<br>I flew out from San Antonio last month to meet Tony in Baltimore. He is a really nice guy, very easy to talk to. We met at the hotel and I saw his car, basically a sister car to mine (due to the Projektzoe kit) with a few other functional and cosmetic differences. We then had a few beers at the hotel bar and talked awhile about the A4 and the supercharger kit. He spoke about some of the engineering and software obstacles they had to overcome during the development of the prototype, and the overall quality of the kit and each individual part. We also talked about cars in general, driving, racing, and riding motorcycles and the stories of carnage that often go along with discussions of bikes. Then we decided to go to downtown Baltimore to the ESPN Sports Zone. He drove. The thing that struck me right away about the car was the noise. It was louder than I expected and I never could totally figure out if the noise was coming primarily from the aftermarket exhaust system (Brullen sp?) or the supercharger. I think that the balance of volume changes depending on RPM's, and load. I think it was the changes in load and the resulting change in pitch and volume of the sound that made it so hard to determine the source of the sound. At about 70mph it quiets down quite a lot and the remaining noise is primarily supercharger whine. I'd love to hear a car with a stock exhaust with the supercharger. (A OEM exhaust is not reccomended by PES). I just prefer a quieter car.<p>How does the supercharger affect the driveability of the car? Let me start out first by saying that I used to own a turbocharged car so I know what to expect for extra boost/power and noise. I've also been in cars with upgraded/larger turbos and know how much more power and boost you get from that. So given my previous experiences, I was not awestruck or blown away by the power of the PES car like many of the reviews you have probably read on this forum. But don't take this statement the wrong way either, I was not underwhelmed - far from it! I think the added power was very much like I expected, very powerful yet so smooth and very close to what you'd expect if Audi engineered the system themselves. I think this is a very, very good thing. This is high praise and a supreme compliment to the driveability of this kit. Tony lit it it up very hard to get us up to some triple digit speeds that we reached quickly. <p>The next day we met in his room and we went over the kit piece by piece. All of it is extremely well built. Nothing is cheaply made made. And nothing was cheesy or comromised. The installation manual is very thorough, and has at least one or two pictures on each page, if my memory serves me well. I have some worries about installing the kit myself, but I probably don't need to be. The only parts that I have ever put a wrench to on cars (outside of an Auto Mechanics class I took in high school) is to change oil and transmission fluid, adjust a clutch, replace an alternator, replace brake pads, rotate tires, replace valve cover gaskets and change batteries. As far as I can tell the install requires bolting parts, hose clamps, wire ties and not much more than that. I think it is just the disassembly and the install and taking the time to do it right and not leave anything out that one needs to be careful about. Now I'll take a moment to nit-pick here, just to illustrate how picky you have to be to find any short comings of the kit. I would prefer if the Eaton unit itself were painted black. This is only a matter of cosmetics and taste and is easily remedied by the customer if you so choose to paint the unit. I will.<p>I drove the car that morning, unfortunately it was raining and I did not feel like exploring it's limits (or my own for that matter) and the fear of tearing up Tony's car. I was nervous with the rain, and what the extra power, and the unfamiliar tires and suspension might mean. I started out driving real easy and slow just to get a feel for how everyday slow street driving was impacted. It was smooth. The throttle response is hugely improved yet very easy to control with a light touch. If you are used to driving with a heavy foot it might take awhile to get used to the extra sensitivity but I thought it was very controllable and smooth, just like what I would expect from an Audi engineered and built factory system. Then I started to pick up the pace more and step into quicker acceleration runs. Again, improved throttle response and smooth power delivery with no noticeable peaks or valleys. At highway speeds there is no longer a need to downshift the car to pass or pull away from the "herd".<p>So, my overall assessment? The PES kit is an exceptional kit with few, if any, corners cut. High quality from the standpoint of robust parts, fit and finish, finished installation, and driveability. It is well worth the money, without a doubt. In one word, excellent.<br>