flatulator

Hello all:

Well, I picked up my new 2001 S4 (Santorin/onyx)on Sunday. What a sweet ride. I sold my 98.5 A4 2.8QM to my girlfriend, and upgraded to the S.
I have some observations, and a couple of questions

Observations:
Wow. This car is tight as a drum and oh so quick. I kind of thought it would be just like my A4 with a couple of turbos strapped on, but it seems like a whole different class of car. This car is a fine machine, from the build quality to the exhaust note to the road manners. I can't wait 'til it's broken in.

QUESTIONS:
1. Rev Matching - I'm having a tough time getting the engine to rev up when I "blip" the throttle while downshifting. My A4 would come right up, but on the S I have to give it a LOT of gas. Is this just something I have to get used to?

2. 2nd gear is a little notchy. Hoping this improves??? IT does NOT seem like a bad transmisson, just a little finicky.

3. Do the Turbos spool up at certain RPMs or all the time? It seems that sometimes I hear them, sometimes I don't.

Thanks.

BaysideRS4

I have 2,300 miles on my S4 and I am still struggling with rev matching up and down shift - to avoid the "clunk" I here when the clutch fully releases. The clutch does release differently than the A4.

I noticed the same on my second gear at first, but not anymore. Not sure if it is me adapting or the car.

My turbos start spooling (audibly) somewhere north of 2,000.

kcS4

you have throttle that is drive by wire, it does feel different and the clutch engagement takes a lot of getting used to. The turbos spool up quickly but torque is from 1800 to 4000 with more of an impact around 3000 to 3200. the noise is normal you will learn to like it!

Gop-Dogg

Flatulator?! Dude, there are medical treatments for that sort of problem. ;-)

Flyboy

are that it will depend up how you apply the throttle. I was a little surprised to see that I could rev pretty high, over 3000rpm, without any sign of boosting coming on if I gradually opened the throttle. But step on it and boost will come up quickly. I just got the gauge connected last night so I haven't been able to observe it much, but those are my first impressions.

gimbal (fight on)

Oh yeah, bring on the whine....

KevinH

My old 300ZX TT had a boost gauge and it was very helpful in finding out what the turbo actually does. It must be a mystery for someone driving their first turbo car without a gauge.

Tostao

I have been playing a lot with this and finally I got it down.

What I do at times is a double stab on the gas, don't be afraid, stab it and know the rpms will be up by the time you downshift.

An easier way is to simply give yourself sometime and 'roll' in neutral while you bring the revs up, this way you can LEARN first how to and then just need practice to do it faster/smoother.

It's just like on my sports bike, it took a while to get it all down, nowdays I don't even think about it, it's just there, looking forward to the same on audi .

Rory

A turbo (=turbine+shaft+impeller) is always spinning when the engine is on.
However, it's theoretically possible for it to be stationary and still flow
air due to the shape of the impeller blades. If you have access to one off
the car, you can test this by holding the turbine fixed and blowing air
through the low pressure side of the impeller: air still comes through the
other side. I tried this with the stock turbo from my Talon when I upgraded
the turbo.

It's true you can take the car to redline without building boost any higher
than atmospheric pressure. What determines how much boost you make is the
amount of exhaust flow, the amount of intake air the engine is using, and
the turbo's ability to scavenge energy from the former and turn it into the
later. And remember, just because you're building a lot of boost it doesn't
mean you're flowing a greater mass of air: if you're past the efficiency
range of the turbo, the increase in pressure may only be caused by higher
temperatures.

Rory
'01 S4
'97 Talon awd

Flyboy

from the turbos, boost-wise. I also noticed that the amount of boost varies. I would guess it has to do with the way you open the throttle and the rpm when you begin. Still too early to draw any conclusions, but very interesting to watch in operation.