Gave the car (2002 Firehawk A4) the kick in the *** it needed to make it how it should come out of the factory.... and WOW, what a difference Heads and Cam make! I feel as giddy as the 24 year old I was when I bought the car 10 years ago! I took it to the guys at Heintz Racing in Mooresville, NC. Great guys, great service...owner Jeff Heintz even met me for drop off and delivery on Saturday night. Overall a great experience. Ended up with 219cc ported 241 heads from AI, and a 228/234 114 LSA .627 lift custom cam to go with a Vigilante 3200 TC. Goal was a very streetable, *** implanted in the seat experience. Goal achieved!
I picked up about 85 rwhp, and 40 rwtq. 401 RWHP/370 RWTQ. AI advertises 420-450 RWHP with the 219cc ported heads package...so she did come in shy of that, and I don't know what I could be missing in my combo to get that extra 30 to 40HP other than upgrading the stock LS6 intake. But all in all, it sounds and feels amazing.

 

Heads like to flow... the LS6 intake is not sufficient in most cases. Also you are an A4. They most likely advertise off M6.

 

Pretty respectable numbers although I would think that cam would have a higher number...a4 def takes more power to turn than a manual...should be pretty quick at the track let us hear some results when u track it...nice budget build

 

I think the numbers they have are for a M6.

 

Numbers were with the converter lock or unlocked? Were they SAE?

 

How much was it to port the heads?

 

Thanks for posting this up Rob, and glad you are happy with everything!

For those that have asked, the 219cc Port work from AI runs $995. That would be plus springs, etc. This car had a baseline of 315 rwhp and 330 rwtq with full exhaust already on the car. This is a very good budget oriented head and cam package to pick up that kind of power through an A4 IMO. Numbers are SAE and through a locked converter.

Thanks guys-

Zach

 

Just to nit pick a little but maybe consider a slightly larger converter. 3200 is about as small as I would be comfortable with that H/C setup. Outstanding numbers through an a4.

 

Yes your stock intake is definitely holding you back at this point, but the main difference between your numbers and the ones advertised by AI is the transmission. Not only do you have an automatic which soaks up more power, but you also have a higher torque converter which further reduces power output on a dyno.

With an M6 you would see closer to those advertised numbers, and also with the stock converter you would've seen higher numbers.

Don't be so hung up on those though, your car would eat up an M6 with the same H/C package that's putting down 430+rwhp.

 

AI ported 241s is probably my next mod.

 

pull the catback and throw a fast on there... you might be surprised as to what happens.

 

Good numbers for a stalled auto! A FAST intake and TB should get you to 420+ Id say..

 

running 19" rims will also hurt the numbers. so take that into consideration.

 

Congrats and glad you are enjoying it. Great work by AI and Heintz Racing again!

Don't go crazy over the dyno numbers as every dyno is different.

 

As others have said, don't go chasing dyno numbers (or is that waterfalls? IDK). You will drive yourself crazy trying to compare your numbers to others. You have the best indicator...a before and after dyno of "your" car on the "same" dyno. Even if weather was slighly different between those periods, you have eliminated about as much variance as possible. IDK if you drag race, but comparing ET/mph before and after is another good comparitor. You've gotten alot of good info here on what could results in a lower than advertised power number (larger wheels, stalled auto, no FAST intake) and also the dyno itself. The 315rwhp with full exhaust is alittle low to start with. My baseline with full exhaust was 336rwhp thru an M6. Here were my AI results using their High Compression 218cc GM 5.3L LS1 Cylinder Head Package (car is M6, had FAST 102 intake/TB, ARH headers, Cutout, 231/239 LSL cam).



Don't get hung up on numbers man, I'd bet your car screams now, get out there an enjoy driving it!

 

I've got 400rwhp heads/cam/stalled cars running 11.0's @ 125+ on drag radials.

I tell people this all the time, but I'll say it again. If you bought an A4, you bought the wrong car for spending time on the dyno. Have a competent tuner (which was done in this case) tune your car and as long as the combination of parts was chosen correctly and the engine was assembly properly it's gonna run good. Period.

It's fun to play the dyno games sometimes but at the end of the day a dyno is a tool of measurement and a tool for tuning. It's not the end-all be-all reflection of how fast your car is.

Enjoy the power OP!

 

Thanks for all the recommendations. It sure is fun to drive to work now...just the sound of the exhaust singing "Badass car pulling up next to you" is worth the head and cam upgrade. Totally driveable also....makes the A4 feel and sound more like a Manual. When you hit it, it just keeps pulling...and then before you know it, you realize your doing 70 in a 45mph zone....and that's about the only draw back
Again, guys at Heintz got my recommendation.

 

Now I remember why your screen name looked familiar. Your car is beautiful with those CCWs. Those AI goodies only complimented a very nice car!

 

Strong numbers

If you want higher numbers throw it on another dyno

 

Heads flow well and the cam is a high lift cam, you need an intake to compliment (FAST). That is your chokepoint.