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  1. #1
    Established Member Two Rings Q-DawgVFR's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 18 2009
    AZ Member #
    40044
    My Garage
    '11 S4 Red 6MT, '13 F150 Limited, '02 Honda VFR800
    Location
    Fort Saskchewan, AB, CANADA

    New B8 Owner Questions on Stage 2 Options

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    OK, I'm just checking in as a new B8 S4 owner. Last week I picked up a 2011 S4, manual, brilliant red with 150K KM (Canadian car) for $20K CDN (which seemed like a good deal since most are listed for $25-28K). It needs a couple of minor things, but nothing too serious. I am coming from 2 previous Audis: '04 S4 manual, silver, modded - currently for sale - and '98 Audi A4 2.8, Q, Man

    Had two previous owners and it appears the first owner did a complete "mufflerectomy" as the car is straight pipes back from the cats. It was almost too loud when I took it for a gentle test drive before buying, but I didn't get the chance to really get on the throttle much. Didn't realize how bad it droned until after I bought it and had it out on the highway. Quieter exhaust is definitely in order at some point, but I do not want factory quiet. My kids say it "sounds like a Ferrari" LOL. But it is embarrassingly loud around town.

    I'm a long time member of this board. I learn a lot from others discussions, and most of what I need to know is already covered somewhere so I don't post a lot.
    I read FAQ's, known problems, various upgrade and install guides / videos, and 1/2 of the lengthy AZ track time/mods thread.

    So I had a few questions after all my poking around on the board.

    Here's where I sit now with the car:

    - Needs: Windshield replacement, front bearing hubs (have parts already, going to do this myself later today), front brake rotors. Thinking about complete brake replacement options, favoring something slightly better than OEM feel such as Stoptech (I had really good luck with these on wife's Explorer a year ago). I am not into racing, and I am pretty light on my brakes most of the time. I think something like this meets my needs. Anyone have a different suggestion for reasonable price? Corrosion resistance is a consideration for me, as I live in Canada and do occasionally winter drive the Audi, but it is not my main vehicle.

    - I also have an occasional engine check engine light P0491 and P0492 (left and right bank, secondary air injection code). Code has been reset a couple times and has only shown up after the an occasional cold start. I have done a bit of searching, and it looks like there's an extended service campaign from both Audi America and Audi Canada to cover the carbon build-up in secondary air system? Any advice on getting it done? Or any other suggested maintenance while they are poking around in there and have things apart?

    This brings me to last questions:

    I am almost certain that I want to do a Stage 2 (pulley and ECU at minimum). Have been dealing with EEC Motors in Edmonton for some of the work that I do not do myself. They did my PPI work and a routine maintenance chores like oil changes, etc. Paul there says they have done several Stage 2 cars and have all the necessary tools and experience. They primarily deal with GIAC / AWE and Revo / Stasis. Initially, I was favoring the popular GIAC / AWE tune and pulley combination. APR sounded like it wasn't as solid of a performer as the GIAC option. Revo wasn't a consideration as I didn't think they did Stage 2 tuning. In talking to Paul, he informed me that there was in fact a pulley upgrade also Revo/Stasis and that it performs about as well as anything else, while being $400 less money and much more user friendly on the tuning aspect (quick and easy, can download future updates or use the "dial" to select different modes)

    I can find very little information about the Revo pulley and ECU upgrade, but I am strongly considering the Revo upgrades (I think it's marketed as Stg 1+?) now that I know of its existence and the fact that a couple of the shop's customers are very happy with the tune. Seems like very few people on Audizine running it or saying much? Any reason for this? Anyone have any opinions on which option I should go with? I have no warranty considerations at this point. Just want something with maximum bang for the buck and is reliable.

    When I do the Stage 2 pulley upgrade, I will have them pull the supercharger off and do an oil change on it. Have read about possible thermostat / water pump issues on these cars, and carbon build-up on intake valves.

    So if it was you paying for this work, what preventative maintenance items would you address with the supercharger removed?
    Born with a steering wheel in my hands and gasoline in my veins.....

  2. #2
    Senior Member Two Rings
    Join Date
    May 31 2005
    AZ Member #
    6698
    Location
    Vancouver, BC

    Hi, thought I'd add my 2 cents regarding the Stage 2. I'm also in Canada and planning on going Stage 2 on my 2013 but can't really find anything that competes on price with Unitronic. The best so far is the EPL Black Friday sale and even that is more than Uni.

    My sense is that th majority of the Stage 2 are pretty much the same in terms of performance and, for me, it comes down to cost and local support

  3. #3
    Veteran Member Four Rings whiped's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 05 2016
    AZ Member #
    371376
    Location
    Portland, OR

    At that mileage the thermostat has almost certainly already failed and been replaced although it wouldn't hurt to change it.

    Revo offers a strong Stage II tune but they aren't paying very much attention to the 3.0T currently. This might be worth considering if you want to go Stage 3 in the future.

    If the exhaust is truly straight piped I would try adding an X-pipe into the downpipes and see how you like it. This mitigates quite a bit of the drone and is a fairly common setup here. If still too much AWE touring with Res DP is an awesome setup.
    Geoff
    '13 S4 - Glacier White | DSG | 034 Stage 2++ | Current Setup
    452WHP / 443WTQ | 11.352 @ 119.26 | @dirtyaudi

  4. #4
    Deactivated Two Rings
    Join Date
    Jun 02 2016
    AZ Member #
    374179
    Location
    Irvine, CA

    Congrats on your new car!

    Our stage 2 software with AWE is definitely a great option, especially now because AWE is also running a sale on the performance pulley kit. It is currently discounted from $1,849 USD to $1,756.55 USD (link here: AWE Stage 2 Performance Pulley Kit). Our software also comes with pump, race, and valet modes along with a handheld switcher. This allows you to switch between maps if you ever feel like it.

    We developed our software in conjunction with AWE to ensure that it does not slip, and it is optimal for power and vehicle health. Also, if you are ever interested in going dual pulley (which many of our customers have), you can easily upgrade to it.

    We also have a Forge/Emmanuele stage 2 pulley file that is at a lower price, which works best with the Forge or Emmanuele pulley if you want to get it on your own.

    Hope this helps in your decision making, and good luck with whatever you choose! If you have any questions, feel free to PM me or shoot us an email.

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