new A4
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1st Gear
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 141
RE: new A4
The first replaces the venerable 1.8T as the new base engine in the A4. Already one of the best engines in the lineup, the new four grows to 2.0 liters and is equipped with a direct injection system. The result, says Audi, is 200 horsepower (up from 170) and 207 pound-feet of torque (up from 166) over an amazingly broad rev range that stretches from 1,800 rpm to 5,000.
And it is that flexibility that impresses more than the gain of 30 hp. The 1.8T was already known for performing a fair impression of a V6, but the new 2.0T FSI (as in Fuel Straight Injection) is all but indistinguishable from a raft of supposedly more sophisticated sixes. Part of the credit goes to Audi's FSI technology, which sees the injectors squirt fuel directly into the combustion chamber rather than into the intake manifold. Because there is less tendency toward detonation (that nasty pinging noise you get when you put cheap gas into a high-performance engine), the 2.0T FSI works with an abnormally high compression ratio of 10.5 to 1. The result, as any hot-rodder knows, is better low-end torque which the 2.0T has in spades. For the record, Audi claims the 2.0T hustles the A4 to 60 miles per hour in just 7.1 seconds (0.7 second quicker than the 1.8T).
The other change that Audi made, along with the boost in displacement, was to add twin balance shafts that spin at twice the engine speed. The result is that what little vibration there was on the old engine has virtually been eradicated. Also gone is the typical four-cylinder thrashiness at high revs. The 1.8T has long been our favorite Volkswagen/Audi engine. The revisions to the new four-banger just reinforce that feeling.
And it is that flexibility that impresses more than the gain of 30 hp. The 1.8T was already known for performing a fair impression of a V6, but the new 2.0T FSI (as in Fuel Straight Injection) is all but indistinguishable from a raft of supposedly more sophisticated sixes. Part of the credit goes to Audi's FSI technology, which sees the injectors squirt fuel directly into the combustion chamber rather than into the intake manifold. Because there is less tendency toward detonation (that nasty pinging noise you get when you put cheap gas into a high-performance engine), the 2.0T FSI works with an abnormally high compression ratio of 10.5 to 1. The result, as any hot-rodder knows, is better low-end torque which the 2.0T has in spades. For the record, Audi claims the 2.0T hustles the A4 to 60 miles per hour in just 7.1 seconds (0.7 second quicker than the 1.8T).
The other change that Audi made, along with the boost in displacement, was to add twin balance shafts that spin at twice the engine speed. The result is that what little vibration there was on the old engine has virtually been eradicated. Also gone is the typical four-cylinder thrashiness at high revs. The 1.8T has long been our favorite Volkswagen/Audi engine. The revisions to the new four-banger just reinforce that feeling.
