My one regret is over modifying my Avant... anyone here feel the same with their car?

[[email protected]]

I reminisced about how sweet my Avant was when it was in its Stage 2 form with ko4 upgrade, tailor fit Milltek exhaust and the deep dish Keskin KT4's

It was fast enough to get around, the exhaust note was perfect and the stance dialed in... then I got the BAT virus in my head and ruined everything just to hit a number I obsessed with reaching.

So if you had a chance to go back and do it all again... would you? I wouldn't.

I would have kept the Avant as shown in the pics below and would still be enjoying driving around in her to this day. I seriously miss looking at those exhaust tips.

[Greedo]

then I got the BAT virus in my head and ruined everything just to hit a number I obsessed with reaching.

That's why I bought a 3.0. It's near impossible to get infected with any type of performance disease unless you're an idiot (or JHM starts making products for it).

I'm content and happy with the performance of it and thankful I don't have the ease of tuning like you guys do/did with the 1.8.

Regardless, I think we all have phases where we want to do something, do it, then later wish we hadn't.

[JolePatrol]

I love the bigger lower grills from the S4. I think they make it look more like the newer single grilled Audi's.

[Wet0willy01]

where do I begin? APR Stg1+, K04, 71Relim, 30R, now HTA35R never going to run.......

[BARRY]

i love every mod i've done to my car...only thing left is motor rebuild, clutch, all new hoses, and gtx3076r

[[email protected]]

That's why I bought a 3.0. It's near impossible to get infected with any type of performance disease unless you're an idiot (or JHM starts making products for it).

I'm content and happy with the performance of it and thankful I don't have the ease of tuning like you guys do/did with the 1.8.

Regardless, I think we all have phases where we want to do something, do it, then later wish we hadn't.

There are times now where I wish I did have a 3.0 instead.

My sickness it equatable to those who got obsessed with plastic surgery and just can't stop.

Really... the worst thing that happened to me was to have my cylinder head develop that crack and needed replacing... it all went downhill from there.

[Greedo]

I actually enjoy reading someone say they wish they had the 3.0; though at times, it's good to hear it. I like this motor; it's reliable, it sounds good, it's more powerful and quicker than a stock 1.8, etc. I like not having the itch for performance mods.

Anyhow, love seeing avants with the S4 front conversion. I wish I had Ecodes.

[daihashi]

I don't own an avant, but I know what you mean.. well kind of. I am seriously considering if I want to do any of the things I KNOW that I can do, most of which have not been done on the B6 platform; at least not to the degree I am considering. I think there is one person with a B5 who has done what I'm considering, outside of the engine building aspect... and he and I often bicker, should that should give away quite a bit of info.

I know in my head that ultimately it's not worth it because the car will always be slow when compared against other cars with similar displacement and overall dimensions; hell even slow when compared against our VW cousins. I'm trying really hard to convince myself that 250-300whp, with everything else in tact, is more than enough for a daily driver; matter of fact I KNOW it is... but I can't get these damn thoughts out of my head. Hopefully my common sense will take root before this fall/winter and I'll do what I know is right.

We'll see.

[shoppingcart111]

That was beautiful Winston, i wouldnt of changed a thing. I guess my one good thing thats keeping me from going BT and all the suporting mods is cost and common sense. I have too mnay other toys to justify spending it all on one (sportbike, mtn snowmobile, rc toys, mtn bikingand hunting). I understand the need to get to "that" number and have crazy power but I look at it like am I going to be able to use that kind of power where I live? Probably not so why waste the money on it. I'm just trying to build a nice looking, handling, reasonable powerful car thats fun to own/drive.

[[email protected]]

When I got the BAT idea into my head the cost and common sense went out the window.

It would have been cheaper for me to build a dedicated track car than to modify the Avant to get the same power to weight ratio.

[AudiA4_20T]

I reminisced about how sweet my Avant was when it was in its Stage 2 form with ko4 upgrade, tailor fit Milltek exhaust and the deep dish Keskin KT4's

It was fast enough to get around, the exhaust note was perfect and the stance dialed in... then I got the BAT virus in my head and ruined everything just to hit a number I obsessed with reaching.

So if you had a chance to go back and do it all again... would you? I wouldn't.

Do I regret it? No.

Was it a massive commitment both to time and money? Yes.

Did I lose out on tons of time that I could have used to hang out with friends and enjoy life? Yes.

I've talked many people OUT of BAT setups. It's not practical for a 1.8T application unless you have $5k in the bank at all times for whatever. Everyone posts their shiny setups and it looks cool when your turbo is as big as the motor lol, but most of them can't crack 400awhp (the dyno can be a huge letdown) and they ALL cost $10k. Anyone telling you they spent less is just plain lying. This is why I'm so adamant about the 2.7T. It CAN make 400awhp and not cost you everything you own.

