Money burning a hole in my pocket!

[RS4JAMO]

Hi,

I am new to the RS4 scene but already I am inspired to make mine a little different and show those M3 E90's up

Mine has done 71k and to my knowledge has not had a carbon clean but I have to say it pulls well and does have a kick at 5.5k rpm's so not sure its desperate but I agree would be worth while doing at some point....

Currently the car has the following mods:

Blueflame Exhaust (I know many will say Milltek all the way but this was fitted when I bought it and it sound very nice indeed) and if its not broke why change it?
K&N Drop in filter (I've never been a big fan of cold feed systems and from reading the RS4 suffers from heatsoak anyway)

I am therefore considering some cat bypass pipes and a MRC stage 2 remap, but Milltek seem to only quote fitting to there exhausts and not sure it will fit my Blueflame, if not I am considering some custom pipes by JC Weldfab....anyone done this?

To get the power up and improve the sound is this the best things to do or should I just get my Cats gutted by MRC when they do the Stage 2 Remap?

Not wanting to quote others on the forum but a decoke is worthwhile but its not a long lasting power increase and therefore for me the spend is questionable in getting it done?

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Cheers

[MikeFish]

Cat bypass may give more power but you have the hassle of emmissions at MOT time.
If you decide to keep the car legal then I'd go for the pre-cats being gutted by MRC when they do the remap.
And save the money from a carbon clean and spend it on a stage 2 manifold from MRC too.

[RS4JAMO]

Hi MikeFish,

Thanks for the reply what benefit does the stage 2 manifold provide?

[chuckiceman]

If you are not too far from MRC I would recommend just going there for a health check. Its around £80 and they will put it on the rolling road and give you graph showing what power your car is currently putting out. It may make your mind up for you as to what to do. I'm sure Doug will then be able to assist you with the best route forward.

[Lukes3]

If you are not too far from MRC I would recommend just going there for a health check. Its around £80 and they will put it on the rolling road and give you graph showing what power your car is currently putting out. It may make your mind up for you as to what to do. I'm sure Doug will then be able to assist you with the best route forward.

Thats what im doing, booked in tomorrow to see how shes running and going from there.

[MikeFish]

Hi MikeFish,

Thanks for the reply what benefit does the stage 2 manifold provide?

Mwoar powaaaa!

From their website:

STAGE 2 MANIFOLD

Flaps removed from manifold, ported runners, ported trumpets, Flap shaft is locked and more porting with step removed in runners. Not inc fitting and on exchange

* This cannot run on a stock map and has to be remapped to stage2

[RossDagley]

Just to play devils advocate, IMO the stage 2 isn't worth the lack of drivability you get on part throttle.

Health check, carbon clean (ask them not to remove the tumble flaps despite their advice), CAF into a standard airbox with highflow filter and stick with that. Remap it if you must. Should be able to get all that for £2k.

[sar]

Hi MikeFish,

Thanks for the reply what benefit does the stage 2 manifold provide?

Mwoar powaaaa!

From their website:

STAGE 2 MANIFOLD

Flaps removed from manifold, ported runners, ported trumpets, Flap shaft is locked and more porting with step removed in runners. Not inc fitting and on exchange

* This cannot run on a stock map and has to be remapped to stage2

my 2p... a stage 2 manifold has never been shown individually to add any power, the amount of power gained i recon would be less than 5bhp so would never show on a dyno. i think if you want to extract as much power as you can then go for it (i did stage 2 manifold and dont regret it) just dont expect too much, its more a case of every little helps.

Just to play devils advocate, IMO the stage 2 isn't worth the lack of drivability you get on part throttle.

Health check, carbon clean (ask them not to remove the tumble flaps despite their advice), CAF into a standard airbox with highflow filter and stick with that. Remap it if you must. Should be able to get all that for £2k.

another 2p.....i cant say my car was any worse on part throttle after the stage2 manifold was done, i have drove 50,000 miles on a stage2 manifold and loved every mile. sure it was a bit lumpy from cold but once warm it was sweet.

the main reason i like the stage2 manifold is getting rid of the tumble flaps and the associated vacuum system that controls them.

a few BNS rs4 engines have met their maker due to the screws that hold the tumble flaps to the shafts coming loose and making their way into the cylinders, a stage2 manifold guarantees this will never happen.

the biggest issues with a rs4 loosing power are a faulty vacuum system, going stage2 manifold allows you to simplify this vacuum system (less chance of leaks/zero chance of manifold flap position sensor fault codes ect causing limp mode).

by removing the secondary air injection (this will fail one day), the flap in the airbox (the solenoid that controls this will fail one day) and fitting a stage2 manifold (the standard manifold with sensors and flaps will stick/fail one day) it allows you to more or less completely remove the troublesome vacuum system from the rs4.
for me that was the biggest benefit of going stage2 manifold.

