nunyabiz

A good review on Eurocode's longtube headers designed for our S4's. The install is definitely not for the faint of heart, but definitely look to be worth the trouble for those looking to get the most out of their car.
http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...g-Tube-Headers

primetime

I'll guess this is Circuittested results... hopefully he will post over here as I refuse to visit that site ever again... It would probably benefit Eurocode if they want to sell more set(s)...

nunyabiz

Like a moth to a flame. I figured you'd be over soon enough. Hopefully the mods don't get all pissy at me but here's the text:

Background

Anyone following our build progress will know that we had a bit of difficulty with a few previous exhaust “solutions.” We started with swapping out just the OEM catalytic converters in favor of high flow units that unfortunately created more problems than they solved. Next we ordered a full header setup with race cats only to find out that after two months of waiting they were manufactured so poorly they wouldn’t even bolt onto the block. Finally, we ended up calling Eurocode Tuning in a bit of a panic and ordered a set of their Long Tube Headers. When we called Eurocode we knew we were going to be asking a lot and it is a testament to how organized and well run they are to be able to pull off what they did.

When we got the phone call from EuroTech Motorsports that the headers we had been anxiously looking forward to for the past two months did not fit we were shocked. Considering our engine had been separated from the body and we were taking up an entire lift we had to make a split second decision: go back to our OEM cats or pray for a small miracle. It was almost 4:30pm EST and for obvious reasons re-installing the stock catalytic converters was going be our last resort. We hoped for the best and made one last ditch phone call to Eurocode Tuning. When we placed the call around 5pm EST to Eurocode we were pleasantly surprised to find out that they not only had a set of finished headers at their production facility but they were willing to package them up, along with all the necessary gaskets, hardware and o2 extension cables, and rush them over to the UPS facility in time to make the cutoff for next day AM delivery. Within 30 minutes we had tracking numbers via E-Mail and by 8AM Friday morning EuroTech Motorsports was able to continue with our header install. There are few companies that we’ve dealt with in any capacity, automotive related or otherwise, that have shown the level of hustle and customer service Eurocode did that day.

Initial Impressions

So, what exactly does running long tube headers do for you? In short, a lot. The system removes the catalyst unit entirely while separating the exhaust gasses for a much longer distance than the stock header and catalyst system which allows your engine to take advantage of two primary performance benefits:

1. Reduces back pressure which eliminates the drag on the non-power producing engine strokes.
2. Increases exhaust scavenging which aids in “pulling” spent exhaust gas from the combustion chamber and forcing them through the exhaust system. Due to the characteristics of supercharged engines, scavenging plays a more important role than in previous Audi engine configurations.


Additionally, you should expect a significant increase in exhaust volume and throttle response. Exactly how much of a volume increase will be dependent on your cat-back exhaust system but a safe estimate would be around 150% of the current level. The long tube headers will also add a very small amount of “exhaust rasp” in the 3 to 5k RPM range due to the thinner walls of the headers allowing the exhaust firing sequence to be more audible than with the stock cast iron headers. Throttle response, especially in “dynamic” mode will be dramatically improved.

With the more aggressive sounding cat-back systems at normal throttle levels you can expect just a minor increase in volume but at wide open throttle there will be a significant difference. For comparison, we’re running the Milltek Resonated cat-back and we’re as loud as a Porsche GT3RS at full throttle.

Below is a short clip of some real world driving:


Will I Get A Check Engine Light?

Eurocode Tuning sent us a pair of secondary o2 extension cables with our headers and we put them to use in conjunction with a 42 Draft defouler. To date, we’ve driven over 4,000 miles since our install and have only gotten two CEL warning lights only after long sessions on two local road circuits. The codes we were throwing were “heating circuit malfunctions” which were related exclusively to the secondary o2 sensors. Under normal driving on the street, we have had absolutely zero issues with Check Engine Light warnings despite our complete lack of catalytic converters. While individual results may vary, as long as proper spacers/defoulers are used along with the secondary o2 extension kit provided by Eurocode there is a high probability that you will not experience any CEL issues.

Performance Results

Our performance testing for this product was split into two parts initially and will eventually culminate with a third and final test. The first set of data points aims to single out the performance increase of an equally prepared car running our old high flow catalytic converters and the exact same car with the Eurocode long tube headers installed. In the graphic below, we have four separate runs that have timed speed versus distance for exactly 1,000 feet.

Here is our build breakdown (all configurations include our Milltek Resonated Exhaust):

Black……………..............…….OEM Intake
Red………………...............…..Stratmosphere Hyperflow Intake
Green…………..............………APR 93 Octane, HFCs, Hyperflow
Blue…………..............…………APR 93 Octane, Long Tube Headers, Hyperflow


According to our data, a simple swap of HFCs for the long tube headers, all else equal, allowed us to trip the 1,000ft mark 0.33 seconds quicker. Additionally, these tests were conducted in 3rd gear using a starting point of 4,000rpm which served to expose the weakness of the HFCs and showcase the ability of the long tube headers to extract power from the higher end of the RPM band. While our data highlights the upper RPM range, an increase in power can be felt through the majority of the power band. Even at lower revolutions the car benefits from an increase in throttle response and power delivery. At our test circuit, this became glaringly obvious as our need to shift into 2nd (from 3rd) was all but eliminated even in the slowest corners.

On our first session at the Thunderbolt Circuit at New Jersey Motorsports Park we took the first few laps at about 50% and slowly started to push harder as the car came up to temperature. We finished the first session around 85% and the car felt fantastic. One warm up lap on our second session and we decided to let it loose. We ran the rest of the day at full tilt and set not only our highest top speed but our fastest lap times to date without a single issue. Even after running flat out for 30 minutes our engine bay was surprisingly cool as the headers did a fantastic job of corralling the exhaust gasses away from the engine.

