LaserK04

Went out to the local airport runway :-) last night after dark to do some "comparison" testing of a GIAC chipped S4 (all stock otherwise) vs. a friend's APR stage 3 A4, with full APR turbo-back exhaust.

I was in the S4, and I gave him the go as he did not want to launch too hard on the stock clutch. He rolled out and got about 1.5-2 cars before I dropped the hammer. I did not close the gap at all until about 65 mph. Once the S4 gets into 3rd gear, it reels in the APR stage 3 kit quickly, coming from about 2 cars back at 60 mph to about 3-4 cars ahead by 100 mph. Hopefully the owner of the A4 will chime in here, as I could be off a bit on the distances, but it does seem clear that in a drag race the APR stage 3 is not really a match for a chipped S4. The higher the speeds, the greater the difference. However, both cars were running on pump fuel. Still I know APR ran 110 mph @ Atco in a stage 3+ that is supposedly good for another 30-40 hp. Another 40 hp added to a base stage 3 doesn't get you 110 mph. NO WAY. So it makes me question if that APR A4 was a ringer car....

Nonetheless, I got some seat time in the A4 and from my initial impression I figured it was about as fast as a chipped S. It felt quicker than it turned out to be against an S4. Spools up really fast, the GT25 sounds MEAN, and the sucker rips to the rev limiter easily. Scott, you got anything to add to this?

Greg
2000 Pearl S4

NickS

You can't beat the torque curve of the S4....the StageIII only has ***** after 3k.

SirScott

Firstly, I don't condone using a private airport, but it sure beats the street and when the nearest drag strip is 35 minutes away and closed, well, it'll have to do!

Secondly, I think Greg is pretty right in his estimates. I can't launch to save my life (my excuse is that I want to save my stock clutch from the horrors of 280 hp and 300 ft-lbs of torque) but I heard Greg chirping his tires consistently, so he apparently knew his stuff. On the way up to about 70, I thought I might actually have a chance. He was slowly gaining, but not enough that I thought he would overtake me by the time we started to need to brake. Boy was I wrong.

I was shifting out of 3rd around 85/90 or so just in time to see him go flying by me and then see him shift into 4th. The top end of my 3rd and low end of 4th were simply no match at all.

Other things to note: In a rolling race from ~15/20 (wasn't paying attention) in 2nd gear, I got absolutely clobbered. I had mentioned to him that the turbo lag was <b>far</b> greater than a chipped K03, but I'm not sure he fully understood! Simply clobbered. OUCH. Takes a while for that GT-25 to spin up....

Greg was kind enough to let me drive his car while I followed him in mine to listen to it. The stage 3 turbo is LOUD. The exhaust is nice, but I couldn't hear it too well due to the wind at 60 mph.

The S4 is a wonderful car, but so much heavier feeling than my A4. I like the feel of your clutch better, but didn't like the shifter nor the heavy steering. VERY smooth and rock solid car though. Although our tests showed that the S was quicker, it didn't exactly feel that way. I attribute it to the very linear power and the differences in weight.

I'm satisfied with the performance of the car. From stop light to stop light, it'd be a close match between the two (if I knew how to launch). On the highway, the S would dominate like none other.

Things I wonder about:

1) How would the stage 3 on race gas compare against the chipped S?
2) How would the normal stage 3 compare against a stock S?

So, thems my impressions.

Scott.

PS - Greg, next time I'll take the 500 lbs of cinder blocks out of the trunk!

Bryce

I raced esses a few times. Up to where I shifted to 3 I could stay with him. From 0-about 55 neither pulled. That low torques and the right gearing of third is what does it.

D.Ross

S4 was broken then... an S4 will make any 1.8t tip look like a ford festiva, chipped or not.

Mark P

A4: Quicker in the 1/4 and lighter weight

SirScott

Did you read my impressions below? We were pretty even until about 60 mph, at which point he started slowly gaining. By the time I was shifting at 85/90 mph, he was pulling past me. By the time he shifted to 4th, he was long gone.

I'm pretty confident that a stage 3 A4 would dominate a stock S4 from a dead stop. From a rolling start in 2nd gear where lag is an issue...well, that's another story.

Scott.

frank

I drove a 99.5 stage 3, with "latest" SW upgrade

and that thing was just as fast as a stock s4 to start, but idled like crap

also after 3 runs the heatsoak, was extremely noticable


if I had to guess, based on butt-dyno..it was only making 240HP to start

and was considerably less after 3, 0-70 runs


no where near the 290 HP claimed

the owner agreed...not realy thrilled


I was surprised..that the GT25 added that much heat to the intake air temps....

a FMIC is DEFINITELY neccesary

cloudious

This has been well documented and debated (I use the term very loosely to describe what happens when Stage III gets mentioned there) on the A4 forum, so I wouldn't call it a ringer exactly. I think it had a FMIC, clutch flywheel, and Shrick street cams. I could be wrong though.

SirScott

First, only 280 hp is claimed, not 290. (At least for non-dbw, which is what I have, but if 290 is claimed for dbw, then I apologize.)

Second, I was running just fine after MANY 0-100 runs...no heatsoak issue for me. The GT-25 turbo is much more efficient than a chipped K03, so the stock IC seemed to be pefectly adaquet for the evening's runs.

My idle was perfectly fine after many runs. No complaints whatsoever.

I still think a stage 3 a4 would take a stock S4 repeatedly. Now a chipped S4, as we saw last night, the Stage 3 is quick, but not quick enough.

Scott.