The S4; the Bad Bad Bad news, and the ridiculously good news.
So I heard back from my mechanic at Dynospot Racing and he confirmed my worst fears. In fact it was worse than expected. My passenger side Turbo is history....it's leaking oil, buzzing like mad (meaning the turbine impeller wheel is grinding away on the case), my catalytic converters are gutted, and the oil from the busted turbo lines have cooked my O2 sensors...I felt light headed as he broke it down. I had to lean up against the kitchen counter. My wife was kind...she knows how much I love my car.
Cost of repairs:
1. 2500 just for labor!!!
2. New O2 sensors and cord: 250
3. New Cats: 500 a set
4. New K03's, direct replacements: 2000 for both
5. New hardware, gaskets, oil lines, inlet pipes, coupler pipe, regulator: 1000
Kill me quick....hurry.
I immediately began scouring the web and all S4 and Audi forums....nothing new for me. There have been literally thousands of people in my shoes and nearly each and every one decide to step up to what is called STAGE III...and if you look hard enough, dig deep enough, and just get a little bit lucky, you can walk away with a monster set-up for less than the cost of direct replacement. Here is the justification:
1. Your spending nearly three grand on just labor, you might as well invest in a more robust kit.
2. The modifications will place your car at STAGE III, and you'll be able to recoup your initial loss on the front end with a higher selling price point when you sell the vehicle on the back end....and I absolutely know that logic first hand. I was looking into STAGE III's when I was shopping for an S4 3 years ago and noticed that all STAGE III's were going for at LEAST FIVE GRAND MORE. And today if you look on EBAY, you'll find that they're still getting near FIVE GRAND MORE! Great news.
3. My engine will be pulled and taken apart piece by piece...and aside from the bottom end, the engine will be nearly new. And the RS4 parts are designed to take a beating. No more worrying about blown turbos and leaking oil. All the parts are bigger and beefier.
So after literally hours of research (I actually stayed home today...we're getting our carpets cleaned and my stomach has suffered from the car stress...I know, I'm a nut), it appears as if I've cashed in on my good Karma.
1. The Dynospot guys have been really good to me over the last 3 years. They've had me walk away several times without paying a dime for a problem another shop could have easily swindled thousand dollars from me. They've been consistently honest and have given me the best deal on labor...and by far. I've called all six tuner shops in the Bay Area that have experience with STAGE III Turbo swaps. Each one has quoted me 38 to 42 hours of labor at anywhere from 100 to 125 bucks an hour....yikes! Dynospot will do it in under 25 hours and at 75 bucks an hour....SOLD. Three points of Karma cashed.
2. Depending on where you source your STAGE III kit, whether AWE, ECS, AVALON, APR, ASP, STREETWERKE, 2BENNETT, or STASIS, your looking at a minimum $5,500 to a maximum of $7,700 for Hybrid RS6's!! Big difference compared direct OEM stock S4 replacements which cost 3250, and maybe 2750 if you find one slightly used. I found some rich fellow, Jarett, in UT on the Midwest Audiforum. He owns a Porsche 997TT, an Audi RS6, a Cayenne Turbo, and ONE RECENTLY REAR-ENDED B5 S4 STAGE III!!!!! The car is a wreck. He showed me a pic and it simply can't be sold, so he's parting it out. His STAGE III kit is from AVALON and AWE TUNING and has five thousand miles on them. They're in perfect condition and he even reassured me by telling me to call his local tuning shop (Which I did BTW) to confirm the recent purchase and the professional installation. Called his tuner and sure enough, it's in great shape and will deliver cleaned, all pipes, hardware, oil lines, gaskets, bolts, couplers, inlet pipes, hoses, clamps, regulators, etc. etc. Still has the boxes and the packaging they came in....and the kicker....drum-roll...he wants to get rid of it complete kit for 2050!!!...yes, 2050, over a thousand less than OEM and at least 4000 less than an off the shelf STAGE III!! I cashed 19.5 points of Karma on that one. Here is a pic of the kit.
