Here We Go Again- Building Another Audi

[19birel]

Hello everyone! Hope you're all staying safe out there! Earlier this week I was finally able to take the car down to the dyno and was pretty blown away by the results. 250whp and 311wtq on the Mustang Dyno! Stock exhaust, Stock intercooler, stock intake, just the JB4 working its magic [] Tried to do a run in stock mode but for what ever reason that doesn't fully cooperate on my car so it was still adding boost, which is why my baseline is a little high. I made a video of the dyno day and my thoughts which I'll post below.

Felt so good to get these numbers, my expectations were certainly exceeded, and it was a nice result after all the tuning and data logging I did with George from Burger Motorsports to get things dialed in over the past few months. I'm glad I was able to to hit the dyno first after being the first B8.5 to get JB4'd! It's been a fun process for sure

Then today this showed up in the mail so I had to install it

Pretty much the same thing as a Sprint Booster but made by Burger Motorsports. My reason for picking one up is that I've noticed that the amount of pedal input doens't directly correlate to the amount of actual throttle input. Under partial acceleration it almost makes the car feel a little lethargic, and it's difficult to precisely modulate the throttle. This has annoyed me since I got the car so I finally decided to pull the trigger.

Install was easy as you'd expect although there isn't much room to get the connector onto the throttle pedal. I ran the cable behind these plastic panels so it's hidden and can't get in the way.

I was going to velcro it somewhere but it actually fits snugly wedged between the seat so that's where I have it for now

Honestly I'm shocked by the difference it makes, the throttle is SO much more responsive. It almost feels like the car has more torque at times because it not only responds quicker but to a greater extent. You really notice it under partial throttle acceleration. The only "con" is that the extra responsiveness has made the power delivery not as smooth as before. Because it is so eager to respond you notice the lag/boost threshold more, and the boost comes on very abruptly. With the stock mapping the more progressive throttle allowed the car to build the boost more progressively as the throttle body wasn't opening as quickly. That could just be the pedal tuner exposing a weakness of the JB4, which has offered stock-like power delivery until now.

However, there is a lot of adjustment to play with, and I am currently on the most aggressive "Stage 3" setting with +1 added to the sensitivity. As I drive with it more I'm sure I'll get it dialed into a setting that offers the best of both so I'm not fussed about that. Very happy that I got it, it did what I was hoping it would, and overall makes the car feel a little more effortless in the delivery of its performance.

EDIT: Drove around a bit today and changed the pedal tuner to the "Stage 2 +3" setting and now it's perfect, power delivery is back to being buttery smooth and the throttle response is very direct! I just had it set way too aggressively before haha

[19birel]

How's the throttle response and drivability with the jb4? I keep going back and forth between the apr stage 1 and the jb4. Seems like everyone says apr is the way to go but the jb4 seems to be a bit more flexible. Not sure how it will compare though considering I have a mk6 1.8t

Throttle response and drivability with the JB4 is as smooth as stock. A flash tune has benefits over a JB4, but the added flexibility of the JB4 is super nice and I haven't noticed any drawbacks. I have the bluetooth module so I can switch maps, data log, scan and clear codes, view a bunch of gauges like boost and afr, and even make tweaks to the tuning all from my phone.

I've had a great experience with it so far, you obviously can't go wrong with APR, but the extra diagnostic/tuning features of JB4 sold me and I'm very happy with how the car drives. I'm sure it'll be just as good on the MK6 1.8T. Their customer support is great too, George, their primary VW guy is active on all the main forums and very responsive to email.

[Graphitemk6]

How's the throttle response and drivability with the jb4? I keep going back and forth between the apr stage 1 and the jb4. Seems like everyone says apr is the way to go but the jb4 seems to be a bit more flexible. Not sure how it will compare though considering I have a mk6 1.8t

[19birel]

Been doing bits so here's an update of sorts. I decided to install a CB radio in the A4, seemingly random but it was something I wanted to do back when I had my old B5 as I had been reading up a lot on cannonball as well as Alex Roy's record drive. It's fun to listen & talk to truckers on my way to work sometimes also a couple buddies have them so we can chat when rolling in convoy. I also kinda dig the look of the big antenna on the trunk too haha

My Cobra receiver is velcroed to the side of the trans tunnel and hardwired into the passenger side fuse box. A clean install was a priority so no wires are really visible, that said it is 100% reversible and can be done so in ~20 minutes if I was so inclined.

The K40 K-30 antenna mounted on the trunk (magnet)

Only problem I have now is that I want to get a police scanner too haha

Next I refreshed my rear brakes, they definitely were past due[rolleyes ] They looked okay-ish on the car but after tapping them with a hammer to break them free the surface of the rotor began falling in chunks of rust

Pads were torched too. New vs old


Reassembled with new Akebono Euroceramic pads and Meyle coated rotors. I also did a fluid flush with some ATE fluid, super easy with the help of a powerbleeder

Next I picked up a cheap android tablet and OBDEleven to check my cam phase adaptation which indicates timing chain stretch. On these cars -7 is when you're at risk of skipping time so I should be good for quite a while. Car had 73,8xx miles at the time of the scan, I'll keep checking periodically but I don't anticipate needing to refresh it until 100k.

Next, I upgraded to R8 coils and swapped to NGK BKR8EIX Iridium spark plugs which are 1 heat range colder than the BKR7EIX I ran before. I had actually thought this is what I did when I did plugs last year, but I guess I bought the wrong ones last time [>_<] Considering most of the miles I did on them was with the stock tune it worked out though

Anyways as you can see the old plugs looked good after 13k miles

The gap expanded from ~.028 to ~.032 New plugs were pre-gapped at .028 which is where I left them

Plugs and Red top R8 coils installed

Car runs slightly smoother than before, I attribute that to the new coil packs rather than the plugs though as the old plugs weren't actually that old. The car continues to run strong and the plan is to get it on the dyno here pretty soon to see what kind of power it's making with the JB4!

