Hey all,
Long time stalker, first time poster. What good is a thread without a picture of these timeless beast ;D
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2847/11498334793_1b92dd8198_c.jpg
1 - XRnAu6W by jedelste89, on Flickr
I’ve had the car for over a year and absolutely love it. This isn’t my first audi as I’ve been through an audi 90 and audi 100 wagon. The 90 was a great little (5 cylinder) car that aged so well and hit 300,000 miles before we moved on. The family also shares a B8 S4 DSG which is really a great car for the money. I intended to get an extended warranty on the RS, but have found it to be such a tank that I decided modifying it to my taste would be worth while. I started drooling over all the RS4s with exhaust. Almost got my hands on a standard tubi then almost went with a GMG cat-back, but after being patient I put an order in with JHM for a resonated set-up. The cat-back was a piece of stainless automotive art, but still had it on the car the day it came in. That put a huge grin on my face for about a month when I was left wanting more. By the way a standard down pipe RS with JHM cat-back is a very civilized tame set-up that had minimal drone and quiet as stock cruising. Didn’t wake up the neighborhood which was precisely what I was going for. Next, down pipes. I thought long and hard on which JHM set-up to go with. Everything told me v-bands catted. I somehow tricked myself into saving a couple $$ and went piggies as I felt that was a sufficient catted set-up for performance and sound. I do intend on going cat-less 2.75" in the future as I want a flame thrower. This is what I would consider a stepping stone mod that has been a great value per performance. At the same time I didn’t feel like finding out what gains were to be had on a stock tune that had no idea how to take advantage of all the performance the increased flow, diameter, x-pipe, sebring mufflers that had been added to the vehicle so I got the JHM 93 tune.
I would highly recommend the tune to anyone on the fence. It has to be one of the best mods out there for a bolt-on RS4. The throttle response is superb and has to be one of the best I’ve ever felt, it’s just so linear and predictable. I was worried it would be like S mode, which sometimes on bouncy roads the throttle would jump under my foot even braced against the side, but no, it’s just so smooth and no non-sense. Around town the RS would need some revs to keep up with the crazed automatic drivers and I felt like the torque was just lacking around town. Now it just flows so effortlessly. Something that really shocked me was how much smoother shifting was, I mean any shift 1st to 2nd, 2 to 3, 6 to 4, 3 to 2, it just doesn’t matter it catches gear perfectly almost every time. I don’t see how anyone needs to re-learn how to drive after a tune as it’s much, much easier. I do sense that taking off in 1st, from a complete stop, has that extra torque that the stock clutch isn’t bothered by at all, could be a hint more difficult, but come on it’s an awd high powered v8. Just got back from a long trip down the highway and the car has been transformed. I use to shift to 5th to pass occasionally and that is completely unnecessary now. The car in 6th gear is amazing, it just pulls and pulls with lots of torque. I used to think the B8 was a torquey engine and it really is, but the RS definitely just moved a step ahead. Anyone ever notice how big american v8s can whip lash you/passenger with some on and off throttle, that’s exactly what the RS can do now as well as the torque is there at any moment in any gear. Drive the car civilly around town and it feels completely stock, even a hint smoother. Running through the gears is a much more urgent experience as the car revs so much faster. I’ve only run 2 tanks through the car and not even sure if it’s fully adapted, but all I can say is wow. Bravo JHM for being a true tuner of naturally aspirated cars.
If you have made it this far into my story then bare with me. On my way back from the shop (2 hour drive, CEL at one hour mark) I got a CEL. Pretty odd I thought as the car has all new fluids/filters running strong and smooth before I got the work done. I scan the car and pick up P0030 code indicating the heater circuit is no longer operational which means my pre-cat O2 sensor can not properly work until the car is up till temp or possibly not work at all. Certainly had me worried as with the increased performance I want everything operating perfectly. Car starts in single digit temps no problem and operates completely normal. I love the cold start on the tune by the way, much much better then stock. On my interstate trip back I got an indicated 21mpg so I know it’s running normally as that was at 80mph avg. I’ve spoke with the shop and they want me to bring the car in to check it out, but I’m thinking I need to know what’s going on before I pay anyone to troubleshoot it. I spoke with Jake @JHM and he is assures me everything is alright and helped me understand how easy it is for the O2 sensor to fail after down pipe modifications. I believe the tune lets it breath even more so than just down-pipes on stock tune so it would definitely be handling a lot more flow all the sudden. Talked to Saki at the same time and seems like this is a pretty common failure or common for a shop to not be delicate enough with our O2 sensors being sensitive/fragile. Either way I need to get this corrected and decided to get a new O2 sensor and hopefully install it within the next week or so.
So I’m curious if anyone else has had an O2 failure on their B7. Has anyone had my specific code? Any diy remedies or places to check. Seems as if this is an odd code. Appreciate any input and glad to be part of the AR forums as you guys are a very sensible bunch that can see through the BS.
Justin