Inlet Manifold Problem

[Stairs]

I have my car in at a garage at the moment with an issue, they have come back and said that there is to much play in the operating rod on one of the inlet manifold flaps, apparently this is going to be unto 4k for a new inlet manifold and fitting....


Is there any you can just change the bits, or any suggestions please as I can't afford that and the car will have to go, id rather put the money towards a newer car then spend this much on a 100k car, as much as it would hurt to let her go.

[Dave_M]

What about going down the MRC stage 2 route - this locks the inlet flaps runner so as long as you've got no air leaks due to the excessive wear I'd have thought this would be ok? Cost me less than half that amount for the complete stage 2 including CAI and gutting the pre-cats.

Alternatively I've got a spare inlet manifold in my garage which is complete bar the flap actuators - as I'm in the process of selling my car I won't be needing it - make me an offer. This was removed from my car at 60k miles and was working fine. I'm near East Grinstead in West Sussex if you're local and want to pop round to look at it / collect.

Dave

[Stairs]

That is a plan, i'm going to call them, i don't mind paying money to make it actually better, but just to buy brand new parts on a 100k 7 year old car kind of sucks...

Im waiting for a call back from MRC.

[adsgreen]

I was quoted £1600 from an Audi main dealer to supply and fit inlet manifold.

[TonyHayers]

£4k for a new manifold + fitting. *thud*

Tbh my trust in Audi dealers is null, I very very much doubt that you need a new manifold.

You should be able to get a second hand manifold in good nick for around £250, pretty sure Silas still has one and there's one for sale on ebay I think.

Replacing is a pain but entirely doable if you're pretty handy. Depends how comfortable you are getting your hands dirty. Even if you end up paying a professional, there is no way a pro should charge you more than 8 hours to do it.

FWIW you don't need a remap if you just remove the flaps. You only need a remap if you want to stop the manifold flap shaft rotating. the manifold flap sensors just check the rotated position of the shaft.

[drmanhattan]

I have exactly the same problem on mine and spoke with Martin at Unit 20 last week. See how you get on with MRC but give him a call if you're stuck he'll sort you out for a fraction of £4k...and may as well get a de-coke done while you're on. Alternatively, as Dave_M says, Stage 2 it!

[Spectre]

MRC took mine out completely when decoking it. Works fine... well much better actually since it was stage 2'd at the same time. Am I correct in saying that they are mainly in there to handle US emissions requirements anyway?

Mak.

[TonyHayers]

MRC took mine out completely when decoking it. Works fine... well much better actually since it was stage 2'd at the same time. Am I correct in saying that they are mainly in there to handle US emissions requirements anyway?

Mak.

I think they're designed to introduce turbulence to assist combustion at low revs. I've been flapless for a year without any issues though.

[RS6BRIT]

They actually work to direct the fuel air charge around the plug to aid ignition of a very weak mix. That's why they can be a bit rough running when cold if they are removed. On full throttle this function isn't needed as they are running a richer fix and ignition isn't an issue. It's all about running leaner on normal throttle for low emissions and better mpg.

[adsgreen]

Nothing to do with mixture as such.
If you have a narrower air intake path then physics dictates the air will move faster.
You need this as the fuel is injected in the cylinder so you get better air/fuel combining. result is you get an ever so slight improvement to mpg.

[adsgreen]

Mine was de flapped stage 2. Decided that it was better as they couldn't go wrong if not there. Mrc offer an exchange program which keeps the costs down and turnaround time low.
Might as well go for a decoke whilst there and the manifold off but depends if you can do without your car.

[drmanhattan]

A bit off topic, but what sort of costs would I be looking at for going Stage 2 from an otherwise standard car that only has a cat-back Milly? It's an option I'm considering and am trying to understand how much more Stage 2 would cost beyond taking the inlet manifold off just to get the flaps fixed.

[The_Coat]

Prices on their site mate, http://www.mrctuning.com/index.php/audi ... ns/rs4-b7/

[drmanhattan]

Thanks I was actually just looking at that on their website but wasn't exactly clear what I'd need to get done. Would it be: Stage 2 Manifold @ £576 + Stage 2 Remap @ £650 = £1,226 or am I missing something?

Am I right in thinking that I should expect post-Stage 2 power figures of 430-450bhp?

[sar]

Thanks I was actually just looking at that on their website but wasn't exactly clear what I'd need to get done. Would it be: Stage 2 Manifold @ £576 + Stage 2 Remap @ £650 = £1,226 or am I missing something?


Am I right in thinking that I should expect post-Stage 2 power figures of 430-450bhp?

it depends on what other mods you have, from the numbers i have seen over the years from mrc's dyno i think it brakes down something like this.

---------------------------------------------------- MRC dyno -----------------------------------------------------------

stock rs4 with vac leak and carbon-----------------------------------------------------------------------330-350ps
stock rs4 no vac leak and with varying amounts of carbon-------------------------------------------370-380ps
stock rs4 no carbon------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------400-410ps
stock rs4 no carbon, + mrc remap-------------------------------------------------------------------------415-425ps
rs4 no carbon, mrc map + stage 2 manifold-------------------------------------------------------------420-425ps
rs4 no carbon, mrc map, stage 2 manifold + gutted pre cats-----------------------------------------435-445ps
rs4 no carbon, mrc map, stage 2 manifold, + cat less down pipes and full decent exhaust-----450ps+

whats everyone think? about right? way off?