bucklwi1

Guys I have a 2001 A4 Z28 with the 2.73 gears and am disappointed at the off the line power. In an effort to pick up some low end grunt I am trying to decide between TC or gears. If I do gears I know I am going to go with 3.42. If I do TC I am not sure how big. Anyway, the car is not going to be raced at the track. It is my daily driver and I just want it to be quicker from a stop. I live in MA and drive it year round so I need the car to still be streetable. I am not looking to go overboard with my car and turn it into a drag strip car. So in my case should I go with the gears or the TC?

I know with the TC I will need to get a tranny fluid cooler and LS1 edit so it will probably be significantly more expensive than doing the gears. But will the gears give me any noticeable improvement down low or is the TC the only way to go?

heyitsTaJay

seeing that you drive it year round..its a toss up. you could go with a very streetable vig2800 to start. they come with 1 free stall. so you can send it back if you want more stall. not every TC needs tuning. if your not plannin on doing internals and this is about how far as your mods will go then pick up a used HPP3 and do little bit of tuning. ls1edit is awesome, but it depends on the parameters that you will be modding your car in the future. you will feel a difference with gears also. depends if you want some serious ball gripping take-offs, or a "better" take off. hope this helps..
J

Cummins

iTrader: (2)

the gears will give you alittle bette push from a take but no were near what a TC will do. i'd say get somthing with atleast 3000 stall.

Raptor99

Definately want a stall first. I'm still kickin myself in the *** for not getting one yet.

One thing that everyone says though is figure out what stall you want, then go at least another 400rpm. I'd recommend AT LEAST a 3200, if not 3600. My car is mostly a street car (and daily driver at that) and I plan on going with the Vig3600.

Gears can be done later

jimmyblue

iTrader: (11)

It's a journey, not a destination... heh.

Converter + cooler probably first, it's a gotta-do A4
mod.

Gears plus T-2R (plus hard pinion spacer, TA girdle
w/ preload, other minor-$ beef-up mods while you're
apart) later. I'd say GM 3.42s unless you're mad for
the strip. Somebody will have to fix your VSS/mile
settings, a dealership might do this relatively cheap
if no better option.

If you had the dough to do all at once that would
be great but most of us don't.

DRACO911

Racehead

It's definitely a toss-up here. With an A4 you've gotta do the TC mod, and with 2.73 gears you've gotta do the gear mod too. I think I'd do both at once and then smile REALLY big on that 1st drive

Black00Z

I've heard a lot from the A4 guys about how much a TC really wakes up the car. There are plenty of options out there for you to use that won't affect the street manners of the car all that much, if any at all.

foff667

iTrader: (2)

TC...i cut nearly 7 tenths off my 1/4 times with my tci ssf3500 w/ my 2.73 gears.

lata
Bill

Broken041

Converter for sure. That is a mod that I would recommend to any of us with an A4.

bucklwi1

I do not want to have to use drag radials to keep my car on the road. I want to be able to keep my regular tires (currently stock Z28 tires or I might switch to 275/40/17 on new rims soon) and be able to keep the car on the road. The car also needs to be in use year round.

I want to be able to accelerate at the stoplights real quick. Like I said I will not be racing this at the strip, just want better pick up off the line.

so would a 3200 stall be good? what STR should I go with? will I be able to install a TC and still keep normal tires and not have to switch to drag radials?

thanks

T-maxx

If you want to race light to light you need traction. Dr's ,panhard ,springs,ect. Why no 1/4 mile racing. The track is WAY more fun IMO.

tuffluck

iTrader: (4)

yeah, TC is fun and all on the street, but on the track you have to buy a lot to make the TC work. street tires won't do, stock suspension won't do ...it's an expensive mod by the time you see the benefits of the TC. the gears are cool, but your gas mileage will not be what it is now. a4s don't get great gas mileage to begin with, but if it ain't a big deal to you, then just do whatever you want. i had 3.08s in my v6 camaro, and i went to 3.42s. you could have done that mod while i was asleep and never told me about it, and i would have also never even suspected it. you have to do a pretty extensive gear change to really feel a difference.

foff667

iTrader: (2)

i ran 13.3@106 before the tc($530), bought some rims w/ used hoosier bias plys($24) & spohn lca's ($150) and then ran a 12.7@107 hitting the rev limiter on the 2-3 shift...tell me one or several mods you can gain 6 tenths for under $710?

foff667

iTrader: (2)

in addition once your TC locked up at 45mph youll get the same manners as you would have with the stock converter...so if you do alot of highway driving its well worth it...try that with some 3.73's or 4.10's

lata
Bill

RevGTO

iTrader: (12)

I went through the same decision making process for the same reasons, even though I plan to take my car to the track once in a while. But I departed from the majority advice and did the gears first. I hated my 2.73s and am VERY happy with the 3.42s. Perfect for around town like you say, without the need for trying to manage drag radials in the rain. Gas mileage is no different in town, though it will be worse on the freeway. But the SOTP feel is vastly improved.

CamaroCain

iTrader: (1)

3.42 gears and a streetable converter. No point in getting just one They will work good together. Yeah, and why no track? You don't know what you're missing

Fast Eddie's 02 T/A vert.

I had 2.73s and hated them.I now have 3.42s and love them.