RS4 ~500HP upgrade.... Which tuner should I choose?

[Lemon_S]

What do you guys think....

Compare the realiablity and true performance?

[DaveP]

I'd research all the options, talk to the companies you are thinking of and choose whoever you feel gives you the best answers to your questions...

[Taipan]

Start with a "standard" 458hp package from MTM, as I replied in your other post.

It's an easy/"cheap" mod that a good mechanic can install for you in Taipei.

Then you can ask MTM for the additional mods to climb to 490-520hp.

But the 458hp pack will definitely take your jaw down already, vs the standard 380hp.
Provided your own driving skills are up to it, of course.

And if you have the dollars for it, best to go for 458hp AND an upgrade on both suspensions/brakes (like the Quattro GmbH suspension kit and a Front-set disc/calipers from Movit Brakes or MTM Brakes), than a 520hp RS4 on standard suspension/brakes.

If not, you may enjoy your 520hp RS4 for only a few miles until you "painfully" realize that the car can't handle that extra-power.

Remember what owners think and professional testers/journalists wrote : for most drivers, the weakness of the RS4 in serious sport/aggressive driving is NOT its engine but its suspension/brakes.

Except if u're only planning to show off on saturday evening runs on a "dragster" 0-400m run with teenagers bimbos cheering around, a straight line and zero turns/breaking required.
(But then there are better/cheaper cars for that )

Eric

[Lemon_S]

Hi Eric:

My previous car was B5 S4 with MTM 420 kits on it, so I have a lots of confidence on thier fine products. My RS4 is now with Sportec 420 setup and PSS9 suspension. i am very happen with what PSS9 can offered. I just not sure whether I should follow with Sportec 485 or switch back to MTM? Still thinking..... Any input from you?

[PhilT]

Stick to Sportec IMHO

[himpe]

Stick to Sportec IMHO

I'll second that

Heinz (Sportec Benelux) had a 465 RS4 of his own, and that was amazing !
They really are a very knowledgeable company ! (ex F1 engineer from Sauber ... )

There is a review (on here somewhere i guess) from a magazine that put the Sportec 465 against a Digitec 480 and still the Sportec came out on top !

[Taipan]

Hi Eric:

My previous car was B5 S4 with MTM 420 kits on it, so I have a lots of confidence on thier fine products. My RS4 is now with Sportec 420 setup and PSS9 suspension. i am very happen with what PSS9 can offered. I just not sure whether I should follow with Sportec 485 or switch back to MTM? Still thinking..... Any input from you?

Indeed, as Phil and co mentionned, if ur RS4 went the Sportec way already, maybe best to stick with it.
(I was assuming ur RS4 was standard).

Now let's just keep in mind that your Sportec 420hp is nothing more than a standard Chip from Sportec (aka 1200-1500 USD max).

So if YOU are a true MTM Afficionado -based on your B5 S4 420 MTM experience-, you may consider dropping the Sportec Chip and go for the full 458hp package from MTM and lay the foundations for a potential 490-520hp tuner YOU trust (we're talking +20 000 USD of your own money now, so the start-up 420 chip may become irrelevant in the whole picture).

In any case, make sure your Taipei's mechanic is good.
(we had horror stories from both MTM and Sportec agents outside germany, like blowing some engines or not properly installing brakes on a 500hp+ RS4, making their bolts to start running out and some track marshalls at Donnington bringing a black flag to the owner).

Eric
PS : if you were an experienced Sportec Afficionado, I would have recommended the Sportec 460hp path.
I hope you see my point -ie not trying to do politics to save face overall- : it's serious cash and it's YOUR own hard-earned cash, best to give it to a company you already trusted.
PS2 : remember the suspension/brakes are the immediate weak points of the RS4 once u get into serious street/track driving.

[TimJMS]

After having been down the chip tuning path twice, once with an S4 and once with an RS4, can I suggest that you go to Dialynx and get some engineering work, in tandem with some chip tuning work done?

Thats the way I would approach it next time. Chipping is fine when the parameters allow. (See you on a freezing day in Feb!)

[dog]

Wetteraurer. Frank had an RS4 and tuned it according to his own needs