What have you done to your Audi A4 B7 today?

Beardymat said:

Been a little busy with mine over the last week but got to the exciting bit today so thought I'd add a few picks for you guys. A couple of weeks ago whilst I was sat in traffic someone a couple of cars back forgot to brake and shunted the car behind me into my rear end, The car had just had a new bumper just before I bought it and now needed another plus some repair to the tailgate. I work as a panel beater so I have done the repair and also got some extra work done whilst it was in. I now owe the painter a massive favour as he's done a fantastic job on it.

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I can finally get rid of the rippley door where someone has attempted to repair it. Replacement straight door is the way forward.

Also took the opportunity to fit the spoiler to the bumper better as it was too far back and flopping about in the middle and I have put the RS4 grille in there to see how it looks. Got loads of ideas what to do with this but I'm not sure on any yet. I like the black surround but will need to do something with the gutter and window mouldings and roof bars but I might see about getting all these plus my old chrome grille surround which has bubbled redone in satin chrome assuming they can strip and redo the grille surround. This will then tie in nicely with the roof bars and mirror caps. Then I have had the idea of doing the RS4 grille in grey as it ties in with the S4 rear bumper spoiler or I could do that black too but then I'm fond of the standard S4 grille which would look good with the satin surround or then AAAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!

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AlexMac said:

Finally got around to remapping.
Always been totally underwhelmed by the performance of the Tfsi despite being a Spec Ed 216 bhp.
It's actually my 2nd identical version (Avant Quattro Tfsi S-Line Spec Ed), the first having been written off by someone having a diabetic blackout and hitting us head-on when he drifted over the line in his Jeep Grand Cherokee. Had to have the same again as even the fire crew who attended couldn't believe both us and our dogs got out with barely a scratch. Apparently the third Audi A4/A6 of this era they had dealt with in a month which had protected the occupants in serious crashes, and everyone stood around admiring the old girl despite only having 3 legs left attached.

Anyway, I decided to try the Superchips Bluefin 'cos I wasn't looking to squeeze every last drop out of it and wanted the option to temporarily revert to standard (and Shark is sadly no more) just in case the clutch starts to show signs of struggling.

Got to say I'm pleasantly surprised. I didn't expect all that much of an improvement as on paper the increase isn't huge, but it's SO much nicer to drive. Still very well mannered pootling about below about 3000 revs, but properly wakes up once you're above that! Still not a 'pin you back in your seat' effect (I was spoilt by having a 220bhp A3 8L before moving up in the world), but no longer feel like I need to push the engine to 6000+ rpm when overtaking etc.

I think the info given on the Bluefin website is a bit misleading. Their max figures (for the 216 bhp DTM) appear lower than the std 196 bhp version gets after remapping, and their power/torque curves show the same thing. BUT.... it looks to me as though the DTM they used to produce those figures/graphs was a bit down on power to begin with.

Either way, the car feels like it's got a new lease of life and I'm currently a happy bunny. Although I'm sure I'll be used to it in a week or so and feeling the need for more....

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AlexMac said:

Thanks Baka. All happened about 18 months ago. It was a very close thing (his front wheel smashed through my driver's side window and he rolled a couple of times). Fortunately I saw it coming and was stationary and tucked up against the nearside kerb at the moment of impact. I even had time to throw myself across my better half to try and shield her, although this just meant when the SRS deployed I took it sideways so neck was sore afterwards. Didn't drive for a couple of months afterwards (no car and then no confidence) and don't think I'll ever feel quite the same. In 25+ years of driving, it was my first road accident involving another vehicle (had a few on the track), and the only one which wasn't my own fault. Left me very aware that no matter HOW careful you might be, you can still end up ****ed!

Yeah Rob, obviously I knew when initially swapping to the A4 that the 400kg+ weight penalty without any increase in power would mean a significant drop in performance, but I think it's more to do with how it's delivered TBH. Firstly the A3 would deliver a huge shove from about 2500 rpm, but always felt breathless by about 5500, so I tended to start out any overtaking manoeuvre in a higher gear (3rd) to avoid having to shift mid way past. Whereas the BUL engine keeps pulling all the way to the redline (not that I ever do - too much mechanical sympathy), so to really take advantage of the power you have to hold the gears much longer than the A3.

The other thing is that the A4 is SO much more composed that it feels as though it NEEDS more power, because of how well it handles what it's already got.

Stupid as it seems, it's always felt a bit, well, undignified to pass someone at 6000+ rpm, lol. Especially in a car that looks SO good. (I know others may disagree, but I fell in love with the B7 Avant when it was first released and personally think it's still one of the best looking models ever produced. I've never been quite as keen on the saloons (just as well with 3 dogs), and the non-S-line saloon always looked totally out of proportion to me.)

To put it into context, we live in an area with lots of 60 limits, interspersed with 30 zones through villages. So I spend much of my time stuck behind people doing 40-45 in a 60 regardless of how perfect the weather and road conditions are. If you overtake them (even on a dead straight stretch with plenty of space) and you're at high revs, it fairly often results in being flashed and gesticulated at. That's irritating enough, but what REALLY ****s me off is that these same type of people then drive at EXACTLY the same 40-45 mph through the 30's! So they either leave me standing if they're in front, or sit an inch off my tailgate if they're behind. Sigh!

Initial feeling on the remap is that I'll probably be able to make most overtaking manoeuvres a gear higher than I used to be, which would be enough to make the car feel perfect (for now, lol).

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