December '09 Featured AZ'er: biketsai's 2001 A4 Sedan
December 21, 2009 - By Audizine Staff



User Name: biketsai
Real Name: Chris Tsai
Location: San Antonio, TX USA
Year of Vehicle: 2001
Model of Vehicle: A4 quattro sedan
Engine of Vehicle: 1.8T
Color of Vehicle: Brilliant Black

Do what you love, and love what you do. Great words spoken by a great man, and also by the Featured AZ'er for December, Chris Tsai (AKA: biketsai). We're a big fan of that saying, and it certainly hits home with the story of Chris and his car. You see, Chris is deeply, madly, passionately in love with his 2001 A4 1.8T quattro sedan. If he could legally marry a motor vehicle in the wonderful God-fearing state of Texas, I believe he actually might do so. Marriage license or not, it's better or for worse, till death do they part.

You know it's love when you've invested not only thousands of dollars in parts for your car, but hundreds of hours and gallons of blood from turning your own wrenches. We're not talking the easy stuff either, like changing your light bulbs or installing a K&N air filter. Chris and a few of his closest buddies have tackled projects as serious as turbo upgrades, coil-over suspensions, and a custom made front-mount intercooler. The pièce de résistance though is a full automatic-to-manual transmission swap. That's right, Chris is so attached to this car that instead of dumping what was once a Tiptronic equipped A4 in favor of one that already came from the factory with a stick shift, he decided to just swap out the whole damn tranny instead!

Your hat just has to come off when you hear about such dedication, not to mention when you see the gorgeous car that Chris has created. In taking all of the best pieces from the Audi parts bin, and a number of items from various aftermarket parts companies, he's got a car that not only looks great but has the guts to back it up. Armed now with a solid transmission that can take the power upgrade of his PES T28 turbo kit, along with a serious suspension upgrade, his Brilliant Black A4 can really hustle. The "OEM Plus" items come by way of several models such as the TT, S4, RS 4, and A8. Other notable tuner upgrades are an exhaust from APR, coil-over system by H&R, front and rear sway bars courtesy of KW, and adjustable control arms manufactured by CPP. Thankfully for all of us, and especially the B5 A4 Forum, Chris isn't afraid to spread the love. More

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