Hi All. Owner of the RS4 with the AMD S/C base kit checking in.

B6/7 S4/RS4
#1

Hi All,

A little about me…My name is Per and I own the RS4 with the AMD S/C base kit, a.k.a. the ‘Stage .9’ setup. Car is a 2008 Avus, Ti, with Sliver Nappa (white) interior. Easy to recognize by the rwerks smoked LED’s, and the fully powdercoated S/C. I’m an end customer with zero affiliation with any tuning company.

http://www.perfarnyphotography.com/RS4/First-Detail/i-CQBpJmG/1/XL/IMG_1575-2-M.jpg

http://www.perfarnyphotography.com/RS4/LED-Tail-Lights/i-PBsVpCB/0/XL/3H4A2986-M.jpg

http://www.perfarnyphotography.com/RS4/AMD-Super-Charger/i-dqxjTpj/2/XL/3H4A3545-M.jpg

Why am I posting? Well, first to introduce myself, but also because I thought that posting some info as an owner of the AMD kit could give a bit of insight and perhaps answer a few questions that I’ve seen posted. Note, I’m not disclosing any dyno or ¼ mile times at this time (I will in the future). In general, I like being a part of the broad Audi community and sharing what I’ve done with my car (http://rs4.thefarnys.com, posting usually just on QW).

Why did I pick AMD for my S/C? When I bought my car, I knew I was going to S/C eventually and found out fairly quickly that APR was really the only viable option available to me at the time (1.5 years ago). Then, as now, the published price was ~$15k, plus install, which I put in my head as “I need $18k for my S/C”, which was too much for me to put out all at one time. Putting the thought aside for a while, I then heard about the AMD development plans around offering stages that should offer similar power on entry for lower price, and higher power with additional investment. That really appealed to me and with my other criteria being local support, and being 30 minutes away from AMD (I live in Seattle), I started discussions with Jason. Based on a lot of conversations with him and having privy to / a ride in the development car (the current 1.0 beta, “fireball”, Avus non-Ti, seen-at-the-strip-car car) I knew AMD was the right product/company for me.

Having perused this site for a bit, I’m compelled to let others know my personal experience with Jason, just so people have one more data point. I’ve worked with him over the last 6 months and have found that on the minus side he can be hard to get a hold of (stopping by works always), and that locking down scheduling for work to be done has been a challenge here or there (reflecting, I believe this has mainly been due to R&D timelines/partner dependencies. Say what you will - I understand development time and how that goes, so I’m OK with how things have transpired). On the plus side: he has pulled through on every single promise ever made, and he has gone above and beyond for me several times. I see he is a perfectionist and I know he will always go to the nth degree to make sure the car is perfect / things are right. I value that highly. Again - so many posts on here talking about some of these characteristics or lack thereof, I just wanted to relay, FWIW, what I have personally experienced.

Where is my car in terms of completion? I’ve been told my car is the first one that has 100% all production run parts on it, i.e. no one-off non-mass produced parts down to the last tiny bracket, etc. I also know that you can purchase the base kit today, and that BBI in CA sold one many months ago. That said, having had my S/C installed a couple of weeks ago, Jason has been further fine-tuning my setup, which I believe will be incorporated into future sales of the base kit. To that end, what can you change on an S/C easily to influence power? Pulley size. That’s the last thing that has been tweaked to determine the right amount of power with the right cooling at this stage. I know that my car has now landed on its final pulley size, and that there is potentially one final software update. Based on my schedule, it’s looking like that should all be set and done the week of April 8th.

Performance documentation that I’ll be sharing when ready: final AMD dyno results, final dynojet results, and weather permitting: ¼ mile time. My philosophy on dyno results: it is a method to baseline your car and to measure improvements. It’s not the only way. I personally believe comparing numbers across dyno’s is an exercise in futility. That said: why the dynojet? Well, I see that assertions in the past have been that the AMD dyno is cooked in their favor, so the thought is to prove/disprove that hypothesis by going to an independent dyno to see how results compare to make sure it’s objective. This is where you can say I’m taking a step beyond just normal customer by agreeing to the time to do both, and I do that not only because I respect Jason/AMD and like backing local business, but also because my car got 282/232 whp/tq corrected on his dyno when stock so I have strong beliefs that it is far from cooked, and actually one of the most conservative out there today. (Endless thread on QW about ‘what’s wrong with your car?!?’ which I don’t really care about as Jason confirmed it’s within normal range of results on his dyno. Again, all up, I just want a baseline and then measure improvement).

http://www.perfarnyphotography.com/RS4/AMD-Super-Charger/i-kchBDgh/0/M/3H4A3565-M.jpg

I saw comments about this pic…I took the picture of the dynojet setup above. Why? Because I thought it’s a bit comical to offer that as your only air movement solution, and I believe you can do better to simulate a moving car at that speed. That picture means that my car was already there, yes. But based on fine tuning that’s imminently finalized, as referenced above, the car will go back again to get final numbers.

