Low Key, Quiet Mods

[Winners Eat Pho]

I've been rekindling the fire with my 10 year old B7, adding coils, a chip, and updating the headunit and some other things.

I think the normal order is chip, intake, downpipe, and exhaust? I want to stay away from the exhaust - they all seem too loud at this stage in my life.

What would be the next best mod after the chip that doesn't stand out? FMIC?

[Low and Behold]

Spacers? Bringing the wheels out makes a huge difference IMO

[Winners Eat Pho]

Sorry, I should have clarified performance mods.

I do/did want to do the spacers for OEM+ look but didn't like all the stories about the wheels starting to shimmy and shake.

[Low and Behold]

Ah. You could always do a stud conversion kit + hub centric spacers. You'd be fine

I would say forget about intake. That leaves you with downpipe or FMIC that I can think of

[Luccatavares]

Couldn't find my answer so I will post here, Im sure you guys know the answer.
My passenger side a/c works fine, cold and blows strong, my drive side blows very low but it's cold as well. That happens with all drive side vents. Cold but low blow. Any idea?

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[seandon_792]

Upgraded rear sway bar or snub mount give you a great increase in feel and steering but obviously add no real power.

[billyhoyle]

Couldn't find my answer so I will post here, Im sure you guys know the answer.
My passenger side a/c works fine, cold and blows strong, my drive side blows very low but it's cold as well. That happens with all drive side vents. Cold but low blow. Any idea?

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You might have better luck starting a new thread or posting in the 'questions you thought you were too dumb too ask' thread...this isn't really related to what the OP is asking.

OP, downpipe will give you great bang for the buck. A short shifter is one mod that I've never stopped enjoying, and as mentioned, an upgraded rear sway bar is a great mod too.

[Low and Behold]

Couldn't find my answer so I will post here, Im sure you guys know the answer.
My passenger side a/c works fine, cold and blows strong, my drive side blows very low but it's cold as well. That happens with all drive side vents. Cold but low blow. Any idea?

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Probably want to start a different thread for this...

[Ashtonts]

Sorry, I should have clarified performance mods.

I do/did want to do the spacers for OEM+ look but didn't like all the stories about the wheels starting to shimmy and shake.

Never had this experience with any of my setups man, I wouldn't worry about it much

[Low and Behold]

Upgraded rear sway bar or snub mount give you a great increase in feel and steering but obviously add no real power.

+1. Forgot about these.

[audimeister]

+1 on not doing intake. There is no gain, just more noise.

The most bang for the buck mods are downpipe, hpfp, and a tune that takes advantage of them. There are two philosophies here: JHM is newer tech that doesn't need the hpfp. The APR approach (which is followed by Unitronic and others) accentuates the torque spike you get when turning up the boost on these cars. Who's right? It depends on what you want. JHM will be cheaper, more linear, and according to 1/4 mile passes, faster. The other approach makes the car feel stronger in the midrange even though it's likely not as fast overall.

When doing the downpipe, you also should consider a test pipe or high flow cat. The stock cat is ridiculously restricted.

The other mods would be a rear sway bar, .5 deg more negative camber in the front, and zero toe to make the handling more neutral. If you have sport suspension (red shocks) you don't even need coils, just B5 perches to drop the front slightly. Finally, S4 front rotors and caliper carriers to help with braking.

The oe hardware is pretty solid and only needs a few tweaks to offer a serious performance improvement. With my old sedan set up like this (flash, test pipe, RS4 rear bar, B5 perches on sport suspension, and S4 rotors) I've been able to beat up on S4s at track (road course) days, and was really only passed by E46 M3's and RS4's in my run group. It's super stealth, but next level performance in go, turn, and stop.

[Luccatavares]

Probably want to start a different thread for this...

Sorry sorry I though I did @!!!!

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[Charles.waite]

Spacers only cause vibrations if you install them wrong.

[vce1232000]

JHM tune, downpipe, fmic, Coil overs. 034 rsb. Imo bang for the buck mods

[Charles.waite]

If you want to be REALLY stealth, and have money to play with, getting some upgraded side mounts is a good solution:

These: http://www.evolutionracewerks.com/node/57

Or these: http://www.tyrolsport.com/Audi%20B7%...%20Intercooler

They're expensive though...

[Low and Behold]

wowzers. Really expensive. But to be fair - really stealth

[Winners Eat Pho]

Thanks guys! I currently have an APR tune - I like it plenty, and it's been reliable. I like the sound of the FMIC and downpipe.

