AWE Supercharger review and 2008 Cliffs of Insanity Drive wrap-up
10-27-2008, 06:40 AM
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AWE Supercharger review and 2008 Cliffs of Insanity Drive wrap-up
So, yesterday marked my 4th annual participation in the annual tri-state Cliffs of Insanity Drive. It's an absolutely gorgeous drive through some of the most scenic and enjoyable roads that southern NY State has to offer. This year though, something was different. I had no car. I'm in transition to Florida at the moment and my car is much faster then I am, so it's already down there livin' the life lol. So that brought me to this year's drive, and a dilemma: how am I going to go without a car?? Well no sooner then I almost gave up....my good friend Mike Romano from AWE Tuning came to my rescue!
Throughout the years, I've been fortunate enough to develop a wonderful personal and professional relationship with Mike, Todd, and the crew at AWE Tuning, mostly because aside from bringing some of the industries top products to market for VW, Audi, and Porsche cars, they really are just like you and me. They're car guys right down to the core, guys who've dedicated themselves to pushing the limits of what these cars can offer their drivers. The labor and pain sometimes far outweigh the reward when it comes to the automotive aftermarket, but these guys keep pushing. I can't say enough good things about them...honestly!
OK, so enough of the BS, let's get down to business. I had suggested to Mike (ok, maybe poked, pushed, begged, pleaded) that he make the long drive early in the AM on Sunday to come participate in this years COI drive, and he agreed. And I was pretty clear about one thing as I begged him to attend....."bring the supercharged S4!!!"
Always down to help a friend in need, Mike was at my house bright and early at 7am Sunday with the beast itself. And so my day behind the wheel of this materpiece began.
Admitedly, I had experienced the car before a few weeks ago when 2PUTT had the opportunity to do his review, but yesterday was my chance to spend a few hours behind the wheel and experience how the car performs in a variety of conditions, speeds, inclines, highways, etc.
The first thing anyone will notice about the supercharger kit is how difficult it is to notice. At idle, the engine behaves exactly as you've come to expect from a stock S4; smooth idle, nice and quiet, and no extra whining or buzzing from the supercharger assembly. Once you pop the hood, it's STILL difficult to notice what's different. The beautifully crafted VF Engineering intake manifold which houses the blower itself and cooling components is powdercoated black and even very close in it's dimensions to the stock intake manifold. Aside from that, there is very little else disturbed in the engine bay. The OEM look and feel is maintained throughout.
Now the nitty gritty: performance. As I said earlier, the COI drive takes you from wide-open highways, to 2 lane coutry roads, and thanks to some not-so-accurate GPS, some single lane dirt roads. (special thanks to ed4 and ruknd for that). From my house we set out onto Interstate 287 North (which I refer to as "the autobahn" for obvious reasons). During the first 10 minutes or so of driving, Mike and I were so busy chatting and catching up on personal stuff that I was driving pretty tame. It wasn't until after about 20 minutes in the car that I decided to really hit the GO pedal. But what was so surprising was just how "stock-like" the car drove when you wanted it to. No surging, part-throttle issues, or jerkiness that I've come to expect from some of the well tuned turbocharged cars I've experienced. You could drive it around out of boost all day and never notice a difference between the stock car. Then I realized we were running a tad late so it was time to make up some ground. In the past I've driven severeal other supercharged cars, but mostly with centrifugal style blowers, never a roots or twin-screw setup. Whereas with a centrifugal blower boost builds as RPM's build in a purely linear fashion building to peak boost at redline, with this setup boost came on early in the rev range at about 3000rpm's, and stayed on until redline. At about 65mph on the highway in 6th gear, a gentle press of the gas pedal brought the boost gauge quickly up to 6 psi where it stayed until I let off. To put it plain and simple, this car is a BEAST. It's unbelievable how much extra power is on tap at all time, in any gear, at any speed. Whether you're in 6th gear cruising on the highway, or in 4th gear at 40mph....when you hit the gas peek boost of 6psi is reached just shy of 3000rpm's and the power you need is right there, constant and strong. The best way to describe it is what I call the "minus 2 gear" description. Acceleration in 6th feels like 4th on a stock car, 4th feels like 2nd, etc. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention....the supercharger whine...OMG INTOXICATING!!!! Heads turn, people look, it's obvious when you hear it that this thing mean serious business.
