Silver UberRocket

The title says it all folks. I took delivery 5 years ago, and have only managed to put 45K on my ride.

Now I think it's time for some upgrades. I was thinking suspension and wheels (or possibly just 10mm spacers for the OEM wheels). My first question is: how long is the stock suspension expeted to last? I know that is a wide open question, but are there any general guidelines?

Exhaust. My stock tips are starting to corrode some, so there's my excuse to upgrade. I have had my eye on the quieter APR system. Any tips/hints/pointers from those who have upgraded that I should be aware of?

Chip. Here's where I am hesitating. I have a very early 2001 car. I don't remember which ECU I have, and I haven't had any problems, but I am a bit nervous about stressing 5 year old turbos even more than usual. The only mechanical issues I have ever had are the typical TBB tears (3 times I think) and random loose heat shield rattles. Nothing major.

My question is: is chipping (especially on a slightly older car) REALLY just rolling the dice on blown turbos? If so, is this risk amplified with exhaust and a chip? If I were to do this I would most certainly upgrade BPVs TBB and other weak links, but I'm not too excited about the idea of engine failure due to overworked turbos.

Last request: does anyone have a before/after pics of an S4 with and without lowered suspension (preferably a silver car)?

thanks for your help

Fixn2xlr8

You have to remember that the chipped cars in here are stressing the very same 5 year old turbos. The ECU is easy. Just take the trim off right in front of the windhield and you can tell what box you have by looking at it.

zhenya

maybe more, and driven hard at the track several times. It really is a roll of the dice. Some cars they go right away, others are super durable. Owning this car out of warranty you just have to be ready to replace the turbos at any time. If you can't deal with that part of owning an S4, you should sell it and get something else. That feeling of worry in the pit of your stomach every time you floor it just isn't worth it. My perfectly fine K03's are being extracted right now for perfectly better K04's, just because. I haven't had that worry for the last 8 months since I readied myself for going K04, because I knew I was ready to deal with it if they went. To my surprise, they didn't.

Der Wolf::Indukted

I have the full stage 2 APR kit with downpipes and did the chip first (45K on chip). The order of the upgrades was all wrong, as the car needed suspension most of all and brakes only after the chip.

Any way you cut it the car is very nice with the suspension upgrade, both cosmetically and performance-wise.

Oh yeah, I have the APR stealth (quiet) exhaust and I love the tone of it. It sounds even better after the downpipes.