ABT upgrade

[Nickyboy]

After popping into an Audi centre I started asking about mods and warranty etc.

As a follow up to this I have been sent details of an upgrade to the B8 S4 taking it to 435bhp and 520Nm. The upgrade is by ABT and comes with a 3 year warranty. The warranty part I like but the cost I don't. £4300 whereas an MRC map would cost under £1000.

Anyone had this ABT tune done to their car?

[Nickyboy]

In fact has anybody had anything done by ABT?

[R1NGA]

Not personally, but my impression is that they produce very well engineered updates. Christian Abt worked for Audi GmbH and I believe that the company continues to work very closely with the technical side of Audi. In fact I think that ABT and MTM (Roland Meyer was also ex-Audi and the MTM development HQ is on the same campus as the factory) are the most closely aligned with GmbH and build in very reliable safety margins. That's not to say that any of the other well proven and well regarded remaps, flashes and plug-ins are any less capable, just that ABT and MTM are the one's I'd personally go for if I were after more grunt from my Audi. ABT also offer properly backed warranty on their conversions too, so I'd be pretty confident that they'll not make a car go pop!

[bam_bam]

I wonder what the 3 year warranty covers? It might be an option once the manufacturer warranty expires, if it gave good enough coverage, you'd get a 3 year warranty and 435bhp/520Nm for £4,300. I know, too good to be true but I wonder how much you could get away with when bits start breaking... "nope, not paying, I think it broke because of the ABT upgrade".

[Nickyboy]

Il ask them for further details regarding the warranty. Thanks for the input guys.

Don't know if I want to shell out £4300 when I could shall out a lot less for an MRC tune. Tough decision really.

[R1NGA]

Remember that the MTM plug&play box is 1/3 of that price and is a 10 minute fit or remove job, as required.

[Joedesi]

Anyone actually had any experience with MTM tune on the b8 s4....I'm seriously considering it.

[R1NGA]

I've been in an S5 Sportback with the MTM box - sure felt a lot faster than my S4! Dyno on that car showed 435bhp I think, which I guess is a fullsome 70-80bhp up on stock (assuming stock motors typically show 360bhp). That level of increase is most definitely noticeable. Users report the same or better fuel consumption on a long run too, so what's not to like!

[Nickyboy]

Reliability and lack of warranty. Other than that awesome stuff.

[Joedesi]

Just got my S4 back from Audi for its service. Had a long chat to the service manager. In terms of aftermarket systems he recommended milltek exhaust and MTM if I were going for performance upgrade

In terms of warranty issues he felt Audi uk were quite lenient compared to US as we don't have as large a modding scene. He was not aware they routinely check for td1.

The only experience where he had where Audi declined a warranty was failed O2 sensor on an s5 with a milltek exhaust. He felt Audi would struggle to prove an aftermarket exhaust could cause a serious engine or gearbox failure. A remap however is a different story which is why he recommended a piggyback such as MTM which could be removed before taking the car back to Audi.