I understand with turbos, you want to open everything up for best results... is it pointless to do these two upgrades without doing a exhaust (bottleneck)?

And, is there any preferred setup that you folks use?

[papadelogan]

I have a full Milltek stainless exhaust and it's not too bad, but it also is the "non-squid" version and has the resonators AND mufflers. It was on the car when I bought it, so that's the only reason it is there.

I do have an HFC (high-flow cat) and after 10 years, if you are still on the OEM cat, it's probably getting near to it's EOL (end of life) and an 034/JHM/youpick HFC is cheaper than OEM and I'd call it a maintenance item....

I have a K&N panel filter because I do a ton of miles and like the reusability. A can of MAF cleaner is cheap, and I always let it sit for 24hrs after re-oiling to let it dry.

I'm on JHM 91 octane Stage 2 because the components were there (otherwise I'd have just gone Stage 1) and CO only has 91 readily available.

I like a quick car, but it has to be comfortable, reliable, and not annoying to drive (i.e. no fart-can/ridiculous exhaust note). My truck is a older diesel, so it's LOUD in comparison, but I did NOT do stacks because of the annoying exhaust note issue. These cars are stylish, comfortable, and simply enjoyable. If you want fast, then get an RS6 and throw on a tune. You can do 185mph+ with just that 1 mod. If you really want fast and have the stones, get a sportbike. For what some guys spend just on a motor build, you can have a bike that will do 10's in the 1/4 mile and nearly 200mph.

[vce1232000]

The stock catback exhaust is not the part that is bottlenecking(restrictive). Its the catalytic converter itself. Most will a test pipe for maximum flow and while some others will a HFC. The choice is yours.

My combination exists of a AWE FMIC,A APR test pipe A 2.5 inch Techtonic Tuning downpipe. And a AWE exhaust.

[audimeister]

S4 oem exhaust is the stealthiest, only slightly louder than stock. JHM makes and adapter y pipe to use it. I have one on my big turbo car.

The quad tips are nicer looking, but you'll need an S4 rear valence (snaps in) and rear exhaust hangers.

But, as others have said 80-90% of your gains are in the cat and dp.

I also have a JHM big core intercooler, and have to say intercoolers on all the Audis I had made the most notable difference on hot days, with multiple sustained boost runs where heat soak was an issue. Now, pushing the limits of what a K03 can do will generate a lot of heat, but you'll get a couple of pulls before the power curve goes all soft. For the kind of around town driving I do (light to light, or highway trips), I never notice my intercoolers heat soaking. Can you make a tuned K03 heatsoak on the street? Yes. Will you notice if you drive like a mature person? Not likely.

[vce1232000]

S4 oem exhaust is the stealthiest, only slightly louder than stock. JHM makes and adapter y pipe to use it. I have one on my big turbo car.

The quad tips are nicer looking, but you'll need an S4 rear valence (snaps in) and rear exhaust hangers.

But, as others have said 80-90% of your gains are in the cat and dp.

Yes... The B7 S4 exhaust is a clean . I wish the JHM DP was around before I ed my AWE exhaust

[Winners Eat Pho]

My main focus is reliability. I drive the car M-F to and from work and it sits in the weekend. The car has aged well and looks good (to me) lowered on coils and light tint.

So looks like my next mods will be DP, front mount, and maybe hi flow cat or test pipe?

This shouldn't be too loud right? And do I need to do anything with my APR chip after each/all these mods?


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[Charles.waite]

If you do a HFC and downpipe you can upgrade to stage 2 I believe.

[QuattriumMT6]

If you do a HFC and downpipe you can upgrade to stage 2 I believe.

With APR only the HFC or TP along with a free-er flowing exhaust of some sort you can upgrade to stage 2 IIRC.

[audimeister]

At that point, I'd do a fuel pump and get 30-40 extra ft/lbs in the 3k range. Much bigger gains than intercoolers. Your car will feel like it wants to wheelie at 3,500.

By the way, a test pipe with a stock-ish exhaust will sound a little raspy when you get on it. I don't mind it, but some do. It also pollutes, covers the rear of your car with soot, and makes your car smell like exhaust occasionally. A high flow cat is much more civilized to live with.

[Charles.waite]

At that point, I'd do a fuel pump and get 30-40 extra ft/lbs in the 3k range. Much bigger gains than intercoolers. Your car will feel like it wants to wheelie at 3,500.

By the way, a test pipe with a stock-ish exhaust will sound a little raspy when you get on it. I don't mind it, but some do. It also pollutes, covers the rear of your car with soot, and makes your car smell like exhaust occasionally. A high flow cat is much more civilized to live with.