Winston, I will say though, it was cool being in the B6 scene at an exciting time for BAT, between you, me, David, Charlie, Jordan (CO AVANT), Greg, Dan (B6Lovin), John (Condo), 20vturbo, Doug, etc etc

[J Boy]

what happened to it?

[SleeperAvant]

There's a fine line with being satisfied with what you got currently and power goals. It's always easy to get carried away with the thoughts of modding for more power, and supporting it with other necessary mods.

I think Clint said it right, quit while you're ahead.

[[email protected]]

what happened to it?

I couldn't deal with the daily preflight check of the car and the turbo gremlin anymore so I sold the Avant.

[JEENYUS]

yea, that avant was teh sex. the color, the wheels and those exhaust tailpipes looked great.

[[email protected]]

Do I regret it? No.

Was it a massive commitment both to time and money? Yes.

Did I lose out on tons of time that I could have used to hang out with friends and enjoy life? Yes.

I've talked many people OUT of BAT setups. It's not practical for a 1.8T application unless you have $5k in the bank at all times for whatever. Everyone posts their shiny setups and it looks cool when your turbo is as big as the motor lol, but most of them can't crack 400awhp (the dyno can be a huge letdown) and they ALL cost $10k. Anyone telling you they spent less is just plain lying. This is why I'm so adamant about the 2.7T. It CAN make 400awhp and not cost you everything you own.

Winston, I will say though, it was cool being in the B6 scene at an exciting time for BAT, between you, me, David, Charlie, Jordan (CO AVANT), Greg, Dan (B6Lovin), John (Condo), 20vturbo, Doug, etc etc

I do not regret what I learned from the process, but looking at these old pictures makes me want to get my car back to the way it was... but that can never happen.

I too try to talk people out of BAT setups on the 1.8t for the same reasons, it just isn't worth it as the engine is too small and just gets too strung out. If I slapped the gt3076 on my s52 engine there would be no lag and I'd hit 400whp easily and I wouldn't even have too break 1 bar of boost.

It was cool blazing a trail with you guys when we were all learning how to crack the code and make things work when people said it could not be done. That camaraderie was a major role in pushing me forward to reach my goal.

[DownhillA4]

I'm glad I haven't gone overboard with my B6...

[Paradigmshift0]

I know exactly how you feel... My last car was an over modded mk4 jetta. After the BT and built bottom end, it was expensive and useless as a car, so I sold for less than half of what I put into it and bought my a4. With a k04 and supporting mods it soo much better to drive everyday, even with half the horsepower of jetta.

[J Boy]

I do not regret what I learned from the process, but looking at these old pictures makes me want to get my car back to the way it was... but that can never happen.

I too try to talk people out of BAT setups on the 1.8t for the same reasons, it just isn't worth it as the engine is too small and just gets too strung out. If I slapped the gt3076 on my s52 engine there would be no lag and I'd hit 400whp easily and I wouldn't even have too break 1 bar of boost.

It was cool blazing a trail with you guys when we were all learning how to crack the code and make things work when people said it could not be done. That camaraderie was a major role in pushing me forward to reach my goal.

Well... how do you feel about less complicated BT elim setups?

[Elliott]

It's certainly not a hobby that makes any financial sense. But it sure is fun.

[613B6]

There's a fine line with being satisfied with what you got currently and power goals. It's always easy to get carried away with the thoughts of modding for more power, and supporting it with other necessary mods.

I think Clint said it right, quit while you're ahead.

bingo, I lost track of that line on my 10 second honda but I learnt a tonne of what to do and not too do when I bought the A4. I love my simple fast setup thats 100% reliable as my only car and DD.

[AudiA4_20T]

I'm glad I haven't gone overboard with my B6...

Now you know why I admired your car! Simple, useful bolt ons. All the maintenance done, and always freshly washed. I miss that lol

[JEENYUS]

Now you know why I admired your car! Simple, useful bolt ons. All the maintenance done, and always freshly washed. I miss that lol

right, but clint your new car is so nice as well. the 2.7t is going to be making everything different for us.

[widgget]

i don't regret any of the mods i've done, well maybe the K04 but it was a learning experience.. GTRS isn't exactly a huge turbo but it's more then enough to make the car fun for a long time.

if i get my way all the 1.8t upgrades will go into my 5spd after i find a A6 donor car for a 2.7t / manual swap on my tiptronic. maybe i just haven't gotten to the point of regretting it :P

[Valve_Cover]

I'd have to agree even though I never will get to BAT status. I plan on going F4h in the next year or so but am not even sure i really want to. I want the extra power, but non-oem parts always cause headaches and make long trips risky, not to mention expensive..