3. With the significant increase in POWER, my stock clutch and flywheel simply will not do. Well, again, luckily, I found a guy in British Columbia on the Audiworld Northwest Chapter Forum selling his near new RS4 Clutch kit, with uprated pressure plate and lightweight and strengthened flywheel for, not 1400 to 1800 new (depending on where you look, whether it's ECS Tuning or EBAY), but for 400!! I asked the guy how many miles he has on them and he said he put on about 18,000 pampered miles...no track days. He also reassured me that it was in nearly new condition. Told me to check out his online EBAY shop and see his 99.9% rating and his 100% rating on PAYPAL. My clutch is ready to go BTW, has 70K miles, and the best thing is that Dynospot will install it FOR FREE!! Usually the install is 8 hours of labor but since the motor is out and the clutch and flywheel exposed, he said it was simply a matter of bolting it on! Thank you lord...22 points of Karma cashed. Here's a picture of the RS4 Clutch, pressure plate, and strengthened flywheel.
4. And about my O2 sensors (200 bucks a pop, and the cats being 500 a set) well a Scott from the Northeast Chapter of Audiworld is selling, get this, this blew me away, AWE tubular exhaust manifold, AWE large mouth stainless steel downpipes, WITH 02 sensors, test pipes, deleted pre-cats, and high flow 400 cell catalytics. You can purchase the package at AWE for 4695 bucks. He's selling his ride and parting out his STAGE 3+ components and will sell them for 900 shipped!! You have to understand, and I'm not sure this guy does, that downpipes last forever. You clean them up and their as good as new. He put 8k miles on them and could sell them on EBAY for 3 grand easy. His loss, my gain. He sounded like a young newb on the phone,..either that or he's rich and doesn't give a rats ass. He's not even handling the exchange, his tuner shop is. I hope his shop doesn't know how much he's selling them for and he says he's been inundated with e-mail inquires. I'm the only one that actually called him ready to PAYPAL. And again, the crazy thing is, Dynospot Racing will install them FOR FREE!! These guys are going to get a Christmas present from me this year. It's typically an 8 hour job, but again, the old ones have to come off anywayz, so when he puts them back, it's simply a matter of putting the new ones on. Here's a pic of the kit.
5. And lastly, as I've said, I can recoup nearly 4 grand when I sell the Bad-Boy...I can sell all the old parts (K03 turbo's, on in good condition, old downpipes, inlet tubing, couplers, etc) for probably five to six hundred dollars. Sell my Z28 IROC 700R4 racing tranny (yes It's still sitting here in my garage) for six hundred, and sell all my airsoft stuff (interceptor armor and trick M4SIR with all the cool accessories) for another six hundred (or perhaps more) and I'll survive financially.
I'll have completely run out of Karma like I've run out of END though.
But all you have to see is this Dynoplot and you'll understand:
Oh lord.
Cost of repairs:
1. 2500 just for labor!!!
2. New O2 sensors and cord: 250
3. New Cats: 500 a set
4. New K03's, direct replacements: 2000 for both
5. New hardware, gaskets, oil lines, inlet pipes, coupler pipe, regulator: 1000
Kill me quick....hurry.
I immediately began scouring the web and all S4 and Audi forums....nothing new for me. There have been literally thousands of people in my shoes and nearly each and every one decide to step up to what is called STAGE III...and if you look hard enough, dig deep enough, and just get a little bit lucky, you can walk away with a monster set-up for less than the cost of direct replacement. Here is the justification:
1. Your spending nearly three grand on just labor, you might as well invest in a more robust kit.
2. The modifications will place your car at STAGE III, and you'll be able to recoup your initial loss on the front end with a higher selling price point when you sell the vehicle on the back end....and I absolutely know that logic first hand. I was looking into STAGE III's when I was shopping for an S4 3 years ago and noticed that all STAGE III's were going for at LEAST FIVE GRAND MORE. And today if you look on EBAY, you'll find that they're still getting near FIVE GRAND MORE! Great news.
3. My engine will be pulled and taken apart piece by piece...and aside from the bottom end, the engine will be nearly new. And the RS4 parts are designed to take a beating. No more worrying about blown turbos and leaking oil. All the parts are bigger and beefier.
So after literally hours of research (I actually stayed home today...we're getting our carpets cleaned and my stomach has suffered from the car stress...I know, I'm a nut), it appears as if I've cashed in on my good Karma.
1. The Dynospot guys have been really good to me over the last 3 years. They've had me walk away several times without paying a dime for a problem another shop could have easily swindled thousand dollars from me. They've been consistently honest and have given me the best deal on labor...and by far. I've called all six tuner shops in the Bay Area that have experience with STAGE III Turbo swaps. Each one has quoted me 38 to 42 hours of labor at anywhere from 100 to 125 bucks an hour....yikes! Dynospot will do it in under 25 hours and at 75 bucks an hour....SOLD. Three points of Karma cashed.