Speaking of final numbers: yes, I’ve seen both cars on the dyno (mine and the Stage 1.0), and I know with a relative degree of certainty where they will finally land. What’s causing a lot of angst it seems, yet what I believe is the right approach, is the stance to only share final numbers. Like I said, there are some tweaks still in both kits: very minimal in the .9, a bit more in the 1.0 as I understand it. If it were me, I’d take the same approach, and while I easily could post up results I’ve seen to date, I don’t believe that would do anyone any favors.

Am I happy with what I paid for? Absolutely, 100%. Even my ‘baby kit’ transforms the car completely. I paid $9,999 for the hardware, $749 for the software, so call it $10,750 install included @ AMD (install elsewhere is likely 12-14 hours). I believe (don’t think this is 100% solidified) that the main 1.0 kit will sell for $13,999 software included when ready.

Anyway, I think that’s all I have right now :slight_smile: Sorry this is so long, but I wanted to introduce myself, and thought it might be helpful to share my experience to date with my S/C. Maybe it helps answer some questions, I sincerely hope it doesn’t cause more confusion. If you have any questions on the above, I’m happy to clarify.

Cheers,
Per

#2

Welcome…and beautiful RS4 man, everything looks very well put together as far as the kit is concerned too, I hope you see some awesome results.

I was looking through your photos and noticed you have an AMD stage 3 clutch? is this also a product in development for the RS4? Why did they not opt for a whole setup including a flywheel? How has it held up and do you expect it to perform well launching the car during your 1/4 mile runs?

http://rs4.thefarnys.com/amd-clutch/

http://static.squarespace.com/static/511926dae4b036b411d60772/t/511a7e00e4b0110f1ec9d2fe/1360690690770/AMD_clutch-XL[1].jpg?format=500w

#3

Thanks much, sir!

#4

Thanks for introducing yourself. One of the longer introductions yet. :slight_smile:

My only comment is that you mention everything is 100% production yet the tune is still being worked on. While I can understand what you mean (I was in the same boat with JHM where I was technically running their SC setup which was finally made available to the mass market, they were still working on MY specific car’s tune), it can come across as confusing.

Someone will ask, well, if you’re still working on the tune, is it really in production? At which point, you might answer, the hardware is in production but MY tune is still being tweaked.

(I guess what I’m saying is that you might want to highlight that.)

In conclusion, we’re obviously interested in 2 things and only 2 things. Performance output and reliability. Reliability requires time to demonstrate. Performance doesn’t (UNLESS you’re still working on the tuning). However, at that point, you probably would have been better off keeping things on the down low (and not saying the kit is 100% production, which goes back to my 1st paragraph). In my case, I provided full transparency and simply reminded everyone that my tune was still in the works. My best 1/4 mile was a 12.6 which was slower than a PES SC’d car which we all like to make fun of. In other words, my results were less than spectacular. However, I still mentioned them and highlighted the unfinished tune. In the long run, it helps with credibility and when the car does finally show some great numbers, the community will be more inclined to believe those numbers and praise the owner and the company who developed the kit with the good numbers.

Just a comment though. Please don’t take it as criticism. Good luck with your project and hope you reach your goals.

#5

Welcome and thanks for the intro

I’ve always appreciated the various tidbits of info on your site since I bought my rs4. I always refer to it whenever I need to quickly look up random stuff like fluid capacities.

#6

That clutch is available for sale, not in development. Stage 4 goes with a different flywheel, mine is resurfaced OEM. I’m not privy to the decision there.

So far, it’s held up very well. Very smooth engagement in normal setting, get a tiny bit of chatter when trying to feather it on a steep hill. In terms of holding the power: I haven’t done any hard launches yet, but I’ve certainly slammed it hard 1st through 3rd with the S/C and it’s rock solid. I don’t foresee having any issues with it.

#7

Welcome and your car looks and probably sounds like joy to drive. I hope the best for your car and I hope that in the end you are satisfied because that is all that matters.

