Greetings, new here, and to the wonderful world of Audi. I used to visit saabnet regularly when I owned a 900 turbo, so I apreciate these forums immensely.

I just purchased a great 2002 A4 1.8T Quattro. But- I am not convinced the turbo is working. It does fairly well on the pick-up, but I just can't hear anything. Or feel anything.
My 88 900T Saab used to give the impression that there was a 20-40HP ghost that would give you a nice push from behind..you could really feel it. I used to hear the woosh, and I would definitely feel it kick in.

On my new A4 there is nothing except the solid capable sound of the engine engaging, and going through the gears. Again, it does fairly well so I might just be missing something.

Also, it feels like there is too much lagtime from foot depression to actual off the line motion....a complete second I'd say. Is that normal for these A4's?

Thanks in advance to all who reply.
Cheers,
Frank

 

As for the time for acceleration, I tell you its normal! it stinks but when i gas it, nothing happenes till 2k rpm! well, its not that bad but its a very small motor with a low pressure turbo. that is normal. well, as far as the turbo working at all, sounds a little strange. at 2k rpm+ you should be able to go through the gears pretty well. the 1.8t is a fairly quite motor, seems to me anyway, if your looking for turbo whine, your prob not going to find it on a stock '02. itll be interesting to hear what others think. just my .2 cents!!

 

The delay or "lagtime" you mention is normal. You should be able to hear the turbo spool. You might want to have it checked out.

 

the lagtime is normal. you'll get used to it, it really isn't a big deal...once the turbo kicks in (assuming it's working) you definitely will feel it pull. the thing to remember about the a4 1.8t, it isn't that fast off the line...but once you're moving and the turbo kicks in, it's faster than most other cars on the road.

how many miles does your car have? is it still under warranty? and if you don't hear anything, it is possible something is wrong with the turbo...although it's really hard to tell from your limited ability to convey the problem online. (it would be great to listen to and drive the car, than it'd be easy to tell if something was wrong.)

take it in and get it checked by an audi dealer. hopefully you won't have to pay for anything. but if you do, at least you'll be able to find out what the problem is.

good luck with that.

 

yes its true, its hard to describe. I don't want to put people's descritpive writing chops to the test or anything, but in the interest of getting a bit more feedback than: "take it to the dealer", let me ask you all this:

1) Is there definitely a sound you hear when accellerating, other than the normal sound of the engine increasing RPMs, then repeating that sound for the next gear?
2) Please describe your turbo's sound...assuming you have an A4 1.8T Quattro or similar.

Looking forward to any replies.

Thanks everyone.

 

Tocci, (others) is there a way to decrease that lagtime, and make the engine more responsive?

 

One of my good friends had a Saab 900T and it was definitely a bad *** car. Audi stock turbo DOES NOT feel like that. I think a chip and a snub mount might help cure both of your problems though. If you're not throwing any trouble codes, I would think your turbo is fine. Sometimes it's hard to feel the turbo in 1st or 2nd gear to me but you can almost always feel it in 3rd with a good pedal to the floor. Also, I have trouble hearing mine spool sometimes. I think you're just expecting that Saab pull but you won't find it with the stock 1.8T.

 

is yours manual or tip?

 

i have a tip and i can hear my turbo kick in... hey if you want to see if ur turbos workin drive in 1st at like 5mph and punch-it and rev it up to like 4500... if when u do that u dont hear any whine/whoosh/ you know the sound.. then u got probs.. just my .2 cents

-chris

 

I'm sure its a tip because of that delay he is speaking of.