From Volvo to Audi

[gilber33]

Figure I'd start a thread to document my avant. I come from Volvos. I've owned lots over the past five years and have built a few. Since I'm a Volvo guy at heart, here's a couple of my old ones:

2004 V70R M66



1998 S70 T5M



2010n S80



And my most recent build. A 1993 940 Turbo.



Manual swap, bigger turbo, cam, intercooler, meth, lots of stuff. Car was a blast. At the time I was building that I bought an 03 Passat wagon to daily and I loved it. It was a GL with a 5 speed, but the car was solid and that led me on the path to start exploring cars outside of Volvo. I ended up sending a rod out both sides of the engine on the 940 on my way to work one day, and I started acquiring parts to fix it, but decided that I just didn't want to. Parted it out and decided I was ready to have one car that was fun and practical.

I was originally looking for a Saab. Looked at an 06 Saab 9-3 2.0T. It was nice on the outside, but complete garbage everywhere else. Giant piece of molded plastic. I think it was one of the most upsetting test drives I've ever done. Ended up checking out a Saab 9-5 at a local family dealer. They had an auto A4 Avant that I looked at and it was OK, but the dealer told me they got this black one in that has some sport package but it was stick (I was looking for an auto since my wife is due with our first in like a day and wanted something we could both drive). Test drove it, and looked at my wife and said "sorry, but the next car is going to be stick".

I basically gave myself the extra money I made from parting the 940 to work on this. I am in the process of giving it a major Stage 0: timing belt, serp belt, plugs, all coolant hoses, vac hoses, PCV system, air filter, TIP, turbo, engine mounts, etc. Also doing front control arms, ST coilovers, and CTS fmic. I've done the Milltek sport exhaust on it as well.

Enough talk. On to some pictures. Car is an 05 Avant with a six speed, USP wheels and sport suspension, RNS-E stereo, Bose Symphony. Recently found out that one of the PO's did a B7 center console, injectors and a tune.

Shortly after I picked it up:



Starting the timing belt. Car was filthy and untouched for a long time.



I took most of it apart and power washed what I could and did a ton of cleaning. And after:





Today I polished and waxed it. It was in Nevada for part of its life and it seems the roof and hood took a bit of a beating. Paint is pretty hazy. This was before on the roof and hood:





And after. Not completely fixed. It's better, but I think it needs a professional polish with some pretty harsh stuff.











That's all I have for now. Car's running great. Few things I need to take care of is the exhaust has some extra vibrations when cruising. The downpipe bracket isn't nowhere close to fitting the factory mount on the transmission. The car has the howl on a cold startup which I read is the SAI. Goes away after a minute or so. Car took an extra attempt to start this morning. I think the battery is old (yes, I know they're stamped with a date, I cannot find it one this one).

All in all, it's an awesome car so far. I love it. I'll post more as I get a chance to do the other stuff.

[MoparFreak69]

Congrats on the upgrade! Never really was a fan of a lot of the things Volvo did in their vehicles.

[gilber33]

Congrats on the upgrade! Never really was a fan of a lot of the things Volvo did in their vehicles.

Volvo makes great project cars, not great daily drivers. With that said, my 940 and V70R could walk all over this Audi without skipping a beat.

[Audibot]

Congrats! I too had an S70, which got totaled before I got my A4 (which is now sadly totaled). I hope you enjoy the B6!

[hightime80]

That s70 is tight👍

[gilber33]

That s70 is tight👍

Thank you! All the cosmetic stuff was on the black one in the background before I picked up the silver one. It was a fun car with a small build. Sold it before I finished tuning it. :( That car was the down-payment for the V70R.

[kneel]

Huge fan of both as I own a P2 V70T5 and a BTA4avant




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[gilber33]

Got the CTS intercooler in the car. All in all I was thoroughly disappointed in the kit. Fitment was poor.



Opted to put in a universal power steering cooler rather than completely ruining the factory one like CTS wants you to do.



But it's in and it works. Still some trimming to do to make it fit 100%.

ST coilovers, new bearings/hubs, and control arms in:







Also could not stand that Milltek sport exhaust after putting in the CTS test pipe. So tossed in a couple resonators.









That's it for now. Next on the list is a new N75 valve and 710N to see if that fixes the overboost CEL and make the boost a little more predictable.

[16vCorey]

FYI, the bracket that's welded onto the downpipe that mounts to the transmission is different between the 5 and 6 speed. Since you said yours doesn't even come close to fitting, I'm guessing the downpipe was actually for a 5 speed.

Looks good so far! I look forward to seeing what you do to it.

