Cactus (no pictures), day 3 of driving her.. <LONG>
12-06-2006, 09:34 AM
#1
AudiWorld Expert
Thread Starter
Cactus (no pictures), day 3 of driving her.. <LONG>
<center><img src="http://home.pacbell.net/tmblue/images2/gauges-pedals.jpg"></center><p>So people want to know and I was hoping to have logs and pictures but do to my schedule and some ECUx and laptop snafu's logs and pics will be forthcoming.
So it arrived last Saturday in an enclosed truck, after sitting for 20 days in the truck, it started right up and the driver backed her out. The wife commented" if we can hear it already, it's loud", and well ya...
She was quite dusty (more so then expected for being enclosed but <shrug>..
I looked her over as she sat there idling, no scratches no dents, wheels were in tact, car looked great.
Have the larger ASP exhaust tips and they really are quite nice (I was worried that the larger tips would be too big, not so), also the FMIC is not a new concept to me but it's a slightly different look then the DUH (have no perf comparisons yet) and so I'm a fan of the FMIC on the S4. I also have the ASP pedal set (really nice) and 3 Defi gauges in the center vents (absolutely stunning), The controller is in the glovebox as is my zeitronix display and control, I also grabbed an ASP cam mount (not so grass roots that I can use a piece of 2x4 and I really like the ASP logo, hahaha)
Other then that my car looks the same on the outside as it did when it left 10 months ago (although the new Eibach Pro "S" are set a bit higher then my Stasis but it's a solid look".
Okay Engine bay, other then the fuel pressure sender everything looks stock. You can't see much with the covers and even without them you don't see much..
If you look behind the engine block you see the Tial externals tucked quite a bit down there. You look to the sides and you can make out (ever so slightly) the white coating of my ASP exhaust manifolds. Some other things one would find is an assortment of braided lines that have been used for this kit (quite nice).
Lets dive into driving/performance (without numbers ) and stuff.
If you have questions about mounts, exhaust note or anything follow up and I'll provide feedback on that portion.
Idle, car idles fine. It did hunt for a few seconds after it come down from the truck and had been idling for about 2 minutes, but it was short lived. The car idles around 800rpm when warm and idles around 1000 when cold. Have I commented that the car is a bit loud, I'm getting used to it, but it's loud!!
Blipping the throttle is quite responsive, no issues there, and did I mention what an interesting glorious sound it emits? If not it does, Ferrari comes to mind actually.
At idle with the engine mounts, tranny mounts and TSB, there is slight vibration in the steering wheel (not bad after about 2500 miles on the mounts), but it's there (doesn't make your hands numb or arm sore, but it's noticeable). At slow speeds there is a sense of some feedback from the road (parking lot), but I don't notice any of that while normal driving. Things are stiff, there is no doubt, but I kind of like the feeling. It is in a word slightly raw, but I like it.
I do have some whine from the tranny and I'm not sure if it's the new clutch or just everything being so stiff, I will try to capture the noise and provide to Mark for identification, noise does not change with clutch engagement at all and I don't hear it unless I'm next to a building.
Tranny and clutch feel great (other then having to learn to drive her again (not quite there but getting better).
Now what most of you care about, drivability, performance... Is there lag, ya, but only under certain conditions.
So she drives like any normally modified S4 but when she gets to 3800 or so she starts to pull really hard, the needle from that point to beyond 6K goes by fairly quickly. Now back to my "there is lag under certain conditions"..
I don't feel lag when driving around town, I don't feel lag when I am going thru twisties and want to accelerate out of a turn. During this spirited driving, I see boost building down low and I start pulling like a freight train before the 3800 RPM mark, the car runs well.
Now I did feel a bit of lag when I was behind some "normal mortal" and wanted to pass them, I chose not to down shift to see, since I was just cruising along at a steady RPM, at that point when I switched over there was a brief period of lag, but then the turbo's started spinning and I was moving at a good clip, then HOLY MOTHER OF PERL she comes into full boost and the GT28's are happy and my boost gauge goes to 2bar!.
I've driven cars with lag in the past and you have to drive them differently, but this evening coming home thru the twisties I was surprised how I could power out of turns without issue, the car has lots of pep and power, way before she is into max boost (which is not something you really want to get into, inside a corner!) so as many figured although max boost is not available till later, she is making quite a bit of power early on. I think the comment that "Tory, this car really feels like it would be a great track setup", is true. Although one would have to get used to the linear throttle and stay out of WOT, except coming out of a corner with a decent straight in front of it.
Without logs, I am kind of writing blind, but the car is quick/fast and this is just on pump, the motor sounds healthy, EGT gauge reads fine, there is no perceived issues when cruising or driving hard, the car is smooth..
