR, you get honesty and not just but patting or forum moderation by distributors.

This is from the RAI website:

[quote]The K0R-GT has proven that it is capable of 280+ WHP and 300+ WTQ averages with all supporting bolt on upgrades, making the A4 a real contender in the premium sedan segment. The K0R-GT has a stealthy appearance with only minimal aesthetic differences, you would be hard pressed to tell this was not the original turbo.
[/quote]
I saw you mention peak boost up top, but what boost does that little hairdryer hold at?

#15

I’m sure you’ve been doing some vagcom 3rd gear logging. Care to post up? It’s at least be an interesting starting place for comparison sake since you haven’t been to the strip yet.

#16

Damn you guys really came off as sharks, lets try to be nicer to the new guys…

I’ve known Adam for a while now, he isn’t doing Maestro to get the most power, he is doing it as a challenge to see how far he can take his car using Maestro.

#17

Lemme see if I can find some recent logs to post up.

#18

hahaha sharks in here indeed. It’s the ocean, not a swimming pool.

You B7 A4 guys need to start a race wars to compare all of these setups. GIAC, APR, JHM, Unitragic, Self tuned, K03, K04, GT. Would be great to see some comparisons. Anyone have video of the APR stage 3 car losing to / tying the JHM stage 1 car? That thread seems to have disappeared.

I suggest pulls for comparison since it seems pretty much impossible to get any of these guys to hit the dragstrip out of fear of running 15.4. And believe me, I understand that fear. Truth is nobody gives a shit what you run (at the track). I went in my B7 S4 thinking ‘I’m going to get laughed out of here’ only to find that

a) my car was actually just fine running low 13s
b) nobody else gave a fuck if I ran low 13s, high 11s or high 15s…seriously nobody

So it would be cool to develop the 2.0T database, but I just don’t see it happening because of the culture of dragstrip fear bred on sites like audizoo and rs246. 'You’ll kill your car!"…“these cars weren’t made for the dragstrip!”

#19

Welcome aboard Adam!

We had a customer with stage 1 tune run 14.5 in almost 90degree weather with a passenger!

#20

Haha, we can be at times I guess. I was just being honest like I said and I didn’t want him to take it the wrong way. His build doesn’t look like a hack job like most, it looks very thought out and has solid hardware to build upon.

AR is a great place for the right people, if you can’t take a little criticism and opinions then you probably won’t like it here. I think he will get some great info here and probably proved great info.

Adam, did you do the motor pull and build yourself?