[claudiovagkraft]

I've always loved the Volvo wagons, ever since the 850 turbo came out. That V70R is gorgeous. Well done on the avant, you definitely brought her back to life. Audi's make great project cars too. Some fine examples on these forums :)

Have fun with the Audi, take care of her and she'll treat you well.

Welcome!

[gilber33]

FYI, the bracket that's welded onto the downpipe that mounts to the transmission is different between the 5 and 6 speed. Since you said yours doesn't even come close to fitting, I'm guessing the downpipe was actually for a 5 speed.

Looks good so far! I look forward to seeing what you do to it.

That's what I figured. I'm going to fab up a bracket for it this weekend. So not a big deal.

I've always loved the Volvo wagons, ever since the 850 turbo came out. That V70R is gorgeous. Well done on the avant, you definitely brought her back to life. Audi's make great project cars too. Some fine examples on these forums :)

Have fun with the Audi, take care of her and she'll treat you well.

Welcome!

Thanks. The V70R was a blast. Probably one that I miss most. Also has the world's most comfortable seats.

But the audi is equally as fun in its own ways.

[ADCS]

Looking good!
I am also an Audi + Volvo family. V70R is one of my all time favs.

What did you use for the paint correction? Hard to tell from that pic, is it just oxidation/haze or clear coat failure?

[XLR8 Craig]

looking good!

Always good to see someone taking proper care of these cars.

If I can help you with anything for it let me know.

Thanks,

Alex

[claudiovagkraft]

Thanks. The V70R was a blast. Probably one that I miss most. Also has the world's most comfortable seats.

But the audi is equally as fun in its own ways.

See if you can find yourself a set of B6/B7 S4 Recaros, far and away much more comfortable and supportive than the A4 seats. Anyone that has swapped them in will tell you that it's one of the best upgrades you could do to your car.

[gilber33]

See if you can find yourself a set of B6/B7 S4 Recaros, far and away much more comfortable and supportive than the A4 seats. Anyone that has swapped them in will tell you that it's one of the best upgrades you could do to your car.

I've thought about that. Do the b6 Recaros drop right in?

[claudiovagkraft]

I've thought about that. Do the b6 Recaros drop right in?

Yeah the B6 Recaros swap right in, plug and play, electrical and all. The rear seats, sedan or avant, also swap right in, sedan being the ones you'll more than likely find. The only difference between them are the seat backs, (front seats are exactly the same, sedan or avant) where the sedan rear seats won't have the brackets that the rear cargo cover slides into. But all is not lost there. You can swap the seat backs from your A4 rear seat backs onto the Recaros. It's a bit of work but totally doable. I ended up picking up a sedan set (after a long search for an avant set) and will do the seat back swap myself.

[Blockis]

Welcome aboard -- I come from a '99 V70 XC

[gilber33]

Welcome aboard -- I come from a '99 V70 XC

One model I never owned, but always wanted one. I was looking at one before the Audi, but then realized they get like 20mpg. No thanks. Haha.

Following previous recommendation, I got a set of front and rear b6 Recaro seats. They're great. I feel like these are the seats that should have been in the car from the factory. They just totally transform the feel of the car.





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[Europotvin]

Keep up the good work !!! Progress is awesome

[gilber33]

Keep up the good work !!! Progress is awesome

Thank you!

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[gilber33]

So, I've owned the car for a couple months and I still very much enjoy the car, but I can't get over how slow the car is and how it falls on its face over 60mph. And I know, it's the ko3 turbo and its size doesn't allow for sustained boost levels. I've been looking at turbo upgrades such as the frankenturbo f21l, but my question is: Is it really worth it? Starting at $2,000 for the kit for turbo, injectors, maf, and tune.

I know it's a huge improvement over the ko3, but even then, is it still worth it? Do you feel there is still something to be desired? I'm debating if it's worth doing that, or waiting for the right time for an S4. I do like how serviceable the 1.8t is and how easy the car is to work on, which would be a huge trade off.

I'm coming from my 940 that had a Borg Warner K24 with an 11 blade billet wheel that ran 25psi to red line. The car would walk up to whatever speed I wanted to go, and I miss that. It's the one area where I am least satisfied with the car.

Bottom line, does the $2k turbo upgrade really make people happy, after you put it on are you still wishing for more? Because I'm definitely not about to drop $5k on a turbo upgrade package.

[MacFady]

Have you read through this?

A little snip-it from Old Guys initial post ..."When I hit the road the first thing that I noticed was how smooth the engine accelerated. The 1+ tune had a strong initial torque spike that gave you the impression that you were making a lot of power. Unfortunately it was very short lived. If you kept your foot in it the boost continued to drop and the engine essentially went flat a littler over 5K RPM. Not true with the F21L! This set up pulls like a freight train. It starts pulling hard between 2,500 and 3,000 rpm and never lets up. It doesn't have that hard spike like the K03 1+ set up. It just starts pulling smoothly and evenly. I haven't taken it over 6,000 rpm but I can tell you that at 6K the boost shows absolutely no signs of dropping."

