AWE BT Test Drive
#1
10-07-2009, 08:06 AM
AWE BT Test Drive
This weekend I had a unique opportunity to get up close and personal with AWE Tuning’s B7 A4 S-line Big Turbo. I’m a VAG enthusiast of the highest order and I’ve also been a long time customer of theirs since Air Water Enterprises was located in a small shop on cobblestone streets in the Philadelphia suburbs. Through years of purchasing their products for my cars, seeing them at car shows and gtg’s, customer appreciation BBQ’s and various forum/email conversations I convinced them I was a good candidate for testing out their A4 for the weekend. What better way is there to get a true feel for your next potential purchase? For the record I now drive an ‘08 A4 Avant S-line (essentially stg2 car). So I scheduled a day to drive down to Willow Grove, PA and swap cars for the weekend.
In case you didn’t know AWE Tuning completed this
Garret turbo based/GIAC tuned turbo earlier this year and debuted the car just before Waterfest. The kit includes:
• Garrett GT28-71R built to A.W.E. Tuning specifications
• A.W.E. Tuning cast exhaust manifold
• German made HJS 200 cell catalytic converter assembly
• A.W.E. Tuning High Pressure Fuel Pump
• A.W.E. Tuning high flow fuel injectors
• Proprietary G.I.A.C. software calibration
• Custom Nomex fiber reinforced silicone boost hoses
• Braided oil & coolant lines and all hardware
Power has been measured on a Mustang dynamometer at 377 hp and 317 lb ft of torque to the crank. This set-up was designed to offer strong usable power delivery for road and track without jeopardizing the integrity of the engine. I’ve been told with forged internals the boost could be increased and 400+ hp figures are not out of the question. And currently this is the only kit that also offers a quality German made HJS 200 cell HFC. If you want to know more about the kit and AWE just visit the site for more info.
http://www.awe-tuning.com/pages/shar...&IL=b7gt28-71r
Review: As I slid into the upgraded S4 Recaro buckets and keyed up the engine I started to prepare for a new kind of driving experience. My previous big turbo experiences were with the 1.8t BT kits and they always seemed a little “On/Off” to me in terms of lag and drivability. I would drive around town without enough power to really do much, then boost would just come on almost instantly and I’d be going too fast for my own good. I guess some people get used to driving their car that way but I prefer a more linear approach (I’ve got twin girls I tote around now). With the combination of the 2.0 liter and the Gt28-71R (along with programming from GIAC) they have not only hit the nail on the head, they have buried it in one shot!
Initially you can barely tell it’s not stock…the 2.0 liter Audi FSI engine has enough guts to get around town without feeling slow or numb. The real magic happens though around 3200 rpms while power and torque build steadily to redline. With the stock intake on this test car I didn’t hear the BPV much at all, but I was able to hear the intoxicating whine of the turbo during every pull. I never get sick of that sound no matter how long I tried to ignore it. In 4th gear 100+ mph is achieved without trying too hard, and lets just say you are cruising on the highway and need to squirt through that spot in traffic to get around that slow Prius…no problem, you are a downshift away from the meat of the power band and it literally rockets you forward with purpose. A dip into the right pedal and you can feel that this turbo compresses a lot more air, the engine feels thicker, more powerful…nothing like the high strung K03 unit. And again it’s all happening without the traditional head snapping jolt of a traditional big turbo. Lag is minimal due to the programming of the GIAC file and the way the boost comes on. And the best part is this Garret turbo unit is big enough to keep pulling strong all the way to redline (apprx. 6600) compared to the K03 that dies out in the mid 5000 range. This kit likes to live in the revs above 4000 and can do it time and time again without heat soak due to the AWE FMIC that dominates the area behind the front RS4 grill.
The car also has a few other goodies from the AWE parts bin including an AWE quad tip exhaust system, BBS 19” forged wheels, Bilstein PSS9 coilovers, and a Brembo big brake kit. From the track-like handling of the PSS9s to the stopping power of the Brembo brakes and the sporty wail of the quad tipped exhaust this car has it all.
I drove the car on the rural roads of PA/NJ and commuted to work for two days (a nearly 120 mile roundtrip). The car averaged 23mpg on the hwy and around 18-19mpg when driving a little more aggressively. I didn’t have one fuel cut, stutter or hesitation…no black smoke when flogging it, nothing. This big turbo kit is really a no-brainer for me, and anyone else that wants a bolt-on kit that does not throw CELs, run too rich or need constant tuning updates. It has enough power on tap that I surprised a Pontiac GTO on a decent highway pull and is definitely faster than the V8 S4.
