Brad B
New member
I had my car into the dealer for service and this time they offered me their Stasis A4 show car as a loaner for the weekend. Stasis is an Audi-approved tuner that makes all sorts of hop up parts for the Audi line. This loaner has all the bells and whistles offered by the dealer.
This car had something like $8k worth of upgrades. It was chipped, exhaust, new sway bars, new springs, new wheels, badges, mats, etc.
First, I was amazed at how supple the ride was considering it had beefy sway bars, 20" wheels covered in fat rubber bands, and springs which lowered the car close to 2.5". I expected my teeth to get broken on bumps but that wasn't the case. Sure, you could feel that dime you rolled over, but it was very subtle. The ride was closer to my Porsche than a sedan. Just a muted thump over potholes and tar strips. No crashing or banging. I was impressed.
The chip adds around 90hp and 90ftlb of torque and you can feel it. The turbo spools up at a really low rpm so you feel the power quick. It's pretty effortless. The advertised stats say that 0-60 times are lowered from the factory 6.4 to 4.9 seconds. That's reasonably quick for a 4-banger sedan with Quattro.
Handling was amazing. It really cornered flat. It really felt a lot better than my stock S4 which is so nose heavy with the big V8. Very neutral with far less understeer than most Audi Quattro's have. It turned in quick as well thanks to the big sways and likely helped out some by the almost complete lack of sidewall flex from the 255/30 series tires. They say the changes upgrade the lateral handling from .90g to .99g.
The car features a really nice looking dual exhaust. The look is impressive especially since the stock exhaust is a wimpy looking single-side dual pipe. I like true dual pipe look. But on the downside the exhaust was a bit annoying after a long drive. While the tone and burble is fun for a while the drone really intruded into the cabin and spoiled the luxury feel of the car. Some may like it. I'm getting too old, I guess. And it didn't sound all that cool compared to a Porsche, for instance. I'd skip the exhaust and any nominal benefit it adds to the power upgrade.
The 20" wheels were just simply awesome to look at. It really makes a car look great when big wheels are tucked neatly into the wheel wells. That said, I am not sure how long 20" wheels would last here in the Midwest and land of the pothole. And I don't want to think how much it would cost to replace a tire. If it were me I would stick to 19" wheels which are still pretty cool, and take advantage of an even more supple ride and increased durability.
Anyway, it is a fun experience learning how extreme modifications feel in the everyday world before shelling out hard earned cash for them. I am likely to sell my S4 in the next year or so and a properly tuned A4 might be something to consider.
STaSIS Signature Series A4 2.0 (2009+) | STaSIS ::: Race Bred Adrenaline
This car had something like $8k worth of upgrades. It was chipped, exhaust, new sway bars, new springs, new wheels, badges, mats, etc.
First, I was amazed at how supple the ride was considering it had beefy sway bars, 20" wheels covered in fat rubber bands, and springs which lowered the car close to 2.5". I expected my teeth to get broken on bumps but that wasn't the case. Sure, you could feel that dime you rolled over, but it was very subtle. The ride was closer to my Porsche than a sedan. Just a muted thump over potholes and tar strips. No crashing or banging. I was impressed.
The chip adds around 90hp and 90ftlb of torque and you can feel it. The turbo spools up at a really low rpm so you feel the power quick. It's pretty effortless. The advertised stats say that 0-60 times are lowered from the factory 6.4 to 4.9 seconds. That's reasonably quick for a 4-banger sedan with Quattro.
Handling was amazing. It really cornered flat. It really felt a lot better than my stock S4 which is so nose heavy with the big V8. Very neutral with far less understeer than most Audi Quattro's have. It turned in quick as well thanks to the big sways and likely helped out some by the almost complete lack of sidewall flex from the 255/30 series tires. They say the changes upgrade the lateral handling from .90g to .99g.
The car features a really nice looking dual exhaust. The look is impressive especially since the stock exhaust is a wimpy looking single-side dual pipe. I like true dual pipe look. But on the downside the exhaust was a bit annoying after a long drive. While the tone and burble is fun for a while the drone really intruded into the cabin and spoiled the luxury feel of the car. Some may like it. I'm getting too old, I guess. And it didn't sound all that cool compared to a Porsche, for instance. I'd skip the exhaust and any nominal benefit it adds to the power upgrade.
The 20" wheels were just simply awesome to look at. It really makes a car look great when big wheels are tucked neatly into the wheel wells. That said, I am not sure how long 20" wheels would last here in the Midwest and land of the pothole. And I don't want to think how much it would cost to replace a tire. If it were me I would stick to 19" wheels which are still pretty cool, and take advantage of an even more supple ride and increased durability.
Anyway, it is a fun experience learning how extreme modifications feel in the everyday world before shelling out hard earned cash for them. I am likely to sell my S4 in the next year or so and a properly tuned A4 might be something to consider.
STaSIS Signature Series A4 2.0 (2009+) | STaSIS ::: Race Bred Adrenaline
