Products review

StopTech Big Brakes
When tuning your vehicle, mostly tuning the engine and suspension to go and turn faster, most people like to leave brakes as the last item. In my opinion brakes should be one of the first things that needed to be upgraded when the engine will be prducing signifigantly more power. I have installed a couple sets of StopTech brakes in the past and found the product to be absolutly first class. Yesm they are expensive but worth every dollar.

The install is very straight forward. Calipers and rotors come marked left and right. The
stainless steel lines and pads are all universal. Remove the front calipers, remove the original bridges for the pads and remove the rotors. Install the rotors and the new brakets for the calipers. The Pads sit inside the caliper so there are no "bridges" like stock. The brackets are machined so there is no adjusting. You can even install the calipers first and slide the pads after with the caliper torqued down. This makes for very fast changing of pads, you just need a special tool or a very strong set of hands to push the pistons back. I do use my own lube. Either straight brake grease or brake grease and anti seize. I use alot on the edges where the pads will slide. As with all pads without shims or backing plates I use a lot of grease on the back of the pads and it helps reduce brake squeel a lot. You will also need to bleed the brakes after you replaced the brake lines. Maybe the best part is that the Hawk/Stoptech pads accepted the OEM brake wear sensors! For the size of the rotors they were pretty light weight as well.

The best part about the brake kit is how it looks. If you have thin spoke wheels it really sets off your wheels and the rest of your car, espcially if the old brakes were rusty and/or discoloured from age. When most people look at tuned cars aswell and they see the brake upgrade they usually assume the car is tuned properly and that it so fast it required a brake upgrade.

When driving the pedal feel is VERY firm. I really like a hard brake pedal for a couple reasons. First it inspires confidence in the brakes and the quick engagement of the brakes when applied. Second, if there is a problem with the brakes due to a leak or faulty part you will know right away when the pedal becomes much softer. And third you barely have to touch the brake pedal to make the car stop fast.

The kits I installed all used the ST-40 Calipers (4 piston) and either used the 332mm or the 355mm directionally vented and crossed drilled full floating rotors. Go for the Gold cadnium rust proof plating too, it looks great.
I also installed an E46 M3 kit to a 330ci and the retrofit was very easy, only a VERY small amount of grinding on the front knuckles to accept the M3 brackets. This lets you fit the thicker M3 rotors.

Tuning and Racing

1.8 Litre Turbo Engines in Volkswagons and Audis
The 1.8T engine was basically Volkswagon's and Audi's bread and butter engine when it was originally designed. For Audi, a premium brand, it was to be base engine and for VW the mid range or premium choice. Audi has long had a history of turbo charging and with many advances in the components and design it all made sense. That being said, if you buy an Audi you almost always get all wheel drive and in a car thats full of electronics and crash protection 150 horsepower kinda sucks. The engine is very efficient and has a broad torque band but the top end is really lacking. There was an upgrade to A4s in 2001 and it made a difference but in
my opinion, not much. The nice thing about turbocharging is the aftermarket will come out with a lot of products and you can now make serious power without having to loose your shirt in the process. 


The basic Ko3 Turbo that comes in the standard A4 is small and efficient efficient with very little lag. The key to the set up is the boost (turbo pressure) is regulated by the engine computer. As is the ignition and fuel basically like all modern vehicles. Just basic software upgrades that increase boost and adjust the fuel and ignition timing accordingly increase performance dramatically. A lot of people ask me why Audi does not provide the car with more horsepower if all it needs is a software reprogramming. The answer is simple. 1. Reliability of the engine now does down. Stress on the engine internals as well as transmissions, driveshafts, final drive, axles and its splines now becomes an issue. The cost to upgrade these parts would influence the price of the vehicle too much.

2. Increased maintenance. Since there is all this extra stress of all these driveline components, the fluids now need to be changed more often. Yes, even the synthetic oil needs to be changed more often. Once the car is modified the service recommendations are now more frequent.
3. Economy. All vehicles must meet emissions emissions and fuel economy standards and this software would increase consumption and decrease economy too much.


