After 5000 miles on my 30V A4 Avant, can offer the follwoing:<p>1) If you like to drive at a brisk pace, Sport suspension is best option offered. Excellent transient resposne with only slight harshness on rough roads.<p>2) I like the support of the Sport seats, but tehy take some break-in time. Intially, in common with several other posters, was having back problem due to overly aggressive lumbar support. This seems to have disssipated with time; find seats very comfortable now.<p>3) can't comment much on chips or wimp sticks. I'm of the opinion that you cannot do much to a normally aspirated car to get significantly noticeable HP without running afoul of the feds (read "Emission checks"). Tried 4 diferent chips on old '84 Porsche; none of them helped actual acceleration. Also, I just prefer manual tranys; am lucky to live in an area where I don't get into stop-&-go driving that much, and I have yet to see an automatice (yes, even Tip) where I can make equivalent of a nice heel-&-toe downshift. If I was in lost of stop-&-go commuting, would revise my choices.<p>4) As far as I know, 2.8 will still be available on Avant. Seems ridiculoous to only stick the small engine in this vehicle which has probability of needing additionsl power due to larger cargo carrying area.

Mitch,<p>First, let me say that everything Ray said below is all true. Second, I love my car. Ray is right, this car loves to be driven hard. I keep forgetting I have a Wagon when I am running through canyons here in Colorado. I don't have the sport seats, but find the stock seats to be ideal, except for a rather small amount of thigh support in the twisties. I tried to fit into the sport seats, but just can't...my legs didn't fit.<p>I don't know about availability in CA, but I do know that until Jan 99' the factory is only producing 1.8T Quattro Avants. After Jan 99' the 2.8 Quattro Avants go back into production. In 99, you can only get Quattro in the Avant, no more FWD. Personally I think that is a good thing.<p>As for chipping, I have the 2.8 Neuspeed chip. I'v had it for almost 2 months. Read through my comments on my registry page at the link below. My dealer is what we call "chip friendly" and will not freak out when they find chipped cars. In fact they told me that a large portion of their client base has chipped cars. I almost bought a chipped S6 Avant from them, but opted for my A4 Avant.<p>If you want to know anything else, just post your questions, or just send me an email to my addtress above.<p>Hope this information was useful,<br>Rick<br>98.5 Avant QMS<ul><li><a href="http://131.107.68.28/a4.org/registry/details.asp?car=937">Rick's Avant Page</a></li></ul>

Well, I've been living with the Supercharger for a few days now. Here are some of the things I am noticing. First off, the engine actually feels smoother WITH the supercharger than it did stock. Now, I'm not so sure this is actually the case, but it does *feel* that way. I believe I have finally figured out why. What happens is that the 30V with the supercharger builds revs a LOT, and I mean a LOT quicker than the stock 30V. This gives the sensation of a much more free-revving motor. Well, I guess it is more than a sensation, because it *is* more free-revving. It's a difficult thing to explain, but regardless, it's something I've noticed. <p>I haven't gotten any fuel economy figures, but I am working on it. This morning, it was about 18 degrees here in the Boston area. In fact, it was so darn cold this morning that I nearly tore the rubber seal off the door opening it, as it stuck to the door jam. However, the car started right up, and felt just fine. I feel like I am doing the same testing the auto makers do when they subject their cars to extreme weather. Yowza it's cold!<p>The other thing that continues to impress is how smooth the power delivery is. While the power and speed is impressive, there really isn't anything dramatic going on. It's all very well controlled. I don't at all feel like I am overstressing the car. It just all feels very smooth. <p>As far as noise, you do hear the supercharger, especially at city speeds. My Uncle thinks it sounds a bit like a Super Touring car. There is no mistaking the "whine" of the charger. However, the nice thing is that it is fairly quiet at lower rpm's, and also at highway speeds. Especially over 70, you barely hear it. At 80, it pretty much disappears completely (much like an aftermarket exhaust behaves). I must tell you that winding through the gears creates some very exotic sounding music. As the revs build, the Remus exhaust and the supercharger battle it out, with the supercharger definitely winning out at the higher rpm's. In between shifts, you can sometimes hear the blowoff valve expelling boost. It sounds really neat. <p>First gear is a mere blip. With the fwd, wheelspin is something that is brought upon quite easily. Those with Quattro will really appreciate it with this much power. Even though producing wheelspin this easily would annoy some, it really doesn't factor in too much for me. I rarely redlined 1st gear in the car WITHOUT the charger, never mind with it. Obviously, there were times that I did. However, my driving style brings upon 2nd and 3rd gear runs MUCH more frequently. Also, I really enjoy the extra power on the highway. So, in a nutshell, I'm having a blast. However, if your the type who likes to wind out 1st gear, get a quattro for the PES system. The car actually likes the RS-A's BETTER than it did the Toyo's (in a straight line). The Toyo's were so gummy that 1st gear produced wheelhop, which was not all that enjoyable. The RS-A's simply go up in smoke, which seems like it is a lot less harsh on the various suspension and drivetrain pieces. Again, I am not much of a 1st gear type of guy, so it doesn't affect me all that much. When I do decide to run 1st gear out, I just need to feel it out. Although, I really miss those Toyo's. The car really loses its edge with the RS-A's, with much softer turn-in. The car will appreciate the RS-A's on the first pothole I hit this winter, that is for sure.<p>Back to gearing. The car winds up so quickly, that you zip through the gears a LOT faster than before. For all you 30v owners, think about 2nd or 3rd gear, how you sort of have to wait for the engine to get moving. You wait until the revs get up to about 4000 rpm when things start moving a bit more quickly. With the charger, there is none of that waiting. You plant the throttle, and you are THERE. You go through 2nd gear in what feels like about half the time of the non-blown 30v. I guess what I am trying to get across here is that it really does feel like a completely different engine. It's very hard to get across on paper. The word eager comes to mind. The car used to feel like you had to really prod it to get going. It now feels like you have to hold it back. Anyway, it's getting late and I gotta go or my wife is definitely going to hurt me. Nighty-night to all. After a week or so, I should have more feedback for those interested, along with some fuel mileage data.<p>See ya,<br>Mike<br>

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Go to his homepage for all the gory details...<ul><li><a href="http://www.vu.union.edu/~allenw">Will's homepage</a></li></ul>

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