VF RS4 supercharger

[GotRS?]

I was at VF last week and took a few pics of the progress of the RS4 supercharger development. My first interest was the fit around the fuel pumps and lines and what needed to be moved. It appears the answer is: nothing is moved. The stock intake is also unchanged, just requiring a custom connection pipe from throttle body to s/c input. The Eaton M90 blows up through a water/air intercooler into the intake manifold. The water reservoir for the intercooler will be hidden away behind the driver side wheel with a cooling radiator up front. The manifold shown is from the S4 and is not the one to be used for the RS, a narrower cleaner looking version has been designed. This leads to the height of this set up, which will require a custom modified hood with a power bulge pressed into a stock Aluminium hood. This is included in the kit too.
I'm told that as you are reading this, the parts will all be ready and the final assembly will be in progress for the first fire-up.
At the risk of repeating more things you may already know, it'll set you back $16k for the kit, approx $2k for installation and will be installed and supported directly by VF. It should get you 550hp and the mild boost will not require reducing the stock compression from 12.5:1, also the stock exhaust will be retained. That peak power figure doesn't reveal the huge torque from low down in the rev range from this type of s/c though.
Thanks obviously to Nik and Sean for encouraging my interest and picture taking while I was there on another unrelated mission. I liked what I saw. I was interested in fit and tidiness and on both counts it was looking good. Can't wait to go back to see it running, just like the owner of the car no doubt!

[ngng]

damn, for the price of an rs4 + 18k...i'd be looking at another car!

[Todeshandler]

Keep in mind guys the estimate of 550hp is just that, an estimate based on the performance of the same kit on the s4 motor. We'll get some more solid numbers once the development car is up and running in the next few weeks.

IMO we're going to see some good power on the RS4 as the kit is still making power when I hit redline! So the RS4's higher rev limiter should allow that power to keep climbing.

Here is my dyno sheet for reference.

[jdmnomore]

damn, for the price of an rs4 + 18k...i'd be looking at another car!

name one? Quite frankly the car should offer z06/GTR/911 like performance and each of those cars cost the same if not more to own or mod up to the level this RS4 should be at not to mention you can get a used low mileage RS at around 45k. Oh and all of that and you own IMO the nicest looking sedan in production today.

[ngng]

name one? Quite frankly the car should offer z06/GTR/911 like performance and each of those cars cost the same if not more to own or mod up to the level this RS4 should be at not to mention you can get a used low mileage RS at around 45k. Oh and all of that and you own IMO the nicest looking sedan in production today.

for 60-65k there are LOTS of options. don't get me wrong, the RS4 is very sexy, but for that price range I'd be looking at a pcar

[Todeshandler]

I once had a similar thought process. But once you look into how much it will cost you to insure and to maintain my mind was changed quickly. Not to mention you'll be hard pressed to find a pcar that can serve as a daily driver in the same capacity in varying conditions of a supercharged S4/RS4. Now if we are talking about 2nd or 3rd cars instead of a daily driver that changes things.

[ngng]

I once had a similar thought process. But once you look into how much it will cost you to insure and to maintain my mind was changed quickly. Not to mention you'll be hard pressed to find a pcar that can serve as a daily driver in the same capacity in varying conditions of a supercharged S4/RS4. Now if we are talking about 2nd or 3rd cars instead of a daily driver that changes things.

i guess it all depends on the person too

[nimski62]

m5 baby.

[wankeldude]

You have to give preference to a car that comes from the factory at a given performance level with a factory warranty. With RS4's going in the $40's now, an upgrade that costs around 40% of that value for parts and labour is most definitely not a good idea, especially considering these cars are still under factory warranty for another year or two at least. No VF warranty is going to be as comprehensive as a factory Audi warranty. I don't care how utilitarian the RS4 is, there has to be some trade-off between value, performance, and utility.

A $20,000 upgrade that gives another estimated 130 hp (or 95 whp) is asinine in my opinion. Value vs. performance vs. utility just does not compute!

[audirs]

for 60-65k there are LOTS of options. don't get me wrong, the RS4 is very sexy, but for that price range I'd be looking at a pcar

but then you would have a pcar, and not a supercharged b7 rs4... eh, different strokes for different folks i guess.

[Maverick]

16K + 2K install?

I would rather do Nitrous......

for almost 20K, it crazy that you only get 130+ hp......

I would buy a E46 M3 and Stage III HPF turbo kit.

but still my applaud to VF. very nice work

[Yupkwondo]

I just don't understand the markup over the S4 version. Same concept, same design, no major extra changes. Around 2k more for the hood and RS4 premium sounds more like it.

I was completely in the market, until I read this. Hopefully VF will reconsider the pricing structure a little. I would even think 12.5k installed would seem somewhat appropriate.

Ohh well, not trying to start a riot, just expressing my opinion.

