Radio Flyer Red Wagon build

[Audiban]

I ran out of things to do to my Jeep Wrangler and shifted my attention to my 2011 A4 B8 Avant.

It has served me well for the last 4 years as a family wagon with the typical 2.0t growing pains.

Oil consumption stage 2 and timing chain/tensioner have been taken care of, along with several nuisances to keep the car humming.

I've been doing extensive VCDS logging here so I won't clutter the build thread with charts and logs.

The red wagon as it sits today, with more plans on the way.

[TwinTipSkier]

I like this.

More photos please!

[19birel]

Looks good! How do you like the IE Stage 1 tune?

[Audiban]

I like this.

More photos please!

Thanks! Here's one of my winter setup. Thule Force L box and Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 winter tires. I went with a set of Wheels Alzor 17x7.5" Style 349 wheels to get more sidewall driving in the snow. ET35 offset.

[shreddykrueger]

Yea Damian! Stoked to see this all come to fruition, the vogtland coilovers will make a world of difference in appearance (along with handling improvement)

I ran out of things to do to my Jeep Wrangler and shifted my attention to my 2011 A4 B8 Avant.

It has served me well for the last 4 years as a family wagon with the typical 2.0t growing pains.

Oil consumption stage 2 and timing chain/tensioner have been taken care of, along with several nuisances to keep the car humming.

I've been doing extensive VCDS logging here so I won't clutter the build thread with charts and logs.

The red wagon as it sits today, with more plans on the way.

[bluefox280]

Watch for the Denver long roof gatherings this year in the Rocky Mountain local forum.
Good to see more Avant owners in the Denver metro area.

- Erik

[Audiban]

Looks good! How do you like the IE Stage 1 tune?

Thanks! I've had the IE tune for 4 months and am pleased with it so far. Big selling point was the flash at home capability and program switching. Boost is up by about 4PSI and I'm seeing around 30ft-lbs more torque. I'm at 5k elevation though so the stock turbo is already working harder as is. Not much difference in drivability under 3k RPM but beyond that I can feel a nice kick compared to stock. My logs confirm increased levels of MAF, Load, Boost, Fueling and Wastegate.

I'm gearing up for the IE downpipe/HFC and stage 2.

[Audiban]

Yea Damian! Stoked to see this all come to fruition, the vogtland coilovers will make a world of difference in appearance (along with handling improvement)

Guess who gave me the ideas! It really helped to try before you buy.

[Audiban]

Watch for the Denver long roof gatherings this year in the Rocky Mountain local forum.
Good to see more Avant owners in the Denver metro area.

- Erik

I’ll keep an eye out. Looks like there are a few nice Avants around here.

[Audiban]

Installed a Podi boost gauge, high-altitude sensor and center pod.

[Audiban]

I first swapped the front grille for an RS4 style honeycomb one. The gloss-black looked out of place against the chrome trim of the rest of the car. I may have kept it if it had a chrome trim surround and I didn't need a front license plate.

I decided on an S4 grille and swapped the S4 badge for an s-line badge.

[Audiban]

Swapped the stock steering wheel to an S-line wheel with paddle shifters. Needed to resource a separate airbag to match the new wheel. Enabling paddle shifters in VCDS was straightforward.

[Audiban]

The single best mod so far was fixing my stock wastegate. I noticed sluggish performance in the low RPM range. No ECU codes, but full boost wasn't built until about 3500rpm. Upon further inspection, there was some play in the wastegate actuator arm. To get a few more miles out of the stock turbo, I cut the actuator arm, cut left and right-handed threads, and used a turnbuckle with a locking nut to keep in place. I was then able to put enough tension on the actuator arm to keep the wastegate shut. Hardest part of the endeavor was to remove the turbo exhaust flange bolts with a series of extensions, removing the wastegate arm clip, and finding a left-handed die.

After everything was put back together, the performance gain was astounding. Full boost 500rpms sooner, more responsive throttle, and a joy to drive again.

[CONative]

Awesome, I have a twin in Denver now. Nice to meet you! And as Eric said, keep an eye out on the Rocky Mountain section as I’ll eventually be hosting a meeting of the Avants.

Hope to see you around.