2. Depending on where you source your STAGE III kit, whether AWE, ECS, AVALON, APR, ASP, STREETWERKE, 2BENNETT, or STASIS, your looking at a minimum $5,500 to a maximum of $7,700 for Hybrid RS6's!! Big difference compared direct OEM stock S4 replacements which cost 3250, and maybe 2750 if you find one slightly used. I found some rich fellow, Jarett, in UT on the Midwest Audiforum. He owns a Porsche 997TT, an Audi RS6, a Cayenne Turbo, and ONE RECENTLY REAR-ENDED B5 S4 STAGE III!!!!! The car is a wreck. He showed me a pic and it simply can't be sold, so he's parting it out. His STAGE III kit is from AVALON and AWE TUNING and has five thousand miles on them. They're in perfect condition and he even reassured me by telling me to call his local tuning shop (Which I did BTW) to confirm the recent purchase and the professional installation. Called his tuner and sure enough, it's in great shape and will deliver cleaned, all pipes, hardware, oil lines, gaskets, bolts, couplers, inlet pipes, hoses, clamps, regulators, etc. etc. Still has the boxes and the packaging they came in....and the kicker....drum-roll...he wants to get rid of it complete kit for 2050!!!...yes, 2050, over a thousand less than OEM and at least 4000 less than an off the shelf STAGE III!! I cashed 19.5 points of Karma on that one. Here is a pic of the kit.
3. With the significant increase in POWER, my stock clutch and flywheel simply will not do. Well, again, luckily, I found a guy in British Columbia on the Audiworld Northwest Chapter Forum selling his near new RS4 Clutch kit, with uprated pressure plate and lightweight and strengthened flywheel for, not 1400 to 1800 new (depending on where you look, whether it's ECS Tuning or EBAY), but for 400!! I asked the guy how many miles he has on them and he said he put on about 18,000 pampered miles...no track days. He also reassured me that it was in nearly new condition. Told me to check out his online EBAY shop and see his 99.9% rating and his 100% rating on PAYPAL. My clutch is ready to go BTW, has 70K miles, and the best thing is that Dynospot will install it FOR FREE!! Usually the install is 8 hours of labor but since the motor is out and the clutch and flywheel exposed, he said it was simply a matter of bolting it on! Thank you lord...22 points of Karma cashed. Here's a picture of the RS4 Clutch, pressure plate, and strengthened flywheel.
4. And about my O2 sensors (200 bucks a pop, and the cats being 500 a set) well a Scott from the Northeast Chapter of Audiworld is selling, get this, this blew me away, AWE tubular exhaust manifold, AWE large mouth stainless steel downpipes, WITH 02 sensors, test pipes, deleted pre-cats, and high flow 400 cell catalytics. You can purchase the package at AWE for 4695 bucks. He's selling his ride and parting out his STAGE 3+ components and will sell them for 900 shipped!! You have to understand, and I'm not sure this guy does, that downpipes last forever. You clean them up and their as good as new. He put 8k miles on them and could sell them on EBAY for 3 grand easy. His loss, my gain. He sounded like a young newb on the phone,..either that or he's rich and doesn't give a rats ass. He's not even handling the exchange, his tuner shop is. I hope his shop doesn't know how much he's selling them for and he says he's been inundated with e-mail inquires. I'm the only one that actually called him ready to PAYPAL. And again, the crazy thing is, Dynospot Racing will install them FOR FREE!! These guys are going to get a Christmas present from me this year. It's typically an 8 hour job, but again, the old ones have to come off anywayz, so when he puts them back, it's simply a matter of putting the new ones on. Here's a pic of the kit.
5. And lastly, as I've said, I can recoup nearly 4 grand when I sell the Bad-Boy...I can sell all the old parts (K03 turbo's, on in good condition, old downpipes, inlet tubing, couplers, etc) for probably five to six hundred dollars. Sell my Z28 IROC 700R4 racing tranny (yes It's still sitting here in my garage) for six hundred, and sell all my airsoft stuff (interceptor armor and trick M4SIR with all the cool accessories) for another six hundred (or perhaps more) and I'll survive financially.
I'll have completely run out of Karma like I've run out of END though.
But all you have to see is this Dynoplot and you'll understand:
Oh lord.
posted by supergoober at
12:34 PM
1 Comments:
Better be extra good in the months to come P...then you will recoup that Karma back......sounds like you used up your 30 dice of Luck to get what you needed for the price you did. Good finds man!
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