At the conclusion of the COI drive, about 4 hours after it started, we had barely gone through 2/3 tank of gas, the car was running cool, and didn't miss a beat. Even chugging along a dirt road at idle in 1st, it was perfect. I had the opportunity to take quite a few AW members out for some quick joyrides before Mike and I had to leave the group and head home. I'm sure some of those guys will chime in with their experiences. AW member Fluffhead (the COI organizer) even agreed to put up his lightly modified B7 RS4 for some quick comparison testing. There was a short video made of the two runs between the two cars, but let's just say there's only about 2 seconds of video before the RS4 disappears and you're left with a view of clear road ahead. I believe Fluffhead's exact words were something like "we went, it was even for a second, then he just yanked on me. I'm seriously impressed".
And before I end I should point out that before I really drove this car, I was quite possibly the biggest skeptic out there about the supercharger kit, a hater even. "It's not gonna be that fast"...."what's an extra 90 hp?"...."waste of money"...were some of the things I used to say. But I've eaten those words. I am sold. When this kit becomes available, I will be first in line.
Overall it was a great day, perfect weather, good people, and a great drive. I wanted to take the time to write this little story as a way of thanking my good friend Mike for taking the time away from his family for the day to let me have this rare opportunity, and for the great company throughout the day. You're a class act. Thanks Mike!
Throughout the years, I've been fortunate enough to develop a wonderful personal and professional relationship with Mike, Todd, and the crew at AWE Tuning, mostly because aside from bringing some of the industries top products to market for VW, Audi, and Porsche cars, they really are just like you and me. They're car guys right down to the core, guys who've dedicated themselves to pushing the limits of what these cars can offer their drivers. The labor and pain sometimes far outweigh the reward when it comes to the automotive aftermarket, but these guys keep pushing. I can't say enough good things about them...honestly!
OK, so enough of the BS, let's get down to business. I had suggested to Mike (ok, maybe poked, pushed, begged, pleaded) that he make the long drive early in the AM on Sunday to come participate in this years COI drive, and he agreed. And I was pretty clear about one thing as I begged him to attend....."bring the supercharged S4!!!"
Always down to help a friend in need, Mike was at my house bright and early at 7am Sunday with the beast itself. And so my day behind the wheel of this materpiece began.Admitedly, I had experienced the car before a few weeks ago when 2PUTT had the opportunity to do his review, but yesterday was my chance to spend a few hours behind the wheel and experience how the car performs in a variety of conditions, speeds, inclines, highways, etc.
The first thing anyone will notice about the supercharger kit is how difficult it is to notice. At idle, the engine behaves exactly as you've come to expect from a stock S4; smooth idle, nice and quiet, and no extra whining or buzzing from the supercharger assembly. Once you pop the hood, it's STILL difficult to notice what's different. The beautifully crafted VF Engineering intake manifold which houses the blower itself and cooling components is powdercoated black and even very close in it's dimensions to the stock intake manifold. Aside from that, there is very little else disturbed in the engine bay. The OEM look and feel is maintained throughout.
Now the nitty gritty: performance. As I said earlier, the COI drive takes you from wide-open highways, to 2 lane coutry roads, and thanks to some not-so-accurate GPS, some single lane dirt roads. (special thanks to ed4 and ruknd for that). From my house we set out onto Interstate 287 North (which I refer to as "the autobahn" for obvious reasons). During the first 10 minutes or so of driving, Mike and I were so busy chatting and catching up on personal stuff that I was driving pretty tame. It wasn't until after about 20 minutes in the car that I decided to really hit the GO pedal. But what was so surprising was just how "stock-like" the car drove when you wanted it to. No surging, part-throttle issues, or jerkiness that I've come to expect from some of the well tuned turbocharged cars I've experienced. You could drive it around out of boost all day and never notice a difference between the stock car. Then I realized we were running a tad late so it was time to make up some ground. In the past I've driven severeal other supercharged cars, but mostly with centrifugal style blowers, never a roots or twin-screw setup. Whereas with a centrifugal blower boost builds as RPM's build in a purely linear fashion building to peak boost at redline, with this setup boost came on early in the rev range at about 3000rpm's, and stayed on until redline. At about 65mph on the highway in 6th gear, a gentle press of the gas pedal brought the boost gauge quickly up to 6 psi where it stayed until I let off. To put it plain and simple, this car is a BEAST. It's unbelievable how much extra power is on tap at all time, in any gear, at any speed. Whether you're in 6th gear cruising on the highway, or in 4th gear at 40mph....when you hit the gas peek boost of 6psi is reached just shy of 3000rpm's and the power you need is right there, constant and strong. The best way to describe it is what I call the "minus 2 gear" description. Acceleration in 6th feels like 4th on a stock car, 4th feels like 2nd, etc. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention....the supercharger whine...OMG INTOXICATING!!!! Heads turn, people look, it's obvious when you hear it that this thing mean serious business.