#8

@Axel - no criticism taken, it’s all good. To just be doubly clear, I’m not AMD nor am I affiliated with them in any way aside from being a customer (not sure how deeply to read into your statements of ‘you’ in the above).

That said - I absolutely understand the point of confusion. As best as I understand it, it is the hardware/software delineation you mention along with continuous improvement on an existing kit/my specific setup. I believe you can buy the kit without software which maybe hasn’t been clear and would explain it further.

In terms of posting numbers along the way - I get that, too, and I appreciate that approach as well. I see advantages to both approaches and would say, ‘to each their own’. I don’t think one approach is necessarily better than the other, it just depends on your business strategy.

I could post all of my results now, because again - I’m just a customer and I don’t owe AMD anything - but that wouldn’t be the right thing to do. It’s my personal decision to withold until I have my final numbers respecting how AMD wants to go about this.

Thanks,
Per

#9

Ha, very cool! :slight_smile: Glad to know it’s useful to you. Most of the time I believe it’s just there to help me with my amnesia :wink:

#10

Glad to have you on the forums. Its always exciting to see a new excited member.

I think the biggest thing that sucks for you is that amd ran there mouth and wants to back it up with your car with your money and your time.

Start with the dyno…yoyr resukts are way low…why…real easy get a low stock result and then your finial dyno after the parts are installed… looks much much better for yiur after results…jason wouldn’t be the first shop to do that…so for starters thats one of many reasons why people question amd…just about every other rs4 is 300whp~…the thing that is the real issie here has nothing really to do with you…I think I can speak for everyone when I say congrats on getting that beast supercharged…the issue is amd dug themselves a huge hole and now the walls are colapsing in on them…the latest low 12 run is considered a flop when you pair that with all the trash that amd spoke about other kits…

There is always going to be conversation and when you get a company and a guy like amd that created all these issues for himself its amd people are questioning not you

#11

Thanks much! I love, love the sound, and halleluljah on your last sentence: you’re absolutely right. To that end, I can tell you I’m satisfied, and then some, already.

#12

I meant you based on your original post “I’ve been told my car is the first one that has 100% all production run parts on it, i.e. no one-off non-mass produced parts down to the last tiny bracket, etc. I also know that you can purchase the base kit today, and that BBI in CA sold one many months ago.”

Not insinuating you’re affiliated with AMD in any way other than being a customer. :slight_smile: I actually don’t know much of the back story so I’m simply reading what you’re writing hehe.

And I didn’t mean that you SHOULD be posting your numbers and times as you go along tweaking the tune. Just suggesting that picking one strategy is best (either keep it on the down low or come right out full transparency). I know full well there’s business decisions in the works and marketing is important. I guess what I’m saying is straddling the fence (as in, “Look at this brand new kit, it looks like this and it’s in production and can be bought right now and I love it but I won’t provide any hard numbers” is straddling the fence. Either you don’t say anything until you’re happy with the numbers and willing to release them to the public or you advertise the product early on and walk everyone through the tweaking process.

Going half and half usually ends with people questioning what’s going on and why don’t we see numbers? Naturally, silence in these scenarios is not a good marketing approach as people will start talking, and start making assumptions (rightly or wrongly) that something’s wrong due to a lack of info which will tarnish the product launch which, in the end, is bad for business (AMD’s business).

So in the end, this should probably be directed not to YOU, the customer, but to AMD, the business lol

Sorry if I’m using your thread to offer my product launch and marketing advice to AMD. I will STFU now :slight_smile:

#13

Axel right in line with what i was saying…good post

#14

Hey there…as you can probably (hopefully) tell already from my few posts so far - I’m not a big one for trash talking, and don’t value/appreciate it. So, the history there, I can’t really nor do I want to comment on. I get your point that if someone does, it can make it hard for the company. I also know there’s a lot of passion on this site from all sides, and how that can rub people the wrong way at times.

I don’t believe your dyno comment, though technically feasible, is what’s happening here though, for two reasons. Again - based on my personal experience with Jason and the integrity I’ve experienced while working with him so far - I’m confident that’s not happening. Internet persona and online trash talking aside, I just don’t see it in person (and I’ll pat myself on the back for being fairly successful in my professional life in part due to my ability to assess character). But - everyone has been fooled at least once, right? So, the second reason is the fact of doing the independent dyno. Whatever numbers come up there should provide an objective assessment for the rest of the world of what power the kit produces. When we went there it was for me, and they had zero idea it was for AMD or any other tuning company (i.e. conspiracy theory that THIS shop is in on faking numbers really doesn’t hold water).