[jstahmann]

for 60-65k there are LOTS of options. don't get me wrong, the RS4 is very sexy, but for that price range I'd be looking at a pcar

Isn't any Audi a pcar now that Porsche owns a majority share in VW?

[sakimano]

for that price range I'd be looking at a pcar

http://www.pcar.org/

you're a weird dude

[Todeshandler]

I think I need to setup a demo day. Once you guys drive a roots blown v8 s4 you'll be hooked and the blown rs4 can only be better

I'm in SoCal this weekend if you guys wanna do a gtg on Saturday. We could probably do it at VF.

[trexturk]

if i had the money, i'd do it.
I dont see myself getting ride of a car i love just to get something faster.

[S4Berry]

A $20,000 upgrade that gives another estimated 130 hp (or 95 whp) is asinine in my opinion. Value vs. performance vs. utility just does not compute!

X2... In my opinion, unless you have an endless pit of funds, you have to be insane to spend this kind of money for a measly 100 whp. You could drop $5k in an EVO and have a car that would eat the lunch of a VF S4/RS4.

[CanuckRS]

so 18K plus taxes and ancillary fees. just a little too rich IMO for what you're getting. i think the price point should be around 12K all-in for most of us RS4 owners to make the plunge and completely void any warranty. best of luck to VF, thanks for investing their time and money into this.

[KryptoniK]

so 18K plus taxes and ancillary fees. just a little too rich IMO for what you're getting. i think the price point should be around 12K all-in for most of us RS4 owners to make the plunge and completely void any warranty. best of luck to VF, thanks for investing their time and money into this.

^^ agreed.. I was really expecting a 12K price tag. 16K starts to get painful. I know everyone has asked the same question, but seriously.. the parts portion of the job is about the same from S4 to RS4. All they have to do is a little more R&D on tuning for the RS4's 2 ECUs, and a hood. $7K more for that?

VF is really going to have to give everyone some hard facts/details about the 2 kits and why one is so much more expensive than the other.

Unless of course the hood they are including in the kit is the C/F hood from MTM which costs about $5K alone.

[Das General]

http://www.pcar.org/

you're a weird dude

pcar, as in Porsche.

[meinblaus4]

^^ agreed.. I was really expecting a 12K price tag. 16K starts to get painful. I know everyone has asked the same question, but seriously.. the parts portion of the job is about the same from S4 to RS4. All they have to do is a little more R&D on tuning for the RS4's 2 ECUs, and a hood. $7K more for that?

from a money making perspective, since companies like to make money to stay in business, there are less rs than s4 on the road, so less possible customers for the product. the R&D, however much is required on top of the s4 blower development needs to get figured in somewhere in the products overall cost, and this is going to be an exclusive mod for a low production run car.

[S-Power]

IMO guys, 20k for that increase is way to much.

You can buy an 01 or 02 e46 m3 for 20k now a days.

HPF Stage 2.5 Kit And you have 650-700rwhp. Now that came out to be only 40k

If you wanna do more stage 4 kit which is 40k and you have 1000rwhp for as much as the rs4.

[meinblaus4]

^^^but now you are talking about a car thats 6 or 7 years older than an rs4, not a sedan, and isn't an audi. it's not about having the most powerful car for the least amout of cash, it's about adding more ponies to an already fantastic car.

[Andyuk911]

Absolutely agree with the above poster.

to the OP , more pictures please .. can you email large versions ?

Thanks

[jdmnomore]

Absolutely agree with the above poster.

to the OP , more pictures please .. can you email large versions ?

Thanks

Ditto who cares about a 1000hp M3, congrats youve just turned your BMW into a camaro. However, one thing that i may not have made clear about my opinion is that while i would take a 550 crank RS4 over a GTR M5 911 etc i would not take a 420 crank RS4 and ive been thinking the 18 grand price tag takes all the excitement outve what VF has done b/c MTM has been offering a kit at that price for the longest now.

[Yupkwondo]

from a money making perspective, since companies like to make money to stay in business, there are less rs than s4 on the road, so less possible customers for the product. the R&D, however much is required on top of the s4 blower development needs to get figured in somewhere in the products overall cost, and this is going to be an exclusive mod for a low production run car.

I think that is really the question though, how much more is needed to justify this price.

Last I read from VF is that it is all the exact same base they are starting with. No major component changes on the supercharger or fuel injection system. Both have the intercooler, both have the remote water reservoir...what is the RS4 adding to almost double the price.

As of right now we have a hood, and if I am reading correctly manifold revision....

I do realize it is a smaller customer base, with exclusivity...however the R&D in this was and should be covered by the S4. The tuning for FSI and the two ECU's will cost a little more. I'm not saying this should be a "loss leader" product, but offsetting all of the cost in this product, or marking it up because of exclusivity of the RS4 is I believe an error in judgement.

