Has anyone clocked a K04 E85 car yet?
For News 3, I'm Chuck Taylor
That is awesome
I can't believe no one bit yet.
High 11's will be the fastest they can run on a S4 without investing a ton of money.
Lettuce, how's your TR8 holding up? It's January's mid-winter project for me. [:D]
I've been meaning to make this post for a few weeks now. I bought 034's new 50 durometer engine mounts as my old ones were toast (the passenger-side one at least) along with the billet transmission insert. I wanted to wait to make this post because I had only replaced the passenger-side mount and wanted to wait until I did the drivers side one as well, but my laziness is getting the better of me and the car feels perfectly fine now so for better or for worse I'm probably not going to get around to it anytime soon.
http://i.imgur.com/SDiuywT.jpg
When researching the stock mounts I couldn't believe these things are essentially rubber bladders filled with fluid. Since doing all this engine work on my car I've been able to feel them getting progressively worse, and the past few weekends up at the track finally did them in. My engine would thrash around so violently in the engine bay on hard shifts and throttle de/applications that I'm pretty sure I was activating my knock sensor and temporarily retarding my timing, causing it to bog down big time for a second or so. That, coupled with the tiny little puddles of fluid underneath my mounts when parking my car in the garage was all I needed for motivation to get these things replaced.
http://i.imgur.com/1M96Tns.jpg
On the outside they look almost identical, except for one being torn open and dripping with fluid, of course.
https://i.imgur.com/zRrHeHw.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/ASATY1A.jpg
The install went pretty smoothly. Didn't take more than a couple hours and didn't have many hangups. One issue that I was a bit worried about was the main bolt that secures this thing into the engine bracket (not the two smaller bolts on the sides) was acting like it was cross threaded once I got it all the way in. It was incredibly tight like it was just about to be completely seated, but it would just not stop turning. I was using an extension on the handle of my socket wrench and had to really put some muscle into it, so I was using a dickload of leverage on this thing. It's possible I was over-torquing it. Either way it never got loose and I couldn't budge it with the extension off the wrench, so I just let it be. I've checked it a few times since and it's still as tight as ever in there so I don't think it'll be an issue.
Then about a week later (enough time to get acclimated to the changes in driveability from the new motor mount in order to give me a better idea of the difference each component made), I installed the 034 transmission insert as well.
https://i.imgur.com/BLec2NH.jpg
Honestly I couldn't really tell the difference with this thing in. I suppose theoretically it's good to have with all the extra power I'm putting down over stock just to keep everything nice and tight, but personally I think the price was a bit steep for what it is. I did get a nice deal on it though so I can't really complain.
So I did this work almost a month ago and it's been smooth as silk ever since. Tighter than stock and I imagine the new motor mount will be a bit more durable over the long haul than the awful stock unit. Absolutely zero added vibrations or rattling or anything at any speed. High and low idle, cruising speed, stopped, highway, etc -- it's all as smooth and quiet as stock. Pretty impressed that these solid rubber units are able to give such a smooth ride comparable to the over-engineered fluid-filled units from Audi. Kinda makes you wonder why they didn't just make em like this from the factory. And seeing as the 034 aftermarket units are cheaper than stock replacements I honestly can't see any possible reason not to get these instead.
Note that I got the 034 Motorsport's 50 durometer mounts. 034 also sells 65 durometer mounts (harder rubber) as well as motorsport-spec billet/rubber mounts, both of which I believe do increase noise and vibration as a trade off for being even firmer. They're all around the same price, so pick whichever ones are best suited to your needs.
Again, I couldn't really notice much of a difference with the transmission insert, but I'm honestly not as discerning as most. It could be slightly better and I just didn't pick up on it. Maybe if I pulled it out for a couple weeks after driving with it in for so long I'd be able to feel the difference. I've chosen to view it as preventative maintenance insurance, that by tightening up my drivetrain even further it'll prolong the life of my other mounts and driveline components. As a whole though the entire upgrade has made a big difference in driveability. My race car now feels as posh and refined as a base model German luxury sedan should feel.
https://i.imgur.com/rWYyDPB.jpg
And if I ever forget that I'm driving a used, mid-12 second two-stroke A4 with over 100k miles, all I have to do is floor it and see that beautiful, thick cloud of smoke in my rear-view mirror enveloping all the cars I'm leaving in my oil-soaked dust.