The software is considered the most basic of upgrades. It is easy, does not require any major tools or hard labour. But when you want more is when it all starts to add up. Because of the increased boost you will need a diverter valve. The OEM one is rubber and eventually fails anyways when the rubber falls apart causing a vacuum leak. Piston types that are rebuildable are for sure the way to go. I have had excellent experience with Forge units.
Next is the factory exhaust. The catalytic converter on 1.8Ts are very restrictive and the mufflers are very large and heavy. Just replacing the large mufflers makes a noticeable difference. If the Converter and system is replaced the turbo lag will be reduced even more along with increased power through the rev range. 1.8Ts run very hot and the exhaust on a tuned 1.8T is extremely hot. I have had excellent experience with thermal coating and ceramic products that keep the heat inside the exhaust system. DEI makes a silicone ceramic product that looks good and is easy to apply yourself. Intakes that eliminate the large and restrictive air box and turbo inlet pipe are also important to keep the system consistent. Most of the power found with installing an aftermarket intake is at the top end.
With just those upgrades you can expect around 230- 245 crank horsepower on just the stock engine. 
That is basically a stage 1 set up and is limited to the factory turbo. The Ko4 turbo is then the obvious choice for a stage 2 upgrade. The Ko4 is commonly found on S4, RS4 and TT 225 horsepower models. It has the same exhaust housing and turbine as the Ko3 but a larger intake compressor. It is identical in fitment to the Ko3 making installation easy and painless (as a turbo replacement can be). I have done the install and its not that bad. A front mount intercooler that replaces the small side mount intercooler is important. The side mount is not bad even though it is small, it is just placed in a poor spot for maximum air flow.  Stock A4 bumpers also have little air flow through them. Consider adding an intercooler fan as well. A Methanol water injection kit works EXTREMELY well with the 1.8T mainly because of the heat the engine naturally makes from a highly tuned smaller turbo engine. You will also need colder range spark plugs for this application. With a maximum tuned Ko4 setup with meth inject and ignition timing to match you potentially see 280 to almost 295 crank horsepower on a stock engine. This is a very common setup and probably the best when you compare performance to dollars spent. 
Upgrading to a ball bearing turbo like the units produced by Garrett are also common. Many tuners claim 350 horsepower on the stock engine with larger GT30 or GT35 units. One must consider reliability when switching to these setup because these are basically race car products.
Many consider the AEB engine code the best production 1.8T. It was designed before stricter emissions came into play so it was larger intake ports and track. It is widely renowned for reliability and it is also exempt from electronic throttle problems as it was the generation of 1.8Ts that had a cable throttle. Many drivers say that consistently run 26 or more PSI through these engines with out a problem. 

With A4s available on the market for $4000 to $10000cdn for decent maintained examples it is becoming a very appealing car to tune. Tuning a naturally aspirated engine from 150 horsepower to 250 on a BMW or Mercedes could cost tens of thousands of dollars and still not make the torque that a 1.8T does. Of course the car is not bulletproof as it does have its service and maintenance issues but if you are looking to go fast on budget, 1.8T may be your best bet.

The Mini section

This is area is for Mini. The modern Mini has been my passion for over 6 years now. People close to me always have many questions for me. From common issues to performance, accessorries, apparel, you name it! Let's start with the Pink one at the top. I have seen a few pink ones already. Hello Kitty Pink, Hot pink, pink lilac, there are a few out there. The JCW models maybe the best and most exciting car to drive for under $35,000cdn. Please also check out many of my discussions on

http://sizeminiclub.freeforums.org/

Questions and Answer Detailing

Questions and Answer servicing and repair

Questions and Answer (Selling your car)

Questions and Answer (Buying new and/or used cars)

About the Host

To give a better idea about this blog it should be important to know who is hosting your questions and comments.

I have over 10 years experience directly in the automotive experience. Before I even had my drivers license I was a car fanatic. I read Motor Trend, Car and Driver, European car and more and more as new publishings came out.

I am a certified automotive technician and have exerpience in many makes and models of cars, but the majority of my experience is in BMW, Mini and Audi. Of course I have much experience in Honda, Toyota, Jeep, Ford, Kia and other brands. I have worked in many of the positions in a major dealership. Lot attendant, customer shuttle, car washer, detailer, paint restoration, apprentice technician, certified mechanic/technician and have experience in the buying and selling of vehicles as well as racing and tuning in the automotive aftermarket. I have also built and tuned my own personal vehicles for car shows and racing. Yes, I get dirty for a living... but hey, thats part of the fun right?

The Ultimate Mission Statement

I believe this blog is nothing like anything before. This blog is a chance to understand the automotive industry better. To many, the automotive industry is a dark world. Buying a car is very intimidating. Entrusting your money in a salesman you have never met and trusting him to sell you a vehicle costing $30,000, $60,000, maybe more can be very intimidating. Once you have bought your car you now are trusting a service advisor to rely on a mechanic (Who you may never even see, let alone meet) to fix your car in a efficient and proper manner. You then trust a body shop or detail shop for paint and bodywork. Then you try to sell your car to someone else you've never met. You let him test drive it, you don t even know if he has money, and you don't know if he even has a drivers license! The fees, the insurance, the taxes... everything is foreign to you. All this just to do it all over again!!!

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Any question, opinion, experience, information should and will be discussed right here.

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Cars are always in the news. You see the new models come and you got to have it. The style, technology, stance, power, sound, paint. Even the smell of that fresh leather, that new car smell.... There is something for all the senses. Cars are also always getting "greener". The modern gasoline internal combustion engine is more powerful and more efficient than ever. Emissions equipment and electronics keep pollution to the very minimum. The future of the automobile looks brighter than ever.

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