Team Skittle Racing
This page is all about the Audi B5 A4 1.8 turbo Quattro 5 speed that I owned for about 3 and a half years. I learned a lot from that car and do miss its solidity and often surprising abilities.
When I bought the car it was a basket case of old rubber and dirt. It did have certain elements that I was looking for though, that are a good idea on any car. It had a new timing belt, a new turbo, relatively low miles and was in overall good condition.
Things that I wish i'd done differenly: Shocks should have been the first upgrade and I never did get them. Not bought cheap chinese parts from ECS Tuning or other low price Audi parts retailers. I had to replace a lot of them twice or even three times which is not fun with stuff like water pumps.
A4 1.8T Quattro
The B5 A4 quattro is a rock solid platform as a tunable sports sedan. The aluminum multi link front suspension is brilliant. The AEB 1.8t engine can be easily and cheaply tuned. There are a plethora of functional brake upgrades from other Audis as well as the aftermarket. Carefully chosen the right modifications could take your hum drum A4 to razor sharp sports sedan, and in much more comfort and style than its Japanese peers.
I bought mine the spring of 2006. Coming from a near racecar everything about the car felt delayed and numb, but I could feel the potential laying underneath the vastly superior aesthetics. At present it feels like a completely different car than the one I bought. The throttle is sharp and revs climb fast with nary a shake from the shifer. The brakes can throw you into the seat belts with a ferocity. It can hold a steady state corner at much higher velocities. It will actually brake in heavy rains. First through third feel noticably faster. Shifting is crisp and smooth. Everything I've done to get these results has been explained on this site so please enjoy.
The engine
The Audi AEB engine is a 1.8l DOHC 20v turbo charged and intercooled inline 4 cylinder with an iron block and an aluminum head. The intake piping is set up so that there are provisions for an intercooler at both sides of the car for the 2.7l V6 twin turbo in the B5 S4, RS4, and the C5 A6. An upgrade for the A4 is to add that second intercooler along with the vented fender liners from the S4.
Please continue through the menu on the left to see what I've addressed with this interesting and plentiful chassis.
Please don't drink and drive.