At the conclusion of the COI drive, about 4 hours after it started, we had barely gone through 2/3 tank of gas, the car was running cool, and didn't miss a beat. Even chugging along a dirt road at idle in 1st, it was perfect. I had the opportunity to take quite a few AW members out for some quick joyrides before Mike and I had to leave the group and head home. I'm sure some of those guys will chime in with their experiences. AW member Fluffhead (the COI organizer) even agreed to put up his lightly modified B7 RS4 for some quick comparison testing. There was a short video made of the two runs between the two cars, but let's just say there's only about 2 seconds of video before the RS4 disappears and you're left with a view of clear road ahead. I believe Fluffhead's exact words were something like "we went, it was even for a second, then he just yanked on me. I'm seriously impressed".
And before I end I should point out that before I really drove this car, I was quite possibly the biggest skeptic out there about the supercharger kit, a hater even. "It's not gonna be that fast"...."what's an extra 90 hp?"...."waste of money"...were some of the things I used to say. But I've eaten those words. I am sold. When this kit becomes available, I will be first in line.
Overall it was a great day, perfect weather, good people, and a great drive. I wanted to take the time to write this little story as a way of thanking my good friend Mike for taking the time away from his family for the day to let me have this rare opportunity, and for the great company throughout the day. You're a class act. Thanks Mike!
10-27-2008, 07:52 AM
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A4 owner chiming in...
Ok, what does an A4 owner have to contribute to this review? Just another perspective I suppose.
This year's COI marked my 3rd Audi event where I rode shotgun in a B7 RS4. (<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffahn/sets/72157605238613455/">NYC RS4 meet</a> and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffahn/sets/72157605770078238/"> Bear Mountain RS4 meet</a>)
Needless to say, my rear-end has experienced many a WOT runs through the 420-hp 4.2l rev range. RS4 owners and those with enough seat time know that right around 5000-5500rpm, the RS4 gets a bit of a 'boost', all the way to redline.
When I rode passenger to AWE's B7 S4, my rear-end communicated with the brain and the brain said "hey now!, this feels alot like the RS4 after 5500"...except this power came on, as Tom has said, from down at 3k.
In the end, I was just so impressed with just how silky smooth the power came on, and it just kept pulling and pulling and pulling.
P.S. I had a brief chuckle when it was said that the run with the RS4 happened in...you guessed it...3rd gear.
And to all, the video...it was not too great...but I say Tom, just caveat the **** out of it and post it, if only for the public to hear the whine!
This year's COI marked my 3rd Audi event where I rode shotgun in a B7 RS4. (<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffahn/sets/72157605238613455/">NYC RS4 meet</a> and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffahn/sets/72157605770078238/"> Bear Mountain RS4 meet</a>)
Needless to say, my rear-end has experienced many a WOT runs through the 420-hp 4.2l rev range. RS4 owners and those with enough seat time know that right around 5000-5500rpm, the RS4 gets a bit of a 'boost', all the way to redline.
When I rode passenger to AWE's B7 S4, my rear-end communicated with the brain and the brain said "hey now!, this feels alot like the RS4 after 5500"...except this power came on, as Tom has said, from down at 3k.
In the end, I was just so impressed with just how silky smooth the power came on, and it just kept pulling and pulling and pulling.
P.S. I had a brief chuckle when it was said that the run with the RS4 happened in...you guessed it...3rd gear.
And to all, the video...it was not too great...but I say Tom, just caveat the **** out of it and post it, if only for the public to hear the whine!