Speaking of the JB4, we got the tuning pretty dialed, it's every bit as quick as a flash tuned car and drivability is OEM. Ran dead even with a stock STI the other day and got a thumbs up, considering where this thing started I'm stoked!

Lastly, I made a video talking about the rebuild process and giving a little review of the car, check it out!

[19birel]

I really like the OEM+ stuff you've been doing to the car; painting the headlight reflectors made a much bigger difference than I would have expected

Thanks! I wanted to keep it subtle but still distinguishable. The headlight reflectors really transformed the look of the car for me, crazy how such a small detail can do that

[TheTynosaur]

I really like the OEM+ stuff you've been doing to the car; painting the headlight reflectors made a much bigger difference than I would have expected

[19birel]

Little update, did some maitenance- fresh oil and filters

Also became the first B8/8.5 A4 to run a JB4, this is still in beta so I'm stoked to be running the development car and help pioneer something for this platform.

Also made a clear fairing for the roof rack, should've done this ages ago as I can finally use my moonroof again and I'm not deafened by wind noise at highway speeds haha. Tossed in some LED fogs too but those aren't pictured.

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url=https://flic.kr/p/2i8ajSB][/url]

I have a bunch of plans for this year, but those are contingent on maintenance, and whether or not I decide to finally start working on my actual "project car" lol

[Fruttolo]

Needs 2" more in wheel width, 2" less in ride height and a set of good coilovers to solve that last problem you had LOL

[19birel]

Not too much has happened since the last update, but I got a new camera so I'll post some fresh pics

Side note: I've learned that with two passengers and a trunk full of backpacks and camera kit, this B has fender rub I'm running stock sport suspension so my best guess it just has to do with my tyres being a little chunky (the sidewall has rim protection and extends past the wheel lip)

[19birel]

So with the school semester officially underway my budget for car related fun stuff has diminished substantially. However I had some spare funds set aside to tackle a repair/mod that I've been wanting to do for a while.

My passenger side door speaker kept sounding distorted randomly, and it was driving me nuts. I always have music on in the car so it was hard to ignore. I decided to order a set of these Infinity by Harman Reference series coaxials, I got a deal on them and the specs were pretty solid!

*For clarification I just got coaxials because of the pricing being good, the extra tweeter on there won't actually be utilized due to the way Audi sets up the sound systems.


With trim removal tools, the door panel is pretty easy to remove, you have to be pretty forceful to release the fasteners once you remove all the screws but I didn't have trouble reinstalling anything which tells me they can take a bit of extra force.


Crappy stock B&O speaker with it's paper cone:P


The magnets are microscopic too!


Screwed up big time and kicked over my Stella[:p]


New speaker installed with adapter and the OEM foam between the adapter and the door


Wired up with some new connectors (brown is ground in case you're wondering) and some extra foam around the front of the speakers.

Including the adapters this was probably a $100 project all together, the bass & other lower frequencies sound much cleaner and even more powerful than before. Overall I'm quite pleased with the outcome.

Next up the docket is another oil change as it's been 5k since my last one, going with Liqui Moly Synthoil again, also due for another full interior detail. At some point soonish I'm gonna do a carbon clean.

Mod wise I'm saving up for the JB4 that's rumored to be released soon for our platform which I intend to use to run a meth setup to help reduce carbon buildup (and add some power too I suppose haha)

That's all for now!

[19birel]

In for pics of a pimp mtb strapped on that rack

I'll have to snap one with my road bike up there next time I ride haha

I'd love a MTB one day tho, maybe when I finish with university and have a little bit of time and money lol

[Fruttolo]

In for pics of a pimp mtb strapped on that rack

[19birel]

Looks awesome man! When you get ready to get some new pads I highly recommend Akebono ceramics. Just replaced the OEM fronts on my S5 with Akebonos and there's zero brake dust plus they bite better and have a linear feel.

Thanks man!

I actually had those pads on my old BMW and loved them. I'll definitely snag a set when the time comes, everything you said rang true when I installed them on the old car.

[rightfullrudder]

Looks awesome man! When you get ready to get some new pads I highly recommend Akebono ceramics. Just replaced the OEM fronts on my S5 with Akebonos and there's zero brake dust plus they bite better and have a linear feel.

[19birel]

So the car is really starting to come together on the mod front, since my last update I've done a few things!

Updates include S4 Mirror Caps, A7 BBK finally installed (dual piston ATE front calipers w/356mm rotors), soundbox delete, and the 19x9" OEM D4 Audi A8 wheels wrapped in a fresh set of 255 section Dunlops. Here are some pics!

Offset is ET33 making for what I'd consider the perfect fitment for me


The hips don't lie[>_<]


And one more for good measure haha

I love the way it looks now, the car is really coming together closer and closer to my ideal image of it. As for the way it drives with the new mods the wider tyres and wider stance have made the car feel far more planted, the steering is heavier which is more to my liking. Ride quality has improved too. My old tyres were trashed which wouldn't have helped the previous setup but these wheels are on the heavy side so that would theoretically help soak up bumps. It doesn't feel like a Bentley or anything but I'm not cursing harshness over bumps like I was in a 19" wheel equipped A5 I was in recently.

The brake upgrade has made the biggest difference though, the stock brakes always felt insufficient to me but these A7 brakes have some serious bite, they have seriously exceeded my expectations. Currently I'm just running OEM pads and rotors.

Stay tuned much more still to come with this car!