Tuning options and insurance for S4 (B6) V8

[johnp68]

I'm considering going for an ecu remap (probably AMD) and possibly Milltek cats/exhaust. Not expecting massive performance gains, but hoping for some gain plus a better throttle response and louder/more exciting exhaust note!

Does anyone on here have experience of these upgrades? If so, is it worth doing or am I likely to be disappointed? (I'm looking for an upgrade that's likely to persuade me to keep the S4 for at least another year or two, rather than the alternative of splashing out another £20K or so on part/x for an RS4 or a 911!)

Also, are there any insurance companies who are likely to take a "relaxed" view to minor tuning such as the above, rather than hiking up my premium or (like my current insurer Liverpool Victoria) refusing cover?

Cheers for any help.

[BlingBling]

Hi.

A remap and cat-backs alone will not make any signifianct improvement performance wise. You may get a bit more throttle repsonse and possibly the the limiter removed oh and more noise. Fitting 200 cell sports cats and hi flow downpipes will yield you the most gains. One memeber on here has a AMD Stage 3 S4 that is pushing out 380bhp.

Other than that your looking at a supercharger. Fitting a s/c and the associated brake and suspension upgrades will cost up to 10K depending upon where you go and who does the work etc. Still cheaper than splashing out 20K on a 911 or RS4 and much quicker too.....

[Pete.S]

and much quicker too.....

Have you found any examples of anyone who's had this done? Still haven't come across any posts on this or other forums from owners who've had the charger fitted (other than the MTM RS4)

[BlingBling]

and much quicker too.....

Have you found any examples of anyone who's had this done? Still haven't come across any posts on this or other forums from owners who've had the charger fitted (other than the MTM RS4)

There was a review on Fourtitude of a S4 cab kitted out. 491bhp & 414 torques.

Here is a link to the article http://www.fourtitude.com/news/publish/ ... 1980.shtml

[Pete.S]

Thanks. Looks very tempting indeed, especially when I'm at that point of deciding what to do next - swap now to a soon-to-become old shape RS4 & part with probably nigh-on 30k, or an S5 and not really get a huge performance difference for a similar price hike, or wait for the new S4 (and perhaps be disappointed in performance gain), or stick it out & pile loads more miles on mine before the arrival of the no-doubt ridiculously expensive RS5...

Is it definitely no more than 10k for the s/c + mods?

[BlingBling]

Just checked the QST and MTM web site and they are quoting 12K (GBP) and €18.5K respectively but only forthe S/C and intercoolers. I have contacted APR in the US as they have been developing a S/C for what seems like donkeys now. One website is claiming APR's will be available this summer. Now buying a S/C from the states would make things a bit cheaper at $8K p+p.

My situation is similar to yours i.e. whats my next move. RS4 looks appealing but I am having the same doubts as you. My other choice would be a Masser Quattroporte but they are more than I am willing to spend.....At the moment.

A few more links:
http://www.mtm-online.de/en/index.php?n ... S4344450QX

http://www.qstuning.com/products.jsp?pa ... variant=49

http://www.gmpperformance.com/index.cfm ... PID=148043

[algreene]

This was the exact route Iv been looking at going.. Supercharged 4.2!!

Iv also found this to add..
http://www.rimier.com/eshop/item.php?it ... cat=396059

Iv got a GruppeM on my current car. Best intakes by far. Anyone got one on thiers at all?

[p1tse]

interesting read
new to looking at s4's. i see they are cicrular of 344bhp standard, just seen one on pistonheads quoting near 380bhp from miltek and remap, so i'm assuming it could be optimistic

[BlingBling]

interesting read
new to looking at s4's. i see they are cicrular of 344bhp standard, just seen one on pistonheads quoting near 380bhp from miltek and remap, so i'm assuming it could be optimistic

Not optimistic at all. There were several owner on Tyresmoke who had 200 cell sports cats and a custom remapp and they were achieving, consistently, between 360 and 380bhp. In fact on a few occasions some saw 390bhp. Interestingly they all had more torques than the B7 RS4

I'm having new downpipes including 200 cell sports cats fitted at Easter with a remap in April so will let you know how I get on.

[philipwalker]

I use the APR re-map in my old V8 along with a Miltek cat back system.
I installed two maps, stock and super unleaded, switchable through the cruise control.
Gave a healthy increase on the maf reading felt much sharper than a stock V8.

[P_G]

I used a REVO remap along with a 3" s/s full system exhaust plus 200 cell cats on my S4 which produced something over 380 bhp and 360 ft/lbs of torque and improved throttle response on a B6 S4.

No real point in a remap without a full exhaust system. However I would say if you are going to do these things invest in also replacing the rear ARB with the RS4 one and upgrade your brakes, you'll need it to wipe off the increased speeds!

[tombs]

Just picked up on this post, that’s me sitting next to Kim in the S4 editorial feature. A very nice upgrade, that car absolutely flew! I had my B5 RS at the time and I remember getting in and thinking how slow my car felt compared to the supercharged S4, until I had a stage 2 on the RS4!

[jamess4cab]

I have just bought a 2004 S4 Cabriolet and feel that it is in need of a little extra something. I have been quoted between 20-30bhp from a stage 1, but what would i get from a stage 2??

Also, who would anyone recommend??