QUA77R0

***WARNING***
Long and Lots of photos!

Blizzard. Yeah that's what I call my ibis white '09 Avant.

The day I took delivery, I dropped the avant off for a wrapped clear bra and full tint (35% fronts/5% rears).


Day 3, I drove up to Infineon raceway, where STaSIS used to be located.


After talking at length with the crew at Stasis, I understood that a Stasis Authorized Audi dealer would need to install the parts for me to have the 4 year/50k mile factory matching warranty. So I contacted Stevens Creek Audi and got the ECU/exhaust/A.R.B. ordered. When the parts came in, the avant went to on the rack for her new mods.



Then it was time to take Blizzard out to the track to see what she could do... The Audi Club had "Quattro de Seca" coming up so I took her out to Laguna Seca for a bit of fun.




ThunderHill:





Infineon:





Plenty of good times (40+ trackdays with 4 clubs) over the last couple of years. Unfortunately, every track day and several spirited mountain runs demonstrated just how deficient the stock brakes were for repeated use. After too many failures, I was looking for a serious solution. I have Brembo's on my E55 AMG and briefly considered installing a set on the avant. To make a long story short, I eventually decided to go with the Stasis/Alcon 370mm BBK.

I had been looking at several coilover setups and had narrowed my choices down to the Bilstein PSS10, KW V3, or STaSIS/Ohlins coilovers. I liked the adjustability of the Bilstein and KW systems and had been holding out hope that STaSIS would make the Ohlins Motorsport coilovers available. I ended up going with the Stasis/Ohlin Challenge coilovers. On the street in cruising and spirited canyon carving, I have never missed the ability to adjust damping/rebound. On the track, there is always room for more adjustability.

In the end, I went with STaSIS because I have had nothing but good experiences in having my Avant worked on by the dealership. On the occasions where I have had any issues, I have been given great loaner cars (2010/11 S4's, 2012 Q7's, 2012 A8L, etc.) The warranty has been used several times and it has been a seamless process. So I pulled the trigger and the dealer contacted me when the parts came in. They put me in a new Q7 for the time that Blizzard would be in the shop.

When I went to pick up Blizzard, she was sitting pretty low and I was concerned about getting out of the dealership. No problem as long as I went slowly.




These

meant that 18" wheels were not going to cut it. We are talking about 1-2mm clearance. The Alcon 6 piston caliper seems quite a bit larger than the Brembo or at least the way it mounts takes up more room.

So the hunt began for a 19" wheel that would complement Blizzards new brakes and suspension. I am a fan of simple 5 spoke designs. They are easy to clean and show off BBK's very nicely. I decided on Forgestar CF5 wheels. In December, I contacted Jason at ModBargains and told him I wanted a set of 19x9.5 ET 42 Forgestar CF5's powdercoated in a smooth gunmetal finish.

I picked them up:


and they were wrapped in Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires size 255/35/19...


From this
[IMG]<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/W1CHbWIVeMBVkfvTsST3kv0j0D35_spq-wdPYu71QC8?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-2El_Td0f0QM/TnaistM-zZI/AAAAAAAAAHE/1vKC9-TuDJE/s800/IMG_0848brakes.jpg" height="800" width="789" /></a>[/IMG]

to this






At this time, Blizzard is Stasis Challenge spec minus their wheels. I'm not a fan of mesh wheels but you can't argue with their lightweight nature...

I'll add to this thread with future mods such as a tasty bit of carbon fiber that is being custom woven while I patiently wait. I also plan to do a write up on the effects of the suspension and brake upgrade.

Cheers

audi01a6

VERY,VERY, NICE,

Blake P

I've always been a fan of your avant. Excellent choices in mods for sure!

FSures

Thanks for the info.

ernestolopez

Fantastic!,,,,,,,,,,looks awesome.-So, after all the mods done to the Avant,parts and labor,what did all of it cost?...It seems to me you would be at S4 territory regarding cost?

psychodo

Blizzard looks great with the new wheels, great choice

Eugene Chang

Beautiful build!
I'm thinking of taking my stock P+ sport avant to a track day. My plan was to do a fluid flush and change the brake pads. Did you really do 40+ days on the stock pads? I'm sure you are loving the alcons now!

QUA77R0

Thanks for all the compliments on Blizzard.

I'm going to get my review of the new suspension and brakes vs stock sport suspension/brakes done this week.

Much respect and thanks to Blake for wheel offest advice and wisdom shared. (For those of you unaware, Blake is a dedicated "Audi-thusiast" and forum moderator over at Audizine.com)

I never add up the receipts. It's called "plausible deniability" should my better half ever ask a similar question to yours. If the B8 S4 Avant was available here, it would be in my garage. I had an "open order" on one at my favorite Audi dealer since the B8 came out, hoping that one day Audi would wake up and bring back the S4 Avant. Oh well... In hindsight, if I were to do things differently, I would have just ordered a Stasis Challenge Edition Avant. It would have been a few thousand cheaper and more conveniently it could have been factored into the financing.

As per it being in S4 territory as far as cost... Avants cost more than sedans but all things being equal, I am beyond S4 Avant cost and performance. Sure an S4 can out accelerate me on top end any day but in the twisties, I can brake much later/harder and corner harder. I'll walk away from a stock S4 on anything but a straight road. IF, Audi brought the S4 Avant to NA, I'd still upgrade it to Stasis Challenge Edition (more power, handling, and braking than a stock S4).

At the end of the day, I spent more than an S4 Avant but got more than an S4 Avant to show for it. It might all average out if you factor in fuel costs though. Blizzard averages 31mpg cruising on the freeway. I never got that kind of mileage on either of my S4 loaner cars. I fill up once a week in the Avant and when I've had the B8 S4 loaners, I found myself filling up every other day. No difference in driving style or roads. The two things that make the costs of the S4 (purchase, fuel, etc.) worth it to me is the sound of the engine and the fantastic torque vectoring rear sport diff. Come on Audi!


Thanks! Yes, Blizzard did 40+ track days on the stock brakes over the last couple years. NOT on the same set of stock brakes. I managed a best of 5 trackdays on a set of stock pads and a worst of 2 days. I went through many sets of pads and a fair number of rotors. They are WAY cheaper than parts on my other cars so I guess I didn't really pay attention to how often i was eating them up. I did have a really cool rear pad explosion after a track event in the rain at Thunderhill. I think water got absorbed into the pads and then when they got hot steam/pressure/pow!

You have to remember that initially, B8 A4 owners had no aftermarket brake pad alternatives. It was BBK or find a way to cool the stock brakes and maximize their effectiveness. Now instead of trying to run brake cooling ducts, you can get away with swapping to a more aggressive/heat stable pad. That has limits though. While I have encountered many B8 A4's at the track on stock brakes, most are stock ECU and have "less aggressive" drivers. The track makes a difference as well. A highly technical track like Infineon is less punishing on brakes than a high HP track like Laguna Seca or Thunderhill. That said, I may have just been unlucky with MC failures.

Yes, I am LOVING the Alcons now! I have Brembos front and rear on my AMG and I feel like the Alcons (just fronts remember) provide greater stopping power... Impressive considering that the AMG is almost 550lbs lighter and significantly more powerful.


Hope it helps.

QUA77R0

A quick shot of Blizzard on her new shoes.

gat821

That's a very nice looking car! Great story too - good read.