[Jotter]

another 2p.....i cant say my car was any worse on part throttle after the stage2 manifold was done, i have drove 50,000 miles on a stage2 manifold and loved every mile. sure it was a bit lumpy from cold but once warm it was sweet.

the main reason i like the stage2 manifold is getting rid of the tumble flaps and the associated vacuum system that controls them.

a few BNS rs4 engines have met their maker due to the screws that hold the tumble flaps to the shafts coming loose and making their way into the cylinders, a stage2 manifold guarantees this will never happen.

the biggest issues with a rs4 loosing power are a faulty vacuum system, going stage2 manifold allows you to simplify this vacuum system (less chance of leaks/zero chance of manifold flap position sensor fault codes ect causing limp mode).

by removing the secondary air injection (this will fail one day), the flap in the airbox (the solenoid that controls this will fail one day) and fitting a stage2 manifold (the standard manifold with sensors and flaps will stick/fail one day) it allows you to more or less completely remove the troublesome vacuum system from the rs4.
for me that was the biggest benefit of going stage2 manifold.

That's definitely worth more than 2p! I've been contemplating this for a while and was never sure, by the sounds of it, its a very good thing to do!

[Lukes3]

Been to mrc today well worth the heath check mate, found out today i had few little faults i didnt know about, and what power she is running,
Get your self booked in mate.

[chris_m]

I had mine done and all is well. Although it pains me to say, us RS4 boys won't be showing up any e90 m3's unless it's supercharged. e90 supercharged, back to square one ha.

[RossDagley]

A great counter argument from sar there. Genuinely.

I'm not sure I'd cope with the jerky throttle, poor start and worse cold running anymore though since having "OEM" drivability. Each to their own - if it is outweighed by the perceived benefits then who am I to stop you :p

[sync24]

For those owners who have an RS4 - You should consider a carbon clean to be an annual service item. Ouch I know - but experience tells me - Carbon build up is a fault of the engine. Period.
I got mine done every 18 months before I sold it [it was done 3 times in my ownership] - You will never avoid it but at the very least your motor will be in tip top condition as far as carbon/sludge build up is concerned. AMD in Essex charge £595

[RS4JAMO]

That's some great feedback guys....

I think first and foremost I'm going to get a health check done at MRC and then a Carbon clean and see how she drives.

I do quite a bit of motorway driving so don't want to kill the 26-27mpg I get pm these runs (outways the teens when i give it some A-B road blasts!...my Ying and yang see

I am still considering the cat gutting and a stage 2 remap. I'm not really looking for more power just a nice sound and driveability and I think these 2 mods will provide this.

A couple of other quick questions if I may:

1. Loving the spacers I have SS+ so was considering 8mm all round, will this cause no rubbing with standard wheels and tyres? Mone is a family car as well so does carry the 2 kids and wife (she's quite light tho (she might be on Facebook but I'm safe here!) will this effect the handling at all?

2. There was a mention in the thread above about CAF in your airbox? What's that then?

Cheers and loving the forum

[toyneg]

That's some great feedback guys....

I think first and foremost I'm going to get a health check done at MRC and then a Carbon clean and see how she drives.

I do quite a bit of motorway driving so don't want to kill the 26-27mpg I get pm these runs (outways the teens when i give it some A-B road blasts!...my Ying and yang see

I am still considering the cat gutting and a stage 2 remap. I'm not really looking for more power just a nice sound and driveability and I think these 2 mods will provide this.

A couple of other quick questions if I may:

1. Loving the spacers I have SS+ so was considering 8mm all round, will this cause no rubbing with standard wheels and tyres? Mone is a family car as well so does carry the 2 kids and wife (she's quite light tho (she might be on facebook but I'm safe here!) will this effect the handling at all?

2. There was a mention in the thread above about CAF in your airbox? What's that then?

Cheers and loving the forum

you'll be fine with the spacers. def get the healthcheck done and see where you are at, i personally wouldnt worry too much about the carbon clean, especially if you are not necessarily after more power, sure it will free up some ponies but the carbon will be back again in a few months. you are better just giving the car a good pasting as often as you can.