Now I have not gone past the 7K RPM mark yet, but I guarantee that she will pull forever and that's when the 7400limit (set for stock bottom end and heads), may be slightly limiting. But even when I shift fairly slowly, the car still pulls, so it's not like an on/off switch, I don't fall on my face, if the car is being driven in a spirited fashion, she will reward the driver with continuous power, if a driver starts out from a flat footed position, lag will be noticed and soon forgotten.
Without logs and pictures of cactus, I can only tell you from my own perspective, logs and data will tell the real story.
Do I have any issues with her at this time.
I have 2 (with 1 being just marginal):
It's loud, a bit louder then I would like, but the sound is amazing. I may get used to this, but the wife will probably give me a bit of a hard time if I want her to drive it, because of the loudness and the raw feel.
The car is tight/stiff whatever. The mounts are really pretty stiff. I'm getting used to them and the car setup in general, but I would say the car feels more like an EVO now, vs the luxurious S4 (in terms of chassis feel and the fact that I always thought the EVO felt more raw to me, more sports car like, while the S4 was more refined and cush)..
I love the car and am getting used to the tone, while at times she is loud, other times her song is so sweet!
Okay, ,so ask direct questions and I'll get to them..
Tory
Sorry for grammar, spelling or anything else (basically read this as, I don't care!
)
So it arrived last Saturday in an enclosed truck, after sitting for 20 days in the truck, it started right up and the driver backed her out. The wife commented" if we can hear it already, it's loud", and well ya...
She was quite dusty (more so then expected for being enclosed but <shrug>..
I looked her over as she sat there idling, no scratches no dents, wheels were in tact, car looked great.
Have the larger ASP exhaust tips and they really are quite nice (I was worried that the larger tips would be too big, not so), also the FMIC is not a new concept to me but it's a slightly different look then the DUH (have no perf comparisons yet) and so I'm a fan of the FMIC on the S4. I also have the ASP pedal set (really nice) and 3 Defi gauges in the center vents (absolutely stunning), The controller is in the glovebox as is my zeitronix display and control, I also grabbed an ASP cam mount (not so grass roots that I can use a piece of 2x4 and I really like the ASP logo, hahaha)
Other then that my car looks the same on the outside as it did when it left 10 months ago (although the new Eibach Pro "S" are set a bit higher then my Stasis but it's a solid look".
Okay Engine bay, other then the fuel pressure sender everything looks stock. You can't see much with the covers and even without them you don't see much..
If you look behind the engine block you see the Tial externals tucked quite a bit down there. You look to the sides and you can make out (ever so slightly) the white coating of my ASP exhaust manifolds. Some other things one would find is an assortment of braided lines that have been used for this kit (quite nice).
Lets dive into driving/performance (without numbers ) and stuff.
If you have questions about mounts, exhaust note or anything follow up and I'll provide feedback on that portion.
Idle, car idles fine. It did hunt for a few seconds after it come down from the truck and had been idling for about 2 minutes, but it was short lived. The car idles around 800rpm when warm and idles around 1000 when cold. Have I commented that the car is a bit loud, I'm getting used to it, but it's loud!!
Blipping the throttle is quite responsive, no issues there, and did I mention what an interesting glorious sound it emits? If not it does, Ferrari comes to mind actually.
At idle with the engine mounts, tranny mounts and TSB, there is slight vibration in the steering wheel (not bad after about 2500 miles on the mounts), but it's there (doesn't make your hands numb or arm sore, but it's noticeable). At slow speeds there is a sense of some feedback from the road (parking lot), but I don't notice any of that while normal driving. Things are stiff, there is no doubt, but I kind of like the feeling. It is in a word slightly raw, but I like it.
I do have some whine from the tranny and I'm not sure if it's the new clutch or just everything being so stiff, I will try to capture the noise and provide to Mark for identification, noise does not change with clutch engagement at all and I don't hear it unless I'm next to a building.
Tranny and clutch feel great (other then having to learn to drive her again (not quite there but getting better).
Now what most of you care about, drivability, performance... Is there lag, ya, but only under certain conditions.
So she drives like any normally modified S4 but when she gets to 3800 or so she starts to pull really hard, the needle from that point to beyond 6K goes by fairly quickly. Now back to my "there is lag under certain conditions"..
I don't feel lag when driving around town, I don't feel lag when I am going thru twisties and want to accelerate out of a turn. During this spirited driving, I see boost building down low and I start pulling like a freight train before the 3800 RPM mark, the car runs well.