[gilber33]

Have you read through this?

A little snip-it from Old Guys initial post ..."When I hit the road the first thing that I noticed was how smooth the engine accelerated. The 1+ tune had a strong initial torque spike that gave you the impression that you were making a lot of power. Unfortunately it was very short lived. If you kept your foot in it the boost continued to drop and the engine essentially went flat a littler over 5K RPM. Not true with the F21L! This set up pulls like a freight train. It starts pulling hard between 2,500 and 3,000 rpm and never lets up. It doesn't have that hard spike like the K03 1+ set up. It just starts pulling smoothly and evenly. I haven't taken it over 6,000 rpm but I can tell you that at 6K the boost shows absolutely no signs of dropping."

Interesting. I read through a few reviews of the kit, and what I've read was definitely positive.

Part of me still wonders if people feel that it's enough. I mean, you eventually go numb to whatever set up you have. But that statement is definitely reassuring.

[ADCS]

Part of me still wonders if people feel that it's enough. I mean, you eventually go numb to whatever set up you have. But that statement is definitely reassuring.

That is true for every build on every car. It is never enough. The biggest issue with this platform in that regards, specifically the 1.8t, is how much drivability suffers in the hunt for more power. The F21 is a good middle ground on power and drivability.

[nefkntym]

That is true for every build on every car. It is never enough. The biggest issue with this platform in that regards, specifically the 1.8t, is how much drivability suffers in the hunt for more power. The F21 is a good middle ground on power and drivability.

I think the F21 is going to be a great middle ground, kind of wish I would have held out waiting for them for my B6 Avant instead of just jumping on K24s instead. On a different note, I too have done the Volvo to Audi route.

Well actually, it was There and Back Again, like the Hobbit story.

From -> 2015 S3



To -> 2015.5 V60 R-Design



Back Again -> 2017 Q7

[gilber33]

Yeah, I suppose I'm trying to determine if I will be satisfied with the 1.8, or if I'll need an S4 to meet my wants when it comes to power.

I'm assuming the 1.8 with the f21 would be close to the same amount of power as an S4, maybe a little more? 1.8 is gonna be cheaper to maintain and insure, an S4 will cost significantly more, and now with a 2 month old, I have to be conscientious of what I'm spending on the car. The F21 may be exactly what everyone has said: a happy medium that also does not break the bank.

[ThewhippetsS5]

Subbed!

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[Charles.waite]

The problem with the S4 is 1) timing chains, and 2) what you get is what you get. Even a "tune" isn't going to net you much int eh way of horsepower.

If you're fine with not having a tunable car and pretty abysmal MPGs then thats cool. For my needs, the S4 does put out the perfect amount of HP, but I'm not sure I could live with the inefficiency and I really like the idea of having a tunable engine that can be tweaked with a new turbo and tune. In the end, I'm not sure a 4.2 makes enough sense to be an upgrade.

Also, welcome the the VAG world. I also came from Swedish (Saabs) and have been very happy with my Audis.

[gilber33]

Those are valid points. I forgot about mileage. I do like having an awd vehicle that is fun and still get respectable mileage. If I ever went S4 it would be a B5, but regardless, I think you make good reasons for the 1.8.

It is such an easy car to work on and parts are very reasonable. I'd lose that with an S4.

[hightime80]

Sounds like a 2.7T swap is in the cards...

[gilber33]

Sounds like a 2.7T swap is in the cards...

Seeing as its my only car and we have a baby, I won't be doing a 2.7t swap.

[old guy]

Seeing as its my only car and we have a baby, I won't be doing a 2.7t swap.

I assume you read my review of the FT21 mixed flow kit. That was a little over 25k miles ago. I'm still enjoying it. Would i like more power? Sure, I'm a Binford Tool fan (Maybe you are old enough to get that reference:) But used as is it makes the B6 a lot more entertaining. The best description I can give you is that it feels like an OEM engine with 100+ additional hp. None of the poor low end performance that you experience with a big turbo set-up or the slamming spikes once you get into the torque band. It's very civil. A rolling start 0 to 60 is around 6 seconds and 0 to 100 in 15 seconds. No clutch dumping, no gear banging. Nothing outrageous but you will no longer fear minivans from the stoplight.

And it's all very simple bolt on stuff. No modifications needed at all. Tuning and software changes can be made by Bluetooth connections with your laptop or even your Android cell phone. I think it is probably the most performance available for the least effort and expenditure. (Especially my expenditure:-)

And if you really want to push it with an E85 tune you can get a little over 300 AWHP. Considerably more entertaining.....

