SurfsUp

<ul><li><a href="http://www.worldcarfans.com/tuners.cfm/country/gcf/tunerID/7060720.002/volkswagen/new-abt-supercharger-for-vw-audi-v8-models">http://www.worldcarfans.com/tuners.cfm/country/gcf/tunerID/7060720.002/volkswagen/new-abt-supercharger-for-

Coldrain

I've been considering a supercharger once by B7 is out of warranty. I've heard that they create problems down the road and perhaps my 8-10K would be better spent somewhere else. Is this bs, or is a supercharger synonymous to a light burning twice as bright for half the time?

DrGP

Definitely more stress, especially on the bottom end of the engine.

V8

First of all, "long term" means different things to different people. With that said obviously a supercharger can cause failure that wouldn't otherwise occur, but it's generally because of excessive heat, excessive compression, incorrect or slightly off tuning (very important), or even abuse from the driver (e.g. driving the car hard during heat soak, over-revving, etc.). Also the engine that the supercharger goes onto needs to be suitable for forced induction and in good health in the first place--sometimes an engine out of warranty, or not, doesn't quite meet the health criteria depending on how it's been driven (abused?) and/or maintained.

One of the best things you can do is become an informed customer so you know exactly what you're getting into. Learn to ask the right questions. If reliability is what you're after then be sure the kit tuner had that in mind during design and testing. Also make sure your installer is following your interests as well.

It's hard to say exactly what may happen to our engines/drivetrains specifically in conjunction with these brand new kits coming out because this all new to us. A much more informative answer is available for Mustang owners, for example. So if you're worried then I suggest maybe waiting a year after installations start happening to see what the failure conditions are, if any, and what tweaks or changes need to be made along the way.

Coldrain

A friend of mine who works for VW said that the S4's 4.2 V8 is operating at about 30% of it's max stress level. What this translates to is longer engine life and most well built engines are in the same boat. He said that adding a supercharger would still keep the stress levels well within the limits as long as it's installed correctly and it's not one of those older screw-type's that you find on an El Camino with a hole cut in the hood. Those WILL blow your engine after a while.

Still, it will be another 1.5-2 years before my B7 is out of warranty, so hopefully that will be enough time to work out the kinks. APR has a supercharger in the works, but it has been delayed several times and I bet it's because of technical issues.

Quattrings

I hope they were using a Tip for the numbers...

It should at least be in the high 4s with 450bhp, especially with the RS4 pulling 4.2-4.5 with &lt;only&gt; 420 bhp...

S4Cab-TheFamilyCar

It's actually 0-62 (100kph) in 5.2

Quattrings

Looks nice though.

MoroB7

The pictured S4 is not a sedan..