Dante’s S4 is among the cleanest and most well-modified cars we have encountered. This laser red beauty took 1st place at the 2008 Dubs Along the Rockies car show and is a stunning example of a tactfully upgraded B5 S4. This particular customer has been through several different stages with his S4 as his demands and power goals have changed, which is a process most of us enthusiasts are all too familiar with. Join with us and follow along the journey as Dante explains the life of his Audi amidst all of his personal expectations and achievements:

” As a life-long car enthusiast, I’ve been enamored with high-end “super cars” – the cars that typically require you to make seven figure salary to own – the type of car that I’ll never likely own in my lifetime unless my early retirement plan of winning the lottery comes to fruition. However, a funny thing happened once I reached my 30’s. As much as I’ve admired the high-end exotics, I developed a new-found respect and love for the “sleeper”, or a car that looks deceivingly stock to the onlooker but is a monster on the street. Being rather ingrained in the Colorado car scene, I started meeting people with seemingly ‘every-day’ cars that were modified with high performance power and handling upgrades. These sleepers often rivaled the high-end exotics that I’ve long put on the proverbial pedestal, yet they were attained with a much more modest budget and pay scale. With that said, I’ve developed an affinity for cars that are unique and, to some extent exclusive, but fall within the price range of someone who can’t *quite* afford a super-car. Hmmm… decisions, decisions. What car could I acquire that has the potential of reaching super-car performance status, that is still classy, exclusive, non-assuming, and last but not least, somewhat affordable? Solution: the Audi B5 S4.

Back in 2007, I started my search. I wanted an S4 that already possessed Stage 3 power (K04 turbos and fueling), had a 6-speed manual transmission, and it was mandatory that it have really low miles. Pretty tall order, I know. I searched high and low for the perfect S4 and finally found it! Someone out of Las Vegas was selling one that fit all of my criteria; low mileage (only around 28k at that time), an AWE/GIAC off-the-shelf Stage 3 setup, an incredible suspension that rivaled the handling of a track-built Porsche, and some minor aesthetic modifications that set it apart from your everyday, bone-stock S4. Dang my luck though, some other fortunate person made an offer right before me and snatched up the car! I was quite disheartened so I gave up the search and essentially abandoned hope in finding my perfect S4 “sleeper”.

Fast-forward 4 months later. One night, out of pure and random boredom, I began searching classified again for S4’s. HOLY &^%$, I couldn’t believe my eyes; the S4 I originally tried to buy a few months earlier was for sale again!!! The reasons are not pertinent, but the new owner couldn’t keep it and had to put it up for sale. There was no way I would let this opportunity escape me twice. As luck would have it, the new owner was actually local, so I made arrangements to check out the vehicle. Everything panned out and I made the purchase. <evil voice>This S4 is mine…all mine…muahahahah</evil voice>.
Dante's dream 'sleeper' B5 S4 - Avalon Motorsports

Dante's dream 'sleeper' B5 S4 - Avalon Motorsports

Now it was time to find a shop that I could work with to further enhance the performance on this already Stage 3 S4. I am, admittedly, rather particular as I’ve had some bad experiences in the past, so I carefully evaluated all of the Audi shops in Colorado that could help me with every aspect of my car (good pricing on parts, custom tuning, outstanding customer service, etc). While my search took quite a while, it was well worth the wait.

Enter Avalon Motorsports. People say that timing is everything and that couldn’t be truer in my case. When I engaged with Avalon, they had just started developing the platform for their “Altituned” custom tuning and they were looking for an S4 to expand their capabilities on. My S4 essentially became the R&D car for their new tuning service and that was cool by me considering the end result.

From here on, I’m going to reference the progression of my S4 in three distinct phases (spanning 1 yr).

* Phase 1: Altituned Custom Tune on the S4 as-is (no changes to hardware)

After installing a Zeitronix wide-band sensor, Avalon began data-logging to get a baseline sample with the existing, off-the-shelf tuning. The logs were not that impressive at all as the intake air temps (IAT) were high, car was running rich, and FATS (acronym for a template used by the S4 community which measures the time it takes to cover a specific RPM range at full-throttle in 3rd gear) times were 4.5x seconds. Avalon got the 91-octane file dialed in BEAUTIFULLY! They showed me that the Air/Fuel ratio was in control, and meanwhile there was very little correction with insane timing for a high altitude car on 91-octane, and more unbelievable is that it was spiking at less than 22 pounds of boost. I was very pleased considering we live at 5000+ ft elevation and have some of the worst 91-octane gas in the country. In my humble opinion, after comparing logs of other software on the market, this is the best custom tune available. We ended up running a 4.01 FATS, which is really only worth mentioning because the tune was so solid and a significant improvement over the 4.55 FATS (off-the-shelf). It was a completely different car, despite the fact that there were no hardware changes made aside from a Mass Air Flow sensor conversion. This sucker pulled like never before, but it I knew it still had more potential…
Zeitronix ZT-2 installation on Dante's S4 - Avalon Motorsports

Zeitronix ZT-2 installation on Dante's S4 - Avalon Motorsports
Altituned Audi VW Porsche custom tuning - Avalon Motorsports

