B6 s4 lack of hp?

[live2shrednm]

I have a b6 s4 avant and lately my car seems to be lacking power. I have no cels's but it just doesnt seem right. I raced a mk4 jetta with chip and exhaust and he kicked my ass. Went from about 40 to 100 mph serveral times with the same result. My car is a tip with 63,000 miles. Maybe its a mental thing but gettin beat by an stage 1+ jetta is making me think something is up. Just want to know your opinions.....

[drew]

tip + avant. not that surprising. how bad we talking?

[live2shrednm]

bad lol! I definitely know my car is pretty slow, but hell i didnt think it would be that easy for him to almost instantly pull away.

[drew]

well, time to bust out that wallet...haha

[live2shrednm]

so true...

[awdjunkies]

The obvious: Power to weight ratio and FI vs NA..
2 steps further: tip vs manual(maybe), & Drivetrain loss (In terms of % of course)

[91gl]

you ARE down on power, change your plugs, fuel filter, and air filter and thank me later. continue to change all of the above at most every 15k and the car will perform flawlessy for years to come.

plugs especially make the biggest difference. just make sure you use OEM, nothing aftermarket. you will be shocked to see how much better the car feels

[Savant05]

you ARE down on power, change your plugs, fuel filter, and air filter and thank me later. continue to change all of the above at most every 15k and the car will perform flawlessy for years to come.

plugs especially make the biggest difference. just make sure you use OEM, nothing aftermarket. you will be shocked to see how much better the car feels

Trust 91 on this....I did these things and the car woke up for sure.

[w1234ale]

had the same lack of power and discovered that the previous owner had put the wrong plugs in. Also I got the coil packs replaced and now the power is back!

[sleeperwagon]

get the wallet out. I have a pretty tuned 1.8 avant and my buddy had the B7 S4 avant, he got pissed off also at the 40-90mph runs (he killed me off the line). Then he bought Milltek downpipes, exhaust, and intake; different story. I still laugh when I think you guys have to spend about $3500+ install just to hang with 4 cyl.
Note: my friend did give up and trade in his s4 avant for a certified v-8 M3. He kicks my ass in whatever gear whenever he wants now.

[ALWAYS4UDI]

when i swapped out my plugs and coils, it felt like a different car.

^and whats with the tip comments? having a tip vs. man isn't going to make or break the ability to outrun a jetta.

[tadhgbrosnan]

get the wallet out. I have a pretty tuned 1.8 avant and my buddy had the B7 S4 avant, he got pissed off also at the 40-90mph runs (he killed me off the line). Then he bought Milltek downpipes, exhaust, and intake; different story. I still laugh when I think you guys have to spend about $3500+ install just to hang with 4 cyl.
Note: my friend did give up and trade in his s4 avant for a certified v-8 M3. He kicks my ass in whatever gear whenever he wants now.

Dude, you can keep that 1.8. I guarantee 100% of the guys here w/ an S4 would rather have a slightly slower stock V8 than a tuned 1.8. Ten times out of ten. GUARANTEED. The V8 was never intended to be a racer and it has infinitely more character than a 4 banger.

[Sigster]

How many miles is it recommended to replace plugs?

[quiksilver0220]

changing plugs today wil let you know how it feels even though it feels pretty good anyway. But just had the coils replaced probably time for the plugs

[steveo_01vwgolf]

Dude, you can keep that 1.8. I guarantee 100% of the guys here w/ an S4 would rather have a slightly slower stock V8 than a tuned 1.8. Ten times out of ten. GUARANTEED. The V8 was never intended to be a racer and it has infinitely more character than a 4 banger.

Agreed!! Nothing like the rumble! And there are plenty of these V8's that would walk his ass!

[live2shrednm]

I will change evrything out.... Also doing piggies soon. That should help a good amount.

[ItzDarrellS4]

the plugs make a world of a difference. changed mine at 35k and it was like a different car. air filter helped a bit too, not as noticeable though

[B18b1ex]

NGK or Bosch? Which are you guys running? Will it make a difference if I switch to the Bosh? It really should not but I'm asking anyway.

[NoTec]

I have a b6 s4 avant and lately my car seems to be lacking power. I have no cels's but it just doesnt seem right. I raced a mk4 jetta with chip and exhaust and he kicked my ass. Went from about 40 to 100 mph serveral times with the same result. My car is a tip with 63,000 miles. Maybe its a mental thing but gettin beat by an stage 1+ jetta is making me think something is up. Just want to know your opinions.....

What year is your car and how long have you owned it?

[live2shrednm]

What year is your car and how long have you owned it?

