Like the title says, just bought an 02 A4 1.8t, want to know what mods these cars benefit from the most. so far I've heard down pipe in a must, any recommendations on brand ? Not looking to do a lot to it, I already have a race car for serious fun, just drop a few hundred into her to waken her up a bit. Thanks for any advice

I would say a tune. They seem to be really tuned down and once I put in my APR chip it woke up quite a bit (It's only a Stage 1 too). I agree with the down pipe as well.

Anything I should look out for on these cars, a common failure or problem??

The car only has 126k on it, seems to be relatively well cared for. The clutch is toast, that's why I got it so cheap so I will be doing that soon. I do want to get an upgraded clutch since I will be modifying it mildly, any suggestions on the clutch and possibly anything I might encounter doing the clutch.

I've been racing Honda's my whole life, about 17 years now so I know them front to back, this is my first Audi, so far I really like the car

As for clutch if your not going with a TON of power get a RA4 stage 1 or 2 clutch from ECS Tuning - $599 and free shipping and it includes the flywheel. You might want to consider doing the oil pick up tube. My brothers went on his '03 at 130k and mine went on my '02 at 136k. Do it before you need to otherwise you will be "investing" in a new turbo/motor in the future (ask me how i know ). But as far as mods get the Test Pipe, Exhuast, Tune w/ upgraded DV and that should be plenty enough to liven her up a bit. And last but def not least if you dont have records showing when the timing belt was done DO IT FOR YOUR OWN PIECE OF MIND!!! Seriously that should be your main priority as of now...

Where is the oil pick up tube located?

Timing belt was changed by the previous owner so I'm good there

The oil pick up tube is located in the oil pan. Theres a small mesh screen in it that absolutly LOVES to get clogged with tons a crap. Cheap part, not as cheap labor. I think I paid around $440 for my install