Wassup guys. New to the forum. I recently traded in my Benz for a 2001.5 Audi S4. Just wanted to say hey!

Also, if any of you know Richard Gorton, aka big_rich, tell him to contact me. We used to work together and I need to pick "someone's brain" on forced induction. Thanks

 

Rich = good friend of mine. Congrats onthe purchase. Pick away.

 

LOL - You were actually the one I wanted to "pick on". Figured you two were friends from what I saw on tampaveedubs. Anyways, I'm a total noob when it comes to this car and especially turbos. Not a noob about cars in general, but I don't know jack about forced induction.

Got the car about two weeks ago and I've done nothing but research since. At this point I'm trying to tighten up any weak points in the car before I go stuffing more ponies under the hood. I've swapped out the DV with the 710n's, replaced the air filter and cabin filter and I have a new fuel filter for it, but haven't installed it yet. From everything I've read there aren't too many other weak spots on the car from the factory. My goal is to have a beast (similar to your setup), but I want to take it one step at a time. So I guess first question would be, is there anything else that I should look into replacing/upgrading at this point? Also, I got the VAG-COM from Ross-Tech, but I still don't know exactly what I should be looking for or logging. Any ideas there?

I'm pretty sure that my first performance upgrade is going to be exhaust. Not sure if I want to try and do a custom job or if I want to shell out $$$$$$ for a prefab one. What are your thoughts here? Do you know of any competant shops in the Tampa area?

Lastly, after the exhaust I'll be doing a chip. So far I'm thinking the APR with stock and 93 oct programs. Thinking of going this route simply because it seems simplest to change between programs, but I've read mixed reviews for APR, GIAC, etc. I see that you have the APR. Where did you get it done?

OK, that's it for now. I've got a TON more questions, but I don't want to over load you...yet.

PS - Tell Rich that Jason from Geographic Solutions said hi.

Thanks!

 

Guess I picked too much...

 

Kyle had an APR chip, but now has GIAC programming for his upgraded turbos. Exhast wise, he is running 3" downpipes mated to APR's 2.5" exhaust, and it sounds sweet. As for logging, that all depends on you. With the Vag-Com, you can access all the onboard sensors. Do a search on AudiWorld.com, and that will help you find which blocks measure what.

 

Thanks Z! Any idea why he switched chips? Was it a reliability issue or is the GIAC just more aggresive?

 

Depending on your build date and mileage you may want to replace some other things. Timing belt for starters. Every 60k for a timing belt is recommended. Also, a good prevention for boost leaks is to upgrade some hoses. The two main hoses you want to look at upgrading are the F hose and the Throttle body boot. Or you can get the full samco hose kit which includes replacements for all hoses under some sort of pressure. Oh, and check your plugs. Use your vag com to log misfires and boost(unit 115) There are in deapth instructions on how to use the Vagcom to get the most out of it on Audiworld.com. You can search the archives there for that.


Exhust is a good and safe first upgrade. Most people do chip. But it really doesnt matter. If you do exhaust before chip you wont feel the butt hp increase as much as you would if you did chip then exhaust. Mainly because of airflow restrictions. Any exhaust would work. The branded ones online are expensive but a custom exhaust would do the job just as good. Madhatters Mufflers on Waters Ave does custom work. They have worked on my car a few times. Great guys.

AH!!.. where did you see i have APR? i did, And i didnt like it. Most companys are doing the switchable stuff nowadays. If i were to do it again at this time ii would get GIAC. They're stuff has gotten much better and faster over the years. Just Welty is local and he does GIAC.


Sorry I didnt notice your response till late. I'm happy to answer questions so keep asking!.. I'll tell him you say hey.

 

The exhaust is 2.5inch DPs to a 3inch exhaust.

 

Build date is 03/01 so it's a 2001.5 model with no F hose and the larger oil lines to the turbos. I'm dreading doing the timing belt man. Mainly it's getting the bumper off that scares me. Never done anything with body panels. Any hints/tips to make it easier or did you have yours done somewhere? I'll also do the snub mount while I'm at it. I plan on doing the Samco TBB as well just forgot to mention it. Figured it wasn't necessary until I chip the car. What kind of plugs would you recommend? NGK, Bosch?

Excellent! That's exactly what I needed to know. Thanks!

I must have had a brain fart or something. I saw APR in your sig image and assumed that was for the chip. What didn't you like about the APR chip? Did it have reliability issues or what? I'm most concerned with a reliable chip that I'm not going to have to tweek all the time and that doesn't make my car run like ass. Plus I thought the cruise control button switch was a lot more convenient than the flash loader of the GIAC. My thought is, I'd like to be able to run the car in stock mod the majority of the time, but if some punk decides he wants to run I'd like to be able to just switch the program and go. If you think the GIAC is just that much better of a chip then I'll rock that shit this weekend up at Fixx.

One last question for now, what do you recommend for a short shifter? I get movement in my shifter when going on and off throttle. Drives me nuts and I'm hoping that'll help.

Anyways, I really appreciate all the help here. I like to know as much as possible before I start tinkering and having someone nearby that's been through it is kinda cool.

 

another newb to the site..
S4 Avant.. Mbox..
whats up kyle...

anywho.. my 2 cents..

I have had AMS, GIAC, and APR.. and have driven MTM.. currently have APR...

if you want a no nosense drive it all the time chip AMS is the best hands down.. I had nothing but issues with GIAC, they even wrote new code to address the issues I had.. the old code was really fast, but my car had throttle cut like a bitch.. the new code was weak sauce comapred to AMS.. in the end I traded my GIAC box for APR.. if I could do it all over again I would get the AMS box. it was the best driving hardest hitting of the bunch.. MTM is a great chip as well but it falls off up top.. imho its the hardest hitting down low..

anywho.. GIAC is the easiest to get.. go to the local dealer and they flash your ecu... done... I had the old stock 93 100 flash.. 100 was crazy fast compared to stock.. but my drivability was crap.. the new code ramps up boost slow compared to the others.. but I just dont feel right recommending it. honestly I know another person with the GIAC and he had to run a MBC in parralel to get it to run ok.. and every now and then he gets throttle cut.

anywho AMS gets my nod. you can get a borla exhuast pretty cheap to.. saw them on ebay for 650ish shipped...

APR is a solid chip.. gets good gas mileage comapred to GIAC, and I like being able to switch on the fly.. but it doesn have the oomph giac and ams have...