When it comes down to it, we are not talking a 50k S4 vs. a 100k RS4...when I look at this pricing it seems to be more inline with something you would put on the R8. Maybe that is their motivation, cater to the R8 crowd, and if any RS4 owners opt in at that price so be it.

Like I have already said, I was very much in the market for this at 10-12k, but 16k+ is going to be too much.

Lastly, somewhere on the forums when they first talked about the clearance issues, I was the first one to chime in with "power bulge hood" doesn't that count for anything for me

[Yupkwondo]

Ditto who cares about a 1000hp M3, congrats youve just turned your BMW into a camaro. However, one thing that i may not have made clear about my opinion is that while i would take a 550 crank RS4 over a GTR M5 911 etc i would not take a 420 crank RS4 and ive been thinking the 18 grand price tag takes all the excitement outve what VF has done b/c MTM has been offering a kit at that price for the longest now.

The MTM kit for the RS4/R8 is closer to $50,000.00

[1FastS4.Com]

1st off you have to own an RS4. 2nd just like I tell my customers this car the
(RS4) is not for everyone, some like the M3 some like the C63, IS-F and so on. Each car has its own unique style and habits, I am very happy with owning an RS4 and excited about having the blower installed as well. It won't be the fastest or quickest car ever but it will be a ton of fun. My friend that works across the street from me has a HPF STGII M3 and it is sick fast but IMO very scary to drive and to enjoy, also having spent way over $20K and shipped his car back and forth many times back to HPF @ his expense. So to each his own, and before making anymore crazy posts and talking about money Please at least own an RS4 or S4 and have an open mind..... Just remember V8S4 (I think) spent over $40K on his MTM blower on his S4 and he is happy as can be. Thanks Nik............... I hope to see my car soon!!!

[Don Supreme]

Don't forget guys the M3 has no traction............

[b00st]

really this whole issue is.......TO EACH THEIR OWN.

if you want it....they got a product for your car. its nice to have.
plain and simple.

and there will always be faster cars regardless.

/endthread

[sakimano]

pcar, as in Porsche.

that was a joke...

[sakimano]

The MTM kit for the RS4/R8 is closer to $50,000.00

even worse...45,000 EUROs, so about $63,000 usd.

[vtracer20]

wow..cant wait to see the finished project...you guys gonna do a nice little highway run between the VF s4 and VF rs4? I would like to see the results. Thumbs up VF.....

You gotta pay to play. it's one thing owning a evo/m3 with 600hp and an Audi with 500-600hp. All cars are very different beasts, sure the evo will be faster (tin box), m3 super fast (rwd, no traction, interior is shit)...but if you saw any of those cars down the road which one would you stare at first? I think the rs4 would be many answers. The rs4 has such a sweet stance on the road that it's unmistakable going down the road. I personally like m3's and i will eventually own one but the rs4 is just so much practical and the overall package is much better than the m3. The m3 is just performance for me.

GL with teh install...you better be posting up some vids when it's done

[Maverick]

but if you saw any of those cars down the road which one would you stare at first?

I love audi to death...

but I would stare at the M3 first, angel eyes is one reason. then RS4.

[Sean@VF]

Thanks for stopping by Richard.
-Sean

[GotRS?]

My pleasure for sure!

[belinko]

1st off you have to own an RS4. 2nd just like I tell my customers this car the
(RS4) is not for everyone, some like the M3 some like the C63, IS-F and so on. Each car has its own unique style and habits, I am very happy with owning an RS4 and excited about having the blower installed as well. It won't be the fastest or quickest car ever but it will be a ton of fun. My friend that works across the street from me has a HPF STGII M3 and it is sick fast but IMO very scary to drive and to enjoy, also having spent way over $20K and shipped his car back and forth many times back to HPF @ his expense. So to each his own, and before making anymore crazy posts and talking about money Please at least own an RS4 or S4 and have an open mind..... Just remember V8S4 (I think) spent over $40K on his MTM blower on his S4 and he is happy as can be. Thanks Nik............... I hope to see my car soon!!!

1fasts4,

I've always enjoyed your vehicles and your projects. Your taste and style for vehicles is unsurpassed by these nagging fools. The true appreciation can only come from the owner and passengers of the vehicle. Thank you on behalf of the AZ community for taking the plunge into the SC rs4 world and Kudos to VF for producing a highly anticipated sc kit for a fraction of the MTM cost. I look forward to reading your posts and seeing your pics of the white stallion.

[S-Power]

For us middle class people, 20k for a blower that gives a 95awhp increase is way to much

[meinblaus4]

at ~ $70K new, the rs4 wasn't marketed to the middle class in the first place.

[Das General]

Your typical RS4 owner is going to have a decent amount of disposable... of course people are going to price their kits accordingly.