My HPA-powered 3.2 TT in this month's R&T Speed magazine :-)
07-01-2005, 11:46 AM
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My HPA-powered 3.2 TT in this month's R&T Speed magazine :-)
It's actually the bi-monthly July/August edition of Road & Track's sister magazine called SPEED.
A few weeks ago, Marcel & Glen from HPA flew down to San Francisco then drove my car to LA for this article. Head-to-head against the Vortech-supercharged Mustach and Greddy-turbocharged RX-8:
<img src="http://hitechgti.50megs.com/audi/RT-Speed/RT-Speed-1sm.jpg">
On the first page article, recognize that license plate? ;-)
<img src="http://hitechgti.50megs.com/audi/RT-Speed/RT-Speed-2sm.jpg">
And on the page of the article dedicated to the review of my car:
<img src="http://hitechgti.50megs.com/audi/RT-Speed/RT-Speed-3sm.jpg">
Here's a full-resolution version of the pictures:
<a href="http://hitechgti.50megs.com/audi/RT-Speed/RT-Speed-1lg.jpg">Cover page of magazine</a>
<a href="http://hitechgti.50megs.com/audi/RT-Speed/RT-Speed-2lg.jpg">First page of article</a>
<a href="http://hitechgti.50megs.com/audi/RT-Speed/RT-Speed-3lg.jpg">Dedicated page to my TT</a>
The review was fairly accurate, but they forgot to mention some important facts. First of all, the Launch Control is NOT an "HPA-special", it is the stock Audi LC program that all other non-North American 3.2 TT's get. HPA just managed to re-enable it, and that's because the TCM (Transmission Control Module) was actually replaced. See the DSG write-up in my sig (item 12).
Also, the managing editor (Edward Loh) was confused as to how much the LC revs the engine before dumping the clutch. It is actually at 3250 RPM, which is stock for non-US TCM's, so he probably meant to say "until it passes 3200 RPM", not 4200.
They failed to mention the drivability of the turbo versus stock feel. There is no turbo lag with the large Garret ball-bearing, as opposed to the smaller twin-turbo setup HPA offers. They failed to mention how well the DSG handles the extra power, but only after re-writing the ECU to allow it to handle more torque on the input shaft.
As for the handling and braking, they forgot to mention how comfortable the car still feels with the stage 1 SHS coilover kit - of course, a stage 3 with fully adjustable compression and rebound settings would perform much better, but it would be a nightmare on "regular" crappy Californian roads. To me, the Dunlop tires are a very good upgrade from stock while keeping grip on wet roads, so I'm not sure what warranted the "less-serious tires" comments. The brake calipers were left stock, and again they failed to notice that this was meant to allow the use of 17" winter wheels.
Finally, they forgot to say who owns the damn car!! The RX-8 is another customer car, and they mentioned his name in there.
But hey, it's great to have made it into the magazine, so who's complaining ;-)
Enjoy!
-Marc
PS: for all the pessimists out there, yes the DSG is still holding up great!! Car feels amazing, just loving it..
A few weeks ago, Marcel & Glen from HPA flew down to San Francisco then drove my car to LA for this article. Head-to-head against the Vortech-supercharged Mustach and Greddy-turbocharged RX-8:
<img src="http://hitechgti.50megs.com/audi/RT-Speed/RT-Speed-1sm.jpg">
On the first page article, recognize that license plate? ;-)
<img src="http://hitechgti.50megs.com/audi/RT-Speed/RT-Speed-2sm.jpg">
And on the page of the article dedicated to the review of my car:
<img src="http://hitechgti.50megs.com/audi/RT-Speed/RT-Speed-3sm.jpg">
Here's a full-resolution version of the pictures:
<a href="http://hitechgti.50megs.com/audi/RT-Speed/RT-Speed-1lg.jpg">Cover page of magazine</a>
<a href="http://hitechgti.50megs.com/audi/RT-Speed/RT-Speed-2lg.jpg">First page of article</a>
<a href="http://hitechgti.50megs.com/audi/RT-Speed/RT-Speed-3lg.jpg">Dedicated page to my TT</a>
The review was fairly accurate, but they forgot to mention some important facts. First of all, the Launch Control is NOT an "HPA-special", it is the stock Audi LC program that all other non-North American 3.2 TT's get. HPA just managed to re-enable it, and that's because the TCM (Transmission Control Module) was actually replaced. See the DSG write-up in my sig (item 12).
Also, the managing editor (Edward Loh) was confused as to how much the LC revs the engine before dumping the clutch. It is actually at 3250 RPM, which is stock for non-US TCM's, so he probably meant to say "until it passes 3200 RPM", not 4200.
They failed to mention the drivability of the turbo versus stock feel. There is no turbo lag with the large Garret ball-bearing, as opposed to the smaller twin-turbo setup HPA offers. They failed to mention how well the DSG handles the extra power, but only after re-writing the ECU to allow it to handle more torque on the input shaft.
As for the handling and braking, they forgot to mention how comfortable the car still feels with the stage 1 SHS coilover kit - of course, a stage 3 with fully adjustable compression and rebound settings would perform much better, but it would be a nightmare on "regular" crappy Californian roads. To me, the Dunlop tires are a very good upgrade from stock while keeping grip on wet roads, so I'm not sure what warranted the "less-serious tires" comments. The brake calipers were left stock, and again they failed to notice that this was meant to allow the use of 17" winter wheels.
Finally, they forgot to say who owns the damn car!! The RX-8 is another customer car, and they mentioned his name in there.
But hey, it's great to have made it into the magazine, so who's complaining ;-)
Enjoy!
-Marc
PS: for all the pessimists out there, yes the DSG is still holding up great!! Car feels amazing, just loving it..
