Greetings from a newb.

This post may be of limited use to those seasoned owners out there but for other newbs, I want to share my experience with my two most recent mods to a stock A4 B6.

I replaced my stock air filter with a drop-in K&N about 3 weeks ago. I didn't exactly notice a difference in performance but I did notice something that's worth mentioning. I have a short commute to work, and in central NJ that means about 15 minutes worth of stop and go traffic. The new K&N air filter wowed me one morning shortly after install when I noticed that, when left in first gear, the car would now continue to move forward with my feet off the pedals. Of course this doesn't work uphill but it's still a welcome plus. With the old stock filter, the car would jerk then stall if I didn't pay close attention to the clutch and gas pedals at crawl speeds. This simple mod has made my morning commute much easier. It's well worth it.

Second, I read through the forums and paid close attention to the posts on spark plugs. I had a couple misfire warnings since I got the car and even had the dealership check it out. They replaced one plug. Of course, the warning light came back. I replaced the NGK PFR6Q Laser Platinum plugs, a different gap on all 4 set at about the .025" range, with the NGK BKR6E v-power copper plugs at a .032" gap. This mod made an immediate difference in performance. Acceleration is much smoother and quicker through the gears. I have to recommend that anyone running stock plugs from the dealership swap them out. You won't be disappointed unless you consider replacing them every 10k-12k miles for $8 annoying. Thanks to all of you posting on this issue out there and to A4Mods.com
http://a4mods.com/index.php?page=web...pperplugs.html

So, where do I go from here? I don't go to the track or race on the road but do have to entertain VIPs from my line of work occasionally so keeping a stock look is important to me. I will be getting a 710n DV in the near future (hopefully not to find out that I already have one). I did see plenty of posts on where it is and how to do it, now I need a friend's driveway and jacks [sm=smiley20.gif]. New tires are en route and I'm thinking after that I want to get a Borla cat back. I know most will say to get it chipped first (stage 1 is as far as I would take it) but I'm wondering about gas mileage. Does it affect it all that much? I get about 24 city/ 28+ highway.

Lastly, I noticed I hit 4k RPMs going 85 in 5th gear. Does that sound right? Thanks all and godspeed!

 

A chip will normaly help your gas mileage when driven conservatively, but as soon as you get on it, it drops quite a bit... Good move on the plugs... Pretty sure those rpm's are right for a b6 at that speed, its geared that way i think because its a heavy car.