I currently own a stock black 04 S4. I've had it for a year now and i'm ready for some more power! My parents have offered to pay for some MODS as a going away to college gift. I have between 2 and 3 grand to spend. I'm thinking some combination of exhaust, downpipes, or cold-flo intake. I don't want to chip because I'd like to keep my warranty. I'm looking to get some modest HP and torque gains. I would prefer a set up which has lower gains across a broad RPM range to one that only had a big gain at peak RPM's. Given this info what do you guys think are my best options?

 

chip is about one of the only things that wont kill your warranty. other mods that are gonna boost your power will end your warranty. you can get your ecu reflashed and most dealers either wont check or wont find the encrypted software of the chip.

 

I worry that the chip in addition to risking my warranty will put more stress on my engine because it will rev higher etc. While I believe that mods which increase flow such as exhaust and intake will not stress my engine as much. Especially exhaust which only reduces the backpressure caused by the restrictive stock system. Am I missing something? Also, I love the more agressive sound clips i've heard from the freeflow systems.

 

your engine will only rev higher with a chip if you rev it higher yourself. tons of people on these forums have been running chips for an extended period of time and have not had problems related to the chip/engine stress.

exhaust and intake will let your engine breathe better and yes, you will have an agressive sounding system after those mods. the stock system is actually not very restrictive in comparison to other stock cars, it is fairly free flowing.

 

thanks for your insight. I think I'll look into Giac tunning coupled with either a miltek or APR exhaust

 

sounds good, let me know through pm or post when you get some work done! some pics too maybe.