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A4 & LS6 Power - Timebomb?

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Old Sep 18, 2004 | 02:55 AM
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Default A4 & LS6 Power - Timebomb?

Can a stock 2004 A4 with stock converter handle the power of a LS6 (405HP) engine with headers? Or is it a timebomb waiting to go off?
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Old Sep 18, 2004 | 08:39 AM
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Originally Posted by pettrix
Can a stock 2004 A4 with stock converter handle the power of a LS6 (405HP) engine with headers? Or is it a timebomb waiting to go off?
I have read on the forum that the stock A4 is good for 370-375 rwhp, max. I have no basis in fact for that statement, other than seeing it in a thread. At the very least, here's a bump. I also am interested in what the limit may be.
Ed
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Old Sep 18, 2004 | 10:42 AM
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I have heard that over 400RWHP and you have to start worrying about the staock transmission. But that information was no doubt anecdotal.

In any event, with 405bhp you should not have to worry too much. I should hope not. 405bhp considering 20% drive line loss for the A4 comes to 324 rwhp. Check my signature.

Last edited by '06 Quicksilver Z06; Sep 18, 2004 at 06:58 PM.
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Old Sep 18, 2004 | 05:59 PM
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A4 driveline loss is much less than 20%. Buried in a thread somewhere a member asked a Corvette engineer what the losses were. He said about 13 for the MN6 and 16 for the A4. A difference of 4% may not seem like much but its 4% free HP without doing any mods. 20% is from the old days when drive trains were inefficient.
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Old Sep 19, 2004 | 03:05 AM
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The A4 drive train will soak up more than 16% of the FWHP when the torque converter is changed. This can add between 2-5% more loss.
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Old Sep 19, 2004 | 10:10 AM
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Originally Posted by jim2527
A4 driveline loss is much less than 20%. Buried in a thread somewhere a member asked a Corvette engineer what the losses were. He said about 13 for the MN6 and 16 for the A4. A difference of 4% may not seem like much but its 4% free HP without doing any mods. 20% is from the old days when drive trains were inefficient.
Interesting and, I believe, true. A friend had his 2003 A4 dyno tested prior to some mods and came up with 297 rwhp. Looking at a factory flywheel rating of 350 hp, that works out to a driveline loss of 15.14%. The dyno numbers of many 6 speeds on the Forum have been around 310, or so. That works out to about 11.4%. Pretty close.
Ed
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Old Sep 19, 2004 | 10:20 AM
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Mine died in one day with D.R.'s and 400rwhp.
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Old Sep 19, 2004 | 10:23 AM
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I have mine dynoed on Friday.

405BHP and 330RWHP. That is about 19%!
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Old Sep 19, 2004 | 10:25 AM
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In my opinion the 460le will not hold the power of the LS6 without
a rebuild with aftermarket parts.
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Old Sep 19, 2004 | 10:48 AM
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Originally Posted by donscheffler
I have mine dynoed on Friday.

405BHP and 330RWHP. That is about 19%!
Don, how did you derive your 405 bhp number? According to your profile you're not running a stock Z06 engine with the factory rating. 405 bhp seems a little high for the mods you're running. Just wondering.
Ed

Last edited by C5XTASY; Sep 19, 2004 at 10:51 AM.
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Old Sep 19, 2004 | 10:51 AM
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You can see my mods in my sig.
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Old Sep 19, 2004 | 10:52 AM
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You edited your message.
Really just have these mods.
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Old Sep 19, 2004 | 06:55 PM
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Originally Posted by donscheffler
You edited your message.
Really just have these mods.
Don, the reason I edited my message is because I assumed you must have had a Z06 to quote 405 bhp. However, after looking at your profile, I see your car is a 2002 C5. The stock engine on these was rated at 350 bhp. How did you arrive at the conclusion that your motor has 405 bhp after the mods you performed? I understand the 330 rwhp dyno number, but the 405 bhp number, I believe, could only come from the manufacturer.
Ed
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Old Sep 19, 2004 | 08:01 PM
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Originally Posted by jim2527
A4 driveline loss is much less than 20%. Buried in a thread somewhere a member asked a Corvette engineer what the losses were. He said about 13 for the MN6 and 16 for the A4. A difference of 4% may not seem like much but its 4% free HP without doing any mods. 20% is from the old days when drive trains were inefficient.

Not too sure about that, in my case anyway. My vert was dynoed @ 279 RWHP before modding. I'm at 400 RWHP now on the stock A4 and hope it lasts a while. I have been doing tranny fluid changes 2x/year and replacing the fluid with Redline Synthetic. So far so good.

