Cameron

I just installed a pair of Recaro SPGs in my A4. Easy install. Like all Recaro seats, the "gear board" is a laminated plastic-covered cardboard piece holding all the bolts, screws, and fittings needed, though the mounting grille arrives separately. I bought all the parts from Northstar Motorsports and talked to John Ruther in person (whose GT2 Porsche 911 sits in the back of the shop). They were extremely helpful, and the parts arrived from Recaro very quickly. Installation took about two and a half hours at a leisurely pace, while munching on a pair of sandwiches and watching CNN. There is a little play in the seat if you really twist in it, but it seems to be the pin mechanism that gives the seat forward and aft adjustability at fault, not Recaro's seat design. I'm sure if you fixed the seat without that adjustability, the seat would be rock solid.<p>Grades:<br>Recaro = A+<br>Northstar Motorsports = A+<br>Ease of Install = A+<p>I was reading older Road&Tracks again tonight, and ran across a Technical Correspondence article on coasting. Since that's a hot issue in this forum, I thought I'd post it.<p>Q: Is frequent coasting (keeping a moving vehicle in neutral) harmful to the engine and transmissison?<br>A: In a word, no. When coasting, the engine is idling with no load on it; therefore very little stress is generated. Furthermore, because the flow of cooling air is greater than that provided by the fan at idle, the chance of overheating the engine when coasting is extremely small. [para] Manual transmissions are also quite happy while coasting. The loads involved are tiny, and the splash lubrication that is adequate under drive conditions is still present, so there's nothing to worry about there. The transmission lever should be in neutral, however, to reduce the load on the clutch throwout bearing and crankshaft thrust bearing. When depressing the clutch lever, these areas are stressed, and while they are designed to take the load, if it is so easy to reduce the load, why not? [para] That leaves automatic transmissions, which obtain their lubrication from an internal pump driven by the torque converter. Thus the pump is turning whenever the engine is running. Provided the engine is running, adequate lubrication is provided by the pump when coasting, so there is no harm in the practice. There's equally little to gain, however, as modern automatics, especially those with overdrive top gears, offer minuscule drag when the throttle is closed. [para] While coasting typically increases gas mileage, on electronic fuel-injected vehicles even higher mileage can be obtained by using engine compression braking liberally. This is because the computer senses the high-rpm, low-load condition and shuts off the fuel injectors [hyphenation omitted]. The engine then pumps only air, and absolutely no fuel is consumed, which is obviously an improvement over even idling fuel consumption. The engine does not die because the computer restores the appropriate fuel flow at a preset (low) rpm. Of course, the benefits of such trivial fuel-dollar savings are far outweighed by increased engine and transmission wear. Also, many State Highway Patrols object strongly to coasting, especially downhill, in neutral. [R&T, April - 1998, p.167, col.1,2, Technical Correspondence]<p>Bracketed comments above are added by me, and are purely editorial. Both paranthetically stated pieces of information appear in the original version, though the "question" segment is not preceeded by "q:" nor the answer by "a:" and the "question" segment is italicized. I have no affiliation with the staff at R&T and these marks are made without the approval of that body. This reproduction of the material featured in Road&Track is offered purely on a best-effort basis, and no guarantee is made as to its accuracy. I would have suggested this "coasting" excerpt as FAQ material, but I wanted to minimize any copyright issues that might arise from its transfer to this forum of discussion. I do, however, hope this article helps someone here with their coasting dilemma.<p>Modifications are an interesting field of study on this board, sometimes I wonder if we should offer degrees in Chip Choosing or Subframe Management. I'll sum up my experiences with these modifications, and you can disagree if you like. When I was beginning my modification route, however, I'd have liked to hear about a range of experiences with different things, and I hope to provide that sort of information to one of our friends here, on the forum. I'll give a description of the transmission work, but the rest would be too long to explain here. Obviously, some modifications are not finished, also. Lastly, I thank everyone on this board for their help in choosing modifications, solving problems, and most recently in the establishment of an A4 Club for the Chicago area.<p>Original: ZF 5hp19A97<br>Modification: AMS 5hp19T<br>Modification Vendor: AMS/ZF<br>Summary: With no Tiptronic setting and a conservative 255 shift maps, the original transmission seemed a less-than-sporting partner for my outdoor activities. The AMS version gave me manual shifting, but I wanted to go further, and ended up in the custom bin for my transmission setup.<p>Original: AMS 5hp19T<br>Modification: R2L Racing Kustom<br>Modification Vendor: Right2Left Tek<br>Summary: Great transmission, five-speed setup, fast shifts, rev matching required (but satisfying), and an all-round winner. Not a good choice for people who don't plan to race the car seriously, but the way to go if you've got the cash. R2L is no longer around (went bankrupt recently), but there are a lot of great transmission shops around who will help you put together a great custom product.<p>People ask me sometimes (a few of you have via email) what the window sticker on a modified car would look like. I'm guessing Jeff Hsi and Damon get this kind of mail too. I'll give you an outline of cost breakdown that might appear there.<p>R2L Transmission, Foul Weather Package, Convenience Package, QuattroIV AWD, Destination Charge, Bosch C-CLR Corners, in.pro clear sidemarkers, in.pro clear taillights, Av3 17x8 wheel package, Pirelli P7000 Supersport, carbon trim, drilled rear brakes, drilled and vented Brembo front brakes, System bodywork, Recaro driver's seat, Recaro passenger's seat, H&R race springs, Koni adjustable sport shocks, Mintex C-Tech racing pads, custom touring roll cage*, custom front end bodywork, Wetterauer W235*.<p>Oil: Mobil 1 Synthetic<br>Brake Fluid: ATE Super Blue<p>* = not currently installed, but installed by end of 2/99.<p>I have a cat, and people have talked about cats and paint. Apparently, a few people are rather pissed off about it. My car shows almost no interest in the A4, in fact he's scared of all cars -- even when they aren't running or moving. On a cat-owner's note, I have a CatformPlatform carrier that works perfectly with the Recaro seats. If you're thinking of going to Recaros, you can still have your cat sitting beside you on the way to the vet. The CatformPlatform was $42.50 at my local pet shop, and the guy let me try it in my car (though he looked at me a little funny). Just a note.<p>The A4 is one of the most enjoyable cars around. And it was enjoyable stock. Don't get me wrong, this car is an amazing car, but it has amazing aftermarket potential for those who want a little more. You can spend $17,500 and have a great A4. You can spend $50,000 and have a great A4. You can spend nothing and access a great A4 forum. And maybe that's the best part of all this, sharing the knowledge learned from an experience on the highway or in the garage. Hopefully, I've done that here.<p>Drive Safely.<p>Cameron

Scott K

Re: Seats, Coasting, Modifications, Cages, Cats, and more!

Scott K

<br>Cameron, I am interested in your seats. How much head room did you gain ? I was too impatient to wait for an A4 without the sun roof. I have the sport seats, but still looking for helmet room.<p>

Cameron

I have the sunroof (if I had waited for a car without a sunroof, I would have gotten a car with side airbags because my car was one of the last A4's with only two airbags... I would have had to deinstall the airbags when I prepped the car for the race anyway), so I had about 2 inches of headroom originally with my seat settings. The Recaros on the lowest setting give me almost four inches of headroom, more than enough for a helmet. Just so you know, if you plan to race the car, the map lights beside the sunroof control *do* have enough power to run a small heads-up turbo indicator or other LED-bar style indicator device.<p>Cameron