I've been debating between buying a 1.8T and a 2.8 A4 (B5). I've found more upgrades for the 1.8T, but I noticed that $5K big turbo upgrades, like from APR and PES give the car about the same amount of power as a supercharged V6. (That kit is also $5K). Would I be able to conclude that both cars have equal potential, or are there many more 1.8T parts that increase the power over 300HP?

thanks

 

once you S/C the 2.8 that is all you can do.. and your maxed out.. if you notice some people have created 400hp with the 1.8T.. so basically its limits are endless

 

You can mod the 1.8T much more then the 2.8 . And get more power out of a heavily modded 1.8T the NA S/C 2.8

 

NA S/C 2.8 ??? WTF

 

You know Naturally aspirated super charged LOL!!!!

 

Well , I didnt mean NA S/C .
What I meant is that the 2.8 is N/A

 

Keep in mind that the more boost you run the less life you will get. If you put alot of miles on your engine then a S/C 2.8 will outlast the 1.8T boosted to equal HP buy a long stretch. If you want much more then 300HP the 1.8T has more "bolt on" options but piston ring life will start to drop dramaticaly with added boost level. Look for the telltale blue puff on deceleration from cars running high boost. Periodic compession checks will show the drop long before you notice a power loss because the DV will stay closed longer. Another way to see the compression loss is to time the boost cycle. Untill the rings become toast you may still get full boost but the cycle will take longer. If you don,t care about high engine life then go 1.8T and pump it up!

 

you're not limited to a supercharger with the 2.8, there are a lot of other mods you can do to get plenty more power out of it...you can p&p a ton of things to get all kinds of power, especially with the s/c....intake manifold, exhaust manifold, MAF, throttle body, all the bolt-ons like a full exhaust, intake, EFK, you can get race cams for it, forged internals, the 2.8 block can handle NOS pretty well, i'm sure there are a few things i'm missing...the most appealing thing about the s/ced 2.8 is the fact that there is NO lag like there are with turbos...which means you will eat any 1.8T, no matter how heavily modded, off the line, which is where you do the most racing anyway

 

Port and Polishing will only add like 2-4 ponies.. maybe.. after exhaust and intake and everything your only going to up like 20 if lucky

 

nooooo, not if you've got a supercharger....with the added power running through the system, p&p will get you plenty more than 4HP..especially if you do 3-4 things (like all the ones i listed above...with the p&p, plus the mods i listed, you could get another 30-40HP out of a S/Ced 2.8, easy...plus NOS, which could probably get you close to 400HP, if not over the 400 mark..