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Last post on Sep 20, 2011 at 4:33 PM
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Audi A4 Forum.
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Audi A4, Sedan
Mar 24, 2003 (4:36 pm)
I went to an Audi meeting and one of the guys at the meeting had had his DEALER bolt on a Supercharger to his A4 (a 1997, I think). He said the brand was Eaton and that "all ya gotta do is. . ." He said his dealer told him "no worries" on the factory warranty IF whatever problem he had could not be attributed to the Supercharger.
Now, I'm fearless, Joel (or as I like to call you, Jason) -- but doing this would scare the heck out of me. But, the results -- so he claimed -- were "dramatic" (about $3500).
If I did that, I would be certain I would end up buying a new engine. I'd rather get a 1.8T and take it to stage one chip and new exhaust system (cat back) and maybe some heavy duty BPV's.
But, you asked.
I heard there was a chip for the 2.8 and that the chip, a new air filter and a new set of dual exhausts (all the above about $2000) added a little more torque and about 15 horsepower. This too, seems like too much trouble but probably wouldn't blow your engine.
Mar 24, 2003 (9:05 pm)
If the dealer bolted on the turbo to the guy's 2.8, then it should be ok.
I would prefer a 1.8T, because you can get a lot more power out of the car than from the V6 with the chip.
Mar 24, 2003 (9:22 pm)
Early on I tried a chip on the A4 and it really didn't have much of an effect on performance, even with the new air filter that came packaged with it. It did seem to make the temperature run hotter than normal, but without any corresponding performance boost, I ended up returning them to the manufacturer and getting my money back.
I've also heard of the supercharger conversion, but I don't think I'd ever go this far - would instead purchase a different car. The new S4 looks like it might do the trick.
#5138 of 6042 big noise in A4 turning left
by jenks4
Mar 25, 2003 (3:43 pm)
Does anyone else know of this? Sometimes I hear a very loud grinding noise when I turn the steering wheel to the left. People actually turn and stare! It only happens turning to the left and when not moving or barely moving. I have a 2003 A4.
#5139 of 6042 My new A4 does it too....
by oblu_guy
Mar 25, 2003 (4:36 pm)
But it only does it right after I start the car and start moving...no matter how hard I turn the wheel. It just so happens that's the direction I turn out of my driveway so I haven't tested it to the right.
Sounded more to me like an ABS self-test than a grinding noise.
#5140 of 6042 Turning
by affy
Mar 26, 2003 (12:52 am)
I do get strange vibration and weird noise while turning right and left, but not so loud that people will stare at me.
Then does anyone notice when the car is in idle the car vibrate a lot more than other cars?
I am currently Driving a 2003 B6 3.0
Mar 26, 2003 (9:15 am)
Hit the "econ" button on your climate controls. The AC compressor is on at all times unless that's pushed and it tends to make my car idle a little rough.
#5142 of 6042 Wow a lively discussion indeed......and yet another experience of mine
by lauk0dg
Mar 26, 2003 (9:56 am)
Returning to Chicago and haven't checked this board.
So 3 weeks of inactivity on my A4 caused the battery to totally drain down.....so much that the alarm system turned itself off (though all doors are still locked, thank God), dome lights inoperable, and engine won't even crank when key was turned.
Got a jump start from my coworker and car was back to life. Radio incredibly retained the security code and even the preset channels, although the clock reset itself. Hey how come the odometer kept the mileage.....anyhow. Weird things started to happen afterwards.....
1. The one-touch up and down functions were gone. Windows still went up and down, but the one-touch functions were gone.
2. Armed the car and 5 minutes later, the alarm went off by itself. Weird, all doors were slammed shut and windows closed tight.
Forced to go to the dealership right away, as I park my car in a public parking lot and can't afford to have the alarm going off continuously or have the car sitting there with its doors all unlocked. The weirdest thing was, the one-touch functions went from totally inoperable to intermittently operable to totally normal on my way to the dealership.
Dealership checked the battery performance and they claimed normal and recharged it. They also blamed the alarm going off because the motion sensor sensitivity was reset to MAX by default when the battery died. Turned out the slightest wind motion rocking the car already set off the alarm.
And hopefully those are the only observations. Be those lessons to everybody. So apparently 3 weeks of inactivity coupled with all the power depleting devices on our cars can drain the battery out. 'Rocco, be warned, LOL.
Billy
Mar 26, 2003 (10:20 am)
I changed the battery in my 1998 A4 last summer. Batteries generally seem to go after about 4 to 5 years.
There's some info in my owners manual about that, there were steps I had to take in order to get some things (like the auto up/down windows) working correctly again. They're documented in the manual. I didn't have the problem with the alarm.
I was amused at the owners manual, however, strenuously suggesting that the dealer change the battery. It's really not that hard, just a bit of an inconvenience doing all the stuff after replacing it.
I'm sure the odomoter has some sort of non-volatile memory or mechnical device that stores the miles.
Didn't have the problem with the alarm, though. That would have sucked.
#5144 of 6042 Inactivity........
by andys120
Mar 26, 2003 (11:35 am)
certainly drains batteries on modern cars. I found this to be true of my '98 A4, my '96 Saab 900S and even more old '86 Mustang. OTOH regular driving seems to give all the charge it they need.
If your car is going to be idle for 3 weeks at a time I recommend buying a trickle charger. 5-6 hrs on that will usually bring it back. One of those jump boxes comes in handy as well.
My alarm goes off if the roof is left open unless I remember to trip the switch on the base of the B-post (inside, driver's side). It's unfortunate there's no provision for locking the car wo enabling the alarm system.