Last edited by Laguna Blu; Sep 19, 2004 at 08:06 PM.
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Old Sep 19, 2004 | 08:04 PM
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Originally Posted by C5XTASY
Interesting and, I believe, true. A friend had his 2003 A4 dyno tested prior to some mods and came up with 297 rwhp. Looking at a factory flywheel rating of 350 hp, that works out to a driveline loss of 15.14%. The dyno numbers of many 6 speeds on the Forum have been around 310, or so. That works out to about 11.4%. Pretty close.
Ed
Really? My A4, when it was basically stock, except for a Z06 airlid, dynoed at 282.6 RWHP. Looking at a factory flywheel rating of 350 hp, that works out to a driveline loss of 19.26%.

Most of the stock A4s I have seen here dyno in the 280- low 290 range.

Most of the MN6s I have seen here are described in the low 290-low 300 range, bone stock.

Last edited by '06 Quicksilver Z06; Sep 19, 2004 at 08:08 PM.
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Old Sep 19, 2004 | 09:27 PM
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Originally Posted by EB20003
Really? My A4, when it was basically stock, except for a Z06 airlid, dynoed at 282.6 RWHP. Looking at a factory flywheel rating of 350 hp, that works out to a driveline loss of 19.26%.

Most of the stock A4s I have seen here dyno in the 280- low 290 range.

Most of the MN6s I have seen here are described in the low 290-low 300 range, bone stock.
Yep, really. Interesting...I have the dyno sheets from DRM (Doug Rippie Motorsports) right in front of me from my friends car, a 2003 Anniversary coupe. Bone stock, except for a Blackwing, was 297.0 rwhp and 311.0 rwt. After installing LG longtubes, a GHL exhaust and LS1 Edit tuning, the result was 334.5 rwhp and 347.7 rwt. I don't know what kind of dyno it was, though. I know that can affect the numbers. Probably doesn't make vast amounts of difference anyway. What's important is the difference in the after modding dyno numbers. And actually, there's not a damn thing anyone can do about driveline losses other than changing the type of transmission he uses. Just fun to talk about when people are discussing what they think their fwhp ratings may be.
Ed
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Old Sep 19, 2004 | 09:48 PM
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And actually, there's not a damn thing anyone can do about driveline losses other than changing the type of transmission he uses.

What about lighter wheels and tires? How about higher (lower number, say 2.73) gears?

Most who know will tell you that going to lower gears (higher number) typically will result in lower dyno numbers with no changes in BHP. For example changing nothing else but going to say 3.90 gears from 2.73s can result in lower dyno nbrs.

If your friends A4 Anniversary edition dynoed at 297 rwhp, another explanation, among many possibilities for this high number, could be that his engine actually was underrated at 350 bhp. This has been known to happen on numerous occasions with various engines. The LS6 in the Z06 comes to mind. Many Zs are said to be underrated as are SVT Cobras..

In my case 1-.1926= .8074 282.6/.8074= 350

297/.8074= 367 bhp or 17hp above the rated 350.

I suspect the real answer will vary among cars.

Last edited by '06 Quicksilver Z06; Sep 19, 2004 at 10:28 PM.
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Old Sep 20, 2004 | 08:58 AM
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Originally Posted by EB20003
What about lighter wheels and tires? How about higher (lower number, say 2.73) gears?

Most who know will tell you that going to lower gears (higher number) typically will result in lower dyno numbers with no changes in BHP. For example changing nothing else but going to say 3.90 gears from 2.73s can result in lower dyno nbrs.

If your friends A4 Anniversary edition dynoed at 297 rwhp, another explanation, among many possibilities for this high number, could be that his engine actually was underrated at 350 bhp. This has been known to happen on numerous occasions with various engines. The LS6 in the Z06 comes to mind. Many Zs are said to be underrated as are SVT Cobras..

In my case 1-.1926= .8074 282.6/.8074= 350

297/.8074= 367 bhp or 17hp above the rated 350.

I suspect the real answer will vary among cars.
He runs stock wheels and rubber and 3.15 gears. I realize gearing your car lower (higher (numerically) will skew the numbers down and vice versa. There's been several discussions of that over the years on the Forum. But he's not running 2.73's, and maybe he indeed does have a stronger car. Just don't know for sure. I also realize engines sometimes vary in power output, and a line of engines is sometimes underrated, but I believe the variance in power in the same line of modern engines isn't near what it used to be in the old days. His numbers are right in line with another buddy, who had his car dynoed, before and after a header install, at another well known local tuner, Wards Sports. As I said, with the results I've seen, the numbers work out. But, it doesn't make any difference anyway. The only important reality here, is the difference from dyno run to dyno run, same car, and preferably, same dyno. Anything else doesn't mean much. Higher, or lower, loss numbers just let people talk about the higher, or lower, fwhp and fwt numbers they believe they have. And don't get me wrong here, that's a lot of fun, too. And fun is why most of us are here.

Ed
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Old Sep 20, 2004 | 03:41 PM
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Depends entirely on how YOU drive.
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