Finally - “my money and time”. The way I see it: time - I’m not concerned with 2 hours extra of taking it to a different dyno and back. Money - I knew what I was paying from the beginning, and that amount has not changed nor will it.

FYI - here’s my dyno results pre/post DP install on Jason’s dyno, and here’s the thread regarding some other folks having been at his dyno. http://forums.quattroworld.com/rs4b7/msgs/93110.phtml . Comment from Jason was he sees closer to 290 on his vs 300+ stock.

http://www.perfarnyphotography.com/RS4/Miscellaneous/i-mnd2L5v/0/XL/rs4_dp_perf-L.jpg

Finally - I’m not here to defend AMD/Jason or anyone else. I can see the issues that have led to the online lovefest between certain folks here ;), and in general believe it always takes two to tango. My aim is to provide my data points for the community, and provide my experiences that should help further or dispell certain truths or myths.

#15

That is where the issue comes up. Amd has created an invirement that people dont believe them…your going tobelieve him your car and money is with him…its not so much if yoy believe more so is it happening…Obviously yes…if amd had so much credibilty they wouldnt be wasteing time getting other dyno readings and people wouldnt think there dyno is fixed…

Its not passion its amd digging a hole and peole holding there feet to the flames…

#16

Lol…all good, Axel. Good points on the half and half, too. Again - I guess it’s to each their own.

#17

lol

It is a nice car. I almost bought it from the lawyer in Montana. Getting home was a bit of a nightmare so I passed on it.

Your baseline dyno at amd… You do realise that it’s in their best interest for it to be super low right? Saying your low numbers prove it’s not cooked is a bit backwards. If someone thought they were messing (to the upside) with the dyno numbers it would be on the after, not the before dyno. If anything the before would be cooked to read low, sandbagging in a way to keep the delta big after the kit goes on. Your car read VERY low.

I am not saying that’s what’s going on with the dyno. More over I don’t care about dyno results. I just think it should be noted that your low before numbers prove nothing about amd. Also amd dynoing somewhere else says two things to me

  1. Why? Do they have a bad reputation for dyno cheating?

  2. What’s the difference where the car is dynod if jason is paying the dyno operator for using the dyno? He’s not a competitor. If jason took it to Apr to get it dynod i would say that’s a dyno result everyone would trust is not inflated

Good to see you enjoy the car. Seems you have taken a vow of silence and can share nothing really about the kit since it’s still in beta testing so when you have something performance focused to share, I am sure everyone here will be interested.

Edit: I missed a bunch of posts where people discussed most of what I said. I will just subscribe to the thread and check back when performance (where the car moves) numbers are put up.

#18

Good to see im not the only one that saw the obvious…good post saki

Rs4per…I think we all respect what your doing…but you say your here not to defend jasin but thats what your doing. … your not sharing anything that we didnt really know…this isnt to attack you kore so to repeat what I said…you by default are defending them even tho clearly around you there are things that kinda screem sketchy…like you can by the kit…but its not really ready…and they have results…but there looking for better results…the kit is in production…but its not really…its beta…but its not…they want to get more data…when you dynoed at a different dyno after the superchsrger it was lower then yiur supercharger results at amd…dude …

#19

I think of it a little differently: my car is with him because I assessed he is trustworthy, smart, passionate and will go the distance to have me as a happy customer (let’s not read into that he’ll go to immoral lengths to have me as a happy customer please :wink: ). Again - if that’s an error in my judgment based on hours of conversations with him at the shop, so be it. I’m confident it’s not.

I think ‘obviously yes’ is a reach? Again - I don’t know 1/4 of the backdrop and history, but I do understand the thought of, “OK, if no one believes my dyno (for whatever reason) I’ll go have an independent shop dyno a car just to put this to rest”. Seems reasonable, no? What other motivation would there be to do that (and again, this isn’t about why it got to the point of certain people not believing, it’s about doing something to clear it up)?

#20

Thats great what you said but everyone that bought a pes kit felt the same way…last used car I bought sounded just like that…

s4per…I think we all respect what your doing…but you say your here not to defend jasin but thats what your doing. … your not sharing anything that we didnt really know…this isnt to attack you kore so to repeat what I said…you by default are defending them even tho clearly around you there are things that kinda screem sketchy…like you can by the kit…but its not really ready…and they have results…but there looking for better results…the kit is in production…but its not really…its beta…but its not…they want to get more data…when you dynoed at a different dyno after the superchsrger it was lower then yiur supercharger results at amd…dude …