Good choice.

 

I like my 2.8 : ) Anything faster and id be in jail lol

Ahem.. well its reliable, 2.7t is wacked! Over 7k to change turbos?? 4.2 v8 sounds fast and cool, but then its a V8. You can supercharge a 2.8 and get +300 Hp and superchargers are little or no maintenance. Its like 2k for the eaton supercharger, thats the best way to go i think; imagine V8 power from a V6!! AWESOME!!

 

Turbos are no maintenance either - other than changing the oil which you should do anyway. Have you priced turbos for an Audi engine? Have you priced anything for an Audi?

I bet it's cheaper to upgrade to K04s than install a supercharger. And the 2.7T will crank out 318 hp with less than a $1000 to chip it.

But for the long haul, the 4.2l should be more reliable.

 

I've seen a supercharger for the 4.2 and it cost $10,000 plus installation. No thanks. For that kind of money I can buy a used 2.7T to have as a spare in case mine breaks!

The GIAC chip for the 2.7T adds 70-80hpwhich equates to320 - 330hp and they run around $600 - $700 depending upon the dealer. Let's be honest - for 99% of our daily driving, over 300hp isn't all that useful. If you want to build something really fast, you can do it with many other vehicles which are far less repair prone and that include larger displacement engines that handle such upgrades. I love my Audi, but I know what it is and I know what it isn't....and it will never be a race rocket, because that isn't the niche it was designed to fill.

If I want sheer power, I can slap a supercharger on any V8 Mustang and burn tires all day long with 650hp on tap. If I want a refined smooth ride - I'll take the Audi.

 

Lots of good info on the different motor options. I bought a 2001 A6 4.2 w/ tip,96k, a little over 2 months ago. Still can't get the CEL off, after multiple 120 mile trips to the used car dealer and an Audi dealer - replaced one (of the 4 total)O2 sensor - twice now, CEL back on after ~ 30 miles. Anyway, AFTER I bought it, talked to a friend who owns an independant Audi/VW shop, has been working on Audi's for 20 years - he won't work on the 4.2 because it is 'so problematic and expensive'. Not the engine, which he says is pretty much bullet-proof, but the electronic sensors that control everything - they throw mysterious error codes that often take a lot of troubleshooting. And since the 4.2's aren't as plentiful, most of the parts cost more.

I will say 2 positive things about my 4.2 - a) it drives amazing - 96k and no rattles or squeeks, tight and powerful (even with theCEL glowing orange in my face...), b) if I end up keeping the car I will buy the VAG-com scanner package, a Bentley repair manual, and be a frequent contributor to this forum, which has some of the best info and most knowledgable participants I've ever seen online.

Good luck on whatever you choose - make sure you get a comprehensive pre-buy inspection!