Project A4

[Feersty]

Bling. Look at that snail.

[.RJ]

i'm hoping my engine bay will eventually look like this....

Just remember to put your radiator hose on

[CaptainHenreh]

i'm hoping my engine bay will eventually look like this....

Just remember to put your radiator hose on

Don't leave those pliers there, either.

[Mike]

gawd i'd hate working on that thing...

[WRXtranceformed]

Also, make sure your engine doesn't spew oil out of random hoses like yours truly. That is very important! heheh

[Dave]

seriously, that engine bay scares me. A lot. How are you supposed to work in there?

Also, as a recommendation or critique. In terms of pedal positioning, I'd have a greater tendency to have shifted where the accelerator pedal sat. The brake pedal is designed to have you stomp on it with all your might. If you end up stomping on it at turn 1 where the pad is seated right now, I'd be afraid that the screws holding it in might pull out over time and may eventually result in that one particular corner where the pad actually pops off and you don't have any brakes when you need it most. If the same happened to the accelerator, it would be no big deal other than having limited heel-toe and you won't accelerate as much out of that particular turn.

I'm not saying you need to change it, just a thought to consider before hitting the road course too much. More importantly, just wanted to put this up so anybody thinking of doing the same mod might think about it before they start drilling. Good work Scotty, keep us posted.

[.RJ]

seriously, that engine bay scares me. A lot. How are you supposed to work in there?

You take the front clip off.

No, i'm not kidding.

[ViPER1313]

That engine bay doesn't look scary :lol: This is scary -

[JohnC]

Finally a contest the Z can win!

[Mike]

i lose the most

[ScottyB]

If you end up stomping on it at turn 1 where the pad is seated right now, I'd be afraid that the screws holding it in might pull out over time and may eventually result in that one particular corner where the pad actually pops off and you don't have any brakes when you need it most.

i actually thought of that exact same thing when i was putting the pedal on -- that's why there's 3 bolts going through that one area :lol: i realize the possible hazard of it being so far off the base of the brake pedal, so i plan to check the locknuts often, and i actually put some loctite blue on there when i tightened them down.

another audi rant...the gas pedal is assembled in a really weird, complex way - it's all plastic and the pedal itself pivots with a spring loaded action. basically, i really wanted to just raise the gas and keep the brake and clutch level but since i could barely do anything with the gas pedal due to construction and space (why there's only one bolt on the gas....) i could only put the pedal on straight and without any washers under it to raise it up.

seriously, that engine bay scares me. A lot. How are you supposed to work in there?

You take the front clip off.

No, i'm not kidding.

true story. front clip comes off for pretty much anything. the good thing is that its not a super complex process, just that it involves tools you don't own.

yes, its scary and no, you don't work in there, you just tear skin off your knuckles and cry to yourself when you break off yet another hose that's dry rotted from the turbo heat. but then again, i don't actually search out situations where i have to tear a busted pile apart and put it back together again like some of you nutjobs....

[ScottyB]

woot. ferodo DS2500 pads en route to mi casa. i was torn between those or the boobcats but i got a very nice deal on the frodo's so the price difference was too much to ignore.

pics of install to come, for whoever cares.

still on the list of things to do this spring:

- replace fuel, pollen, and oil filters
- front disks replaced with A8 rotors and TT caliper carriers
- steering column boost gauge pod w/gauge
- ear plugs to prepare for the verbal flogging i will recieve upon telling Jen i really should replace the squeeky rear control arms, which will cost a wee bit.

[ScottyB]

Chan came over today just in time for the cold front to come in and freeze our asses off, but it was fun anyway. kinda glad i changed them out today, i was not aware my one pad had pretty much told the backing plate "peace out" and tried to escape:



i have a kinda bad lip on my rotors, which you can see made an impression on the pad and shows how it ended up being positioned once it fell out of place.

the thickness of the remaining pads was pretty low...about an 1/8th of an inch left.




in other news, i love my ferodos. great cold bite, zero fade after bedding (i gave it a good try) and nothing but the slightest squeek between 10-5 mph. apparently they don't dust too bad but whatever.

[Dave]

tons of life left on those pads man! :-D

[eurospeed951]

The Z is a pain in the ass engine bay, but doesnÔÇÖt come close to this

And I have been dumb enough to own two of them and do a complete engine rebuild on one of them. No more V12s!!!