I’d like to thank Todd, Mike, Ralph, Emmett, John, Alex, Rich and all rest of the staff at AWE for such a great opportunity to test the car out. Great engineering, production and customer service guys, keep up the good work! [
][up]
In case you didn’t know AWE Tuning completed this
Garret turbo based/GIAC tuned turbo earlier this year and debuted the car just before Waterfest. The kit includes:
• Garrett GT28-71R built to A.W.E. Tuning specifications
• A.W.E. Tuning cast exhaust manifold
• German made HJS 200 cell catalytic converter assembly
• A.W.E. Tuning High Pressure Fuel Pump
• A.W.E. Tuning high flow fuel injectors
• Proprietary G.I.A.C. software calibration
• Custom Nomex fiber reinforced silicone boost hoses
• Braided oil & coolant lines and all hardware
Power has been measured on a Mustang dynamometer at 377 hp and 317 lb ft of torque to the crank. This set-up was designed to offer strong usable power delivery for road and track without jeopardizing the integrity of the engine. I’ve been told with forged internals the boost could be increased and 400+ hp figures are not out of the question. And currently this is the only kit that also offers a quality German made HJS 200 cell HFC. If you want to know more about the kit and AWE just visit the site for more info.
http://www.awe-tuning.com/pages/shar...&IL=b7gt28-71r
Review: As I slid into the upgraded S4 Recaro buckets and keyed up the engine I started to prepare for a new kind of driving experience. My previous big turbo experiences were with the 1.8t BT kits and they always seemed a little “On/Off” to me in terms of lag and drivability. I would drive around town without enough power to really do much, then boost would just come on almost instantly and I’d be going too fast for my own good. I guess some people get used to driving their car that way but I prefer a more linear approach (I’ve got twin girls I tote around now). With the combination of the 2.0 liter and the Gt28-71R (along with programming from GIAC) they have not only hit the nail on the head, they have buried it in one shot!
Initially you can barely tell it’s not stock…the 2.0 liter Audi FSI engine has enough guts to get around town without feeling slow or numb. The real magic happens though around 3200 rpms while power and torque build steadily to redline. With the stock intake on this test car I didn’t hear the BPV much at all, but I was able to hear the intoxicating whine of the turbo during every pull. I never get sick of that sound no matter how long I tried to ignore it. In 4th gear 100+ mph is achieved without trying too hard, and lets just say you are cruising on the highway and need to squirt through that spot in traffic to get around that slow Prius…no problem, you are a downshift away from the meat of the power band and it literally rockets you forward with purpose. A dip into the right pedal and you can feel that this turbo compresses a lot more air, the engine feels thicker, more powerful…nothing like the high strung K03 unit. And again it’s all happening without the traditional head snapping jolt of a traditional big turbo. Lag is minimal due to the programming of the GIAC file and the way the boost comes on. And the best part is this Garret turbo unit is big enough to keep pulling strong all the way to redline (apprx. 6600) compared to the K03 that dies out in the mid 5000 range. This kit likes to live in the revs above 4000 and can do it time and time again without heat soak due to the AWE FMIC that dominates the area behind the front RS4 grill.
The car also has a few other goodies from the AWE parts bin including an AWE quad tip exhaust system, BBS 19” forged wheels, Bilstein PSS9 coilovers, and a Brembo big brake kit. From the track-like handling of the PSS9s to the stopping power of the Brembo brakes and the sporty wail of the quad tipped exhaust this car has it all.
I drove the car on the rural roads of PA/NJ and commuted to work for two days (a nearly 120 mile roundtrip). The car averaged 23mpg on the hwy and around 18-19mpg when driving a little more aggressively. I didn’t have one fuel cut, stutter or hesitation…no black smoke when flogging it, nothing. This big turbo kit is really a no-brainer for me, and anyone else that wants a bolt-on kit that does not throw CELs, run too rich or need constant tuning updates. It has enough power on tap that I surprised a Pontiac GTO on a decent highway pull and is definitely faster than the V8 S4.
I’d like to thank Todd, Mike, Ralph, Emmett, John, Alex, Rich and all rest of the staff at AWE for such a great opportunity to test the car out. Great engineering, production and customer service guys, keep up the good work! [
][up]
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