My friend just bought a new Audi A4 Quattro 1.8T 5-spd which had some work already done to it- a new chip which increases the boost, a high performance cat, and a custom cat-back exhaust. I have a 97 SE 5-spd with only intake and underdrive pulley. We started on an onramp at about a 5-10 mph roll (which should be to his advantage since he has AWD which is bad for 0 mph starts) and just went from there...I ended up about 1 and 1/2 to 2 car lengths ahead of him at about 110 mph in 4th gear. Lots of fun. And I just got my Cattman Y-pipe today, should be in by the end of tomorrow. I'll let you know how it is!

 

Nice! When you get that y-pipe installed you will leave him even further behind especially if you wind 4th all the way out...

 

Hey Aaron, what's up with that above statement? I'm surprised no one else said it sooner. AWD is BAD for launching? I don't think so man. If he knew how to launch it, you woulda seen his taillights the whole way.

Good kill anyways, those Audi's are sweet rides. Too small of a car for me, though.

 

The way your friend car is modded, he's got about 200hp at the crank. Not nearly enough to run faster than a 5spd 4th gen with an intake. You should run low 15's at the track (15.2-.3) easy, whereas he is probably running 15.4-15.5. (both rookies of course)
IF you run from a standstill, he will put a car or two on you. You would surely catch him though, probably before the end of a 1/4 mile run.

 

what kinda power A6 2.7T has? i'm thinking about racing one with auto and quattro.

 

no he has an underdrive pulley so he is running 15.4 (official underdrive pulley hater)

 

Are you joking? 2.7T with a chip can do 5.5sec 0-60mph.

 

I want an Audi!

 

He didn't say chip, he said AUTO. Tiptronic 2.7T's run 0-60mph in ~6.6 seconds - completely feasible for a Maxima.

Now a chipped, 6-speed 2.7T is a different story.

 

Despite the decent performance in the 1/4, they are not 1/4 mile cars. They really come into their own once rolling. Tons of torque (an underrated 258ft lbs from 1800-4500 rpms) gives them plenty of power, no matter what gear they're in.

 

Yes, AWD are bad for dead 0 mph starts...go watch drags, and you will see that all of the cars launch with wheel spin because it gets a better quarter time, and AWD drive cars can't do that (get sufficient wheel spin) unless they have a LOT of horsepower and a VERY STRONG clutch, which most don't at all.

 

That does make some sense...My friend has a 92 Celica All-trac turbo 5-speed...and he doesn't have enough power to get him off the line very fast...he bogs most of the time......BUT explain this one to me. I was at the track on Friday and raced a basically stock Eclipse GSX AUTO and he got a 1.9 60' compared to my 2.2 60'.....I did catch him and pass him before the 1/8 mile...but he still KILLED me off the line cuz of AWD. If you know how to launch them and don't mind going through clutchs all the time...AWD cars can go like hell off the line.

 

good job

 

That boggles me too...and I don't get it at all. My friend's Audi supposedly will get to 100 (yup, 100) ft. faster than my car, but I will definitely pass him in the quarter...also, another huge piece of info I read was I was reading an article in either Car and Driver or Road & Track, can't remember which, but it doesn't matter... the article was about the Subaru WRX, with the AWD 227 turbo. It said that although it was a powerful engine etc, that it's 0-60 and quarter time were not very showing of the car's true capabilities since it had to launch from a stand still in both circumstances, where wheel spin is advantageous, and they (in the article) said that they just couldn't get the tires to do more than barely chirp on the WRX. They said it's performance is much more recognized when the car is actually moving. I just can't explain the quicker start right at the beginning...any one have any insight???

 

Hmm....I would have thought the other way around for the WRX....I have seen them at the track...and they launch like hell....I would definitely have to spray to beat them down the 1/4....but from a roll (yes I have raced a WRX from a roll) I have no problem pulling on them WITHOUT my NOS.

 

You ever wonder how much a clutch replacement costs on those 2.7T AWD Audis?? Ballpark figure of around $2 grand. Would you burn out on that clutch?? If you've got money to burn, I guess you're OK.

With the Max you get very good performance and reasonable maintenance costs . . . .so you can enjoy it more

DW

 

I've taken my "luxo-barge" to the 1/4 mile a few times. I've made a total of about 8-10 runs on it. My car weighs 4080 lbs with me in it and just under 1/2 tank of fuel. It all depends upon the launch. In my car, on the stock tires, and on a chilly day, I was launching at 3500 rpm, and getting enough wheelspin to engage the EDL's (eletronic differential locks, or traction control). Audi's with quattro are hampered by that EDL system. If you spin one tire, not only will the quattro move the lost power to the end of the car with more traction, it will brake the offending wheel if re-distributing the power isn't enough. Basically, this means that the only way to spin a wheel is if you spin them all at the same speed. I made up a saying for my escapades on the 1320 "The harder I try, the harder I die." I've tried very hard to get the car off the line quicker, the more I try, the worse the effect. I have learned to launch so well, that there's not many cars that can get off the line ahead of me. I can pull consistent 2.0-1.9 60 ft times in my car. In max acceleration mode, you need some wheelspin to help get the car up to speed. That's the reason the car mags try so hard to get the tires to spin, to try to improve performance. The most I can get from my car is a chirp of the front tires, and sometimes I chirp all 4, then get the chattering of the EDL's (which usually makes my 60' time more like 2.1-2.2.
That's why I was debating so heavily before in that "modded 5th gen vs A6 thread", once rolling, the car accelerates much better than it does off the line.
Once your friend learns to launch his A4 better, he will put more distance on you from the start. You will be able to chase him down, but if he puts enough distance on you from the start, you may not bea able to catch him by the end of the 1/4.

 

My question then is this: if the AWD's can launch quicker, then why would I ever be able to catch up? Just 'cause my car is straight out faster than his then? Thanks for all the info- very informative.

 

AWD has great launch ability. But after that, all that AWD hardware is a burden, dragging the car down with the extra weight and more drivetrain power loss when compared to FWD/RWD. The only other time that AWD is advantageous is in cornering.

DW

 

I love to go home on the weekends because I'm able to drive my dad's Audi 225 TT. If you have the rpm's at about 3300 (when the turbo kicks in) and then let it go, the jump of the line is almost scary! I love it, and can't really tell the descrease in top speed because of the extra weight sense it begs to go into triple digits while still in 4th, it has 6! Even after driving an AWD I still want a RWD, preferably the next Z car!! Anywho, that's my .02

 

Also, quattro makes those Audis heavier, causing slower acceleration times then fwd audis.