Under powered

[GAZ-MAN]

how would you know if your car had a vac leak?

[22B]

Sonnyjim[/quote]

I've sent mine down to MRC a couple of times via 5 star transport, think they've got a branch in Aberdeen now but their main place is in Ayrshire. They do a very good service for an unbeatable price. Get it down there, you won't regret it.
[/quote]

Cheers 22B, I had heard of them before but couldn't remember their name. Out of interest how long a waiting time do MRC usually have?

Sonnyjim[/quote]

Re MRC waiting time, it understandably can vary a bit. Think each time I've put mine down I've booked in 3 weeks or so in advance. Best to book the carrier well in advance too mind.

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how would you know if your car had a vac leak?

quick n nasty test would be to check the exhaust valves operate ok (and don't rattle at idle with sport mode off).
It's not 100% reliable as at idle there is lots of vacuum and the exhaust valves have their own vacuum reservoir which can mask issues.

To test a bit more accurately, take the front carbon engine cover off and look for a cluster of small rubber lines connected with a double T connector. Follow the one towards the air intake as this will be the vacuum line for the airbox control flap. IIRC there is a join on this line so makes for an easy way to connect a vacuum gauge to. Start the engine and let run for a few minutes and you should see lots and lots of vacuum. Switch off and the levels should remain pretty constant - certainly shouldn't lose any. A really interesting thing to look for is when you disconnect the vac line to fit the gauge and you hear a noticeable "psssst" then that's a good start.

The proper way to do it is to use a hand vacuum tester thing (cheap as chips), take the front carbon engine cover off and find the double T.
One line goes to the main engine and is the "source" of vacuum - connect gauge to this and run the engine (best on a warm engine as this won't trip the mil code for failed secondary air injection).
Switch off and make sure vacuum is held... if not then the one way valve under the manifold has failed.
If all ok then the other lines are tested in the same way - connect the vacuum tester and give a few pumps to generate some vacuum and watch the gauge. Should hold constant after a few minutes.
the other lines are exhaust valves, secondary air injection, manifold intake flaps, airbox flap.

[guffy]

hardly
although from a roll the delta between an e46 M3 and an RS4 is not as large as you think it would be
both starting at 40 and running to 100, maybe a car length

Yes i agree, I've done a number of rolling speed tests with a couple of E46 M3's now and my RS4 only just pulls away, more so at the higher lepton range. The E46 lump seems to loosen up nicely with age too.

[Rick_RS4]

with a few select mods people are running 430 450 bhp which is more than enough to loose your liscence,

[rwilsonrs4]

I used 5 star to move mine from my house to MRC which was 520 miles, i think it was £700 round trip which his a fair chunk of money but if you factor in fuel, hotels while they have it, time lost from work (unless you work offshore ) food etc , its not too bad , my wait time for MRC was around 2 weeks and it was around this time of year , but a phone call will sort that out

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with a few select mods people are running 430 450 bhp which is more than enough to loose your liscence,

Mine hit 446 even with all cats in place (once exhaust, clean and remap sorted).

[Rick_RS4]

with a few select mods people are running 430 450 bhp which is more than enough to loose your liscence,

Mine hit 446 even with all cats in place (once exhaust, clean and remap sorted).

wow thats great, mine made 393 totally standard, has had carbon clean and stage 1 manifold since, looking forward to a rr day then if your figures were that good

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with a few select mods people are running 430 450 bhp which is more than enough to loose your liscence,

Mine hit 446 even with all cats in place (once exhaust, clean and remap sorted).

wow thats great, mine made 393 totally standard, has had carbon clean and stage 1 manifold since, looking forward to a rr day then if your figures were that good

Oh yeah - also had a deflapped ported manifold.
since also had a caf as the radiator leaked.

Doug did say it appeared to be quite a good one.

[Rick_RS4]

Oh yeah - also had a deflapped ported manifold.
since also had a caf as the radiator leaked.

Doug did say it appeared to be quite a good one.

id be very happy with that on a n/a car, thats what im aiming for really

[agillett]

Mine was under powered when I bought it. Turned out to be the power flap not working in the air box. Do you feel a surge of acceleration past 5000rpm when the flap opens? If not see the sticky post on testing.

[Sonnyjim]

I used 5 star to move mine from my house to MRC which was 520 miles, i think it was £700 round trip which his a fair chunk of money but if you factor in fuel, hotels while they have it, time lost from work (unless you work offshore ) food etc , its not too bad , my wait time for MRC was around 2 weeks and it was around this time of year , but a phone call will sort that out

It's certainly a good idea,but I will be going that way sometime this year anyway to visit the wife's relatives so free accommodation, will bus it for the rest of the journey. Although it's quite a boring motorway drive unless I detour.
I think the list is (so far);
Gutted pre-cats
Carbon clean
Stage 2 manifold
Remap

Sonnyjim

[ArthurPE]

lb/HP and lb/ lb ft
assuming 200 lb of load
RS4 10 and 13
e46 M3 10.6 and 13.5
delta 6% HP and 4% torque

not much of a difference and both have ~ the same 90% torque band

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Id also wager the aero (ESP cross section area) on the e46 is better.
Factor in the drive train losses then the power advantage of the rs4 only comes into play once weight is a secondary factor and aero is the main so definitely license losing speeds.

Don't underestimate the e46 - IMO it's a great car (and I prefer it to the e92)

[coffey555]

+1

An E46CS with the manual box is an amazing car. Good luck to anyone trying to find one though!