Hey everyone just wanted to stop by and ask a few questions about my newly acquired 07 RS4 with 65k on her... I know these cars have issues with carbon buildup, that being said I know an audi tech very well and he gave me 3 little silver cans of "petrol additive" which they use to clean out buildup without stripping the IM etc... Now I know these should have little effect on the FSI system but I ran 2 cans through one tank then 1 can through the last. Normal smoking i would assume with some sort of cleaner running through the system. Now two tanks of gas later I am still getting this blueish smoke on startup, only cold starts and only in the morning. Enough smoke where you sit back and watch and say "no way this can be right" but goes completely away the second you pull out of the driveway, drive 20 feet and all the smoke is gone for the rest of the day... Is this normal for the RS4...My tech buddy said there was a TSB with the R8 having the same problem and since we have the "same" engine that it was not a big deal... anyone else have this problem?

2nd, just for ****s and giggles I had her dyno'ed the other day at The Shop in Norwalk, CT. She put down just shy of 310 AWH... 309.5 to be exact... is that normal for our AWD systems to be putting down to all 4? Should I be concerned with CB? Car is bone stock... any feedback would be greatly appreciated...

BTW: This car is a monster compared to my modded 04 S4, I can't wait to do piggies and a tune, see what she can really do... Off to get some speeding tickets!

 

Fuel additives will help clean the injectors and combustion chamber, but won't do a a damn thing for THE REAL PROBLEM, carbon buildup on the intake valves, intake ports, and intake manifold flaps. The ONLY way to get ride of that is intake manifod removal and hours of manual cleaning. It really needs to be done every 10K miles on this motor. After you do that, you'll dyno in the 330 range. Until the carbon comes back again, that is.

That smoke thing doesn't sound normal to me. If your valve seals are weaping, expect even more carbon on the intake valves (if that's even possible).

 

Depends on what type of dyno, altitude, outside temperature, engine temperature, ect. That number doesn't sound far off from others have seen on some dyno's. I would take that manifold off and see how it looks, if it's never been done before you are for sure due for a cleaning. I don't understand how fuel additive will help with CB on an FSI engine, since the fuel never hits the intake manifold, it's injected directly into the cyl. Maybe a tiny bit will blow back just like the carbon does in the first place, but I can't imagine it's enough to make any impact on super hard carbon that's been encrusted onto everything in your intake manifold. I think the consensus is to just clean it every 20-40k miles (depending on your preference and whether you notice the change). It sucks but honestly spending 8 hours cleaning your intake manifold every 40k miles is not the end of the world, I don't even see why people think it's such a big deal honestly.

 

I also noticed a decent amount of smoke for startup in the morning. If I sit in the car idling for 15-20 minutes for lunch without moving I get a bunch of smoke for a few seconds after I start moving. Maybe I have a similiar problem. My dyno was actually 299 after I did the carbon clean so your certainly at a decent point for your dyno. (Different dyno's give different readings though so always important to stick you 1 when trying to gauge performance gains). I think I had a minor cat issue draining some power (piggies standing by for warmer weather!), but from what I've heard 290-325ish seems to be the typical range. I gained 15hp after I did a carbon clean.

 

What does a full carbon cleaning run and how long does it take?

Thanks

 

If you don't mind a 2 hour drive, call Kai at Elite Motorsports in Medford, Long Island. There have been many threads about this, and Elite has done some very nice work.

 

If the smoke is more grey than blue and it mostly happens when it's cold and only stays until the car is driven away, it is likely condensation from accumulated moisture in the exhaust. Very normal and nothing to worry about.

 

I get the smoky start as well, but it's not blue smoke, it's more greyish. I think it's just condensation and running rich on startup.

 

1. blueish is usually oil. I'd get checking deeper into it. Are you burning oil? Monitor it pretty closely for the next 1000 miles.

2. your 04 S4 'modded'...let me guess. Milltek catback, GIAC tune. A.k.a. no faster than stock. My B7 S4 with full 2.5" JHM exhaust + JHM tune was every inch as fast as my RS4 (both ran bests of 12.9 @ 107mph ironically). Funny how we had completely different impressions of the B6/7 S4 and its capabilities.

3. the shop is a great place...they build **** that MOVES. As for your dyno numbers, they sound about right. What was the WTQ number? Can you post the plot up for interest's sake? It will be immediately apparent if you have bad carbon buildup that is knocking your top 10-20 whp out.

4. carbon buildup - not a huge deal as my car can attest...I ran just about as fast as any stock RS4 on earth, even though I'm at 30,000 miles and have never been cleaned. IN a dragstrip pass 0-110 mph) carbon buildup is maybe responsible for robbing you of 2 tenths. I'd be more concerned about it getting past the valves, into the cylinder and being a particularly hard chunk that gets between the piston and cylinder wall.
Your options are basically only 1 thing...manual removal. Take the car to Elite motorsports. They have it down to a science and are excellent at it. Kai is the forum contact. Not sure where they are, but if you can go to the shop, you can go to Elite.

Welcome to RS4 ownership. Great car that responds really well to the proper modifications. Just take your time to make sure you get stuff that adds, rather than stuff that does next to nothing (as was popular with the B6/B7 S4 world).

Cheers

 

Anyone have a shop local to Boston they recommend for the carbon clean? I have a "new to me" 38K RS4 and no record it was ever cleaned. I do have a CPO warranty. Anyone have luck getting this covered by Audi? When I bought the car they gave me the usual "we fix it when symptoms arise on start up and since you have no symptoms..."

Loving the car and this Forum. Thanks!