IMO a BT is meant for a weekend warrior, long term project, or track car, not a daily driver and especially not a b6 audi.

[AudiA4_20T]

right, but clint your new car is so nice as well. the 2.7t is going to be making everything different for us.

I'm honestly kinda bummed about selling the S4. It's just the A4, but everything is better. The torque, the sound, the bluetooth, the seats. I really really really like it the more I drive it.

Oh well, I'll probably get a salvage S4 if I ever put the RS6 motor I picked up anywhere.

[JEENYUS]

I'm honestly kinda bummed about selling the S4. It's just the A4, but everything is better. The torque, the sound, the bluetooth, the seats. I really really really like it the more I drive it.

Oh well, I'll probably get a salvage S4 if I ever put the RS6 motor I picked up anywhere.

put it in my car.

[[email protected]]

Well... how do you feel about less complicated BT elim setups?

My viewpoint on the matter is about the residual heat generated by the setup and how it effects everything else around it once you shut the car down.

You are not going to pop the hood and let the heat vent out, so what happens? You have a little baking session going on and this will affect your hoses, wiring, etc making things brittle.

I found this out when diagnosing a misfire, wiggled my injector harness and the wires snapped on in my fingertips.

So a less power GTRS setup with a cast manifold may not ever have the issues I encountered, but these heat issues are something you should be aware of and to my knowledge it is something that is not usually discussed.

[[email protected]]

right, but clint your new car is so nice as well. the 2.7t is going to be making everything different for us.

The 2.7 is going to make everything different alright... it makes you pay for double the parts since you need two of everything!

[J Boy]

My viewpoint on the matter is about the residual heat generated by the setup and how it effects everything else around it once you shut the car down.

You are not going to pop the hood and let the heat vent out, so what happens? You have a little baking session going on and this will affect your hoses, wiring, etc making things brittle.

I found this out when diagnosing a misfire, wiggled my injector harness and the wires snapped on in my fingertips.

So a less power GTRS setup with a cast manifold may not ever have the issues I encountered, but these heat issues are something you should be aware of and to my knowledge it is something that is not usually discussed.

Never thought about that, thanks for the enlightenment

[nein-reis]

That's why I bought a 3.0. It's near impossible to get infected with any type of performance disease unless you're an idiot

Guess I'm an idiot. My 3.0 is now a fully built stroker 3076

[[email protected]]

Guess I'm an idiot savant. My 3.0 is now a fully built stroker 3076

fixed

[JEENYUS]

The 2.7 is going to make everything different alright... it makes you pay for double the parts since you need two of everything!

single turbo S4s are the shizzle!

[vinny.dtw]

Eh, this reminds me of the GCC thread i started... I'm done trying to go fast in four cylinder cars. It's a waste of time.

[ShogunR32]

I regret my giac fx 1+, my Revo 71RElim and my Revo stage 2. I currently am happy and do not regret my current setup.

[martini]

i would have gotten a different kit or maybe usp bumpers... and not lowered it as much.

with the stage 3 is is completely driveable, is the bumper height and rubbing that is annoying. looks great rolling down the road and parked, but is not practical for snowy conditions. I have AWD and never use it...

[nein-reis]

fixed

lol, yeah thats about right.

[the sheriff]

refreshing to see this thread......so often we adopt the American way of "bigger is better". I've danced on this fence myself about where exactly I'll take this car, and I believe I've settled on no more than a k04, for many reasons - $ and future issues lead the list......

[[email protected]]

Eh, this reminds me of the GCC thread i started... I'm done trying to go fast in four cylinder cars. It's a waste of time.

My 20 year old e30 wagon with inline 6 M3 engine rips around and is a blast!

It's amazing how much more fun 2 extra cylinders can be!

[[email protected]]

refreshing to see this thread......so often we adopt the American way of "bigger is better". I've danced on this fence myself about where exactly I'll take this car, and I believe I've settled on no more than a k04, for many reasons - $ and future issues lead the list......

I got trapped into that mindset as well. I wanted a 2871 setup and the boys at Blitzkrieg said "If you want to go big... why not go big!" and dropped a 3076 turbo on the table.

It sucked that no one knew what the issues would be unearthed until we found out about them as all these builds went on.

I'm still daydreaming of the long distance road trips I used to do in my Avant until the turbo gremlin made me paranoid to go too far from a shop.