I've seen a few posts that mention headers on these V8's.

I've got an 2005.5 avant with AWE cat back and was debating headers.
The big concern is cabin noise. Are they much louder inside. Worth the noise? I do lots of 6-7hrs drives and would hate to take away from the refinement of the inside of the car.

I am also going to look at the engine internals- pistons, cams etc to try to get some similar numbers to rs4....maybe I'm dreaming!

 

I'm no expert but I don't think dinking with your internals is going to do it. There is a supercharger out now that runs around $10K that supposedly gives you significant power gains. I was seriously considering it but the cost is too high, plus it has a very loud whine to it and I too don't like a lot of cabin noise.

 

Your right "dinking"lol with the engine wont do it! I found the technical differances. They refer to the S4 engine as basic and RS4 engine as high reving.

The main technical differences between the base engine and the high-revving engine lie in the following:


Crankshaft/connecting rods/pistons
Timing gear
Cylinder head
Oil supply
Engine cooling
Intake path
Exhaust system
Engine management

The cylinder crankcase of the high-revving engine was machined to higher specifications due to the higher stresses in this component. To minimize warping of the cylinder manifolds, the crankcase is honed under stress. For this purpose, a honing template is attached to the crankcase before the honing process in order to simulate the warping of the bolted-on cylinder manifold.

Modifications to High-revving Engine:
At very high engine speeds, axial vibration occurs due to the unbalance in the single-mass damper. This can cause the crankshaft to break.

To avoid this vibration, a dual-mass damper without unbalance is employed in the high-revving engine. To compensate for unwanted engine vibration, heavy metal inserts are integrated in the first and eighth crank journals by way of unbalance.

Connecting Rod:
Cracked connecting rods made of 36MnVS4 are used in the basic engine, while the conventionally split connecting rods in the RS4 engine are made of 34CrNiMo8, for strength.

In addition, the geometry and tolerances of the
connecting rods were reduced on the high revving version of the 4.2L V8 FSI engine.

Bearing journals diameter: 54 mm
Bearing bushings: 1.4 mm thick, 15.25 mm wide
Length of bushing: 0.20 mm diameter rolled
Connecting rod length: 154 mm

Piston:
For strength reasons, forged pistons with a slightly higher weight than conventional pistons, are used. Both engines have the same piston geometry.
Piston weight without rings: approximately 290 g (10 oz)
Piston pin: 0.20 mm x 0.11.5 mm x 40 mm

High-revving Engine:


3/8" simplex sleeve-type chains are used here. Their advantage is their reduced wear and higher stress resistance at high engine speeds. In this case the idler gears have 38 and 19 teeth. The camshaft sprockets have 25 teeth.

Different Features of the High-revving Engine:


To match the higher engine power output and RPM, the following cylinder head components were modified:
Intake ports are charge optimized (based on larger cross-sections)
Intake valves are chrome-plated hollow stem valves (for weight reduction)
Valve springs are made of a material with higher tensile strength and also have higher spring force
To meet the higher fuel requirements, the injectors are designed for higher flow rates.
Roller rocker arms are more robustly designed, with peened rollers for higher strength
Camshafts have different timings and larger opening lengths
Intake valve opening angle 230 crank angle degrees
Exhaust valve opening angle 220 crank angle degrees
The lifters were adapted from the 3.2L V6 engine found in the TT and A3. They have a larger ball stroke which, in the course of testing, proved advantageous for the high-revving engine (with regard to the inflation of the hydraulic valve clearance compensation element).
The cylinder head has a modified water jacket which circulates coolant to the area between the intake port and the injector, thereby reducing the temperatures in the cylinder head combustion chamber plate.
Due to a modified camshaft drive reduction ratio, the camshaft adjuster has 25 teeth for the chain drive, as opposed to 30 teeth in the basic engine.
In the more highly stressed high-revving engine, an additional oil-air heat exchanger is used to minimize the oil temperature even at high engine load. This additional heat exchanger is operated in parallel with the heat exchanger via a thermostat.

Audi RS4 Sump:
A reliable supply of oil in all driving situations is critical, especially in a sports car such as the RS4. The oil supply system in the high-revving engine was designed for racing applications in which it is subjected to
lateral acceleration of up to 1.4 g. To ensure this, the sump in the RS4 has an additional system of flaps.

Design:
Four flaps, whose axis of rotation is parallel to the longitudinal axis of vehicle, are arranged inside a housing. Each of the flaps opens toward the inside of the intake end of the oil pump.

Function:
When the vehicle is cornering, the oil flows inside the sump toward the outside of the corner. The two flaps facing the outside of the corner close and hold the oil in the sump intake. At the same time, the two flaps facing the inside of the corner open to allow additional oil to flow into the intake. This ensures a sufficient supply of oil to the oil pump.

The intake system of the RS4 engine was designed with emphasis on maximum flow control. Pressure loss is minimized by a large cross-sectional areas in the Mass Air Flow (MAF) Sensor G70 and air intake pipe in combination with a 90 mm diameter throttle valve.

To ensure a sufficient supply of air to the engine at high RPM, the power flap in the air filter is opened at engine speeds higher than 5000 RPM and at road speeds higher than 200 kph.
The power flap is opened and closed by a vacuum actuator which is map-controlled by the ECM via the Intake Air Switch-Over Valve N335.

The sand cast aluminum (should be magnesium) intake manifold was designed specifically to match the sporty characteristic of the engine. In contrast to the basic engine, maximum torque is produced at higher engine RPM. At this engine speed, the intake manifold changeover valve would be switched to the short path for higher power output.

 

I actually have the headers. I didn't install them on my car yet but I have helped 2 people that do have them. The headers are tuned and they Really help with the drone and performance. If you currently have a good cat back the headers are not going to make the car sound that much different. It will perform better but sound doesn't change all that much

Im not sure the reason for comparing the RS4 FSI and the S4 FI.

Bottom line is that the RS4 uses Totally new tech in and on the motor. The RS4 has FSI thus the need for several of the timing chain changes. The ECU is separated into 2 ECUs and runs on a newer system the say the 08 S4. The 08 RS4 is Me9 and 08 S4 is Me7.1.1 The RS4 has full control of both the intake and exhaust cams thus more reason for some of the upgraded parts.

The exhaust system other then the size...Cat back wise is about the same. The RS4 has headers Stock tho. The S4 manifolds. The RS4 is an internally balanced motor the S4 has an external balance. In the end the RS4 is all the new tech the S4 has Still newer tech then most systems but runs off a different system.

 

Connecting Rods
Audi&VW parts
Website: www.furiousracingparts.com

 

I was wondering who makes headers that would fit on the B6 4.2?

What kind of perfromance gains are we talking here (with full exhaust, intake, chip)?

Do you need to reflash the computer to maximize your gains here?

thanks