[gilber33]

Oh yes, I grew up the Tool Man.

I did just read through your review. Sounds like a solid kit and nothing but good results. I think it will fill the void that I currently have with the car.

[AudiSport12]

Old Guy's OEM +100hp is a very accurate description. Not very laggy, perfect for around town spirited driving. You'll surprise kids in [pre 5.0] Mustang GT's when you pull away from them at red lights. It's also fun on the highway when in need of passing pesky motorists cruising in the left lane talking on their cell phones. In my B5 (5 spd v. your 6 spd), I could roll on the gas in 5th and overtake people without much effort. And like Old Guy said, it's 100% bolt-and-go, other than sending your tune to be revised a few times. It was the perfect, reliable upgrade I was looking for.

[gilber33]

With the Motoza tuning, isn't that done remotely? Send him logs, he tweaks it and sends a new file?

[AudiSport12]

Correct. Turn around was usually a couple days to a week.

[Spike00513]

OEM engine with 100+ additional hp

2.5L TDI / 3.0L TDI / 1.9L TDI / 2.0L TDI swap or is it too involving?

You'll surprise kids in [pre 5.0] Mustang GT's when you pull away from them at red lights.

Didn't somebody with a DG B6 sedan swap in an LS N/A V8 this year?

It's also fun on the highway when in need of passing pesky motorists cruising in the left lane talking on their cell phones. In my B5 (5 spd v. your 6 spd), I could roll on the gas in 5th and overtake people without much effort.

3.0L GJV/02X can sorta do that, but it has shorter gears and puts you at like 65mph if you're going for highway cruising economy. The second you start going above that, the motor is basically already revved and ready to pass. Maybe it was to give dealership test drive customers the impression of "wow, this is nice!" when in reality it's 220chp/tq in a 3700lb steel tank? What makes it to the wheels, 160?

Even if news outlets claimed it was 0-60:7sec, they're known to cheat with rolling starts, and who drives that hard every light?
1st gear is short, and we all know about the Honda V6 mini-vans in the rearview.

1.8T 02X/GJW 6th is taller. IDK why. To cruise faster without creeping into gas-burning RPM-range?
Maybe the same/passing can be achieved by revmatch downshift to 5th?
Not that I'm saying this beats FT21; more power to you (pun intended)

OG has 5MT 01A.
Wonder if that's a factor. I hear 5spd's are geared to be more peppy/racey, but then why would they switch halfway through production. Plus many cars come 6MT. And they seem sought after.
US BMW E36 M3 got 5spd, EU got 6. Same for MKIV TDI.
dunno about other engine US MKIV's, maybe both 5MT or 6MT.

[gilber33]

So, just perusing bits and pieces for this. What is the difference of these injectors from ebay listed as genuine Bosch 550cc injectors with adapters for the b6 a4 1.8http://Look at this on eBay http://w...m/281957774876 and the Bosch 550cc injectors listed on ECS' page? Ebay they're $155, ecs they're $267.

[MetalMan]

They're the same. ECS may get them from a different distributor and/or have a much higher markup.

BTW, my non-mixed-flow F21 on E85 (and ALL supporting mods to max out turbo) made 277awhp and 309awtq. It's on a B5 but same block as the B6 1.8T.
http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...7awhp-309-awtq

[gilber33]

Well, the last month has kind of been a shit show. My new brakes had glazed over to the point where I could get two hard stops before they were smoking and had extreme fade. The pedal was also very spongy.

Rather than replacing the pad and rotors with stock ones I got an S4 brake upgrade kit. Got it installed and could not get the brakes bled. Eventually had a completely dead pedal and a brake booster that was shot (wouldn't hold a vacuum and had an audible hiss after the car was shut off). Replaced the brake booster and master cylinder.

Recently I also noticed some dead spots in my RPM range. Found it could be related to coil packs. Found my coil pack harness was cracked and some wires had corrosion. Ordered the kit from ecs, their tool destroyed a few of the terminals. It took them 2 weeks to try and get me replacement terminals, eventually just sending me another harness kit. Upgraded the coil packs right away.

And how it sits today. It's going to local place in a week to be completely bled. With a 3 month old, I can't keep messing with it this much, nor do I want to.

Had everything powdercoated while I was waiting for parts. Valve cover and intake is flat black. Fuel rail, coolant pipe, and other 2 pipes are wet black.













Picked this up to drive once I realized the audi would be down for a few weeks. Didn't want to use my wife's VW and leave my wife at home without a car. This will be fixed up a bit and sold.