Now I did feel a bit of lag when I was behind some "normal mortal" and wanted to pass them, I chose not to down shift to see, since I was just cruising along at a steady RPM, at that point when I switched over there was a brief period of lag, but then the turbo's started spinning and I was moving at a good clip, then HOLY MOTHER OF PERL she comes into full boost and the GT28's are happy and my boost gauge goes to 2bar!.
I've driven cars with lag in the past and you have to drive them differently, but this evening coming home thru the twisties I was surprised how I could power out of turns without issue, the car has lots of pep and power, way before she is into max boost (which is not something you really want to get into, inside a corner!) so as many figured although max boost is not available till later, she is making quite a bit of power early on. I think the comment that "Tory, this car really feels like it would be a great track setup", is true. Although one would have to get used to the linear throttle and stay out of WOT, except coming out of a corner with a decent straight in front of it.
Without logs, I am kind of writing blind, but the car is quick/fast and this is just on pump, the motor sounds healthy, EGT gauge reads fine, there is no perceived issues when cruising or driving hard, the car is smooth..
Now I have not gone past the 7K RPM mark yet, but I guarantee that she will pull forever and that's when the 7400limit (set for stock bottom end and heads), may be slightly limiting. But even when I shift fairly slowly, the car still pulls, so it's not like an on/off switch, I don't fall on my face, if the car is being driven in a spirited fashion, she will reward the driver with continuous power, if a driver starts out from a flat footed position, lag will be noticed and soon forgotten.
Without logs and pictures of cactus, I can only tell you from my own perspective, logs and data will tell the real story.
Do I have any issues with her at this time.
I have 2 (with 1 being just marginal):
It's loud, a bit louder then I would like, but the sound is amazing. I may get used to this, but the wife will probably give me a bit of a hard time if I want her to drive it, because of the loudness and the raw feel.
The car is tight/stiff whatever. The mounts are really pretty stiff. I'm getting used to them and the car setup in general, but I would say the car feels more like an EVO now, vs the luxurious S4 (in terms of chassis feel and the fact that I always thought the EVO felt more raw to me, more sports car like, while the S4 was more refined and cush)..
I love the car and am getting used to the tone, while at times she is loud, other times her song is so sweet!
Okay, ,so ask direct questions and I'll get to them..
Tory
Sorry for grammar, spelling or anything else (basically read this as, I don't care!
)
12-06-2006, 09:45 AM
#4
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My 1st question...how come you haven't removed that wood trim, shipped it to Kreative Customs
and had it painted black yet? $200 and it makes a WORLD of difference! ;-) I want a ride...and I know Troy does too! Liking the gauges...EGT, Fuel Pressure, and Boost ya?
12-06-2006, 09:55 AM
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Does your shift lever, while in gear, still have forward/rear slop?
The OEM black box below the lever has two rails on it, even with the upper shaft connected properly, there is slop from front to rear. I know a solid joint in that shaft where it meets the transmission would solve that, but was wondering if any of your mounts helped?
What short shifter do you have?
What is the slop like while in gear from right to left?
What short shifter do you have?
What is the slop like while in gear from right to left?
12-06-2006, 09:55 AM
#7
AudiWorld Expert
Thread Starter
yep, boost, EGT, FP with peak and lots of other fun stuff... The trim.
I need to, but well the car has been away for 9+ months, soo.. Now it's time, but with the machined faces of the gauges maybe an aluminum vs black, especially since I'm thinking about going black interior vs the silver.
Are they on the web?
Are they on the web?
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12-06-2006, 09:58 AM
#9
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Thread Starter
I'll measure and post that info for you, left to right feels like 1/4" or so on either side
but I'll measure this eve for sure. and post, I didn't feel any front to back, but there has to be some.
Right now it's the Toy Guy, but I have a UUC and another sitting at the house.
Right now it's the Toy Guy, but I have a UUC and another sitting at the house.
12-06-2006, 09:59 AM
#10
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I have the defi BF boost gauge on my personal car, The sport interior with the aluminum bezel
matches nicely. I have the all red BF gauge that matches the interior PERFECTLY when dim (headlights on) and matches my RS4 instrument cluster quite well.
The needles on my RS4 Cluster are red and numbers are white. One day I would like to swap out Defi BF gauges to see how it looks, but honestly, I like the center vent all red because it matches the center of my console so nicely (all red ambient lighting in the center of the S4).
The RNS-E Compliments my interior nicely as well.
I will post pictures up this weekend.
The needles on my RS4 Cluster are red and numbers are white. One day I would like to swap out Defi BF gauges to see how it looks, but honestly, I like the center vent all red because it matches the center of my console so nicely (all red ambient lighting in the center of the S4).
The RNS-E Compliments my interior nicely as well.
I will post pictures up this weekend.