Here is a break down of our lap times on Thunderbolt:

Stock ECU management..............…………………………………..........……… …1:44.00
APR 93 Octane ECU flash and Eurocode Long Tube Headers……………..1:39.20

We are running almost 5 seconds faster and we have officially put our 2 ton family sedan lap times into Porsche 911 territory. While attributing the exact contribution of the long tube headers is difficult since the ECU management software upgrade was tested at the same time, it is very unlikely that headers will be installed without an engine management upgrade in place and as a result the combination of the two modifications is arguably more relevant. However, we will isolate a figure once our ECU can be freely reset to its stock mapping program in the near future.

So, Are Long Tube Headers for Me?

There are a number of factors that you must take into consideration including exhaust volume, installation cost and competency of your mechanic, your local emissions laws and on a more macro scale you need to honestly answer “What are my ultimate end goals with my build?” While this modification is not for the faint of heart, if you are looking to push the limits of the B8 platform the rewards are felt every single time you depress the accelerator.

Conclusion

It took us quite some time to arrive at our current setup and having experienced every header/catalyst unit solution for the B8 S4 we can say without hesitation that the Eurocode Long Tube Headers should be the only exhaust solution on the market today. The headers have not only made us faster around our test circuit but they have also transformed the way the car sounds and reacts to driver inputs. The customer service aspect has been consistently top notch and while this modification is a large undertaking you can rest assured knowing that Eurocode will do everything in their power to make sure it is manufactured, installed and operating correctly. As a result, we are officially recommending the Eurocode Long Tube Headers for the B8 S4 platform.

helix139

or better yet just go to circuittested.com. here's a direct link to the headers review:

http://circuittested.com/2011/08/29/...-tube-headers/

nunyabiz

^^^That guys smarter than me

sakimano

is it just me or did they do zero testing of the headers? Maybe I skipped over it but it looks like they're combining the tune with the headers results on the only data they have...lap times (months apart).

It's really hard to get any real info on these damn headers. Eurocode sent a B8 with headers and a great dragracer and they busted basically stock times then quit because the clutch 'couldn't hold the power'. Richib86, a guy who never saw a race he didn't like, hasn't posted any race videos, no quarter mile times, nothing. He was at waterfest, but didn't run because 'the clutch can't hold the power'...yet he was racing a C63 a couple of days later. I don't get it.

All we have is subjective reviews, and a couple of lap times that are tainted by an ECU tune that adds 40hp/40tq to the equation mixed in...and the video of richib86 getting walked by a B5 S4 on race gas (that B5 ran 11.9-12.0 @ 120 mph when he went to the strip).

Anyone else find this whole eurocode story weird?

primetime

Thanks guys! Looks like some nice results... I'll email him later... What I don't get is the lack of a delta between the red and green run as the green run added a tune but got very little gain... Maybe the red was tuned but he forgot to mention... Maybe I'll do the same with some drag times...

helix139

Yeah I would have liked to see a little more iterative approach in this review with some testing with just the tune and stock cats, but I'm guessing it was cost-prohibitive to go back to stock and then back to headers once the LFCs were on. Oh well. Take from it what you can. It's pretty clear in any case that the headers are better than the LFCs.

I dunno what's going on with Richi and his clutch, but I wouldn't doubt that a solid torque increase (tune + headers) could overwhelm the stock clutch. Heck, we saw the additional torque from the pulley sending the DSG into protection a bit.

The colored runs were done starting in the upper part of the rev range (4000rpms in 3rd) where the LFCs were most restrictive, so they obviously did enough to negate the tune up top from 4k RPMs on.

info@ecodetuning

Here are some of our dyno comparisons, we are using a dynapack hub dyno (same as APR uses).

Bone Stock vs APR Tune (91 Octane File)



Bone Stock Vs APR Tune (100 Octane file)



Bone Stock vs EC Headers (Stock Programming)



Bone Stock vs EC Headers (APR 91 Octane File)



Eurocode Tuning Long Tube Headers (Stock programming) vs Eurocode Tuning Long Tube Headers (APR 91 Octane Programming)




Eurocode Tuning Long Tube Headers (APR 91 Octane Programming) vs Eurocode Tuning Long Tube Headers (APR 100 Octane Programming)



APR Programming (91 Octane File) vs Eurocode Tuning Headers with APR Programming (91 Octane File)

CircuitTested

We're more than happy to discuss our findings, but we just ask that you take the time to read the review in full. We stated, very clearly, that we could not give an absolute delta of lap times from just the headers at this point due to the fact we tested the ECU and the headers at the same time. We did this to compare the APR tune with HFCs versus the long tube headers in a scenario where both parts would see the maximum amount of air flow. Once we send our ECU in for program switching we will finalize the third round of testing with a stock program which will isolate the long tube header's delta. Despite this fact, our testing, and it was DAYS of testing to make sure we gave the ECU enough time to adapt, showed us that the combination of the APR tune with HFCs was so poor we really couldn't make a case for the APR tune adding much power. However, once we strapped on the long tube headers the car performed better than we had ever expected. That should be the take away from the rolling 4k and on performance figures as well as the drastically improved lap times. If the headers did not work (ala. HFC issues) then we'd be talking about a much lower lap time difference.

And obviously the tests were not done on the same day. If you can swap out an engine in a paddock, please feel free to drop by and give us a hand. The temperature on both days were, however, within a few degrees of each other if that is what you are concerned about.