Augie

The short answer:

Powershift!

This is sort of like the "military emergency" throttle setting on WWII fighter aircraft. Use it only if you're in dire straits. If you do it routinely, you are going to be replacing synchros every two years or so.

The deal is, dab the clutch at 7000 and pull back quickly (not powerfully), dab again at 7000 and push forward and slightly right, also quickly, then do it again for fourth and you're done. If the front end of the car dips during the shift, you're not quick enough. Try again :-).

On an S4 with up-the-ante boost, the difference will be nothing short of astonishing.

You have to be a little crazed to do this (welcome to the club), but I'd be willing to bet that mid to high 12s in a standing quarter mile would be a cinch. 13.5s on a stocker.