Scotty, I don't know if this helps at all, but I am very happy with the setup of my a4. I am still learning the car, have bald tires, and have yet to track it, but with the sport suspension, nuspeed rear sway, cross drilled rotors, and decent pads it feels nice. Another thing you should look into is a DTS. A friend with an s4 said the DTS was a more worthwhile mod than even his chip and I like mine as well. Also, if money is a factor, than the sport suspension might get you what you're looking for sooner. As for the rear sway removal, I don't think I would do that. What you said is correct about the rear wheel lifting, but the MUCH bigger problem is the under steer. Like I said, I haven't been on a track with this yet, but pushing it through the corners I have only had all four wheels break traction evenly. No over steer and no under steer.

Like I said I am still getting use to this car(VERY BIG difference from the other turbos) but I hope some of this helps. Good luck with the project.


How's the Industrial Design stuff going?

[ViPER1313]

Out of pure curiosity I looked at the repair manual compiled for that engine - you could not pay me to own one, ever, even if it came with every special Jag tool defined in that manual. It makes the SHO look like a Honda hatch. No wonder XJSs are littering Ebay with low miles, perfect condition for such low prices hock: .

[ScottyB]

Scotty, I don't know if this helps at all, but I am very happy with the setup of my a4. I am still learning the car, have bald tires, and have yet to track it, but with the sport suspension, nuspeed rear sway, cross drilled rotors, and decent pads it feels nice. Another thing you should look into is a DTS. A friend with an s4 said the DTS was a more worthwhile mod than even his chip and I like mine as well. Also, if money is a factor, than the sport suspension might get you what you're looking for sooner. As for the rear sway removal, I don't think I would do that. What you said is correct about the rear wheel lifting, but the MUCH bigger problem is the under steer. Like I said, I haven't been on a track with this yet, but pushing it through the corners I have only had all four wheels break traction evenly. No over steer and no under steer.

Like I said I am still getting use to this car(VERY BIG difference from the other turbos) but I hope some of this helps. Good luck with the project.


How's the Industrial Design stuff going?

mmmm V12.....i think if i added up all the cylinders of all the car's i've ever owned i'd match that!


it's funny, you have 90% of the mods i'm considering in the near future....so i'm really glad you chimed in! great to hear about the DTS too, because i love the throw/effort of the shifter but hate the slop and the thunking from the driveline every time i abruptly lift the throttle. i think i might throw in a snub mount while i'm under there, finances permitting. this will most likely be my next upgrade after the A8 rotors.

i don't think i'll remove the rear bar, but i doubt i'll get beefier bars. i'd really like to get some stout spring rates on there and tune it with those first. additionally, to improve the response of the stock sways i'll probably upgrade to Perrin sway bar links -- there's a writeup about it on audiworld. for the record i have sport suspension now, and it's great for what i deal with at this point in my life (shitty roads on the daily commute but playtime on the weekends). and i'm with you on the neutrality, with some tire pressure tweeking the only time i really find any understeer is exiting WAY hard out of tight corners....which makes me only more anxious to get my hands on some real suspension.

keep me updated on your ride, i'd really like to get opinions from someone i know. and have fun getting used to that tractor engine :lol:

as for I.D...my job is graphic/interior design with some architecture thrown in, haha. kind of a long story. i definitely miss your crazy-ass-amazing-craftsmanship projects from studio last year, keep that up!

[ScottyB]

trivial update:

i've noticed the Avons are very particular about tire pressure. also, some people on tire-rack are reporting that their Avons flat-spot after sitting for a while. i've only had it happen once and it lasted all of 30 seconds, on a really cold morning. Mike (sentra), i think you have these tires too, any experiences like that?


the 1.8T gets a sea-f0am-o-rama this weekend, i'm totally setting up my camera mount in rear-view just to record the smoke screen, and hopefully middle fingers that i'll get. probably take some carb cleaner to the MAF too, i bet it's full of gunk.

[Mike]

flat spot for 30 seconds? uhhhh wtf?

[ScottyB]

flat spot for 30 seconds? uhhhh wtf?

i'm not Boobies, i can't lock dem shits up with my ABS :lol:

what i was trying to explain was, the tire shape maintains the flattened contact patch (which it sat on all night) for just a little while until the tire rolls on it for a bit. obviously that's exagerated a bit for clarity but hopefully that explains it better.