All this. I really hate the smell of test pipes.

[vce1232000]

You get some black soot with the stock cat thou. Its worse with a test pipe thou. But the trade off is with turbo spool up. Its a trade off that I can live with here in NJ. HFC are better for states that have inspections. But even then it mite not pass. I know in CA you have to to stock cat to pass. In NJ we are allowed 1 failure in the readiness. Yes I pollute the atmosphere. But I make up for it with solar panels on the roof of the house and I recycle heavily.lol

[Charles.waite]

I care less about the pollutants, it's more the smell for me. When my kid is in the car though no way in hell I'd feel comfortable idling with with a test pipe and the exhaust sitting around the car. That shit is nasty.

[vce1232000]

I can get that with kids. I remember once I was stuck in traffic in the summer with the windows down and a breeze flowing. Well after 30 minutes I was feeling kinda high. When I got home I had the only headache. Figured it must have been carbon monoxide poisoning. The lesson learned was not to have all windows rolled down stuck in traffic. Turn the AC on with windows rolled up

[danbfree]

Some great answers in this thread, rock on!

I just wonder if a HFC and drop in dry air filter will help a lot to go with a stage 1 tune or at that point go for maybe a conservative stage 2 like APR?

[klrider44]

I myself just got the JHM downpipe mated to a b7 s4 cat back. It really is a great combo. Much quieter than my old stasis catback. I run the JHM test pipe as well


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[yeoj112689]

Sorry, I should have clarified performance mods.

I do/did want to do the spacers for OEM+ look but didn't like all the stories about the wheels starting to shimmy and shake.

They do not shimmy if you use the correct ones. The ones with the lips on the centric hub. I ran 10mm and not a single shake. Just don't cheap out and if your wheel has an aftermarket hub size (assuming not if you're avoiding shakes) then make sure to get hub spacers.

[vce1232000]

I myself just got the JHM downpipe mated to a b7 s4 cat back. It really is a great combo. Much quieter than my old stasis catback. I run the JHM test pipe as well

Do you get any rubs from the dp on the subframe

[klrider44]

No, only had it on for a day so far though.


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[Winners Eat Pho]

What order would you guys recommend? DP, high flow cat, then FMIC? I def don't want a test pipe - won't want to deal with the smell as I do sit in traffic a bit. Thanks all.


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[vce1232000]

034 HFC from Europaparts, TT DP, JHM large core FMIC. Imo are the bang for the bucks in price and quality

[Axis]

Some great answers in this thread, rock on!

I just wonder if a HFC and drop in dry air filter will help a lot to go with a stage 1 tune or at that point go for maybe a conservative stage 2 like APR?

An oem paper filter is best.



I have a carbonio on both my A4's and the oem box with an oem paper filter ( Mahle, Mann, Hengst, ect) performs better, I just want the sound and the "good" look of it in my engine bay. Plus I got them for dirt cheap.

[danbfree]

034 HFC from Europaparts, TT DP, JHM large core FMIC. Imo are the bang for the bucks in price and quality

Remember now, large core can drop the turbo pressure of the little K03, maybe small core is better unless you go bigger turbo? And isn't that mainly for heat soak on hot days? I heard it doesn't really add much power in itself...

[danbfree]

An oem paper filter is best.


I have a carbonio on both my A4's and the oem box with an oem paper filter ( Mahle, Mann, Hengst, ect) performs better, I just want the sound and the "good" look of it in my engine bay. Plus I got them for dirt cheap.

So that video referred to a complete airbox replacement, I was just talking about a drop in Dry Flow for the filter itself, so I guess that's a waste of money unless I go all hippie and think it's better to wash and reuse instead of throw away... But ya, when I bought the car, I just threw a $12 chain store filter in, I guess I'll just change it every 10k for that price if other performance filters don't help at all.

[vce1232000]

Remember now, large core can drop the turbo pressure of the little K03, maybe small core is better unless you go bigger turbo? And isn't that mainly for heat soak on hot days? I heard it doesn't really add much power in itself...

Op mentioned he was going with a tune for . Most ots tunes will put out 18 psi holding psi to 21 peak psi. So the Larger core JHM should not be effected. Yes a fmic wont add power but sure works good when the IAT heat is turned up on the summer months. Op is from MD I think. So it gets plenty hot down there. Heck I feel it in NJ. Some real hardcore guys in the heat belt will also run 2 stage meth kits to lower the IAT down also for in in the heat