2004, bought in july of 2009 with 53k...... put new plugs in at 55k, changing oil every 3-5k since.

[drew]

4 cylinder = FAIL

[NoTec]

2004, bought in july of 2009 with 53k...... put new plugs in at 55k, changing oil every 3-5k since.

Check the intake manifold bolts to ensure that they are tightened down. I don't know the torque specs but you will know when they are loose if you try to tighten them. There was a tsb about this sometime ago. The bolts loosen over time allowing unmetered air into the engine. (Affected earlier B6 S4s)

Also, does the car feel like it lacks low end grunt, top end pull, or just underpowered all around?

[justinperkins]

replace the air filter and clean out the pre-filter, common problem is blocked airflow which introduces starvation

[quiksilver0220]

Well after reading a few people having probs with low power and then listening to 91GL among others saying that changing plugs makes a big difference. I thought what the hey I havent looked at mine yet and having 32k on the engine couldnt hurt to look at em. I was told by the audi tech when he was doing my coil recall, that the plugs should be good for 60k and with only 30k on it he wouldnt recommend it. I mean it was running great why should I change em. I should have listened to my own inner voice though. Since I always change my plugs every 10 to 15k and since these were 7 years old and sat for 2+ years yeah needed to be done.

Well took em out and found out that not only were they nasty but they were audi bosch not the preferred audi NGK I only use NGK in every car ive ever owned, great plug IMHO. So out came the old made a trip to audi and got a new set of audi NGKs and in they went

Old plughttp://s302.photobucket.com/albums/n...Picture327.jpg http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/n...Picture326.jpg


New plug http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/n...Picture328.jpg http://s302.photobucket.com/albums/n...Picture325.jpg


The new plugs do make a big difference

[40valve]

BTW and FYI both Bosch and NGK are used by Audi so you can find either or installed. Mine were NGK.
And saying that plugs are good until 60K is total BS too.

These are mine after 50k or so:

[quiksilver0220]

Yeah kinda found that out that they are good to about 10 to 15k of hard driving if your wanting to keep it optimum

[Ynnekdude]

you ARE down on power, change your plugs, fuel filter, and air filter and thank me later. continue to change all of the above at most every 15k and the car will perform flawlessy for years to come.

plugs especially make the biggest difference. just make sure you use OEM, nothing aftermarket. you will be shocked to see how much better the car feels

agreed

[Mr. Corey]

you ARE down on power, change your plugs, fuel filter, and air filter and thank me later. continue to change all of the above at most every 15k and the car will perform flawlessy for years to come.

plugs especially make the biggest difference. just make sure you use OEM, nothing aftermarket. you will be shocked to see how much better the car feels

+1

[handyvorb]

What octane and brand of gas are you using?

If your running the minimum requirement of 91, then checking your fuel trims will let you know if your car isn't breathing right and where to start looking.

[dparm]

If the car is current on maintenance, throw it on the dyno. Only way to be certain.

[MonkeyBiz]

I have a b6 s4 avant and lately my car seems to be lacking power. I have no cels's but it just doesnt seem right. I raced a mk4 jetta with chip and exhaust and he kicked my ass. Went from about 40 to 100 mph serveral times with the same result. My car is a tip with 63,000 miles. Maybe its a mental thing but gettin beat by an stage 1+ jetta is making me think something is up. Just want to know your opinions.....

I had a Stage 1 Mk4 Jetta GLI (24V VR6) before my B6 S4...Revo flash, Magnaflow catback, Evolution Motorsports intake, short-shirter, Koni/Eibach suspension...all kinds a goodies.

There's NO WAY you shoulda got beat in any kind of race with a Stage 1 Mk4 Jetta. NONE.

$.02

[dparm]

These are my plugs at 50k. Probably good for longer, but plugs are a cheap maintenance item to change. Car feels the same after the change, as I expected.

[live2shrednm]

Well Thanks guys, i will be changing the plugs, coils, and oil change when i have the available time. Hopefully that solves the problem.

[dparm]

Coilpacks are lifetime, they shouldn't need to be changed. There is a recall on them though.

[Sixer]

Should I just bring the car to Audi to get the coils replaced? They will do it at no charge?

[quiksilver0220]

Should I just bring the car to Audi to get the coils replaced? They will do it at no charge?

Only if yours are misfiring if not wait for your letter in the mail and then take it in and they will do it at no charge

[handyvorb]

If you don't have a check engine light for misfires (results of a faulty coil) then you must wait till you receive the second letter stating the ignition coil campaign is open on your vehicle (approx. around end of march/april for our engine).