Vijay

The thermodynamic challenges of doing so relaibly are just too prohibitive given the total lack of space in the engine bay. You need a proper intercooler, a larger radiator, a larger oil pan, a larger oil cooler, a more powerful water pump and different thermostat mechanism. Ideally you want also want to lower compression just a bit which would mean thick gaskets or different pistons. There's more, but I don't feel like writing an essay.

ESFO

Supercharging the RS4, at this stage of the game is relatively easy. VF Engineering has already done it for the S4 and the same unit will be used for the RS4 with some relatively minor adjustments. The cooling is taken care of. The supercharged S4 actually runs cooler than a stock one. The compression of the RS4 is not a problem as long as there's no detonation. Yes, ideally the compression should be lowered. But it doesn't have to be. You simply run less boost and ultimately have less output than if you did lower the compression.

Keep in mind that MTM has already successfully supercharged the RS4. Also remember that there are several vehicles with high compression ratios that VF has already supercharged and other cars on the market with high compression ratios that have been successfully supercharged by others.

TwentyValveB5+S4

why is it nearly 5 years after the B6 S4 release and there *still* isn't a reasonable supercharger for public consumption? (VF and ASP are of course close, but they're still in beta)

dr. leases

to provide the product. Maybe they didn't have the resources until now to devote towards this product. Maybe they are breaking even with this and in this economy is a greater risk than usual. In these times companies are looking harder at demand vs. making sure product is brought to market before anyone else. After seeing what Callaway has done, I feel pretty good that the RS4 can be supercharged.
Bottom line - with so few around, how many will actually order a supercharger? That is a number I wouldn't be to excited about when talking to investors.

S4@last!::Now B7 RS4

I was hoping that they would keep it under 15k with a grand install. 18k is bit much.

S4@last!::Now B7 RS4

components. That is one reason I thought the price would be a few grand less.

S4@last!::Now B7 RS4

but 60% more pushes it over the edge. I cant help but wonder what the pricing would have been if MTM had not come out with an astronomical price for their RS4 supercharger. I think MTM drove the price up for us.

ESFO

The V8 Audi crowd was not a large one, and more importantly, they were never viewed as hardcore enthusiasts by performance tuning shops. They were viewed as an older, more mature crowd, not REAL enthusiasts. Just ask your B5 bretheren. And the V8 car wasn't considered a "likely" tuner car. The general conception was that Audi laid down on the V8 powered S cars. It was seen as more of a luxury car with some power, unlike the B5 S4. No tuner, for years had any interest in really developing a single performance part beyond a chip, exhaust and intake. Years went by with just these 3 items. This is an engine that is crying for a set of ported heads, cams, headers and a better intake. That's basic, fundamental "hot-rodding" for a NA V8 powered car that you will find for every American performance car, sometimes before the car even hits the market. Tuners know that American performance car buyers like to hot-rod, tweak and race their cars. Such was not the case with tuners opinion of V8 Audi owners.

Performance tuners have to weigh the perceived market interest and projected sales against the cost to develop and market a particular part. For a long time it was considered an unwise investment. But the market, now, after 6 years of V8 powered S4 sales is much larger than in, say, 2005 or 2006, AND, the average age of the owner of a V8 S4 has lowered due to the cars becoming so cheap. Younger guys are much, much more inclined to modify and race. It's now a risk worth taking.

It has NOTHING to do with difficulty. VF Engineering has been supercharging VWs, Porsches and BMWs for years now. They started their V8 S4 project back in 2005 but they were more focused on other projects that were in higher demand. Now it makes sense to focus on this kit.

Vijay

I still contend that there just isn't enough space to really do it properly, but your argument about younger people more inclined to mod their cars is certainly true. I used to be hardcore in my 20's and 30's. I think I've spent over $100,000 in mods on cars that I have owned. Now that I'm in my 40's, I still enjoy the subject matter, but I'm more inclined to just buy something with everything already "done" from the factory. Part of this is because I can now afford such cars. Part of this, however, has nothing to do with age but the fact that when you sell the car, you don't get much (if any) money back on mods, and I just can't see dumping that kind of money anymore. So, I will still mod, and I will certainly still support the industry, but my personal days of dumping $15,000 into an engine (then another $20,000 to balance out the rest of the car) are over.

JMG

exactly!