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[Depthcharge]

The single best mod so far was fixing my stock wastegate. I noticed sluggish performance in the low RPM range. No ECU codes, but full boost wasn't built until about 3500rpm. Upon further inspection, there was some play in the wastegate actuator arm. To get a few more miles out of the stock turbo, I cut the actuator arm, cut left and right-handed threads, and used a turnbuckle with a locking nut to keep in place. I was then able to put enough tension on the actuator arm to keep the wastegate shut. Hardest part of the endeavor was to remove the turbo exhaust flange bolts with a series of extensions, removing the wastegate arm clip, and finding a left-handed die.

After everything was put back together, the performance gain was astounding. Full boost 500rpms sooner, more responsive throttle, and a joy to drive again.

Very creative!

[Audiban]

Awesome, I have a twin in Denver now. Nice to meet you! And as Eric said, keep an eye out on the Rocky Mountain section as I’ll eventually be hosting a meeting of the Avants.

Hope to see you around.


Sent from my iPhone using Audizine

Hey brother, nice to meet you! Red longroofs for the win but I am partial. Looking forward to the next meetup.

[Audiban]

After 3 months of waiting, a new set of Vogtland coilovers finally shipped and arrived from Germany. I installed the set over the course of a week. I can see why people pay a shop to do the work. It was fun but took a looong time.


Currently sitting at 26" ride height all the way around. Ride is definitely stiffer than the OEM suspension, but not harsh. Will let it settle for a few miles and then get an alignment.

With the coilovers installed:



Original suspension for comparison:



Fronts:



Rears:

[ColoAllroadJeff]

Sweet looking ride! I like the boost gauge location - def considering one in my Allroad.

[CONative]

3 months is ridiculous! Where did you order from that it took 3 months? My Vogtlands we’re here in 2 weeks and were shipped from Germany as well. Hoping to get mine installed this coming week.

Your ride looks good, man! I like the RF sticker. Almost did the same but decided not to add any decals. We have a meet this coming Saturday, should def try and make it out!


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[Audiban]

Sweet looking ride! I like the boost gauge location - def considering one in my Allroad.

Thanks! The gauge was one of the first additions. The gauge pod has a nice OEM+ look.

[Audiban]

3 months is ridiculous! Where did you order from that it took 3 months? My Vogtlands we’re here in 2 weeks and were shipped from Germany as well. Hoping to get mine installed this coming week.

Your ride looks good, man! I like the RF sticker. Almost did the same but decided not to add any decals. We have a meet this coming Saturday, should def try and make it out!


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Thanks! I got the coilovers from AJUSA. It was a good price so I didn't mind waiting. I'm planning on attending this Saturday and see some of the sweet rides around here.

[Audiban]

Integrated Engineering HFC and mid pipe are on and I flashed to stage 2 conveniently from my garage. Boost builds a bit faster, especially in the lower RPMs. Happy about the exhaust note which is subtle but present. Excited to run some more logs and compare to stage 1.

[J.kaseno]

Love the red wagon! Question about your IE downpipe... How did you mate the 3" Downpipe to stock exhaust. Im about to install the same DP mated to awe 2.5" inch exhaust.

[Audiban]

Love the red wagon! Question about your IE downpipe... How did you mate the 3" Downpipe to stock exhaust. Im about to install the same DP mated to awe 2.5" inch exhaust.

The IE downpipe/midpipe came with a split fit adapter and two clamps that reduced the 3" midpipe to the 2.5" stock exhaust.

[J.kaseno]

I recieved the adapter with the downpipe. I figured the 2.5" end should slip into the exhaust pipe and not the other way around. The 2.5" pipe is a looser fit than the 3" end of the adapter over the IE end. Thank you for the picture showing this. I'm about to install IE downpipe to awe exhaust and don't want to have any leaks.

[Depthcharge]

I recieved the adapter with the downpipe. I figured the 2.5" end should slip into the exhaust pipe and not the other way around. The 2.5" pipe is a looser fit than the 3" end of the adapter over the IE end. Thank you for the picture showing this. I'm about to install IE downpipe to awe exhaust and don't want to have any leaks.

post some sound clips when you finish it!