Edit: Now that the honeymoon period is over and I've been driving on this setup for a few months I'd like to update my review a bit. Contrary to what I said earlier there is a very slight increase in NVR over stock with these new mounts, but it's only noticeable at idle when stopped and in gear. And by slight I mean very slight, definitely nothing to worry about but at the same time I felt it was worthy of a mention. In Park and off-idle once you get moving there is zero difference compared to stock. Still extremely pleased with this setup overall and wouldn't hesitate to get them again over stock replacements.
TR8's holding up great. Really can't say enough good things about it. It's basically the cheapest setup out there, and performs as well as you could ever expect an intercooler to perform. 6-15 degrees F over ambient temps on an 80 degree day during WOT full 2nd and 3rd gear pulls. If I didn't take the logs myself I'd honestly have a hard time believing that was even possible.
Compared to the stock engine mounts before they gave up the ghost, how does the 034 setup feel in comparison? Any more vibrations?
It feels better than it did the day I brought it home from the dealership for sure. Of course I bought it with over 100k miles and I'm pretty sure these were the original mounts, but they at least weren't leaking before I started futzing around with the motor.
As far as vibrations go I haven't been able to pick up on anything. I actually meant to include that in my review so I'll edit it to say that somewhere.
Great to hear! For a few days, I considered the TR11 that lambda13 is running but then I read your comment that it would need to be mounted behind the crashbar and from the size of it, some of the top would be covered as well. I'll stick to the TR8 setup like yours.
In case any of you guys were wondering what a mid-12 second B8 A4 sounded like with stock exhaust, I found a short clip of someone running an identical setup to mine driving somewhere down in Mexico.
http://webmshare.com/play/0g8Vd
Ugh, I am convinced to go frankenturbo from your thread..
But after winter haha
Are you garaging your car for the winter?
And hitting the dyno any time soon?
Wouldn't work on my iphone, but listened to it at work.
Sounds similar to mine, but I hear more turbo sounds.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_...M3WHZsZGs/view (the point that it goes quieter is what it sounds like at 85 in 6th)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_...FObnVWS0k/view
Yeah that was taken with his windows up. Apparently the turbo spool is only really audible when the windows are down. At least that's what he tells me.
Your car does sound just like that one that's like mine. Very nice. I do notice though at the '85 in 6th' part, there's a bit of a constant whine. Is that from the turbo or your manual transmission? I have nothing like that in mine.
He was able to share some new vids as well. Just some stupid clips driving home from work, nothing special.
Turbo spool sound with windows down:
http://webmshare.com/play/BqmW4
AWD traction loss as turbo spools up in first gear from a roll:
http://webmshare.com/play/8LO0Z
Exhaust note with the windows down:
http://webmshare.com/play/n8oKL
Unfortunately I only get the garage for the summer. Have too much equipment that needs to go in there for the winter. I'll be DDing it all winter of course regardless in case that's what you mean.
Dyno, maybe. I want to do a meth injection setup first. When the engine's done I'll dyno it but I'm in no hurry. I only really care about real-world performance measures (1/4 mile times) to be honest.
My windows were up. That whine is probably transmitted from the shifter. I had my hand on the shifter with the phone in it.
Do you have an AFE filter and silicone turbo inlet pipe? That will add more turbo noise above what this mexican driver has.
His car jumps up in speed quick in that second video. I can slap my rear out if I punch it hard on a sharp turn, but can't get the tires to chirp in a straight line.
Yeah I have all those intake things. Did you do a sound box delete? I didn't.
But yeah first gear is like a time warp in that thing. From the moment the turbo hits in first gear at around 3k till it's time to shift your brain just kind of shuts off and you go off instinct. Then when it's over you're like "how did i get here.. what year is it". It feels like 3k-redline was instantaneous and yet at the same time it feels like you just spent the last week and a half glued to the driver's seat holding on for dear life. Sort of like how the passage of time feels when you wake up in the morning in relation to when you went to bed, or like how Gandalf the Grey fought that Balrog and then fell into that chasm and went into space where he floated around for eons talking to other alien wizards and then came back to Middle Earth like a day later as Gandalf the White.
I'm looking for some long term usage review before I pull the plug after winter, so that'll be handy
I've seen some dyno charts for the f23L but their power versus the time you got doesn't really match up, which is where your time is a much better measure of your car haha
Love your build so far! Inspiration for me [:D]
look what santa dropped off early...
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...090749_HDR.jpg
Thanks to you and a few other members who were front-runners for this TR8 IC. Part of a few winter projects I'll have going on.
Glad to see so many members are seeing how awesome the treadstone units are. If I didnt have a forge I would buy one in a heartbeat.
My tr11 comes tomorrow, still sorta worried how big its gonna be LOL