Altituned Audi VW Porsche custom tuning - Avalon Motorsports

* Phase 2: Installed Vast Water/Methanol Injection (and more tuning)

While the initial tune was a HUGE improvement over the off-the-shelf programming, the next obvious step was to get the IATs under control. Avalon installed Vast’s Water/Methanol injection system and began another round of custom tuning. The result was an even better performing S4! This allowed more timing to be added, especially in the post-peak torque portions. Dyno testing showed gains of 36 wheel horsepower and 45 ft-lbs of torque over the off-the-shelf setup.
Dante's VAST water-meth Injection - Avalon Motorsports

Dante's VAST water-meth Injection - Avalon Motorsports
Dante's Altituned S4 on the dyno - Avalon Motorsports

Dante's Altituned S4 on the dyno - Avalon Motorsports

* Phase 3: Modify RS4 K04 turbos to K04/RS6 Hybrids

Still thirsting for more out of the S4, I decided to take the car to the next level and had Avalon work on a project to rebuild the turbos (larger compressor wheel, extrude honed and ported; ceramic coated on the hot-side). Since the car was nearly maxed out with my current hardware set up, this was the next most economical step on a daily-driven engine with a stock bottom end. And with the engine out, it was also an opportune time to have the timing belt service taken care of by Avalon’s factory trained technicians. Even though the car only had 35k miles at this point, it was about 8 years old, so it was a sensible choice. I also had the exhaust manifolds ceramic coated and the downpipes, charge pipes (up pipes), and inlets heat wrapped. The next round of Dyno testing showed 60 wheel horsepower and 45 ft-lbs torque over my stage 3 OTS baseline, all on 91 octane. And in terms of overall speed, on a 30-degree day this car consistently sees 3.4x FATS. Ultimately, being able to receive multiple revisions from Avalon locally allows you to get appropriate file(s) nailed down with respect to your goals, without having to wait for someone to fly in every few months or send ECU’s back-and-forth (all due respect). It’s very nice to have that type of quick turnaround.
Dante's RS4-RS6 hybrid turbos - Avalon Motorsports

Dante's RS4-RS6 hybrid turbos - Avalon Motorsports
Dante's ceramic coated manifolds - Avalon Motorsports

Dante's ceramic coated manifolds - Avalon Motorsports
Dante's RS4 hybrid turbo installation - Avalon Motorsports

Dante's RS4 hybrid turbo installation - Avalon Motorsports
Dante's heat wrapped intake pipes - Avalon Motorsports

Dante's heat wrapped intake pipes - Avalon Motorsports

Avalon has been an absolute pleasure to work with. When dealing with a shop, the most important things to me are honesty, communication and customer service and Brian/Avalon have more than surpassed my expectations! What I like most is that Avalon doesn’t just do what you tell them to do, they take the time to truly understand what your goals and objectives are. Based on those objectives, they recommend both short term and long term strategies to accomplish the goals that you’ve set out for your car. Brian has done an absolutely fantastic job keeping me updated with timely communications and recommendations along the way, and I’m not the type of person that’s easily impressed.

With that said, if you are looking for a shop that can do it all, look no more. Brian and the crew at Avalon are the shop you want! They offer software [chips] for most VAG applications as well as Altituned, fully custom tuning. And each file will optimize your vehicles performance, which is EXACTLY what I was looking for at the beginning of this journey. They’ve been a true pleasure to work with and it’s so nice to finally have peace of mind knowing that a shop is going to take good care of you and your car. It all comes down to setting expectations and meeting/exceeding those expectations. Avalon – you’ve certainly earned my business!

So, in the end I got exactly what I wanted; my own version of a high-end super car that maintains an unsuspecting “sleeper” profile in an unassuming 4-door luxury sedan… without having to win the lottery to pay for it. ”

- Dante

Car Specifications:

Engine
Avalon Motorsports “Altituned” Stage III+ Custom Fueling Kit
K04 Hybrid Turbos (RS4 Turbos w/RS6 Compressor wheels)
VAST Water/Methanol Injection
Heat-wrapped inlets
Ceramic coated manifolds
Zeitronix Wideband Monitoring
AWE downpipes
AWE Twin 2 exhaust
AWE Intercoolers
Custom air Intake
APR Bi-pipe (anodized clear in natural color)
RS4 Motor Mounts
Baileys Diverter Valves black annodized
Samco hoses
Apikol Snub Mount

Drivetrain
South Bend Stage 3 OFE clutch
Penske Racing Coilovers (Challenge Kit)
AWE Drivetrain Stabilizer Bar
JHM “Solid” Short Shifter

Other
RS4 Front Bumper & grill
Valeo Ecode headlights
Stasis XDR rotors
Stainless steel brake lines
Hartmann DTM RS4 18” Wheels
Bridgestone RE50A Pole Position Tires
RS4 Shift ****
Dension iPod connector w/Proclip
Omori Electronic Boost Gauge
Clear Bra
SPP A-pillar gauge pod w/OEM fabric
AutoVation pedals